Chapter 77 Transferring slaves
“Xu Yi, you really want to go to that boring banquet?” Viscount Leslie looked at Xu Yi with knit brows as he was filled with confusion, “Could it be that you can’t tell those fellows don’t have good intentions? Although your Frestech Chamber of Commerce has developed well, there is still quite a big difference before you become a real large company. Those fellows trying to pull you in now, it is nothing more than wanting the technology you have.”
“Lord Viscount, you have a 30% share in the Frestech Chamber of Commerce, so it shouldn’t be ‘your Frestech Chamber of Commerce’, but rather ‘our Frestech Chamber of Commerce’.” Xu Yi said with a faint smile.
“Alright, since it is ‘our’ Frestech Chamber of Commerce, I have even more right to talk about this. I am explicitly telling you that I am against you going to this banquet and oppose you getting together with those sly old foxes.” Viscount Leslie serious said, “Although I don’t like boasting, you have to admit that in Banta City, I as Viscount Leslie have a bit of influence. As long as you don’t seek your own death, I can promise that the Frestech Chamber of Commerce can develop safely. You don’t need to care about those fellows at all, you just need to focus on developing more magic machines, why do you need to care about them?”
“Of course I believe the Lord Viscount has this ability. But Lord Viscount, your understanding of business is a bit shallow.” Xu Yi said without any politeness.
Viscount Leslie gave a snort, “Oh? Then tell me, what is a not shallow understanding like? As a little fish, you want to jump into a tank of sharks to seek your own death?”
Xu Yi said with a faint smile, “Perhaps you’re right, compared to those large companies in the Business Union, our Frestech Chamber of Commerce is only a small fish. But Lord Viscount, not a single company can exist alone. Our Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s products are unique and there are no copies, but you must understand that our company is still closely related to other companies. For example, the most important material in making magic machines, iron. We are currently buying from the Falcao Chamber of Commerce because they control all the iron mines around Banta City, so we have no other choice.”
Viscount Leslie nodded and said in a deep voice, “I’ve heard that half a month ago, the Falcao Chamber of Commerce increased the price of pig iron by another 10%, right?”
“That’s right. Recently our company has made large orders, so naturally we needed large amounts of pig iron. For the Falcao Chamber of Commerce to seize the chance to raise the price is a very normal thing.” Xu Yi nodded with a smile.
“You can still smile?” Viscount Leslie looked at the smile on Xu Yi’s face and he became angry without knowing why, “The Falcao Chamber of Commerce raised it by 10% this time, but what if they raise it by another 10% next time? Could it be that you’re willing to keep suffering?”
“What can we do if we don’t suffer? Lord Viscount, I think you’re more clear on this, but who is the master behind the Falcao Chamber of Commerce?” Xu Yi said without any changes to his expression.
Viscount Leslie was a bit surprised as his anger scattered and he waved his hand in an annoyed manner.
Of course he was more clear on this than Xu Yi. The Falcao Chamber of Commerce didn’t seem that special, but behind the company that held 40% of the Lampuri Kingdom’s iron trade was the giant Jole Family.
The Jole Family was one of the top families in the Lampuri Kingdom. Not to mention a small Frestech Chamber of Commerce, even the family behind Viscount Leslie had to think it over before provoking them.
“Then what can we do? Iron is the most fundamental material in making magic machines, we can’t just not use it. If the Falcao Chamber of Commerce keeps raising the price, how do you plan on dealing with it?” Viscount Leslie couldn’t help asking.
Xu Yi didn’t have any anxiety on his face, rather he lifted a cup to take a sip before slowly saying, “Lord Viscount, you don’t need to worry about this. The rise in the pig iron price is expected and I would have found it strange if it didn’t rise. But for stuff like raising prices, there is a certain limit. There are just too many places that need pig iron and there are many companies that need it as well, it isn’t just our Frestech Chamber of Commerce. If the Falcao Chamber of Commerce raises the price too high, there is no need for our Frestech Chamber of Commerce to do anything and the other large companies would do something for us. No matter how excessive the Falcao Chamber of Commerce becomes, they wouldn’t go as far as selling to other companies at a different price than our Frestech Chamber of Commerce, right?”
