Count Rivell was overthinking things.
As he saw it, the Xinfei Merchant Guild had nurtured the Ireland United Merchant Guild with its own hands, only to needlessly create a rival capable of competing with it in certain areas. The resulting loss of substantial profits was nothing short of asking for trouble.
Xu Yi, however, felt exactly the opposite.
"Hey, Freeman, this really is impressive."
Xu Yi turned over a steel pipe roughly as thick as his wrist, carefully inspecting its exterior and interior several times. He even took the Vernier Caliper from Freeman and measured the pipe closely, his face full of admiration.
"The workmanship on this P2-model steel pipe has definitely matched, if not surpassed, that of our guild's steel pipe processing workshop. Freeman, can you tell me how you managed it?"
Freeman gave an honest smile and scratched his head. "There wasn't much to it. We just kept raising our standards."
Xu Yi nodded. "Yes, well said. Craftsmanship improves precisely through the process of constantly demanding more of yourself. From this P2-model steel pipe, I can tell that your Ireland United Merchant Guild is at least every bit as capable as ours when it comes to this particular model."
At that, Xu Yi could no longer contain his admiration. He clapped Freeman firmly on the shoulder and laughed aloud. "Do you know how many years I've been hoping for this? I never expected your Ireland United Merchant Guild to be the first to achieve it."
"No, no, President Xu. You really do flatter us." Freeman waved his hands repeatedly.
Freeman had met Xu Yi many times and had several in-depth conversations with him. He knew very well what Xu Yi had always hoped for: that the Xinfei Merchant Guild would not dominate the magic industry alone, and that