I, the Rock King Emperor with 21 billion in power, have joined the chat group.

"Even if this was made by a craftsman, it would be considered a treasure. Not to mention, this looks like something that was naturally formed, so it should be considered a rare item. If it were me, I would be willing to pay around 100,000 Mora."

Zhongli put the amber stone back into the box: "But I have a little doubt."

"Please speak," the young master replied hastily.

“I’m an acquaintance of Qing Hongsheng, the old owner of Xianglintang. I know how much Mora this shop can earn.”

"You don't seem like a spendthrift, so why would you think of reselling these items?"

After saying this, the young master was taken aback, and then shook his head with a wry smile in the face of Zhongli's questioning gaze: "Oh dear, Mr. Zhongli, how did you see that I was faking it?"

“I’ve seen this robe before. It’s your father’s favorite robe, but he doesn’t usually wear it. It’s too bulky on you. If you really used this robe often, you would have had it altered long ago, and it probably wouldn’t still look like this.”

"This treasure vault is covered in dust. If you really love money, you probably wouldn't let it be covered in dust."

"You're more afraid of being reminded of people by seeing familiar objects."

The young master smiled bitterly: "Alas, as expected, I couldn't hide it from you, Mr. Zhongli. This was all my father's dying wish. He said that no fake could fool Mr. Zhongli's eyes, so he wanted to use his own death to set up a scheme and see if Mr. Zhongli could see through it. You are indeed very clever."

"These items were specifically entrusted to you by him before his death. He wanted you to take them back and place them in the underground of the Hall of Rebirth, to protect them well and prevent this precious history from being lost."

"I understand." Zhongli nodded slightly, her expression remaining completely unchanged.

He turned to the female ceremonial officer behind him and said, "This harvest will be plentiful; you'll have used up your monthly quota."

"Yes, I understand." The young female official nodded softly.

Chapter Eleven: The First Meeting Between the Young Master and Zhongli

"These eleven items are worth approximately 400 million Mora. We at Wangshengtang will directly withdraw the bills from the Northern Bank and remit them to you."

The young lady of the ceremonial office nodded slightly to the young master who was seeing her off at the door, then turned and chased after Zhong Li.

The misty spring rain did not disappear; instead, it became even finer.

The scenery ahead could only be vaguely seen through the rain and mist.

The person's shadow appeared graceful and ethereal.

An oil-paper umbrella painted with glass lilies sheltered a girl as beautiful as a lily, who walked step by step behind a handsome man who seemed like a celestial being.

Suddenly, the silence was broken by a sound coming from ahead.

"Mr. Qing, why did you ultimately pass this thing on to the Hall of Rebirth?"

Beside the young lady of the ceremonial office, in an empty space, a faint reply seemed to come from.

"Throughout my life, my greatest love has been antiques. All the profits from my village have been used to buy antiques and store them in my treasure room, where they will never see the light of day again, even after ten or a hundred years."

"People only truly understand many things when they are close to death. I am no exception."

"Only after recognizing this did I realize that inanimate objects don't need as much care as living people."

“I used to beat and scold my son when he was young. I only knew how to collect goods and amass wealth, but I rarely paid attention to him. As a result, he became more and more antagonistic towards me as he grew up.”

"But before I died, I did realize some things, but it was too late to make amends. So I thought I could sell some things to help him supplement his family's income."

"He's a thoughtful and meticulous person. I don't think he'll end up like me."

"Hmm." Zhongli nodded slightly after listening. "That makes sense."

The vague and ethereal conversation shall end here.

Zhongli and Yiguan Xiaomei quickly returned to the Hall of Rebirth.

After they submitted the name and number of the item, as well as the required price, they...

Zhongli then bid farewell to the young lady in charge of ceremonies.

He walked through the mist, and a golden light slowly emanated from his clothes, keeping the rain out.

The young female official stood inside the Hall of Rebirth, watching his figure gradually disappear into the mist and rain, lost in thought.

Only when all the light and shadows disappeared from sight did a sigh finally rise in the rain.

"Sigh, as expected, Mr. Zhongli still doesn't want to remember my name."

......

Following the rain, Zhongli swayed and staggered toward Wanmintang.

It was almost noon, and if he remembered correctly, Xiangling was on duty at Wanmintang today.

He always liked Xiangling's food, and it wouldn't be too late to go home and rest after eating.

Upon arriving at the main hall of Wanmintang, he found an empty table by the window and sat down. Before long, Xiangling, the waitress and head chef, came running up to him.

"Mr. Zhongli, you're here again. What would you like to eat today? I recommend the Qingxin Paste and Five-Color Peppers that I just researched these past two days. One is spicy and the other is sweet, and the flavors are just right."

