Chapter 55 Ice cream
The Frestech Chamber of Commerce was holding another product announcement.
Because of the experience of the last two product announcements, when the Frestech Chamber of Commerce announced their product announcement in the ?Banta Times? three days ago, everyone was already expecting it. In this product announcement, other than their new product, what kind of explosive news would the Frestech Chamber of Commerce release?
Even though the product announcement was set for the Sandton Manor that was fifteen kilometers away from the city, on the day of the product announcement, there were countless people who rushed out of Banta City early in the morning. There were even people who came to Sandton Manor from the other cities.
The current Sandton Manor was completely different from when it belonged to Viscount Sandton. Now there were several dozen small and large factories that were formed around it and had begun production, so one could hear the sound of magic machines from around Sandton Manor every day, making it very noisy.
Regarding this change, whether it was the newspapers of Banta City or the surrounding cities, they had all made reports on it.
There were even several newspapers in Anvilmar City that had run special series of reports on this situation, trying to analyze the effect and consequence this would have on Banta City.
No one could see the concrete effects yet, but the current effects was that other than factories being opened near Sandton Manor, because of how many workers there were, there were many other companies that opened shops here to accommodate their daily needs.
The workers here already added up to several thousand people, but now adding the people who worked in the shops, there was currently over ten thousand people that frequently came to this area!
So in Banta City, there were many people who had already secretly regarded Sandton Manor as a small town.
Because of the Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s product announcement, Sandton Town was already filled with all kinds of people. Just the stores selling breakfast got rid of all their wares and earned quite a bit.
When it was ten in the morning which was time for the Frestech Chamber of Commerce, it was like everyone had been summoned and they headed to Sandton Manor in a wave.
Seeing the crowd that filled the empty space in front of Sandton Manor, Xu Yi revealed a faint smile. Not mentioning anything else, just the Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s product announcement was a brand for summoning people.
Seeing this, if the Frestech Chamber of Commerce ever wanted to release any products, they just needed to host a product announcement and it would be enough to advertise for them. There was no need to do anything else at all.
Seeing that it was time, Xu Yi took two steps forward and stood on the stage prepared ahead of time. The noisy crowd in Sandton Manor immediately became quiet and everyone was focused on him.
“Hello everyone, welcome to our Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s product announcement this time. I know that everyone is interested in our product announcement. Other than being interested in what product is being announced, everyone is more interested in what other things will happen, am I right?”
As soon as Xu Yi’s voice fell, the sound of laughter came from under the stage.
“Ha, ha, chairman Xu, you’re right.”
“That’s right, chairman Xu, is there any big news to release today? We’re very expectant.”
“Right, I came from far to be here, just to come for this. As for your new product, of course we’ll know about it after the product announcement.”
“Hey, all of you, the product is the lead of the product announcement. If you keep talking about other things, you’re not giving chairman Xu any face. Aren’t I right, chairman Xu?”
Xu Yi laughed and pointed at the insightful reporter as he said, “You’re very right. I remember that you’re a reporter from the ?Canberra Daily Sun?, right? After the conference is over, I can give you half an hour to have an interview with me. As long as it’s something I can reply to, I will reply.”
“Really?” That reporter from the ?Canberra Daily Sun? was overjoyed.
The other reporters around him all looked at him with eyes filled with envy.
All the reporters knew that because the Frestech Chamber of Commerce made special novel things, as long as they reported on the Frestech Chamber of Commerce, there would be more people attracted to their newspaper.
The core of the Frestech Chamber of Commerce was chairman Xu Yi. All the people of the cities around Banta City were curious about Xu Yi, so naturally they liked reading a report about him.
That reporter from the ?Canberra Daily Sun? had a chance to have a special interview with Xu Yi, this was a very lucky matter.
It had to be known that only the reporters of the ?Banta Times? had this opportunity.
“Alright, let’s return to the lead of this product announcement, which is our Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s new product.” Xu Yi raised his voice and cut through the chatter under the stage, “Everyone doesn’t need to be disappointed, I can guarantee that just with this product, it will surprise everyone and change all your lives! Next we ask the manager of the Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s household magic machine workshop Ankhto to introduce everyone to the new product.”
Seeing Xu Yi move back while applauding, everyone was stunned.
Why was it not Xu Yi who introduced the product, but rather it was this Ankhto?
According to Xu Yi’s introduction, this Ankhto was the manager of the household magic machine workshop. It seemed like he was an important person in the Frestech Chamber of Commerce.
