Volume 3 Chapter 131 Xu Yi’s worries
Two days later, the Frestech Chamber of Commerce motorcade that had stayed in Basaru City for three days finally headed on the road to Sowell City.
The Magic Car kept bumping across the dirt road outside Basaru City, shaking Xu Yi and the other researchers from the magic machine development center inside the Magic Car.
The researchers were led by Camby to use their time before they reached Sowell City to discuss research, making the atmosphere inside the car lively.
However, Xu Yi was very silent. He didn’t even watch the scenery passing outside the window, rather he had his brows slightly knit as he was in deep thought the entire time.
His eyes fell onto the worn down houses that passed on both sides and Xu Yi’s expression became more serious.
He was currently facing an important choice, but he couldn’t make up his mind since there were many worries.
Camby who had stopped discussing turned to see the strange look on Xu Yi’s face and he couldn’t help asking, “Chairman, what’s wrong? Since you went out with Count Longley the day before yesterday, why have you had this expression? Could it be that Count Longley did something that made it hard for you?”
Xu Yi shook his head with a bitter laugh.
“Although Count Longley didn’t do anything to make it hard on me, it is actually me that’s making it hard on me.”
“What does that mean?” Camby looked confused.
Xu Yi looked at the villages filled with worn down houses in the distance for a while and suddenly asked, “Camby, if doing something could help many people, but you would be in a very dangerous situation, how would you choose?”
Camby knit his brows, “It depends on if these people are worth helping and how dangerous the situation is. What is it? Chairman, did Count Longley say something to you? Does he want to invite you to invest in Basaru City?”
Xu Yi looked at Camby in surprise.
He had always thought that dwarves like Camby reacted slowly, he never thought that he would be able to discern the truth right away.
“Un, Count Longley has indeed invited me and he is very sincere. I have to admit, I’ve been moved by him.” Xu Yi said with a nod.
Thinking of his contact with Count Longley over the past few days, Xu Yi had a strange feeling in his heart.
During these years, as the Frestech Chamber of Commerce quickly developed, Xu Yi had made contact with most of the nobles in the kingdom and he could tell that there were good and bad nobles among them.
The good nobles could peacefully coexist with their citizens, even extending their hand to help the citizens within their territory. The bad nobles would rely on their rights to suppress citizens and satisfy their own greed.
But most of the nobles received the traditions of nobles, being in a different class compared to normal citizens. They were completely unrelated, like they were people from two different worlds.
But no matter what, Xu Yi had never seen a noble like Count Longley, being able to be on the same level as normal citizens. He even put all his efforts into letting his citizens live as good of a life as possible.
Xu Yi wasn’t certain that Count Longley wasn’t acting this way, but based on the people’s evaluation of the old Count Longley, as well as the time he spent with Count Longley, he could see the way the citizens of Basaru City acted and that Count Longley’s attitude should be real.
After all, it was easy for him to fake it alone, but it was hard for all the citizens to fake it.
Even disregarding whether it was fake or not, just based on the attitude Count Longley had and his suggestions towards this matter, Xu Yi had to seriously consider this.
Investing in Basaru City wasn’t considered hard for the Frestech Chamber of Commerce.
Although Basaru City was indeed poor and this city didn’t have any good resources, through his inspections over the past few days, Xu Yi had already found several methods to develop Basaru City. After considering it on the spot, he felt that they were quite feasible.
Basaru City was just lacking in money and this was not something the current Frestech Chamber of Commerce was lacking.
If he agreed to Count Longley’s invitation and the Frestech Chamber of Commerce started investing in Basaru City, there was an even deeper meaning. It meant that Basaru City that openly supported his highness Eric would begin cooperation with the Frestech Chamber of Commerce that supported her highness Seveni.
No one would think that the Frestech Chamber of Commerce changed to his highness Eric’s side, rather people would feel that Count Longley would want to betray his highness.
The reason was that there really was a disparity in terms of power between both sides.
