Chapter 85 Chapter 85 Magic Leaf (Please Rewatch)…

Lan Niang knew that she had caught the trend of the times and that the position of county magistrate was hard-earned.

Before the official transfer order came down, Liang Zhizhou talked to me once.

Lan Niang understood many truths through reading and received a lot of teachings from Zuo You and Ting Yu. She also had expectations of her parents, but in the end she was deeply disappointed by her father and mother's favoritism.

Because she and Yue Niang were not sons, they could never receive true love from their parents, not even the slightest warmth from their parents' palms. It took her more than ten years to see through this truth with a broken heart.

Liang Nian's words were very straightforward. The county lady appreciated her talents, but also knew her background.

Lan Niang straightened her spine and spoke with a firm voice, "I, Wen Lan Niang, swear once again that I know my limits and will never harm the interests of Xihe Road for my own selfish reasons!"

On the day the newspaper was published, people of all kinds, carrying chickens, ducks, fish, meat, cloth, and snacks, crowded the door. Lan Niang's parents were illiterate and were stunned by the sudden excitement.

After asking, I found out that their daughter Lan Niang was going to be the county magistrate.

Although the two men were illiterate, the county magistrate was the highest official they could come into contact with. Their voices suddenly rose, "Our Lan Niang? Really?" It was as if a lump of gold had fallen from the sky, hitting them dizzy.

"It's written in black and white in the newspaper!" the messenger assured, patting his chest.

"Your Wen family has made great progress now, right?!"

"I can't envy you more. These are the ribs I just cut this morning. Take them. Please take care of them when you need me."

Their first reaction was to be proud, and their second was that their son would have a backer in the future! If their sister was a county magistrate, wouldn't it be easy for their son to become a yamen runner in the future?

Yue Niang had received instructions from Lan Niang early on, and she stood firmly at the door, rejecting all those hot-tempered intentions.

"Sister said, you can't accept it! You can't accept anything!" Yue Niang's voice was full of unquestionable determination.

"They didn't bring any money, but they brought a piece of meat and you won't let us accept it?" Lan Niang's mother asked in confusion.

"Yeah, who can't afford meat nowadays? What's the big deal?" Dad also chimed in, thinking that Yue Niang was unkind.

Yue Niang's face tightened, and she glared back at him fiercely. "Yeah, who needs this piece of meat? Then why are you so eager to accept it? My sister hasn't even taken office yet, and you're already trying to give her something to blame. Are you trying to get people to report her and ruin her future?"

She paused, then threw out her trump card, "Even if you don't feel sorry for my sister, you should at least think about your precious son, right? If my sister falls, how can he benefit from it?"

The words "darling" were like a needle, instantly piercing the inflated arrogance of his parents. They looked at each other, their anger completely extinguished, and they retreated awkwardly.

"If you don't want to take it, then don't take it."

When Lan Niang returned home, she enjoyed her first ever sumptuous family dinner, prepared just for her. Her parents' faces beamed, their voices filled with pride. "Lan Niang has brought honor to our family. He's a county magistrate, an official! We can actually have an official!"

Yue Niang secretly tugged at Lan Niang's sleeve and whispered something in her ear. Lan Niang listened without changing her expression, and only raised her hand to gently rub the top of her sister's head.

"When you insisted on being a Baizhi, I thought it was not a good idea. I didn't expect you to be so lucky. You are different now that you have studied."

He hadn't even said a few words praising Lan Niang when he changed the subject to Lan Niang's younger brother.

"Lan Niang, we are all family. Your brother is almost old enough to go to school. You have to help him with his future."

Lan Niang put down her chopsticks with a cold face and listened to them continue talking.

"Your brother is very smart. If you can become an official, your brother can do it too. Even if he can't become an official, he can work in your county government office. You can rest assured that your family can use him." The two men were unaware that Lan Niang's expression had changed. They were just immersed in their own fantasies.

"Impossible." Lan Niang's voice was not loud, instantly freezing the false liveliness at the table.

Lan Niang's father hadn't reacted yet, "What's impossible?"

"This position of county magistrate fell upon me because of the County Lady's trust. I have already filed a formal report to the County Lady and Wugengtian. If anyone dares to accept even the slightest bribe in my name, or seeks to abuse my power for personal gain," Lan Niang said, emphasizing each word. "The entire family will be punished by being sent to the mines, serving in the military! Even your beloved, young as he is, will not escape punishment."

The color drained from Lan Niang's father's face, turning a rosy red. He slammed the table, sending dishes clattering. "You've been studying for a few days, and you've become independent, right?! He's your own brother! What's wrong with giving him a hand? Who are you trying to show off to? If you help him, you'll have one more capable man under your command. We're doing this for your own good!"

Lan Niang's mother pointed at her with a trembling finger: "How could I have given birth to such an unfilial daughter like you? What do you mean by us accepting other people's things? There were so many people visiting us today, and we didn't even accept a single piece of fruit from them!"

Lan Niang calmly watched the two people break down their defenses, "That's because Yue Niang stopped you, otherwise you would have taken it in long ago. Do you think I don't know?"

Yue Niang was still young, and although she had expected this, she was still frightened by the quarrel and dared not breathe.

"You, you, you!" Lan Niang's father pointed at her, "You've just finished school and you're talking to your parents like that! I told you not to let her go to school!"

