I'm in the Teyvat running group

"But in winter, it becomes a vast blue ocean!"

Yunxiu smiled helplessly. Yanfei was indeed much better than her in this regard. Anyway, she didn't have anything else to do, so it was really nice to accompany her for a stroll.

However, to Yunxiu's surprise, his trip did not last long. It was not because there were many things to deal with after the war, but because of something very unexpected.

That means Xiangling is pregnant...

This allowed him to teleport directly from Winter Solstice back to Liyue, and he rushed into the backyard of the Manmin Hall in less than ten minutes.

Chapter 457 Warm Stove, New Cooking, New Year Begins

But Yunxiu didn't squeeze in immediately because Wanmin Hall was already packed with people.

A group of immortals descended upon this place: the curious Gui Zhong, Xiao Yue who had already set up a spatial protective array, and Huang Ming who was guarding the entrance with his hand on his chin.

Half of the Seven Stars had arrived, and most of the girls around Yunxiu had also gathered here, chattering excitedly. Ying and Liuying were still working together to stop Hutao, who was eager to try his luck...

"You've arrived, come in quickly..." A voice came from the room. Yunxiu recognized it as Grandma Ping's voice. She gestured to the people around her and quickly entered the house she knew best, the second floor of the backyard of Wanmintang.

The room was packed. Lauma was examining Xiangling intently, Zhongli and Tianshu were sitting at the table drinking tea, and Grandma Ping was helping Lauma pass some things. Only Xiangling seemed a little uneasy: "Grandma... everything will be alright. I'm almost at the level of a Primal God now!"

"Just because something won't happen doesn't mean it's definitely not going to happen." Grandma Ping shook her head with a smile and looked at Yunxiu, saying, "Judging from the time, it was during the Moon Festival. It seems that the Moon Festival that year was a completely different kind of earthly experience for Xiangling. It's so good to be young."

"So it's been almost two months?" Yunxiu fawned over Xiangling, squeezing her small hand. As a legendary peak mage, he instantly sensed the connection between the new life and himself. It must have started to show signs in the last few days. He had been away from Liyue during the winter solstice, and although he still talked to Xiangling every day as usual, it was impossible to check on her from such a distance...

“Xiuxiu, don’t worry, I’m fine… But I think the most important thing right now is to think about Yun Song, Tyrell, and Serania…” Xiangling held Yunxiu’s hand and said seriously, “They are also your bloodline. Now that they’re in the family, they are all our children, and we must treat them all equally.”

"I understand." Looking into Xiangling's clear eyes, Yunxiu knew what she meant. Xiangling was such a kind person. She was someone who would think about everyone and worry about their feelings.

Yunxiu pondered for a moment, looked at the people around her, stood up, walked to Zhongli and said, "Your Majesty, could you please give my children a generation name? Also, could you please give my children a name? Of course, the names of Yun Song and the others should also be changed, but I will do that myself."

Zhongli took a sip of tea, then placed the teacup on the table. After careful consideration, she said, "In that case... it's indeed acceptable, but the generational hierarchy is still too heavy. We don't need to make it so complicated. Let's just call them 'Ping An' (平安). Ping (平) for boys and An (安) for girls."

“Yun Song’s name doesn’t need to be changed, just add one character.” Zhong Li took a piece of paper, waved it lightly, and the three characters “Yun Ping Song” appeared on the paper. Then he quickly wrote three more characters: “As for that one from Tyrell, I’ve heard of her too. Let’s call her ‘Yun Anning.’ Her early life was one of wandering and instability, and she became a Hilichurl. The name Anning is most suitable for her.”

"Thank you, Your Majesty. Then Serania..."

“Serania has been called by this name for over six thousand years, so we could name her ‘Yun Anya.’ As for whether she'll agree, my advice is not to force her,” Zhongli said with a smile. “As for the one in Xiangling’s belly, well… it should be a girl, so let’s name her ‘Yun Anli,’ Li as in Liyue.”

Zhongli quickly wrote down three characters with a wave of his hand, and then took out a small seal from somewhere and stamped it on the lower right corner of the name.

