The merchants from Snezhnaya had indeed gotten the better of Ningguang and the others.
But leaving Keqing and Jean aside, who was Ningguang? She was the Tianquan of the Liyue Qixing and the most successful merchant in Liyue.
Her shrewdness and understanding of merchants might not have been second to none, but they certainly ranked among the best.
Frankly, Ningguang and the Ministry of Civil Affairs could afford five hundred million Mora. But being able to afford something and having it be worth the price were two different things.
To Ningguang, spending five hundred million on goods worth only fifty million was an insult to her identity as a merchant.
The construction of the Stone Gate trade district concerned the welfare of the people of both nations. Those Snezhnayan merchants were using that welfare as leverage, something she could not tolerate as the Tianquan.
Given her personality, she naturally wanted to retaliate and teach those Snezhnayan merchants a lesson they would never forget.
She had still been considering her options, but Ellin's arrival saved Ningguang and the others a great deal of trouble.
One slash had cleaved through the mountain barrier and broken the deadlock.
"By my estimate, the ones who bought up the Stone Gate area were probably some small-time Snezhnayan merchants."
That was the conclusion Ningguang had reached upon receiving the news.
When Ellin asked why, Ningguang answered scornfully, "Because they lack vision."
"The Liyue Qixing and the Knights of Favonius represent the highest authorities of our two nations. Establishing connections and building good relationships with them would bring enormous benefits to any future business."
"If I held something crucial to the Qixing and the Knights, I would give it to them outright and earn a substantial favor in return."
"As the saying goes, merchants should not fight