Xu Lanyin laughed again and said, "My brother is really good at checkers. Even Aunt Xu can't beat him."

Min Jia glanced at Xu Lanyin and thought, you still can't beat me.

Xu Lanting saw Min Jia's unconvinced look and said proudly, "When I play checkers, two words describe it: 'domineering'. Four words describe it: 'truly domineering'. In the checkers world, if you say I'm second, no one dares to claim first." He glanced at Min Jia again and said disdainfully, "Even my sister was defeated by me, let alone you."

You are as tall as me, and your hair is so thin. How can you be so domineering?

Min Jia's face flushed red from holding back, but she couldn't bring herself to say it. She had no other choice but to challenge his "dominance" by playing checkers. The little girl walked towards the small table where the checkers were placed.

Xu Lanting gave Xu Lanyin a look, meaning to see how effective my provocation is.

The two little men sat on the Arhat bed and began to play chess. Their checkers skills were equal, and they won and lost half of them, and they played game after game.

The little girl finally met an opponent, and was so happy that she forgot her original intention.

Xu Lanyin went to the small kitchen and made a fresh fried milk dish.

The snacks were crispy and tender, and the two children loved them very much. The little girl also completely accepted the little boy.

After a break, Xu Lanyin played checkers with her two children for most of an hour, and then took a walk by the pond.

The two little friends were holding hands. The little boy called Min Jia "Jia Jia" without any hesitation and called himself "little uncle".

Xu Lanyin was surprised by Minjia's quick acceptance of Xu Lanting and the warmth between the two children. She felt even more strongly that the girl wouldn't reject someone she liked and had a very kind personality. She had withdrawn into herself not only because of An's death and her family's attitude, but also because she'd grown up in the Min family in Beijing, lacking love, and felt alienated from the Min people who had lived away from home for so long...

In the evening, Butler Hao came to find Xu Lanyin and said that Minhu and Zhao Wu were busy with the case and would not be back today.

He bowed deeply to Xu Lanyin again and said, "Miss Xu, thank you, thank you. That embroidery is so beautiful and unique. I will take it to the shop to frame it myself today, and also go to the carpenter's shop to order a rosewood screen frame..."

Yesterday, when Butler Hao opened the embroidery, the fresh and unique scenery immediately reminded him of the atmosphere Xu Lanyin created when she hypnotized her master. He felt that this embroidered screen would definitely help her master's insomnia. Seeing it would remind her of Miss Xu's voice and the scenes in her dreams...

Xu Lanyin smiled and said, "I hope this embroidery will live up to its mission."

At 9:00 a.m. the next day, Xu Lanyin took her two children to Huichun Clinic to see Xu Lanting. Butler Hao personally escorted them with six guards.

Imperial Physician Fang had already heard that Xu Lanyin had the ability to make Minhu fall asleep. Now that he saw that Butler Hao had come personally to accompany her, he was even more enthusiastic towards Xu Lanyin and her brother.

He took Xu Lanting's pulse, prescribed twenty prescriptions, and told him to come back for a follow-up consultation in three months. He also said that after two or three years of treatment, Xu's condition would be greatly improved, and he might even become a general.

This made Xu Lanyin and her brother very happy.

When Xu Lan went to buy medicine, Butler Hao paid for it first, and the same was true for registration.

Afterwards, the group went to a restaurant for dinner and returned to Min Prefecture with the two sleepy children.

In the afternoon, Hu Wan's daughter-in-law Xu came to see Xu Lanyin.

Yesterday, Ding Gu delivered the things that the Hu family had asked them to bring to Hu Wan and his wife, as well as their own gifts, to the Hu family. After delivering the things, Ding Gu, accompanied by a small steward from the Min Prefecture, went to inquire about his son's whereabouts.

Mrs. Xu was a talkative woman, chatting and laughing with Xu Lanyin for over an hour, mostly about the department store. All the paperwork had been completed, and the store would be finished by next month. The Hu family was also mobilizing supplies from various sources, aiming for renovations and a trial opening by the end of the year. Because of Xu Lanyin's connections, Butler Hao, on behalf of the Min family, had accepted Hu Wansong's 10% stake in the department store.

Hu Wan has closed all the Hu family's stores in the provincial capital one after another, and put all his money and energy into the shopping mall.

The mall was quite large, and in addition to selling the Hu family's wares, it also recruited a number of other high-quality merchants, including the Fujian Xu Tea Shop, the Jiangnan Dongli Silk Shop, and the Fu Ji Winery. These stalls had good and spacious locations, and the annual rent was two hundred taels of silver.

"So high?" Xu Lanyin blurted out.

This rent can rent a two-story shop with a small courtyard in a not-so-good location at the port.

Xu smiled and said, "Those family owners have good relationships with my father. They also rented the place after listening to my father's advice and thinking that this kind of mall is novel and might have unexpected results. They're only renting it for a year. If sales are good, they'll continue renting it. If business isn't, they won't rent it again."

Xu Lanyin felt embarrassed to ask about her own rent.

Last time, she had suggested to Hu Wan that she rent the side building connected to the main building in the front, along with two attached rooms in the backyard. The side building would have a few tables and chairs where guests could buy snacks, eat, drink water, and rest. One room would be used to make snacks, while the other would be used to boil water for hot and cold drinks.

Xu Lanyin's previous thinking was that, from a personal perspective, if the department store did well, selling snacks there would quickly make the Xu family's shop famous in the provincial capital. Publicly, this was also a business feature that would benefit the department store.

Have Li bring an apprentice here ahead of time. They'll only make a few exquisite snacks, in small quantities, to build up the restaurant's reputation. Once they move to the provincial capital, they'll bring Xu Dashi and the others with them, rent another yard, and expand the business.

But the annual rent for a few counters was two hundred taels, and I wondered how much a few rooms at home would cost. It was so expensive, Xu Lanzhou and Qin Shi would definitely not be willing to pay, and they didn't have that much money.

Mrs. Xu noticed Xu Lanyin's hesitation and said with a smile, "My master left those three rooms to Miss Xu, and the rent is sixty taels of silver per year."

Xu Lanyin laughed and said, "How can I be so embarrassed? I'll just take what I should take."

Mrs. Xu smiled and said, "That place isn't a proper shop, so the rent is much lower." She glanced outside again and lowered her voice, "To be honest, Miss Xu, because of you, my master has established connections with the Min government. He doesn't need to spend a lot of money to cling to other high-ranking officials, which saves a lot of money..."

Although Min Hu was a deputy envoy of the Censorate, his father was the Minister of Justice, a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, and a close minister to the Emperor. Even the provincial governors, Censors, Generals, and Commanders would not easily offend him. If he could get close to him, he wouldn't need to get close to anyone else, and it would also lay the foundation for opening a business in Beijing in the future.

So that's how it is. Since Butler Hao answered the call, it means he can take it.

Xu Lanyin accepted the couple's kindness.

Just after sending Xu away, the maid from the outer courtyard came and said that Master Ji wanted Xu Lanyin to go to the outer courtyard.

Master Ji came to see her, most likely because of that big case.