"In the name of the 'Rock King Emperor,' I bestow upon you blessings, that you may share the same name and destiny as the nation!"

The paper instantly transformed into a beam of light, directly entering Xiangling's body. It even completely changed the atmosphere of the room in an instant. Even Tian Shu, who was the weakest, felt the terrifying aura surging in. The entire aura of Liyue merged with Xiangling at this moment!

This is not just a simple word or blessing, but a true recognition of the God and the destiny of the entire Liyue.

Yunxiu did not refuse. This did not simply mean an honor, but also an unparalleled responsibility.

“Yun Anli…Li from Liyue, it’s really a good name.” Xiangling touched her belly and looked at Yunxiu with a smile: “It’s really good, better than anything else.”

Everyone present laughed. It was indeed a very good name, and in terms of safety alone, it was probably the safest child in Liyue's history.

After all, from the very beginning of the diagnosis, there was a legendary pulse diagnosis, a celestial protector, and a name bestowed by the Emperor. She is definitely the first in Liyue's history, far surpassing Yunxiu herself. Yunxiu will definitely have more than one child in the future, but Yun Anli will definitely be the most special one.

“It’s just the right time to discuss something else. Yunxiu, come with me.” Zhongli glanced at Yunxiu and Tianshu, then went downstairs with his hands behind his back. He then looked at Guizhong, Tianxuan, and Ying beside him, and the group quickly followed him to “Three Bowls and No More Hill” near Wanmintang and sat down.

The waiters here naturally recognized several of them and quickly ushered them into a private room, indicating that Zhongli had already made arrangements beforehand.

“There’s no need to reserve Tian Tiezui’s place for me today. I have some matters to attend to with these gentlemen.” Zhongli gently closed the door, then personally brewed a pot of tea, poured a cup for everyone present, and then spoke: “Although the aftermath of the war hasn’t been completely resolved, the Moon of Truth has now returned. Therefore, we can take advantage of this Lantern Festival to hold a sacrificial ceremony, partly to commemorate the soldiers who died in this war, and partly…”

Zhongli took out a bound painting and placed it on the table. The painting depicted a peculiar scene: the moon was in the center, and a strange animal was below it.

Yunxiu glanced at it briefly and recognized it as an ancient painting titled "Zhanzhu Swallowing the Moon," thus understanding what Zhongli was trying to do.

Gui Zhong was a learned person, and after a brief glance, she understood what was going on. She smiled and said, "I understand. On the other hand, we need to take this opportunity to revive that 'Golden-Eyed Horse Riding a Yellow Moon Steed,' which is Zi Bai, isn't it?"

"Indeed, the Lantern Festival is the perfect opportunity." Zhongli looked at Guizhong and said, "I have entrusted this traveler from another world, Ying, to retrieve the three corpses that Zibai severed. On the third day before the Lantern Festival, this once 'Langyao' can be revived."

“Since His Majesty is willing to preside over the ceremony personally, then it is only right and proper. How about we set the theme for this year’s Lantern Festival as ‘The Bright Sky Rises, the Sea is at Peace’?” Tianxuan also took the painting and examined it carefully. “With the war over, peace reigning throughout the land, and this year’s ceremony focusing on the return of the moon, I think this should be appropriate.”

“Very well then, I’ll leave the details to you.” Zhongli nodded and looked at the others, saying, “As for the other arrangements for the revival and the sacrificial ceremony… there are still 35 days until the Lantern Festival, so we have a month to prepare. I also need to nurture Zibai’s three souls for about a month. I will notify you when that time comes.”

"As for the sacrificial ceremony, I'll leave that to Tian Shu and Tian Xuan. I will personally take charge of the Seven Gods."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Zhongli nodded, transformed into a streak of light and quietly disappeared, but quickly returned, put down a small pile of Mora and smiled, "Today is indeed related to me, so I will pay for this tea."

Everyone in the private room exchanged bewildered glances. Only after Zhongli left again did Tian Shu cautiously speak up, "This... since the Emperor is hosting, shall we have some tea?"

