Chapter 111 Other people’s technology
Erwin’s reminder was of course good natured, but what he didn’t know was that the Frestech Chamber of Commerce was completely different from the Frestech Chamber of Commerce of last year.
When Xu Yi came last year, the Frestech Chamber of Commerce had just started developing and had some fame in the Frestech Chamber of Commerce, while no one in Anvilmar City had heard of it before. So Xu Yi had to personally talk to each magician that came to the certification exam, extending his sincere welcome for them to come work for the Frestech Chamber of Commerce.
Even like this, Xu Yi received the cold shoulder countless times.
However after a year, the Frestech Chamber of Commerce had become famous in the Lampuri Kingdom since Great Magician Camilla joined, so magicians from all over came to them.
Xu Yi even had to reject some magicians that wanted to join since there were too many of them.
Moreover, after talking to the magicians that worked for the Frestech Chamber of Commerce, the other magicians knew that the Frestech Chamber of Commerce gave great treatment and working for the Frestech Chamber of Commerce, because they came in contact with these new Magic Arrays, it helped their understanding in drawing them which actually helped increase their magic power.
So for many magicians, especially those low level magicians, working for the Frestech Chamber of Commerce was a very attractive option.
So Xu Yi didn’t need to go find them and those magicians came to find him.
After Erwin finished talking to Xu Yi, there were some magicians who couldn’t take it anymore and went to talk to Xu Yi.
Whether they asked in an offhand manner or if they directly asked about it, they all had the same idea which was that they really wanted to work for the Frestech Chamber of Commerce.
Xu Yi didn’t immediately agree and welcomed them on behalf of the Frestech Chamber of Commerce.
Although most magicians here didn’t have a chance to become a Great Magician, what Xu Yi needed was to put the same idea in the mind of the magicians of the Lampuri Kingdom. It was that studying magic machines at the Frestech Chamber of Commerce was also a very good choice, which would be equal to a new outlet for magicians.
After talking for a bit, the exam officially began and Xu Yi left with Still, heading off to handle separate matters.
Still had to attend a jewelry expo that the Sarank Chamber of Commerce was holding as their spokesperson while Xu Yi was invited by Great Magician Eisenkel, so he headed to Great Magician Eisenkel’s Magic Tower.
This was Xu Yi’s first time coming to Great Magician Eisenkel’s Magic Tower.
Compared to Great Magician Camilla’s Magic Tower, this Great Magician Eisenkel’s Magic Tower couldn’t be described of as a tower, rather it was just a simple title.
This was because Great Magician Eisenkel’s Magic Tower was a manor that took over five thousand square meters of land to the south of Anvilmar City. Other than a Magic Tower in the center of the manor, there were all kinds of other buildings around the tower that seemed to be protecting the tower.
Just based on this, one could see that Great Magician Eisenkel deserved to be called the richest magician in the kingdom.
After Xu Yi arrived, Great Magician Eisenkeol immediately came out to welcome him. The manner he acted was even friendlier than back in Banta City.
“Chairman Xu, it really is hard for you to make a trip. Come, let me take you on a tour. I think that you should have many opportunities in the future to come here.” Great Magician Eisenkel warmly led Xu Yi in, leading him around the manor on a tour.
Xu Yi was a bit surprised by Great Magician Eisenkel being this friendly because although both sides had the intention to cooperate, Xu Yi had some considerations. He didn’t give the technology that belongs to the Frestech Chamber of Commerce over to Great Magician Eisenkel like he wished, so the cooperation was considered quite shallow.
The Frestech Chamber of Commerce had given Great Magician Eisenkel’s Magic Tower some Magic Arrays to study, which resulted in them giving Great Magician Eisenkel around three thousand gold coins in research fund, but this was just a drop in the bucket for Great Magician Eisenkel. Of course it was not something that he cared about.
So Xu Yi thought that Great Magician Eisenkel inviting him this time was only a formality, he never thought that he would show this kind of attitude. It was like they were close partners.
“Look, chairman Xu, this is the Magic Array research lab that I specially put aside for our cooperation.”
When Xu Yi was pondering the question in his heart, Great Magician Eisenkel had already brought him to a courtyard with six two storied buildings.
Hearing Great Magician Eisenkel’s introduction, Xu Yi looked over the little courtyard in front of him. He felt that this little courtyard was like the Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s research facility, he just didn’t know if the researchers were as strong as the Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s.
“Right now there are twenty Fourth to Seventh Grade Magicians who are currently researching the Magic Arrays and I also frequently come here to do some research, so while it might be a bit worse than your Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s research facility, it wouldn’t be much worse.” Great Magician Eisenkel said in a confident voice to Xu Yi.
Xu Yi secretly shook his head.