“They definitely wouldn’t dare, but Xu Yi, don’t you feel this is too passive?”
“Of course I feel that way, so I agreed to go to the banquet.” Xu Yi revealed a smile as he returned to the original topic, “There are some things where if you don’t participate, you won’t have the right to say anything. Naturally, everything else will require you to be passive.”
“But aren’t you afraid that after you participate, you’ll be swallowed by them?” Viscount Leslie said with a frown.
Xu Yi revealed a faint smile, “Lord Viscount, if I was that easy swallow, it would be good news for you. It can tell you that I am not worthy of your investment, don’t you think?”
Viscount Leslie gave a cold snort. He nodded at Butler Brunei who had been silent on the side the entire time and Butler Brunei turned to pick up a document.
“This is the transfer contract for those slaves, look it over.” Viscount Leslie put the documents in front of Xu Yi.
Xu Yi looked at Viscount Leslie with a somewhat surprise gaze, “Lord Viscount, I never thought that you would actually agree!”
When it came to payday at the factory a few days ago, Xu Yi was worried by the wages of the household magic machine factory’s slaves again.
This was because those slaves were the property of Viscount Leslie, so it was very hard for Xu Yi if he wanted to give them wages.
He couldn’t directly give them gold coins and it was troublesome giving them benefits, plus he had to ask for Viscount Leslie’s agreement first.
After that, Xu Yi tried proposing to Viscount Leslie to directly sell him those slaves, saving him the trouble.
Viscount Leslie had disagreed back then and Xu Yi thought it was hopeless, but he never thought that he would be thrown a transfer contract now.
“You already said it before, this is my investment in you. Those hundred slaves is a part of that investment, I hope that you can pay me back for this investment.” Viscount Leslie said without any expression.
Xu Yi quickly looked over the contract and found that there were no problems. He immediately signed his name onto the contract.
As long as this document was verified by a kingdom’s law enforcement institute, it would immediately come into effect. From now on, those hundred slaves belonged to Xu Yi.
Viscount Leslie took the contract from Xu Yi’s hand to look over, but he didn’t immediately sign it. He looked at Xu Yi and raised his right index finger.
“I can give you those hundred slaves, but there is a condition. I have not written it in the contract and it is a verbal agreement between us, so listen well.”
Xu Yi wasn’t that surprised, he just gave a gentle nod.
“In a month, there will be three hundred slaves who enter the factory. You must teach those three hundred slaves how to produce all the magic machines the Frestech Chamber of Commerce currently has. Including the household magic machines like Magic Fan, the Magic Rice Cooker, and the Magic Air Conditioner, as well as heavy magic machines like the small Magic Harvester and the small Magic Plowing Machine. Do you understand my meaning?”
Xu Yi looked at Viscount Leslie with narrowed eyes for a bit before slowly asking, “Lord Viscount, can I ask you where those three hundred slaves are coming from?”
Viscount Lesli’s face turned cold, “It’s best if you don’t ask too much, there aren’t any benefits to you. I am only asking you, can you agree to this?”
Xu Yi spread his hands and said with a bitter smile, “Can I not agree? Not counting the fact that the Lord Viscount is a major shareholder, just based on the fact that you are transferring a hundred slaves to me, I have to agree to this. No problem, I will talk to Heinz and Camby and tell them to properly train those three hundred slaves, they will not hide anything. Of course, Lord Viscount, I cannot guarantee that those three hundred slaves can understand everything since every person is different.”
Viscount Leslie nodded, “I understand this, you just need to properly teach them.”
“Then that’s fine. I still have another question, how long will they stay? If the time is too short, I don’t think they will be able to learn anything. If their stay is longer, it’s best if you give me an estimate time so I can make preparations. Otherwise, once they leave, it will affect the work speed of our factory.”