"My Lord Yan, after paying so many bills, I'm finally seeing some money back." Yunxiu, with tears in his eyes, gently gathered the small pile of Mora into his hand, carefully counted it, not much, 292 Mora, exactly equal to the cost of their tea plus the tips he always gave to the waiter.

He carefully took out a small box, placed Mora inside, and sealed it with a Wish spell. He then encased it in a bubble spell, which solidified the bubble spell with automatic spell counterattack and teleportation triggers. He added a projection shield and protection against evil, then used a wish spell to encase it in a shell of amber, followed by conceptual protection. Finally, he applied a Pure Land of Wisdom to the outermost layer of protection. Then, he used magic to dig a small pit in his demiplane, solidified the pit with magic, and used four layers of nested shields and conceptual spells for defense. Finally, he buried the box inside, compacted the soil, restored the top layer, and made a small mark.

The people around him stared in disbelief as he finished everything.

Much later, Gui Zhong quietly nudged Tian Xuan and whispered, "Was he overreacting a bit?"

"That was probably the first time the Emperor treated Yunxiu to a meal with his own money..." Tianxuan whispered, "I heard that their merchant guild pays out hundreds of millions of Mora's worth of bills for the Emperor every year..."

“Zhongli isn’t that stingy; he just often forgets.” Gui Zhong also whispered in response, “Back when Liyue didn’t exist, he often actively guided people to use Mora, and he would even spend money himself to create things on the spot. That’s probably when he developed the habit of spending money casually.”

“That’s not surprising, that’s not surprising…” Tian Shu also leaned over to look at the two of them: “Never mind, it’s not a big problem. Speaking of which, how are we going to solve the budget for this year’s Lantern Festival? According to what the Emperor said, if the scale of this year’s Lantern Festival is larger than last year’s, the expenditure may more than double, so funding will be a problem…”

"I'll pay. The Chamber of Commerce will cover half. A significant portion of the funds advanced by the Chamber of Commerce has already been returned to various countries, around 700 billion. Although I'm not sure how much money is left in the accounts, the Yunxiu Chamber of Commerce is willing to buy out all the advertising slots in key areas of the Lantern Festival for 300 billion Mora." After tidying up the Emperor's pile of Mora, Yunxiu smiled cheerfully, "Although much of it was advanced using materials collected from the battlefield, using this as a substitute makes raising money relatively easy."

Yunxiu took out a storage bag from her demiplane and handed it to Tianxuan: "There should be about 50 pieces of materials here, which should be enough to offset the cost. As for the subsequent procedures, please send someone to hand them over to Yanfei. I'm going home to be with Xiangling."

After saying that, he turned into a streak of light and disappeared, taking Ying with him as well, leaving the three people left behind speechless.

"Wait, so that means no one has paid yet?" Tian Shu suddenly realized what was going on, slapped the table and laughed, "How come you've picked up the same bad habit as the Emperor?"

“I think he just forgot…” Tianxuan weighed the storage bag in her hand and laughed, “This money is much more than the cost of this tea. I’ll pay. After I settle the bill, I’ll go back to Yujingtai. Tianshu, let’s go together. Your son has left us with a lot of things to take care of.”

“Then I’ll go too. I know Zi Bai, and I’m familiar with how the rituals of Gu Li Yue are performed.” Gui Dian nodded, then got up and left with the two Seven Stars.

The three paid and boarded a Lingming vehicle. They soon arrived at the path leading to Yujingtai. They were not surprised to see that there were many foreigners around, especially many faces from winter.

Since the war, Liyue has received more than 1.2 million Winter's End immigrants, of which 600,000 are elite soldiers and logistics personnel who fought in the flood control war. The Liyue embassy in Winter's End is still arranging and coordinating more than 100,000 people per week. The final number is expected to be between 3 and 4 million, which is already 2% of Winter's End population. In particular, many Genshin Impact-level elites have been affected. Winter's End has indeed suffered a great loss.

However, the first batch of investments from the Yunxiu Chamber of Commerce has already begun, and the witch J Scarlett is said to have already started "calling names" from the list. A large number of old nobles are being uprooted in batches, and this wave of immigration is actually easing, having decreased significantly recently.

