Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 659 Preparing to return to Beijing

The rabbit-raising village, wool-washing village, paper-making mill, and the cultivation of buckwheat and medicinal herbs in Qianhu Village were all described clearly. Hua bud must ensure that the person who takes over can carry out the next work without any hindrance.

After handing over all the tasks at hand, Hua Lei began to organize her own shops and farms. After the Ministry of Revenue completed the land reclamation and the Ministry of Works completed the construction of the provincial capital, Hua Lei's exchange business with the common people also lost its market.

Therefore, after Hua Lei asked for their own opinions, she placed the manpower originally used in the replacement business in various shops and farms.

However, Tian Changjin and Uncle Zhao still followed Hua Lei back to Beijing, and Hua Lei handed the account book to Madam Han.

Although Madam Han didn't communicate much with Hua Lei in recent years, she truly loved and cared for Jinnian.

Moreover, her own health was also very good. When she saw Hua Lei busy earlier, she had already helped take over several workshops and shops in the Marquis's Mansion.

This time, when he learned that Hua Lei was pregnant again and would be returning to the capital soon, he took the initiative to take over all the matters in Hua Lei's hands.

She also gave all the title deeds and land deeds of several dowry shops and farms in Shangjing City to Hualei, saying that they were for her grandson Jinnian and the child in Hualei's belly.

Even though Hua Lei tactfully suggested that the child was still too young and did not need so many farms and shops, Madam Han could keep them for herself so that she could have some income when she returned to the capital in the future.

However, Madam Han still waved her hand and directly put the small wooden box containing the house deed and land deed into Hua Lei's hand.

In addition, Madam Han also gave Hua Lei several boxes containing all her jewelry, saying that they were for the granddaughter in Hua Lei's belly.

Although she didn't know whether the baby in her belly was a daughter, and the baby was only the size of a grape, Hua Lei still accepted the jewelry boxes at Madam Han's insistence.

Madam Han probably never thought that even if Hualei was really pregnant with a daughter, it would take more than ten years for her granddaughter to wear the jewelry she gave her.

Hua Lei knew very well that her mother-in-law really looked down on her. Apart from giving her a bracelet on the wedding day, she didn't give her anything else.

But she didn't say anything unpleasant at the time, and was as polite as a distant relative. In the past three years since I came to Mobei, Madam Han has been indifferent to me and has never given me any valuables.

However, as a grandmother, she did what she should do. She gave what she should give. There was nothing to blame. These days, she held Jinnian tightly and refused to let go.

This time, under the pretext of giving it to her granddaughter, she gave all the jewelry directly to Hua Lei. Hua Lei happily accepted it. After all, Madam Han's taste was indeed good.

However, before handing over all the account books, Hua Lei also asked Madam Han's opinion whether she wanted to follow her and Rong Jin back to Beijing to spend her remaining years in retirement. She and Rong Jin would be filial to her.

Madam Han shook her head and said that although Mobei was bitterly cold, she liked it better than the Marquis' Mansion, and she liked the days with her husband more.

Moreover, he also talked about the time when Rong Jin sent him to Mobei. He said that at that time, when he knew that it was Rong Jin who set him up, he was still a little angry.

But now, she is very grateful to her son for allowing her to see different scenery and experience a different life.

The most important thing is that she is happy to be with the one she loves every day, even if she suffers some material hardships. Moreover, Pei Jingyang treats her like a treasure. Even in Mobei, he has never let her suffer.

Therefore, she would not follow Hua Lei and Rong Jin back to Beijing. If she really wanted to go back, she would wait until Pei Jingyang retired from Mobei, and then the two of them would return to Beijing together.

After hearing what Madam Han said, Hua Lei no longer insisted. And the gifts Pei Jingyang gave directly filled several cars.

There were gifts for Jinnian and for the baby in Hualei's belly, from wooden swords, wooden horses and wooden knives for boys to stuffed puppets and toys for girls, each one was more numerous than the other.

Pei Jingyang even sent five or six ponies of different ages, preparing to send them all the way from Mobei back to Shangjing City. He probably never thought that his grandson Jinnian was just beginning to walk steadily.

As for the gift for the baby in Hualei's belly, it was something simple and crude: a large box of jewellery and a stack of banknotes, telling Hualei to choose the purchases after returning to the capital.

Hua Lei counted it carefully. Good, another 50,000 taels. Where did Pei Jingyang get so much silver? Hua Lei couldn't figure it out.

Of course, Pei Jingyang did not forget Hua Lei. He gave Hua Lei a large box of raw jewelry stones, which dazzled Hua Lei.

It’s just that the aesthetic taste of this straight father-in-law is really not on the same level as Hualei’s, so even though Hualei is very happy to receive the gift, she probably won’t have the chance to wear it.

After sorting all the things into categories, Hua Lei carefully loaded them onto his own boat and had the boat take them back.

On the journey back to Beijing, all officials still needed to follow the route prescribed by the court. It was really inconvenient to carry so many things.

In late September, the director of the Imperial College had already left Mobei with all the students. They would travel and study all the way back, and Gui Jijiu also happily followed them back.

In early October, some craftsmen from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Works had returned to Shangjing City one after another, leaving only Minister Li and several important officials behind to hand over affairs to their colleagues who had just arrived in Mobei.

The prisoners who came from all over the country to help with land reclamation and construction then returned to their respective state capitals, and those who had served their sentences were immediately released.

Those who have not completed their sentences will be released early based on their performance. Those who have performed poorly or have been lazy will continue to serve their unfulfilled sentences.

When they left, everyone handed their assessment results to the yamen runners and officials who took them back. These people vividly interpreted the saying "the life you live today was decided three years ago."

The Ministry of Revenue was left last because it had to do the finishing work for various government offices. Specific matters such as distributing monthly silver to the people took up nearly half a month's workload.

The common people who came from all over the country returned home happily after receiving the last monthly salary from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works.

Finally, after Minister Li and Minister Zhang took the newly arrived officials to Mobei to conduct on-site inspections of the provincial capital and official fields, all matters were finally concluded.

Hualei can also return to Beijing.