“It’s estimated to be half a year. We’ll see what changes there are in half a year and I will tell you ahead of time,” Viscount Leslie said.
“Alright, I understand.”
Seeing Viscount Leslie sign his name on the contract, Xu Yi revealed a smile from the bottom of his heart.
Hearing that Viscount Leslie wanted to place three hundred slaves in, Xu Yi was a bit surprised. But after he heard his request, Xu Yi wanted to laugh.
Viscount Leslie had requested him to teach the three hundred slaves how to produce the light and heavy magic machines, but he had forgotten a very important technique. Which was the manufacturing technique for the magic production machines.
It had to be known that although the Frestech Chamber of Commerce had many production lines, producing close to ten different kinds of magic machines, the foundation of that were the simple magic production machines that made the component parts without stopping.
If one could grasp the production method of the magic production machines, one could truly grasp the core technology of the Frestech Chamber of Commerce.
Xu Yi guessed that these three hundred slaves came from the family behind Viscount Leslie. They wanted these three hundred slaves as a foundation to create another Frestech Chamber of Commerce, creating benefits for the family behind Viscount Leslie.
The family behind Viscount Leslie had large influence and if they grasped these techniques, as well as invest into a company, their scale could instantly surpass that of the Frestech Chamber of Commerce.
But Xu Yi couldn’t understand why Viscount Leslie didn’t ask him to teach those three hundred slaves how to make the magic production machines.
Viscount Leslie was not stupid, he was very clear on the Frestech Chamber of Commerce. It was impossible for him not to see the important use of the magic production machines.
“Could it be that it was on purpose?” Xu Yi tried guessing, “But why would he do that?”
Chapter 78 Banquet
The autumn wind was a bit dreary and Banta City at night was even colder than it was during the day. There were much less people on the streets compared to a month ago, making the entire city feel a bit lonely.
But in a mansion to the north of Banta City, there were over thirty horse carriages parked outside.
Although these horse carriages were of different shapes and sizes, the common feature was that every single one of them was luxuriously made.
Not only were the decorations of each horse carriage very expensive looking, even the horses pulling the carriage were all fine breeds, they were definitely not ordinary horses.
Just based on these horse carriages, one would know that their owners were very rich. Any one of them could be considered an important person in Banta City.
There were happy chatter and laughter that came from the mansion, as well as the faint sounds of dance music. It seemed like there was a banquet being held inside.
A banquet that could gather this many important people of Banta City, it was quite a rare event.
A black carriage suddenly came out of a corner.
This carriage looked very plain and other than a lantern hung outside it, there were no other decorations. The horse pulling the carriage was of mixed colour, it didn’t seem like it was a special breed.
Based on this carriage, the person sitting inside wasn’t an important person, so before they even reached the doors of the mansion, they were stopped by the guards outside the gate.
When the guard was about to reprimand them and drive away this carriage that didn’t know its place, the curtain suddenly pulled open and a young man jumped out.
Although the young man’s clothes weren’t luxurious and he didn’t wear any expensive accessories, his aura was strong and confidence filled his movements, so it could be seen that he was not a normal person. After the guard was stunned, he swallowed the words he was about to say.
The young man looked at the guard before turning back towards the carriage to stretch out a hand.
A delicate white hand came out of the carriage and being supported by the young man, a round faced cute girl with a lively aura who wasn’t that tall came out of the horse carriage.
Seeing this girl, the guard was stunned for a second before reacting. He said in a shocked voice, “You are miss Akali!”
Akali had just jumped out of the horse carriage when she suddenly heard someone call her name. She looked up in surprise and saw this happy looking guard, giving him a sweet smile.
“You recognize me?”
“Of course, of course!” The guard excitedly nodded, “Miss Akali, you are on the Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s billboard outside the city, I have seen it countless times. I never thought that I would really meet you, this is really…...really……”
The young man to the side was naturally Xu Yi. Seeing how the guard looked at Akali like a groupie, he couldn’t help revealing a smile.
