I trade in both worlds

At the Lantern Festival, there are not only lanterns of various shapes hanging high, but also exquisite handicrafts and delicious traditional snacks.

The lantern riddle guessing corner is extremely lively, with men, women, young and old all immersed in this unique festive fun.

Xu Ziqi and four bodyguards also arrived at the core area of the Lantern Festival.

This is where the most pedestrians and lanterns gather, and it is also the most lively.

They walked among the lanterns, stopping from time to time in front of a particularly eye-catching lantern.

The lanterns come in various shapes, some are painted with landscapes, some are carved with exquisite patterns, and some have interesting riddles written on them.

"Mr. Xu, don't you think this lantern is beautiful? There is a riddle on it. Do you want to guess one?" Zhang Feng said with a smile, pointing to a lantern with a painting of dancing butterflies on it.

Hearing this, Xu Ziqi looked up and said, "Okay."

After saying that, he walked closer and saw the words written on the lantern: "Pairs of butterflies come into the painting, dancing lightly like fairies. Guess what."

Xu Ziqi shook his head and said with a smile: "I can't guess, I can't guess, let's just watch the fun."

"Oh, what a pity." Zhang Feng said with a smile: "I thought everyone could have a lantern tonight."

"That's easy." Xu Ziqi pointed around generously, "Whichever one you like, I'll buy it for you."

"It would be boring to buy it." Liu Yun also said.

"How about you guys guess it?" Xu Ziqi pointed at the riddle next to him and said, "Here, this riddle is 'Grow old together and never separate', can you guess it?"

Zhang Feng laughed carelessly and said, "Look at us, do you think you can guess it?"

"Hahaha, no." Xu Ziqi waved his hand: "Let's continue shopping and see if there is anything else fun."

They continued along the street, through the bustling crowd, and came to a wide river beach.

A high platform was built on the river beach, on which stood a middle-aged man in gorgeous clothes, speaking loudly.

"Dear fellow villagers, today is the Lantern Festival. We in Youzhou City have specially organized a lantern riddle guessing contest. Anyone who can guess the lantern riddle in my hand will receive a generous prize!"

The middle-aged man's voice was so loud that it caused a commotion among the people around him.

Xu Ziqi's eyes lit up when he heard this. He immediately pulled the four escorts to the front of the crowd to watch the fun.

"Okay, then I'll give it a try!" A young man in a robe walked up to the platform confidently and took a riddle paper from the middle-aged man.

The young man in the robe looked down, frowned, and began to think seriously.

As time went by, his brows furrowed more and more. He felt as if he was stumped by the riddle and couldn't figure it out.

"Oh, what a pity, I can't guess it either." The young man in the long robe sighed, handed the riddle paper back to the middle-aged man, and said self-deprecatingly: "It seems that I don't have much talent."

The middle-aged man smiled and took the riddle paper: "It's okay, guessing riddles is just for fun, don't take it too seriously."

After that, he looked at the audience and said, "I'll read the riddle to everyone and see if you can guess it."

The middle-aged man showed the paper to the public and said, "The riddle is, a creature is born wearing more than 300 pieces of clothing, takes off one piece every day, and at the end of the year only a piece of skin is left."

The onlookers were all reciting the riddles silently, but no one came forward to reveal the answer.

Xu Ziqi also frowned and muttered, but he had no clue at all. He scratched his head and looked around, and finally stared at the middle-aged man, hoping that he would reveal the answer as soon as possible.

Seeing that no one had replied after such a long time, the middle-aged man smiled and said, "Since no one can guess it, I will announce the answer. The answer to this lantern riddle is 'calendar', because the calendar has a page every day, and only the last page is left at the end of the year."

Xu Ziqi suddenly realized what was going on. He patted his head and said with a smile, "Oh, why didn't I think of that? What a pity."

The four escorts also nodded regretfully in agreement.

Xu Ziqi and the four bodyguards continued to stay on the river beach and watch.

They watched the contestants walk up to the stage, take the riddle papers, and then either frown in thought or discuss with each other, and occasionally guess one or two riddles correctly.

The next day, Youzhou City seemed to have woken up from a bustling dream overnight and returned to its former tranquility.

Last night’s Lantern Festival was ablaze with lights and bustling with people, and the laughter and joy from all over the city seemed to still echo in the air.

But now it has disappeared, leaving only the faint smell of fireworks and lamp shavings on the ground, proving the real existence of that feast.

Xu Ziqi stood at the door of the inn, looked at the gradually brightening sky, stepped into the carriage waiting on the side, and set off for the capital.

After the Lantern Festival, Xu Xu and Xu Zi's future plans began to be put on the agenda.

Xu Ziqing continued to contact fabric manufacturers to purchase fabrics, while Xu Xu went to the clan leader's house to find the second grandmother to discuss asking the villagers to help make shoes.

The shoes made by my second grandmother are famous in the area for being durable and comfortable to wear.

"Second Madam, have you eaten?" Xu Xu greeted with a smile as he entered the courtyard.

The second grandmother was sitting under the jujube tree in the yard, sewing a pair of unfinished embroidered shoes in her hands.

Hearing this, he looked up and saw Xu Xu, and couldn't help muttering in his heart that the New Year had just passed and he wondered what she came here for.

Second Mistress waved at her and said with a smile, "Hey, Xuxu is here, come and sit down."

After saying that, he dragged out a small stool from behind and handed it to Xu Xu.

Xu Xu took the stool and sat down next to Second Grandma: "Second Grandma, who are these shoes made for? They are so beautiful."

"This is made for the embroidery shop. How can we farmers wear such shoes?" The second grandmother took the needle and drew a line on her head, then continued to make shoes with her head down.

"Second Grandma, I need to find someone to make some shoes. Do you want to do it?" Xu Xu asked.

Hearing this, the second grandma was stunned for a moment, wondering why she came to her to make her shoes.

Then, he pretended to be nonchalant and said, "Okay, I'll make them for you when I finish them. Are you in a hurry to wear them? If you are, I'll make them for you first."

Knowing that she had misunderstood, Xu Xu quickly explained: "Second Madam, I didn't make them for myself. I wanted to make a batch of shoes and then sell them."

Hearing this, the Second Grandma stopped what she was doing and looked up at her in surprise: "You mean, you want to hire me to make shoes for you?"

Xu Xu smiled and nodded: "Yes, you can also ask the aunts in the village for help, but I will only contact you."

Second Grandma understood what she meant instantly. She could take the job and do it herself, or assign it to someone else and earn some money for her hard work.

She thought for a moment and nodded, "Of course you can, but how are you going to do it?"