Chapter 133 Come spend New Year with me
The door of the research facility was open by a rare chance and Xu Yi walked in. He saw Akali sitting cross legged in the living room, putting the clothes beside her into a luggage bag.
It seemed like she was packing her baggage.
Akali who felt someone come in looked up at Xu Yi and immediately reached out her hand.
“Sir chairman, quickly give me money. I am waiting for money to head home.”
Xu Yi smiled and took out the prepared purse in his chest to throw over to her.”
Akali took the purse and her hand went to open the purse, as she poured the money on the ground. She carefully counted it and couldn’t help saying in surprise, “Seventy six gold coins? This much! I say, sir chairman, did you make a mistake?”
Evita who heard the sounds came downstairs and beside her was Still who had come to send the two of them off.
Hearing the number Akali said, even the usually quiet Evita was surprised, “Sir chairman, why is it this much?”
Still wasn’t that surprised as she looked at Evita and Akali with a smile.
“Other than twenty six gold coins from last month and this month, there is also the fifty gold coin year end bonus for you.” Xu Yi explained.
“Year end bonus?” Evita and Akali looked at each other and their expressions became strange, “What does that mean?”
“Just as the word means. At the end of the year, in order to reward you for your hard work this year, you were given some extra bonuses.” Xu Yi replied, “Since the work you two have done is outstanding and to show how important researchers are, the company has decided to give you higher year end bonuses compared to the normal workers. The final set amount is fifty gold coins. How about it? Are you satisfied?”
“Of course.” Akali jumped up from the ground and hugged Xu Yi’s arm as she shook about, “Sir chairman, I really love you to death! You’re suddenly giving us this much money to go home with to celebrate New Years, mother and father will definitely be happy hearing about this!”
“Then they must congratulate you.” Xu Yi pulled his arm out without any changes to his expression and he took out two purses that he gave to Evita and Still.
Evita took the purse and said her thanks in a soft voice, but she didn’t open it.
Still just put the purse into her little bag and didn’t reveal any special expressions.
Seeing Akali tidy up the gold coins that had fallen to the ground, Xu Yi suddenly said, “That’s right, there’s something I want to tell you. Starting next year, the three of you will receive an increase in salary. You’ll be going from fifteen gold coins to twenty five gold coins.”
“Ah?” The three looked at Xu Yi in surprise.
Akali couldn’t help saying, “It’s actually going up this much? Chairman Xu, did you suddenly become rich?”
“Haven’t I become rich in the past half a year?” Xu Yi rolled his eyes at her, “What? I’m increasing your wages and you don’t want it? If you don’t want it, I can just increase Evita and Still’s wages while you have the same wage, alright?”
“No, no, I’m very willing!” Akali quickly waved her hand and even begged, “Sir chairman, I was just speaking casually, you can’t take it as something serious.”
Xu Yi gave a soft snort. He looked around before asking, “You still haven’t finished packing? It’s already quite late, if you don’t hurry, you won’t be able to make it to the horse carriage in time.”
Evita gave a sigh before looking at Akali, “If it wasn’t for Akali, we would have already finished packing.
“It’s really troublesome finding things.” Akali muttered as she began moving faster.
When girls were packing things, it wasn’t convenient for Xu YI to stay. After wishing them well on their journey, he prepared to leave.
Before he walked out, Still called out to him.
“Xu Yi, are you going home for the holidays?”
“Going home?” Xu Yi was stunned, “What home?”
“Your home.” Still asked naturally, “I remember that you’re not from Banta City, right? It’s now the New Years, so of course you should go back to your hometown. Speaking of this, I’ve never heard of you mentioning your hometown before. Just where is your hometown?”
Hearing Still ask this, Evita and Akali stopped moving and curiously looked over.
“Hometown?” Xu Yi silently thought this over before he couldn’t help revealing a bitter smile.
His hometown wasn’t even in this world, how could he go back?
Seeing the curious gaze of the three of them, Xu Yi shook his head and said with a sigh, “I can’t go back to my hometown anymore, so I’ll just stay here this year.”
“Can’t go back?” The three became even more curious. Akali asked, “Sir chairman, what do you mean by that? Is it because your hometown has been destroyed? Or is it because you were chased out?”
“Akali!” Evita spoke in a rare sharp voice, as she glared at Akali.
Akali was surprised and bit her tongue, as she said in a small voice, “Sir chairman, I was just curious. I didn’t mean anything, don’t misunderstand.”
Xu Yi shook his head with a faint smile, “It’s nothing. But you shouldn’t ask where my hometown is, I’m not willing to mention this topic.”
