As An Moxue and Wu Sicheng emerged from the narrow alley, An Moxue remarked, "The food here is quite unique. Although it's prepared using local methods, it's still nice to come here once in a while."

He took her hand and said apologetically, "I'll take you to eat something else delicious next time. I didn't expect that just wanting to relax for a while would lead to so much trouble, completely ruining your hard-won peace. I'm sorry, Mo Xue."

An Moxue's eyes darted around, and she asked slyly, "So how are you going to make it up to me?"

Wu Sicheng glanced around the alley; there was no one around. He moved closer to her and said in a low, husky voice, somewhat coaxingly, "I'll give myself to you as compensation, do you want me?"

Without a second thought, she decisively refused: "No." She wasn't going to do a losing proposition! Besides, she'd be the one losing money, and she wasn't ready for that yet.

He said, his voice tinged with disappointment, "Fine! Then I can only compensate you with something else. Let's go! I'll sell you and get something in return."

An Moxue was a little curious. She thought they were just having a meal and nothing else, but it seemed he had other plans. "What are you looking at?"

Wu Sicheng smiled mysteriously: "It's a secret. Are you going or not?"

"Go ahead, if you can sell me, that's impressive." After saying that, he laughed out loud.

The two got into the car, and An Moxue took the bouquet of flowers in her hand again, playing with it over and over.

The car started, and the two people left.

Looking at her expression, Wu Sicheng asked, "Do you like it very much?"

“Of course, this is the first bouquet of flowers you’ve ever given me since I’ve known you, and the first bouquet of flowers I’ve ever received. Of course I like it,” An Moxue said matter-of-factly. After saying that, she lowered her head and smelled the flowers in her hand.

If she didn't like them, why were all the plants in her space courtyard roses? They never faded, always in bloom, and even the essential oils she used were rose-themed.

The moment he saw the boy selling flowers, he wanted to buy some for her. He had known her ever since, and she always had a faint rose scent on her, so he guessed that she must really like roses, otherwise the rose scent on her body wouldn't have remained unchanged for so many years.

"Alright, you have to keep your word! Otherwise, people who break their promises have no credibility with me."

An Moxue watched him drive a long way, then into the alley, and even further in, before asking curiously, "Where are you taking me? What are you going to do with me?"

Wu Sicheng wouldn't say anything: "Shh, don't ask yet, there's a surprise coming soon."

An Moxue protested: "What! Making it so mysterious. If I'm not surprised in a little while, you'll have to practice with me all night. I haven't had a proper workout in ages."

Wu Sicheng thought to himself, "What's this? I'm more than happy to be with you." "Okay, I can keep you company if there's a surprise. What, are you itching to stay?"

"I haven't really stretched my muscles in a long time, I'm afraid they'll rust. I just practice every morning, and I never feel like I've had enough."

Wu Sicheng smiled faintly: "Then when we come out later, I'll find a place to keep you company."

"Hurrah!"

Seeing how happy she was, he felt like he had found a way to be with her.

As they were talking, the car stopped in front of a gate. The two people got out of the car, and Wu Sicheng knocked on the gate.

A moment later, hurried footsteps sounded, accompanied by a reply: "Coming, coming, please wait a moment."

As he stopped, the door opened, revealing an elderly man. Seeing Wu Sicheng, he smiled and said, "Comrade Wu, you're here! Come in quickly. Your order is ready, but it still needs one last coat of oil; it'll take a few more days. Would you like to take a look first?"

"Okay, thank you, Uncle Bao. I just wanted to check on the progress today."

He glanced at An Moxue, then looked away and said, "Please come with me."

As he spoke, he led the two people inside.

He stopped in front of a side room and said, "There will be a faint smell of varnish, but it will disappear after it dries. This is traditional varnish, extracted entirely from trees, so it's very safe. Unlike some industrial paints, which, although brightly colored, have a strong, irritating smell that I don't like. But these days, many young people like that kind of paint; they don't know its value. The things from our ancestors are still the best; they have a certain charm. Two coats of varnish have already been applied. Come in!" As he spoke, Old Bao opened the door, and sure enough, there was a faint woody fragrance mixed with a light smell of varnish.