“Akali, you’ve become famous. You even have fans.”
“What are fans?” Akali looked at Xu Yi with a confused look.
“Ah…..Fans…..It’s someone who cares about and likes you. This guard brother became excited after seeing you and look how happy he is, that means he is your fan.”
“It sounds quite powerful.” Akali looked over and gave the guard another sweet smile, “Brother guard, we are here for the banquet, can you let us through?”
The guard was stunned before finally reacting. He looked at Xu Yi to the side and suddenly understood.
“This must be the Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s chairman Xu, right? Please come in, please come in.”
Being led by the guard, as soon as Xu Yi and Akali entered the mansion doors, they felt countless pairs of eyes look over.
Compared to the people inside who were all wearing expensive clothes and magnificent accessories, people who were showing off their wealth, Xu Yi and Akali were dressed rather simple.
Although Xu Yi had tidied up before leaving, he was still wearing a set of normal clothes that didn’t show any signs of being valuable at all.
Compared to Xu Yi, Akali had clearly dressed up a bit, but she was still the daughter of a normal family. She came from a normal household, so naturally it was impossible for her to have many magnificent accessories to put on herself. She was just wearing a normal dress and there was a simple light purple shawl around her.
Of course, there were some small places that Akali had clearly changed.
For example, her hair was a bit loose and pulled into a bun behind her neck, revealing her white nape.
There was also a small accessory added to her hair, matching her round face, making her look lively and playful.
Although in terms of luxury, she couldn’t compare to the wives and the young misses, she injected a different kind of taste into this banquet that attracted everyone’s eyes.
It was quiet for a few seconds before with loud laughter, a thin looking middle aged man came forward.
“This one must be the Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s chairman Xu Yi, right?” The middle aged man moved in front of Xu Yi and grabbed his hand, as he said while laughing, “I’ve long heard of chairman Xu’s name, but this is our first time meeting. Chairman Xu truly is young and promising, it really makes me sigh with emotion at the future.”
Xu Yi slightly knit his brows. Why did this middle aged man keep emphasizing how young he was?
Of course, Xu Yi didn’t reveal anything on the surface and just asked with a bit of curiosity, “May I ask who you are……”
Before the middle aged man could reply, another fat middle aged man walked over. He explained to Xu Yi with a smile, “Chairman Xu, this is the Sarank Chamber of Commerce’s chairman Manhattan Rank, who is also the current president of our Banta City’s Business Union.”
Xu Yi recognized this middle aged man. He was called Moon Cruise, he was the chairman of the Amrit Chamber of Commerce.
The Amrit Chamber of Commerce mainly dealt in construction, so when Xu Yi prepared to expand his workshop, he had contacted him a few times, so they were familiar with each other.
Hearing his introduction, Xu Yi revealed a surprised appearance. He tightened his grip around president Rank’s hand after he reacted and forcefully shook it as he said, “So it was the honourable president Rank. I have long heard of your name, but I never thought that I would get to meet you today. It really has me quite excited.”
President Rank gave a long laugh, “Chairman Xu’s praise is too much. In Banta City right now, which company is more famous than your Frestech Chamber of Commerce? Chairman Xu is this famous, perhaps even the villagers and farmers outside the city know your name, right?”
Hearing this, the banquet that had become lively again turned silent.
Everyone’s eyes fell onto Xu Yi, but now there were many gazes of envy that filled those gazes of curiosity.
The Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s farmer support plan last month was just too eye catching.
There were twenty three commoners who received the help of the farmer support plan. Those twenty three people half borrowed and half rented the agricultural magic machines from the Frestech Chamber of Commerce, attracting much attention during the fall harvest and fall planting season.
Depending on the agricultural farming machines they obtained, the fall harvest and planting had been much more efficient compared to previous years. There were many households that opened up even more land and planted more seeds.
