Chapter 251

"Hey, long time no see."

"Seeing Ying again, Luo De looked rather listless."

"This instantly made Paimon unhappy: 'Hey hey, you fought alongside Tevalin, so how come you look so listless the moment we meet?'"

"Yawn—"

"Sorry, I haven't been resting well lately, only sleeping two or three hours a day, feeling a bit off."

"Luo De yawned and muttered a humble apology."

"He was summoned by Venti."

"They said an old friend had come, so everyone should have a drink to celebrate."

"Although Luo De knew this was just an excuse for him to find someone to drink with, he still came as promised."

"Balancing work and rest is the proper way."

"It's impossible to do high-intensity work there every day."

"Zhongli had actually given Luo De this advice early on, hoping he would rest more appropriately."

"But Luo De simply didn't listen."

"Such diligence, forgetting sleep and food, also yielded satisfactory gains."

"The core part of the Floating Abode's body has been completed."

"This is a drive device shaped like a heart, and its power core comes from a perpetual machine core capable of endless energy."

"Luo De didn't know where Zhongli got this, but it was obviously Kanriyan technology."

"But this is indeed a good thing."

"Perpetual motion."

"This is a theory that has been hotly debated by academia across nations on the Tiwatedalu continent."

"After various studies."

"Perpetual motion was ultimately proven to be an absolutely impossible theory."

"However, in the ancient Kanriyan nation five hundred years ago, they actually manufactured a power mechanism with perpetual motion effect."

This is the perpetual-motion core that Zhongli took out for Fushi to use.

Luo De looked at it, his eyes greedy.

If it weren't that this thing was given by Zhongli, he would definitely have to find a way to bring it back to Sumeru, so that the Great Merciful Tree King and Nadixa could study what principle and method it was made with.

Perpetual motion!

This is the perpetual-motion core.

If they could figure out this technology and make perpetual motion theory achievable for mass production, Luo De wouldn't even dare imagine how terrifying that would be.

It's a pity.

This thing is too precious.

The other materials Zhongli gave start at ten portions each, but this perpetual-motion core is the only one.

So Luo De couldn't take it away despite his greed; he could only wait until returning to Sumeru to try to find that same kind of trillion-year eternal calamity dragon beast loaded with a perpetual-motion core, and dig out another one from it.

And the heart made using the perpetual-motion core.

This is the biggest difficulty in rebuilding Fushi's body.

Put simply.

Fushi's body is actually a doll-like body similar to Sanbing's, not a real human body made by Abeidou using creation alchemy.

In terms of strength, it is also far inferior to Sanbing's divine body.

After all, when the Electro Archon created Sanbing back then, the materials and technology were prepared so that his body could contain his soul and still retain the Electro Archon's might.

Fushi's body doesn't have such high requirements.

Now the core parts are finished; the remaining technical difficulties are relatively few, just that the workload is larger.

Luo De took this chance to rest properly.

Today's guest was invited by Zhongli.

Having handed over most of his affairs, he now has plenty of free time, and thus he simply wants to thank Luo De for his hard work during this period.

The venue for the dinner is also quite particular.

This time it is Liyue's most famous New Moon Pavilion.

Speaking of which.

Luo De is also quite curious.

"Doesn't Mr. Zhongli like seafood? Why would he choose to hold a banquet at New Moon Pavilion?"

Luo De knows.

Due to some experiences during the Archon War that he does not wish to recall.

Zhongli's aversion to seafood has reached a fairly serious degree.

Just seeing it will make him recall those things that give him gooseflesh all over.

Therefore his acceptance level of seafood is.

Only dishes where you can't tell the original ingredients are acceptable.

But he instead chose to hold the banquet at New Moon Pavilion, which is best at cooking seafood.

So although the question is a bit presumptuous, Luo De still really wants to know this.

Especially after the dishes are served.

His curiosity in his heart becomes even stronger.

The dishes Zhongli ordered are very particular, all being signature dishes of Liyue's monthly cuisine.

Not only is the price appealing, but the ingredients are also of the highest quality.

Among them, crystal shrimp, golden crab, and braised abalone especially make it obvious what ingredients are used at a glance.

As Zhongli himself said.

He must really dislike this kind of dish.

How did he even go out of his way to come to New Moon Pavilion and order a bunch of this kind of dish?

Luo De's untimely question naturally also caught the attention of Ying and Paimon.

The two of them didn't know Zhongli's food preferences beforehand, and they were there, eating with gusto.

Upon first hearing Luo De say that Zhongli doesn't like seafood,

They then noticed that Zhongli indeed hadn't moved his chopsticks much, eating only dishes like moonlit egg and seafood tofu, whose ingredients aren't obvious.

