"I'm afraid my hospitality has been lacking. Please forgive me, everyone~"
Because of the new trade agreement, both Yae Miko from Inazuma and the Regrator from Snezhnaya had come over.
"Lady Ningguang, I thought your hospitality was supposed to be quite exceptional."
"But now that I've seen it for myself, it's nothing special."
Seated inside the lavishly decorated Liuli Pavilion, the Regrator looked at Ningguang with undisguised irritation.
This woman had not only been chosen by Morax.
Even the Genius had chosen her.
It was simply too unfair.
He had practically ended up with nothing!
"If Mr. Regrator feels wronged because I didn't take you to the Jade Chamber, then I truly would be doing you an injustice."
"The Jade Chamber no longer belongs to me alone."
"As for the more advanced facilities, they're temporarily closed to the public."
There was no problem with letting Yae Miko visit the space station.
But the Regrator was another matter.
Su Ran hadn't given permission.
And if he asked again, Ningguang simply didn't want him there.
Of course, if the Regrator saw that enormous structure built in space, he would probably become even more devastated.
"Hmm, Liyue's cuisine really is as delightful as ever."
Yae Miko showed no sign of behaving like a guest.
She picked up her chopsticks and immediately began sampling the dishes on the table.
"I've long heard that the people of Liyue like to conduct business over meals."
Although the two weren't exactly friends, Yae Miko's position was closer to Ningguang's.
After all, both of them were closer to Su Ran.
"Lady Guuji certainly seems to be enjoying herself."
"It's thanks to the Genius that Inazuma has been able to benefit from this opportunity."
When facing Ningguang, the Regrator could only grit his teeth.
But toward Yae Miko, he was filled with disdain.
A shabby little place like Inazuma had merely been pitied by the Genius and given an opportunity.
Otherwise, what qualifications did Inazuma have to sit at the same table as Liyue and Snezhnaya?
"Likewise."
Yae Miko didn't care in the slightest about his sarcasm.
So what if Inazuma had gotten an advantage?
How much had Snezhnaya gotten?
At least Yae Miko had managed to secure the position of Deputy Director of the space station.
What did the Regrator have?
Oh...
Snezhnaya's representative for commerce.
Wonderful! Wonderful!
Impressive! Impressive!
Of course, the luckiest person of all was Ningguang.
Both Yae Miko and the Regrator understood that Ningguang was the truly fortunate one.
Liyue wasn't where Su Ran had first descended.
Nor was it his first destination after leaving.
He didn't even have many ambiguous relationships with people there.
And yet, somehow, this stroke of good fortune had landed squarely on Ningguang.
He had seen her potential.
Was this rich-businesswoman aura really that important?
"The two of you don't need to be so hostile toward one another."
"After all, we're all sitting here for the sake of mutual prosperity."
"The assistance brought by the Luofu is so substantial that even three nations combined can't fully absorb it."
"What we should be discussing now is how to properly distribute the goods and use them to develop our respective nations."
As the person in charge, Ningguang had confidence in spades.
"Where is that fox lady from beyond this world?"
The Regrator acknowledged Ningguang's abilities.
But ultimately, the two were competitors.
Although they were cooperating because of the current circumstances, he still couldn't completely trust her.
If he could establish a direct connection with that fox woman from beyond the stars, perhaps he could maximize Snezhnaya's interests.
"Miss Tingyun doesn't have that much time to sit around discussing these things with us."
"This agreement is better described as a unilateral aid package from the Luofu to Teyvat than a true trade agreement."
"After all, Mora is practically worthless to them."
"To them, it's no different from sand on the ground."
Mora hadn't been integrated into the interstellar trade system, nor was there any exchange channel connecting it to Credits.
So the Luofu was merely going through the motions.
It was primarily about preserving everyone's dignity.
It was called trade, but in reality, it was aid.
Teyvat's population was simply too small, and its technology was far too backward.
There was essentially nothing it could offer the Luofu in return.
It couldn't even qualify as a meaningful source of resources.
"Could you introduce me to her?"
The Regrator thought that perhaps, through the Genius's connections, he could get that fox woman to pay a little more attention to Snezhnaya.
Unfortunately...
"I'd advise against it."
"Miss Tingyun's values are far too different from yours."
"Be careful not to make her dislike you."
"And if you disturb her mood while she's enjoying her trip, there's no guarantee that the person sitting at the negotiating table next time will still be you."
Have Snezhnaya contact Tingyun?
How could Ningguang possibly be that foolish?
Did she not understand what Snezhnaya wanted?
Wasn't it obvious that they wanted to swallow everything for themselves?
But did they actually have the capital to do so?
Even if the Tsaritsa herself came personally, so what?
The Regrator, who originally couldn't even sit peacefully at the same table with Ningguang, could only behave amicably because of this trade agreement.
The three nations would receive equal quantities of goods.
Thirty-three percent each.
As for the remaining one percent, that belonged personally to Ningguang.
And the profits from selling that one percent would belong solely to Su Ran.
Of course, that didn't mean Su Ran's total share was limited to that one percent.
After all, Ningguang was ultimately an employee.
Everything she possessed belonged to Su Ran as well, and he could spend it however he pleased.
Yet this seemingly insignificant position was something countless people were already coveting.
The remaining one percent of the goods wouldn't be sold to Liyue, Snezhnaya, or Inazuma.
Instead, it would be distributed among the other four nations.
It was essentially giving them a little taste.
Otherwise, people from those four nations might all flock to the three favored countries.
The three parties signed the agreement amicably.
After confirming that everything was accurate, Ningguang sighed.
"You two certainly have it easy."
"Unlike Liyue, which still has to set aside land and construct a facility where the transport ships can dock."
It sounded like a complaint.
But the Regrator couldn't help feeling that she was showing off.
He simply didn't know the word humblebrag.
"If Lady Ningguang doesn't mind, Snezhnaya is willing to undertake this work."
"Oh?"
"Do you actually have the technology?"
"Even the raw ore would probably have to be purchased from Liyue."
"Wouldn't that make the whole thing redundant?"
"..."
The Regrator fell silent.
He'd almost forgotten that Liyue possessed abundant mineral resources.
Snezhnaya...
Snezhnaya had nothing but endless snow.
Heaven, earth, and human advantage had all been claimed by Ningguang.
As for Yae Miko, she didn't have many thoughts on the matter.
Being the one who came along for the ride was perfectly fine.
She hadn't had to contribute anything and was still receiving an equal share of the resources.
Why would she complain?
"Speaking of which, I haven't been to Liyue in quite some time."
"I wonder how Sister Ganyu is doing these days?"
The Regrator: "..."
Why did it suddenly feel like Liyue and Inazuma had a pretty good relationship?
Was Snezhnaya the only one sitting here all alone?
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