A family dinner that was originally planned to celebrate Lan Niang ended up being so noisy that even the neighbors next door could hear it.

In the end, Lan Niang and Yue Niang rushed out of the door and went to a restaurant outside to order several delicious dishes to celebrate for themselves.

Yue Niang's mouth was full of oil as she ate. "Sister, the food outside is so delicious."

After saying that, he pulled Lan Niang's sleeve again and said, "Sister, I can't bear to leave you. If you leave, there will be no one to protect me. But I will protect myself like you did."

Lan Niang pinched her face and said, "If you have been wronged, just send me a letter."

Lan Niang rubbed her swollen temples and brought herself back to the present. The yamen runner poked his head out and said, "County Magistrate Wen, go get some sleep. You haven't closed your eyes in two days."

Lan Niang shook her head. "It's okay. Has Magistrate Yang arrived?"

"Not yet. It's raining today, so the oxcart moves slowly."

Lan Niang worked hard to do a good job as a county magistrate. She wanted to build Shi County like Li County, and she also wanted to find characteristics for Shi County that were not found anywhere else.

And now, she has found it.

Shi County was originally Shizhou. After the merger, Lan Niang often inspected the suburban fields and observed the planting of potatoes and sweet potatoes. She accidentally found a little girl picking some leaves.

The leaf looked ordinary. She approached it in casual clothes and asked, "Is there anything special about this leaf?"

The little girl was only about eleven or twelve years old, about the same age as when she first started school, but she looked wary. "Who are you?"

Then he looked up and down at Lan Niang's clothes. Lan Niang was wearing a simple cotton short-sleeved top with a skirt underneath, but the color combination was a bit monotonous.

The cotton cloth on Xihe Road is basically dyed with indigo leaves, and has only a light blue color.

Most people's clothes are this color, the only difference is the darker or lighter color.

The girl relaxed her guard, but then asked a new question, "If you want me to ask you a question, you have to give me two cents."

Lan Niang took out the money.

The girl took the money and handed the ordinary grass to Lan Niang. "This grass has no name. I discovered it by accident. It can be used to dye cloth. Unlike indigo leaves, you don't need to pick a lot to dye a light color like yours. If you squeeze the rhizome of this grass into juice, you can dye it purple. If you mix it with indigo leaves, you can create new colors, but I haven't had a chance to try it yet."

Lan Niang was very perceptive. She was startled and took the grass in her hand to look at it again and again. Then she stretched out her fingers to crush the roots. Sure enough, there was dark purple juice on her hands, which could not be wiped off no matter how hard she tried.

The people of Li County are not short of money now, but if they use extremely expensive dyeing materials, they will be putting the cart before the horse, resulting in everyone's clothes being all blue when they go out, and the surrounding indigo leaves have been picked to a point where they are almost scarce.

Lan Niang looked around and saw that the suburban fields were covered with such grass.

The little girl continued, "This grass is easy to grow. It's everywhere. You can pick some and take it home."

After saying that, he ran away without a trace. In the distance, a woman shouted, "Where have you gone to, you little bitch? Why don't you go home to wash clothes and cook?"

Lan Niang squatted in the suburban fields and continued to observe. The grass was indeed weeds. It grew in a circle along the edge of Shi County and another circle grew in the territory of Min County.

Lan Niang wondered if she could make these grasses into dyes for dyeing clothes and sell them, and then set up a dye workshop in Shi County.

In this case, a piece of land must be planned specifically for growing these grasses. In this case, the land in Shi County may not be enough, so she wondered if she could cooperate with Min County.

If it can be done, it will be a business opportunity.

Lan Niang lives in Li County, so she naturally knows the people's demand for dyeing. When other places in Xihe Road develop, there will naturally be such demand.

After all, when you are full, you will start to pursue other things.

I just don’t know whether the county magistrate of Min County will agree.

Lan Niang had never met Yang Yidong before and didn't know what kind of person he was, so she just sent the letter tentatively.

Unexpectedly, the other party replied quickly, saying that they were very interested in cooperating with Shi County and would come for an interview to show their sincerity.

Before Yang Yidong arrived, Lan Niang hurriedly wrote a plan, which clearly listed the planting, harvesting, processing methods, setting up a factory, and sales channels.

Lan Niang didn't expect that Yang Yidong was almost the same age as her. The two young girls didn't care about the old men's roundabout ways and went straight to the point.

Yang Yidong flipped through the plan and thought, "Why not plant this grass in Min County and try producing and processing it in Shi County? This would not only provide employment for Shi County, but also boost the transportation economy. After all, the county lord wants to develop long-distance oxcarts next."

Lan Niang didn't expect the other party to be so reasonable. She was a little bit unbelievable. "Isn't this unfair? Shi County has taken too many benefits."

Yang Yidong, however, thought it was nothing. "Min County already has a cotton planting base specially approved by the county lord, so adding another one won't be a problem. If there's a big demand for this industry chain, we can build a factory in Min County later. It's nothing. You discovered this thing in the first place, so there's nothing wrong with you taking more."

Lan Niang was quite embarrassed. "Now everything is ready. The only thing missing is the experiment on this herb. This matter may still need to be reported to the county lady. The county lady has many talented people under her."

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Author's note: Ahhh, I don't know how I only copied 1500 words! ! ! Adults, please click and read again! ! !