Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 665 Printing Books

Because Hua Lei and Gui Jijiu cooperated in a paper mill when they were in Mobei, the relationship between the two families is now closer.

At the long table in the printing house, Hua Lei sat opposite Gui Jijiu and carefully took out her manuscript. These were some of the experiences that Hua Lei had started to compile in Mobei.

The upper part is about crops and farm tools. There are methods for planting corn and rapeseed, as well as rapeseed oil pressing techniques. The production methods of waterwheels, plows, square rakes and vertical rakes are all there. The lower part is about the production of various delicacies.

She wanted to ask Gui Jijiu to help print some of the manuscripts in the upper part and compile them into a book. Because she knew that engraving was not easy, she would not print the recipes for the lower part for the time being.

Looking at the thick stack of manuscripts in front of him, Gui Jijiu was very shocked. He knew that Hualei was kind and had extraordinary business skills, but he never thought that Hualei could do this.

Once this manuscript is printed, won't the money be flooded in a few minutes? The little girl is still as good at making money as always!

He had worked in the Imperial College all his life, but he had never thought of organizing his teaching experiences, compiling them into a book, and making a lot of money.

Moreover, carving and printing this manuscript would benefit the people. When Gui Jijiu was full of emotion and admired Hualei, Hualei proposed to buy out the carving board.

Buying out the carved blocks means that Hualei pays the money and asks Gui Jijiu to help find someone to carve the blocks. After printing the number of books Hualei needs, Hualei will directly take back the carved blocks and books.

Even the missing and incomplete books were all taken back. Without Hualei's consent, the printing house was not allowed to make additional woodblock prints, and the matter could not be leaked.

Looking at Hualei's serious face, Gui Jijiu didn't quite understand Hualei's approach, but he still agreed. In the Great Sheng Dynasty, such things were rare, but they did exist. As long as it did not involve the imperial power, woodblock printing could be decided according to the owner's opinion.

The two signed an agreement, which stipulated that three months later the printing house would produce the woodblocks and print three volumes first for proofreading. If there were no errors, they would print more volumes according to the number of volumes required by Hualei.

After finishing her work, Hua Lei returned to the Marquis' Mansion.

In the following days, Gui Jijiu personally sat in the printing house to supervise the smooth progress of the matter. On the other hand, he also decided to sort out his lifelong teaching methods, so that he could make a lot of money.

Three months later, Hua Lei received the engraved pattern from the printing house as scheduled. After proofreading it herself to make sure it was correct, she placed an order to print 200 copies first.

I originally thought that Hualei bought out all the engravings because he wanted to make the most of the rare goods, but I didn't understand why he didn't print a few thousand or tens of thousands of copies and sell them?

If a few thousand or tens of thousands of copies are printed, Hualei can just wait to count the money! When did Hualei stop liking to count money?

Gui Jijiu said that he could not understand Hualei. Hualei smiled and did not explain. After receiving all the books and paying the hefty engraving fee, he took the engraving back and did not mention printing again.

Isn't this a loss of money? The engraving fee is so expensive, and only 200 copies are printed. This is not profitable at all. Gui Jijiu felt sorry for Hua Lei. However, this was Hua Lei's decision, and even if Gui Jijiu felt it was a pity, he had no right to change Hua Lei's mind.

A month later, Hualei received the printed book. The simple words "Stones from Other Mountains" in small calligraphy on the cover were beautiful and elegant, but the book did not have the author's signature.

Smelling the scent of ink on the book, Hualei happily put the book into her own bookcase.

The weather was getting warmer, and Hualei was living a leisurely life every day. So, Hualei set his sights on his own Flower-Fruit Mountain.

The tea plantations on Huaguo Mountain are already lush and green, and the peonies and rape flowers are also in full bloom. At this time, the mountain is a beautiful sight with red and yellow.

Before they knew it, it had become a popular spot for many young ladies from aristocratic families to go outing and enjoy the flowers. Hualei also went to see it in person, and the scenery was indeed nice.

Therefore, I moved part of my own stall business there, mainly selling various kinds of flower cakes, matcha cakes and other snacks.

Sometimes they also add some fresh flower tea, which may not taste the most exquisite, but it is very suitable for the occasion and very thirst-quenching. Young ladies who come to appreciate the flowers always ask the maids to buy some, and the business is unexpectedly good.

As he had no time to live in his own cabin, Hualei made full use of it and rented it out like the Lotus Garden did before, with reservations accepted in advance.

Although the rent is quite expensive, it is always fully booked. Sitting on the swing in the cabin and looking up, you can see the colorful peonies across the street.

Below are the brilliant yellow rape flowers, next to them are the verdant tea gardens, and each hillside has a different scenery, which is very popular among the young ladies of aristocratic families.

Before they knew it, Huaguo Mountain had become a popular tourist destination, earning Hualei a lot of unexpected money. Hualei originally thought that business would only come in the spring.

Unexpectedly, there are endless visitors in summer and autumn. Even in winter, there are people who rent cabins and enjoy the snow scenery in Huaguo Mountain.

Hualei is very happy.

In the past two years, my own tea garden has been able to produce tea every year, and the yield is not small. I can make a lot of money from the flower buds every other day.

This year, I came back, so in addition to the normal green tea, Hualei also wanted to make some matcha. So, last year I wrote a letter back and asked Cheng Linsheng to maintain the tea garden.

Although both green tea and matcha have the word "tea" in their names, in order to make matcha, different cultivation methods must be used while the tea leaves are still on the tea tree.

If you want to make matcha from the picked tea leaves, you need to use shade cultivation. Shade cultivation is a simple tea plantation facility cultivation technique.

That is, shading materials are built above the tea trees or on the awning to avoid direct sunlight, lower the temperature, increase humidity, reduce evaporation, etc., thereby promoting the growth and development of the tea trees and achieving the goal of increasing tea production and improving quality.

When the tea leaves are germinating very well, they will be covered and cultivated for a period of time about twenty days before picking.

The shading rate is required to be around 70% in the early stage. As the tea leaves grow larger, the shading rate is required to reach more than 98%.

The purpose of covering and shading is to reduce the bitterness of tea and enhance the freshness. The content of chlorophyll and amino acid in green tea leaves covered and shaded significantly increases, making it more suitable for making matcha.

There are two commonly used methods of covering tea leaves: high-shed covering and ordinary covering. However, in the Great Sheng Dynasty, if high-shed covering is used, it may not be possible.