Victor Wang sat quietly in the Ministry of Civil Affairs office for more than an hour.
Maybe it was because she was too tired, maybe it was because she trusted the Ministry of Civil Affairs completely, or maybe it was both—Keqing kept her reclining position on the sofa and slept peacefully.
It was easy to tell she usually had a good sleeping posture: she didn't talk in her sleep, made no sound apart from her steady, faint breathing, and didn't toss and turn or kick off the blanket… otherwise, the slightest movement would have instantly woken her.
So cute.
Just as Victor Wang was thinking this for the nth time, Keqing's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes.
"You're awake?"
"Ahem." Keqing smoothed her clothes, which weren't messy at all, and asked calmly, "Did your ID get done? No further issues?"
Victor Wang raised the ID card in his hand. "It's done. I stayed here just to tell you in person."
"Oh. If you 'lose' your ID in the future, you can use your ID number to get a replacement—be sure to remember that number."
"Mm-hmm."
"If there's nothing else, you can go."
"Goodbye."
Victor Wang waved, thinking to himself: Looks like Keqing doesn't have morning temper either.
Outside, as expected, it was already dusk. For dinner, there was no doubt he'd eat at Wanmin Restaurant. On the way, he mentally listed the things he needed to do.
The most urgent was to write out the script for The Butterfly Lovers. If someone asked how a young man not in the theater trade remembered it, the story would have to start with his grandfather.
In the brief time his grandfather had accompanied him in life, he'd roughly taught him two and a half skills: one was fishing, one was playing the erhu, and the remaining "half" was opera.
His grandfather loved listening to opera—Peking Opera, Yu Opera, Shaoxing Opera, Kunqu Opera, Huangmei Opera—basically anything. Being exposed to it since childhood, much of it had faded from memory as he grew older, but now, thanks to his extraordinary recall, it was all brought back—and put to good use.
Yes, he remembered it clearly, and "stealing" it wouldn't be a problem.
When he arrived at Wanmin Restaurant, before he even stepped inside, Xiangling, looking excited, ran up to him.
"Victor! Where'd you go after we split up? I went to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and Luhua Guesthouse to find you—nowhere to be seen."
"Did bubble gum sales go so well that you're short on ingredients?"
"It is about the bubble gum, but not that problem. Listen—not long after we split up, one of Ningguang's secretaries came to me and said I should apply for a patent for the chewing gum and bubble gum, or else someone might snatch it first!"
"Patent? You can patent a dish?"
"Right?! I've been in the trade so many years and never heard of it. But that secretary—I think her name was Baishi or Baixiao—said, 'Chewing gum and bubble gum are uniquely innovative, so their formula and production process can be patented. I recommend applying quickly, before someone figures out the simple ingredients and applies ahead of you.'
She also said if someone gets the patent first, Wanmin Restaurant won't be able to sell chewing gum or bubble gum anymore—unless we pay them a fee for a license."
"And? You didn't apply?"
"You're the inventor. How could I be the one to apply? So, I spent half the day trying to find you with her. She left eventually, but before leaving, she gave me this paper and said that when you came back, you could take it to the Ministry of Civil Affairs to get priority application."
Xiangling handed him a folded white sheet. Opening it, he saw only a vermilion seal that read "Tianquan Special Permit."
"…I was literally just at the Ministry of Civil Affairs."
"Uh…"
"Come on, let's go again."
"Me?" Xiangling tilted her head in confusion. "I don't need to go, right?"
"Didn't the secretary say the production process can also be patented? I only provided the recipe—you're the one who actually makes the chewing gum and bubble gum."
"Mm…" After a moment's thought, Xiangling didn't refuse. She told Master Mao and followed Victor Wang to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
Victor Wang wasn't particularly interested in the patent itself, but just like the secretary said—if someone else registered it first, he'd have to pay to use his own invention. That, he couldn't accept.
What's mine is mine. Even if I don't care about it, even if I'd give it away, no one's going to steal it.
Then again… today was only the first day bubble gum went on sale. They'd only sold 79 pieces total. That "patent thief" probably didn't exist yet. And this "Tianquan Special Permit"… maybe this was more than it seemed. Could it be Ningguang wanted to invest?
He remembered she'd said she had supported Wanmin Restaurant before—maybe this was what she meant.
Oh, and one more thing…
"Xiangling, do you know the housing prices in Liyue Harbor?"
"Mm… I've heard a little. You buying a place? In Chihu Rock or Feiyun Slope?"
