"Who is this referring to?"
A soft exclamation reached his ears. Su Bai turned towards the sound and immediately felt a headache coming on.
"Is this never going to end? What do you actually want?"
Yelan paid him no mind, striding directly into the shop. With no other choice, Su Bai reluctantly followed her inside.
"I've investigated you," Yelan said, perched on a table. She crossed her slender legs, leaning to one side with a hand supporting her weight as she tilted her head to look at Su Bai. "You appeared suddenly in Liyue half a month ago. However, there's no record of your entry through either the city gates or the port."
"It seems you're extremely familiar with Liyue. You've reportedly exchanged nearly ninety kilograms of gold across five establishments, including Mingxing Su, the Northland Bank, and an antique shop. After that, you stayed at the White Eave Inn for five days without providing any identification."
Su Bai brewed a pot of light tea, took out two cups, and filled them. He didn't deny any of it.
Or rather, everything Yelan said was true.
When he first opened the portal from MC, he appeared directly beside the Teleport Waypoint at Mt. Tianheng. To the north was Yujing Terrace, to the south the main street.
Initially, he didn't have a single Mora to his name, handling food and lodging entirely from the MC world side. Eventually, he brought over some gold nuggets and sold them to luxury shops on Weiyun Slope, earning his first sum of Mora. The amount was certainly not small, and Su Bai had been mentally prepared to be discovered.
The White Eare Inn was one of the few places in Liyue with decent accommodations that dared to accept guests without identification. It housed not only foreign merchants but also quite a few Fatui, though only the high-ranking officials, of course.
"Since Miss Yelan has already investigated me so thoroughly, why bother giving me such a hard time? I'm just a poor soul from the sea of stars, wanting to do a little business here."
He offered her a cup of tea, then picked up a remaining piece of golden apple and popped it into his mouth, his attitude clear.
"An unstable element," Yelan took a sip of tea, seemingly unconcerned about the possibility of poison.
"Unstable can become stable. The Geo Archon has already formed a contract with me, so you can rest assured."
"Disruptive commercial influence."
"Heh, with the Tianquan Ningguang around, you can hardly say that about me. Furthermore, I've strictly adhered to the Liyue legal code at every step. Have I exploited any loopholes?" Su Bai spread his hands, a helpless expression on his face.
"Inexplicable—"
"Miss Yelan, I advise you to savor your time wisely," Su Bai interrupted, his expression darkening. "You should be glad I'm still in Liyue at all."
Yelan didn't respond, instead taking small sips from her teacup. It was Cuiyun Jian from the Yanshang Teahouse.
"Where I come from, there's an old saying," Su Bai said, not angered, understanding that Yelan was waiting to see his reaction. He put down his teacup and met her emerald green gaze. "Slightly modified, it fits this situation quite well:
'If I had ten acres of land by Mt. Tianheng, why would I need the seals of office from six states?'"
"Oh?" Yelan's eyes glinted, staring meaningfully into Su Bai's profound gaze. Although she had never heard this saying before, the threat within it was unmistakable.
The atmosphere in the shop instantly grew heavy, so quiet you could almost hear moisture condensing.
Seconds ticked by. Occasionally, the noise from the street outside filtered in. After a long while...
"Heh, Boss Su, you're quite impatient," Yelan chuckled softly, a bright, charming smile gracing her features. She reached out and gently patted Su Bai's shoulder, leaning in close to whisper directly into his ear, her breath a soft breeze.
"You... had better not let me discover you have any connection to those people. Otherwise, even if you flee into the deepest depths of The Chasm, I will not let you go."
The faint breeze tickled his ear. Su Bai leaned away to avoid it and replied in a grave tone, "I don't know which people you're referring to. Lately, a few grain merchants have been trying to squeeze me out. I'm just trying to run a small business; I don't understand all these convoluted schemes."
Hearing this, Yelan lost the desire to continue the conversation further. What needed to be said, and what shouldn't be said, had already been conveyed.
"At the warehouse by the docks tonight. The potions you discarded... do you have any for sale?"
"No." Su Bai shook his head decisively. "That stuff can kill people. Why would I cause trouble for myself? Would the Ministry of Civil Affairs cover for you if they investigated?" The shelves on the MC side strictly prohibited any potions with negative status effects. Only restorative and positive potions were available for sale.
