Genshin Impact: I, the Winter Prince, reign supreme.

……

In the streets of Winterland, magnificent Baroque-style buildings with domes are everywhere, with beige or dark walnut as the main colors, which is completely different from the style of Liyue.

As the Kingdom of Zhidong grew stronger, foreigners flocked to it for tourism and business.

Due to the cold weather outdoors, the most popular places for tourists are the indoor bars, the opera house, and the Grand Square of the Winter Palace.

Of course, Prince Zhidong's residence is one of the must-see attractions for tourists. It is a huge garden with a large number of pine and cypress trees.

In addition, people can also see some tree species from other countries, such as the cherry blossoms of Inazuma, the sandalwood of Liyue, the drooping incense trees of Mondstadt, and the rainforest of Sumeru.

Why are these tree species able to survive into winter?

The tour guide in charge of receiving tourists explained that this was because the Winter Kingdom adopted a unique cold-resistant seed cultivation technology and also developed geothermal energy to ensure the temperature required for the root systems of trees in these warm and tropical regions.

This technology has also been widely used in vegetable cultivation, solving the problem of vegetable shortages in winter in China.

On their first day in Zhidong Kingdom, Xiaogong and her shop assistants toured the Prince's residence and were filled with envy for Zhidong Kingdom's advanced technology. In particular, when they heard that the geothermal development system was developed by His Highness the Prince, their admiration and worship for him were no less than that of the people of Zhidong Kingdom itself.

The next day, Xiaogong left the hotel with his assistant and strolled around the streets of Winterfell.

At the largest intersection, Xiaogong stopped and looked around.

Her assistant, whose braids were covered in icicles and whose cheeks were flushed from the cold, jokingly asked her if she was planning to switch careers and become an architect in the Winter Kingdom.

Xiao Gong smiled and continued to gaze at the tall rooftops in the distance and the misty sky. Half a day passed, and he was covered with a thick layer of snowflakes.

Her strange behavior attracted a lot of onlookers, and some locals from Zhidong were curious and stood with her to look at the sky.

Apart from the distant mountain peaks that were faintly visible in the wind and snow, the sky was filled with only the unchanging leaden gray clouds.

Are you looking for birds in the sky?

A little girl with blue eyes approached. Around her neck hung a drawer-like wooden box, inside which matches were neatly arranged.

“Sister, there are no birds in Winter City. Three years ago, we were so poor that many people couldn’t afford to eat, so we hunted birds and beasts, and even ate all the insects in the forest. Later, His Highness the Prince reformed the system and took the land back from the big landowners and distributed it to the farmers. The following year, everyone gradually had enough to eat.”

Xiaogong knew some things about the Winter Kingdom.

Before coming, she bought a book introducing the customs and culture of the wintering kingdom.

A country that could produce such a great figure as Prince Zhidong deserves her time to understand its customs, culture, economy, and politics.

Before the Winter Kingdom, it was a militaristic and warlike nation with a highly developed military industry, but its agricultural development was extremely backward, and it had to purchase a large amount of grain from the other six kingdoms every year.

Three years ago, Prince Zhidong emerged and began major reforms in the Kingdom of Zhidong, which improved the situation.

The little match girl said sadly, "Later, the birds were afraid we would eat them, so they dared not fly back. From then on, no birds could be seen flying in the city anymore."

Just then, a group of boys passing by mocked, "Sister, she's a liar. She used to have a parrot, but she ended up eating it."

Xiaogong bent down and asked her, "Is what they're saying true?"

The little match girl lowered her head, tears welling up in her eyes.

“I killed the parrot. My grandfather hadn’t eaten for several days and was on his deathbed.”

Chapter 160 Matches

"Poor child."

Xiaogong hugged her and comforted the little girl.

Once the little girl calmed down, she said, "I wasn't looking for birds. I was looking at the flags on the tall buildings over there."

"Why is my sister staring at the flag?"

"Observe the wind direction."

"Then why do we need to observe the wind direction?"

Xiaogong stroked her head and said, "Sister promised someone that she would do something for you when she came to Zhidong. In addition to that reason, there is now another one: to let you see the birds in the sky. How much are these matches? I'll pay for them all."

After paying, the little girl skipped away, leaving her tiny footprints in the snow.

Finally, Xiaogong's assistant couldn't help but ask, "Should I go over there and teach her a lesson?"

Before coming to Zhidong, she had heard from people who frequently traveled on business that selling matches at high prices to foreigners was a common trick used by the locals to swindle money.

Moreover, starting from the second year of Prince Zhidong's reforms, the streets of Zhidong Kingdom were no longer filled with vagrants, beggars, or impoverished people who made a living by selling matches.

This incident caused quite a stir in the other six countries at the time.

Therefore, as soon as the little match girl appeared, she was most likely convinced that she was a fraud, even though the little girl was acting pitiful.

While the little girl was talking to Xiaogong, she carefully observed the little girl's clothes. She looked like she was dressed very thinly, but underneath she was wearing an expensive cashmere sweater, something that people from ordinary families would rather wear several coats than buy.

The little girl still had some grease on the corners of her mouth, probably from eating roast goose or roast chicken. She spoke with a strong voice and had a rosy complexion, showing no signs of malnutrition.

Furthermore, the normal price of matches is one mora for ten boxes, but the little girl is selling them for one mora per box, a tenfold increase in price. She doesn't believe her boss didn't notice.

“I know she took advantage of our sympathy.” Xiao Gong covered his frozen cheeks. “But it doesn’t matter, I need these matches. Besides, not everything she said was a lie. Did you notice? There really aren’t any birds flying in the sky over the Winter Kingdom.”