This discovery made them put down their chopsticks, equally curious as they looked at Zhongli, wanting to hear the reason.

Liyue is certainly not just the single luxurious restaurant Xinyue Pavilion.

If Zhongli dislikes seafood, he could easily go to another establishment of equal standing, Liuli Pavilion, without forcing himself to suffer at Xinyue Pavilion.

But before Zhongli could explain this,

Venti lazily spoke up first to speak for him.

"Because Moon cuisine is originally the local cuisine of Liyue Harbor."

This statement made everyone present involuntarily let out an "ah".

What kind of reason is this?

"Hehe—"

Zhongli glanced at Venti, who was giving him a look, smiled, and said: "When Liyue Harbor had not yet been established, this land beneath our feet was merely a stretch of fishing villages, so the residents' diet mainly consisted of seafood, which is also the origin of Moon cuisine; back then, if an important guest came to Liyue Harbor, they would entertain them with the family's most valuable seafood, a custom that has persisted to this day."

"Oh—"

Although Zhongli didn't go on further, Ying also understood what he meant.

Back then, the people of Liyue entertained guests with the finest seafood.

So now, when the people of Liyue entertain guests, it naturally has evolved into Moon cuisine as the highest standard of a major culinary system.

"Not entirely as you imagine."

Zhongli added a few more sentences: "This is merely my personal habit; back then, Liyue was not solely inhabited by the original residents of Liyue Harbor. During the Archon War, the people living in Guili Assembly moved into Liyue Harbor, bringing with them a cuisine mainly based on mountain delicacies, Li cuisine. Thus, when entertaining guests, they were accustomed to serving Li cuisine. These customs have evolved to the present, depending now on personal preference—some prefer to entertain at Liuli Pavilion, others lean more toward Xinyue Pavilion."

He explained it in great detail.

Luo De nodded silently beside them.

The dispute between Li cuisine and Moon cuisine has always been a major headline in Liyue's culinary scene.

Initially, Luo De's view was merely that it was a difference in philosophy between those who eat seafood and those who eat mountain delicacies regarding the act of eating.

This is quite normal behavior.

Now, hearing Zhongli say this,

Luo De also realized.

The so-called dispute between Li cuisine and Moon cuisine.

Its essence should be the cultural clash between northern and southern Liyue.

Back when the Dust God had not yet perished in the Archon War.

Liyue was not a unified situation as it is now.

Under Zhongli's governance, Liyue Harbor focused on fishing and maritime trade, while Guili Assembly relied on agriculture and animal husbandry.

These two different societal models naturally gave rise to distinctly different food cultures.

And after the Dust God fell in Guili Assembly, turning into dust scattered across the sky.

The once vast farmlands were destroyed by a great flood.

The homeless followers of the Dust God chose to seek refuge with the Geo Archon, and under the escort of Liyue's adepts, they traveled south all the way to settle in Liyue Harbor.

However, after arriving in Liyue Harbor,

Those accustomed to a diet based on crops and mountain delicacies found Liyue Harbor's food hard to stomach.

Thus the seeds of the culinary dispute were sown then, eventually escalating into the Li cuisine versus Moon cuisine rivalry we see today.

Thinking of this,

Luo De burst out laughing with a puff: "No wonder you like going to Ten Thousand People Hall so much."

If one says that the conflict between Li cuisine and Moon cuisine represents Liyue's cultural clash,

then Ten Thousand People Hall is the birthplace of a new cuisine formed after cultural fusion, and for Zhongli, eating their new cuisine there would obviously put him in a more relaxed mood.

"Hehe—"

Zhongli smiled a bit and did not continue speaking.

Meanwhile, Paimon, who was eating with grease all over her mouth, had her foodie nature explode upon hearing the name Ten Thousand People Hall, and she urgently asked Luo De: "You said that Ten Thousand People Hall—does their food taste even better than this?"

Thanks to Luo De's favor.

The timeline of Teyvat and some major and minor events have completely deviated from what they were supposed to be.

For example, Ying and Paimon should have already known Xiangling and Ten Thousand People Hall before coming to Liyue.

But under Luo De's introduction,

Cyno and Tighnari, who were urgently seeking new recipes, instantly clicked with Xiangling, who consistently excels at developing specialty dishes.

As long as it's not when they get a stomach upset.

Then the two of them would go to Ten Thousand People Hall to research new recipes with Xiangling; when they have free time, they also heed Xiangling's request to venture into Liyue's wilderness to gather special ingredients that ordinary people wouldn't dare touch.

This is precisely because they now have this new line of work.

