Chapter 2104: Inspecting Forestry Township
Seeing President Cruz's indignant expression, Xu Yi could only smile wryly.
When Ambassador Hakane first secured approval to build the road, Xu Yi had been delighted. He felt he had finally opened the door to the Candel Empire. From then on, he could show them the convenience roads offered and influence the Candel Empire just as he had once influenced the Lampari Kingdom.
What he had not expected, however, was that the Amli Merchant Guild would encounter all sorts of bizarre obstructions while building the road in the Candel Empire's Southwestern Province. The biggest problem was the provincial officials' extremely poor efficiency. Even requisitioning a small patch of land took ages, causing enormous delays in construction.
Those officials were also terribly corrupt. According to President Cruz, in the first six months alone, the Amli Merchant Guild had paid over three hundred thousand gold coins in extra expenses because of this, nearly half the road's projected investment.
Moreover, most of the actual investment in the road came from the Xinfei Merchant Guild, with the Amli Merchant Guild providing the smaller share. The Candel Empire had not contributed so much as a single copper coin, yet it would enjoy all the conveniences and benefits the road brought. For the Xinfei Merchant Guild and the Amli Merchant Guild, it was an incredibly poor deal.
This had left President Cruz deeply dissatisfied with the Candel Empire all along. Unfortunately, the road was already half finished and carried tremendous symbolic significance, so however unhappy he was, he could only grit his teeth and keep going.
Xu Yi thought for a moment, then could only pat President Cruz's shoulder helplessly and console him. "It's the first road, after all. Bear with it for now. Once it's finished, I refuse to believe