Although Count Longley was a City Lord and a Count, Basaru City was the weakest, smallest, and poorest City in the northeast province. Count Longley didn’t have much as the City Lord.
But the Frestech Chamber of Commerce was different.
As the new company without limits that developed the quickest in the Lampuri Kingdom, the Frestech Chamber of Commerce already held quite a bit of strength and potential. It was far from something a poor City Lord could compare to.
Both sides also differed greatly when it came to support of his highness Eric and her highness Seveni.
But even like this, the symbolic meaning of this was too big.
If Count Longley really chose to invite the Frestech Chamber of Commerce to invest in Basaru City, starting to work with the Frestech Chamber of Commerce, it would be considered a betrayal by his highness Eric’s side.
Moreover, this gave many people a bad sign. It meant that the side supporting his highness Eric wasn’t unified and had many fissures among them.
If this became fact, Xu Yi could imagine how angry his highness Eric would be, so the consequences would be serious.
So when he heard that Count Longley wanted to invite him, even if Xu Yi was prepared, he was still surprised.
“Count Longley, are you certain you want to do this? You do know what the consequences of this will be, right?”
Xu Yi still remembered that when Count Longley replied, there was a bitter and helpless look hidden in his expression, but there was also a look of firm determination.
“Of course I know, but compared to giving the tens of thousands of people of Basaru City the basic standard of living, a bit of betrayal isn’t considered much. For this goal, our Longley Family has worked hard for several generations. Now that this chance is in front of me, if I don’t grab it, how could I face my ancestors, how could I face the people of Basaru City!”
“Are you certain that if you do this, your father in the ground wouldn’t think that you’re betraying him?”
“Father chose to support his highness Eric back then because his highness clearly guaranteed that all the citizens would be able to eat their fill, but now he doesn’t care about the lives of the citizens for his own military achievement. Instead, he is making Basaru City undertake a burden that it can’t bear. If lord father knew of this, he would immediately reprimand him.”
Count Longley’s explicit response made Xu Yi understand why he made this decision that would surely shock everyone, making it harder for Xu Yi.
After going around Basaru City with Count Longley over these past few days, naturally he wasn’t just playing around. He had carried out a careful inspection of Basaru City under Count Longley’s leadership.
In these few days, Xu Yi found that Basaru really was worthy of being the poorest city in the northeast. Not only were the citizens outside the city like old Hal, not even being able to solve the most basic food and shelter problems, the families in the city were only a bit better and could barely make a living.
Not to mention comparing it to Banta City before it started developing, this city couldn’t compare to any city that Xu Yi had seen before.
Of course Xu Yi hoped that Basaru City could develop with the Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s investment and they could change the lives of these poor people.
But if they did this, not only would Count Longley face a serious problem, Xu Yi would also face problems.
His highness Eric’s side would think that Count Longley betrayed them, but they would also think that this was the Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s challenge to them.
If it really was like this, it could break the fragile balance between the two sides, shattering the peace that was barely maintained.
Xu Yi couldn’t take the responsibility of splitting the Lampuri Kingdom apart, so he couldn’t easily agree to Count Longley. He could only tell Count Longley he would consider it to give him a bit of hope.
As for whether he would agree or not, Xu Yi had to return to Banta City and discuss it with her highness Seveni first.
This matter was already no longer a matter for the Frestech Chamber of Commerce alone.
Count Longley naturally knew Xu YI’s worries and didn’t force Xu Yi to agree. Rather he continued to warmly entertain the Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s motorcade to show his sincerity.
But when Count Longley’s look had made it hard for Xu Yi when he was leaving.
Thinking of this, Xu Yi gave a bitter laugh.
How good it would be if Lampuri Thirteenth didn’t have this many children or if he just chose a successor. That way everyone wouldn’t need to compete for the throne and waste the resources of the Lampuri Kingdom.
The current situation in the Lampuri Kingdom was something that he as the king had to take responsibility for.
But after such a long time, the king completely removed himself from this. He didn’t make any final decisions and didn’t favour any side.
It was like……he was deliberately trying to make things like this.
This king, just what was he thinking?