After waiting for a while, Xia Zhi and Shenhe finally returned.
"You're back at last."
"Mm."
"How many materials did you find?"
"Not bad, take a look."
"That's quite a lot."
"What about you?"
"Not as much as you."
"That's fine. After all, you didn't have a Treasure Compass."
"Here you go."
"Thanks for the hard work."
"Let's go, let's go, time to play some games."
"Mm."
Xia Zhi noticed Ganyu was looking at him, which felt a bit odd.
"Miss Ganyu?"
"Ah? Oh, yes."
Ganyu quickly nodded.
Xia Zhi caught a hint of fluster in her eyes.
He glanced at the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata and felt that the relationship between her and Ganyu had become more harmonious.
He wondered what had happened between them when they teamed up earlier...
The four of them returned to Xia Zhi's Meditation Space, played some casual games together, and after they'd had enough fun, they went out to gather more materials.
When it was about time, they bid each other farewell and woke up from the dream.
Ganyu opened her eyes and looked at Shenhe, who was sitting beside her.
Her junior sister hadn't woken up yet.
Even though they all left the dream at the same time, Shenhe always seemed to lag behind a bit.
Did she stay behind to do something with Mr. Xia after we left?
Really...
Ganyu leaned closer, looking at Shenhe with her eyes closed.
In this state, Shenhe's expression seemed softer, with less of the usual coldness in her brows and eyes.
She looked even more beautiful.
Like someone not of this world.
But even so, she still couldn't compare to a true deity.
The gap between them was too vast.
Could there really be love between a god and a mortal?
As she was lost in thought, Shenhe suddenly opened her eyes and saw Ganyu's face close to hers. She spoke softly, "Senior sister?"
"Junior sister, you're awake."
"Mm."
Shenhe got out of bed, extinguished the Seven-Star Lamp on the table, and naturally began to change out of her pajamas.
Ganyu looked at her junior sister and was slightly stunned.
Last night, during the bath, the lighting had been dim, so she hadn't noticed much.
But now, in the morning light, she realized that Shenhe had grown a bit more.
It definitely wasn't her imagination!
Because Shenhe was clearly struggling a bit with buttoning her clothes.
Youth is truly wonderful.
Ganyu silently lowered her head and began to change her own clothes.
Unlike her, her body had long stopped developing, and now she only seemed to gain weight.
They went downstairs to wash up.
Today's breakfast was indeed sour cabbage and shredded pork noodles.
Ganyu's bowl didn't have any shredded pork—it was just sour cabbage noodles—but Xia Zhi had added a Drumstick Mushroom to her bowl, fried until golden and crispy, looking quite tempting.
"Don't be envious. The chicken legs are marinating, and I'll make fried chicken for you all this afternoon."
"Mm!"
"Miss Ganyu, try this. I used the same recipe as the fried chicken, so it should taste pretty similar."
"Alright."
Ganyu picked up the Drumstick Mushroom in her bowl and took a careful bite.
It was a bit hot, but the juices were rich and flavorful.
The mushroom strands were similar to shredded chicken in texture, though there was no bone inside.
So this is what fried chicken tastes like?
"How is it?"
"Delicious!"
"Great. If you like it, I'll make it for you again next time."
"Thank you, Mr. Xia."
Ganyu lowered her head, looking at the Drumstick Mushroom she had bitten into, and her resolve suddenly solidified.
Who cares if he's a god or not!
With Mr. Xia's amazing cooking skills and wonderful personality, she absolutely had to help her junior sister win him over.
That way, she could keep enjoying his meals.
After breakfast, Ganyu bid farewell and headed to Yuehai Pavilion for work.
Along the way, many people greeted her.
The newly crowned Mahjong King—she had become quite famous.
Her cousin had also gained some fame.
After all, she had made it to the finals and was the youngest participant.
Following Shenhe and Diona, the little shop now had another celebrity.
Xia Zhi stood behind the counter, listening to the customers' enthusiastic discussions about yesterday's Mahjong King Tournament, and felt that the event had been quite successful.
The Feiyun Commerce Guild really had some tricks up their sleeve.
He wondered how much his share of the profits would be—it should be quite a lot, right?
In the afternoon, Xia Zhi fried up some chicken legs and fries as usual.
It was strange—if you didn't eat them for a while, you'd crave them, but eating them every day would make you feel sick of them. Once a week was just the right frequency.
Miss Ningguang arrived a bit earlier today.
Her little secretary, Baiwen, accompanied her.
Xia Zhi gave her a massage and casually brought up business matters.
"The Feiyun Commerce Guild actually did me a favor this time."
"Oh?"
"Mr. Xia, have you heard of the Chasm?"
"I've heard some rumors at the Mingxing Jewelry and Jueyun Karst. It seems something happened there, and it was sealed off not long ago."
"Yes, something very strange has been happening underground there."
"Very strange?"
"Things that can't be explained or predicted by common sense. We're still investigating. Some miners have already mysteriously disappeared, and combined with some ominous records from the past, we decided to seal it off for safety reasons."
"That makes sense. It's a reasonable approach."
"The Chasm is mainly where the Blackcliff Forge operates. At first, the workers understood our decision, but after several months of being sealed off, the forge couldn't resume operations. Without work, the miners had no income, and they gradually became dissatisfied."
"After all, danger is invisible, but eating is an immediate concern."
"Exactly. But until the investigation is complete, we don't plan to reopen the forge. Our initial approach was to provide living subsidies to the miners so they could at least afford food."
"That's a compromise."
"But it's not sustainable. The best solution is to get the miners back to work. However, most of them only know how to mine, so finding other jobs is difficult. I was really struggling with this until you came along, Mr. Xia."
"Oh?"
"You invented Mahjong and partnered with the Feiyun Commerce Guild to host this Mahjong King Tournament. Now, this new board game has become a craze in Liyue, and merchants from other nations have seen the business opportunity. They've been placing large orders with the Feiyun Commerce Guild to buy Mahjong sets to sell back home."
"So…"
"Exactly. The Feiyun Commerce Guild focuses more on selling goods, and their production capacity can't meet the current demand. Last night, the young master of the Feiyun Commerce Guild came to see me, hoping to collaborate with the Blackcliff Forge. The raw materials needed for Mahjong don't require high-quality stone, and the nearby Mt. Tianheng can be mined for it. This way, we can solve the forge's operational issues while allowing the Feiyun Commerce Guild to expand their business. It's a win-win collaboration."
"I see. Congratulations."
"Congratulations to you too, Mr. Xia. You're about to make a fortune."
"Haha, indeed."
After finishing Ningguang's massage, Xia Zhi also gave Baiwen a quick one.
This was the little secretary's second visit, and she was still shy, trying to hold back her sounds but failing, her face turning red.
She was quite cute.