First not mentioning the large difference in quantity between here and the Frestech Chamber of Commerce, just Great Magician Camilla deciding to focus on studying magic machines compared to Great Magician Eisenkel just occasionally studying it, this created a very large difference between them.
The main research for the cooperation between the Frestech Chamber of Commerce and Great Magician Eisenkel was here, so after this place, Great Magician Eisenkel didn’t take Xu Yi to any other place. He brought him around to the small buildings before bringing him to the Magic Tower in the center of the manor.
When they came close, Xu Yi found that the Magic Tower was thirteen stories tall. It was almost double the size of Great Magician Camilla’s seven story tower and the floors were twice as wide.
This proved the difference in finances between the two Great Magicians.
But the structure of the two Magic Towers were pretty much the same, with the top level being the Great Magician’s private space.
Great Magician Eisenkel led Xu Yi to the top floor and waved his hand for everyone else to leave. After he personally poured a cup of tea for Xu Yi, he sat down and looked like he wanted to have a conversation with Xu Yi.
After a few polite words, Xu Yi asked about the research.
The current cooperation was that the Frestech Chamber of Commerce would provide funds while Great Magician Eisenkel would provide manpower.
The current research project that Xu Yi gave Great Magician Eisenkel was to stabilize the output power of Magic Arrays to allow the Magic Arrays to remain intact longer.
After half a year of research, there had been breakthroughs in these two projects and had met the requirements that Xu Yi had set.
But when Great Magician Eisenkel talked about the current progress, he said some thought provoking words. 𝚋𝚎𝚍𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎ｌ.𝚘ｒｇ
“According to the initial agreement, I can give this research to the Frestech Chamber of Commerce, but I can also give it to another company if I choose to pay a penalty fee. Chairman Xu, there are many companies that are interested in this research and have agreed to pay the penalty fee for me, as well as buying it for a high price.”
Xu Yi revealed a faint smile, as he didn’t know whether Great Magician Eisenkel was reminding him of this or warning him of this.
“Naturally that is your excellency Great Magician’s choice, but I think that since you chose to cooperate with our Frestech Chamber of Commerce, you aren’t planning to ruin this relationship, right? Otherwise, with your financial power, you don’t need our research funds at all.”
“That’s right.” Great Magician Eisenkel said with a nod, “Compared to those other companies of the kingdom who don’t have mature research with magic machines, of course I want to work with the Frestech Chamber of Commerce. So as long as chairman Xu can agree to my conditions, I will not only offer the two technologies as per the contract, I will also continue to help with your research.”
Xu Yi didn’t look surprised at all, “I ask your excellency Great Magician to tell me your conditions.”
“According to my initial plan, we would share the technology that was developed. As long as there are any companies that use this technology, they would have to pay the patent fee for using it. But right now whether it’s the kingdom or the Magicians Guild, they haven’t passed the patent act yet, so after careful consideration, I can only use the method that your company used before to process this technology.” Great Magician Eisenkel said.
“Our company’s method?” Xu Yi thought about it, “You’re talking about selling the technology and receiving a corresponding fee?”
“That’s right. I feel that this method is quite good. So right now this technology belongs to the two of us, so we should both receive benefits from selling this technology. What does chairman Xu think about this?”
Xu Yi fell into thought before asking, “There are two problems. How should we calculate the percentage we own? Also, our Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s magic machines will also be using this technology, so how will we calculate this?”
“Because these two pieces of technology came from your Frestech Chamber of Commerce paying and me providing the manpower, I think that half is a good choice on how to split it. As for the Frestech Chamber of Commerce using this technology…..Chairman Xu, I think that the Frestech Chamber of Commerce needs to pay the same fee for using this technology, which we will take half from.”
“So you’re saying that our Frestech Chamber of Commerce needs to pay the corresponding patent fees to use this technology?” Xu Yi asked.
“Yes.”
Xu Yi thought for a bit before shaking his head, “I don’t agree. If it is selling this technology to other companies, I agree with the plan that your excellency Great Magician has proposed. But for our Frestech Chamber of Commerce to use this technology, I hope that we won’t be affected like this.”
Great Magician Eisenkel didn’t think that Xu Yi would reject it so straightforward and slightly knit his brows.
“Chairman Xu, although your Frestech Chamber of Commerce has invested in this technology, it has the efforts of me and the magicians under me. If it is like you said and your Frestech Chamber of Commerce doesn’t need to pay to use it, we would lose quite a bit of income. Do you feel…..this is fair?”
“This is unrelated to whether it is fair or not, I just don’t want the magic machines produced by my company to be limited like this. To put it more simply, I don’t like it.” Xu Yi directly said.
Great Magician Eisenkel knit his brows even tighter.
