I trade in both worlds

"Yanbin, we plan to renovate this house in the style of the Song Dynasty, restoring it to its original state and preserving its original appearance as much as possible." Xu Ziqing explained his ideas in detail to Chen Yanbin.

"Especially for the shop, since we sell antique furniture, it must be antique. As for the backyard, it is mainly used as a warehouse, but we also hope to maintain the original architectural style."

Chen Yanbin nodded when he heard this, with a hint of appreciation in his eyes. "It's a good idea, but it's not easy to renovate. These walls, tiles, floors, windows, and facades all need major repairs."

"Also, the original house didn't have a bathroom, so we had to rebuild it during the renovation. The entire renovation was not cheap."

Xu Ziqing and Lin Feng fell into deep thought after hearing this. It would take a lot of time and money to decorate this store, and they didn't know if it would exceed their budget.

"How much will it cost?" Xu Ziqing asked with concern.

Chen Yanbin pondered for a moment and gave a rough estimate: "It will definitely be over a million. However, this is just a rough figure. The specific figure depends on the actual situation during the decoration process and your choice of materials."

Hearing this, Xu Ziqing breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the price was within her budget. She nodded to Lin Feng.

Lin Feng looked at Chen Yanbin: "Yanbin, please give us a design plan and quotation first."

Chen Yanbin nodded in agreement.

In the following days, Xu Ziqing and Lin Feng began to get busy with the decoration matters.

She worked closely with Chen Yanbin's decoration company to supervise the progress of the project and select materials.

She requested that the original appearance of the house be preserved as much as possible during the renovation process, while incorporating elements and style from the Song Dynasty to make the store both quaint and fashionable.

While Xu Ziqing was busy decorating the shop, Xu Xu was busy experimenting with snow meringues and egg yolk pastries.

In the past week, the four children ran away when they saw snow meringues and egg yolk pastries.

Helplessly, Xu Xu had to divide the finished pastries into three portions, one to give to Feng Jie tomorrow, one to Xu Jizong's family, and one for the twins to take to Mr. Li at the clan school tomorrow.

The next morning, Xu Xu carried Xu Tiantian on his back and brought Xue Mei Niang and Egg Yolk Pastry to Jinxiu Pavilion.

Unfortunately, Xu Xu was unlucky as Sister Feng was not in the shop that day. After leaving the cakes and a letter to the chief steward Liu, he went back.

In the blink of an eye, it was the winter solstice again. The wind was cold and biting. Just like last year, the twins followed Xu Jizong and his son to the ancestral hall to worship their ancestors, and then went up the mountain to visit the graves of their grandparents and parents.

At 3:00 p.m., a burst of hurried horse hooves broke the tranquility of Xu Zhuang and the leisure of this winter day.

The villagers stopped what they were doing and looked towards the village entrance curiously.

I saw a horse galloping towards me. The man on the horse was wearing official uniform, with a sword on his waist and a serious face. It was Zhang Dali, the constable sent by the county government.

Zhang Dali tightened the reins, the horse raised its front hooves high, and stopped steadily in the open space in the center of the village.

He dismounted from his horse and strode towards the home of Patriarch Xu.

"Chief Xu, there is an urgent order from the county government!" Zhang Dali's voice was loud and full of energy, attracting the surrounding villagers to gather around.

The clan leader came out upon hearing the voice, frowned slightly, and thought to himself: Why would the county government suddenly send someone here on such a snowy day? Could it be...

"Detective Zhang, what's so urgent?" the clan leader asked, his tone steady.

"Chief Xu, the imperial court has sent an angel, who will arrive in Xu Village in an hour to read the imperial edict. You must quickly prepare the incense table, notify Xu Xu to come and receive the edict, and gather all the members of the clan to welcome him at the village entrance." Zhang Dali explained his purpose succinctly.

The clan leader was startled when he heard this, but then he smiled gently and said, "The angel's arrival is a great honor for Xu Village. Please ask Constable Zhang to take a rest. I will make arrangements right away."

After saying that, the patriarch turned around and called together the tribesmen standing behind him to make arrangements for welcoming the angel.

For a while, Xu Zhuang was busy. When the villagers heard the news, they spontaneously helped by cleaning the roads and setting up incense tables. The whole village was filled with an unprecedented festive atmosphere.

Li Wenyuan was teaching the children in the clan school when he suddenly saw the clan leader rushing in and announcing the news that an angel was coming. He also informed them that today's classes were cancelled and that all teachers and students needed to wait at the village entrance.

Although Li Wenyuan was doubtful, he knew that the matter was of great importance, so he did as he was told and took his students with him.

After Xu Xu received the news, he had already expected that it was the reward for growing potatoes last year.

So he rushed to the kindergarten to pick up Xu Qiwei, went home to change clothes, and rushed to the village entrance.

At the entrance of the village, the incense table was ready, the red carpet was spread, and the villagers dressed in festive attire lined up neatly, waiting for the angel to arrive. The patriarch stood at the front, holding the incense burner, with a solemn look on his face.

Li Wenyuan stood aside, and cast inquiring glances at the clan leader from time to time, but he only saw the clan leader smiling without saying anything, which made him even more curious.

"Chief Xu, what kind of purpose do you think this angel will bring?" Li Wenyuan finally couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

The clan leader smiled slightly, his eyes far-reaching: "Mr. Li, the emperor's grace is great. We just need to wait patiently, and we will understand."

At the time of Shen, the sound of horse hooves and gongs and drums came from afar, from far away to near, deafening.

The villagers looked up and saw a group of knights in gorgeous official uniforms slowly approaching, their horses' hooves trampling the snow, raising gusts of snow mist.

The carriage stopped and an angel in red clothes and a tall hat slowly got off the carriage, holding an imperial edict with a solemn expression.

He looked around, and finally fixed his gaze on the clan leader Xu Kaiyun who was standing in the front. His voice was loud and clear, resounding through the sky: "Xu Kaiyun, Xu Xu, accept the order."

The clan leader and Xu Xu hurried forward and knelt down to receive the order.

The villagers also knelt down one after another. The scene was so solemn and dignified that even the air seemed to freeze.

The angel unfolded the imperial edict and read aloud: "The Emperor, in compliance with the Will of Heaven, proclaims: The Xu family of Xuzhuang Village has been farming for generations, and their loyalty and honesty have been passed down from generation to generation."

"Now there is a girl named Xu Xu, who is extremely intelligent. She offered new grain to plant potatoes. The trial planting was successful and greatly increased the grain production of our Dayun Dynasty. This has benefited the country and will benefit future generations."

"I hereby grant Xu Xu the title of First-Rank Lady of Imperial Order, and award her with a thousand taels of gold and a hundred rolls of silk. I decree this."

After the angel finished reading, he handed the imperial edict to Xu Xu.

Xu Xu took it with both hands. When his fingertips touched the cold silk, an indescribable excitement and pride surged in his heart.

She knelt down and said in a firm and clear voice: "Long live the emperor. Long live the emperor. Long, long live the emperor."

Upon hearing this, the clan leader and villagers also shouted, "Long live our emperor, long live our emperor, long, long live our emperor."

The angel took out another imperial edict and shouted, "Xu Kaiyun, accept the edict."

The clan leader was stunned for a moment, then quickly continued to kneel down. Xu Xu retreated behind the clan leader and knelt down again with the villagers.