The scholar got on the carriage quickly and knelt on one side. He lowered his head and respectfully placed the basket within reach of the person opposite him. "Your Majesty, this is what the Hua family gave you."
No one expected the emperor to come here. He lifted the curtain of the window and looked at the door of the Hua family. "Nothing else to say?"
"Yes, the person in charge of this matter is Hua Baiyu. Apart from the few words he said at the beginning, there is nothing else."
The houses in the south of the city were not bad, but that depended on where you compared them. The emperor had been to the Hua family in Hualin Lane, and compared with that place, this place seemed too shabby. But for a family that had its property confiscated and was exiled, this place was already very good.
The emperor suddenly laughed. He was becoming more and more curious about the young lady. He originally thought that she would be the one to come forward today, but he did not expect that she would let a child take the lead. This way of acting was really unique.
Lai Fu didn't dare to raise his eyebrows, his palms were already wet. The emperor originally asked him to pay attention to the matter, but suddenly changed his mind and said he wanted to see it with his own eyes. He didn't know whether the emperor no longer trusted him, which made him very panicked.
If he loses the emperor's trust, he will be dead.
"Open it and take a look."
Lai Fu instantly regained his composure and steadily removed the oil paper on the top of the basket, revealing three porcelain jars with white backgrounds and blue flowers inside.
Looking up at the emperor, Lai Fu opened the three jars in turn starting from the left, and held the first one up to the emperor.
The emperor took a look, took out a piece of fried noodles, turned it over and over, broke it apart with force, smelled it, put it to his mouth and was about to take a bite.
"Your Majesty!" The scholar and Lai Fu shouted at the same time. Lai Fu stretched out his hands, "Your Majesty, please let me taste it first."
The emperor ignored the two of them and took a small bite. It was crispy and fragrant. Hmm, it tasted good, so he took another bite.
Lai Fu’s heart was so nervous that it was about to jump out of his mouth!
The emperor laughed instead, "Even if she wanted to poison me, she wouldn't use those scholars as a scapegoat."
"Your Majesty is wise."
The emperor did not comment and put the fried noodles back.
Lai Fu put down the jar and picked up the second one.
The emperor took out a piece of meat jerky and said, "If I remember correctly, the Hua family should still be in mourning."
"Yes." The scholar replied, "I have checked. Although the Hua family made these meat jerky, no one broke the rules. Even the eldest daughter of the Hua family would chew the food and spit it out to make sure it was good or not."
After a pause, the scholar continued, "I have inquired carefully and found that the Hua family has not had any meat for nearly a year."
The emperor pretended not to hear anything, tore off a piece of meat jerky and put it into his mouth, slowly eating one piece after another. Before he knew it, he had finished the whole piece and was still feeling unsatisfied.
However, the emperor still had good self-control and his eyes fell on the third jar.
The scholar took a look and introduced: "This subordinate knows that it is a canned fruit invented by the eldest daughter of the Hua family. It was once sold in Yunlai Restaurant and was very popular for a while."
It was not convenient to eat at the moment, so the emperor just looked at it for a few more times and then looked away, lifting the curtain again to look outside.
The line was not as long as before, but the number of people did not decrease. Many students who were carrying baskets or had their baskets carried by servants did not leave. They were all looking at the Hua family's gate intentionally or unintentionally. They all guessed that the eldest girl was in that door, but no one dared to be presumptuous. While they were looking forward to it, they were also secretly disappointed. They thought that it would be the eldest girl who would show up today.
The line gradually shortened, until the last person received a basket, but the big girl still didn't show up. Everyone was sure that the big girl really didn't intend to show up today, so they dispersed in twos and threes.
Hua Boyu was not in a hurry to turn around, but still waited behind the table for someone who might come. His eldest sister said that he had to wait for half a day.
He didn't care when he saw a carriage leaving not far away. He turned around and said to his brothers, "No need for everyone to wait here. Those over eight years old can stay, and the others can go and rest."
No one tried to be brave. In fact, no one had much strength left after such a long time, especially Zeng Han. He was the youngest and had the worst physical condition. His legs were already shaking, but he was strong and managed to hold on without being exposed. He was noticed only when he could not walk steadily. He was led inside by the two older children, one on each side.
In the yard, how many people were there when they left? How many people were there now? Hua Zhi's gentle eyes swept over everyone one by one. Xiaohan especially looked at her a few more times, but did not approach. He just said in a gentle voice: "You have all worked hard. Go eat something and have a good rest."
"Yes, elder sister."
Zeng Han was still being led. After the incident with the Wei family, everyone had accepted Zeng Han as being on the same side as them. After today's solidarity, they had unknowingly regarded him as a member of the family, and because of his young age, they consciously took better care of him.
Hua Zhi was very satisfied with the result. Relationships are built through time and will only get better and better in the future.
"Go tell Bai Yu to let them take turns coming in to eat something."
Butler Xu went there in person, while Li De led people to put the remaining baskets in the yard aside.
"Everyone go away, there won't be many people left behind."
Nanny Chen knew that the eldest lady was a person who could tolerate others talking. She hesitated for a moment and asked, "Eldest lady, don't you need to make those things?"
"Not for now. If we want to do this as a business, you alone won't be enough. We need a whole workshop. But right now I have to take care of the seafood first. I haven't decided whether to do this or not."
Nanny Chen was a little disappointed. They were the old lady's people, and the eldest lady had brought them all to her out of kindness. But the eldest lady herself had people who were easy to use around her, and they didn't have much to do all day long. They were thinking that if they could continue to do this, they would not have to eat for free. Alas!
Hua Zhi understood her idea immediately, but she really had no idea of expanding this business for the time being. Lack of manpower was one reason, and another reason was that the customer base of these two things was relatively specific. Only traveling merchants, escort agencies, travelers, and other people who needed to travel could use them. The market was neither big nor small, and there were many substitutes, which made it not attractive enough to her.
In fact, there is a best place for this thing, but it is not up to her to decide. She really doesn't want to let others get it for free. Anyway, Yan Xi is not the one in charge, so she won't try to gain advantage.
However, these maids have been with my grandmother for decades, and it is really a waste for them to spend their time on trivial matters every day. After thinking about it, Hua Zhi said, "I wonder if the maids are willing to come forward and take care of things for me."
Nanny Chen's eyes lit up, "Just give your orders, young lady."
"The seafood shop is about to open, and I need someone to take care of the seafood for me. It's just a tedious job, and there are many varieties to be careful of. I'm afraid that Nanny Chen..."
"I'll go!" After saying this, Nanny Chen realized that she had interrupted the eldest girl and quickly bowed to apologize.
Hua Zhi made a false promise, "I'll list the things that need attention, Ma'am, please take them to heart."
"Yes, I will definitely take good care of it for you."
PS: Some people still ask about the micro blog name: Migu author Kongliu