Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 458: Using power for personal gain

Looking at Yu Mushi, who had called her over but just held the teacup and said nothing, Hua Lei was a little confused.

"Master Yu, I wonder if you called me here because you have something to tell me?" Hua Lei asked carefully, slightly arching her back.

Lord Yu glanced at Hualei sideways, slowly put down the teacup in his hand, and asked in a slightly cold tone, "Deputy Envoy Hua, your steamed bun business is doing well, right? I heard that you always ship it over by boat, so it seems that your business is quite large."

Hua Lei was stunned, paused, and said truthfully, "Master Yu, business is not good. I just rubbed my hands and didn't make any money, but I shouldn't have lost money either."

"Didn't make any money? I heard that you sell hundreds of steamed buns every day, which is almost the same amount as a steamed bun shop. How could you not make any money?

If you don't make money, would you be willing to do it? If you really don't make money, why don't you just give it away?" Lord Yu said sarcastically.

Hua Lei sighed and said, "The money I earned from the steamed buns was given away in the vegetable soup, so overall, I really didn't earn any money. If Lord Yu doesn't believe me, I can show Lord Yu the account book of the steamed buns."

"No thanks, I don't have that much free time." Lord Yu put down the teacup in his hand and said, "Deputy Envoy Hua, I am just kindly reminding you that you are working for the court, don't abuse your power for personal gain and take the opportunity to sell your own business.

Otherwise, you will be in trouble, and as your boss, I will also be charged with poor supervision and dereliction of duty."

"Master Yu, I understand. However, I came up with this idea only because I saw that the people who were reclaiming the land had difficulty in getting food. And the vegetable soup..."

"You don't have to explain so much to me. I don't want to listen. I just want you to take care of yourself. Go out," Lord Yu waved his hand and said.

The bud returned to its place.

She also understood what Lord Yu said. Someone must have said something to Lord Yu, and it must have been said by the deputy envoy or the patrol personnel who were in the basin and supervised the area like herself.

However, the reason why she did this exchange business was not to make money, she just wanted to provide some convenience to the people who were reclaiming the land.

Maybe the person who gossiped about it, seeing so many people exchanging their properties, mistakenly thought that his business was doing well and became a little jealous.

What should I do next? If I really stop the steamed bun exchange business, it will not only be inconvenient for the people who are reclaiming the land, but I will also confirm the rumor that I made a lot of money.

However, if you explain it yourself, you don’t know who to explain to, and you can’t explain it clearly. Others will think that you have made money. Even if you show others the account book, others will think that you have cooked the accounts.

Hualei was in a dilemma. After thinking about it for a few days, Hualei decided to continue with the steamed bun exchange business. As for the rumors, she would deal with them as the situation dictated.

However, I'd better make the account book of the steamed bun exchange more clear.

In this way, Mantou was still exchanging soybeans and mung beans for the basin every day. And the rumor that she abused her power to make a lot of money also spread to the imperial study.

After listening to the words from the shadow guard, Emperor Shengwu thought for a while, then wrote and drew on a piece of paper. After calculating for two quarters of an hour, he sighed and asked Eunuch Fu, "Eunuch Fu, do you think Deputy Envoy Hua has made money?"

Eunuch Fu on the side did not expect that Emperor Shengwu would ask him about himself, and was stunned for a moment, then answered cautiously, "I am not very proficient in arithmetic.

But if we exchange a handful of soybeans for two black-faced steamed buns, Ms. Hua probably won’t make much, and her vegetable soup and mint soup are all free, so it’s possible that she won’t make any money or lose money.”

Emperor Shengwu nodded, then turned to ask the shadow guard standing on the other side, "What do you think?"

The shadow guard on the side looked at Emperor Shengwu's face, then looked at Eunuch Fu, lowered his head and said truthfully, "I also agree with what Eunuch Fu said.

And I heard that Mr. Hua’s vegetable soup is not just a single vegetable soup, but it changes every day and has salt and oil.”

After a pause, he added, "I heard that the soup delivered to the basin yesterday was fish head and tofu soup, and the soup delivered to the basin the day before yesterday was shrimp, seaweed and egg drop soup. The mint soup was also replaced with mung bean soup."

"Look, you two, who are not from the imperial examination system, can see things clearly, but a group of people from the Silin Bureau who are from the imperial examination system can't see it clearly." Emperor Shengwu knocked on the table and said.

"Can they really not see clearly? Humph, they are just judging others by their own standards. They don't get up early unless there is profit, so they think others are the same.

If they just use their brains and pen and spend two quarters of an hour to do the math, they will know whether they can make money or not. But they don't do it.

The rumors spread without anyone noticing, and some officials' good intentions of serving the people were eroded by such rumors.

At the beginning, he was wholeheartedly serving the people and was full of ambition. But gradually, because of rumors, misunderstandings, pressure from his superiors, and the inability to refute, he had to change himself.

So that you can avoid being criticized by others, get used to their coldness, and even become corrupt and harm others. You know, three people can make a tiger, and accumulated criticism can destroy a person. "Emperor Shengwu sighed softly.

"Then, Your Majesty, do you want to talk to Lord Mo? Or let the guards suppress the rumors?" Eunuch Fu asked hesitantly.

Emperor Shengwu looked at the paper on the table that was covered with his writing and drawing, and said, "Forget it, you don't have to do anything, just secretly pay attention to the development of the situation."

"I really want to see how true these loyal officials really are. I also want to see how long Deputy Envoy Hua, a weak female official, can withstand these rumors."

Eunuch Fu bowed his head and nodded. The guards on the side also retreated quietly.

"Oh! Hold on for at least three months." A low sigh came from the imperial study.

Hua Lei didn't know about the conversation in the imperial study.

Every night, she always thought, why not give up this steamed bun exchange business and do it for the last day tomorrow? Anyway, there is no money to be made, and all the colleagues and superiors in the Silin Bureau will look at her differently. It's not worth it.

But when day came, looking at the people sweating in the basin, Hualei thought, hold on for a few more days. These people still have six days of corvée labor, so why not hold on for another six days? Anyway, I didn't lose money.

Just like that, I wanted to persevere during the day and wanted to give up at night, over and over again, struggling between myself and myself, day after day.