While everyone eagerly awaited Xu Yi's books and the academy he was founding, Xu Yi quietly returned to Anvilmar City alone.
This time, he did not visit anyone else, heading straight to the Military Logistics Office to find Major Maikongli.
"Hey, President Xu, I heard you took a trip to the Stantin Duchy?" Major Maikongli asked with a broad smile as soon as he saw Xu Yi. "What did you think of it? Did you feel the duchy was utterly beyond saving?"
Hearing that question, Xu Yi immediately realized he was not the only one aware of the laziness of the Stantin Duchy's people and the greed of its upper classes. Apparently, this was a widely shared opinion.
"I wouldn't say it's completely beyond saving, but..." Xu Yi shrugged and smiled wryly. "It really is difficult to get anything done there."
Maikongli laughed and patted Xu Yi on the shoulder. "If you want to accomplish anything worthwhile, you should do it here in our Lampari Kingdom. Someone as capable as you especially shouldn't waste his time in a place like the Stantin Duchy."
Xu Yi glanced at him. If the Lampari Kingdom were a vast empire with abundant resources like the Malo Empire or the Candel Empire, he would gladly have focused on developing his business within its borders.
But the Lampari Kingdom was, after all, a small country on the Sains Continent. Not only were its resources far from abundant, but most had long since been divided among its great noble houses. Xu Yi and a small, newly emerged merchant guild like the Xinfei Merchant Guild had no chance of getting a share.
Take the Xinfei Merchant Guild's latest collaboration with the Joseph Family, for instance. If Xu Yi had his way, he would naturally want the guild to