“Chairman Xu, I hope that you won’t let your personal preference affect your judgement. I’ve already said before, I can pay the penalty to your company and then take this technology for myself. Then if your Frestech Chamber of Commerce wants to use this technology, you will have to buy it from me.”
Xu Yi revealed a faint smile and leaned back in his chair. He spread his hands and said with a relaxed face, “If that’s what your excellency Great Magician has decided to do, please do so.”
Great Magician Eisenkel’s expression immediately changed.
Chapter 112 Two foreigner
There was no conclusion in the discussion with Great Magician Eisenkel.
Because whether it was Xu Yi or Great Magician Eisenkel, they stuck to their conditions and finally reached an impasse.
But the two of them didn’t get angry like little children. Seeing that they couldn’t reach a conclusion, they put this topic to the side for now.
Great Magician Eisenkel had invited Xu Yi here for another important discussion other than the problem of the technology patent. It was that he hoped the Frestech Chamber of Commerce could invest in opening a household magic machine factory with him in Anvilmar City.
Xu Yi readily agreed with this proposition and after discussing it with Great Magician Eisenkel, they set an initial agreement.
According to this agreement, the household magic machine workshop would have three hundred thousand invested by both Great Magician Eisenkel and the Frestech Chamber of Commerce. Then the Frestech Chamber of Commerce would provide the corresponding production equipment and staff, while Great Magician Eisenkel would be responsible for the land.
Compared to the impasse of the technology debate, this reached a happy cooperation for both sides.
Xu Yi had been seeking a chance for the Frestech Chamber of Commerce to enter Anvilmar City, so he kept cooperating with Victor’s group even though he was dissatisfied with them. It was to continue placing a mark in Anvilmar City for the Frestech Chamber of Commerce.
Now that he was opening a factory with Great Magician Eisenkel, it was exactly what he wanted.
As for Great Magician Eisenkel, what he cared about was even more direct, which was monetary gain.
This joint household magic machine factory would be split half and half according to their agreement. According to Great Magician Eisenkel’s initial estimates, once the factory was open, it would earn at least five hundred thousand gold coins a year.
If it was half of that, that was a large profit of two hundred and fifty thousand gold coins.
Even for the richest Great Magician in the Lampuri Kingdom, that was a large amount.
Because they reached this deal, when Xu Yi left, Great Magician Eisenkel still had the same friendly smile.
But Xu Yi could tell that his eyes held an unwilling look that wasn’t hidden that well.
Xu Yi was actually very clear that Great Magician Eisenkel insisted in keeping the technology advantage in their cooperation because he knew for the Frestech Chamber of Commerce, technology was the most important thing. If he controlled the technology, only then could he meddle in the Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s real business.
The Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s current prospects were good, so if he could meddle with it, it would yield him rich income in the future.
But what Xu Yi hated the most was needing others’ approval for the things that were most important to him, so he didn’t give the slightest possibility of discussion when it came to this.
As for the threat in Great Magician Eisenkel’s tone, Xu Yi wasn’t afraid at all.
It was like Great Magician Eisenkel had said, there was only the Frestech Chamber of Commerce that was worth mentioning in the magic machine industry. Even if he sold this technology to other companies, their use of it and their income wouldn’t be that high.
So even if Great Magician Eisenkel seemed determined, Xu Yi knew that he actually had no other choices.
Moreover, this was their first time working together, which meant that they were probing one another. Xu Yi had to clearly demonstrate his attitude, or there would be countless problems in the future.
When he returned to his residence, he found that Still and Great Magician Camilla weren’t back yet. Xu Yi laid down on the bed and planned to get a good rest.
Although it had only been a few days since he came to Anvilmar City, Xu Yi had been in negotiations with all kinds of people.
Each meeting and negotiation had many things that needed consideration, so Xu Yi had spent much more energy than he thought.
Xu Yi actually didn’t like doing these kinds of things.
Compared to negotiating, he rather liked to concentrate on research.
Only the Frestech Chamber of Commerce didn’t have a trustworthy person in this position, so he could only take care of everything himself.
Perhaps after some training, Kennard could take over for some work, but with his identity of being from the Emma Family, Xu Yi had some scruples.
As he laid there on the bed pondering, Xu Yi unknowingly fell asleep after some time.
Without knowing how long passed, there were the sounds of footsteps outside Xu Yi’s door that suddenly woke him up.
When he had just opened his eyes, he heard the sounds of quick footsteps approaching the door before opening it.
Then he heard Hannas’ loud laughter.
“Hey, Xu Yi, why are you sleeping in the middle of the day? Quickly get up. It’s rare enough for you to be in Anvilmar City, so I have to properly entertain you.”
Xu Yi pinched his nose and rubbed his temples before looking up at the excited Hannas. He forced out a smile as he replied, “I thought that you would look for me yesterday, so why are you only here today?”
