"A furniture mall?"
Ningguang repeated Ryen's words thoughtfully.
"Is that the address of a shop selling furniture in your original world?"
"A furniture city… that's quite a bold concept. Creating an entire city just to sell furniture?"
"Still, perhaps a whole city is unnecessary. Furniture is certainly useful, but it doesn't justify pouring massive resources into building an entire city solely for that purpose."
Seeing that Ningguang had misunderstood, Ryen quickly explained:
"No, not a city in that sense. How should I put it… you understand the concept of a mall, right? A large shopping center."
"A big, purpose-built structure where merchants selling all kinds of goods gather and open their own shops. That building itself becomes a centralized commercial zone."
"That's what we call a mall."
Ningguang and Keqing exchanged a glance, silently calculating.
"Rental income from commercial property could reclaim a portion of Mora, and concentrating merchants would accelerate monetary circulation…"
"A commercial complex… interesting. When we return, we'll hold a meeting and designate an area to begin a pilot project."
Keqing decisively nodded, pulling out a map of Liyue Harbor and immediately starting to plan.
Such execution speed made Jean and the others feel a bit ashamed by comparison, though they also began considering replicating the idea.
Ryen hadn't thought too deeply about it and simply smiled.
"What I mean by a furniture mall is a place where merchants selling all kinds of furniture gather, a specialized mall dedicated to furniture."
"So this is also a feature of your original world?"
Keqing asked curiously.
"Yes," Ryen nodded. "Furniture malls were quite common where I came from."
"I see…"
Keqing nodded solemnly, then continued writing while asking:
"What about revenue potential? And management measures?"
"Between a single-purpose furniture mall and a mixed-use shopping complex, which one performs better financially?"
Ryen looked at Keqing, who was talking nonstop, with a complicated expression.
Ningguang felt slightly embarrassed and quietly tugged Keqing's sleeve. Only then did Keqing realize what she was doing and fall silent, her face reddening.
"In short…"
Ryen sighed.
"If you build a furniture mall solely to sell furniture, I can tell you this, you'll make an absolute fortune."
He pointed toward the refrigerator in the kitchen.
"Setting aside the fact that the materials cost you nothing."
"From your perspective, how much Mora do you think this refrigerator could sell for?"
Ningguang immediately had an answer.
"Two hundred thousand Mora."
"Although this refrigerator has special functions, refrigeration and freezing, it's still a household item, not a luxury good."
"Moreover, Teyvat already has ways to preserve food, and Cryo Vision bearers can do similar things themselves."
"Refrigerators are highly replaceable. Two hundred thousand Mora is the upper limit."
Ryen nodded in agreement.
Two hundred thousand Mora sounded like a lot, but a single plate of Golden Shrimp Balls at Xinyue Kiosk cost five thousand seven hundred Mora.
A dock worker's monthly salary was close to a million Mora.
In that context, two hundred thousand for a refrigerator was not expensive at all.
This was the result of Ningguang's careful consideration.
Refrigerators weren't luxuries, they were essential household items.
Ryen then pointed to the air conditioner nearby and smiled.
"What about the air conditioner? How much would that sell for?"
Ningguang frowned slightly, thinking it over before answering softly:
"In terms of value, it far exceeds the refrigerator. It provides both warmth and cooling for a household."
"It's also a household necessity."
"Leaving other factors aside, I'd say at least eight hundred thousand Mora per unit."
"But since it's something families need for daily life, the price doesn't have to be exorbitant. If I were setting the price, five hundred thousand Mora, at most."
"Even though most living expenses are covered by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, people still have their own expenditures."
Ryen nodded.
"So you see, these furnishings essentially have no cost. You can price them however you like."
"My advice is neither too high nor too low."
"Furniture can reclaim a significant amount of Mora from the populace. You understand this very well, Ningguang."
"Later, find someone to learn furniture crafting. From then on, let them handle production."
Ningguang nodded slightly and leaned toward Keqing, beginning a quiet discussion about how to arrange the furniture mod.
It wasn't difficult, but it wasn't exactly simple either.
The immediate priority was to understand the furniture mod, then find people to learn crafting, and finally promote it.
This lifestyle mod's main purpose was to make life simpler and more efficient.
As for large-scale development, that could be left to others.
Ryen still needed to lead Ningguang and the others in studying Witchery and Slash Blade.
Three mods had been added at once, and two of them were both practical and extremely powerful.
Just figuring out those two alone would take a very long time.
Not to mention, Ryen had plenty on his plate.
He had to go to Sumeru to celebrate Nahida's birthday, then visit Inazuma to relax a bit.
After returning, the Lantern Rite would begin, seven straight days during which he'd need to accompany Ningguang and the others on dates and shopping trips.
He also had to host Bed Wars and other competitions in the Minecraft world.
For a long time to come, Ryen would be incredibly busy.
Yet strangely enough, the thought of this bustle made him feel nostalgic.
Ningguang, Keqing, and the others were already deep in discussion about the specific details of the furniture mall.
Soon, even Rosalyne and Jean joined in.
The other two mods couldn't be implemented immediately, but the furniture mod was simple.
It was something that could directly improve the lives of the people in a short time.
