Morax is dead, Liyue will fall into my hands.

Fine wine, delicious food, beautiful music, elegant dances, and laughter filled the air. Young men, women, and ladies gathered in small groups, chatting about interesting things in life, with occasional bursts of reserved laughter.

Even if there are some conflicts between them, in this harmonious and warm atmosphere, they at least greet each other with smiles on the surface.

"Young Master Yuanrong, I heard that last time you saw a caravan being attacked by Hilichurls near Wangshu Inn, you single-handedly killed twelve Hilichurls and successfully saved the caravan. It is truly admirable."

"Young Master Zhuo Xiu is no less impressive. He single-handedly killed a Rockhelm King while hunting outside Mingyun Town, taking the lead!"

"Young Master Le, you flatter me. I've also heard that the calligraphy and painting you bought before has increased to five million Mora in just two years. You've made three million Mora out of thin air by using your left hand and your right hand. I can't help but envy you."

Listening to these young noblemen boasting to each other, Li Ye simply wanted to laugh. However, when calligraphy and painting were mentioned, a way to make money suddenly came to mind.

It wasn't something I created myself, but rather a quirky tactic that I stumbled upon before I traveled through time.

In the West, it is common for wealthy individuals to find unknown artists, buy their works at low prices, and then spend money to find various institutions to promote the artists.

Once the artist becomes famous, the previously acquired artworks are sold at a high price to profit from the price difference.

The wealthy dealers who then purchase the artwork will continue to promote the artist, striving to find a successor at an even higher price. It's like a game of musical chairs, entirely a race to the finish line.

In reality, many artworks, especially modern paintings, are basically products of capital operations, either used to make money or to launder money.

This is not to belittle art, but rather to point out that art is inherently closely intertwined with capital.

Without capital investment, even the original Lanting Preface is worthless, since most people don't really know how to appreciate art.

Given the reach of "Wanmin Daily" under Li Ye's control, making quick money through this method is not difficult at all.

However, Li Ye thought about it and gave up the idea. It wasn't that he felt it was unethical, but simply that the money he could earn was too limited.

Is three million Mora a lot? It certainly is for the average person.

But for Li Ye, let alone three million Mora, even three hundred billion wouldn't be enough for him to spend!

Chapter 88: A Familiar Stranger (5/5)

As one's perspective changes, one's attitude towards Mora will inevitably change as well.

For a moment, Li Ye realized that he was completely out of place with the noble young men of Liyue, as if he were no longer from the same world.

While reminiscing, Hu Tao, who was standing next to him, took the initiative to say, "You guys can wander around the lobby as you like. I have some things to take care of."

Li Ye asked instinctively, "Going to a meeting?"

In Li Ye's opinion, given Hu Tao's free-spirited and undisciplined personality, she probably wouldn't attend this kind of banquet unless she had something important to attend.

Hu Tao hadn't expected Li Ye to hit the nail on the head, but she still playfully mimicked Li Ye's earlier question, "Guess?"

Li Ye laughed: "Guess whether I'll guess or not."

"Pfft, stop fooling around, I'm going to take care of some important business now."

Hu Tao waved goodbye to Li Ye; she was indeed there for a meeting.

All the representatives of the Liyue Seven Stars are present this time, and Keqing and Ningguang want to take this opportunity to discuss the issues of charitable subsidies and pensions for wounded soldiers.

The main point is to reach a general outline; the specifics of implementation are not so crucial. Once the strategic direction is determined, the rest can be left to the subordinates to discuss and handle.

The saying goes, "Hold big meetings for small matters, small meetings for big matters, and no meetings for crucial matters." This is the principle at play.

Although Hu Tao is not one of the Seven Stars of Liyue, the importance of the Hall of Rebirth in Liyue is no less than that of the Seven Stars or the Eight Gates, so we should still invite him.

After all, even the ceremony for sending off the immortals to the Heavenly King of Lianyan was handled entirely by the Hall of Rebirth.