"If I dare to ask, I dare to take responsibility. Once you step outside, no one will know it was you who sold them," Yelan let out an amused laugh and extended a delicate hand in front of Su Bai. "Not many, just three bottles."
Su Bai couldn't help but roll his eyes at her. Simultaneously, he reached his hand out towards Yelan's chest.
"Not much, two hundred thousand Mora per bottle. Six hundred thousand total. Payment first, then goods. No credit."
"Hmph!" Yelan frowned upon hearing the price, but didn't say anything more. She tossed her money pouch to Su Bai; the money inside was sufficient.
Su Bai took it and looked inside. It was all ten-thousand-Mora notes, roughly enough. He unceremoniously dumped the Mora onto the counter with a clattering, glittering, jingling cascade of gold. After emptying the pouch, he stuffed three bottles of Potion of Harming inside, casually adding two bottles of Potion of Healing.
Asking for six hundred thousand for three bottles was the necessary business price. Although there was an element of charging based on the customer... ahem, it was absolutely worth the value.
"Throwing in two restorative ones for free. Don't say I'm profiteering," Su Bai said, handing the pouch back and gesturing with his chin.
Just as expected, when Yelan took it, the corner of her mouth couldn't help but curl into a meaningful smile.
"Alright. Remember, those grain merchants will likely approach you in the coming days. Be careful not to get cheated to death."
With those final words, Yelan stood up and left. The intentions and plots of those four major grain merchants were crystal clear to her, even if others were unaware.
At least for now, keeping Su Bai around was more beneficial than keeping those disloyal turncoats.
"So much for peace and quiet," Su Bai muttered, noticing a vendor in the distance. Although the vendor seemed to be hawking his wares, his gaze was subtly fixed in their direction, having clearly noted Yelan's open departure.
He stretched languidly. Regarding the situation, Su Bai didn't have any particular thoughts; he would simply wait and see how things unfolded.
He understood the implication of Yelan's final words perfectly: it was her approval for him to establish his own commercial influence within Liyue. This was excellent news, second only to the recognition from the Geo Archon himself.
After all, Yelan's backing wasn't just from the Qixing's Standing Committee; it also encompassed forces from Liyue's underworld.
According to Intel he'd received, non-governmental power in Liyue could roughly be divided into three parts.
The first was the legitimate enterprises, like the Liyue Grain Merchants Association, the Feiyun Commerce Guild, and the three major catering giants: Liuli Pavilion, Xinyue Kiosk, and Wanmin Restaurant.
Another was the grey-market forces—those with legitimate fronts but also shady operations underground. Examples included Yelan's Yanshang Teahouse, Zhongli's Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Captain Beidou's Crux Fleet, and the Pearl Galley, the floating palace.
In short, these were the people on the circuit.
The final part consisted of the outright criminal underworld, like the Treasure Hoarders.
The Geo Archon's recognition pertained to the legitimate business sphere. Yelan's recognition, however, signified acceptance from the grey-market forces.
By the afternoon, Su Bai was lounging bored in his chair. With no customers, he could only plan for the future.
Although Zhongli had mentioned potential business, it was still in the preliminary discussion stage. Who the actual clients were remained unknown.
Once the current grain deals in the shop were finalized, the grain merchants' final move couldn't be far off.
"I need to hire someone soon. Loafing around the shop all day isn't productive."
Bolting upright, Su Bai became convinced of the idea's merit. Although many things were automated in the MC world, neglecting it entirely wasn't feasible, especially with one project still unfinished.
Moreover, staying cooped up in the shop all day wouldn't magically attract more business.
Deciding to act immediately, Su Bai took out a piece of paper, swiftly wrote up a help wanted notice, partially closed the shop door, walked a few hundred meters to the bulletin board in front of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and posted it there.
Just as he finished posting it and prepared to leave, a youthful, energetic voice rang in Su Bai's ear.
"Sir, if you wish to post a recruitment notice, I suggest you go inside the Ministry of Civil Affairs. They have vetted candidates for you to choose from."
Turning around, his eyes met two distinctive purple-haired figures with horn-like adornments.
"Katzlein?"
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Feeling generous today cause our group just won a competition and i was the leader
Publishing 5 chapters in a span of an hour
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