『 After listening to the trio's advice, Stelle came before Auntie Gao, the owner of Shang Ziyi.
"Oh my, is this guest a traveler from beyond the galaxy? Let me ask you, do you like Aurum Alley?"
"Just arrived, can't say I like it yet," Stelle replied.
Auntie Gao nodded after hearing this: "Hmm, then I must treat you well."
"...I hope you don't mind me prattling on, but since you're an Outworlder, are you familiar with the IPC? Do you know if it has a good reputation?"
"The IPC is a huge help to galactic trade," Stelle thought for a moment before replying.
"Indeed, the exchange between Strale and Credits is very convenient," Auntie Gao nodded.
"Oh my, I can't just leave you hanging here… take a look at the menu, pick what you want to eat, consider it a treat from me."
"I'll have some mung bean soda!" Stelle said firmly.
"Coming right up." 』
『 ....』
〘March 7th〙: I knew it…
〘Hanabi〙: Little grey-hair, you're really something!
....
『 Stelle took the mung bean soda from Auntie Gao and turned to walk towards Bailu.
Bailu looked at Stelle expectantly: "Anything good to eat?"
Stelle handed the mung bean soda to Bailu.
"Mung bean soda… You, you didn't do this on purpose, did you?" Bailu looked at the indescribable thing in front of her, pouting.
"I did it accidentally on purpose!" Stelle said righteously.
"Eww… you drink this bowl of mung bean soda yourself." Bailu waved her hand.
"I'll drink it then, what's so scary about that!" Stelle took back the mung bean soda she had handed to Bailu.
"Just like taking medicine, close your eyes and steel your heart, and it's done," Bailu offered her advice.
Before Stelle could start drinking, Auntie Gao noticed Bailu nearby and walked up.
"Ah! It's the Dragon Lady... Here, I'll get you another serving — no need to be shy."
"Huh!? W—Wait, Auntie, I—I'm not thirsty, please..." Bailu firmly refused at first when she saw it was mung bean soda, but thinking it was Auntie Gao's kindness, she braced herself and accepted it.
"Sigh, alright. Thank you, Auntie Gao." 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: Hahahahaha, you couldn't escape the fate of drinking mung bean soda after all!
〘Bailu〙: Damn it.
....
『 Amidst the noisy chatter of the diners, time slipped away inadvertently.
Coming back to her senses, Stelle was already immersed in the atmosphere of the Aurum Alley night market.
"Oh my, I almost got full at the snack stalls, and I still haven't done the actual business," Bailu stood up. "I wanted to stop by Elegance Pagoda to buy some medicine jars while I'm out. Come on, let's go."
Stelle thought it would be a good way to digest, so she nodded and followed Bailu.
Before the two reached their destination, passersby were already discussing something that piqued their interest.
"Yo, what happened at the docks?"
"The IPC people and the dock workers are arguing."
Then, a resonant female voice came from the docks.
"Speak nicely, don't go bullying people—"
"…How about we go to the docks and take a look first?" Bailu suggested checking out the commotion.
"I love joining in the fun," Stelle nodded.
The two walked toward the docks, and before they even arrived, they heard a voice filled with sarcasm.
"When did you decide to show up, little Miss Feisty? How is this any of your business?"
"As a Cloud Knight, I can't just sit back and do nothing when I see civil unrest. And for your information, my name isn't "little miss feisty" — it's Sushang!"
After Stelle and her companion arrived at the docks, they saw someone who looked like a secretary for the Merchants' Guild speaking to Sushang.
"Miss, please leave this matter to us at the Aurum Alley Merchants' Guild to handle."
"You are… from the Merchants' Guild?" Sushang asked, turning around.
"You're going to handle it? That's hilarious!" the yellow-haired IPC representative wearing sunglasses said loudly.
"Everyone watching here, who doesn't know that the Aurum Alley Merchants' Guild is poorly managed and incompetent? Now that the dock rent is overdue, who's to blame?"
"—This is all the fault of you, Aurum Alley Merchants' Guild."
The secretary took a deep breath, "…I cannot deny that."
"Then say it out loud so everyone can hear: Aurum Alley Merchant Guild apologizes to every vendor here for defaulting on the lease and leaving us to pick up the mess!"
"Better yet — get down on your knees and beg for forgiveness!" 』
『 ....』
〘Topaz〙: Which department is this from?
〘Aventurine〙: Seems to be the Strategic Investment Department.
〘Topaz〙: Oh, then that's not surprising.
〘Boothill〙: Strategic Investment Department? Come here, let me love you to death with a bullet, baby!
....
『 Sushang looked at the man in front of her and couldn't take it anymore. "Hey, your attitude is too arrogant. Can't we discuss the overdue rent properly?"
The man shook his head, changing from his previous overbearing manner to a low voice: "I'm not bullying anyone, am I just offering a friendly reminder? May I ask if the IPC can collect the rent?"
The secretary showed a troubled expression, sighed, and shook her head: "…Not right now."
Then the man looked at the docks: "The IPC sublet the operation rights of this dock to your guild, hoping that Aurum Alley would flourish because of it…"
He turned to the secretary, waving his hands, "Look at this, such a good freight dock has been completely wasted!"