After seeing Hu Tao off, Zhong Li invited Li Ye and Xiao to begin their freeloading adventure.

However, Li Ye resolutely refused. He was worried that he wouldn't be able to eat much at the banquet, so he deliberately ate until he was quite full before coming. Now, even though he saw a table full of delicious food, he couldn't eat any more.

As Li Ye was struggling with what to do, dozens of eyes in the banquet room were already fixed on him.

These gazes contained surprise, hostility, admiration, and amusement.

In the distance, several girls at Yuehai Pavilion were chattering excitedly about something. Li Ye recognized one of them; she was Bai Xiao, who had given him the invitation earlier.

Bai Xiao: "That's Li Ye. What do you think? I didn't lie to you. His temperament is truly unique. It's hard to forget him after just one look."

Bai Wen said, "No wonder Bai Xiao kept talking about this Boss Li after returning from Jiaxuan Teahouse. He really has a very special temperament."

Bai Shi: "It seems that Bai Xiao is indeed not infatuated. By the way... where is Hui Luo? Didn't she specifically say before the banquet that she should let her know if Li Ye came? Now the opportunity has come."

Baiwen: "I just saw him. Could it be that he went to a meeting with Aunt Huixin to represent Tian Shu Star?"

Just then, Huiluo heard someone calling her name and came over when she saw that it was Baixiao and the others.

When Bai Xiao saw Hui Luo walking over, she quickly pointed to Li Ye in the distance and introduced him to her, saying, "Hui Luo, this is Li Ye."

When the girl named Huiluo saw Li Ye, her eyes flashed with surprise: He's Li Ye? He's so young.

Bai Xiao encouraged, "Why don't we go up and say hello?"

"No need," Huiluo thought for a moment and then declined.

Although his grandfather had specifically instructed him to help Li Ye out of trouble if he encountered any problems, saying that an elder had specifically asked him to do so the day before.

However, since he's not in any trouble right now, it's best not to go over there.

With that thought in mind, Huiluo couldn't help but look in Li Ye's direction again.

In fact, Huiluo knew about him very early on, back when Li Ye was still carrying sacks at the dock, through his grandfather.

My grandfather's favorite thing to do in his spare time was to sit on the dock and fish. Although he almost never caught anything, he always enjoyed it.

Back home, they still had to be stubborn, saying things like they had caught something but a poor person on the way gave it to them; or that there were kids taking a bath at the spot where they baited the spot and they didn't dare to cast their line. In short, they had all sorts of reasons every day.

Then one day, I suddenly caught a big fish that was a meter long.

As a result, they braved the torrential rain, carrying the fish from the dock to Chihu Rock and then to Feiyun Slope, not knowing what they were after.

But what impressed Huiluo the most was that one day her grandfather returned home with a worried expression.

When asked, he said he encountered the biggest fish he had ever caught, but unfortunately he didn't have any bait and couldn't catch it.

He said to his grandfather, "Next time, let's bring fish bait."

After listening, the grandfather didn't say anything, but just kept looking at him, nodding and shaking his head.

Only after asking did I learn that my grandfather was thinking of using me as bait to catch Li Ye, this big fish.

Who is Li Ye?

My grandfather said he met the young man at the dock; he made a living by doing manual labor.

Huilu was very depressed and even a little angry at that time. Even if you can't catch a wolf without risking your cub, you still have to catch a wolf!

The other party is just a laborer, Grandfather, aren't you going to spend too much?

In the end, Grandfather gave up, saying that Li Ye would definitely not be interested in the bait and would not take the bait.

This made him depressed for a long time, and he even really wanted to go to the dock to see Li Ye, whom his grandfather had mentioned, but he was busy preparing to enter Yuehai Pavilion and was delayed time and time again.

Later, I heard that Li Ye opened a teahouse called Jiaxuan Teahouse, and within just a few months, it became famous in Liyue Harbor.

