Mo Seris frowned. "A quarter to a half above the usual, depending on the current prices. Do you need specific material quantities?"
"No need. I trust you." Mo Yiren waved his hand. "Just fill out the offer sheet in the resource hall, and have them prepare the delivery."
Even if Mo Yiren did not think the baby was special, it did not affect his attitude towards Mo Seris. It was a matter of policy coming down straight from Mo Lidor to accept higher bids for unusual deliveries, after all.
Mo Seris saw that Mo Yiren was unconvinced. The initial enthusiasm had not returned. However, Mo Seris thought that he could still turn things around.
It was just that the older man had poor judgement, and was not thinking clearly!
"It was clearly worth that price," Mo Seris said. "Only a quarter above usual, and how much of a reward would we receive if the infant is special?"
Mo Yiren laughed. "How many times have I heard such things?"
"You have seen more deliveries than I have," Mo Seris said. "What do you think? The price is worth it, isn't it?"
As Mo Yiren sank into deep thought, Mo Seris suddenly got nervous. He reassured himself.
What does it matter what the doddering old man thinks! He has gotten blind over the years, anyways.
After a moment passed in silence, Mo Yiren's eyes cleared. "You know, Assistant Steward Seris, the Mo Family has been taking deliveries for almost five decades. It is hard to believe, but I have been there from the beginning…"
"Yes, you have reminded me of this before," Mo Seris said impatiently.
It did not seem that Mo Yiren noticed the interruption. As though he was talking to himself, he continued, oblivious to all else. "Now, five decades is quite some time. We have taken deliveries on the order of hundreds a month. Hundreds a month, over the course of forty-some odd years, amounts to quite a few deliveries…
"…Now, in all of those hundreds upon hundreds of deliveries, I have never seen a case like this before. From this perspective, the quarter-above seems trivial. However, I have seen many 'firsts' over the years, each unique in their own way.
"I have seen deformities, maladies, parasites, curses, just about every condition you could name, all strange deliveries in their own right. Among them, I have seen no special physiques. In fact, it is rare that the 'strangeness' turns out to be a condition that the Grand Elder approves of…"
Mo Seris resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Knowing how much Mo Yiren was valued by Mo Lidor, he needed to pretend to be attentive. However, this did not stop him from scoffing internally.
Giving lectures unprompted, who did the old man think he was?
"…most of the unusual deliveries are either useless or worth a fraction of a normal one. Knowing that, what policy would you make regarding special babies?"
Mo Seris waved his hand flippantly. "For the generic case, if it only loses money, then it is obvious that it should be worth less, not more. But for-"
"Exactly what you would think," Mo Yiren interrupted with a laugh. "What you would think, however, of course, does not tell the whole story."
Mo Yiren stared at Mo Seris with a look of utter seriousness.
"This does not tell the whole story, because if just a single delivery has a special physique, then it would make every single one of those other deliveries worth it. It would change the very way I look back on those past deliveries, as it should. Believe it or not, this is why the Sixth Steward does not mind the over-purchasing of the strange deliveries that turn out to be useless."
Mo Yiren chuckled.
Mo Seris resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
Believe it, I believe it! Just finish the lecture!