Flowers in full bloom

There was the sound of stairs, and Xiao Yuan, who had changed his clothes, rushed into the study. Hua Lei said angrily, "Why are you in such a hurry? Be careful not to fall." Xiao Yuan saw Rong Jin, touched his head, and smiled embarrassedly.

"I'm afraid that Brother Pei will leave." Rong Jin smiled gently, and naturally pulled Xiao Yuan over, holding him in front of her. He carefully turned out Xiao Yuan's folded collar. Xiao Yuan also naturally leaned against Rong Jin. Hua Lei looked at him and couldn't help but stare at them. They had become so close so quickly, so naturally intimate.

At this time, Auntie Song brought over a tray with two bowls of steaming wontons and a basket of siu mai. The thin wonton skin revealed the color of shepherd's purse and pork filling, and the chicken soup was the base. There were a few oil stars floating on the soup surface, and a few chopped green onions and small shrimps scattered on it. Just looking at it made people's appetites grow.

The steaming siomai, with thin siomai wrappers and pure pork filling that is 30% fat and 70% lean, looks like a baby with a round belly and pouting mouth blowing hot air. There is a dish of vinegar next to it.

"Mr. Pei, young master, I cooked a bowl of wontons for you to eat." Aunt Song said politely, looking at Pei Rongjin with a kind smile. Hua Lei was reminded of the wolf grandmother she had seen in the book in her previous life.

Rong Jin thanked him and seemed a little hungry at this moment. He carefully took the bowl, stirred it with a spoon, blew on it gently, scooped up a wonton and put it into his mouth.

The delicious chicken soup with the thin-skinned and richly stuffed wontons filled the whole mouth. With a light bite, the fragrance of shepherd's purse and the deliciousness of pork blended perfectly together, not greasy, fragrant and delicious. After eating a few bites of the wontons, I followed Xiaoyuan's example and picked up a siu mai, rolled it in the vinegar dish, and put it in my mouth. The sour taste immediately filled my mouth, making my whole face wrinkled. Hualei smiled at the side, "If you don't like vinegar, you can dip it less, or not at all. Xiaoyuan prefers to dip it in vinegar."

Rong Jin forced himself to swallow the sour taste in his mouth and quickly drank a few mouthfuls of the wonton soup. He felt better then. Looking at Hua Lei's smiling face, his heart moved. Aren't country girls said to be dark and ugly? Why is Miss Hua so pretty?

In a blink of an eye, it was the second day of May. After seeing Xiaoyuan off, Hualei took Ping'an and Xiaoxiao to the printing house in the northern part of the city. When they arrived at the printing house, the manager had not yet arrived, so Hualei took Ping'an and Xiaoxiao to the defective warehouse to choose books.

About half an hour later, the second steward came over to say that the chief steward had arrived. Hualei stood up and took Ping'an and Xiaoxiao with the second steward to the innermost row of houses in the workshop, which should be the office area of ​​the printing house. They followed the second steward into the room on the left. The room was very large, with a long table for entertaining guests in the middle, with a chair at the top and bottom, and four chairs on each side, and a few books on the table.

At this time, a middle-aged man in his fifties was sitting at the top seat. He was slightly balding, with a few wrinkles on his bronze face. He wore a dark blue robe on his slightly thin body, revealing the shrewdness of a businessman.

On the left, the first seat was a boy of about sixteen or seventeen, with a face as beautiful as jade, gentle eyes and a sky-blue brocade robe with flowing cloud patterns, which made him look like a warm spring breeze, soft and moist. Hua Lei was stunned. The second steward only said that the chief steward had arrived, so he thought there was only one person, but there were two people sitting there. Who was this boy?

The two people sitting inside were also surprised when they saw Hua Lei. The second steward said it was a girl, but he didn't say she was so young. Only eleven or twelve years old? Why did she come to the printing house when she was so young instead of embroidering and writing at home? Hua Lei stepped forward calmly and bowed. "Hua Lei greets the steward and the young master." The two people sitting there also stood up politely to return the greeting.

The waiter served tea, and the chief steward politely invited them to drink tea, then went straight to the point, "Miss Hua, I heard from the second steward that you came to our place some time ago and bought a lot of floating single books and defective books. You also said you wanted to meet us. I wonder if Miss Hua has any advice for you?"

"I don't deserve your advice. Hua Lei just wants to find a way out for her own bookstore, so I took the liberty to come to the steward. Please forgive me."

"Oh, Miss Hua's family runs a bookstore, so Miss Hua wants to print books? Which set of engravings did you take a fancy to? Do you want to make official engravings or printing books?"

"It's like this, Steward. Some time ago, I bought a lot of imperial examination books from your shop. I found that no matter which batch of imperial examination books, they all used official editions. The paper used was very fine, the printed words were very clear, and the cover binding quality was also very good. But to be honest, the price is also relatively expensive, which makes many students, especially those from poor families, stay away from it. I was thinking, can I ask your shop to help me print a batch of imperial examination books suitable for poor students, using relatively poor quality paper, and the cover can be simpler. The main thing is that as long as the words can be seen clearly, at a lower price, the books can be affordable for poor students. I wonder if it is feasible?"

"This..." The head shopkeeper was shocked. He looked at the young man who was also stunned, and a glimmer of light flashed in his heart.

After looking at the flower buds, his tone became much more polite, "Miss Hua, I may need to ask our boss about this. I wonder if Miss Hua is willing to wait a moment." "Of course." The steward went out for a while and asked the waiter to ask the boss.

After coming back, he refilled Hualei's tea and continued chatting with her. Hualei asked a lot of questions about engraving and printing. After waiting for about half an hour, a little old man in scarlet official uniform hurried in.

The man had gray hair and a scarlet official robe that was slightly tight on his chubby body. He had a pair of round eyes on his chubby face. There was a thin layer of sweat on his temples and he was breathing slightly. He looked at Hualei with an expression of disbelief.

The butler and the young man immediately stood up, let the visitor take the first seat, and served him the warm tea. The visitor took a big sip before sitting down.

Hua Lei's mind turned, could this be the Gui Jijiu of the Imperial College that Rong Jin mentioned? However, the steward did not introduce him, so she just treated him as an ordinary host. She immediately stood up and greeted him, "Hua Lei greets the host."

The visitor waved his hand, "You, a little girl, want to print books for the imperial examination? You use inferior paper?" Hua Lei nodded. "Does your family run a bookstore? Where is it? How big is it? Why don't your elders come over to talk? Why do you let a little girl like you come?"

Uh, Hualei was a little upset. Although she was small, she was not a baby. "Please forgive me, my father and mother have passed away, and my grandparents have also passed away. Now there are only me and my younger brother at home. The bookstore is located at the intersection of Qingyun Lane and Ping'an Lane. It is not big, and it is not as big as the "Zhiyuan" bookstore on East Street. However, there are many students near my bookstore, so the demand for books for the imperial examination is relatively large. Hualei came here to ask, if you can help Hualei print it, that would be the best, if not, it's okay. Everything will be in accordance with your regulations."