While Lu Qiqi was making preparations for setting up her stall tomorrow, Song Yanqing had just returned to Xinjing.

Xinjingcheng, near the residence of the Crown Prince of the Northern Kingdom.

A man dressed in black sat upright in the main hall, his thin lips slightly pursed, listening to his subordinates' reports from the front.

"Your Highness, the Marquis of Anyang recently ambushed and killed a squad of Tartar spies at the border between Yuan and Qu. His Majesty has bestowed upon him a mansion in Xinjing."

The man paused in his hand as he picked up the teacup, and said indifferently, "He always tries to take all the credit for himself."

"Your subordinate has found out where the grain and military pay went."

The man said solemnly, "Continue the pursuit, but do not alert the enemy. I, the young master, want to see just how big the fish behind this is!"

After discussing the important matters, the man smiled slightly and said calmly, "Give the order that whoever brings my jade pendant should come to her door and do their utmost to fulfill her request, no matter what it may be, and report back to me truthfully in every detail."

"yes!"

The man said calmly, "Step down."

The subordinates left the main hall, revealing the face of the person in charge – who else could it be but Song Yanqing!

...

Manager Chen of Tongfu Inn was also in Xinjing at this time. He had just settled down in Xinjing and had someone present the Shu brocade painting of ladies that he had collected in Yushan Town to the Grand Madam.

Just as he was feeling smug and waiting for the Grand Madam to reward him in the future, a group of servants suddenly barged into the new residence.

Manager Chen was startled. How could he have offended someone so soon after returning to Xinjing, causing such a commotion? He was so frightened that he quickly told his wife and children to hide in the backyard.

After instructing his wife and children not to come out, Manager Chen went to the main hall to check the situation. He found that the person who came was none other than Manager Yan, the old lady's capable steward, and was quite puzzled.

After reflecting on it, he still couldn't understand why such a big fuss had to be made over a piece of Shu brocade, even if the old lady liked it very much!

Having seen a bit of the world, Manager Chen immediately greeted him with a smile, "Manager Yan, it's an honor to have you here. Please have a seat."

He then turned and ordered the servants to serve tea.

Steward Yan raised his hand and said, "No need to trouble yourself. I am here on the orders of the old lady to see Steward Chen. I have something important to ask him."

Manager Chen nodded and said, "You'd like to ask?"

Steward Yan cut to the chase, "Did you steal the Shu brocade painting of ladies that you presented to the old lady?"

Even though it was already autumn, Manager Chen felt a slight sweat. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "I acquired that painting of a lady from Yushan Town in the former Qu Prefecture. The customer who came to pawn it was a girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a loose-fitting dress, looking like she had fallen on hard times. She asked for three hundred taels of grain, which I couldn't afford at the time, so I exchanged the furniture, ornaments, and cloth that I couldn't take with me, as well as more than ten shi of grain, for one hundred taels."

Seeing that Manager Yan was silent and bowing his head, Manager Chen asked with a forced smile, "Is there something wrong with this painting of ladies?"

Manager Yan glanced at him and said indifferently, "Don't ask what you shouldn't ask."

Manager Chen quickly replied, "Yes, yes, yes."

Manager Yan then asked, "Was there anyone else with her? Where did she go after pawning the item?"

Manager Chen thought that Lu Qiqi had gone to pawn the goods alone, so he said, "She was alone. I don't know where she went after she finished pawning the goods. But she originally didn't want to flee and wanted to store up food and live in seclusion. I reminded her that the Tartars were coming to kill us, and she probably fled after hearing that."

Steward Yan nodded knowingly and said, "Draw her portrait, and I will take it back to present to the old lady. If there is any news about her in the future, report it to us immediately."

Manager Chen readily agreed and then instructed his servants to prepare paper and pen.

After finishing the portrait, Manager Yan left with his men. Manager Chen slumped into his chair, feeling that winning the old lady's favor was no easy task. He decided to just be a good branch manager.

Lu Qiqi was far away in Luzhou Prefecture and had no idea what had happened in Xinjing. She had just prepared the ingredients for her stall the next day.

He took another piece of cloth, wrote a spicy noodle banner on it, and hung it up for people to see.

She is currently drawing up design plans for the wooden house, whereas Lu Qiqi originally intended to build a brick house.

The thought of refugees entering the city to loot and vandalize, and the resulting instability, makes it best to avoid flaunting one's wealth for the time being, lest one encounter unexpected disaster.

She wants to enjoy this peaceful life for a while longer, so she can earn more money, build a big villa, buy land and mountains to plant fruit trees, and become a local deity!

Even though this wooden house was just a temporary place to stay, Lu Qiqi didn't want to rush things.

Lu Qiqi thought about how her family, Liu Tong and his apprentice, and the Zhou brothers built a wooden house together, separated by a wall, and that they could live their own lives by closing the door.

It avoids disturbing each other and reduces the time, effort, and wood consumption of building a detached wooden house, achieving three benefits in one go.

The Zhou brothers are still young, so they each have a room, plus their grandmother, making four rooms in total. The kitchen and bathroom are drawn in the back.

Lu Qiqi then drew three rooms for Liu Tong and his apprentice, adding a kitchen and a bathroom, just like they had done.

When it was her turn to live in her own home, Lu Qiqi drew a room for her: one room for Lu Yao and Xi Bao, one room for Li Changlong, one room for Lu Dahai and Li Shi, one room for Li Qingshan and Lu Shi, plus a kitchen and a bathroom.

The outhouses were built a little outside, five in a row, one for men and one for women.

If Lu Qiqi were to build a villa, she would build the toilet inside, which would be convenient in winter. However, she hadn't found a pottery shop yet. Once she did, she would renovate the bathroom to have a separate wet and dry area.

After Lu Qiqi finished drawing, she showed the drawing to Li Qingshan.

If it weren't for building the house, Lu Qiqi wouldn't have known that Li Qingshan's leg was a disability he developed when he was young and accidentally fell while building a house for someone else.

What could be more convenient than having someone in your family who knows construction?

When Lu Qiqi found Li Qingshan, he was peeling bark off timber.

Lu Qiqi stepped forward and called out, "Uncle, do you think my drawing is okay?"

Li Qingshan glanced at the blueprints and thought they were quite good. He smiled and said, "I didn't expect you could draw. This house looks great to me, but I don't know where the main room is."

Lu Qiqi drew a circle in front of the three doors leading to the room and said, "There is a large hall in front, so that from the outside we will look like a family. When people see that we have such a big family living down the mountain, they will not dare to look down on us."

Li Qingshan nodded and said, "Not bad. I'll show it to your third uncle and Chef Liu later. If there are no problems, we'll build it according to your drawing."

Lu Qiqi smiled and agreed, then asked, "Uncle, how long will it take to finish building this house?"

Li Qingshan said, "The timber is being cut down quite quickly, but it will take some time to transport it down from the mountain. Also, we only have one cow, so it will take quite a while to get it back."

Lu Qiqi thought, "Isn't this exactly what I'm good at?"

With her spatial ability at her disposal, transporting timber wouldn't be a difficult task. However, she would need to come up with a good reason to legitimately bring the firewood back, otherwise she would be mistaken for a monster and burned alive!