The moment Mo Qingling took out the imperial edict, everyone stood up and knelt down.
He held the imperial edict and read it once.
The gist of it was that Xiao Hanzheng had rendered meritorious service by offering the cement recipe, so he was specially rewarded with the large mountain in Xiaxi village.
Everyone was a little confused about the content of the imperial verdict.
Why would the emperor want to reward Xiao Hanzheng with that large mountain?
After he finished reciting, Mo Qingling passed the imperial edict and the mountain contract to Xiao Hanzheng.
He deliberately smiled and said, “The emperor knows that you and your wife are interested in this large mountain, so he directly rewarded you with it.”
This meant that Xiao Hanzheng requested this from the emperor.
Most importantly, the emperor was now paying closer attention to Xiao Hanzheng and he would have a bright future ahead.
As long as they weren’t stupid, they were able to get this hint.
Xiao Hanzheng’s classmates, in particular, were a little conflicted.
They were all still elementary scholars, but the emperor already knew Xiao Hanzheng’s name.
Although he was rewarded with gold the previous time and that mountain now, the key was to leave an impression on the emperor.
This time, when Xiao Hanzheng wanted a mountain, the emperor gave it to him.
This meant that the emperor looked highly on Xiao Hanzheng.
They were really envious!
Then, everyone took a look at Shi Qingluo, who was becoming more and more beautiful.
Xiao Hanzheng was really lucky.
Even when he was unconscious on the bed, he was able to marry such a powerful old immortal’s disciple to chongxi.
Now, not only did the families in Xiaxi village have more money in their hands because of Shi Qingluo, everyone could see the changes in the Xiao family.
The villagers were happy for Xiao Hanzheng and his wife, especially for Shi Qingluo to be the owner of that mountain where the old immortal lived.
Everyone felt that this was ideal.
Xiao Hanzheng accepted the imperial edict with both hands and kept it well first.
Only then did he come out to greet everyone and dine in with them.
After eating, Mr Hou, Mo Qingling, the teachers from the county school, Xiao Hanzheng’s classmates, and others visited the Xiao family’s new house together.
The layout of the Xiao family’s building was not quite the same as the current one.
In the middle was the living room, and on the side was a special place for drinking tea and entertaining guests.
The living room was paved with floor tiles.
It looked clean and bright with furniture made from Chinese-style solid wood.
However, the style was elegant and infused with the modern zen style, so it looked simplistic and more spacious.
It was not bare like the wooden furniture in other houses.
There were thick matching sofa cushions and backrests on it.
The colour of the cloth matched the solid wood and gave a refreshing and classic feeling.
This was the first time they had seen such furniture.
They sat down and said, “Your chair is really not bad.”
Xiao Hanzheng smiled and said, “My wife said that chairs arranged together like this are called a sofa.
“Teacher, if you like it, I’ll get a carpenter to make a set for you.”
Speaking of which, his family had also accepted a father and son in the village to specialise in making furniture.
He prescribed medicine for the sick father for half a month, and he recovered well.
Then, he took the initiative to come to the Xiao family to work.
He and his wife found out that he actually inherited his craftsmanship from a very experienced craftsman.
He learnt a wide range of skills, and his craftsmanship was even better.
Thus, they accepted the father and son and provided them with food and lodging.
Now, they lived in the old house they previously lived in and signed a contract that they would be identified as the Xiao family’s craftsmen.
Mr Hou was a little thick skinned when talking to his disciple. “Alright, I like this sofa very much.”
He was old and sat on a hard stool every day.
Suddenly sitting on this soft sofa made him very comfortable. He liked it.
Mo Qingling was also tempted.
He planned to ask the Xiao family’s carpenter to make a sofa like this for him.
Bai Xu couldn’t help but think about it, but he also saw a business opportunity.
He thought to himself, why not let the Bai family build a wood workshop that specially made furniture.
Then, they went to look at the guest room and study room.
The guest room and study room had wooden floors and sofas, but designed in a different theme.
The guest room also had a tea table carved from the tree roots with a tea set for making Gongfu tea on it.
They also built a tea cabinet and a display cabinet.
Shi Qingluo let Xiao Hanzheng carved some wooden bottles for putting some tulips, and planted some colourful daisies in a square wooden box.
The wooden box was decorated with a canvas and looked very unique.
There were also a few big pillows on the sofa.
It was very comfortable for people to lean on them.
When people drank Gongfu tea, they would become more relaxed without much realisation.
Xiao Hanzheng also lighted Shi Qingluo’s special-made sandalwood.
Its light fragrance lingered around.
Such an atmosphere provided an indescribable sense of comfort and warmth.
Mr Hou smiled and asked, “Did your wife decorate this?”
From a glance, it didn’t seem like his little disciple’s work.
Xiao hanzheng smiled and said, “That’s right. My wife personally decorated all of these.”
It was the first time he had seen this kind of theme, but he fell in love with it at first sight.
Mr Hou nodded. “You are lucky to have a good wife in your family.”
He heard about this disciple’s wife.
The more he knew about her, the more he felt that this woman was extraordinary.
Mo Qingling smiled and said, “Yes, I’m a little envious of Jinyu.”
He was already married a long time ago, but two years after they were married, his wife passed away from complications in childbirth.
A corpse but two lives gone.
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Although they respected each other very politely, he was still saddened by his wife’s death.
Therefore, he came to Nanxi county to be the county magistrate.
Besides focusing on the iron mine, he also had plans to soothe his mind.
Looking at the chemistry and love between Xiao Hanzheng and Shi Qingluo, he was really envious.
Xiao Hanzheng couldn’t help but smile as they praised his little wife. He admitted generously, “It is indeed my fortune to be able to marry her as my wife.”
The few of them sat down and drank tea.
Then, they visited the study room, dining room, kitchen, guest room, latrine, and bathing area.
They discovered that the Xiao family’s residence was not only well-built, but also contained many special things, especially the latrine and bathing area.
The latrine was equipped with a white porcelain toilet bowl.
After someone did his business, he only had to press a switch at the back for the water to automatically flush out.
It was clean and hygienic.
Also, the Xiao family did not use toilet chips, but soft toilet paper.
This also made them feel curious.
They even specially asked where they bought it from and if it was expensive.
This was the fruit of Xiao Hanzheng and Shi Qingluo’s research for several months.
They finally produced toilet paper at a very low cost.
It was not as white as modern paper and had a slight earthy yellow colour, but was good to use.
Xiao Hanzheng said that they had made this themselves and gave everyone some.
Then, the Xiao family’s bathroom amazed them.
There was a water tank on the top.
After heating the water and pouring it in, the user could stand under it and use something called a shower and turn the switch and instant wash.
There was also a push-pull wardrobe in the guest room that they had never seen before.
Not only was it more beautiful and spacious, it also didn’t take up as much space compared to those with normal doors.
How did Xiao Hanzheng’s wife come up with all these brilliant ideas? Why was her brain so good?
Bai Xu was envious and even a little awkward.
After all, Shi Qingluo had said that the new house would surprise him. At that time, he had scoffed at it, but now he couldn’t help but be envious and fall in love with it.
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He liked this and also favoured that.