Used properly, it would have remarkable effects.
Ryen withdrew his gaze from Ningguang's group, took a sip of tea, and leisurely turned his attention to Scaramouche, who had been standing off to the side.
As Ryen moved, almost everyone present, aside from Ningguang and her group, looked over.
The pressure on Scaramouche instantly skyrocketed.
He used to fear nothing, but that was before.
Now, what Scaramouche feared most was Lumine's staff.
And looking at the current situation…
The Anemo Archon, the Geo Archon, two Electro Archons, the Cryo Archon, the Dendro Archon, Azhdaha, the former God Guizhong…
And a world controller who captured gods as easily as catching pets.
On all sides were dense ranks of adepti.
Scaramouche felt that even falling into the Abyss wouldn't earn him treatment like this.
This was a full-blown all-star lineup.
"Let's talk business."
Ryen spoke lightly.
Scaramouche's body tensed instinctively. He tried to keep his expression calm, but the tension in his eyes was impossible to hide.
"Cooperating with the Doctor, stirring things up in Sumeru, trying to become a god through artificial god-making experiments?"
Ryen looked at Scaramouche strangely, then turned to complain about Ei.
"Ei, when you made him, did you forget to install a brain?"
"Setting aside cooperating with the Doctor, did he really think that if an artificial god succeeded, the Heavenly Principles would allow such a being to exist?"
Ryen turned back to Scaramouche, who looked increasingly aggrieved.
"That woman wiped out Khaenri'ah with a single accusation of transgression. And you thought she'd sit back and watch god-making?"
"Do you believe that the moment you became a complete artificial god, body, power, wisdom, the next thing you'd see would be a Celestial Nail falling from the sky?"
Scaramouche fell silent.
After thinking it through, he realized Ryen was right.
Wasn't Khaenri'ah destroyed for defying the Heavenly Principles and delving too deeply into the Abyss?
And the god-making plan…
They were trying to artificially create beings equivalent to the Archons chosen by Celestia.
That was practically slapping Celestia in the face.
If the experiment truly succeeded…
A perfected divine body, divine power, divine intellect,
The next moment would indeed be a Celestial Nail.
Realizing this, Scaramouche felt an unexpected sense of gratitude toward Lumine.
"So… how should we punish you?"
Ryen stroked his chin thoughtfully, staring deeply at Scaramouche.
"…Can you not punish me?"
Scaramouche looked at Ryen, deeply aggrieved.
"How could we not? You caused chaos in Sumeru, brought so much trouble to my Nahida, and caused so much damage!"
"If we just let it slide without punishment, where would my dignity go?"
Ryen spread his hands, looking utterly sincere.
At this point, Scaramouche felt even more wronged.
By all that was holy, what had he actually done?
From start to finish, he took the Gnosis and entered the mecha.
Altogether, he fought for less than fifteen minutes before Lumine's overpowered staff shattered his mentality.
Then the Gnosis backfired on him.
The suffering in Sumeru was caused by Azar, what did that have to do with him?
As for the destruction he caused, at worst, it was the crater left behind when the mecha fell apart.
If that counted as destruction, then Lumine should be condemned by the Heavenly Principles.
She practically flattened the entire area with RPGs.
Who caused more damage, really?
Scaramouche opened his mouth to defend himself, then met Lumine's deep, threatening gaze.
He lowered his head in resignation.
He couldn't beat them now. Once he got a staff of his own, he'd get his revenge properly.
"Do you have anything to say in your defense?"
Ryen asked lightly.
Scaramouche shook his head and said nothing.
"Alright."
Ryen clapped his hands and smiled.
"Cooperated with the Doctor, caused chaos in Sumeru, got tricked like an idiot, and showed no remorse."
"Based on all that, Tsaritsa, you decide."
The Cryo Archon glanced at Scaramouche calmly.
"As a Harbinger who failed to show loyalty to Snezhnaya, you should be treated as a traitor."
Makoto looked at the Tsaritsa nervously.
Scaramouche was her nephew, but right now, he was a Harbinger, and the Tsaritsa was his superior.
Tartaglia leaned over and whispered to the Tsaritsa:
"Your Majesty, we're short on manpower right now. Why not let him stay here too?"
Scaramouche heard this clearly.
In that instant, the Tartaglia he'd found irritating moments earlier instantly became an angel in his eyes.
He looked at the Tsaritsa with undisguised hope.
The Tsaritsa hesitated, then looked toward Ryen.
Ryen waved his hand.
"This is your internal affair. It has nothing to do with me."
"But even if he joins, he'd better find a way to repay what he owes Nahida first."
"And rather than asking me, you should ask Ei and Makoto."
The Tsaritsa turned to Makoto, who fell silent for a moment before speaking softly:
"Kunikuzushi was created by Ei. By rights, he's my nephew, and I don't mind him joining."
"But, even if Ryen doesn't mind, the exploration and development of this world must remain stable."
"There can't be any destabilizing factors."
"Kunikuzushi and the Doctor…"
The Tsaritsa nodded, her gaze turning icy.
"Tell me everything, your relationship with the Doctor and Pierro."
"Hide anything, and you die."