“This isn’t like when you first came to Anvilmar City, you must have things to do, so I gave you a day to take care of it. If I came looking for you today, you would definitely have time. I heard Housekeeper Lahm say that you were sleeping when I arrived. This really is strange, you wouldn’t have been sleeping since early this morning, right?”
Xu Yi’s head ached from hearing Hannas speak, so he quickly shook his head and snappily glared at him, “Do you think I have time to sleep like that? I haven’t been back long and I was just resting. Speak, are you planning on inviting me somewhere for lunch?”
Hannas laughed, “Of course I’m inviting you out to eat lunch, but it isn’t on my invitation, but someone else’s invitation.”
“Not your invitation?” Xu Yi was surprised, “Then why did you come find me? Who has this much face that they can have you come and send the invitation?”
“You’ll know if you come.” Hannas pulled Xu Yi off the bed and pulled him out the door.
After half an hour, Xu Yi in a private room of the Dritz Restaurant which was the best restaurant in Anvilmar City to see who had invited him.
However this person completely surpassed Xu Yi’s expectations.
When he saw the middle aged man in front of him with the warm smile, it took Xu Yi a full two minutes before he remembered him.
“Mister Lewis, it’s actually you!”
This person was Lewis who had directly asked to buy a thousand Magic Fans from Xu Yi when he had first started working with Heinz!
Seeing that Xu Yi remembered him, Lewis revealed a faint smile, “It seems like chairman Xu hasn’t forgotten about me, then why haven’t you seen me once in your two trips to Anvilmar City? I have always been waiting to see chairman Xu.”
Xu Yi revealed an awkward smile and dug around before taking out a golden piece of paper. It was the name card that Lewis had given him last year.
“Look, I’ve kept this name card with me the entire time. It was just that there have been things that I’ve been busy with the last two times, so I never had a chance to visit.” Xu Yi explained.
Lewis saw the name card and gave a nod, “I also know that chairman Xu is busy, just you having the intention is enough to satisfy me. Come, sit down before we talk.”
Before Xu Yi sat down, his eyes fell onto the other two people in the private room.
“These two are……”
Those two had stood up with Lewis when Xu Yi had come in. Seeing that Xu Yi was looking at them, both of them revealed smiles and the shorter person took the initiative to reach his hand out to Xu Yi, “Hello, chairman Xu. I am Anklo, I’m from the Stantine Duchy.”
“Stantine Duchy?” Xu Yi’s brows jumped up as he looked a bit surprised, “Is it the Stantine Duchy that is beside the Black Rice Wasteland that is close to the sea?”
Anklo laughed, “Chairman Xu has quite the understanding of geography. That’s right, it’s the Stantine Duchy that is locked between the Black Rice Wasteland’s beastmen and the heartless sea.”
Anklo’s words were filled with self ridicule and helplessness. Other than Xu Yi, even Lewis, Hannas, and the other person couldn’t help revealing a look of pity.
They revealed this expression because Anklo’s words were true.
This Stantine Duchy’s domain was quite strange. They were like the South American country of Chile on earth, the entire domain was a large strip that was blocked by the sea to the west and the Black Rice Wasteland to the north. The entire domain was shaped like a curve, like it was hugging the Lampuri Kingdom.
This duchy’s area wasn’t considered small, but because there wasn’t room to develop with the sea being to the west and the stronger Lampuri Kingdom to the east, as well as having the north being blocked by the beastmen of the Black Rice Wasteland, they had to stay on this piece of land and didn’t have any possibilities of developing further.
The more important thing was that the temperament of the sea wasn’t good, they didn’t know when there would be hurricanes or tsunamis.
Even on earth with its higher level of technology, they didn’t have a way of resisting natural disasters like hurricanes and tsunamis, so there was no need to mention the more Sines Continent with even less technology.
So half of the Stantine Duchy could be hit with a hurricane or tsunami at any time, so it was hard for them to develop with the constant natural disasters.
Xu Yi had thought that the standard of living for the Lampuri Kingdom citizens was low, but compared to the citizens of the Stantine Duchy, it was much better.
In the Stantine Duchy, being able to live from the hurricanes and tsunamis each year was already a hard thing…..
His mind thought about the information on the Stantine Duchy that he had read in Count Sean’s book collection and Xu Yi couldn’t help revealing a look of sympathy.
But he realized that this wasn’t polite, so he quickly looked at the other person.
That other person reached out his hand to Xu Yi with a smile, “Just call me Newman. I’m also not from the Lampuri Kingdom, rather I come from the Rudson Kingdom to the south.”
Hearing this introduction, Xu Yi was even more surprised.
It was acceptable that Lewis was inviting him to a meal, but what did he invite two foreigners that he didn’t know for?