After all, putting everything else aside, the Yunxiu Chamber of Commerce's first batch of investments was in housing renovation and living facilities. In less than a week, more than 150,000 sets of houses were quickly built using magical talismans, with free heating and hot water. Working at the Chamber of Commerce also provided free meals, which has already attracted many people from Zhidong who have not yet left.

Those whose crimes did not meet the criteria for being "named" have become much more obedient under Scarlett's series of new laws. Scarlett has begun to introduce new regulations for Liyue and Fontaine, but it is very difficult. Most of the men are still resisting and waiting for a turning point.

According to Yanfei's report, the first batch of heating arrays has already sold 1.4 million sets, and the Chamber of Commerce has received a total of 3 billion Mora in pre-orders. It is indeed a huge market, and Yanfei was right.

Right across from the Hall of Rebirth, a small restaurant called "Natasha's Kitchen" had just hung up its sign. A man from Zhidong and a young girl with flowing golden hair stood at the door, looking like a little princess.

Chapter 458 Smoke from a Foreign Land Illuminates the Moon

The beautiful foreign girl was clearly just coming of age, which drew curious glances from many Liyue locals.

She mustered her courage, glanced at the man beside her, and then called out in her broken Liyue dialect, "New store opening! Winter specialties include Red Flavor Soup, Stewed Thick-Cut Beast Meat, and Crispy Pork Buns. Large portions, all you can eat, delicious and affordable!"

She mustered her courage and called out twice before a Liyue girl cautiously approached, looking at her and asking, "Is this... a real Winter Solstice dish? Or is it some... fake?"

“I…I’m from Winterfall. I came here with my brother. He came to Liyue after the flood control war. I…I also wanted to help my brother. I’m a very good cook!” The little girl blurted out a lot of things in one breath: “So it must be authentic without any problem, and it’s delicious and inexpensive!”

"Then I'll trust you this once. You're so pretty, you wouldn't lie, would you?" She walked in quietly and sat down at a table near the door. Picking up the menu, she smiled and said, "It really isn't expensive, about the same price as Wanmintang. Young lady, my family owns a hotel that caters to foreign tourists. If it's really good, I'll place a big order for you!"

Seeing a girl go in, several other Liyue people eagerly followed suit, and even a Winterfell and a Liyue person stepped through the gate.

"Vislava, this restaurant seems really authentic?" The Liyue man was dressed in civilian clothes, but his expression, movements, and demeanor made it easy to tell that he was a soldier. He smiled as the Winter Lady led him through the door, and the two found a seat inside. "You said you had something to ask me to treat you to dinner, so you should at least say what it is."

"Order first."

"But I don't know much about Zhidong either..."

"You really are an idiot." Visera picked up the menu, glanced at it briefly, and then called a waiter over. But the familiar figure caught her off guard: "Risto? You're in Liyue too? And that girl at the door is the sister you've been talking about?"

"General Fengyan, Lady Veslava." Risto greeted them with a cupped hand before continuing, "I obtained the qualification to come to Liyue after the war. My original plan was to exchange it for a small building and save the rest of the points. However, my sister said she could sell some winter vegetables and wait for the Taiyuan Academy's admissions next year, so I exchanged it for another small building and opened a shop for my sister. What would you two like to eat?"

“Well… then it must be very authentic. So, I’ll have red broth, tender meatballs, whole roasted fish from the frozen lake, and pickled assorted vegetables. For the main course, I’ll have charcoal-grilled round naan bread, and for drinks, I’ll have rye fermented carbonated beverage…” Veslava looked at the menu, then looked at Feng Yan and said, “Is there anything else you want to eat? It’s on me.”

"Hmm... I'd like to try this caramel apple pie. That's all. I prefer something sweet."

Ristor checked the menu with the two of them and quickly went to help at other tables. The small shop now only had four employees, including him and his sister, a kitchen helper and a waiter. Fortunately, many fellow villagers from Zhidong had come here recently, and Ristor also had some connections in the army, so it was easy to find two people who were originally logistics personnel to work here.

