The group boarded the carriages once again and headed back to the county, only this time with an extra carriage full of sweet potatoes.

When they arrived at Laoliu Restaurant, the sweet potatoes instantly stumped Zhang Laoliu.

He had never seen this ingredient before and didn’t know how to prepare it.

In the end, it was Fang Zheng who personally guided them, making a few simple dishes like roasted sweet potatoes, steamed sweet potatoes, and sweet potato congee.

He even personally made a plate of candied sweet potatoes.

When the large pile of sweet potatoes was ready, Fang Zheng tasted one. The level of sweetness and stickiness was far inferior to advanced improved varieties like Yanshu No. 25.

So in order to ensure the promotional effect, he sprinkled a handful of white sugar into the sweet potato congee.

As the dishes were brought out, the enticing aroma filled the air, causing everyone’s mouths to water in anticipation.

“If it smells this good, surely such a high-yielding crop must taste delicious!” they thought to themselves.

To reassure everyone, Fang Zheng even picked a small roasted sweet potato, skin unpeeled, and wolfed it down in a few bites.

Seeing this, everyone’s minds were put at ease, and they all began to eat.

Fang Zheng diligently brought the candied sweet potatoes to Emperor Jing’s table and performed a sugar-pulling demonstration on the spot.

After eating, Emperor Jing was also very satisfied. Such a high-yielding and delicious food could be considered perfect.

Throughout the banquet, numerous officials approached Fang Zheng to curry favor with him.

It was no surprise—with such an incredible achievement under his belt, Fang Zheng had become untouchable in the imperial court. No one would dare say a word against him now.

His already high standing with the Emperor had now reached new heights of brilliance!

…

Early the next morning, Emperor Jing prepared to return to the capital with the hundred officials.

Fang Zheng asked for two days off and also brought Li Yuanzhao and the princess along. Emperor Jing gladly agreed and left a batch of guards.

When he came to see them off, Emperor Jing patted Fang Zheng’s shoulder and said with a hearty laugh, “Minister Fang, remember to bring the crown prince and princess back to the capital soon. I still want to bestow a great reward upon you!”

With those parting words, Emperor Jing boarded the carriage and departed.

As Fang Zheng watched the horse carriage disappear into the distance, he clicked his tongue thoughtfully.

His Majesty was too shrewd. He would have to be careful when dealing with him in the future!

Seeing the Emperor had left, Li Yuanzhao immediately clamored, “Old Fang! I want to watch The Legend of Ji Gong!”

Fang Zheng glanced at him disdainfully. “What’s so good about that story? There’s some cool stuff at the county yamen. I’ll take you to see it in a bit.”

“I’m going to walk with the princess first!”

Li Yuanzhao immediately grimaced. “I’m going too!”

Helpless, Fang Zheng could only bring this nuisance along to accompany the princess to the Women’s Medical Clinic.

The original purpose was to bring Li Miaohan to see the county’s Women’s Medical Clinic. Ordinary clinics didn’t have the habit of keeping analysis records.

But under Fang Zheng’s orders, the county’s clinics had already established a rudimentary file system for patients.

Some gynecological diseases were too embarrassing for the ancients to speak of, needlessly wasting lives.

In monumental works like the Compendium of Materia Medica, Li Shizhen had also warned men to stay away from menstruating women to avoid weakening their own yang energy.

There were some things that Fang Zheng couldn’t conveniently do outside Taoyuan County. Not only would he be gossiped about, it would also be very difficult to advance, after all he was struggling against the backward notions of the entire society. It was extremely difficult to accomplish.

However, the potential profit to be made from sanitary pads in the future was immense. If successful, it would be a win-win situation for everyone involved. And with the princess as a powerful backer, the conditions couldn’t be more favorable.

He was just afraid that given her young age, she wouldn’t be able to withstand the pressure. So sending her to the Women’s Medical Clinic to reinforce some advanced concepts and learn some knowledge at the same time was just right.

