Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 214 Let nature take its course

We accept reservations three days in advance.

During the spring outing season, more ladies and young ladies go out for a walk, and more families gather for flower-viewing banquets. Although the prices of egg yolk pastries and flower cakes are not cheap, Hua Qianbian Shop and Baozi Shop receive large orders from time to time, especially two days before the holiday, when there are even more orders.

The assassins, magnolias and other flowers in Baihua Manor that could be used as fillings for flower cakes were quickly picked up, and there were no more flower cakes. If you want to eat flower cakes, you have to wait until next year.

Therefore, Hualei specially launched the soft, glutinous and sweet red bean taro paste cakes, because there were still a lot of taro left in Yuanying Manor. For some reason, the Imperial College rarely used taro to cook, and not many restaurants ordered taro.

A large number of taro were planted on the farm, but they were rejected. It was too luxurious to use taro as pig feed. Hualei felt that her pigs did not deserve such good treatment.

Therefore, in line with the principle of not wasting anything, Hualei launched the red bean and taro paste cake, taking over the baton of the flower cake and continuing to lead the way in becoming the favorite of the ladies of major aristocratic families. Soon, the large amount of taro that had been stored was sold out, and the red bean and taro paste cake was sold out.

In late spring and early summer, the newly produced green tea in the south finally arrived in Shangjing City after a long journey. Hualei went to the wealthy merchants in Xicheng District to buy some newly-launched green tea, and made green tea mung bean cakes with rich tea flavor, which she began to sell.

Similarly, the freshly baked taste, unique ingredients, fresh and unique taste, plus the pleasing green color of the mung bean cake, once again conquered the stomachs of the young ladies from aristocratic families. Even many literati and scholars like to drink a piece of green tea mung bean cake with their tea.

Huaji's Tanhua wine and Zhuangyuan wine also arrived as promised. Because there was no provincial examination this year, the number of male relatives who liked spicy wine would be relatively small, so Hualei specially made some more sweet Tanhua wine.

After buying Yuanying Manor, the amount of rice wine brewed was three times more than last year, but it was sold together with egg yolk pastries and flower cakes. Later, red bean and taro cakes and green tea and mung bean cakes were added. As a result, the Tanhua Wine and Zhuangyuan Wine were sold out very quickly.

Hualei's dim sum business is based on what it has, and it naturally runs with the egg yolk pastry. When there are really no other raw materials available and there are no orders for egg yolk pastry, it will stop for a while. Anyway, salted duck eggs will not go bad.

During this period, Pei Zhongsheng, the son of housekeeper Pei, sent back a letter. With the help of Pei Jingxuan's subordinates, he and Liang Xiangyi had purchased the boat in early March. They then picked an auspicious day to launch the boat. Liang Xiangyi's old crew members were already training the new crew members.

Because of the letter from Old Madam Pei, Pei Jingxuan asked his wife to go to the pawnshop and pick out thirty or so young and strong slaves to buy. There were also fifty or so of their family members. They would take the ship back to the capital, and Hua Lei would be needed to make arrangements for them.

That's no problem. There are a lot of things to do on Hualei's farm, so there's no need to worry about too many people. Pei Zhongsheng is currently managing this group of newly purchased crew members. While training with Liang Xiangyi's old crew members, he is learning and practicing while slowly heading towards the capital.

Time had unknowingly come to the end of April. The news that the Imperial Examination Booklet was recommended for the places was released in mid-April, and the list of prefectures and cities to be recommended was also announced. Eight prefectures and cities, plus twelve separate prefectures and counties. Chengyun Prefecture where Ruyi's husband Tang Yuancheng worked and Yongjia Prefecture where Pei Jingxuan worked were both on the list this time.

Because Tang Yuancheng prepared early, he had made some arrangements in Shangjing City during the Chinese New Year. Although he was very low-key after arriving in Chengyun Prefecture, he still did everything he should do and prepared everything he should prepare. Therefore, he successfully obtained the agency sales rights for the imperial examination books printed in Chengyun Prefecture. Ruyi's family letter announcing the good news also arrived in the hands of Mrs. Pei in mid-May.

However, after receiving the letter from Marquis Pei, Pei Jingxuan had some concerns and slowed down his actions. After the news from the Ministry of Rites was officially released, he deployed all the secret lines he had laid and won the agency sales rights of the six states under Yongjia Prefecture with great difficulty.

The agency rights for the other four states were snatched away by a wealthy businessman from Jiangnan. It is said that this wealthy businessman also has relatives and businesses in Shangjing City.

Pei Jingyan's Chengsheng Prefecture also helped his immediate superior, the prefectural governor Shen, to obtain the agency sales rights for Chengsheng Prefecture under Pei Jingyan's secret efforts. Shen was so happy that he gave Pei Jingyan the bookstore locations in the two counties under the prefecture, and the results were pretty good.

Although Pei Jingxuan was a little disappointed that he failed to obtain the agency sales rights for all ten states under Yongjia Prefecture, it was a great consolation that he was able to obtain six. Pei Jingxuan's family letter was delivered to Mrs. Pei's Songhe Hall in late May.

Along with the family letter came a detailed list, which listed the items he could purchase in Yongjia Prefecture. However, all the items such as the rice grid, the field grid, and the square grid had to be purchased in Shangjing City. He needed Madam Pei's help. After all, in addition to the books for the imperial examinations, the bookstore had many other things that needed to be sold, and neither he nor his wife, Gu, were very proficient in running a bookstore.

After receiving Pei Jingxuan's detailed list of items that needed to be purchased in Shangjing City, Mrs. Pei gave it to Hua Lei without hesitation and asked her to help arrange it. However, she also asked Chen Ma's partner, Manager Chen, to work under Hua Lei and listen to Hua Lei's instructions.

Hua Lei took Manager Chen to Liang Xiangyi's shop in Xicheng District. Liang Xiangyi returned to Shangjing City in early April, and the three of them went to the printing house in Beicheng District together.

Manager Liu of the printing house received them warmly. Hualei first gave Manager Liu the contract for the rice grid and square grid that Pei Jingxuan wanted. She also decided on the first batch of quantities in early June. After a while, Gui Jijiu came in a hurry, and Hualei introduced Liang Xiangyi to Gui Jijiu.

After the Ministry of Rites announced in mid-April that the books for the imperial examination would be sent to the local areas, Hua Lei immediately found Gui Jijiu. Because the government wanted to send the books for the imperial examination to the local areas, then the books would definitely have to be printed in Shangjing City and then shipped to the local areas, which would inevitably require a caravan or fleet for transportation.

Hua Lei immediately recommended Liang Xiangyi's fleet and her own fleet that was being prepared to Gui Jijiu, and expressed her hope to obtain the government's right to transport books for the imperial examination, and asked Gui Jijiu to help recommend her to the higher authorities.

Of course, the benefits were also clearly stated to Gui Jijiu. If his two fleets could get the opportunity to transport the books used for the imperial examination, they would fully recommend the gridded, day-grid, and square practice papers from Gui Jijiu's printing studio when transporting the books used for the imperial examination to local areas in the future.