"That depends on my wallet's limits. Start with Chihu Rock."
Liyue Harbor was divided into three major districts—Feiyun Slope, Chihu Rock, and Yujing Terrace.
Since Chihu Rock was actually a separate small island, far from the political center Yujing Terrace, it was the cheapest, Feiyun Slope came next, and Yujing Terrace was the most expensive—so expensive that Xiangling didn't even bring it up at first.
"From what I heard a few months ago… a 200-square-meter place in Chihu Rock cost… about this much in Mora. That's roughly this much per square meter."
H-how much?
Two hundred square meters—250 million Mora?!
Even with the big earnings from three books, Victor Wang was sure his savings hadn't yet reached "one small target."
He did the math quickly in his head—1.25 million Mora per square meter. A high-ranking adventurer could make about 40,000 Mora a day from four daily commissions, meaning it'd take 31.25 days to buy one square meter. Two hundred square meters would take about 6,000 days… roughly 17.12 years.
Ahaha… actually kind of like Earth prices… maybe even cheaper. A hundred-square-meter place would only take nine years… assuming adventurers had zero living expenses… ha… ha…
Good thing he hadn't told Keqing earlier that he could afford a house. Still, with a few more books copied, he actually could.
Feeling reassured, Victor Wang's stress melted away.
Xiangling kept talking: "A hundred-square-meter place in Feiyun Slope costs—"
"Hold it. I'm sensitive to numbers. Just tell me how many times more expensive than Chihu Rock."
"Mm… actually, not that much more. About 50% higher."
"Heh… and Yujing Terrace?"
"That's just absurd. At least twice the price of Feiyun Slope."
Even knowing he had plenty of "books to cash out," Victor Wang's mouth twitched.
This time, thanks to showing Ningguang's seal directly, their trip to the Ministry of Civil Affairs went without a hitch. A young man was even assigned to guide them personally, leading them through several turns inside the ministry building to an unoccupied reception room.
"Please wait here, I'll fetch the necessary documents."
With that, the man—clearly not just an ordinary receptionist—left.
"This isn't normal patent-application treatment, is it?"
"If you don't know, I definitely don't," Victor Wang said innocently. "But chewing gum and bubble gum are clearly taken seriously."
The room was clearly different from a regular office—refined in decoration.
One wall held calligraphy and paintings from unknown masters. The other wall was replaced by a camphorwood display shelf full of exquisite porcelain and dazzling jewels—including what looked like the core of Solar Pearl. Even the two potted plants were fresher and more exotic than the greenery in the hallways.
In short, it radiated visible high-class air—probably only used for important deals.
Before long, the young man returned carrying a thick stack of contracts.
"Before applying for the patent, I must confirm with you: for food patents, the recipe must be made public. Are you aware of that?"
Victor Wang frowned. "You're saying we're applying for protection, but have to reveal the recipe?"
"That's correct. Let me explain. If a food recipe is especially complex and known to no one else—the so-called 'secret recipe'—and you believe it won't be leaked, you can choose not to patent it.
"But your chewing gum and bubble gum, while novel, use ingredients that are easy to reverse-engineer… in fact, Miss Xiangling, for the customers' safety, already pointed out the main ingredient is refined Slime Condensate, correct?"
Victor Wang nodded silently. Using Slime as a raw material was indeed too obvious—even without being told, both Ganyu and Zhongli had guessed it the first time they tried bubble gum.
The young man continued:
"As for the flavors—that's another matter.
But once chewing gum and bubble gum get popular, there will be many who try to imitate them, some even hiring private investigators to watch you in hopes of learning the 'secret recipe.'
Rather than let that happen, it's better to make the recipe public and apply for a patent in exchange for protection. This is Lady Ningguang's suggestion, and she guarantees that after it's public, it will actually be safest.
Of course, if you'd rather not, you can leave right now.
There's no compulsion here. If Lady Ningguang weren't busy with the Young Master's case, she would meet you herself. I hope you can feel our respect."
***
(T/N1:"Peking Opera, Yu Opera, Shaoxing Opera, Kunqu Opera, Huangmei Opera" All of these are forms of Chinese Opera where movement and acrobatics is emphasized alongside vibrant makeups and costumes compared to Western Opera's realistic acting, voice techniques and dramaticism.)
(T/N2: Example of said Chinese Opera is Genshin's character "Yun Jin" where she is literally the concept of Chinese Opera.)