Akali gave an obedient nod.
Although Xu Yi still had a smile on his face, Evita could clearly see the sadness hidden beneath it. Seeing the pain in Xu Yi’s eyes, Evita couldn’t stop her heart from filling with pain.
This sir chairman who was always filled with confidence and didn’t seem to fall from any blows actually had a delicate side.
In an instant, Evita had the urge to pull Xu Yi into her embrace and comfort him.
Evita only had the urge, but Still directly did it.
In front of Evita and Akali’s surprised looks, Still came forward and opened her arms to softly hug Xu Yi. She said in a gentle voice, “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want, we won’t ask in the future.”
Xu Yi was scared by Still’s sudden hug. Smelling the scent coming from Still, his body first froze before he relaxed. He said with a smile, “It’s not that serious, you don’t need to be that considerate.”
Still only hugged him for a second before letting go. Based on her stiff actions and the redness on her face, she was actually quite nervous.
The room fell into a strange silence and after a while, Still calmed the expression on her face before asking, “Since you’re staying here for New Years, that’s even better. If you don’t have any other places to go, how about coming to my house for New Years? My mother and father will also be back for New Years and with grandfather and me, the house will be quite lively. If you also come, it’ll be even more lively. Grandfather has always liked you and he was already prepared to invite you over as a guest. Moreover, I believe mother and father will also like you after they see you. Do you want to come?”
Seeing Still’s expectant expression, Xu Yi thought about it before shaking his head, “I’m afraid I have to let down your good intentions. Although I’ll be staying during New Years, I have some work to do. Because I promise Agnes, I’ll be going to her place this year. This trip will take quite a bit of time and the holidays might be over when I get back.”
“Agnes?” Still revealed a disappointed look on her face. Before she could speak, Akali first said, “Sir chairman, this Agnes…..It should be a girl based on the name, right?”
“Un, it’s indeed a girl. What about it?” Xu Yi asked back with a nod.
“What about it? You’re still asking this!” Akali’s voice raised and her face filled with anger, “Still’s already inviting you to her house for new years and wanted to introduce you to her mother and father, but you’re actually rejecting her for another girl! Sir chairman, you really are too unfaithful!”
Xu Yi was a bit surprised, “Unfaithful? How am I unfaithful?”
“Alright, sir chairman, I really was wrong about you. I thought that you were a good man and I liked you quite a bit before, but I never thought you were this kind of person. I……”
Akali didn’t get to finish her words as her mouth was covered by Evita and Still.
Still’s face turned red seeing Akali’s angry expression. No matter how slow Xu Yi was, he still realized what was wrong, as he said with a laugh, “Akali, you’re mistaken. I’m going to Agnes’ place because of work, Still understands what this is about. Isn’t that right, Still?”
Still nodded and gave an un sound, but her expression was still a bit disappointed.
Akali stopped struggling and doubtfully looked at Still, not understanding why she had this kind of reaction.
Xu Yi shook his head and thought that these girls really were sensitive, they were just too hard to deal with.
Thinking about it, Xu Yi said to Still, “If I finish my work and I come back early, I’ll come and visit your family. At least I have to offer my New Years greeting to your grandfather, right? Naturally it would even be better if I can see your parents. I’m very curious, what kind of parents could give birth to such a beautiful girl.”
Still’s elegant face became redder. Evita and Akali looked at Xu Yi in surprised, clearly being very shocked by the fact that he said those words.
Akali pushed aside the two hands covering her mouth and she couldn’t help saying, “Sir chairman, I thought that you were a complete blockhead, who didn’t know how to praise girls at all.”
Xu Yi laughed, “This isn’t praise, it’s the truth. Look, I’m also curious what kind of parents can give birth to a lively and curious girl like you, Akali.”
“This isn’t praise……” Akali glared at Xu Yi.
Xu Yi laughed and clapped his hands before saying, “Alright, stop rambling here with me. There isn’t much time, you should quickly finish packing. That’s right, help me wish your parents a happy New Years. Just say that I’m grateful for your daughter’s outstanding contributions to our Frestech Chamber of Commerce.”
Evita and Akali agreed before turning to finish up Akali’s packing.
Still saw that Xu Yi wanted to leave and she suddenly shouted, “Xu Yi, I’m also coming!”
“Ah?” Xu Yi turned back in a daze, “Where do you want to go?”
“Agnes’ place!”
Evita and Akali couldn’t help stopping again as they looked at Still in shock.
