Morax is dead, Liyue will fall into my hands.

Considering Li Ye's core idea in proposing the establishment of a new bank—to give back to the grassroots while making money himself—if the grassroots have more money in their pockets, they will naturally save more, ultimately creating a positive snowball effect...

This business philosophy of seeking win-win cooperation... Ningguang was indeed hearing about it for the first time in Liyue.

Is it really possible to become richer than a country?

As Ningguang pondered, Li Ye continued to whisper softly in her ear, "Besides, Ningguang from Tianquan said that the most profitable methods are all written in Liyue's laws. My comment that she's all talk and no action wasn't unfounded."

The saying goes, "A petty thief steals a hook, a grand thief steals a country; he who steals a hook is punished, he who steals a country becomes a prince."

"If I were in Ningguang's position in Tianquan, I would definitely find a way to integrate the Seven Stars and Eight Gates, completely seizing control of Liyue. Wouldn't that be both legal and far more profitable than robbing a golden house?"

After saying that, Li Ye raised the bowl and chopsticks in his hand and showed a helpless expression, saying, "Of course, these are just temporary jokes. The road ahead is too long. The most important thing right now is to find a way to open the bank."

Chapter Nine: Waiter, Packing

The speaker meant it, and the listener took it to heart.

Ningguang remained outwardly calm, but inwardly she was repeatedly pondering the meaning behind those words.

Since the Three-Eyed Five Manifestations Immortal chose to return power to the people, even Gan Yu, who used to serve as the secretary of the Seven Stars of Liyue, left Moonsea Pavilion due to some misunderstandings.

Although these misunderstandings were resolved with the help of the travelers, for some unknown reason, Gan Yu still refused to return to Yuehai Pavilion after clearing up some of the misunderstandings.

Ningguang's three followers, Baiwen, Baixiao, and Baishi, were working overtime every day and complaining endlessly because they had to take over Ganyu's mission.

People who climb up from the bottom are often stronger and more ambitious than ordinary people.

Now that there are no immortals pressing down on her, Ningguang has never had the idea of ​​"taking it a step further" when it comes to integrating the Seven Stars and Eight Gates; that's just deceiving herself.

However, even though Ningguang had similar thoughts, she never took them beyond that.

On the one hand, the difficulty is too great, and the Tianquan Chamber of Commerce has no chance of accomplishing this achievement on its own.

On the other hand, the people of Liyue are already used to the seven stars and eight departments each having their own responsibilities, so whether they can accept the new management system is a big question mark.

Without solving these two problems, integrating the Seven Stars and Eight Gates is nothing but a pipe dream.

Ningguang was about to laugh at Li Ye's wild idea when she suddenly froze for a second or two, and Li Ye's words echoed in her mind again.

To become incredibly wealthy, one must earn money from both the rich and the poor. However, to earn money from the poor, one must first make them wealthy.

The wealthy are a minority; the working class at the bottom is the foundation of the nation.

These two sentences seemed to open a window for Ningguang in the dark.

If I really help the poor make money, and then make money from the rich who are poor, then... wouldn't that mean I possess wealth beyond measure, and also gain the recognition and support of the largest and most important part of Liyue?

Wouldn't that solve the two major problems that were troubling me?

Li Ye stared blankly at Ning Guang, then wiped his mouth after finishing his second bowl of rice and said, "Boss Ji, Boss Ji? If the food is really not to your liking, you can order more. Don't try to save me money; I can afford a meal."

Ningguang, lost in thought, finally snapped out of her reverie when Li Ye asked her questions. She put down her chopsticks, shook her head, and said, "No, it's not that the food didn't suit my taste. I just ate a lot of pastries on the way here, so I'm a bit full."

Ningguang was in no mood to eat at this moment. Her mind was in turmoil, and all she could think about was whether that unthinkable path was feasible.

Even if her favorite "boiled cabbage" were placed in front of her at this point, she probably wouldn't be in the mood to pick up her chopsticks.

"Oh, I'm almost full too." Li Ye, holding his third bowl of rice, felt a pang of heartache looking at the table full of untouched dishes. He regretted ordering less; this was all Mora.