"Okay, one of each, please. And one serving of Qingce Manor's rice from last year as well."

Zhongli naturally started ordering food.

"Alright. Mr. Zhongli certainly knows his stuff. Although the aged rice from last year's harvest was a bit too moist and didn't taste as fragrant in the first year, after a year of storage and then sun-drying it for a day or two, the taste is simply divine."

After Xiangling finished praising him, she quickly grabbed the menu and ran back to the kitchen.

In no time, two dishes and a serving of rice were served.

Zhongli was about to have his meal when he suddenly felt like he was being spied on.

He calmly raised his head and looked towards the entrance of Wanmin Hall.

A handsome man in a gray suit was looking in his direction.

The man had a gentle smile on his lips, and a red scarf was wrapped around his neck like a cape.

He noticed Zhongli's gaze and smiled at her.

Then, he walked towards Zhongli.

"Hello, you must be the guest elder of the Hall of Rebirth, the one who is known as Mr. Zhongli who can never be deceived by lies."

"I do not hold that title. Furthermore, I am Zhongli, a guest elder of the Hall of Rebirth." Zhongli replied calmly, "May I ask who you are?"

"Hahaha~~!" The man laughed twice, his voice not loud, but full of joy: "As long as it's you, I've finally found you."

"Oh, right, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Tartaglia. I am the last of the eleven executive officers of the Fatui faction of the Winter Kingdom's diplomatic mission, codenamed 'Prince,' and I am in charge of diplomacy with Liyue."

“Hello, Mr. Young Master.” Zhongli sat up straighter and adjusted his posture, introducing himself with equal seriousness: “I am Zhongli, a guest elder of Liyue Rebirth Hall. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“I have long admired Mr. Zhongli.” Young Master Dadalia always said with a smile, “I have come to see you today because I need your help with something.”

"Please speak." Zhongli put down his bowl and chopsticks.

"Our Northern Bank in the Eastern Kingdom wants to enter the Liyue market, but we haven't had a suitable opportunity. So we'd like to ask Mr. Zhongli to introduce us to the manager of the Hall of Rebirth. Once it's done, we'll certainly reward you handsomely."

“Yes.” Zhongli nodded slightly. “I can help you.”

Prince D'Artagnan was taken aback for a moment, then smiled with satisfaction: "Thank you so much. If there's anything you need, I can help you to the best of my ability."

“I didn’t bring any money with me for this meal,” Zhongli said calmly.

"Huh??" Young Master D'Artagnan was stunned once again.

"All you need to do is pay for my meal today," Zhongli said again.

"Hmm? That's all?" Young Master D'Artagnan quickly said, "You can bring something else. We at Winter's Bank aren't the kind of people who don't know how to repay kindness."

“No need, this is enough.” Zhongli said calmly, “As a [contract], introducing you to the Hall of Rebirth only requires the cost of a meal as a reward.”

"Hahaha, you're a devout follower of the Rock God too!" Prince Tartaglia couldn't help but burst into laughter.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Young Master D'Artagnan got up and left the table. When he left Wanmintang, he naturally paid for Zhongli's meal.

.......

Inside the winter bank

"Young Master."

A lightning mage looked at his superior, the Executor Prince Dadalia, with a strange expression.

You look very happy.

"Of course I'm happy." The young master's smile grew wider, his expression full of delight.

It was like a dragon that had been starving for ten years seeing delicious food.

“That’s an interesting person. I originally thought that the so-called Liyue Gang were a bunch of cowardly merchants, but I never expected to meet such an interesting person.”

"This is really making my heart race!"

Chapter Twelve: The Baseline World

As always, he didn't bring any money and after finishing his meal, Zhongli returned to his residence.

This is a very simple, even somewhat shabby, two-story building.

There weren't many carved railings and painted beams around, nor was there much gold and splendor.

The dilapidated cottage was filled with mottled ivy, adorned with a few windmill chrysanthemums from Mondstadt and some not-so-luxurious glass lilies, creating a scene that was both desolate and cozy.

Back inside, I closed the door tightly.

Zhong Li was about to open the chat group to see what the group members from other worlds were talking about.

A prominent notification window popped up on the chat group page.

...

Red Iris Immortal: What you need is ready. Are your points ready?

Future Promising True Lord: I completed an urgent task a couple of days ago and earned about 10,000 points. I don't know if that's enough for trading.

Red Iris Immortal: That's enough. In my world, these things are worth about 1000 points.

Future Promising True Lord: Hmm, so how should we trade?

Red Iris Immortal: You can consign items in the system shop. I will package these knowledge items so you can buy them directly.

The future is promising, True Lord: Thank you.

Having settled this [contract], Zhongli didn't rush to look up knowledge about [gravity] in the other world, but instead opened the main interface of the chat group.