Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 269 New House

Hualei found that the decision to exchange chicken, duck and goose feces for goods was really a good one. It not only solved the problems on the farm, but also brought her endless ideas and surprises, and made her get a lot of unexpected wealth. It really fulfilled the saying that an unintentional planting of willows will bring about a shade.

While Hua Lei was looking for items that her mugwort group could still make, she was busy in the cornfield. Manager Chen from Sifangyuan asked Brother Youdi to bring a message to Hua Lei, saying that he had found another house for her and asked her to go and take a look to see if she was satisfied.

Over the past six months, Hua Lei has looked at several houses, but she either thought the location was not good or the houses were too cramped, so she has not bought any yet.

After Hua Lei received the message, the next day, she took Uncle Fu and followed Manager Chen to a house in Yongningfang. Yongningfang was located on the outskirts of the imperial city, on the same vertical line as Dingbei Marquis Mansion, but to the south of Dingbei Marquis Mansion, three blocks away.

The location is certainly not as good as the Dingbei Marquis Mansion, but compared with the locations outside the imperial city such as Qingyun Lane, it is already quite good. It is not far from the Imperial College, and the surrounding supporting facilities are also very complete.

The house is a three-story house that is 70% new. It is square, with three main rooms, which are also very large. There are east and west side rooms on both sides, and three east and west side rooms, which are also clean. There is a corridor connecting the main room and the side rooms.

There are also some auxiliary rooms such as the back house and the back room. The inner courtyard is very large, with two tall evergreen broad-leaved trees and some low flowers and plants.

The whole house looked very neat and well maintained. I got to know the neighbors nearby. Many of them were from the families of minor officials in the imperial city. I heard that Gui Jijiu's family seemed to be in this area. Hualei was very satisfied and asked about the price of the house. He was told that it was five thousand taels of silver.

The price was a bit high, and since this was the house that Xiaoyuan and I were going to live in together, I should ask Xiaoyuan's opinion. The next day was a holiday, so why not bring Xiaoyuan with us to have a look? So, I agreed with Manager Chen to bring Xiaoyuan with me to see the house the next day before making a decision. Since he and Hualei were old acquaintances, Manager Chen readily agreed to Hualei's request.

The next day, Hua Lei originally only wanted to take Xiao Yuan to see the new house, but after Rong Jue and Zhen Zhu heard the news, they also wanted to go and take a look. In the end, even Rong Jin went to the new house. Old Madam Pei was a little worried, so she asked Butler Pei to go to the new house with them to help take a look at the specific situation of the house and to inquire about the situation of the previous owner of the house.

After viewing the house, Xiao Yuan was very satisfied, and Butler Pei also thought it was very good. Hua Lei paid back another 200 taels of silver and bought the house for 4,800 taels of silver. After getting the title deed, Hua Lei finally put her mind at ease.

After searching for a house for half a year and looking at seven or eight places, Hualei was very happy that she finally bought a house that she wanted. She asked Uncle Fu to find a professional bricklayer to help renovate the house, and she also began to slowly look for various large and small items needed for the house.

From the wooden bed and wardrobe in the room to the pen holder on the desk, Hualei put a lot of thought into it, and everything was designed according to her and Xiaoyuan's preferences.

Hualei even thought for a long time about what to plant in the yard.

When we first bought the house in Qingyun Lane, we were short on time and had limited money, so we bought everything economically. Hualei's bedroom in Qingyun Lane still only has an ordinary wooden bed and a simple wardrobe, and of course the same goes for Xiaoyuan's bedroom.

Now that I have plenty of time and money, I should look for things I like and pursue my quality of life. Therefore, it took Hualei a long time to find the things I like.

Just after July, victory news came from Mobei. Lord Pei won a great victory in Mobei, annihilating all the more than 80,000 people of the Xiaowan tribe who had been harassing the border.

More than 23,000 prisoners were captured, and their leader was shot off his horse by Pei Jingyang in the battle, leaving no trace. In addition, more than 19,000 war horses and countless armor and weapons were seized.

The border victory report sent by Lord Pei at full speed was delivered directly to Emperor Shengwu of the Great Sheng Dynasty, who was very pleased.

It turned out that the Xiaowan tribe was a nomadic people who camped in a valley called Changling Mountain, which was seven or eight days away from the northern border of the Dasheng Dynasty by horseback.

When they ran out of rice and food, they rode out of the valley on horseback, crossed the grassland, and looked for weak points on the Mobei border to harass and rob, defeat the garrisons in the border towns, enter the cities of the Dasheng Dynasty, and rob all the rice, flour, grain, oil, and various resources in the city. They would then run away without any desire to fight.

The border of Mobei is too long, and sometimes the defense is not good enough. The people near the border are miserable, and the defenders of Mobei are very annoyed and unable to defend. This has become a thorn in the throat of Old Marquis Pei, and he has tried to remove it countless times.

However, because the supply of military camp logistics could not meet the requirements of the march, many sneak attacks had to be abandoned halfway due to insufficient rations, or failed because the weather was too cold and the soldiers' hands and feet were stiff and unable to resist the enemy.

Therefore, the supplies that Lord Pei had been asking Hualei for for the past six months were prepared in advance for this war. It is said that food and fodder must be sent before troops move, and this is not without reason.

Mobei is extremely cold in winter. Even in summer, the temperature in Mobei is minus 2-3 degrees Celsius during the day and minus 15-16 degrees Celsius at night. The down vests and knee pads made by Hualei can keep the soldiers out of the cold. They are also light and soft, and will not hinder the soldiers' movements.

There are also detachable sleeping bags made of cotton and chicken feathers, which can be unfolded and spread out to cover the horse's back to keep the horse warm during the march. During the rest period, the exhausted soldiers can also cover themselves with them to keep warm and take a nap. These are the best protective equipment for marching and fighting.

There is also the fried rice noodles made with the idea provided by Hualei, which also improved the diarrhea and illness caused by the soldiers in Mobei who could only eat cold, dry and hard steamed buns when they were out on patrol. Even if there is no time to boil water to make it, they can eat it directly with snow water, which is much better than eating dry and hard cold steamed buns.

Coupled with the meat floss, dried vegetables and salted duck eggs provided by the flower buds, the nutrition is still very comprehensive. At least the soldiers will not be unable to swallow food due to lack of salt, and will feel weak all over. This provides the necessary conditions for long-distance marches and battles.