"Mr. President, I understand how you feel, and I share your grief and anger over the guild employees who died at the port, but..." Kennard glanced at Xu Yi's calm face, hesitated, then continued, "Blindly expanding our guild's defensive forces for that reason alone seems a little... a little rash, doesn't it?"
"Blindly?" Xu Yi turned to look at him. "Why do you think this is a blind decision?"
Kennard gave a wry smile and spread his hands. "Admittedly, that word was rather impolite, but Mr. President, I don't understand why we should suddenly invest over three million gold coins in the guild's Guards Corps, then keep increasing that investment every year, until we're spending at least five million gold coins annually, as your plan calls for. If it's simply to prevent similar casualties among our employees in the future, we have plenty of other options that would cost less."
"I've always said I'm a businessman. But judging by this, Kennard, you truly live up to your Emma Family background. A businessman's way of thinking is far more deeply rooted in you than in me," Xu Yi said with a smile.
Kennard frowned and sighed. "Mr. President, we are only a merchant guild, after all."
"No. To me, the Xinfei Merchant Guild is merely a tool in my hands." Xu Yi shook his head. "Although its development has made it the most useful tool I have, it is still only a tool. My dream is to change the lives of the people on the Sains Continent, and that goal will never change. Making money is simply a means of achieving it."
Seeing the expression on Xu Yi's face, Kennard knew that trying to persuade him any further would be utterly pointless. He could only sigh as well and drop the