Xu Yi looked at Still’s serious face and he couldn’t help rubbing his aching head.
These little girls, just what were they thinking?
Chapter 134 Three beauties traveling together
Two days later, a horse carriage was on the road to the west of Banta City, heading for the mountain road.
A slender arm pulled open the curtain and Vivian’s little face popped out. After looking at the scenery outside, she couldn’t help saying in an emotional voice, “So dwarves live in remote mountains like this, now wonder it’s so hard to see them.”
“That is before, it’s much easier to see them now.” Still’s voice came from inside the carriage, “Vivian, when the company starts working again, if you want to see dwarves, you can just go to the magic machine workshop. There are several hundred dwarves usually there.”
“Un.” Vivian gave a strong nod, “Banta City’s people aren’t that curious about dwarves anymore, right?”
“But they should be very curious about elves, don’t you think so, young miss Agnes?” Still’s final words were actually directed at Agnes on the other side of the carriage.
Agnes honestly thought about it before saying with a nod, “It should be. We elves hate contacting humans more than dwarves, so we haven’t appeared in front of humans for several hundred years. It is normal for them to be curious about us.”
“But your tribe must show themselves to humans now. Young miss Agnes, don’t you feel worried?” Still then asked.
There was a helpless tone that filled Agnes’ voice, “There’s no other way, our tribe is facing difficulties and to solve this, only you humans seem to have a way. In order to survive, there’s no other choice even if we have to reveal ourselves to the humans again. Then again, I feel that chairman Xu is right, not every human is bad. Other than chairman Xu who is a good person that is honestly willing to help us solve our problem, there is a person as pure as an elf like Vivian. There are also noble and beautiful people like young miss Still who I also like very much.”
Still’s face became a bit red, “Many thanks for your praise, but I think that is because your luck is good and the first human you met is Xu Yi. Although this fellow is a profiteer, his character isn’t bad. Since he has promised that he would help you, he will definitely do it.”
Agnes nodded, “That’s right. After interacting with chairman Xu a few times, as well as my observations from following him, I feel he should be a trustworthy human.”
Still thought about it before suddenly saying, “That’s right, Agnes. You mentioned that you kept following Xu Yi during this time, does that mean you follow him all the time? Could it be that when Xu Yi was sleeping, bathing, and using the washroom, you also followed him?”
Agnes had a natural expression as she nodded, “Yes.”
Still opened her eyes in shock, “You’re by his side when he’s bathing? Could it be that you saw all of him?”
Agnes didn’t seem to understand what Still meant and said in a confused voice, “I saw all of him, is there anything wrong?”
Xu Yi in the front of the carriage suddenly started coughing, as he became angry in shame.
“Ke…...Ke, ke…...I say Agnes, why didn’t you tell me that you were with me when I was bathing?”
Agnes pulled open the curtain and looked at Xu Yi in the driver’s seat, “Because I felt there wasn’t any problem. Why do you and young miss Still all care about this?”
Xu Yi slowed the carriage and looked back at Agnes. Seeing her innocent expression, he could only give a helpless sigh before looking at Still with a strange expression. He said in a voice that was angry from shame, “You’re still smiling! I was unknowingly seen by her, I’m the one who suffered a loss, alright?”
Still gave a soft snort, “You are a man, what loss can you suffer. Agnes is a beautiful elven girl, the one suffering is her.”
Xu Yi shook his head, determined not to discuss this issue with Still.
But after seeing Still and Agnes’ conversation, with the relationship between them becoming much warmer, he felt more assured.
His plan today only included Agnes and himself, but he found that when they left, because Evita and Akali had already gone home, there was no one to take care of Vivian. So he could only bring her along.
And he didn’t know what was with Still, insisting on coming with him.
Xu Yi’s words were fruitless, so he was forced to agree in the end.
So Xu Yi’s travel plan that seemed quite simple included two extra girls.
But this also had an advantage. The journey was much more lively and wasn’t as boring.
Because Xu Yi invested in making a road to the dwarf tribe, the final twenty kilometers wasn’t a pure hike like before. The swaying horse carriage went along and in less than an hour, they could already see the smoke plumes filling the sky.
“Could it be that place is on fire?” Seeing the thick smoke, Still couldn’t help asking this in a surprised voice.
“No, it should be the smoke from the steel and concrete factories.” Xu Yi looked at the thick smoke that filled the sky and slightly knit his brows.
Although this scene made him remember the factories on earth and gave birth to a warm feeling, seeing this still made him remember the serious problem of pollution.