Ningguang gestured to Li Ye, "Please make yourself at home, Mr. Li. I don't need to worry about this."

"Okay, then."

Seeing that Ningguang had already said that, Li Ye decided not to be polite. He filled his bowl with food and shouted loudly towards the door, "Waiter, takeout!"

Upon hearing the word "packing up," the waiter outside was completely dumbfounded, and Ningguang, sitting opposite him, was also stunned by Li Ye's voice.

This is probably the first time since Xinyuexuan was established that a customer has requested to "take it away".

Ningguang could imagine that the waiters and passersby outside were probably discussing which great Buddha was sitting in the "Snow Chamber".

It's estimated that within three days, the news of this giant Buddha statue in the "Snow Between" will spread throughout the top business circles of Liyue, after all, this is a "spectacle" that only comes once in a century.

Li Ye didn't care about any of that. As long as he wasn't embarrassed, it was others who would be.

All this food was bought with Mora; wouldn't it be a waste to just throw it away?

As for the waiters at Jiaxuan Teahouse, they probably won't have the chance to eat Xinyuexuan's food in their lifetime. Even if they bring it back for their brothers to try, it's better than throwing it away.

Regarding other people's opinions...

If those rough, uncouth men in Liyue Harbor knew about this, would they look down on them?

of course not!

As for what the top business circles in Liyue think, that's none of my business; it doesn't affect my ability to make money.

Who are our enemies? Who are our friends?

This is not only the primary issue concerning life, but also the primary issue to consider in doing business and even in all aspects of life.

Xinyuexuan's "nobility" does not mean "arrogance." As one of the leading service companies, it naturally adheres to the principle of treating customers as emperors.

Therefore, even though Xinyuexuan has never had a customer request to pack food, it still cannot refuse a customer's reasonable request.

Although this request seems ridiculous to Xinyuexuan!

As the waiters with embarrassed expressions entered, Ningguang began to feel fortunate that she had used a pseudonym; otherwise, Beidou would have been bringing it up in her ear every few days.

While packing, Ningguang kept her head down and remained silent, not even in the mood to think wildly.

On the contrary, Li Ye held a bowl in his left hand and chopsticks in his right, eating while directing the waiter to pack the food. Seeing the waiter's stiff movements, he wished he could do it himself.

The third bowl of rice was finished, and the leftovers were packed up.

Li Ye, carrying the packed lunchbox, couldn't help but complain to Ningguang that there was too much crab roe in today's "crab roe tofu," making it less delicate than the tofu itself.

Ningguang, standing to the side, remained expressionless, wanting only to leave Xinyuexuan as soon as possible and vowing never to come back again.

With thousands of people watching, Ningguang took the initiative to pull up a man for the first time and fled from Xinyuexuan as if she were escaping.

When the visitor arrived at the door, Li Ye formally bid farewell to Ning Guang: "Boss Ji, I will send you the detailed plan and contract via the 'Mora' phone in the next two days."

If you have no problem with that, then we can continue to meet at New Moon Pavilion or Glazed Pavilion to sign the contract.”

"No need!" Ningguang rejected Li Ye's suggestion without even thinking, and even decided to "encrypt" her disguise with three more locks after returning.

We absolutely cannot let anyone find out that Boss Ji is Tianquan Ningguang. It has nothing to do with whether the society is dead or alive; the main thing is that we don't want to expose our identities.

That would make it impossible to extract core business secrets from Li Ye.

Ningguang found a perfect reason for herself, and her temperament returned to its natural elegance and nobility as she said, "I would still appreciate it if Mr. Li could come to Wangshu Inn. We can sign the contract there. Speaking of which, Mr. Li has never visited my Wangshu Inn before."

Li Ye: "I'd rather obey than refuse!"

Chapter 10: Treat Employees as Individuals

After saying goodbye to Ningguang, Li Ye went straight back to Jiaxuan Teahouse.

I handed the packed-up food to the kitchen; we're having an extra meal tonight.

From the storyteller to the waiters at Jiaxuan Teahouse, everyone held a mixture of respect and awe towards the young owner.

