Tintin nods, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Then - perhaps what you should do is attend to your studies with the fervor of one who has no other choice. And, in the meantime, perhaps you should apply yourself to the task of diplomacy? You have a talent that may endear you to those with the resources to appreciate it."

"I can brew pretty good moonshine out of the fruits available in the cafeteria."

This startles a laugh out of Tintin. "That is also a talent that may endear you to some! I imagine if you can refine the alcohol sufficiently then it might be alchemically useful - and even if not, well, temperance is not the best loved of virtues."

Huaisang's survival chances tick up in Tintin's head. Not by much, but any.

"I was-- planning to take advantage of da-ge's connections to set myself up trading."

"- you can still do that, I think? The people who knew your brother surely still exist - at least, most of them. Could you ask other enclavers for references, or at least a general idea of who he knew?"

He shakes his head. "I could-- that's a good idea-- oh, I'm just not sure at all what to do."

He's helpful, which is a good sign.

"Oh, you mustn't give up now - what if I come with you to ask Lan Xichen? He was very kind to you before, and I am sure he would help you now."

Score!

What the fuck does this kid want from him. He's way too prepubescent to want sex.

"Oh, probably he would help!"

The absolute headrush of helping someone materially with their problems without making any actual sacrifices is powerful enough to wipe away all thoughts of compensation from Tintin's head!

"Come on -" Tintin does not run over because that would be disrespectful to Lan Xichen but he does walk more quickly than he has been. "Um. Lan-gongzi?"

"I'm afraid I don't have the pleasure of your acquaintance."

"Oh, my apologies - I am Tintin, Corentin Saint-Martin is my full name in Western style, I am from Singapore, I spoke with your sworn brother Meng-gongzi earlier but of course he cannot give you the acquaintance of every stranger who comes to his attention, or at least not inside of a few minutes. But - I have been speaking with Nie Huaisang and he desired to request an intra-enclave favor, since his plans have been so disrupted, and I, um, decided to come with him." Why did he decide that again. It was objectively a very strange decision.

"Oh, er-ge, I was going to trade things and now da-ge is dead and I don't have any contacts to start trading with!"

"What were you going to trade, a-Sang?"

"Moonshine and pornography."

"I... am not sure that we want that associated with the dignity of the Shanghai enclave."

Putain de Dieu. He must intervene.

"I was not informed of the pornography, but - moonshine can be distilled further into aqua vitae, a perfectly respectable alchemical reagent if not an uncommon one. Additional sources of anything useful for alchemy surely cannot go amiss."

"And are you planning on selling it as aqua vitae, a-Sang?"

"Yes! No! I don't know! Oh, oh, oh, don't ask me things!"

"I cannot imagine that he would go against the expressed wishes of the leader of his enclave on this matter?"

How has this boy survived fourteen years. Experts everywhere are dumbfounded.

"Perhaps we can set you up in trading alchemical ingredients, a-Sang."

Yay!

- or - um. The thought of Nie Huaisang at a negotiating table is giving Tintin dire visions.

What do you want for the aqua vitae, Huaisang? We won't go above five crystals.

Don't ask me, don't ask me, don't ask me! Five is fine!

"...It pains me to question your decision," he forces himself to say, "but if he has been concocting moonshine then - I must wonder if his talents would be better served in the production of reagents than in their distribution? I am an alchemist, and I know I would be lost at the negotiating table."

"That's an excellent point, Tintin-gongzi. Perhaps a-Sang can make reagants and someone else can sell them."

"Oh! That would be good, er-ge!"

Thank God.

"I am happy to have contributed. And - perhaps we will be in similar classes and we will be able to assist each other sometimes."

The obvious pleasantry. They don't know their schedules yet, and Tintin suspects that he would be assisting Huaisang more than the other way around, unless - 

"Huaisang, do you know English very well? It is a terrible weakness of mine."

"Luckily, I'm very good with languages," Nie Huaisang says in unaccented English.