Collapse Iron Live Broadcast Connects All Worlds, Scares Wuzhan Away at the Beginning Chapter 198

「After a brief greeting, Yukong began to invite the chairman to elaborate on his plans and considerations for the Aurum Alley.」

「Both the Aurum Alley chairman and Xing share the same starting point: wanting Aurum Alley to prosper. However, the chairman believes that the prosperity envisioned by Xing and others would erase the traditions and individuality of Aurum Alley, essentially doing the same thing as the company.」

「Overdevelopment would only affect the tourist experience, leading to a decrease in the actual number of tourists visiting the street. In the chairman’s view, this is a fact.」

「“Is this the conclusion you reached with data?” Xing handed a revenue report from the Tonggong Workshop to the chairman. “Then take a look at this. The data above shows that the number of tourists has not decreased!”」

「The data not only recorded the changes in revenue of the Tonggong Workshop, but also the changes in the number of tourists visiting the store. This data, which didn’t decrease but increased… made the chairman begin to question the authenticity of the data source.」

「However, with Yukong endorsing the authenticity of the data, the chairman could only believe it. But he still stubbornly insisted that this was just an isolated case and did not represent the overall situation of Aurum Alley.」

「“You haven’t experienced the era I experienced, so you don’t understand… my persistence.”」

——

Teyvat, Liyue.

The afternoon sun shone through the carved wooden windows of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, casting mottled shadows on the coffee table. Hearing the Aurum Alley chairman’s statement, Keqing snorted heavily, a hint of displeasure flashing in her purple eyes.

“Times are changing, and Aurum Alley should also evolve with the times. What ‘haven’t experienced the era I experienced’… this is clearly relying on seniority, isn’t it?”

“Oh?” Ningguang raised an eyebrow, her pipe twirling lightly in her fingers. “That’s a direct statement. However, why do you think the Aurum Alley chairman is so persistent?”

“…Hoping to replicate the glory of the past, that’s all.” Keqing put down her teacup, her voice firm. “The Xianzhou people have long lifespans, often hundreds or thousands of years. Some of them are used to every brick and tile of Aurum Alley, hoping they ‘don’t change’, and call it ‘sentimentality’.”

“But in my opinion, this is just a narrow-minded ‘conservatism’.”

Ningguang chuckled, “You’re still as sharp as ever, but… that’s what I’ve always admired about you.”

She took a sip of tea. “But in my opinion, governing Aurum Alley requires not only the courage to be enterprising, but also understanding and tolerance. The chairman’s experience contains many rules that seem outdated today, but these are often tested by countless practices.”

Keqing’s fingers unconsciously rubbed the edge of the teacup. “It’s not that I don’t respect his experience, but if experience can’t keep up with the times, it will become a shackle. Take your Jade Chamber as an example – if it weren’t for continuous expansion and innovation, it wouldn’t have reached its current size, would it?”

“An interesting comparison.” A hint of appreciation flashed in Ningguang’s eyes. “But every expansion of the Jade Chamber is based on a full understanding of the original structure. I never rashly overthrow, but innovate in inheritance.”

——

「“The Aurum Alley of the past chose my persistence, which is why it created the unparalleled commercial miracle it has today.”」

「The chairman’s meaning was quite clear: the current Aurum Alley is far inferior to the Aurum Alley of the past. The Aurum Alley of that time was the well-deserved “Luofu’s No. 1 Night Market”.」

「“I object!” Xing took out the Aurum Alley historical transaction volume ledger. “The past you described is not objective!”」

「According to the records in the ledger, even the transaction volume during the glorious period of Aurum Alley in the past was on par with the present.」

「“You’ve even included the flying mechanical birds.” The chairman finally began to get anxious, arguing, “The past cannot be directly compared with the present. The environment at that time and now are completely different…”」

「The chairman didn’t continue.」

「Because he realized that he would go around in circles and arrive at Xing’s argument.」

「“Chairman, in my opinion, Aurum Alley is not a phantom to be nostalgic about.” Mingxi said sincerely, “Aurum Alley is the Aurum Alley of the people. As long as people are still changing, Aurum Alley should change.”」

「Mingxi’s words left the chairman speechless.」

「Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief after defeating the chairman and prepared to aim their spearhead at the company, Xiaohan, the young master who had been helping them all along, jumped out at this time, saying that he was the company’s business representative in Chang Le Region.」

「“You little brat!” Sushang was shocked. The traitor is right beside us!」

「However, Xiaohan didn’t regard the others as opponents, but as like-minded friends. Although the goal was the development of Aurum Alley, his vision was completely different from that of the little secretary.」

「His ultimate goal was to realize an Aurum Alley that far surpassed the past, turning it into a commercial port renowned throughout the galaxy.」

——

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End.

“Uh… wouldn’t Aurum Alley become Aurum ‘Port’ then?” Heiter asked in confusion.

“That’s the idea, but I don’t feel like turning it into Aurum Port is a bad thing. It sounds like it could be more prosperous than before.” Eisen was quite in favor of Xiaohan’s idea. “If the operation of Aurum Alley could be handed over to him, I think it would be pretty good.”

“Not handed over to ‘him’, but to the ‘company’, Eisen.” Frieren shook her head and said, “If Xiaohan didn’t have the identity of a company business representative, I would support him and the little secretary to compete. But with the company behind him… Heh, I’m still on the little secretary’s side.”

“Ah, Frieren, do you hate companies?” Heiter scratched his face. “Not everyone in the company is like Scott.”

“I don’t hate them. It has nothing to do with who’s in the company. In the end, I just think that the development and planning of Aurum Alley should be in our own hands, not an outside company.”

Frieren continued, “Planning and developing ourselves… this path may be difficult at first, but as long as we get through it, it’ll be fine. But if we hand over the power of development to the company, it may be easy at first, but sooner or later, Aurum Alley, which has lost its ability to operate independently, will become a stagnant pool of water.”

“It’s not that serious, is it? Frieren-sama, isn’t Xiaohan there?” Fern looked at her in confusion.

“Yes, currently… he is indeed there. In his hands, perhaps the ship of Aurum Alley will not deviate from its course.”

Frieren smiled slightly, “But Xiaohan is also a person, ‘people are constantly changing’, and his position and vision may change later. What’s more, when his vision is consistent with the company’s interests, he is the business representative of Aurum Alley. But what if one day, his vision conflicts with the company’s interests?”

“…So, I still hope the little secretary can win, even if her vision is not as prosperous as Xiaohan’s.”

Frieren looked down at the muddy ground under her feet. “Walk slower, but step by step… at least walk steadily.”