Genshin Impact, I'm Slime

As night fell, the lights of Feiyunpo lit up one after another. Before the Lantern Festival, Liyue Harbor seemed to be coated with a layer of gold foil. The streets were bustling with people, and the shouts of vendors and the laughter of children intertwined into a warm noise.

"Mother, look at that lantern!"

The little girl with double buns stood on tiptoe and pointed to a glazed sky lantern hanging high above the stall.

There is a translucent crane painted on the lamp surface, and when the wick sways, the crane's shadow seems to dance among the clouds.

The stall owner was a lean middle-aged man, who was squinting at the mother and daughter in coarse cloth. "Little girl, you have good taste. This is the most popular "Crane Holding a Pearl" style this year. Five thousand Mora each. No cheating!"

The mother clenched the purse at her waist, which contained more than a thousand Mora she had saved from selling fish today. She was shocked by the price of the lantern at first, and then gritted her teeth and said, "Shopkeeper, can you make it cheaper? Wasn't it always five hundred Mora in previous years?"

The stall owner sneered and tapped on the four large vermilion characters "Out of print and limited edition" on the wooden sign.

"The Lantern Festival is only five days away. All the lanterns sold out at Ashanpo's place. I have one of the only ones! Too expensive? Go to the dock and pick up some conch shells to make paper lanterns!"

The little girl tugged at her mother's clothes. She remembered that when she passed by the toy stall three days ago, Grandma Ashan's lanterns were indeed marked with five hundred Moras, but there were no moving cranes or tasseled gold threads on those lanterns.

"Mother, I don't want it anymore." She lowered her head and said in a voice as thin as a mosquito, "Let's go home and make bamboo lanterns. They can also fly very high."

"Listen! Even children can understand this truth!"

The stall owner rolled his eyes, but saw the mother looking down at her sensible child with distress. Then she suddenly looked up and slapped her hand on the stall counter, shaking the lanterns.

"Black-hearted profiteer! The Seven Stars of Liyue have issued a clear order not to raise prices during festivals. Aren't you afraid that the Thousand Rocks Army will come after you?"

"Hey, business is all about mutual consent. What's your business about how much I sell it for..."

As the argument grew louder, more and more Liyue citizens gathered around to watch the fun. After hearing a few words, the tourists each held an opinion. The calls for advice and noise became louder and louder, and soon alarmed the Thousand Rock Army soldiers guarding the street.

The sound of a copper whistle broke through the air, and the patrolling Qianyan Army held spears and pushed through the crowd of onlookers, their steel armor glowing coldly under the lights.

"What's the fuss about?"

Seeing the fully armed soldiers, the stall owner of the lantern suddenly laughed and told the story in a confusing way, confusing right and wrong:

"Your Excellency, please understand! This sky lantern is made of the best bamboo paper from Qingce Manor, and the lantern is filled with tea oil ordered from Qiaoying Manor... You also know that the North Pier is temporarily closed, and the price of shipping raw materials has increased by more than three times..."

The vendor deliberately raised the ending tone and rubbed his fingers back and forth on the golden thread pattern of the "high-quality bamboo paper".

After learning what had happened, the young Qianyan Army soldiers were also troubled.

The embroidery on those golden sky lanterns was indeed much finer than Ashanpo's goods. It was a bit exaggerated to call out five thousand Mora, but it didn't seem so excessive. The Liyue Inspection Manual he had memorized the day before also clearly stipulated that price disputes must be referred to the Budget Office for review and could not be decided arbitrarily.

Seeing that the Qianyan Army soldiers frowned and remained silent, the merchant thought that they were convinced by him, and then he proudly crossed his arms and glanced at the mother and daughter who were simply dressed.

"Mother, it's okay. The teacher at the school said that in ancient times, the people of Liyue made their own lanterns. The lanterns contained wishes. The higher they flew, the more the immortals could hear them."

The little girl looked at the embarrassed Qianyan Army soldiers and timidly pulled her mother's sleeve.

