Yang Ze felt even more ashamed after hearing Shen Jia's words, which did not seem to be false. However, the meaning behind it also made him excited. There were many benefits to becoming a scholar, and along the way, he might even be able to help his boss who had saved his family's life.
Thinking of this, he couldn't say no, but taking the imperial examination was not just his family's business, so he still hoped to discuss it with his family.
So he replied, "Let me think about it."
Not only Yang Ze was excited, his elder brother and sister-in-law who were listening to him were even more excited. They never thought that after being forced to sell themselves, they would have such an experience.
Scholars, who doesn’t want to be a scholar?
Their family had sent Yang Ze to the village school before, but was forced to stop. Now that the opportunity was in front of them, they wished they could replace Yang Ze and agreed to Shen Jia's proposal.
Seeing Cheng Yun concentrating on keeping and checking accounts, the eldest brother Yang He quickly pulled Yang Ze to a corner and began to get to the bottom of why he did not directly agree to this matter.
Shen Jia was in no mood to bother with their quarrel and continued to count the accounts while waiting for news from Magistrate Wu. She expected that she would have to visit the Wu residence tonight as tomorrow was the day of the grand event and the gifts had been prepared long ago.
What Shen Jia didn't expect was that the servant actually came to Shen's tofu shop to inform her in the afternoon. This time was not early. After she agreed, the servant bought some things in the shop before leaving.
When Shen Jia came this time, he specifically asked his grandfather for a piece of his calligraphy, which would definitely be enough as a gift.
The others are tofu and soybean oil made from the newly harvested soybeans, which are rich in aroma and bright in color, making them the best.
Shen Jia brought it specially for County Magistrate Wu to taste it so that he could understand how good its quality is.
After preparing everything, Shen Jia arrived at the gate of Wu's mansion at 3:00 PM. As the county magistrate's residence, it looked much better than the simple government office, but it was certainly not as good as the residences of those wealthy businessmen in the county town.
She walked forward and knocked on the door knocker, "Knock, knock, knock!"
After the voice was heard, someone came forward to open the door quickly. It happened to be the servant who went to Shen's shop today to inform the news. Seeing Shen Jia coming, he immediately invited him in.
"Miss Shen, please come in quickly. I'll send someone to inform them."
While extending his hand to invite Shen Jia in, he signaled with his eyes to the doorman on the other side to go in quickly and inform him that the distinguished guest invited today had arrived.
Shen Jia nodded slightly, then followed the people inside. The Wu Mansion's house was decorated in the north to look like a Jiangnan courtyard, like a small Su-style garden, which looked particularly fresh and refined.
There was a new scene at every step, with an indescribable beauty. The person who came out to greet us was the wife of County Magistrate Wu, who looked gentle and graceful.
As if she had walked out of an ancient painting of court ladies, she saw Shen Jia walking towards her, holding the hand of the maid, with the corners of her mouth raised in the most perfect arc, and said with a smile:
"Master is currently handling official business in his study. My niece, please come with me. As for the relationship between our two families, you can just call me aunt."
"Auntie, how are you? Sorry to bother you today."
Faced with this scene, Shen Jia felt that her movements began to slow down. The two chatted about simple topics as they walked. She felt that this might be the most ancient-looking woman she had met since she came to the northern border.
Soon Wu Wei was also informed of Shen Jia's arrival. Because tomorrow was a major event that the whole county was paying attention to, he quickly pulled Shen Jia back to the study to discuss tomorrow's procedures.
"Tomorrow, I plan to follow your suggestion and insert a contract signing process in the middle, so that everyone can see our determination. This is the contract I asked my advisor to draft in advance. Please review the content to see if there is anything wrong."
Shen Jia took over the thick stack of contracts and read through all the rules and regulations inside. They were much more relaxed than the first time they worked together.
Last time she almost advanced all the funds, and this time she was given a lot of convenience, allowing her to prepay part of this year's taxes, which would be set aside as compensation to farmers if the agreement was breached next year.
Strict regulations have also been made for farmers' behavior after they get the seeds. Because high-quality seeds are very valuable, in order to protect Shen Jia's rights and interests, farmers' waste, resale, adulteration and other behaviors are strictly restricted. If they are found out, they will be held accountable, and this will be regulated by the government.
