Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 460 I Know You Are Behind Me

And Hualei smiled and said to him, "Being afraid to move forward and giving up halfway is not what I want. Sometimes, the direction against the wind is more suitable for flying.

My grandfather once told me, do not do evil, no matter how small it is, and do not refrain from doing good, no matter how small it is. So I also want to see how long I can last in this officialdom with my courage, so that I can give Xiaoyuan a reference.

At the same time, I also want to tell Xiaoyuan that as long as his life is not at stake, he should persist when he should, and change when he can.

It is better than not daring to try anything, and letting yourself become spineless, crawling on the ground and begging for mercy from others just because of a few rumors.

Of course, more importantly, I know that I have you and the Zhenbei Marquisate behind me, so I have more courage to hold on a little longer. If it weren't for you and the Zhenbei Marquisate, I might have given up. "

In fact, Hua Lei did not lie. When the rumor started, Lord Pei told her that as long as she had a clear conscience, she could stick to the steamed bun exchange business, and the Zhenbei Marquisate would cover her.

Being an official sometimes requires courage, which will help you see the moon and the light at the end of the tunnel. If you keep compromising and giving in, you will only end up in a dead end.

This is the same as what Madam Pei taught her: if you kneel for too long, you won't be able to stand up. So with Master Pei's words, Hua Lei became more determined to do what she wanted. And her steamed bun replacement business finally went on smoothly.

It's just that I did use some strategies instead of just sitting there and waiting for others to find their conscience.

Three months later, Hualei unexpectedly received a reward from Emperor Shengwu, but the reward was a little strange. It was a handful of gold beads in the shape of soybeans, and a black jade ornament in the shape of a steamed bun.

This... these gold beads can be used, they are quite practical. But, this black jade bun is too expensive, right? It is weird, black, and does not look good on the table. And I can't pawn it. I don't know what Emperor Shengwu is thinking.

In fact, this is really a case of Hualei not recognizing the gold and jade. This dark jade ornament is actually a very rare black agate from the Great Sheng Dynasty, which was a tribute sent from Liaodong Prefecture in the east.

Black agate can generally be processed into beads, jade plaques, etc. One as big as a steamed bun is really rare and precious. It also has a very good meaning, representing friendliness, love and wealth. It was specially selected by Emperor Shengwu.

However, Hualei, who was "blind" and "mistakenly took a phoenix for a pheasant", still adhered to his usual way of being an official and went to the Ministry of Rites with a happy face to receive the reward.

Then he locked the pile of gold beads and the black jade bun in the warehouse. And the rumors about Hualei abusing her power for personal gain finally disappeared.

So, Hualei started the steamed bun exchange business peacefully. I don't know if it was because the rumor was too strong or for some other reason.

Not long after, the villagers who were doing corvée labor in the basin also heard the rumors about Hualei making a lot of money by exchanging steamed buns. The villagers were very disdainful of these rumors.

Are these people who spread rumors brainless? They are from the imperial examination system. Even if they are illiterate, they know that Hua Da Ren’s steamed buns can’t earn much money, not to mention the free vegetable soup and mint water. Maybe they have to subsidize some money.

Alas, such a good official was slandered and framed, and had to pay for it himself. It was really too difficult for a little girl.

Therefore, the villagers who came to exchange soybeans unknowingly increased their soybeans from a small handful to a large handful. Sometimes, they would pick a handful of mugwort and cut some firewood on their way to and from labor service. They would pick whatever they could find on the roadside and give it to Hualei for free.

The number of one person is not much, but there are many villagers doing corvée. A little bit adds up to a lot, and before he knew it, every evening when Uncle Fu finished work and went home, he would bring back most of the boatload of mugwort and firewood.

Hualei certainly would not refuse the kindness of the villagers, and happily accepted the firewood they gave her and sent it back to the farm. At the same time, she also asked Uncle Fu to make the steamed buns a little bigger and firmer.

Moreover, this steamed bun exchange business has been going on for five or six years, until the entire barren mountain was completely reclaimed, and then this steamed bun exchange business became obsolete.

However, the news that Mr. Hua was a truly good and honest official spread among the people nearby without anyone noticing, and before Hua Lei knew it, he had already established a good image for himself.

Huaji steamed buns also became a synonym for kindness. Moreover, many years later, it also benefited Xiaoyuan, who had just started his career as an official, which was something Hualei had never expected.

The grandfather's advice, "Do not neglect small acts of kindness," became the Hua family's ancestral motto. A small act of kindness helped Hua Lei and her brother to advance better and better in their official careers.

Soon, it was early June. Yuanying Village planted a lot of cucumbers for dyeing. The weather was a bit hot now, so Hualei, who was greedy, prepared to make some jade jelly cakes.

I went to the farm to pick some fresh cucumbers, washed them, and cut them into small pieces without peeling them. I added peeled pears and put them into a small stone mill and ground them into a paste.

Then filter out the residue with gauze, squeeze out the juice, add some maltose or honey, and add some fine rice flour.

In addition, to make a pot of tea for the occasion, Hua Lei specially bought some green tea from Mingxiang Pavilion, as the green tea on the barren hill at home could not be picked yet.

Use boiling water that has been left for a while to brew Green Car, simmer for a while, pour the tea into the cucumber juice, stir evenly, then heat over low heat, and after the juice boils, pour it into the mold prepared in advance and wait for it to cool naturally.

After an hour or two, turn the mold upside down and the jade jelly is ready. The light green paste is crystal clear, lush and very beautiful.

Carefully arrange the dish and you can eat it directly. The Jade Jelly Cake has both the fragrance of green tea and the fruity aroma of cucumber. It tastes lightly sweet and refreshing.

If you like the taste too light, you can sprinkle some osmanthus honey on it. The taste will be unique, refreshing, sweet and very delicious.

Hualei made some and sent some to Old Madam Pei. Similarly, Hualei also sent some to Zhenzhu. Zhenzhu was now focusing a lot of her attention on taking care of her daughter and had little time to prepare food for herself.