Chapter 258: Zhongli is Planning a Big Move?

No matter when I come to Liyue Harbor, I still deeply envy its prosperity.

Walking down Liyue's streets, Dixiya couldn't help but sigh.

As a renowned mercenary from Sumeru,

Dixiya had previously accompanied a Sumeru caravan to Liyue Harbor.

More than once.

Whenever she comes to Liyue Harbor, she ends up like this, unable to take in enough of such a prosperous city no matter how she looks.

As for knowledge,

As for knowledge, Sumeru is unsurpassed in Teyvat.

As for wealth,

Although it likewise has harbors, mineral deposits, and wealthy merchants famous at home and abroad, Sumeru has spent these hundreds of years devoted to internal strife; under such consumption, even the affluent rainforest people have living conditions that cannot compare with Liyue's.

Indeed.

Prices are indeed outrageously high.

Accordingly,

The income here is also unmatched by Sumeru.

After all, one must first have a sufficiently high standard of living to afford such high consumption; otherwise, with low income and high spending, even if the Rock King Emperor Lord wields tremendous authority, the people of Liyue would rebel.

"Although both are port cities, the gap is still quite large."

Luo De mercilessly belittles Sumeru's Aomos Harbor.

Both are renowned major ports on the Teyvat continent.

Unlike the strictly managed Liyue Harbor,

under the management of the Thirty-Person Group.

The management of Aomos Harbor can be described as extremely chaotic.

Merchants are frequently extorted, stolen from, and robbed; there are also things like honey traps, shills, black ships and black cars, and the like, countless in number.

There are many ins and outs to this.

Sometimes the Thirty-Person Group tolerates violent deaths of thieves and bandits; sometimes its mercenaries personally intervene, then play a act of 'Who goes there? Sue the official' when tourists file a report.

Even more laughable is that

The Academy is aware of these messy affairs.

They even 'thoughtfully' posted notices, warning travelers and merchants coming to Sumeru that if they encounter a theft and notice Thirty-Person Group mercenaries nearby, they'd better not report it to them, because those mercenaries might very well be the ones who stole your belongings.

Thus, those who go to Sumeru

They even have to put their valuables under their pillow while sleeping, to prevent being stolen without their knowledge.

Although only a minority of people encounter these unpleasant incidents in Aomos Harbor,

but such a bad reputation still significantly affects Sumeru's foreign trade.

Even if Nadixa personally devised a plan to rectify the discipline of the Thirty-Person Groups throughout Sumeru and assigned discipline officers as supervisors to oversee it strictly,

but it is extremely difficult to turn around such reputations that are nearly passed by word of mouth.

Anyway, according to the information Luo De knows,

Aomos Harbor's foot traffic has indeed improved slightly after the massive overhaul, but only slightly.

"The Dendro Archon has already done her best."

Dixiya smoothed things over for Nadixa: "If you want to restore your reputation, you still have to let time speak."

"Hmm."

There's not much to argue against that.

Luo De nodded, then went on chatting while strolling about what he's been up to lately.

He couldn't say those parts involving Zhongli, so he kept them hidden.

As for the other matters,

What he focused on were going with the scientific expedition to explore the black sludge pollution in the Layered Rock Abyss, and following Cyno and Tighnari to sample dishes, which resulted in all three of them being knocked out and forced to go to the clinic to get medicine.

The earlier part was fine, though.

After all, the news from Sumeru was that the scientific expedition went smoothly, the pollution source was resolved, and Luo De was even more meritorious.

Dixiya heard it and let it pass.

What truly interested her was that Luo De's physique could actually endure going to the hospital to see a doctor.

They have spent a long time together.

Thus Dixiya clearly knows that Luo De is a standard iron stomach.

Or rather,

In Sumeru's desert, people without an iron stomach have already turned into corpses you can't find.

You should know that Luo De once wandered alone in the desert for nearly a month.

As for eating,

He basically has nothing to be picky about.

Even the dates and coconuts that grow in the occasional oasis are rare delicacies.

Most of the time,

Luo De can only eat whatever is available—let alone worms, he even has to hold his nose and eat the carcasses left by crested ibises.

Cyno is the same.

Compared to Tighnari, who lives year-round in the rainforest region,

Luo De and Cyno, who mainly operate in the desert region, both have iron stomachs.

They can both eat the clinic's food together.

To be honest.

Compared to feeling heartache.

Dixiya's curiosity still accounted for the vast majority in her heart.

She truly wants to know.

