Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 587: I am so happy

On the one hand, Hua Lei was worried that since she would not be in the capital this year, the people under her might be slack in their work and the tung oil or oilcloth they produced would not be of good quality.

On the other hand, the winter here is too long, with a lot of rain and snow, so Hualei specially prepared some extra oilcloth just in case. As a result, there was not much tung oil and oilcloth left in Shangjing City.

After carefully inspecting the newly arrived oilcloth, Hualei was very satisfied. The quality of the oilcloth this year is much better than last year.

The number also increased greatly. It seemed that the people in Shangjing City did not slack off because of her departure. Hualei was still satisfied.

Looking at the oilcloth in the warehouse, Hua Lei's mind turned slightly. She went home to discuss it with Rong Jin, and then consulted with Pei Jingyang. Then, Hua Lei wrote a letter and sent it back to Shangjing City to Lord Pei as soon as possible.

In the letter, Hua Lei carefully wrote down all the steps of how to make oilcloth with tung oil, and asked Lord Pei to find a suitable time to submit it to Emperor Shengwu.

After sending the letter, Hualei continued to deal with the things at hand. Leyangzhou's shop has also started business, and the main products sold now are down vests, goose down quilts and wool quilts, wool sweaters and other warm items.

Tian Xiaofu said that business was particularly good. In order to take care of the business in Leyang Prefecture, he decided to spend the New Year in Leyang Prefecture this year.

Hua Lei did not object to Tian Xiaofu's decision. However, she had already made a list of the people who would receive additional monthly salary in the new period. Tian Xiaofu was the first one.

At the same time, Hua Lei also posted a notice at the door of Baiweilou, announcing that Baiweilou had started a replacement business for all soldiers in the barracks.

If soldiers on their day off volunteer to go to the deserted mountains to collect items that Baiweilou needs, they can sell them to Baiweilou at market price, or exchange them for food and wine in the restaurant.

And what Baiweilou needed, from firewood, winter bamboo shoots, to chestnuts, hawthorns, game, and even medicinal herbs, as long as they could get them for free.

Everyone can use whatever they think is useful, and basically all of them are available in Baiwei Building. Soldiers can exchange them according to their needs, and everything is voluntary.

Since the Xiaowan tribe was conquered, there has been basically no interference from foreign tribes in Mobei. Therefore, the soldiers also began to have rest days.

However, the military camps did not have a unified rest and rest system, but rather each soldier took turns resting and resting. Usually, soldiers on rest and resting could sleep in the camp.

You can also go to the town to buy what you need or relax. I heard that there are several brothels in this town, and their business has been particularly good since the border was peaceful.

After all, there were thousands of soldiers in the barracks who were eager to take a rest every day. Hualei didn't know what to say about this phenomenon except to show respect.

However, she felt that there would always be some soldiers who would be more diligent, would need more money, and might also need to earn some money in addition to their monthly salary.

Therefore, Hua Lei discussed with Pei Jingyang and launched this replacement activity for soldiers in the barracks. Because Hua Lei also understood.

Relatively speaking, these soldiers are much more powerful than ordinary hunters. Moreover, they often go into areas that ordinary people cannot enter in groups.

So, there might be a lot of treasures hidden in the areas that ordinary people cannot enter. Even if there are no treasures, there will definitely be plenty of prey.

If these soldiers could be more diligent and go out into the mountains and forests on their days off to unleash their hormones, if they happened to catch a wild boar, roe deer, or even a tiger, that would be valuable.

In the past, there was no place to exchange with them, so they might not have thought of it. But now that Baiweilou needs it, doesn’t there seem to be room for them to do something?

Sure enough, a few days after Hua Lei’s news was announced, a dozen soldiers carried a wild boar, a roe deer, and several pheasants to Baiweilou.

The other two carried a lot of bamboo shoots, one carrying half a bag of chestnuts. The soldiers following behind them were determined not to come back empty-handed, so each of them even carried two bundles of firewood on their shoulders.

Their demand was to exchange for silver. Hualei asked Pei to settle all their belongings according to the market price. Even the three cents for a bundle of firewood was not left behind.

Finally, they were given 17 taels of silver and 300 copper coins, which made them so happy that they could hardly believe it.

This time, everyone was given more than one tael of silver. If you can earn one tael of silver every ten days of rest, then it is almost the same as the silver you earn in the military camp for a month.

The group of soldiers went back happily. However, Hualei also found that two of them went in a different direction, which seemed to be a brothel.

Alas, it is necessary, it is necessary, it is the same as wanting to eat when hungry and wanting to drink water when thirsty. It is not good for the body to be hungry all the time. Hualei turned away silently.

After a successful example, almost every day thereafter, some soldiers would bring some things over.

The most common items were various kinds of prey, as well as various wild fruits and other things. At the beginning, the most common item they exchanged was silver.

Later, he would ask for a few taels of silver to go to the restaurant with his comrades for a meal. Hua Lei asked Shopkeeper Pei to satisfy all these requests.

Inside the restaurant, the improvised dishes were enriched by the fresh game brought by the soldiers, which made many officials who came from the capital city, who were powerless, like it very much.

People who originally only came on holidays often sent their servants to find out what new good things were available in the restaurant today, and then called their friends to come together.

The restaurant's business is even better, especially at night, and you need to book a table in advance. Otherwise, there really won't be enough seats. Hualei counts the money every day, and her heart is filled with joy.

That evening, Hua Lei was looking through the account books in the restaurant's accounting office. Shopkeeper Pei came in and said that a few soldiers who had just delivered goods wanted to see Hua Lei and asked if it was okay.

Did they feel that the restaurant's prices were too low? Or did the waiter skimp on their portions? Hua Lei nodded. Then, seven or eight soldiers filed in. However, after entering, several of them looked at Hua Lei, but were somewhat speechless.

"Brothers, I am the owner of the restaurant. My last name is Hua. I heard that you are looking for me because of something. Did our restaurant's waiters make a mistake in calculating the goods you delivered? Was the unit price too low? You can tell me if you are not satisfied." Hua Lei said with a smile.