Unbeknownst to them, it was already dinner time.
Seeing how tired the Little Cuties were after a day of play, Makoto decided to cook a good meal.
After all, the more the Little Cuties ate now, the more they would grow later.
However, halfway through cooking, Makoto unexpectedly found that the water had been cut off.
A water outage was troublesome,
especially with so many children in the house.
With no other option, Makoto left his residence and headed to the inn owned by Sister Yu Jin.
After all, he had bought this house from Sister Yu Jin, so perhaps she knew what was going on.
At this moment, Sister Yu Jin was seated on the first floor of the inn, as usual.
Today, she was wearing a white cheongsam, gently fanning herself with a palm-leaf fan.
Overall, she exuded an indescribable charm.
Makoto knocked on the door and then greeted her with a smile: "Sister Yu Jin, good evening."
Seeing Makoto's arrival, Sister Yu Jin put down her fan.
She stood up and said softly: "You rascal, I don't usually see you coming to find your sister, but today you suddenly pay a visit. You must have something to ask me, right?"
"We're already in a relationship where we're open with each other, so you can speak directly."
Hearing Sister Yu Jin's frank reply, Makoto also spoke: "Sister Yu Jin, I wanted to ask why the water suddenly stopped here?"
Sister Yu Jin gently fanned herself, answering as if it were a common occurrence: "This area is indeed like this; the water gets cut off for a few days every now and then."
Sister Yu Jin paused, then looked at Makoto and continued: "You rascal, if you want water tonight, you can come to me."
"Oh, I mean, if you want to take a bath tonight, you can come to my inn to wash."
"My inn has a water tank built on the rooftop, storing enough water to last through these few days of water outage."
Because the water was cut off periodically, it caused a lot of inconvenience to daily life,
so Sister Yu Jin had built a water tank on the top floor of the inn specifically to deal with water outages.
At the time she sold the house to Makoto, she had forgotten to mention the water outages.
Sister Yu Jin swayed the palm-leaf fan in her hand, then whispered softly: "Because of the water outage these past few days, we need to conserve water."
"Try not to be alone... I mean, save water, try not to bathe, just a simple wipe is fine."
"You rascal, what's that expression on your face? You look a little disappointed? What's going on?"
She truly was the mother of Liyue's 'Car King'; she could get the 'car' rolling even in casual conversation.
But at the moment, it wasn't just a matter of conserving water,
because it wasn't just for bathing, but also for laundry and cooking.
There were too many Little Cuties at home, and even the water Sister Yu Jin had stored wouldn't be enough.
Regarding this, Makoto also spoke: "Sister Yu Jin, let's talk about bathing later."
"I want to ask what caused the water outage?"
Sister Yu Jin showed a thoughtful expression: "I remember the Millelith mentioning the reason for water outages before, let me think."
"If I recall correctly, it seems there were monsters interfering near the reservoir, which cut off the water."
"If the monsters can be cleared, the water outage problem will be resolved."
Hearing this explanation, Makoto understood.
He chatted briefly with Sister Yu Jin, then headed to Yuehai Pavilion.
At this time, Ganyu should be preparing to get off work; he came to pick Ganyu up and also to ask about the situation.
Seeing Makoto's arrival, Ganyu spoke first: "Mr. Faxun, please eat with everyone else; you don't have to wait for me tonight."
"I might have to work overtime and will be home a bit late."
"Water outages have occurred in multiple areas of Liyue, and I need to go to the reservoir to check the situation."
Hearing Ganyu's words, Makoto's heart stirred.
Isn't this a coincidence?
He had originally intended to ask Ganyu about the water outage,
and now their goals aligned.
"Miss Ganyu, let me accompany you to solve the water outage problem; we can also look out for each other on the way."
Ganyu nodded upon hearing this: "Alright, then I'll trouble Mr. Faxun to accompany me for overtime."
As she spoke, Ganyu extended her hand towards Makoto.
A blush appeared on her face, and the single strand of hair on her head also bent shyly due to her fluctuating emotions.
"I might walk quite fast, so to avoid getting separated, please, please Mr. Faxun, hold my hand tightly."
Seeing Ganyu's shy appearance, Makoto couldn't help but smile, then tightly held Ganyu's hand.
Ganyu's skin was delicate and smooth, cool to the touch.
"Then let's set off."
...
Soon, Makoto accompanied Ganyu, investigating the water source problem all the way to the reservoir.
Most of the residents in Liyue used water from this reservoir, which had a long history.
Makoto immediately saw a group of Ice Slimes.
It was them freezing the reservoir water, causing widespread water outages in Liyue.
Following that, Makoto noticed that the group of Ice Slimes seemed to be surrounding a person in the center.
That was a young man wearing sunglasses and carrying a large backpack behind him.
If he wasn't mistaken, that young man should be Liben, the peculiar merchant from twenty years ago.
Note:
Happy Lunar New Year 2026!
First of all, I want to express my sincere gratitude to all of you for always being by my side and supporting me throughout this journey.
To ensure the quality of upcoming stories, I've decided to take a week off during the Lunar New Year (February 15th to 22nd) to rest and spend time with my family.
I will return on February 23rd, 2026. During this break, I will prepare many new chapters to post regularly upon my return. So please look forward to it!
Wishing you a warm, joyful, and wonderful holiday season!