Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 179 Encounter with Bai Yunhe

When he sat back at his desk, Uncle Fu calmly handed him a five-liang silver ingot. Did he think the ingot was too small or something? After receiving the silver, the official with triangular eyes was still half dead and holding the teacup by himself, without any sign of loosening.

Hualei was a little unsure, not knowing whether it was because of insufficient silver or incomplete information. Just when he was about to ask Fu Bo to give silver again, a colleague at the door leaned over and called him, "Lao Shi, let's go." The tall, thin official with triangular eyes left Hualei and Fu Bo and walked away without looking back. He didn't say what happened, nor did he ask if the information was OK? He didn't even say when he would be back.

Hualei was a little discouraged. Did they come too early in the afternoon? They had just started their shift. Just now, they saw that Lao Shi's eyes were still half closed. Did he not get enough rest at noon and was in a bad mood? But being in a bad mood is not just in the morning. Could it be that he is in a bad mood at noon as well?

Or is it that the weather has been bad recently, with rainy days, cold and damp, and maybe snow in two days, and now Hualei has applied, they still have to send someone to check, which is troublesome, so they are unwilling to approve it? Or is it that the information is wrong and incomplete?

Or maybe the silver was too little, but five taels of silver might seem like a small amount, but in the countryside, it was enough for a family to eat for a year. If I had to give him money like this every time I came, I might as well just go buy the official salt!

Alas, that's not right. Official salt is also limited. You can't buy it just by spending money. What should I do? I can't buy the expensive official salt even if I spend money. I don't know how to buy the cheap fisherman's salt now? But the farm really needs fisherman's salt to pickle things. It's really worrying.

Hualei and Fu Bo were completely confused in the office. But since she came in, Hualei only greeted Lao Shi and said that she wanted to approve the fishery salt, and she didn't say anything else. Now Lao Shi is gone, and she has no idea why. It will be useless to come next time. Only by knowing the crux of the problem can she prescribe the right remedy.

Then I could only wait. There were two stools nearby, so I asked Uncle Fu to sit down, and the two of us sat there and waited. Waiting without a cell phone was a long time, and this wait lasted for more than an hour.

Hualei was in a bad mood. She stood up and was about to go out. A figure flashed by the door. A person passed by. Hualei looked up and saw no one at the door. She thought she was seeing things. But a person walked backwards to the door again, stopped, looked at Hualei, and asked in surprise.

"Miss Hua..., why are you here?" The young man in a dark brocade robe asked Hua Lei. His voice was a little hesitant, as if he was confirming something. Hua Lei paused and looked at the person who came. Who? Who? Why does he look familiar?

"Bai Yunhe, Bai Yunhai's sixth brother, we met on the day of registration at the Imperial College." As if seeing the confusion in Hualei's eyes, Bai Yunhe began to explain. Oh, after Bai Yunhe explained, Hualei remembered that they had indeed met. She quickly turned aside to greet him, "Hello, Mr. Bai."

Bai Yunhe slightly stepped aside, gave a salute, and asked with a smile, "What a coincidence, I met Miss Hua here. However, this is to process the application for fishery salt. Why is Miss Hua here? Could it be that Miss Hua needs fishery salt to pickle some vegetables?"

Bai Yunhe knew about Hua Lei sending food to the Imperial College. He had been impressed by Hua Lei since they met in the Imperial College, and later asked his servant to learn about Hua Lei's siblings.

I know that Hualei's family has opened a bookstore and a steamed buns shop, and I also know that she has bought a farm. Many of the vegetables and chickens and ducks on the farm are now directly sent to the dining hall of the Imperial College, and she is still in mourning. So although I have been paying attention to her secretly, I have never disturbed her.

Today he had just delivered a seal to his elder brother who was a Yuanwailang in the neighboring Duzhi Department. Now that he had finished the work and wanted to return to the Imperial College, he saw the flower buds of the Fisheries and Salt Office.

Hua Lei smiled bitterly and told Bai Yunhe about her application for fishery salt. Bai Yunhe frowned after listening. He went up to the desk and picked up Hua Lei's documents. He read them carefully and said, "There is nothing wrong with these documents. They are complete. Why didn't he process them for you?"

Hua Lei shook her head and said helplessly, "I don't know either. I only said one sentence to him about applying for fishery salt, and I haven't said anything else. I don't know what the problem is."

Bai Yunhe frowned even more and flipped through the documents again. Indeed, nothing was missing. He looked up and told the servant outside the door, "Ah Cheng, go get Shi, the chief." In less than two cups of tea, the tall and thin Shi, with triangular eyes, trotted in.

"Um, Sixth Young Master, why are you here? Are you here to see Mr. Bai?" Manager Shi changed his cold attitude towards Hua Lei and was extremely attentive to Bai Yunhe.

Although the official rank of Mr. Bai next door is only half a rank higher than himself, he has the Dingxi Marquisate behind him. Although Mr. Bai, who was a third-rank official, has retired, the Dingxi Marquisate has produced many talented people. The descendants of the Bai family cannot be said to occupy half of the court, but they do occupy important positions in various departments.

The eldest son, Bai Liyun, led an army of 200,000 and was stationed in the western part of the Dasheng Dynasty. He guarded the western defense line of the Dasheng Dynasty like an iron wall and was the famous General Dingxi.

The second son, Bailicheng, is a doctor in the Ministry of Personnel, who is responsible for assessing the work performance of officials in various departments. The reason why he could not be promoted was just a word from Bailicheng.

He didn't have any strong backing to support him, and now that he saw Bai Yunhe, even though he was still a commoner, he didn't dare to offend him at all. He had to be careful, otherwise he wouldn't know when he would be dismissed from office.

Manager Shi was eager to move a stool to make room for Bai Yunhe. Seeing Hua Lei and her servant standing beside him, he couldn't help but widen his eyes and said impatiently, "Why are you two still standing here? Hurry up, I'm busy with something." Hua Lei was really amazed. Manager Shi's ability to curry favor with the powerful was perfect, and he could change his expression faster than turning the pages of a book.

Before Hua Lei could speak, Bai Yunhe handed the documents in his hand to Shi, and said politely, "Shi, can you help me check if there is anything missing in the application for fishery salt? Is there anything that needs to be supplemented? If there is, I will ask my friend to fill it in immediately."

"This..." Master Shi's face was a little embarrassed for a moment. He didn't expect that the ordinary little girl in plain clothes in front of him was the friend of the Sixth Young Master of Dingxi Marquis' Mansion.