The reason for this respect is that Jiaxuan Teahouse offers very good benefits, which are 30% to 50% higher than those of other teahouses in the industry. Core members, such as storytellers, even have the opportunity to directly participate in the monthly profit sharing.

Li Ye also promised that if someone worked at the teahouse for more than three years, even if they were just a waiter sweeping the floor or moving tables, they would still be able to participate in the monthly profit sharing.

In addition, they promised to give everyone a bonus at the end of the year based on this year's income, which is something that cannot be seen in other teahouses.

The waiters in the teahouse probably remember until the day they close their eyes: at the end of last year, after seeing off the last batch of customers, the boss told everyone to close the door, move all the tables and chairs in the front hall, and clear out an empty space.

Then he had five boxes brought over, and in front of all the employees, he opened the boxes, which were filled with Mora.

They emptied all the Mora from the five chests, piling it into a small, golden mountain.

Based on the monthly performance evaluations of the employees, the accountant began to distribute bonuses to each employee without fail, and the paper used to wrap Mora alone went through two and a half whole stacks.

Upon seeing the bonuses in their arms, many employees knelt on the ground and burst into tears like children.

Ordinary people also have their own wisdom; they are not fools, and are even more perceptive than ordinary people.

It's easy to tell who is hypocritical and pretentious, and who is sincere and genuine.

From that day on, many employees silently swore to the Rock King Emperor that as long as Jiaxuan Teahouse didn't kick them out, they would work for the boss there until they died.

The employees not only respected Li Ye, but also feared him!

This is a very strange thing, as Li Ye has never lost his temper at Jiaxuan Teahouse.

Even if an employee offends a distinguished guest due to poor hospitality, or fails to clearly understand the boss's intentions and messes things up, Li Ye will simply clean up the mess himself and never utter a word of reprimand.

But perhaps because Li Ye never showed his emotions in front of his employees, or perhaps because of the boss's inexplicable and authoritative aura, the employees were even more uneasy.

During the teahouse's designated working hours, all the employees would sit up straight and behave formally whenever they saw Li Ye.

Outside of work hours, apart from organizing a monthly dinner at Wanmintang, the boss rarely appears in front of everyone.

Since Jiaxuan Teahouse became famous in Liyue, rival companies have always tried to poach its employees. However, when they heard about the treatment Li Ye gave his employees, the bosses of the rival companies unanimously cursed him, saying that Li Ye was a madman, a lunatic, and had water in his head!

They couldn't recruit any more people, and some storytellers in teahouses, after learning about the situation at Jiaxuan Teahouse, started thinking about switching jobs and running away.

If Jiaxuan Teahouse weren't so small and had such a limited number of employees, several large teahouses nearby would probably be deserted within a single day.

Li Ye has no intention of taking action against competitors, at least not for the time being.

On the contrary, it was because Li Ye was unconventional in raising employee benefits so high that all the other companies in Liyue City regarded him as a thorn in their side.

If it weren't for the fact that Jiaxuan Teahouse could occasionally play some good music and had some value to it, these competitors would probably have already joined forces to attack Jiaxuan Teahouse.

After all, everyone else is exploiting and squeezing their employees, but you're desperately trying to improve their benefits. Tell me! If you're not a traitor, then who is?!

Whether he counts as a traitor is hard to say, but Li Ye certainly disdains associating with these business rivals.

He could understand what the boss of the competitor was thinking. The teahouse's monthly income was limited. If the wages paid to the employees were higher, the money in his own pocket would naturally be lower.

If they could, they would even prefer not to give their employees a single mora and instead make them work overtime until dawn.

Li Ye had seen similar statements in history books before his time travel.

The saying goes that the wealth of the world is finite; if the people take more, the court takes less, hence the phrase "competing with the people for profit."

Li Ye knew, however, that wealth is created through labor and wisdom.

Since it is created, how can it be fixed?

Humans are not machines. They can give 100% effort to complete a task, or they can sit in a corner, slack off, and drift through life from dawn till dusk.

While Li Ye brings higher treatment to his employees through reward and punishment mechanisms, the employees of Jiaxuan Teahouse are also bringing him more wealth through their hard work.