If everything went smoothly, Banta City’s harvest next year would be greatly increased.
Therefore City Lord Count Sean Samo had specially made a statement in the ?Banta Times?, saying that the City Lord Manor was grateful to Xu Yi and the Frestech Chamber of Commerce. They would also support the Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s farmer support plan, working hard to increase Banta City’s harvest next year.
There were many companies in Banta City, but among these companies, this was the first time one of them had been praised by the Lord City Lord. Naturally this created quite a stir.
Then again, the ?Banta Times? that was very popular in the city, being read by almost everyone in the city each day seemed to be connected to the Frestech Chamber of Commerce. The merchants here all looked at Xu Yi with more and more complicated gazes.
Just where did this kid come from? In just a short three months, a Frestech Chamber of Commerce had popped up out of nowhere. Now it was a large company with its own space in Banta City.
Xu Yi naturally didn’t care about everyone’s gazes, rather he seriously looked over president Rank.
According to tradition, the Business Union of each city would choose one member as their president. To be able to become the Business Union’s president, naturally one had to be someone with fame in Banta City.
This president Manhattan Rank had been the Business Union’s president for three consecutive terms, a long six years. Naturally he had power and prestige that was above normal people, far from what a small Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s chairman could compare to.
For this kind of important person to personally write an invitation to him, this represented his sincerity, but there was naturally a reason.
Xu Yi said with a laugh, “President Rank is the one who is too generous with your praise. Our Frestech Chamber of Commerce can only do small business with the farmers, how could we compare to your Sarank Chamber of Commerce? Look around, who doesn’t have one or two items from the Sarank Chamber of Commerce on them?”
The key business of the Sarank Chamber of Commerce was luxury goods and most of their customers were either nobles or rich merchants. Not mentioning their high profits, but because they had good relations with nobles and large merchants, the Sarank Chamber of Commerce was famous in Banta City and the surrounding cities.
President Rank shook his head and pointed at Xu Yi as he said, “Chairman Xu, you don’t have a single product from our Sarank Chamber of Commerce.” After saying this, he revealed a smile and turned to wave his hand.
A normal looking young man came over with a wooden box and opened it in front of Xu Yi, releasing the bright light from within.
Akali looked at it and couldn’t help giving a soft gasp.
There was a pearl necklace inside the box. Each pearl was the size of a thumb and it was very smooth, having the same shape and size.
This kind of pearl necklace naturally was a rare product, its lowest price would still be over five hundred gold coins.
President Rank said with a smile, “Today is chairman Xu’s first time participating in our Business Union’s banquet. As the union’s president, naturally I should prepare a gift. Chairman Xu, perhaps you are not interested in the things of our Sarank Chamber of Commerce, but I think this beautiful miss will definitely like it.”
There was no need to ask at all. Based on Akali’s glowing eyes, Xu Yi knew that she did indeed like this necklace.
After a bit of hesitation, Xu Yi took the necklace from the box with a faint smile and moved towards the stunned Akali as he said, “Come, let me help you out it on.”
Akali was stunned. When she reacted, she waved her hands in a panic.
“No, no, this present is too expensive, I…..”
Before she finished, Xu Yi had already opened the necklace. Opening his hands, he put the necklace on Akali’s neck.
Suddenly being held by Xu Yi like this, smelling the scent that came from him, Akali’s body instantly froze.
When she reacted, Xu Yi had already finished putting the necklace on her neck.
“Un, it’s very beautiful. It suits you very much.” Xu Yi looked at Akali with her red face and praised her. He turned back to president Rank, “Many thanks to president Rank for this gift.”
Seeing Xu Yi’s actions, president Rank seemed very satisfied. He waved his hand and said, “It isn’t anything big, chairman Xu is too polite. Come, chairman Xu, since this is your first time here, how about we find a place to chat? I am very curious about chairman Xu.”
Xu Yi revealed a faint smile, “I have also admired president Rank for a long time, please.”