What could possibly make Luo De and Cyno eat until they collapse?

Just right.

Luo De carried a new type of edible ingredient and its preparation method devised by Tighnari.

He then casually found a tea house to sit down and handed this neither-thick-nor-thin recipe to Dixiya.

He opened the first page.

Upon seeing clearly written that slime could be used as emergency food, Dixiya was so surprised she couldn't close her mouth.

"Slime?"

She had seen plenty of slimes, but she never expected this could also be used as emergency food.

Luo De didn't over-explain, just took a sip of tea to signal her to keep reading.

Although tested and verified by Tighnari, it was unfortunately concluded that slime cannot serve as a normal ingredient.

But as emergency food, it can still replenish energy and fill the stomach in dire situations.

Under Xiangling's wild imagination.

For slimes of various attributes, she devised one or even several cooking methods that wouldn't cause severe gastrointestinal reactions.

Many of these methods sacrifice flavor.

This is also the request put forward by Luo De and them.

Since they are emergency food, the primary concern naturally is whether they can keep one alive, not whether they taste good.

The other ingredients and even some seasonings used are materials commonly found throughout Sumeru.

Both Luo De and Tighnari from the School of Vital Theory, as well as Cyno who often ventures into dangerous places, have offered highly valuable suggestions.

For example, Luo De proposed a plant that grows in the Sumeru desert, resembling a cactus in appearance, called Edible Sand Grass.

Although the rhizome of Edible Sand Grass has some toxicity, it is not recommended for consumption under normal circumstances.

But its juice has a very good cooling and heat-relieving effect.

Many people in the desert collect the juice of Edible Sand Grass to use as a cooling oil.

When Luo De used to wander, he didn't know Edible Sand Grass; once, in a state of extreme hunger, he raw-chewed a few stalks, thus also knowing that its juice not only cools when applied to the skin, but works even better when taken internally.

As for the toxicity.

Actually, the toxicity of Edible Sand Grass is not strong; it merely causes mild hallucinations and itchy red bumps on the skin, but recovers after an hour. It is precisely because of this toxicity.

Edible Sand Grass is therefore not included in the desert people's recipes.

Having personally experienced the effects of Edible Sand Grass, Luo De, when initially planting test fields to find edible crops, spontaneously decided to plant a few stalks of Edible Sand Grass and stir-fry them.

Then he discovered.

The rhizome of Edible Sand Grass is indeed toxic when raw, but non-toxic when fully cooked; however, doing so also causes its juice's cooling and heat-relieving effect to disappear.

Even worse.

A palm-sized piece of Edible Sand Grass, once fully cooked, leaves only a thin skin, not even enough to fill the stomach.

After several attempts, Luo De thus abandoned the idea of cultivating Edible Sand Grass as a cash crop.

Recently, while discussing recipes with Xiangling.

He suddenly thought of Edible Sand Grass's cooling and heat-relieving efficacy.

Due to its fire elemental nature, even if Xiangling could handle its spiciness comparable to Absolute Cloud Chili, she couldn't alleviate its severe irritation to the gastrointestinal tract.

Those who haven't undergone the baptism of fire elemental energy will likely get diarrhea after eating it.

This is problematic for those encountering emergencies.

If one gets diarrhea in the wilderness, their situation becomes dangerous.

The solution to this problem is.

Precisely this toxic ingredient, Edible Sand Grass.

One only needs to mix the juice of Edible Sand Grass with Fire Slime, marinate briefly, then add some salt and cook or roast; it can even be eaten raw. After this preparation, it not only removes the Fire Slime's spiciness and gastrointestinal burning, but also neutralizes the toxicity of the Edible Sand Grass juice.

This is a prime example of turning waste into treasure.

Such examples are not rare in Xiangling's recipe collection.

Dixiya flipped through the entire recipe, unable to help exclaiming: "The chef who made this recipe is truly a genius unlike any common person."

"Hmm."

"Who would say otherwise?"

Luo De replied with a smile.

Xiangling is indeed a top-tier genius in culinary arts.

Not only does her culinary skill surpass that of the New Moon Pavilion's master chefs, but her boundless imagination is unmatched by any other chef in Liyue.

This recipe personally developed by her.

It can completely be a precious item that overturns Liyue people's cognition while perfectly meeting the current needs of Sumeru people.

As repayment.

Luo De, besides paying a considerable amount of Mora as remuneration, also casually offered some highly modernized suggestions for the operation of Wanmin Hall.

