Wanmin Restaurant

After leaving Wangshu Inn, Yucheng and Qiqi finally returned to Liyue Harbor the following morning.

Thanks to Ganyu's help along the way, their herb-gathering trip to Jueyun Karst had become far more efficient, allowing them to return safely in just five days.

When Baizhu first saw the two return so soon, he was quite surprised and thought they had run into some trouble along the way. After all, Qiqi had brought a completely inexperienced newcomer with her this time, so a few setbacks would have been normal.

Yet not only were Yucheng and Qiqi completely unharmed, they had also brought back more medicinal herbs than expected. Astonished by their efficiency, Baizhu quickly asked how their herb-gathering trip had gone.

Yucheng merely explained that he had happened to meet Senior Ganyu near Huaguang Stone Forest and that her help had made their plentiful haul possible. He did not explain why Ganyu had helped him. Once Baizhu heard that Ganyu had lent a hand, his surprise faded.

Yucheng picked out 100 Qingxin flowers and 40 Violetgrass plants from his herb basket and handed them to Baizhu, marking the full repayment of the medical fees he owed Bubu Pharmacy. As for the remaining herbs, Baizhu bought them at Bubu Pharmacy's usual purchasing prices, paying Yucheng 120,000 Mora for his efforts.

It was also thanks to this collaboration with Qiqi that Yucheng went from a temporary herb gatherer to one working exclusively for Bubu Pharmacy.

This meant that from then on, Yucheng could only sell the medicinal herbs he gathered to Bubu Pharmacy, which would purchase them at twenty percent below market price. In return, Bubu Pharmacy would pay Yucheng an additional monthly fee for his work and provide him with accommodation.

A herb gatherer's work naturally consisted of gathering herbs, but medicinal herbs needed time to grow. During seasons when there were no herbs to gather, herb gatherers had no income. With this contract with Bubu Pharmacy, however, Yucheng would receive a guaranteed wage sufficient to get by even when there was no work.

From then on, Yucheng could be considered firmly established in Liyue Harbor, and his task of gathering herbs to repay his debt was completed as well.

However, the moment he completed this beginner mission, another mission popped up.

[Ding! A true man born into this world cannot remain discontentedly beneath others forever. As the Uchiha Clan's sole bloodline in Teyvat, how can you not have a home of your own?

Please acquire an independent property within Liyue within six months. (Note: From the Jade Chamber to a dilapidated thatched hut outside the city, the more valuable the property you own, the richer your mission rewards.)]

Uncertainty was the defining feature of this new mission. Completing it was not particularly difficult. If all he wanted was to finish the mission, he could simply find an empty patch of land in the wilderness, build a thatched hut, and have someone from the Liyue Ministry of Civil Affairs notarize it. But doing so would completely squander the good things the system bestowed.

The [Advanced Skill Mastery Book] he had received from the debt repayment mission could upgrade one of his skills regardless of its requirements. Yucheng had decisively used it on his Sharingan, successfully upgrading his Two-Tomoe Sharingan to the Three-Tomoe Sharingan and significantly improving his ocular techniques.

Other abilities, such as Chakra Refinement, release techniques, and Taijutsu, could be improved through effort alone. Improving the Sharingan, however, required experiencing tremendous pain: first understanding love, then losing what one loved.

In particular, upgrading the Three-Tomoe Sharingan to the Mangekyō Sharingan generally required losing the person one loved most before there was a chance of awakening it. Such a twisted method of advancement was not something Yucheng could easily achieve just because he wanted to. Even if he could, he did not want to experience that pain.

Thus, using a game-breaking item bestowed by the system was the most suitable way to accomplish that step.

Therefore, since the mission reward was directly tied to the property's value, he needed to do everything he could to make money within six months. As for the Jade Chamber mentioned as the mission's upper limit, Yucheng dismissed it. That was the workplace and residence of Ningguang, the Tianquan, as well as a landmark of Liyue. How could it possibly be sold to him?

Huh? Wait. Familiar with how the future story would unfold, Yucheng gazed at the Jade Chamber floating high in the sky and sank into thought. Six months? There's enough time. It seems... there might actually be a way. But it's not very reliable. It can only be a backup plan.

After leaving Bubu Pharmacy, Yucheng decided to take a proper look around the city of Liyue first. As for Qiqi, as Bubu Pharmacy's herb-gathering assistant, her duties also included decocting the medicinal herbs they had gathered earlier, so she naturally had to stay at the pharmacy.

Liyue was a typical port city centered on commerce. Since the thousand-year war between the gods had destroyed all the farmland, its people had vigorously developed handicrafts and commerce for Liyue's development.

Moreover, Rex Lapis was also the God of Contracts, and the principle that "those who break their word shall suffer the wrath of the rock" was deeply ingrained in people's hearts. No one dared play tricks with contracts under Rex Lapis's watch, making Liyue's business environment exceptionally favorable.

After three thousand years of development, Liyue's commerce had flourished to unprecedented heights, and Liyue Harbor had become Teyvat's foremost port. Its high-quality mineral resources and jewelry were exported overseas, supporting Liyue's enormous fiscal expenditure.

Only when Yucheng actually walked the streets of Liyue did he truly realize that the tremendous vitality contained within this city was far beyond anything a remote little village like Konoha could match. The rich bustle of everyday life, workers attending to their duties, vendors calling out energetically, the Millelith diligently patrolling, and children laughing and chattering gave Yucheng a rare sense of relaxation.

Before he knew it, Yucheng caught a delicious aroma and only then noticed that he had walked between Xinyue Kiosk and Liuli Pavilion. It was already mealtime. These two most famous high-end restaurants in Liyue had never stopped competing since their founding, and their rivalry had even escalated from a contest between two restaurants into a struggle between two culinary schools.

Neither would concede to the other, and their dishes each had their own merits, making it difficult to declare a winner. With so many wealthy merchants in Liyue, these two restaurants had become the preferred venues for business entertaining among its people. They offered taste, refinement, and first-rate food-though, of course, their prices were far from cheap.

However, Yucheng hefted the Mora in his pocket and felt short of funds. Just then, he remembered another restaurant that suited him better.

Without so much as looking back, Yucheng walked past Xinyue Kiosk and Liuli Pavilion and headed straight for Chihu Rock.

By the time Yucheng saw the [Wanmin Restaurant] sign, he could already smell an even stronger, spicier aroma. His smile grew all the brighter.

As he approached, he discovered that [Wanmin Restaurant] was already packed with customers, most of them workers from the docks. A lively, lovely figure was vigorously wielding a large ladle at the stove, and the fiery-red Vision at her waist seemed to proclaim that this girl was far from ordinary.

Beside her, there was actually a mysterious creature that looked both like a bear and like a stuffed toy. However, the creature kept breathing fire into the stove, making it clear that it, too, was far from ordinary.