Johnston was currently reviewing the materials on three transport vehicles, his interest thoroughly piqued. Yet, when he saw their steep prices, he hesitated.
He was a Mondstadter, but he spent only about ten days a year in Mondstadt. The rest of the time, he was on the road with his long-distance merchant caravan, buying and selling goods across different regions.
This time, he had just spent several months transporting a shipment from Fontaine to Mondstadt. Through a friend's introduction, he learned that the Akademiya City was about to release new products for public sale, including machinery for transportation. Skeptical but curious, he submitted a purchase intent form.
Early this morning, after receiving an invitation, he arrived at Akademiya City—only to find his old rival, Goss, already there.
"Oh—look who it is! Our dear Johnston! I'm surprised those Treasure Hoarders haven't snatched up a pretty boy like you to be their 'mountain bride'!" Goss looked Johnston up and down, his mocking gaze finally settling on his handsome face, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
Johnston ignored him. Arguing with the man was pointless.
"What? Pretending you don't see me? Your father taught you no manners at all! Back when he was alive, even he called me 'brother'—you should be calling me 'uncle,' you hear me? Ill-bred brat!"
Goss's gray-streaked beard quivered as he chased after Johnston, jabbing a finger in his face and berating him.
Johnston was furious, but he held back, because one punch might just send this old man straight into the afterlife.
The feud between their families dated back to his father's generation. His father, Roy, and Goss had been childhood friends who later formed a merchant caravan together, primarily doing business between Mondstadt and Liyue.
Back then, more and more caravans began trading between Liyue and Mondstadt, cutting into their profits. To solve the problem, Roy and Goss disagreed on the solution.
Roy wanted to expand into new markets beyond Liyue and Mondstadt, but Goss believed that was too risky. Instead, he proposed hiring commercial spies to sabotage their competitors and drive them out of the market.
Neither could convince the other, so they parted ways. Goss took his men and engaged in cutthroat competition with other caravans, while Roy ventured into new territories to establish fresh trade routes.
For the first three years, Goss used underhanded tactics to crush over a dozen competitors, making his caravan one of the top players between Mondstadt and Liyue. Meanwhile, Roy's caravan struggled without progress. Gloating in his petty victory, Goss often went out of his way to mock Roy to his face.
Five years later, Goss's caravan began to decline due to its poor reputation, while Roy's business finally started thriving. The clients and goodwill he had built up over the years paid off, significantly boosting his income.
Furious, Goss continued to berate Roy, his insults growing harsher. The two even came to blows several times.
Later, Roy died in an accident. At his funeral, Goss openly cheered his death, further deepening the conflict with Johnston, who had inherited the caravan.
Since then, every time Johnston returned to Mondstadt, Goss would show up to sneer at him. This had gone on for over a decade.
One reason Johnston rarely returned to Mondstadt was to avoid this bad-tempered old fool.
Today, Goss wouldn't stop yapping in his ear. Normally, Johnston would have left immediately to avoid him, but the three transport vehicles on display at Akademiya City held him rooted in place.
Long-distance caravans were profitable, but the trade-off was the enormous time spent on the road. If these automated transport vehicles could replace traditional manpower and animal-drawn carts, travel time could be reduced by at least tenfold! That meant earning ten times the Mora in a year!
Even if reduced transportation costs cut into profits, he'd still make at least five times as much.
"Tch! A pile of scrap metal for 700,000 Mora? This Qin's got some nerve! With that much Mora, I could hire a whole team of cart drivers and buy a fleet of wagons! What idiot would buy this thing? What if it doesn't pay off?"
Hearing Goss's grumbling, Johnston's eyes gleamed. He immediately decided to sell off all his old wagons and invest 90% of the caravan's funds into these transport vehicles!
Johnston wasn't the only one making this decision. Several others, including some of Akademiya City's shareholders, who also had shipping needs—were ready to place orders.
Some clients signed purchase contracts for the vehicles on the spot, while others, interested in additional construction machinery, planned to check out other exhibits before placing a bulk order—after all, buying ten or more units came with a hefty discount.
Diluc led some clients to the next exhibition area, but Shen Qin didn't need to follow. He wasn't responsible for the commercial side of things.
Returning indoors, he slumped into a chair and let out a long exhale. The sheer volume of transport vehicle orders had wiped away all his earlier worries. The massive investments of the past few months had finally paid off.
Eighty-seven "Cider Lake" models, twenty-two "Dawn" models, and three "Brightcrown" models had been sold, totaling 166.3 million Mora in orders. Including clients who had decided to buy but hadn't yet signed contracts, the transport vehicles alone had already racked up 400 million Mora in sales!
And this was just from the invited guests. If they included the walk-in customers who hadn't made it to this section yet, Shen Qin estimated that over the three-day public exhibition, transport vehicle sales alone could exceed a billion Mora!
Add in the other construction machinery, and hitting ten billion Mora wasn't out of the question.
Ten billion in three days? The shareholders would be over the moon. Such a roaring start promised even greater prospects ahead!
Yet, despite the success, the atmosphere inside the room was tense. Because of Klee's mischief, a weary Shen Qin and a stormy-eyed Jean sat in silence.
After a moment, Shen Qin decided he should take some responsibility. "Jean… I'm also to blame for Klee's antics…"
He admitted that he had allowed Klee to drive, standing before Jean with his head bowed, nervously gripping the hem of his shirt as he braced for her scolding.
Jean took one look at him, his posture identical to Klee's when she was in trouble—and couldn't help but laugh. "Shen, only at times like this do you remind me that you're still just a teenager… Stop standing there like that. I'm not angry with you."
"But you do spoil Klee too much. Playfulness is a child's nature, we shouldn't suppress it, but we must guide her…"
As Jean began imparting her parenting wisdom, Sucrose and Albedo finally caught up with the runaway sun.
The Brightcrown model was faster than a gliding board, but Klee, lost in the thrill of speed, hadn't noticed the two trailing far behind. She zigzagged wildly through the Stormterror's Lair until, with a well-placed Geo construct, Albedo lifted the entire vehicle off the ground, its fourteen wheels spinning helplessly in the air.
Only then did Klee spot them, and realized her doom had arrived.