The First Team Activity of the New Year

Anjing Zhen pondered for a moment. Various recent considerations and problems rose to the surface of his mind. He took a slight breath, then spoke candidly:

"To be honest with you, my team and I really have run into some problems.

"First is the feelings of the domestic fans. Little Kita is at the height of her popularity right now. She's an 'Autumn Triple Crown' Horse Girl, carrying the hopes of many people.

"If she heads overseas under these circumstances, she'll inevitably be out of the domestic fans' sight for a long time. Some of those who support her may feel disappointed."

After a pause, Anjing Zhen spoke again, with a trace of helplessness in his voice:

"Second are the sponsors' concerns."

"Many sponsors have always supported us, and most of them are Japanese industries. Naturally, they hope Little Kita can appear more often on Japanese racetracks and maintain or further raise her popularity.

"An Overseas Expedition requires a massive investment, and the results are uncertain. The commercial returns may not be so immediate or significant in the short term.

"Then there's Ono Trading Company's internal situation. They're also rather helpless about this—or rather, there are some difficult points."

He laid out all these troubles, partly because he trusted Saburo Kitajima, and partly because he truly hoped to receive this elder's understanding and support.

He even secretly hoped that Saburo Kitajima might be able to help resolve these problems.

Saburo Kitajima fell silent for a moment. His gaze drifted toward the dark shadows of trees deep in the courtyard as he slowly said:

"You can probably tell what kind of person I am. Put nicely, I'm traditional and nostalgic. But really—"

He smiled kindly and shook his head.

"I'm just an old fossil.

"So, speaking from the heart, as her