Royal Gold Magistrate

The next morning, Fang Zheng set off on a carriage back to Taoyuan County, accompanied by Zhang Biao and Xiao Tao.

In the afternoon, Fang Zheng packed up the penicillin experimental equipment and notes he had used in the Eastern Palace and brought them along.

Bai Yi strongly requested to stay and watch the house. Fang Zheng agreed.

After all, bringing along a maid with a not-so-bright brain wasn’t of much use.

The three were in very high spirits throughout the journey, having been away from Taoyuan County for so long.

Xiao Tao chattered incessantly along the way. Fang Zheng listened with a grin while Zhang Biao sat on the side, smiling foolishly.

With Fang Zheng urging him on, the coachman drove very quickly. In half a day’s time, they arrived within the territory of Taoyuan County.

However, they were jolted quite badly. The road was rugged and winding, and the carriage moved at high speed.

It was already lucky that it didn’t fall apart halfway. Only when they entered the county town did the road start to get better.

At this time, Xiao Tao was leaning out the carriage window, constantly vomiting. Fang Zheng poked his head out of the carriage and, seeing the continuous mountains around him, felt his mind also opening up.

Although not at the same time, being in the same place, he couldn’t help feeling a bit emotional.

Taoyuan County, your Lord Fang has returned!

Before long, Fang Zheng spotted an old farmer from the carriage. He was about to raise his hand in greeting.

The old farmer also looked over, then screamed as if he had seen a ghost and ran towards the county town, running even faster than the carriage…

The smile on Fang Zheng’s face froze.

What the hell are you running for! What’s going on? Did the unruly people rebel in the few days since I left!?

Fang Zheng was completely baffled as the carriage continued on.

Strange things happened. Every time they encountered someone, before he could greet them, they would run towards the county town, gesticulating wildly like mad dogs.

Only when the carriage pulled up to the city gate did Fang Zheng suddenly realize what was happening.

The crowd was densely packed, swarming at the city gate. Every person was looking at Fang Zheng with a smile.

Leading the crowd were a few high-ranking officials from the yamen.

On both sides of the road were a group of children, each holding a bouquet of flowers in their hands.

Behind them, someone was holding up a banner that had clearly been made on the spot. On the white cloth, the words “Welcome Lord Fang’s Return to Taoyuan County” were written in red ink, looking exactly like a debt collection scene.

Fang Zheng saw this and laughed. Wasn’t this the same style as when they welcomed Inspector Wu Sheng? Now it was being used on him.

He couldn’t help feeling a bit touched. Standing on the carriage, he waved his hand and said, “Hey hey! Brothers, you’ve come!”

The crowd opposite also cheered and waved wildly.

As soon as Fang Zheng got off the carriage, the children on both sides of the road holding bouquets started shaking them.

In unison, they chanted in their childish voices, “Welcome, welcome… a warm welcome!”

A familiar feeling surged in his heart. Fang Zheng’s face darkened and he shouted, “Enough! You’re all fucking overdoing it!! It’s not like your lord just crawled out of his grave!”

With this shout, the children holding flowers were terrified.

They burst into tears with a “wah” and ran in all directions… The order at the scene instantly fell into chaos.

Hearing the familiar cursing, some people couldn’t help exclaiming, “Ah! It really is our lord!”

“It’s him! Our lord curses people just like that!”

“Hey, yeah, it sounds so endearing to me. My lord, curse at me again!”

Fang Zheng: “………….”

After a long while, the crowd that had come out to welcome Fang Zheng finally slowly dispersed.

Fang Zheng was accompanied into the city by Acting Magistrate Ao Chen, who was originally the head of the Criminal Investigation Department and an extremely stern person.

Now, he also had a smile on his face and was holding a notebook in his hand. “My lord, quite a few things happened in the county after you left. I’ve recorded them all here one by one.”

“Speak!”

“Half a month after you left, many young people in the county were getting restless and said they wanted to go out and see the world. The child of Widow Wang in the east of the city snuck out of the city at night and was caught and brought back. His leg was broken and he’s still recuperating in the medical hall. Now the problem of young people wanting to run away has been solved.”

“The literacy campaign is also progressing smoothly. Now seventy percent of the people in the county are literate, and the remaining thirty percent are still being diligently educated.”

“The promotion of garbage sorting is seeing results day by day. The problem of sewer blockage has been alleviated, but Ankou Village to the east has been complaining that we’re dumping too much garbage and demanding more money. We gave them an extra string of cash.”

“The county theater recently put on a continuous situational stage play called ‘Birds Filling the Courtyard’ which has been widely acclaimed. Last month’s box office reached three hundred taels of silver.”

Hmm? This is interesting!

Fang Zheng stopped and asked, “Is this something new the county came up with?”

Ao Chen nodded. “Yeah, that’s right. Those few young people in the county who write novels were getting beaten every day for updating too slowly, so they changed to writing scripts. Later, they came up with this continuous stage play.”

“Interesting. Is there a show today? I’ll go take a look.”

Ao Chen said awkwardly, “Well… I’m afraid that’s not possible. Yesterday’s episode was performed so well that the entire cast was beaten into the medical hall. They probably won’t be coming out for a while…”

“……….., Alright, keep talking. Don’t talk about these other matters, speak of the important ones.”

Ao Chen nodded and flipped a couple of pages. “The county’s glass industry has had a breakthrough. The problems of impurities, bubbles, and discoloration have been solved. The glass produced now is flawless and should meet your requirements.”

“Now all the glass in the experimental greenhouses has been replaced with the latest glass. The experimental results from the greenhouses this winter should see further improvement.”

“The magnifying glasses you wanted have also been produced, but quite a few children used them to start fires, causing three fires, but no serious disasters.”

“The paper mill and textile mill have jointly produced the sanitary napkins you requested. They are now being promoted throughout the county and have been widely praised by women… But many people complain that the price is too high, so the factory has been ordered to find ways to reduce costs while maintaining quality.”

“There’s also the new rice varieties cultivated by the Agricultural Department. The yield is expected to increase by ten percent compared to before.”

Fang Zheng nodded in satisfaction. “Very good! Ao Chen, it seems you’ve done well. Everything is on the right track.”

Ao Chen gave a shy smile. “My lord overpraised me.”

Then Fang Zheng took out the penicillin notebook from his bosom. “I did some research in the capital. It’s all recorded in this notebook.”

“Now that perfect glass has been produced, go tell those people in the research institute that different effects can be achieved through the combination of concave and convex lenses. Make me a telescope and a microscope.”

“Then form a new team and use the microscope to research new medicine for me. This book records a substance called penicillin. You must use a microscope to successfully develop penicillin.”

“Do more experiments on animals!”

Ao Chen froze and slowly looked at Fang Zheng, his eyes full of confusion. “My lord, what’s a telescope and a microscope?”