After delivering the person to the Women’s Medical Clinic, it was no longer convenient for Fang Zheng to stay. He just instructed a few guards to look after the princess and then brought the nuisance towards the county yamen.

Li Yuanzhao kept yelling on the way that he wanted to see the cool stuff.

Fang Zheng inwardly snickered coldly. Cool stuff? Wait until you see it and have your worldview shattered!

…

At the county yamen, Li Yuanzhao looked at the device in front of him that resembled a telescope and had a dumbfounded expression.

He pointed at it. “What’s this?”

Fang Zheng had a wistful look. “This is called a microscope.”

Only after communicating with Ao Chen did he know that microscopes were already on the third generation.

Those two rushed microscopes he brought back earlier, things looked very blurry through them. Fang Zheng felt they were useless and had no persuasive power, so he just left them at home to gather dust.

He had tried this third generation one a couple of times. It was much clearer than before and cells could be clearly seen.

It could be said to have great practical significance now.

“Your Highness, this is truly a marvel, the cutting-edge technology of my Taoyuan County!” Fang Zheng declared proudly.

“In short, it’s the ultimate magnifying glass! You can use it to see things you normally can’t see!”

“Huh?”

Fang Zheng casually took a bit of water from the tray under a nearby flowerpot and dripped it under the microscope. “Look from top to bottom and you’ll see what’s in the water.”

Li Yuanzhao leaned over, stuck out his butt, looked for a while, then let out a surprised cry and quickly backed away.

He looked at Fang Zheng suspiciously. “These are… things in the water? How come it’s all messy and there are things moving? I thought the water droplet looked quite clean!”

“That’s right, you normally can’t see them. Diseases enter through the mouth from these invisible things that make people sick, so you have to be hygienic!”

“Your Highness, go ahead and study it. I still have things to do. I’ll be back in a bit. Don’t break it now, the county only has this one!”

Li Yuanzhao waved his hand impatiently, sticking out his butt and studying it intently again with great interest.

Seeing that he had also settled down, Fang Zheng went straight to find Ao Chen.

As soon as he saw Ao Chen, he said, “There’s another big matter to give you. Select a hundred people from the county, train them, and have them go to the capital to find me.”

Ao Chen thought for a moment. “Master, if we keep taking people like this, the county yamen won’t have enough manpower.”

“Then expand! Buy some more servants from Hengjiang Prefecture and have them settle down here!”

Speaking of servants, there were quite a few people in Taoyuan County that Fang Zheng had bought from outside. And these servants were extremely reliable after training.

They originally had no one to rely on in life. Once they registered as residents in Taoyuan County and had a stable life and proper status, plus some brainwashing in the county, they all followed Fang Zheng wholeheartedly.

Ao Chen hesitated. “Master, buying servants isn’t a problem, but how many people… the county doesn’t have enough space to house them.”

Fang Zheng was puzzled. “The houses in the county are at most three stories tall right now. Just build the houses a few more stories and it’ll be fine! You call this a problem?”

Ao Chen stammered, “But Master… His Majesty has personally visited our county now. Wouldn’t constructing such tall buildings appear presumptuous and disrespectful? Perhaps it would be prudent to petition His Majesty for permission first. I fear this could invite trouble for you otherwise.”

Hearing this, Fang Zheng glared with both eyes and shouted, “Fool! Who doesn’t know it’s presumptuous! If I go ask someone now, of course they won’t allow building!”

“Wait until things are already set in stone before I go explain. At most I’ll take a beating and it’ll be done. Ao Chen oh Ao Chen, you’ve followed me for so many years without any improvement!”

“Which of the county’s projects could proceed if we followed proper procedures?!”

“First finish the project, then the responsibility will be considered our own. The leaders also won’t make things difficult. Stop dawdling like a dog! Hurry up and get it done!”

Ao Chen wiped away some cold sweat. “Understood, Master!”