November 1, 1993 of the Teyvat Calendar, a teahouse on the upper floor opposite Wanmin Restaurant in Chihu Rock.
Kuaixue sat in a private room, holding a teacup with both hands, lightly sniffing the faint, warm fragrance of the tea while sipping the crisp and refreshing liquid, quietly staying alone in the tea room like this, seemingly enjoying this rare moment of solitude.
Kuaixue’s daily routine was extremely regular, basically a cycle of home — Sihui Hall — Wenyuan Pavilion — home.
But everything had exceptions; Kuaixue would go out on a certain day at the beginning, middle, and end of every month, year after year.
Leaving aside the beginning of the month, going out in the middle of the month was to purchase new books at Wanwen Bookhouse; the end of the month was simply “shopping”: sometimes strolling through unexplored areas of Liyue Harbor, sometimes heading to the suburbs of Liyue to breathe the fresh air of the wilderness, wherever she went was on a whim, going there in high spirits and returning when the fun was over.
To her family, she used the excuse of “going to buy books” to brush off their curiosity.
Although Wanwen Bookhouse only released new books in the middle of the month, her family was happy to see Kuaixue go out and accepted this reason; even Yunyi and Xuemei subtly inquired whether she needed a little extra pocket money.
To this suggestion which was like being handed a pillow when sleepy, Kuaixue naturally accepted it gracefully.
And the reason why she didn’t call it “shopping” or “taking a walk” was for fear that her clingy sister would also tag along; after all, it was better not to bring her sister along for the serious business at the beginning of the month.
Thinking of her lovely sister, Kuaixue’s usually expressionless face unconsciously broke into a smile.
Just as Kuaixue was thinking about these random things, with a creak, the wooden door of the tea room was pushed open, and the “guest” Kuaixue had been waiting for finally arrived.
“Hoh.” The leading white-haired, red-eyed man saw the smile that had not yet faded from Kuaixue’s face and teased, “I wonder what our little Yu is thinking about?
A little boyfriend?
You’re smiling like a blooming flower.” Although the smile on Kuaixue’s face was just a faint one, in the eyes of someone who knew her well, it was no different from blooming flowers.
Clearly looking so cute, yet being an expressionless block of wood, it was truly a pity.
This was the white-haired man’s evaluation of Kuaixue.
“What?
Kuaixue smiled?
Quick, let me see, let me see.” The dark-haired and dark-eyed girl who followed the white-haired man in immediately cried out fussily upon hearing these words.
“Hey, smile a bit more, Kuaixue.
You look so good when you smile, it’s a waste not to.
Girls should smile more to be likable, oh.” The dark-haired woman clearly had a good relationship with Kuaixue.
Seeing the smile on Kuaixue’s face fade, she used her hands to pull and prod Kuaixue’s tender little face, trying to restore the previous smiling appearance.
“Yunyan, I am counting to three.
Three…” “Alright, alright, Kuaixue is really boring.” Upon hearing the countdown, Yunyan was so frightened that she immediately let go of her hands, retreated behind the white-haired man, and sighed.
“And you need to call me elder sister.” Yunyan tried to pull out the dignity of an “elder.” “…” An eye-roll from Kuaixue was the answer to this sentence.
“Ningguang, what is the matter this month?” Kuaixue turned to look at the leading white-haired man.
“Huishan Hall is preparing to withdraw from Mingyun Village.” After the two sat down, Ningguang went straight to the point without any buildup, dropping a bombshell piece of news.
“Is that so?” Kuaixue raised an eyebrow and sighed, “Still, I didn’t expect it could hold on for another two years after that incident.” “Indeed, both you and I expected it to last at most a year.
Who would have thought that ‘treasure’ literally extended Mingyun Village’s life by another year.” Recalling the tragedies of Mingyun Village in recent years, Ningguang also felt some emotional sighing.
“So how should the miners this time be resettled?” Facing Kuaixue’s question, Ningguang did not answer, instead turning to look at Yunyan.
“According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, those who intend to seek other professions or retire can receive a resettlement allowance, and the rest will head to The Chasm ten days later.” Hearing these words, Kuaixue frowned even deeper, “From Mt.
Tianheng to The Chasm and then to Mingyun, are there not enough tragedies yet?” She seemed quite dissatisfied with the decision of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
“Although Mt.
Tianheng is a divine miracle of the Geo Archon, during the Archon War, due to over-mining, the once-renowned’Shanhui Fortress’ not only had no output, but the mountain also became solid on the outside and hollow on the inside due to mining, which was exploited by the enemy.
If not for Skybracer’s righteousness and turning the tide, the consequences would have been unimaginable.” “Mt.
Tianheng was originally created by the Geo Archon to protect the early mortals of Liyue from disasters, yet the people of Liyue personally turned it from a shield protecting the people into a sharp sword stabbing at themselves.
Ridiculous.” “The Chasm was formed by a falling star and is rich in ores; living off the mountains is not necessarily unfeasible.
But a millennium ago, also due to over-mining, it triggered ley line tremors, causing a Dragon Calamity.
Fortunately, the Geo Archon stepped in, fighting the evil dragon from The Chasm all the way to Nantianmen, and ultimately sealing it.” “This mining disaster in Mingyun was the same, fortunately without causing too many casualties.
Now returning to The Chasm once again, aren’t they afraid of another ‘Dragon Calamity’?” Kuaixue, who was usually retentive of speech, became chattering at this moment, which showed that although she didn’t say it out loud, deep down in her heart, Kuaixue was still full of love for this land where she had lived for over a decade.
“‘It’s hard to turn a big ship around,’ ah.
For thousands of years, Liyue has consistently followed the will of the Geo Archon, utilizing the Geo Archon’s status and the region’s abundant ore conditions to enthusiastically invest in and develop the mining industry—mining, transportation, smelting, processing, and selling.
Today in Liyue, just the…
‘industrial chain’ of minerals, right?
Its practitioners and the output value are one of the two major pillars of Liyue’s current economy.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs finds it difficult to change and has no intention of changing it; after all, the Geo Archon has no objection to Liyue continuing to mine ores.” Ningguang sipped the tea in the cup and expressed his insights.
“The Geo Archon, the Geo Archon, but what if one day the Geo Archon is no longer around?” “Watch your words!” said both of them.
The speaker didn’t care, but the two listeners were sweating profusely and quickly reminded her.
“…It was impulsive of me.” “Alright, we are just doing some small business, leave these troubles to the people of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
We came this time to hear your thoughts on Huishan Hall’s actions this time.
Are there any business opportunities in it?” Ningguang acted as if he hadn’t heard Kuaixue’s treasonous words just now, and began to speak of the reason for this gathering.