It can also be regarded as legalizing Shen Jia's previous request. As for whether it complies with the laws of Dasheng, it is up to the county magistrate to decide. The emperor is far away and the mountains are high. In addition, Wu Wei has also been operating in Linyuan County for many years, so no one without tact would come here to cause trouble.
After confirming that her rights were well protected, she felt that there was nothing more to add.
So he said, "There's no problem. Uncle Shi is definitely a trustworthy person."
Wu Wei happily stroked his long beard and nodded continuously. Once he understood this model, the people of Linyuan County would definitely have more development opportunities in the future.
Then the two began to discuss other issues, and time passed quietly. If it weren't for the noise coming from outside the door, it felt like they could chat till night.
"Master, Madam sent someone to say that it's almost time for dinner. I guess Miss Shen should be hungry. Please go to the dining hall with Miss Shen for dinner."
Originally, Wu Wei was still enjoying the new idea that Shen Jia had just proposed, but he was suddenly interrupted. When he looked again, he saw that it was getting late outside.
So he said to Shen Jia, "It's getting late, let's have dinner first. We can continue the discussion tomorrow."
Shen Jia stood up and asked Wu Wei to go first. "Uncle, please go first."
As an elder, Wu Wei naturally accepted this statement, then walked in front, with Shen Jia one step behind.
At this time, there were already three people sitting in the dining room. One was Mrs. Wu, whom Shen Jia had just met today, and the other two were a man and a woman who should be the young master and young lady of the mansion.
She had also asked around. One of them was named Wu Lang and the other was named Wu Zhenrong. The man looked older and should be older than her, while the other should be younger than her.
The three of them stood up as usual, and Madam Wu quickly told them to sit down, "If I hadn't reminded you, Master, you don't know how long you would have kept talking to your niece.
These are the two children in the family. You can call them Brother Shi and Sister Zhenrong as you like."
Then she introduced her two children to Shen Jia, and she called out and saluted, "Hello, Brother Langshi, hello, Sister Zhenrong."
The two also replied to Shen Jia's position: "Hello, sister Shen."
Wu Wei, who had seen this scene, did not forget to admonish his two children: "Shen Jia is an extraordinary young lady. You can learn from her when you have time."
Wu Lang, who only cared about studying, had become accustomed to his father's strict teachings and nodded in agreement.
Wu Zhenrong was a little at a loss. As far as she knew, Shen Jia should have very different requirements from her mother's. She subconsciously glanced in her mother's direction.
Mrs. Wu's face, which had been perfectly composed, froze for a moment, but returned to normal the next second. She shook her head subtly at her daughter, asking her not to go against her father's wishes.
In the end, Wu Zhenrong had no choice but to nod slightly under her father's gaze and whispered, "Yes."
"The food is getting cold. Eat first, or else you'll have health problems."
Seeing this, Mrs. Wu quickly changed the subject. Shen Jia seemed unaware of the strange atmosphere at the table and began to eat under the warm hospitality of County Magistrate Wu.
What she didn't expect was that all the dishes in the Wu Mansion were southern dishes, and they tasted very good. Thinking of what happened before when her family tried to find a southern chef, she ate more at once.
Compared with Mrs. Wu and Sister Wu, who both had small appetites, Shen Jia's meal seemed to be consuming a lot more, which almost made Wu Lang dumbfounded. However, County Magistrate Wu could no longer care about anything else once he started eating.
After this meal, Shen Jia left a deep impression on the Wu family.
It was getting late, so Wu Wei had to give up the idea he had in the study. He would have a chance to go to the Shen family to discuss things later.
The next day was a grand event that attracted the attention of people from all over the county. Many people were waiting under the stage early in the morning. A row of tables and chairs were placed on the stage, waiting for people to come and start the event.
At the auspicious time favored by Wu Wei, intense firecrackers rang out on both sides of the platform. Then Shen Jia and Wu Wei set out from their positions on both sides at the same time and walked onto the platform to stand still.
