Stelle put on a businesslike air as she asked the little secretary, "Does the guild rent this dock?"
"Yes." The little secretary nodded. "Just renting the port has already left the guild up to its neck in debt to the IPC."
Stelle blinked, then glanced at Little Fish beside her.
Oh, Little Fish ran a business with no upfront costs. Even when he took up land in Belobog, Bronya hadn't asked for any money. The two sides had even entered a partnership, and Bronya was very grateful for these efforts to promote Belobog's development. She had already sent Cocolia in!
Then Stelle glanced back. As she had made her way here with Little Fish and Bailu, Aurum Alley had been positively bustling.
She suddenly remembered Auntie Gao's question. She hadn't thought much of it before, but now the two seemed inexplicably connected.
"Aurum Alley looks pretty prosperous to me?"
The little secretary blinked, then looked at Stelle and shook her head, saying dispiritedly, "The snack business is still fairly lively, but the other businesses, along with the dock's operations, are barely scraping by."
"Hmm..." Stelle nodded. "Then do you have any ideas about how to improve the revenue from Aurum Alley's dock?"
Sushang nodded too. "As long as we can improve things, we should be able to make money and pay off the debt."
The little secretary sighed and said slowly, "'Increasing revenue and cutting costs' would boost the dock's earnings. Right now, increasing revenue is fraught with difficulties. Many shops in Aurum Alley refuse to work with the Aurum Alley dock..."
Jiang Yu and Bailu stood to one side, listening to the tall people talk. Neither spoke.
Mainly because one of them ran a business with no upfront costs, while the other treated illnesses and saved lives...
Leaving aside