Xiangling didn't go alone to Mondstadt to look for ingredients; instead, she eagerly dragged Cyno and Tighnari along to test dishes, and from this she also came up with many 'dark cuisine' dishes that ordinary people can accept.

Xiangling didn't go to Mondstadt, so Paimon and Ying never got the chance to meet her, and naturally they didn't know the name Hall of Myriad People.

Regarding Paimon's enthusiasm.

Luo De could quite understand; after fiercely praising Hall of Myriad People, he said with a strange smile: "It just so happens I'm resting these two days—I'll take you to properly try their new dish."

"Really~~~"

Paimon still didn't know what terrifying thing Luo De's new dish actually was, and there she excitedly grabbed Ying's arm, saying: "Ying, let's go eat together, okay? Okay? ~~~"

"Sure."

Ying has always doted on Paimon.

This time, of course, she wouldn't dampen Paimon's spirits.

It was Luo De's tone when he spoke about trying the new dish that made her feel a bit uneasy.

It wasn't that Ying didn't trust Luo De.

It was simply because Luo De's tone just now resembled Venti's.

Everyone is someone who has been teased by Venti.

Thus it's inevitable to be somewhat wary of such a tone.

Her concern is not wrong.

Luo De had already received the news beforehand; for this tasting, Xiangling selected ingredients consisting of various bugs—not only Liyue's bugs, but also bugs that Saino specially had people send over from Sumeru via international express.

Just thinking back to the last time everyone ate the slime set meal and ended up going to Bubulu to see a doctor.

The wicked smile on Luo De's face grew even richer.

Even Venti, who loves to tease people, couldn't help but shiver, and immediately spoke up before Luo De could invite himself: "I'm not going; I have performances these days~~~ I'm not as rich as you lot—if I don't perform, I won't even be able to afford a meal."

"Huh?"

Just then Venti herself brought it up, and Luo De seized the chance to ask: "How much Mora can you earn from one performance?"

If I recall correctly.

Venti's poetry performances don't seem to draw much of a crowd, so she probably couldn't earn much.

"Uh"

"For one show, it'd have to be at least thirty or fifty thousand Mora, right?"

Venti thought for a moment and gave a number she thought Luo De couldn't accept.

But before his words even finished falling,

Immediately, the blunt Paimon mercilessly exposed the lie: "Hmph, the busker's lying again—when I met you, you clearly said your income in Liyue was worse than in Mondstadt, so all you could earn in a day was just enough for drinks."

The awkward atmosphere instantly spread.

Venti's embarrassed smile even made the corners of the mouths of several people, including Zhongli, twitch slightly.

Luo De even more so looked at Paimon, who still didn't understand what was going on, with an approving expression, then immediately stared at Venti with ill intent and said: "Since that's the case, I'll treat you to ten drinks—Mondstadt's, Liyue's, or any other country's, you pick—just come with me to Hall of Myriad People once."

Finally found an opportunity to get revenge on Venti.

Luo De wouldn't let it go so easily.

"Can I not go?"

Venti wore a tearful face, trying to save himself again.

His expression.

Not only did Ying have a bad premonition, but it also finally made the usually carefree Paimon become alert.

"Busker, what's wrong with you?"

"Could it be."

"Is that Hall of Myriad People a restaurant that serves food that's hard to eat?"

She said.

Paimon then pursed her lips and glared at Luo De, angrily saying: "Hey, you can't lie about this~~~"

"I didn't lie to you."

Luo De spread his hands, feigning innocence: "Hall of Myriad People in Liyue is universally praised—if you don't believe me, ask Mr. Zhongli: isn't Hall of Myriad People famous in Liyue for being good quality and low price, cheap and tasty?"

Zhongli, affected by the war, hesitated a moment.

What scheme exactly is Luo De plotting?

He knows better than anyone.

But right now he indeed can't refute Luo De's words.

Because Hall of Myriad People really is universally praised in Liyue, famous for being good quality and low price, cheap and tasty.

Unable to contradict that statement, he could only nod and say: "What you said is indeed correct, young friend."

"Like that~~~"

"Hehe~~~"

"Sorry, I blamed you wrong~~~"

Now Paimon relaxed, patting her chest and letting out a breath, then she complained to Venti: "Hmph, it's all your fault, busker—forcing that weird expression, almost making me miss out on the good food~~~"

"I"

Venti also had suffering he couldn't speak of.

He also couldn't say that Hall of Myriad People's new dish is all dark cuisine, and on top of that, Luo De was there grinning and urging him to agree quickly.

Left with no choice.

He could only droop his head in dejection and point at Zhongli: "Since you've already invited me, Mr. Zhongli also can't miss this feast of delicious food; otherwise, it would be terribly impolite."

(End of chapter)