In the evening, everyone went out for a walk.
Xia Zhi told them about the Blackcliff Forge situation.
"Wow, boss, you're going to make a fortune!"
"I've always been making a fortune."
"That's true."
"Boss, making Mahjong isn't that hard. Why don't those merchants just make it themselves?"
"In Liyue, that's not allowed. There are laws protecting intellectual property."
"Then they could go back home and make it secretly!"
"They could, and I'm sure many will."
"Then why are they placing so many orders with the Feiyun Commerce Guild?"
"That's a matter of prestige. Ordinary people might not care, but the wealthy will definitely prefer Mahjong made in Liyue, given Liyue's reputation for stone craftsmanship."
"Oh!"
After walking around, everyone returned to the shop.
After their bath, they each went back to their rooms to do their own things.
Upstairs, Xia Zhi had just finished using his daily Evolution quota, earning some points, when he heard a knock on the wall next door.
It was a bit early.
Seems like someone couldn't wait.
Xia Zhi smiled, went over, and opened the wall with a key.
Shenhe walked in.
She had tied her hair into twin tails again, and her nails were sparkling.
"Boss."
"Mm."
"I'm here to keep you company."
"Wait a bit. I still have some things to do."
"Alright."
Shenhe sat on the bed, quietly waiting for him.
Xia Zhi took out a few wooden sticks and used [Word of Power Engraving] to consume some of his mental energy.
Shenhe watched him curiously and asked, "Boss, what are you doing?"
"It's a kind of enchantment."
"Enchantment?"
"It's about inscribing mysterious symbols onto items, giving them extraordinary abilities."
"Can anything be inscribed?"
"Generally, it's weapons and equipment."
"Oh."
"Do you want to try? I can enchant your spear."
"Sure!"
Shenhe raised her hand and took out her weapon from her hairpin.
A spear.
It was a gift from her master, the Cloud Retainer.
Though not an ordinary weapon, it wasn't a divine artifact either. It was made from special ore, making it quite heavy, which suited her [Innate Super Strength] well.
Shenhe handed the spear to Xia Zhi with one hand, reminding him, "Boss, this spear is a bit heavy."
"It's fine."
Xia Zhi smiled and took the spear with one hand as well.
Shenhe blinked.
As expected of the boss, he's really strong.
Xia Zhi weighed the spear in his hand, twirled it skillfully, and the spear trembled slightly, emitting a soft hum.
A glimmer of admiration flashed in Shenhe's eyes.
"About the enchantment, do you have any ideas?"
"Ideas?"
"Like what kind of effect you want? Heavier? Sharper? Fire ability? Ice ability?"
"Heavier!"
"Haha, is it too light for you?"
"Yes."
"Got it."
Xia Zhi extended his finger, and divine energy gathered at its tip. He moved it along the spear's surface, inscribing a line of divine words.
[As heavy as a mountain, as light as a feather]
After a moment, the inscription was complete.
Xia Zhi withdrew his finger, and the spear now bore several glowing golden symbols.
Each symbol's inscription had cost him a bit of divine energy and a lot of mental energy.
Xia Zhi stored the spear in his inventory and checked its attributes.
[Divine Spear]
Quality: Gold.
Type: Weapon.
Trait: Adaptable.
Effect: When using this item, the user can freely change its weight.
Hidden Effect: None.
Recyclable: 100 points.
A pure physical weapon for warriors.
Xia Zhi took the spear out and handed it to Shenhe. "The enchantment is done. Try it out."
Although Shenhe had seen the spear disappear in Xia Zhi's hand earlier, she didn't ask about it. She took the spear and tested it. "It's great!"
"Right?"
"Boss, you're amazing."
"Not bad."
Xia Zhi continued to inscribe a few more wooden sticks. The wooden sticks he had picked up in the wild were almost all used up.
He'd have to find some more materials outside soon.
"Boss, are you done?"
"Done, done."
"Then let's sleep."
"Mm."
Xia Zhi walked over and saw that Shenhe had already taken out the Silence Orb and placed it on the bedside table.
You're really something.
And then, well, there was no "then."
If there was anything to say, it was that Shenhe kept saying, "Boss, you're amazing…" many times.
The next morning.
Xia Zhi practiced spear techniques with Shenhe for a while.
It made up for the time they had missed the night before.
Friday passed as usual.
On Saturday, the shop was closed.
After breakfast, Diona told everyone she was going to the Adventurers' Guild to send some things back home and ran off with a package.
Zhu Zi watched the cat girl's back and suddenly remembered the things and letters she had sent home through the Komaniya Express. "I wonder if they've arrived yet…"
"It's been almost two months. They should've arrived by now."
"I haven't received any reply."
"If there is one, it should arrive soon."
"I asked my mom to send me some Sakura Blooms in the letter."
"What are Sakura Blooms?"
"They're the cherry blossoms from the big cherry tree at the shrine. They're really beautiful and can be used to make Sakura Mochi."
"Is it delicious?"
"Very!"
"Is it better than the mooncakes the boss makes?"
"Ah, not quite… but if the boss made Sakura Mochi, it would definitely be just as delicious!"
"Sakura Mochi? I've never made it before."
"Boss, I can teach you!"
"Sure. When the Sakura Blooms arrive, I'll make some for you all."
"Great!"
After chatting for a while, the young master of the Feiyun Commerce Guild and Xingqiu arrived at the shop.
"Mr. Xia."
"Hello, both of you."
"We're here to deliver your share of the profits, as per our contract."
"Thank you for coming in person."
"It's no trouble. We wanted to personally thank you, Mr. Xia. Here's your payment."
Xia Zhi took an anonymous card from the Northland Bank.
"According to our contract, this is your share of the profits from the tournament. The card contains 20 million Mora. As for the Mahjong sales profits, we'll calculate and deliver that separately."
"Alright."
"Miss Yanfei's contract with us only covered this tournament, but the Feiyun Commerce Guild is very optimistic about the future. We hope to continue collaborating with you, Mr. Xia, to host the second Mahjong King Tournament. We believe you've seen our capabilities from this event."
"I'll consider it."
"Great. We look forward to working with you again."
After finishing a cup of tea, the young master of the Feiyun Commerce Guild and Xingqiu bid farewell.
"Cousin, what are you planning to do with all that money?"
"I'm planning to open a school."
"???"