At that time, Huiluo didn't have many thoughts, but she was impressed by her grandfather's good judgment.

This young man named Li Ye is truly talented. It would be great if he could be recruited into Yuehaiting. It's a bit of a pity.

Huilu thought that their paths would cross again, and that even if she heard about Li Ye in the future, she would just smile and tell her companions: "My grandfather had a high opinion of this Mr. Li and even planned to recruit him as his grandson-in-law."

Who would have thought that after less than half a year of silence, the "Wanmin Newspaper", the "Public Welfare and Charity Foundation", and the "Mysterious Business" – one bombshell after another – brought that name, which had been somewhat fading in memory, back into the public eye, making it the subject of everyone's eager discussion.

Now she finally understood why her grandfather valued this young man who had nothing a year ago, and why he had actually considered taking him as his son-in-law.

Putting aside feelings, Huiluo must admit that Li Ye is an exceptionally good match in terms of character, ability, reputation, and prestige.

Regret?

Definitely not, we've never even met.

Curious?

You must be curious!

It would be strange if you weren't curious.

But that's it.

Having seen so many outstanding young talents, the idea of ​​love at first sight only exists in novels.

Huiluo's feelings for Li Ye were more of simple admiration, and she marveled at how wonderful fate was.

Chapter 89: The more despicable the means, the more useful they are.

Not long after Li Ye parted ways with Zhong Li and Xiao, he encountered some regular customers who often went to Jiaxuan Teahouse to listen to storytelling; most of them were young gentlemen.

When these people saw that it was Boss Li, they all took the initiative to come forward and greet him.

Before long, the conversation shifted from "Have you eaten?" to "mysterious business," both attempts to extract useful clues from Li Ye.

For these young men who frequented Jiaxuan Teahouse, the 500,000 Mora was nothing; the key was the title of winning first place.

Recently, some wealthy individuals have been offering bounties in private, rewarding anyone who can help them crack this "mysterious business" with a million Mora.

That's not the most outrageous part. The most outrageous part is that the bounties have started to swirl.

The reward has been steadily increasing from one million Mora, and in just a few days it has jumped to five million Mora! That's ten times more than the reward Li Ye gave!

Even Li Ye himself was tempted. From publishing newspapers at a loss to hiring a hundred storytellers, and including various rewards and bonuses, he had spent less than five million Mora so far.

This reminded him of those coal mine owners from before he transmigrated, who would blindly throw in hundreds of thousands of dollars into games, just to prove themselves.

All I can say is that PvP is indeed the primary driving force.

While Li Ye chatted with acquaintances, in a corner of the banquet, a young nobleman, surrounded by admirers, was staring at the eloquent Li Ye with a sinister gaze.

Before long, another wealthy young man walked over and said, "It's all arranged. Don't be fooled by the fact that we're using some low-down tricks that aren't exactly respectable. In most cases, the more low-down the trick, the more effective it is."

On the contrary, those seemingly sophisticated methods will often backfire when actually used; just wait and see.

The young master's surname is Mao, and his full name is Mao Lian. He is the youngest son of Mao Cai Gong, who is very proud of him.

He had never had any conflict with Li Ye, and hadn't even paid any attention to him before. His reason for targeting Li Ye tonight wasn't out of personal grudge.

Ever since Mao Cai Gong was swindled by the "Feiyun Chamber of Commerce", all his shops have faced the risk of a broken capital chain, and he survived this crisis entirely by borrowing money from the "Northern Bank".

Now that the "Northern Bank" has asked Mao Cai Gong to take action, aiming to diminish Li Ye's rising prestige, Mao Lian naturally cannot refuse.

Mao Lian nodded, continuing to stare at Li Ye, and said inwardly: Don't blame me, you can only blame yourself for offending "Northern Bank". I was forced to do this.

A young man standing nearby saw this and flattered him, saying, "Young Master Ye is right. Regardless of whether the methods are underhanded or not, the most important thing is that they work."