The mother was startled. She remembered that there were still reeds dried last year in the hut by the sea. The shells picked up at the dock could be ground into thin slices. If she could save half a can of tung oil for pickling fish...

"Nannan," she squatted down and tied the loosened belt for her daughter, "Tomorrow, mother will teach you how to make the sky lantern mentioned in the ancient book of Liyue. Let the fairy crane carry your wish and fly straight to the Jade Pavilion!"

The mother tried hard to suppress the pain in her heart and caressed her daughter's cold palm with her fingertips, but she suddenly remembered that Lord Tianquan's Qun Yu Pavilion had fallen into the sea a few days ago, so she hurriedly changed her words: "No, it flew higher than Tianheng Mountain and higher than the fairy palace in the sky."

The mother turned around and thanked the Qianyan Army soldiers who were maintaining order, then took the little girl's hand and prepared to leave.

Just at this moment, a large-denomination golden Mora suddenly fell on the stall.

"Boss, I'll pay 10,000 Mora for two."

The blonde girl squeezed to the front of the stall and threw out a large-denomination Mora, which scared the smug vendor.

He subconsciously pressed his shiny satin cuffs against the golden sky lantern. The half-solidified tea oil at the wick glowed amber under the light, which was clearly the ordinary rosin commonly used by the Adventurer's Guild.

"Great, I finally met a customer who knows what he's talking about."

Although he felt a little guilty, the joy of seeing the large-denomination Mora made the boss ignore something wrong. He hurriedly reached out to stuff the gold coins into his arms, but unexpectedly the traveler quickly stepped forward and grabbed the other's wrist.

"The lantern you mentioned is made of the finest bamboo paper from Qingce Manor, and the tea oil ordered by Qiaoying Manor, right?"

The girl asked with a cold face. The stall owner tried hard to pull his hand back, but found that he couldn't do it.

Where did this super-powered girl come from?

"...Of course, no cheating!

Under the watchful eyes of Qianyan Army, the stall owner, who knew the authenticity of his goods, was obviously lacking in confidence, but he still made the promise anyway.

"That's good."

The traveler held the other's wrist tightly, then turned around and winked at Paimon. The little mascot finally understood this time and cooperated by taking out the registration list of Liyue's cargo in and out of the port and shaking it:

"Last week, the wholesale price of bamboo paper in Qingce Village was 120 Mora per jin. Even the most expensive high-quality bamboo paper you mentioned would not be more than 200 Mora, and..."

Paimeng flew to the rack full of sky lanterns, got close to the wicks and sniffed them, and immediately made a judgment: "Although I don't know what the tea oil you are talking about smells like, I only smell the scent of Wanmintang rapeseed oil from it."

Paimon was suspended in the air, shaking his index finger and speaking very logically.

When it comes to the cooking methods, ingredients, and taste of Liyue delicacies, perhaps only Mr. Zhongli can compare with the little foodie Paimon.

"You, what do you know... This is the taste of tea oil. The value of Xiaodeng lies in the craftsmanship, the craftsmanship of Liyue craftsmen. You, an outsider, don't understand it at all!"

The merchant who was exposed was furious, but when he looked up, he found that the traveler and the Thousand Rocks soldier were looking at him with scrutiny, and his wrist was held by the girl, so he couldn't run away at all.

"Humph, but the Sky Lanterns at Ashanpo's toy stall are the best in Liyue, but they only cost 500 Mora."

Paimon retorted angrily, but Qianyanjun, who had been standing next to him, seemed to have found a breakthrough. He walked up to Paimon, smiled kindly, and asked:

"Traveler, can you please let me see the register of goods entering and leaving the port that you have?"

In order to earn Mora, the Traveler and Paimon have accepted many commissions in the past few days, from counting the number of sparrows on the eaves to assisting in registering import and export ships at the port terminal. As long as they are paid enough Mora, the Traveler will do almost anything.

Therefore, Yingmei also has countless lists, receipts, and signed notes of various types.

I didn't expect that these seemingly junk papers would be put to good use now. (End of this chapter)