Flowers in full bloom

Seeing that it was almost time, Hualei and Xiaoqun went straight back to the house in Qingyun Lane. Since both stores were busy recently, Xiaoxiao was helping out in the front and had no time to repair books.

After thinking about it, he took a large bag of books that needed repairing with him before going to the mansion, and also took a few large pieces of grid-lined copy paper from the bookstore and brought them over, and asked Xiaoyuan to give them directly to Master Hu in the clan school. After having an early dinner in Qingyun Lane, he asked Uncle Fu to drive a mule cart to take Xiaoyuan and him to the small gate in the northeast corner of the mansion.

After returning to Qihua Courtyard through the small gate, he asked Qingying to go to Songhe Courtyard to report to Chen Madam, who was beside Old Madam Pei, and he would not go there. At this time, in Songhe Courtyard, everyone was sitting at three large tables, eating dinner. Rong Jin, who was sitting in the outer room, saw Qingying coming over and thought that Hualei and her brother had returned. He was about to get up to pick up Xiaoyuan, but saw Qingying saying a few words to Chen Madam and turning away. Only then did he realize that Hualei and her brother did not come. Rong Jin was a little disappointed.

He still couldn't figure out his own heart. He felt happy every time he saw Hualei, but he didn't think of Hualei when they were not together, which was very strange. But when he thought of his mother's nagging words and her dark face in Changfeng Garden at noon, he felt depressed.

Hualei and Xiaoyuan took a bath and walked slowly in the yard. Because the doctor told Xiaoyuan that he was a little thin, it would be better to start practicing after he recovered. Therefore, Hualei did not let Xiaoyuan do exercises or squat during this period. He just extended the walking time a little. When the time was almost up, the two went back to their rooms.

Hua Lei sorted out all the books to be repaired and put them in the study room, then took out the history book borrowed from Rong Jin and slowly read it. On the slightly curled history book, there were Rong Jin's annotations, which should have been left by Rong Jin when he was studying. The handwriting was neat and clear. Hua Lei understood the parts that she didn't understand in the previous class after reading the textbooks and annotations. Hua Lei was actually a person who learned everything quickly and was hardworking.

The following days were almost the same. After washing up in the morning, the brother and sister went to Songhe Hall to pay their respects, and every time, Madam Pei would prepare breakfast for them. Pearl sometimes came, sometimes not, and after a good breakfast, Hualei would always accompany the old lady to walk around the small garden to help digestion.

Then I went to the girls' school. There was no fixed number of students, with more today and fewer tomorrow. It was a long time before Hua Lei realized that, except for the classes for learning to read and write and the Book of Filial Piety for the lower grades, the classes for the higher grades were basically electives. You could go if you wanted to study, and you could not go if you didn't want to study. You could not go for courses that you thought you had learned well, or you could not go for courses that you had learned poorly or were bored with. You could not go if it was hot, or you could not go if it rained. It all depended on your personal wishes.

But regardless of the weather, whether it was rainy or hot, regardless of whether she was good at learning or not, Hualei would always show up on time. Even though Hualei could only sew a button in the embroidery class, she never missed a class. Every time Master Shi saw her fingers full of needle holes, he would dislike her at first, then be speechless, then gently persuade her to give up, and finally persuade her to give up directly, but she never missed a class.

In the calligraphy class, Master Sun said that Hualei's calligraphy has surpassed many of her peers. As long as she practices, Hualei will be there every time.

The most amazing thing is Hualei's chess skills. She becomes stronger when facing stronger opponents and weaker when facing weaker opponents. Her level is getting better and better. She has lost to Zhenzhu who has never won a game before, and she has also made Han Qingge who rarely loses in the girls' school be defeated every time. Even if she occasionally plays against Master Guo, Master Guo feels the excitement of meeting a worthy opponent and being evenly matched.

Hualei feels that the thing that has improved the most is playing the qin. At the beginning, she couldn't recognize all the notes of Gong, Shang, Jiao, Zheng, and Yu, but now she can play simply according to the score. Although she is still a long way from being fluent, Hualei still feels very accomplished.

I don't know when Hua Lei became a special person in the eyes of others. In the clan school, there is also a special person, that is Hua Moyuan, who has now been promoted from the small class to the middle class, becoming the youngest student in the middle class in terms of age and height. And his daily running exercises and horse stances have gradually caught up with the teacher's requirements. He has become the most hardworking and diligent student in the clan school.

Every afternoon, after taking a nap, Hualei would go horseback riding if Zhenzhu invited her. If Zhenzhu didn't come, she would review the morning's lessons and put a small table and a few chairs under a big tree in the yard, where she would chat and laugh with the girls while reading or mending books.

Because there were many kinds of books brought and the maids in the courtyard were all literate, they all scrambled to read the storybooks and picture albums at first. Although their monthly salary was not low, they still had to give it to their parents to supplement the family income, so they were reluctant to buy storybooks and picture albums. Therefore, the books brought by Hualei satisfied their little wishes.

As they watched, they began to help Hualei with scissors and sew books. Gradually, the number of people helping to repair books increased from one or two to the maids in the back yard. Hualei never said anything. When they were reading, she would talk to them about the contents of the books with a smile on her face. When they helped to repair books, she would also tell them about some interesting things outside with a smile on her face. Then at the end of the month, she would quietly put half a tael of copper coins under their pillows.

The whole courtyard was full of joy. Sometimes when she and Zhenzhu came back on horseback, she would see that even when she was not there, the maids in the courtyard had already repaired the books that needed to be repaired. Zhenzhu envied her more than once, saying that she had a good way of managing her subordinates.

Zhenzhu had been staying in Qihuayuan almost every afternoon during this period. At this moment, she was lying on the reclining chair that Hualei had placed under the magnolia tree, holding a storybook in her hand, chatting with Hualei who was repairing a book, and there was tea on the small table next to the reclining chair.

At this time, Mrs. Zhang from the concierge came in and said that the cousin had come. Hualei and Zhenzhu were both startled. Why would Han Qingge come? However, since she had already arrived at the door, it was impossible not to let her in. Hualei patted the paper scraps on her body and went out to greet the guest.

Han Qingge was wearing a narrow green shirt made of thin, bamboo-colored crepe satin on the upper body and an emerald blue skirt on the lower body. She stood there delicately and gracefully. Hua Lei looked at her. The clothes were made of fine material and were finely crafted. It would have looked nice even if a piece of wood was worn underneath. However, with Han Qingge's slightly dark skin, the whole set of fresh and refined clothes really looked a bit earthy.

Hua Lei smiled and walked forward, "Miss Han, you are such a rare guest. Please come in. Sister Zhenzhu is here too." Han Qingge moved lightly and said with a smile, "Sorry to bother you, sister Hua. I am bored in the yard and want to come to visit you to relieve my boredom." "Welcome, welcome." Hua Lei asked Han Qingge to sit on a round stool next to the recliner in the yard and asked the maids to serve tea. "Why didn't cousin accompany my mother today and come here?" Zhenzhu stood up and asked in confusion.