The person invited to preside over the event was the county yamen's legal advisor, who was not only good at writing case details but also eloquent. It was also obvious that Wu Wei attached great importance to this event, as he even invited the top person under his command to preside over the event.
"We are gathered here on this auspicious occasion to officially launch the grand event of the cooperation between Shen's Workshop and the government office! Our guests include the owner of Shen's Workshop, Madam Shen Jia, and the county magistrate, Lord Wu. Let us witness this moment together and give a warm welcome."
Thunderous applause suddenly broke out from the audience. The county magistrate was famous, Shen Jia was profitable, and both were beneficial to the ordinary people, so everyone immediately gave their applause when they heard it.
Those who originally did not believe that Shen Jia could really purchase soybeans were all dumbfounded. Seeing that some of the others had made a little money, they now wished that they were the ones to receive the seeds in March. Now they heard that Shen Jia was about to cooperate with County Magistrate Wu again, even if it was just to show their support, they had to come and support him.
When they heard that the area of cooperation would reach 30,000 acres next year, they all thought there was something wrong with their ears. It would increase three times at once, and it would not be difficult for them to earn enough money to buy cows.
What is most important to ordinary people? Of course, it is to have a good year to reduce the burden on their families, and it would be best if they can earn money to repair their houses, which would be a perfect life.
They might be able to turn things around this time, so they all can't wait to rush onto the stage and settle this matter.
When the words "appointment system" were mentioned, the people became even more excited. In this way, they could clear the sand and sign the land deeds in advance, which would definitely make it smoother to collect the seeds later.
In order to prevent people from receiving extra seeds and not doing anything with them, Shen Jia also added the idea of requiring a two-in-one land deed and household registration, which was also to strengthen his own protection.
The more the people heard the news, the more excited they became. Finally, the atmosphere reached its peak at the moment when Shen Jia and Wu Wei signed. They didn't know that they had become one of the witnesses of history.
The warm and exciting atmosphere also infected Shen Jia. She quickly made the decision to push the matter forward as soon as possible. She declined the invitation to dine at County Magistrate Wu's home, and she and Xu Zhao quickly rushed back to Ning'an Town.
This time Yang Ze also went back with them. He had already redeemed himself from Shen Jia and had taken advantage of the time to complete his household registration. She would also appoint another person to come to the county town to be responsible for the account books.
While Yang Ze was in charge of some of Fuqiu's affairs, he could also ask Shen Ci about the imperial examination. He was provided with food and accommodation, but naturally there was no salary.
After making clear the recent arrangements for the new employees to be assigned to the other four counties next month and the appointment-based soybean planting, Shen Jia set off for the provincial capital.
By the time they arrived at the provincial capital, it was already mid-September in the golden autumn. Zhenwei Pavilion was much quieter than before. At this time, iced drinks in the northern region no longer aroused people's interest, and the shop had to make adjustments as soon as possible.
Seeing Shen Jia come in, Fuqiu, who was standing behind the counter, hurried over to greet her, "Jia Niang, why are you coming to the capital at this time?"
Then he looked around and apologized, "It's all our fault. With the change of season, our drinks and desserts are no longer popular with the Lady and Madam of the Prefecture City. Business hasn't been good lately, and we haven't come up with a solution yet."
Shen Jia patted Fuqiu's hand comfortingly, "I'm here to take care of this. You all have no experience and definitely don't know how to make this. This is a new recipe I wrote. Give it to the cooks in the kitchen and let me try it after you've developed it."
In fact, when Shen Jia was speaking, Fuqiu also wanted to say: Miss, aren’t you inexperienced too?
However, with her usual blind trust in Shen Jia, Fuqiu put away the recipe in her hand, and then took Shen Jia to the private room upstairs, where she happened to meet Lin Tongyu who was going out.
After Lin Tongyu had eaten at Zhenwei Pavilion before, she became a regular here and really liked Shen Jia's creative ideas. When she saw her come back, she immediately shouted:
"Madam Shen is back. These days I've been asking Shopkeeper Fuqiu about your return date. I wonder if Zhenwei Pavilion is planning to serve any new food in the near future? I've been missing your cooking skills lately. We're planning to hold an autumn feast. If you have anything good, please let us try it first."
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