Flowers in full bloom

However, although the situation in the Marquis' Mansion was not satisfactory, Uncle Fu in Qingyun Lane had good news. Because of the gossip sent by Brother Fang Youdi, Uncle Fu took the initiative to buy 20 acres of high-quality farmland in the suburbs of Dongcheng District. Although the amount was not much, it was said that the location was good and it was high-quality farmland. The price was also not bad. He spent 160 taels of silver.

It was the middle of the year, and few owners were selling land. On the afternoon of the day he got the gossip, Uncle Fu followed Manager Chen to look at the land, and then he stuffed 160 taels of land payment into Manager Chen's hand beside the land. Hua Lei was also very satisfied when she got the land deed.

However, something happened in the bookstore that annoyed Hualei. It was caused by Brother Ping'an's objection to the storybook picture album. It was at the end of the month, and Brother Xiaoqun was not in the bookstore for several days because he had to deliver the next month's goods to the private schools that had signed contracts. Naturally, the task of selling the storybook picture album fell on Ping'an.

But Ping'an was originally resistant to this, so when customers came to ask him questions, he would ignore them. And it wasn't just the first time he ignored them, as he had encountered similar problems with other customers before. And this time, the customer was not an easy person to deal with either. In a fit of anger, he had an argument with Ping'an and later overturned the cabinet where the books were kept.

As a result, when the bookcase fell, all the inkstones on it fell to the ground, causing more than half of them to break, resulting in a loss of dozens of taels of silver. The incident was reported to the nearby government office. Although the government office ruled that the liability was split in half and the other party paid 20 taels of silver as compensation, the incident spread in the surrounding area, causing the bookstore's business to decline significantly.

After the incident, I heard that Ping An was beaten by Uncle Fu that night and knelt all night. But Ping An still refused to admit his fault.

By the time Hua Lei returned to Qingyun Lane and heard about this, it was already the fifth night. After learning about the situation with Uncle Fu and Aunt Fu, and greeting them, and having dinner, Hua Lei called Ping An to the main hall. Seeing Ping An lowering his head but still looking like he didn't think he was wrong, Hua Lei only said one sentence, "Since Brother Ping An doesn't like working in the bookstore, then he should switch with Brother Xile. Brother Ping An will go to the steamed stuffed bun shop to help out. Brother Xiaoqun and Brother Xile will take care of all the affairs of the bookstore together." After saying that, without even looking at Ping An's pale face, she went upstairs directly.

Hua Lei was also angry. Not to mention the loss of twenty taels of silver and the reputation of the bookstore. The matter had already been reported to the government. If the other party was powerful, not to mention the twenty taels of silver, it was estimated that the bookstore would not be able to continue to operate, and Hua Lei's family might not be able to stay in Shangjing City. Ping An was really confused. Not to mention that his family was powerless now, even if he was rich and powerful, in Shangjing City, where a brick could hit three officials, his family could only live in fear. He was just a student, but he dared to look down on customers who bought storybooks in Shangjing City. He was not afraid that one day he would be beaten to death in a corner.

The more Hua Lei thought about it, the angrier she became. If she couldn't change Ping An's temper this time, she would abandon this person, lest her whole family be implicated and die without knowing how.

The next day, Hua Lei took Xiao Yuan to buy some things, and went to the home of the troublemaker to apologize and return the twenty taels of silver that the other party had paid. She also explained the whole thing on the black board of the bookstore and apologized to the other party. It's not that Hua Lei is timid. Although the responsible government sentenced to open the business in half, her family runs a bookstore and a restaurant. If the other party is not convinced and uses a shady trick, her shop will be hard to defend. She is also worried that the other party will not cause trouble for her shop, but will directly find an opportunity to cripple or kill Ping An. Then Uncle Fu and Aunt Fu will have a hard time.

Uncle Fu and Aunt Fu only had two sons, Ping An and Xi Le, and no daughter. Uncle Fu followed his grandfather all his life, and Aunt Fu was a maid who grew up with his grandmother. When his grandmother got married, she was married to the Hua family. After his grandfather passed away, the two of them still loyally protected him and Xiao Yuan to Shangjing City. Hua Lei could not forget this friendship, so she informed them in advance this time, and she was bound to change Ping An's temper, so as to avoid bigger things in the future, which Hua Lei would not be able to deal with.

After dealing with the affairs of her own bookstore, Hua Lei asked Uncle Fu to find an opportunity to have a drink with Brother Fang Youtian and give him some cotton cloth, brown sugar, etc. She heard that Fang Youdi's wife was about to give birth, and that it was Brother Fang Youdi who gave the news that they could buy the good farmland this time. When Ping An made trouble and went to the government office, it was Brother Fang Youtian who secretly helped.

Hua Lei also wanted to repay this favor. Then, she took Xile to the printing house in the northern part of the city to inquire about the books for the imperial examination. Unfortunately, after more than two months, there was still no news. It seemed hopeless. Hua Lei had no choice but to pick out some newly published vernacular books and picture albums and bring them back to Qingyun Lane. She also brought back a commission of 100 taels for the purchase of grid copying paper from the printing house in Shangjing City. Although it didn't seem like much, it was only until the end of June. In the future, according to the settlement every quarter, there would be an income of 700 to 800 taels in a year. She didn't need to pay any labor costs, which was equivalent to getting it for free.

Of course, Hua Lei was also a sensible person. After receiving the silver note of 100 taels from Manager Liu, she quietly stuffed a silver ingot of 5 taels into his pocket. Manager Liu refused a little, but then he smiled and accepted it. For a manager like him who worked from morning till night in the printing house every day for 2.5 taels a month, this silver ingot of 5 taels was not a small amount. So when Hua Lei paid for a cart of defective books, she quietly accepted only 5 taels of silver. Both parties were happy.

When Hualei came out in the mule cart, she met the second steward whom she had dealt with before. Taking the opportunity of greeting, Hualei quietly gave him a silver ingot of two taels. Then he escorted her to the gate attentively.

Having worked in society for many years in her previous life, Hualei knew that if you don't make small money, you won't make big money. She also knew that it's easy to see the King of Hell, but hard to deal with the little devils. So sometimes it's necessary to pay for greater gains. In addition, she will have to cooperate with the printing house for a long time in the future. These two managers are people she has to deal with all the time, so she must handle the relationship well.

When they returned to Qingyun Lane, it was already late. After a quick dinner, they still took a bag of books to be repaired and asked Uncle Fu to take them and Xiaoyuan to the northeast corner gate of the mansion. Uncle Fu took the siblings to the small gate of the mansion and took a large bag of books to be repaired from the mule cart. Looking at Hualei's thin arms, he felt a little embarrassed. Just when he didn't know what to do, the small door creaked open.