The playboy county magistrate

The few people who had not yet received their missions exchanged glances for a moment, and then they all became restless and stood up, staring intently at Li Xuanzhi.

Li Xuanzhi smiled helplessly, "I've already told you one by one. Everyone here today has a part to play in building a better Fuyu County."

Everyone scratched their heads sheepishly, rubbed their hands, and sat down again, looking a little embarrassed.

"These two matters have already arranged for most of the able-bodied men, and I'm afraid there won't be any more able-bodied men to spare. However, the transformation of Fuyu County is urgent and time is of the essence. Therefore, I have decided to make the transformation of Fuyu County a major undertaking in which all the people of the county actively participate, regardless of age or gender."

Li Xuanzhi smiled and looked in the direction of Miss Gu's parents, especially Miss Gu's mother.

"Aunt Gu, you must know quite a bit about the women and unmarried girls in Fuyu County. If we're going to build a weaving workshop and hire female workers to earn money to support our families, do you have any candidates?"

Before Li Xuanzhi could finish speaking, and before Gu Liu's mother could even voice her opinion, County Magistrate Cao stood up and waved his hands repeatedly in refusal.

"Sir, it is a good thing that the workshop is recruiting women to work, but many families stick to old customs and are unwilling for their women to go out to work. I'm afraid there will be some people who will obstruct it."

Li Xuanzhi naturally knew what the social atmosphere of the Dayong Dynasty was like, and he also found a way to quell the rumors.

"Besides weaving, this weaving workshop will also make new-style garments. At that time, 60% of the profits from the weaving workshop can be retained, and only 40% of the profits need to be handed over as taxes. The remaining money can be used to operate the weaving workshop, and the rest can be distributed to the female workers in the weaving workshop."

"Of course, the wages are paid daily, and the woman must keep all of her earnings herself. If the elders in the family insist on confiscating or obstructing her, she can forget about earning any more money. At that point, she can only be envious of other women earning money to supplement their household income, and the gap in their living standards and quality of life will only widen. Over time, this bad habit will naturally loosen."

It's such a waste of manpower to keep women indoors all the time, doing all the washing and cleaning!

The pressure of the whole family rests on the man in charge, and nowadays every family is very prolific in having children.

A strong laborer has to feed at least seven or eight people in the family. If he were to fall ill, wouldn't the whole family's world collapse?

Besides, children spend more time with their mothers. Given the current economic situation in Fuyu County, the number of children who have the opportunity to learn to read and write can probably be counted on two hands.

Parents are a child's first teachers. If parents are illiterate and stay at home all day without ever going out, they will not have the slightest opportunity to broaden their horizons. The children they raise will only be short-sighted, and each generation will be worse than the last.

Therefore, liberating productive forces is a necessary task. Women are generally more meticulous and capable of earning money to support themselves, which is good for the whole family.

Let's not talk about distant places, but just talk about the Gu family.

Why do people who don't have sons live so well? Do you really think their sons-in-law are all suckers?

It must be that someone else's daughter is very successful that she can coax a man into being willing to lower himself and think things through in advance.

If a man marries a woman he thinks is stupid after just a few words, someone whose only job is to have children and do housework, and with whom he has absolutely no common topics, then he has only married a farmhand or a slave.

If someone like that drinks even a little more porridge, their in-laws will only think of them as a good-for-nothing who only knows how to eat and drink.

Then look at the sixth daughter of the Gu family. If she didn't have this skill in accounting, would Li Xuanzhi have used her to manage the accounts and make her the top female accountant in the yamen?

In other words, there was no precedent for women serving as officials; otherwise, there would certainly be an additional female clerk in this government office.

"Besides weaving cloth, it's also very cold in the north during winter. We can't grow cotton here, and we can't afford it. But in winter, we can fill clothes with down mixed with cotton, or make wool yarn and knit it into clothes to wear underneath. That way, we won't have to share the same clothes among the whole family, and someone won't freeze to death in the winter."

"And can a grown man do these things?"

Li Xuanzhi's words instantly silenced everyone again.

Li Xuanzhi then looked at the eldest son of County Magistrate Cao, a boy nicknamed Douzi.

"A child this age can easily help herd sheep, shear wool, turn it into yarn, and wind it into balls. They can even study while doing these things. It's easy work, they earn money, they can go to school, and it eases the burden on their family—isn't that great?"

"Our Fuyu County is the poorest place among all the counties and towns in the entire northern region. If we don't help ourselves, where is our way out?"

Li Xuanzhi knew in his heart that their thoughts would definitely change when faced with a life-or-death situation.

However, deeply ingrained ideas from ancient times prevent them from taking this step.

What Li Xuanzhi needs to do is break down ideological barriers and fixed mindsets, so that they dare to stand up and be the first to try something new.

Old Zhao sighed softly, but a self-satisfied smile played on his lips.

"You've probably forgotten that decades ago, among the soldiers who charged into battle with weapons on the frontier, there were women. If there were women on the battlefield, why couldn't there be women when it came to developing our Fuyu County?"

"Wouldn't it be better for the whole family to have food provided by the government and receive wages from the government than to stay at home and wait for God to give them food?"

Old Zhao's words struck everyone like a blow to the head.

Yes.

Is there anything worse than the current situation?

Seeing that the expressions of the crowd had softened, Li Xuanzhi continued:

"By the way, does anyone know a doctor with good character and excellent medical skills who can come and settle down in our county? If he is willing to come here, I, the county magistrate, will personally build a clinic for him."

Labor force is the only asset that Fuyu County can offer right now, and we cannot afford to lose it because of injuries.

Everyone gets sick sometimes. In this ancient world where even a minor cold could be fatal, Li Xuanzhi was truly uneasy without a doctor by his side.

At this moment, County Magistrate Feng's wife suddenly raised her hand and said cautiously:

"My younger brother worked as an apprentice at a clinic for thirteen years, so he can treat simple illnesses. Given the situation in Fuyu County, it's probably difficult to find a good doctor for the time being. Would it be feasible for my brother to come and help out for a while?"

Li Xuanzhi naturally had no objections; he was well aware of the situation.

Once Fuyu County undergoes a dramatic transformation, all kinds of talents he needs will flock to the area, and he can choose them at will.

"Sure, the sooner your brother from your maternal family arrives, the better. Oh, right, there's one more thing I forgot to mention; the village head will have to make the trip himself."