The Norma Tribe and the Angola Tribe used to be filled with beautiful scenery and environment, but since Xu Yi created the steel and concrete factories here, the smoke from the factories had ruined the environment.
Although chief Siluka and chief Monto didn’t care, since they were happy that having the two factories there allowed their tribes to earn a stable income, Xu Yi was very clear on the consequences of environmental pollution, so naturally he was worried.
But the industrialization on earth was accompanied by serious pollution, there wasn’t a single developed country on earth that could avoid it. If the Sines Continent was industrialized like Xu Yi wanted, naturally it would follow this path.
But thinking about it, Xu Yi thought of a problem. What he was developing was a magic machine industry instead.
Compared to the industrialization on earth, magic industrialization’s greatest advantage was that its power source was magic, so there wasn’t much pollution.
Since the magic industrialization Xu Yi took before didn’t have the problem of pollution, it meant that the steel and concrete workshop could also avoid this problem.
Xu Yi was thinking about how he should improve the production lines of the factories as the horse carriage continued forward. Not long after, he had arrived at the Norma Tribe.
Camby and the other dwarves had come back since they were on vacation from the factory, so they already knew Xu Yi was coming today. When they saw the horse carriage, the dwarves all came out to greet it with chief Siluka leading the way.
They saw that Xu Yi was actually driving. After the carriage stopped, three figures came out of it. There were large and small beauties that made the dwarves unable to stop the shock that filled their hearts.
“Chairman Xu, welcome, welcome.” Chief Siluka’s gaze passed over the three beauties and he stopped on Agnes a bit before reaching out his hand to Xu Yi with a smile.
Xu Yi shook his hand and said a few greetings before having chief Siluka lead him to the steel factory first.
This steel factory was made by Xu Yi before he left for Anvilmar City because the dwarves had made a breakthrough in their material studies.
This was because once the alloy with silver leaves added which Xu Yi called the Silver Leaf Alloy was researched by the dwarves, they now understood the characteristics of this alloy. The dwarves could now skillfully refine three different kinds of Silver Leaf Alloys.
So Xu Yi invested large amounts into this. He built this steel factory in the Norma Tribe to let these dwarves focus on refining this Silver Leaf Alloy.
According to Xu Yi’s analysis, this Silver Leaf Alloy had many uses. Just right now, it could be used to replace the normal pig iron used in the Magic Fans, the Magic Air Conditioners, the Magic Rice Cookers, and the other household magic machines the Frestech Chamber of Commerce produced.
If this changed to this new material that had outstanding hardness and ductility, as well as the attribute of being stainless steel, those household magic machines would definitely undergo a heaven turning change.
As for the large magic machine and the new production magic machines, because they needed the alloy to be very strong, the Silver Leaf Alloy wasn’t suited to be used.
On this point, Xu Yi put his hopes on the other material the dwarves discovered. But because they hadn’t properly studied it yet, it couldn’t be used for now.
The steel factory currently focusing on producing the Silver Leaf Alloy was considered small. They had been producing for close to two months and they only produced less than ten tons of the Silver Leaf Alloy.
If this was compared to the standard from earth, it couldn’t even compare to the smallest steel factory.
But Xu Yi was already very satisfied with this.
After all, the steel industry was still developing on the Sines Continent and the output of the small steel factory kept increasing. They produced less than three thousand tons in the first month and they produced over five thousand tons in the second month.
According to this speed, as the dwarves became more familiar with this work and they kept expanding, not mentioning the steel factory reaching the standard of earth, they should be able to provide enough to match the Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s needs.
Still, Vivian, and even Agnes who saw the steel factory for the first time all revealed looks of shock.
The current situation had already surpassed what they could imagine.
To Still and Vivian, the so called iron refining was just putting them into a large furnace to boil like in those blacksmiths seen in Banta City.
But the scene in front of them was completely different from this.
Piece by piece of iron ore was placed into the giant furnace and molten iron like magma flowed out the other end. It finally flowed into the mold and gradually cooled down to become silver glowing steel.
Whether it was their efficiency or the shock they gave, it surpassed those blacksmiths by several times.
Still looked at the newly formed Silver Leaf Alloy and asked Xu Yi, “The new material you said that the Magic Fans would use next year, you were talking about this?”
Xu Yi nodded with a faint smile, “When the Magic Fans start producing next summer, everyone will be shocked.”
Agnes on the side heart their conversation and looked at the bustling refining, as the belief in Xu Yi in her heart increased again.
This human can make this kind of shocking scene, then shouldn’t it be easy for him to solve the problem with her tribe?