In Teyvat, at Liyue Harbor, upon Yunjing Terrace, inside a modest-sized trading company.
"Boss Li, a pleasure doing business," said a middle-aged man dressed in Snezhnayan attire, offering a friendly smile to the young shop owner before him.
"These fifty thousand kilograms of grain will resolve my most urgent needs. I hope you understand, Boss Li, and can deliver them as soon as possible."
"Mr. Zhat, please rest assured," Su Bai looked at this veritable "God of Wealth" before him with a face full of smiles, offering comfort. "The contract is sealed. One who breaks a contract shall be punished by eating rocks. Within three days, the fifty thousand jin of grain will be delivered to the warehouse of the Harbor Ministry of Civil Affairs."
"Good, good, good!" Upon hearing this, Zhat uttered three 'goods' in a row, finally setting his mind at ease as he led his people away.
Following Zhat's departure with his eyes, Su Bai turned and went back behind the counter, storing the freshly signed grain purchase contract. He hefted the heavy bag of Mora in his hand and couldn't help but reveal a faint smile.
Another day of getting something for nothing...
Leaning against the counter, Su Bai gazed at the bustling street outside, his mind beginning to wander.
He possessed an MC World Two-Way Door, allowing him to travel freely between the two worlds.
Decades ago, due to an accidental explosion, Su Bai crossed over into this blocky world of Minecraft. After grinding for decades, and with an emphasis on caution and stability, he used powerful redstone-powered automation to finally defeat the Ender Dragon.
The moment it ended, the Two-Way Door awakened. On the other side of the door, naturally, was Teyvat.
He had already been here for over half a month. He had accumulated some wealth and opened this "Science Department Store" here on Yunjing Terrace.
What? You ask where the startup capital came from?
Su Bai had powerful redstone后勤 (logistics/supply lines). While gold wasn't the circulating currency in Teyvat, as a commodity, its value was not low. He took a few stacks of gold nuggets from his Piglin trading farm, sold them off in different places, and the Mora for renting a place was secured.
After that, he opened this "zero-capital, high-profit" trading company, starting with some business to earn Mora.
The current timeline was half a year before the blond traveler would arrive. Storyteller Liu Su still frequently went to the Stone Gate to tell his tales.
Tempered by decades of solitude, Su Bai was in no immediate hurry. As the saying goes, "sit steady on the fishing platform, accepting fish big and small." His goal was simply to live a fulfilling life in this world where he was no longer alone.
"Hello, how can I help you?"
Right in the middle of his contemplation, a young woman entered the shop. She had jade-like skin and a scholarly air. Su Bai glanced at her; her face was very unfamiliar. Hmm, must be an extra.
"Oh, I'm just looking around," the girl nodded in acknowledgement, but her gaze never left the shelves. Seeing this was the case, Su Bai simply sat back down.
A department store naturally couldn't only sell things like grain. It also sold ores, metals, books, and even maps and equipment.
The girl's eyes were fixed on a map and a piece of amethyst. Or rather, she was primarily drawn by the amethyst.
Unlike the grassy, pixelated look of MC, this amethyst was indistinguishable from a real object. It had clear edges and corners, and the material was transparent and bright.
"Boss, how much for this?" the girl asked, pointing at the amethyst on the shelf. For no other reason than it was too beautiful. That kind of pure purple, the transparent and profound crystal, she thought would surely make for excellent crafts.
"Amethyst cluster. Sincerely, 100,000 Mora," Su Bai walked out from behind the counter, saying with a chuckle.
"100,000?!" The girl looked incredulous, her eyes darting back and forth between Su Bai and the amethyst, her lips slightly parted as if she found it too expensive?
"Ahem, I can see you're a connoisseur, the price is negotiable."
Seeing this, Su Bai gave a light cough, afraid he had scared her off with the high price. After all, he had just randomly set a price for this thing; he wasn't sure what it was actually worth.
"Uh... this, is that appropriate?" The girl seemed hesitant, but, steadying herself, she thought of her responsibilities. "Nine-eighty?"
Hearing the girl's tentative counter-offer, Su Bai was momentarily stunned. Had he priced it too low or too high?
"Deal!"
But, well, he couldn't pass up money. Since the girl named her own price, Su Bai had no reason to refuse. Anyway, keeping the amethyst cluster was useless except for taking up storage space or making a spyglass.
For small goods, payment and delivery settled the matter, no contract needed. Finally, Su Bai also gave her a 30% discount on the map, "tearfully" earning 105,000 Mora from this girl, and happily saw her out.
"Boss Su, I'm the owner of the Xigu Ju antique shop over there. Feel free to come to my shop in the future, I'll give you a discount too," Linlang said with a light laugh.
"Great! If I have needs in the future, I'll definitely come to support your business, Miss Linlang," Su Bai laughed in reply. This girl spoke quite pleasantly. So she was the owner of Xigu Ju, no wonder she had money to spare.
After the two politely parted and once she was sure Su Bai had gone back inside, Linlang's mouth couldn't help but curl into a beautiful smile, her steps becoming light with joy.
"A steal! I got a steal!"
In her professional judgment, honed from years of dealing in jewelry and antiques, this piece of amethyst was worth at least 1.5 million Mora! After processing it, the price would soar even higher!
To think she managed to get it for less than 100,000 Mora!
"I wonder if I can buy more in the future..."
"Master Wang, please appraise this piece of amethyst."
Back at Xigu Ju, Linlang immediately went to find the old master craftsman in the back room to get his expert opinion.
Master Wang didn't delay, though he couldn't help but wonder what strange object the boss had picked up this time.
However, the moment he saw the amethyst, its brilliance under the sunlight instantly made him treat it seriously. He hurried forward, taking it reverently with both hands, and began his appraisal with great care.
"Heavens!! This texture, it's comparable in value to the Unmoving Essential Stones!"
"It has no elemental energy attached,making it even more suitable for jewelry than Crystal Chunks!"
"This level of clarity and brightness is even better than Inazuman Amethyst!Boss, you've hit the jackpot!"
Master Wang, of course, didn't ask where it came from. In this line of work, it's a rule not to ask about the origin of items. After all, who knows what troubles a precious stone might have been through.
"Heheh, then I'll trouble you, Master Wang, to design and craft it," Linlang's eyes sparkled, overjoyed. In all her time hunting for bargains, this was the first time she had heard Master Wang give such high praise.
Hmm, decided!
I'll go back to that trading company tomorrow! There seemed to be plenty of other good things on those shelves!
But before that, this map needs to be delivered to that person at the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
After all, such a detailed aerial view map...
---
Back at the Department Store.
Su Bai counted today's earnings. Three income streams in total: Zhat's deposit for the grain order, the amethyst and map Linlang bought.
"Business is still pretty bleak," Su Bai sighed, taking a sip of tea. "Only made a little over two million all day."
The department store had been open for over ten days, but the customer flow was consistently low. Even Zhat was originally poached by Su Bai with a low price offer. Thankfully, thanks to this Snezhnayan merchant, Su Bai gained access to their商会 (guild/association), thus enabling large-scale trade.
The deposit for that single grain trade alone was two million Mora.
"I'll go wander around Chihu Rock today. When it comes to food, you really have to hand it to Liyue."
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100 powerstones = 1 chapters
200 powerstones = 3 chapters
300 powerstones = 5 chapters