"Eighty thousand... eighty-one thousand nine hundred tons..."
Jean's hand, holding the teacup, trembled.
What did this amount of gold represent?
All of Mondstadt's gold reserves combined probably wouldn't exceed five thousand tons.
All of Teyvat combined would probably only be a little over a hundred thousand tons.
Liyue, in just over a month, had almost excavated the total amount of gold in all of Teyvat.
Gold was hard currency in this world.
It was the equivalent of money, and even the constituent material of Mora itself.
Furthermore, pure gold often amplified Elemental Power output.
The Mora system also operated on a gold standard.
Otherwise, if Mora was truly formed from Morax's divine power and flesh, wouldn't he just conjure piles of it whenever he pleased?
Wouldn't other nations be terrified?
If there were truly no constraints, even if Zhongli was the God of Contracts, the other Seven Archons would not agree.
And here in Liyue, the gold they collected, even if they only took out a quarter of it, would be enough to destroy the entire Mora system of Teyvat.
Of course, as the biggest beneficiary of the Mora system, Ningguang and her associates would certainly not do something so idiotic.
She hadn't even dared to put that gold in the Golden House.
It was securely locked away in the Minecraft World.
If word of this got out, all of Teyvat would be terrified.
However, Mondstadt was already living and dying with Liyue, so there was no need to hide these things.
"So much... so much gold!"
Paimon's eyes turned golden.
"If Paimon bought food, Paimon wouldn't be able to finish eating it in this lifetime!"
"This is great! Lumine! Paimon wants gold too! Hurry and help Paimon collect gold!"
Ningguang was quite fond of this unknown flying object.
Perhaps it was also influenced by Nahida's gentle and adorable nature.
27 reached out and pinched Paimon's cheek, laughing:
"Little Paimon seems to love good food."
"Of course! Paimon's meaning of life is to taste all the delicacies of Teyvat!"
Paimon waved her little fists, her eyes completely fixated on food.
Suddenly, Paimon's eyes darted around, and she said fawningly:
"Sister Ningguang, you're so rich, so beautiful, and so kind, how about you take care of me?"
"As long as I get to eat delicious food every day, Paimon can help Sister Ningguang with lots and lots of things!"
Lumine's mouth twitched.
Paimon would abandon all dignity for Mora and food.
She wasn't sure how old Paimon was, but she was definitely not younger than Lumine.
Now, just for a few meals, she was shamelessly calling Ningguang "Sister"?
Truly...
"Sister Ningguang~"
Lumine also went over with a fawning expression, hugging Ningguang's arm and pleading:
"I can help too! I'm stronger than Paimon! And I eat less than Paimon! Please consider me, Sister Ningguang~"
Lisa rolled her eyes.
She had invited Lumine for dinner and given her Mora before, but Lumine had never sweetly called her "Sister Lisa" like this.
What a little money-grubber!
Ningguang, however, found Lumine and Paimon quite adorable.
Plus, they were outsiders, just like Jiang Xuan.
Ningguang naturally felt a good impression towards them.
Besides, how much could it cost to support these two little ones?
Even if Paimon ate like yesterday every day, Ningguang's wealth would last her ten thousand years.
Moreover, it could leave a good impression on Lumine and the others.
Why not do it?
"How about this?"
Ningguang chuckled softly, and said gently:
"From now on, all of Paimon and Lumine's expenses in Liyue will be reimbursed by the Jade Chamber."
"If you're in other of the Seven Nations, I can also provide you with some travel funds, ensuring you won't go hungry."
Hearing this, Paimon and Lumine's eyes immediately lit up.
"Really! How much travel funding is there?!"
Paimon looked like a little money-grubber, making Ningguang laugh softly.
"It depends on your needs. The Jade Chamber isn't short on Mora, and neither is Liyue."
"If little Paimon wishes, I can even build you a house out of gold."
Paimon happily clutched her chest, fantasizing about living in a golden house and eating delicious food every day.
"Sister Ningguang is the most beautiful and kindest good person Paimon has ever met! Paimon likes Sister Ningguang the most!"
Paimon joyfully threw herself into Ningguang's arms.
Having always believed in "food is mother," upon hearing Ningguang's generous offer of patronage, she almost wanted to shout "Mommy."
Jean shook her head, but was still happy for Lumine and the others.
Mondstadt was truly short on money, to the point that they, who should have greatly thanked Lumine, could only let Lisa pay five million out of her own pocket.
Jean had always felt bad about it, and with Lumine still needing to travel all over Teyvat to find her brother, Ningguang's Mora support was the best possible outcome.
However, Jean also secretly planned.
Once Mondstadt's situation improved, with Jiang Xuan's world as a foundation, she would properly compensate Lumine and the others.
"Ningguang, you said before that you wouldn't trade alchemy potions with us... what about iron ore and such?"
Jean asked gently, and Ningguang immediately smiled:
"Those things... if you need them, you can pick them up for five thousand Mora per ton. Just pay for labor."
"One ton... five thousand?!"
Diluc looked at Ningguang in utter shock.
Iron ore, especially top-grade iron ore, was a hard currency, often costing hundreds of thousands or even millions of Mora per ton in the market this morning.
Now...
Five thousand Mora?
A meal at Wanmin Restaurant would cost three thousand!
This wasn't just dirt cheap; it was practically free!
Ningguang smiled and nodded.
"The resources in that world are countless and undeveloped. Under Jiang Xuan's guidance, we even learned to make iron farms, so miners don't need to go into the mines."