"Who says the Merchants' Guild definitely can't pay it back? What if… what if we can pay it back?" Sushang retorted.
The man stepped back in fear, blocking his face with his hands, speaking with heavy sarcasm: "Oh my, I don't even dare to imagine it."
After the mockery, the man returned to his normal stance and looked at Sushang: "How about this? Let's make a bet. If the Merchants' Guild can pay back the IPC's rent, I will bow and apologize in front of the elders and neighbors of Aurum Alley…"
"I will also say loudly, 'I am a blind fool! Ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth, only capable of barking like a dog!' and then I will have to bark like a dog in front of you, how about that?"
"Alright, and what happens if I lose the bet?" Sushang agreed, then asked what would happen if she lost.
"Simple, you do the same to apologize to me in front of the elders and neighbors, and bark like a dog in front of me." 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: Good show to watch.
〘Scott〙: Ha, there's no way I'll lose! Just you wait!
〘March 7th〙: So that yellow-haired was you!
....
『 Bailu looked at the situation spiraling out of control and said, "Ah? What do we do?"
Sushang clicked her tongue and said firmly: "It's a deal!"
"Everyone heard it, I'll be waiting, hahahahahaha,"
After laughing, Scott turned to the IPC employees beside him: "Let's go."
The employees nodded, and the two walked away.
After Scott was far away, Stelle and Bailu came to Sushang's side, and the Merchants' Guild secretary was apologizing to Sushang.
"Young lady, such a bet has no benefit for you at all… We dragged you into this."
Sushang waved her hand: "It's fine, it's fine. I just felt annoyed by his arrogant attitude; I had to do something. I couldn't just stand by."
The female worker nearby nodded: "We know the young lady's good intentions, but it's just…"
Stelle gave Sushang a thumbs up: "Standing up for justice, truly amazing!"
Sushang scratched her head after hearing this: "Calm, calm down, I just realized that if I lose, I'll lose face for the Cloud Knights. But I really couldn't stand that guy's arrogance!"
Then the secretary introduced herself to the three: "My name is Mingxi, I am the secretary for the Aurum Alley Merchants, everyone usually calls me Little Secretary. This matter with the Aurum Alley docks was originally a dispute between the Merchants' Guild and the IPC; it shouldn't have involved any of you."
Stelle clutched her head in regret: "If I had known, I wouldn't have interfered."
Sushang turned to Stelle and said: "But I was the one who bet with the IPC representative, you didn't interfere…"
Bailu looked at the Little Secretary and asked, "So, can the dock really not pay the rent?"
The male worker sighed: "Sigh, Little Secretary, just tell them straight."
"According to the current situation, the Aurum Alley docks are poorly managed and cannot pay the rent for now," Mingxi replied truthfully.
"I feel like Aurum Alley is quite prosperous, though?" Stelle asked, puzzled.
"The snack business is quite lively, but other businesses, and the operation of the docks, have reached a point where they are stretched thin."
"How can the revenue of the Aurum Alley docks be improved?"
Sushang nodded: "If we can improve it, we can make money, and then we can pay off the debt, right?"
Mingxi pondered: "If we cut costs and tap into new revenue streams, we can turn things around. A lot of vendors in Aurum Alley don't want anything to do with the dock, though, so it may be hard to find new sources of revenue..."
"What about cutting costs?" Sushang asked.
"Cutting costs means reducing expenses. As you can see, the dock isn't even fully utilized, and the workers, well..."
The male worker immediately said, "Hey, hey, your guild better not be thinking about laying people off!"
The female worker nearby smoothed things over: "Little Secretary is trying to find a way, too. If you ask me, the efficiency of sending orders is a bit low right now. If we could put some thought into that, we could definitely save costs."
"I don't think that saves much…" Stelle analyzed after some thought.
"It's better than doing nothing. Stelle, I see you're very good at using your brain. Why don't you try?" Bailu looked at Stelle and said.
"Where did you diagnose that I have a brain?" 』
『 ....』
〘Hanabi〙: Lol.
〘March 7th〙: It appeared that Stelle's unique contrarian form means she has to argue with you about everything.
....
『 "It's okay, you can participate in this as a consultant for the Merchants' Guild. Even if you mess it up, it doesn't matter… after all, the situation is already very bad, how much worse could it get?" Mingxi comforted her, though this comfort seemed to hurt her own heart a bit.
The male worker looked at Stelle and shook his head: "Even the head of the Merchants' Guild has no way. Can this short-lived kid really do it? Sigh, might as well treat a dead horse as if it were alive!"
"Fine, I'll do it myself," Stelle shouted.
Then Stelle began her work, finding the most cost-effective arrangement for the cargo orders. 』
『 ....』
〘Silver Wolf〙: Oh, this is the event story from the game. I was wondering why there was no tragedy.
〘Hanabi〙: It's a pun too.
〘Stelle〙: Fine, I'll do it myself.
〘Hotaru〙: Fine, I'll do it myself.
〘March 7th〙: Fine, I'll do it myself.
The three on the train looked at Dan Heng expectantly. Dan Heng shook his head helplessly and sighed.
〘Dan Heng〙: Fine, I'll do it myself.…
....