Once inside, he talked as the two of them looked at the furniture.

Old Bao sighed and said, "These carvings took me a lot of time. I carved them secretly when I had nothing to do. I thought they would end up in the stove pit, but unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better. The government reformed and stopped investigating these things. It just so happened that I needed them. Otherwise, these carvings would have taken a year and a half to complete, not to mention assembling and painting them."

An Moxue looked at the furniture in front of her with delight and asked, "Are these all made of red pine?"

Old Bao said with a touch of pride, "No, the bed is made of sandalwood, which is my treasured wood. If Comrade Wu hadn't said that the bed could be made according to my principles, I wouldn't have been willing to make it!" As he spoke, he pointed to the wooden bed not far away.

An Moxue took a closer look and saw that it was a four-box bed. The headboard had a retro openwork pattern of plum blossoms, dragons, phoenixes and auspicious clouds, and the footboard had an openwork pattern of plum blossoms. When she got closer, she could also smell a faint woody fragrance.

Besides the bed, the room also contained a dressing table, a dressing stool, a chest of drawers, a wardrobe, a desk, an alcove, a chaise lounge, chairs, a round table, a chaise lounge, a shoe cabinet, a bookcase, and a display shelf, all of which featured matching classical openwork carvings.

"Cheng, have you planned out the bedroom, living room and study for my new house?"

"Yes, everything you need is ready. We even made a custom jewelry box for you. You should be able to take it today. If you like the rest of the guest rooms, we can make them here too, but it will take a little longer."

An Moxue's face was full of joy as she said, "I'll go back and ask them, choose the ones they like, and then decide."

"Okay." He knew he had done the right thing when he saw how happy she was. She really liked things with a classical and traditional feel, and just by looking at her clothes and jewelry, he knew she had high standards.

After looking around at the furniture, Wu Sicheng said, "Take a closer look, is there anything else you'd like to add?"

An Moxue looked at it again and said, "Not for now, but we can make it when we think of something." Then she looked at Old Man Bao and asked, "Uncle Bao, can you make one of those classic canopy beds?"

Old Bao didn't speak, but looked at Wu Sicheng.

Wu Sicheng asked, "You want it?"

An Moxue said, "I want to buy a large three-courtyard siheyuan (traditional courtyard house) as my future home in Kyoto, so I naturally need to plan it well. I want to put a canopy bed in my bedroom. What do you think? However, I don't want an old one; I want to make a new one."

Old Bao didn't say anything, but he was greatly shocked. Who was this girl? She really dared to speak so boldly. Did she think that a courtyard house or a canopy bed was a cabbage?

Wu Sicheng said, "Okay! However, I don't have any good timber on hand, so I need to raise some first."

An Moxue waved her hand and said, "No need, I have it, all top-quality sandalwood. I only thought of making it after seeing Uncle Bao's craftsmanship today. Otherwise, if I couldn't find a good craftsman, I would rather just leave the wood lying around."

Wu Sicheng looked at her with a question in his eyes, as if asking, "Where did you get the wood?"

An Moxue asked with a smile, "Uncle Bao, can you do it? But you need to provide the dimensions and pattern. There's no rush, I know this takes a lot of time. Don't worry about the cost, it's not a problem."

Old Bao thought to himself, "Everyone says they want to live in a three-courtyard house, and they can even come up with so much sandalwood. Do you think I'd doubt your financial resources? That's a joke!" But he said aloud, "Sure, but I need to see the blueprints first. Make sure you can make the design. If you can't, I won't take the job; that would be a waste of the wood. As for the labor cost, it won't be cheap."

"Okay, no problem. We can discuss the details once you bring the blueprints. Go get the jewelry box!"

Old Bao led the way, followed by Wu Sicheng and An Moxue. The three of them left the room, and she whispered in Wu Sicheng's ear, "My dad left me a lot of timber."