After all, the base points are different. Ristor is at the peak of the seventh ring and gets 600 points a day, while a ninth ring would get 2400 points a day. Most of the logistics personnel are at the fourth or fifth ring level. A fifth ring gets 150 points a day, and a fourth ring gets 75 points. The entire campaign lasted 15 days, and most of the logistics personnel only got around 2000 points. Since logistics is relatively safe, it also means that the battle merits are not high. They can only get the basic points every day. Occasionally, they might get more points by participating in some major events.

Their scores were only enough to get residency in Liyue and a ferry ticket, so finding a job here was obviously very important.

Fortunately, Liyue is indeed short of people right now. It is said that the Yunxiu Merchant Guild is planning to make some modifications to the moon. Ristor also plans to apply for the moon next year if his sister really gets into the Tai Academy. He really wants to go to the moon to see it.

Soon, Risto brought several dishes to Feng Yan and Vislava's table. The two seemed to be talking about something and looked somewhat embarrassed.

“Vislava, I understand what you mean… Of course, I also have feelings for you, but I think we still need to ‘try’ before we can be sure if we really want to get married.” Fengyan’s usually serious face flushed slightly as he said, “In Liyue, we still have to follow the rules of matchmakers, so someone has to come and propose marriage. It’s not that simple…”

“If we’re talking about proposing marriage, I’m ready.” Veslava forked a meatball and, smiling, shoved it directly into Feng Yan’s mouth. “I’ve accumulated over 90,000 points this time. Besides the divine artifact and other miscellaneous items, I switched to the ‘Divine Request’ option. The Emperor has agreed to meet me, and I’ll invite him to be my witness at the wedding.”

Feng Yan looked at Veslava in surprise. Of course he knew that this option was on the exchange list, and he had quite a few points and planned to exchange for one, but he did not expect that Veslava would be willing to use her points here!

As for whether the Emperor will help with this.

That's for sure. This matter is really not a big deal for him. With the Emperor officiating, many things are naturally not a problem.

Feng Yan had never really thought about what kind of wife he wanted after fighting for so many years, but to be honest, Veslava's conditions were not bad. She was five years younger than him, slightly weaker than him but still at the ninth level, and had the stunning beauty of a traditional winter beauty. Moreover, as a water-type sorcerer, her skin was truly as tender and white as water.

Okay, I've thought about it for a long time but still can't come up with a reason to refuse...

Seeing that Fengyan did not refuse, Veslava happily took out a key and handed it to Fengyan, saying with a smile, "This is the residence I redeemed in Liyue Harbor, located in Yan Harbor Road, past Scarlet Cloud Slope. It's only a 20-minute walk from the Thousand Rock Army's garrison. You can use this key."

Feng Yan hesitated for a long time, but finally accepted it.

"Boss, the bill!" Vislava stopped Risto, who was delivering food on the other side, with a smile and asked, "How much?"

"Let me see... It's 220 Mora in total."

"Here, no need to look for more!"

Ristor put the money he had collected into the cabinet, then heard the voices of another table of guests, and quickly went over there as well.

“Your restaurant is indeed quite good. We’ve had quite a few customers lately, especially since winter started. I’ll book a month’s worth of breakfast and lunch here, 50 servings of breakfast and 100 servings of lunch each day. Please customize the menu to your usual style.” After quickly settling the bill, the young woman smiled and said, “My home is on a street not far from here. That twelve-story inn is ours, White Horse Inn. My name is Lu Xiangxiang!”

“Ms. Lu… Okay, if it’s a meal order, we settle accounts weekly. You pay half upfront and the other half on the weekend. So, you’ll be making 350 breakfasts and 700 lunches a week, which is 42000 Mora. You’ll need to pay a deposit of 21000.”

“No problem.” Lu Xiangxiang quickly took out her wallet, pulled out a check, wrote down the amount, stamped it, and handed it to Risto: “Then let’s start tomorrow, please!”

After seeing the guest off, and seeing several more guests smiling with satisfaction, more guests soon arrived. Ristor and Natasha were so busy they barely had time to breathe, and it wasn't until 10:30 p.m. that they saw off the last table of guests and closed the shop.

Under the light, the brother and sister took out the vending machine box and carefully counted the Mora coins one by one.