An hour passed quickly. Elliot and Ningguang returned to the inn right on time—only to find the same man already waiting there.
Ningguang was a little surprised by the sight.
"You're finally here. I've been waiting a while." It was clear the man had already asked around.
Everywhere he went, he got the same answer: "Sold out."
He soon learned that all of it had been bought up by a single person.
It was obvious now—Elliot had been telling the truth. He really had bought up all the Qingxin in Liyue.
Though it meant taking a loss, the price Elliot offered wasn't outrageous. At 1,000 Mora per Qingxin, it was still within their budget.
"Made up your mind?" Elliot gave a faint smile.
"I'll take everything you've got."
The deal closed quickly. The man was direct—he pulled out several hundred thousand Mora on the spot and bought up Elliot's entire stock of Qingxin.
Even the innkeeper was stunned. He hadn't expected such a massive business deal to unfold right in his establishment.
"Pleasure doing business," Elliot said with a small smile, extending his right hand.
"Next time, I won't let you catch me off guard," the man replied with a hint of regret as he shook hands.
There was nothing they could do now—they hadn't anticipated their intel being exposed. Still, Elliot hadn't gouged them. He'd kept it fair.
Qingxin was native to Liyue. Nowhere else could supply it. Outside of Liyue, the price per flower could reach several thousand Mora easily.
"You might not get caught by me next time," Elliot said with a glance at Ningguang, "but maybe someone else will."
"Not a chance," the man said, then left with the huge bundle of Qingxin.
Watching him walk away, Elliot's lips curled into a slight smirk. "We'll see about that…"
He handed the innkeeper 100 Mora—payment for storing the Qingxin.
Then, turning to Ningguang, he handed her 20,000 Mora.
"This extra Mora is my investment in you."
"I hope you make good use of it—find a way to turn Mora into even more Mora."
Ningguang accepted the money, already thinking about how she could make it grow.
But first, Elliot used some of the Mora on hand to redeem his two weapons.
Once everything was settled, he was left with 150,000 Mora.
One hundred and fifty thousand—an amount Ningguang never even dared to dream of.
All of it earned from just a few snacks, 20,000 Mora, and some collateral.
Only now did she realize—what truly holds value isn't effort, but information.
Hard work… only makes life harder.
Back then, her clothes were rough and itchy, her bare feet freezing on the floor. She'd shout her wares from morning till night and make, at most, 800 Mora in a day.
She had worked a hundred, even a thousand times harder than she did now.
And what did she get for it?
Exhaustion. Discomfort. Cold indifference.
Elliot, on the other hand, barely lifted a finger.
With just the right information ahead of time, he'd effortlessly earned over 100,000 Mora.
It shattered her worldview.
"Ningguang," Elliot said, brow slightly furrowed.
"…Hm?" She snapped out of her thoughts and looked at him in confusion.
"Are you thinking something…?" he asked.
He knew the risk in what he was doing.
Business was already a high-risk endeavor. If he raised a Ningguang who only saw value in making Mora, he might well become the greatest villain in all of Teyvat.
The knowledge he taught her came from Earth—it could overwhelm everything in this world.
If Ningguang went astray, it could spell disaster.
Just imagine: someone far beyond the intellectual level of this world, controlling most of its resources, using every dirty trick imaginable just to make more Mora…
The world would fall into chaos. The people would suffer.
"I was just thinking… if hard work is this useless, why even bother?" she said.
Elliot's eyes narrowed slightly.
As expected—she was already toying with the idea of cutting corners to earn Mora.
"That's where you're wrong, Ningguang. Hard work does matter," he said.
"Then why, when I worked so hard before—"
"Because it was the wrong kind of effort."
"…Huh?" Ningguang blinked, caught off guard.
"What do you mean… 'wrong kind of effort'?"
"Effort without meaning is wasted effort. It might make you feel good, but it won't get you results."
"Remember when you went to the pier a few days ago to sell Mora Meat? On the surface, that day wasn't different from the others—you were still the one selling, and it was still your cooking."
"But the results were completely different. Normally, you couldn't even sell a few pieces at 400 Mora. That day, you sold nineteen of them at 1,000 Mora each."
"So it's not that hard work is useless—you were just putting it in the wrong place."
Elliot's point was sound, but Ningguang wasn't fully convinced.
"But, Elliot, you didn't even work that hard. And yet you made way more Mora than I ever could."
"I'm using experience—lessons I learned the hard way."
"Like you said before: your first time selling Mora Meat, someone said it was so bad even dogs wouldn't eat it. So next time, you tasted it yourself before selling."
"That's experience. You get stronger by making mistakes."
"And now, I'm using that experience to earn the Mora I've earned."
"The knowledge I'm teaching you—it's the same. It's my experience. I'm trying to help you avoid the pitfalls, to make your path a little smoother. But that doesn't mean effort is worthless."
He had to correct her thinking.
She needed to understand—there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. No harvest comes without some form of effort.
After hearing him out, Ningguang finally understood.
What Elliot was giving her was his own hard-earned wisdom.
"…But why me?" she asked, still puzzled.
"Because you're kind," Elliot said with a soft smile.
What he really wanted to say was: because you saved Liyue—twice.
The first time, she had stopped the Millelith. If she hadn't, who knows how badly things could've gone.
The second time was just last night. If her father hadn't intervened in Elliot's dream, if he hadn't been reminded of Hu Tao and the others…
He might've never woken up.
"Kindness is your foundation. No matter how much Mora you earn, never lose that."
"You can keep it buried deep in your heart. Outwardly, you can be sharp, you can change with the times—but never abandon your inner kindness."
"You can always earn more Mora. But if your heart turns cold… it's hard to go back."
Elliot knew—Mora was a dangerous thing.
It could change people with terrifying ease.
Especially those who suddenly came into great wealth—few could hold onto their true selves.
His mission was to make Ningguang the richest person in all of Teyvat.
But if that wealth corrupted her…
It would all be for nothing.
"I understand, Elliot," Ningguang said with a solemn nod.