In particular, the suggestion targeting the fact that most diners at Wanmin Hall are dock workers even stirred Xiangling's father, Master Mao, who usually doesn't care about Xiangling, to run out and repeatedly thank Luo De for this.

This is not.

Dixiya experienced the targeted changes made under this suggestion at Ten Thousand People Hall.

"Isn't that the way you used to eat in Sumeru?"

Holding a plate full of various dishes, Dixiya ungracefully began to taste the skill of that miraculous chef in her mouth.

Ten Thousand People Hall's new sales model.

It was the self-service model Luo De had used when he hired the Blazing Light Beast Hunter mercenaries to eat in Sumeru.

Simply put.

It is paying a certain amount of Mora, then freely choosing from over twenty dishes until one is full, a self-service model.

Dixiya, who had eaten like this before, was extremely familiar with this.

"Hmm."

"It looks quite popular."

Luo De didn't rush to eat, looked around left and right, then chuckled.

He would mention this suggestion to Xiangling.

Basically, it still has to start from the time he first came to Ten Thousand People Hall and ended up eating until his heart bled.

At that time he really wanted to try a few more dishes.

As a result, he was frightened by Liyue's terrifying consumption level, and in the end he still couldn't bear to come again and eat his fill.

Based on this resentment.

Only then did he specially suggest this self-service sales model to Xiangling.

Just as he had anticipated.

This model is not just generally popular.

He and Dixiya hadn't come at mealtime, there weren't many dishes left, yet Ten Thousand People Hall was still almost full; at a glance, about half the diners were eating this self-service style.

If it were during mealtime when those dock workers got off work.

One couldn't even imagine how good Ten Thousand People Hall's business could be.

"Tsk tsk, the taste is really good."

Dixiya ate with relish, cleared one plate, then got another.

But this time she didn't rush to eat; instead she teased Luo De with a smile: "I think this little female cook's skill is still a bit lacking compared to yours—didn't you teach her anything?"

"Don't mess around."

Luo De knew she was joking, waved his hand and said: "How could my little skill compare to Xiangling, the professional chef?"

I don't know if it was because Dixiya's voice was too loud or because there was a feeling in the dark.

In short.

Luo De had just finished speaking.

Earlier, Xiangling had clearly been cooking in the kitchen; she grabbed a shovel, darted out in a leap, immediately spotted Luo De and Dixiya, then happily ran over and sat beside Luo De, saying: "Mr. Luo De, you're back again!"

"Um, hehe—"

"I didn't say anything just now."

Luo De gave an awkward laugh, trying to deflect Dixiya's earlier remark that he should teach Xiangling a thing, meanwhile picking up his cup to pretend to drink water, attempting to cover his embarrassment.

But Xiangling's next sentence made him spit out the mouthful of water he had just taken.

"I heard from my master that you've been helping the Sovereign lately, and I thought you wouldn't come back."

Who is Xiangling's master?

The Liyue adeptus True Lord of the Wandering World of Dust and Song, that is, Ping Lao Lao.

He never expected Xiangling to blurt out something like that; Luo De hastily covered her mouth amid the astonished looks of those around, awkwardly explaining to the gazes cast his way with something like "Little girl doesn't understand, just joking," before lowering his voice to say: "Little ancestor, can you really just say that sort of thing?"

Seeing Luo De not refuting Xiangling's words but instead covering her mouth to stop her from saying those things.

Dixiya's expression, which had been looking on amused, froze, and she exclaimed: "You're not only helping the Dendro Archon, you're also helping the Geo Archon?"

"Shh—"

"Don't let anyone hear."

Luo De, headachy, raised a finger and shushed, then released his hand covering Xiangling's mouth, complaining: "How does your master tell you everything?"

"."

Realizing she had just misspoken, Xiangling stuck out her tongue and hehe'd: "My master said thanks to you, the preparations for the Sovereign's divine succession ceremony went very well."

Saying that.

Yet she pouted, aggrieved: "Hmph, clearly it's such a lively day, but my master won't let me and Yao Yao go watch, saying something might happen that day, and us two being there could be dangerous."

"What?"

Luo De, who had received no prior news, saw his expression suddenly drop.

Will something happen on the day of the divine succession ceremony?

That day at least six gods will be present—what could happen under the eyes of all those gods? Who would dare?

How bold!

Don't you want to live?

Luo De narrowed his eyes.

He suddenly realized that Zhongli seemed to be planning to pull off a big stunt at his own divine succession ceremony.

(End of chapter)