[After brief pleasantries, Yukong invited the president to explain his plans and considerations for Aurum Alley.]
[The golden president and Stelle both wanted Aurum Alley to prosper, but the president believed their vision of prosperity would erase the alley's traditions and character, no different from the company's actions.]
[Overdevelopment would harm the tourist experience, leading to fewer visitors, which to the president was an undeniable fact.]
["Is that your data-based conclusion?" Stelle handed the president a revenue report from Tonggong Workshop. "Take a look at this. The data shows tourist numbers haven't dropped!"]
[The data recorded not only Tonggong Workshop's revenue changes but also the number of visitors, which had increased rather than decreased. This… made the president question the data's authenticity.]
[But with Yukong vouching for the data's credibility, he had no choice but to believe it. Still, he stubbornly insisted it was an exception, not reflective of Aurum Alley as a whole.]
["You haven't lived through the era I experienced, so you can't understand… my persistence."]
——
Teyvat, Liyue
The afternoon sun streamed through the carved wooden window of the Liyue Qixing's office, casting dappled shadows on the tea table. Hearing the guild president's words, Keqing let out a heavy huff, a flicker of displeasure in her purple eyes.
"Times change, and Aurum Alley should keep up. 'You haven't lived through my era'… that's just leaning on his age, isn't it?"
"Oh?" Ningguang raised an eyebrow, twirling her pipe lightly. "That's blunt. But why do you think the president is so stubborn?"
"…He just wants to recreate past glories," Keqing said firmly, setting down her teacup. "Xianzhou people live for centuries, even millennia. Some cling to every brick and tile of Aurum Alley, wanting them to 'stay the same,' calling it 'sentiment.'"
"But to me, that's just narrow-minded 'conservatism.'"
Ningguang chuckled softly. "As sharp as ever, but… that's what I've always admired about you."
She sipped her tea. "But governing Aurum Alley requires both bold progress and understanding. The president's experience, though full of outdated rules, has been tested through countless trials."
Keqing's fingers absently traced the edge of her teacup. "I don't disrespect his experience, but if it doesn't evolve, it becomes a shackle. Take your Jade Chamber—it wouldn't be as grand today without constant expansion and innovation, right?"
"An interesting comparison," Ningguang said, her eyes gleaming with approval. "But every expansion of the Jade Chamber was built on understanding its original structure. I never demolish recklessly; I innovate through inheritance."
——
["Aurum Alley chose my persistence back then, and that's what created a commercial miracle unmatched today."]
[The president's stance was clear: today's Aurum Alley paled compared to its past, when it was truly the "Luofu's top night market."]
["I object!" Stelle pulled out a historical transaction ledger for Aurum Alley. "Your description of the past isn't objective!"]
[According to the ledger, even the peak transaction volume of Aurum Alley's glory days was on par with today's.]
["You're counting those flying mechanical birds," the president said, growing anxious. "You can't directly compare the past to the present. The environment back then was completely different…"]
[The president trailed off.]
[He realized he was circling back to Stelle's argument.]
["President, to me, Aurum Alley isn't for mourning past illusions," Mingxi said earnestly. "Aurum Alley belongs to its people. As long as people change, Aurum Alley should change too."]
[Mingxi's words left the president speechless.]
[Just as they overcame this hurdle and prepared to confront the company, the young master Xiaohan, who had been helping them, suddenly stepped forward, revealing he was the company's business representative in Exalting Sanctum.]
["You little—!" Sushang gasped. The traitor was right beside them!]
[But Xiaohan didn't see them as adversaries but as like-minded friends. Though their goals aligned for Aurum Alley's development, his vision was entirely different from the little secretary's.]
[His ultimate aim was to surpass Aurum Alley's past, turning it into a galactic commercial port.]
——
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
"Uh… wouldn't that turn Aurum Alley into Aurum Port?" Stark said, puzzled.
"It makes sense, but I don't think turning it into a port is bad. It sounds like it could be even more prosperous," Sein said, approving of Xiaohan's idea. "If they handed Aurum Alley's operations to him, I think it'd be fine."
"Not to him, but to the company, Sein," Frieren said, shaking her head. "If Xiaohan didn't have the company's backing, I'd support him competing with the secretary. But with the company behind him… heh, I'm on the secretary's side."
"Frieren, do you hate the company that much?" Stark scratched his cheek. "Not everyone there is like Skott."
"I don't hate them. It's not about the people," Frieren said. "It's just that Aurum Alley's development and planning should stay in its own hands, not an outside company's."
She continued, "Self-planning, self-development… it's a tough path at first, but if it works, it's solid. Handing the reins to the company might be easy at first, but over time, Aurum Alley would lose its autonomy and become stagnant."
"It's not that serious, is it, Lady Frieren? Xiaohan's there, isn't he?" Fern looked at her curiously.
"For now, yes… he's there. In his hands, Aurum Alley's ship might stay on course."
Frieren smiled faintly. "But Xiaohan is human. 'People change constantly.' His stance, his vision, could shift. When his vision aligns with the company's interests, he's Aurum Alley's representative. But what if his vision conflicts with the company's one day?"
"…So, I hope the secretary wins, even if her vision isn't as grand as Xiaohan's."
Frieren looked down at the muddy ground. "It's fine to walk slowly, as long as each step is steady."