Xiaogong took out a match and lit one, but it quickly went out in the cold wind.

"There's not enough air, so the flame isn't burning completely. Let's try upstairs."

Xiaogong, accompanied by his assistant, arrived at the tallest building in the vicinity, which had ten floors and was nearly thirty meters high.

The two climbed to the tenth floor, panting, and found that the door leading to the rooftop was locked to prevent anyone from going up there.

"Boss, let me do it."

The assistant took off his gloves and said.

The boss brought her out to solve the problem.

She fiddled with a thin wire for a while and successfully unlocked the door. The two went up to the rooftop, where the temperature was even lower in the cold wind, and Xiaogong shivered from the cold.

She took out the matchbox and struck it hard as a gust of cold wind blew past.

The match lit up, and the faint flame brought boundless warmth.

The assistant touched the snow on his eyelashes and laughed, "Boss, what are you doing? Trying to experience the fun of lighting a match?"

"Idiot. I'm looking for a suitable spot to set off the fireworks."

"Oh? I almost forgot. You promised His Highness that you would put on a small fireworks show when you came to Zhidong."

Before arriving in the Winter Kingdom, considering that the cold winds at high altitudes would ruin the effect of the fireworks, her plan was to set up the fireworks array on the ground and use fireworks that were only about five meters high.

However, when they lit the matches, they found that the oxygen content on the street was too low, so they had to abandon the plan and take their assistant to the rooftop to try to see if they could be set off at high altitude.

Judging from the burning of the matches, the plan to set them off from a high altitude is feasible.

However, just now, while observing the flags planted on the roof from downstairs, she noticed that they were fluttering in different directions, sometimes to the left and sometimes to the right. From this, she concluded that there were irregular cold currents surging throughout the air, which required a very high level of skill from the fireworks performers.

Performing on the rooftop requires her to prepare carefully.

"Boss, you told that little match girl that you would let them see birds flying in the sky tonight. You're planning to design a bird shape, right? A huge bird formed from solidified fireworks soaring in the winter night sky, just like a phoenix taking flight. Am I right?"

Xiao Gong laughed and said, "Stop talking nonsense. Save your energy and get some work done."

"Shall we start now?"

"Start preparing now, and we'll see results tonight. We must not break our promise to His Highness."

Before the two arrived, the goods from the Naganohara fireworks shop had already been transported to the Shifuyu Wharf by cargo passenger ship. Yonomiya hired a group of dockworkers to carry the boxes up to the roof.

Braving the cold wind, she set up various fireworks displays on the rooftop, then turned to her assistant and asked, "Aren't you cold?"

"It's not cold, boss. We'll give it our all for tonight's fireworks show!" The assistant, hugging his arms, could barely speak from the cold. "No, we'll give it our all to complete the task His Highness the Prince assigned us!"

The assistant immediately perked up at the mention of Su Yu.

All the employees at the Naganohara fireworks shop knew that if the prince hadn't granted them exclusive rights to black powder, the shop would have been forcibly closed by the Tenryo Magistrate, and the employees would have almost lost their jobs.

As night fell, the cold wind suddenly subsided, the snow stopped, and Winter Kingdom enjoyed a rare clear night.

The moon hangs high in the sky, like a piece of jade inlaid in glass, while the stars twinkle in the night sky.

Many people in the Winter Solstice Kingdom, bundled up in thick cotton-padded coats, came out of their homes with their wives and children to admire the tranquil and beautiful moonlight.

Suddenly, from the tallest building at the intersection, a red star, trailing a dazzling tail, shot into the sky. With a huge explosion, the small star scattered into numerous shimmering sparks, instantly illuminating the entire street.

Sparks flew everywhere, then coalesced into the shape of a giant matchstick!

In a nearby house, the little girl who sold matches to Xiaogong, wearing her pajamas, stood by the window and shouted to the old man sitting by the fireplace, "Grandpa, look! Someone's setting off fireworks outside!"

The old man leaned closer, stroked his beard, and exclaimed in admiration.

He had lived here his whole life and had never seen such magnificent fireworks.

There is a fireworks shop in the next block, but the fireworks sold there can't create this effect.

During the winter, Chinese people have a special affection for matches.

In the past, conditions were harsh, and no household could afford a stove. On cold nights, lighting a single match could bring hope and warmth to the whole family.

At that moment, the matchstick pattern formed by the fireworks ignited the passion of the entire city, with screams and shouts rising and falling.

After the match disappeared, another burst of dazzling fireworks shot into the sky from the rooftop.

A dense forest appeared in the night sky, with lush foliage and verdant grass, vividly depicting a scene full of life.

Before long, the people were surprised to hear the long-lost sound of birdsong!

Chapter 161 You Are the Human Touch

The assistant, standing not far behind Xiaogong, was surprised to find that he had guessed wrong.

Xiaogong said she would let the people of Zhidong Kingdom see birds in the night sky tonight. But instead of creating the image of birds with fireworks as she had guessed, she created a forest to simulate a corner of nature.

This dreamlike forest of fireworks has attracted birds from the surrounding area to fly into the city!

Only your own boss could create such a realistic scene.

Flocks of birds circled over the wintering kingdom until the forest of fireworks faded and disappeared in the cold wind, then they flew away one after another.

However, some birds choose to stay.

In the past, humans preyed on them, causing them to be afraid and never dare to fly into the city. Today, they were surprised to find that humans were very friendly and had no hostility whatsoever.

A fireworks display attracted flocks of birds to Winterfell.