"Every day, only two people need to stand by the iron farm, and they can collect hundreds of tons of iron ore in a short while."
"The iron farm runs all day, with very high efficiency, including all the resources you've seen..."
"Actually, internal government agencies in Liyue only exchange them for a few thousand Mora as a token gesture."
"Miners now only go into the caves to find diamonds. Our main force in that world is truly focused on building cities."
Everyone fell silent after hearing this.
After a long pause, Diluc said, somewhat helplessly:
"Then... what about the Elemental Resonance Weapons from your forging department..."
"Oh, those..."
Ningguang wasn't afraid to reveal secrets; after all, Mondstadt would have to do the same in the future.
"Excluding Teyvat materials, the material cost is zero. Including labor and such, a weapon like Tartaglia's, which cost him five hundred million Mora."
"In reality, it only costs a little over a million Mora to make."
"If we exclude the raw materials he has to provide for forging, our cost is still zero."
"Also, let me tell you a secret..."
Ningguang smiled meaningfully.
"Those weapons only need the materials poured into a mold and two hours to set. If we wanted to, we could mass-produce thousands of them a day."
"But as Jiang Xuan said, it's about scarcity marketing. Mora isn't important; the main goal is to increase Liyue's influence in Teyvat."
"I'm telling you this now because you'll need to develop in the same way we do later. This is the rule, and it's also your means for rapid development."
Diluc fell silent.
He thought of his actions yesterday, going to the forging department to apply to spend a billion Mora, more than Tartaglia, to make a batch of weapons.
He felt like a complete idiot.
Thankfully, he hadn't spent that Mora; otherwise, whether he was a sucker or not didn't matter, but it would have been embarrassing.
Suddenly, Lisa's face turned pale, and she even seemed unable to sit still.
"Lisa!"
Jean, a little nervous, quickly steadied her.
"I'm fine, Jean..."
Lisa shook her head slightly; she just hadn't slept much these past two days, and the curse was acting up.
She was used to it.
Ningguang's eyes moved, and she said softly:
"That's my fault, I forgot Lisa has a curse. Drink some milk first, eat a Golden Apple, and if that doesn't work, we'll have Jiang Xuan take a look when he gets back."
With that, Ningguang took out milk and a Golden Apple from her interdimensional space and placed them on the table.
It was fortunate that the table was made in the Minecraft World; otherwise, it would have collapsed instantly.
Ningguang felt confident about solving Lisa's curse.
After all, if Karma was gone, how powerful could a mere curse be?
Lisa didn't stand on ceremony.
These resources, from Ningguang's perspective, should be inexhaustible.
Given that, it was a small matter.
Lisa reached for the Golden Apple, but after much effort, couldn't pick it up.
She looked at Ningguang, puzzled.
"Sorry, I forgot, this Golden Apple weighs sixteen tons..."
Ningguang smacked her head, apologizing.
"Then this iron bucket won't..."
Meeting Lisa's gaze, Ningguang looked a little sheepish.
"This one... weighs almost three tons..."
Lisa fell silent.
Although she found the characteristics of this world quite bizarre.
But now...
The thing that could cure her curse was right in front of her, yet she couldn't eat it because she couldn't lift it?
Was she going to have to lie on the table to eat it?
How embarrassing would that be?
As she was pondering, suddenly, starlights flickered nearby.
Ningguang immediately stood up.
"Jiang Xuan is back. Let him solve it."
Jean and the others were startled, and quickly stood up as well.
After all, they were facing a World Lord. In terms of status, he was even higher than the Archons.
And ultimately, whether they could enter that world depended on Jiang Xuan's approval.
Gradually, the starlights condensed, and several voices came from within.
"Seriously, my Redstone Flower Float is almost finished, why did you have to bring me back?!"
"Is Ningguang coming back for lunch today?!"
"Then you guys can just go back! I can stay!"
"If I let you stay, you'd probably try to modify the Redstone Flower Float with some dangerous contraptions. Just come back obediently, and I'll treat you to lunch!"
"Eat what? Shall I make you a revamped version of the Spooky March?"
"How about you stay here for now?"
"Jiang Xuan!!!"
A shout of annoyance, followed by Hu Tao chasing Jiang Xuan out.
She leaped up and skillfully bit his neck from his back.
"Ow, ow, ow! You brat! Do you want me to spank you?!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Xuan felt several gazes focused on him.
He immediately smacked Hu Tao's butt, and she jumped down, her face flushed, standing obediently to the side.
But when she looked at Jiang Xuan, she still glared at him.
Ganyu also came out, holding Nahida's hand, along with Keqing.
The Dual-Passage Door closed.
Jiang Xuan tidied his appearance and smiled, nodding at Ningguang.
"It seems... you've already signed the final contract."
Perhaps because Jiang Xuan's earlier display was genuinely warm and amusing, Jean and the others' nervousness greatly subsided.
Lisa blinked and said softly:
"It's really hard to see you, Mr. Jiang Xuan."
"Just call me Jiang Xuan."
Jiang Xuan smiled faintly.
"I don't think I'm that hard to see, am I? After all, you came looking for me two days after arriving in Liyue, didn't you?"
Lisa shrugged.
"Well, since you invited me for tea, I naturally wanted to hurry."
"Tea it is! No problem, we can have lunch too."
As soon as he spoke, Lisa chuckled and shook her head.
She pointed to the milk and Golden Apple on the table.
"Can tea wait for another day? For now... how about you treat me to some milk?"
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