However when Ankhto walked onto the stage, everyone was surprised to find that Ankhto was just a young man who was at most in his early thirties. He wasn’t a mature or self important type of person that everyone imagined, rather he was a person that was filled with vigor and energy.
“Hello everyone, I am Ankhto.” Being met with everyone’s curious gazes, Ankhto gave a self introduction in a clear and loud voice, “It is like the chairman has said, I am the manager of the household machine workshop, mainly in charge of managing the production of household magic machines. Because the new product this time is a household magic machine, the chairman had me introduce it to everyone.”
Seeing Ankhto speaking in front of everyone in a confident manner, not feeling any fear at all, Xu Yi gave a secret nod.
Although Heinz was a stingy person and was short sighted, his eyesight for people was quite good.
After this Ankhto was promoted, not only did he quickly take charge of the household magic machine workshop, he even showed off his leadership skills and earned a high prestige in the household magic machine workshop.
Xu Yi didn’t need to care about the household magic machine workshop at all. No matter what happened, Ankhto always took care of it in a manner that Xu Yi was satisfied with.
He had Ankhto introduce the new product for him was to train him a bit. He wanted him to become a high level member of management of the Frestech Chamber of Commerce that everyone knew.
Ankhto hadn’t disappointed him. Even if this was his first time appearing in front of all these people, he was only a bit nervous in the beginning and had relaxed as time passed. He was definitely suited for being a kind of vice general.
After he gave a few simple words of introduction, Ankhto arrived at the middle of the stage where a box like thing was covered in a sheet. After pausing for a bit and waiting for everyone to focus on the sheet, he suddenly reached out to pull it.
The sheet flew off and a silver rectangular prism that was supported by rollers that was one meter tall, one meter and a half long, and half a meter deep was revealed in front of everyone.
Everyone was shocked when they saw this unknown thing and after a while, a reporter asked, “Manager Ankhto, what is this thing? What is it used for?”
“This is the Magic Refrigerator. As for its use……”
Ankhto opened the rectangular prism and the people close to it found that there was something inside this Magic Refrigerator that was releasing cold air.
Everyone watched as Ankhto pulled out an ice cube that was the size of his palm from the Magic Refrigerator.
Everyone instantly understood.
So there was an ice cube that was placed inside this Magic Refrigerator ahead of time that made it so cold inside.
“No, you’re all wrong.” Ankhto shook his head, “I didn’t put this ice cube in there ahead of time, rather I put in a cup of water and now that cup of water has turned to ice. You can take a look if you don’t believe it. Doesn’t the shape of this ice cube look the same as the cup?”
Everyone looked carefully and found that the shape of the ice cube was indeed a bit special. There was a unique concave curve on the sides that fit the shape of the cup perfectly.
“You’re saying that the inside of the Magic Refrigerator is this cold? It can actually turn water into ice?” A reporter asked.
“Right, this is the use of the Magic Refrigerator. It uses magic to maintain a temperature where water can be turned into ice.”
Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay before another reporter couldn’t help asking, “What use is that? Could it be that this thing is only useful in making ice cubes?”
“Of course it’s not that simple.” Ankhto revealed a faint smile and reached in, taking out a frozen piece of beef from the Magic Refrigerator which he raised high up, “Look, I bought this piece of beef from Banta City yesterday. If this was before, if this piece of beef wasn’t eaten yesterday, it would have spoiled already. But if you put it in the Magic Refrigerator, it wouldn’t be a problem even if it was placed there for over ten days. Look, is there any bit of rot on it at all?”
The people close by took a look and found that other than the ice on the piece of beef, there wasn’t a trace of rot at all.
Seeing this, everyone couldn’t help shaking their heads.
Not mentioning anything else, just based on the fact that this Magic Refrigerator allowed them to store meat without it going bad, it already had its practical use.
Although before people could use high level Ice Magic Arrays to store things, it cost too much and only rich people could use it, normal people couldn’t even think about it at all.
So it was rare for normal families to eat meat and because it had to be eaten quickly, they couldn’t really savour it.
Now that there was this Magic Refrigerator, normal families could slowly enjoy meat after buying some.
“Other than this use, the Magic Refrigerator can also make delicious things.” Ankhto looked around and found a rather young girl by the stage who he asked, “This miss, do you like eating sweet things?” 𝐛𝗲𝗱𝐧𝐨𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝐜𝐨𝐦
The girl was stunned before looking around and nodding.
“Alright, then I think you will definitely like eating this thing.”
Ankhto took out a small bowl from the Magic Refrigerator and bent over to fiddle around in the Magic Refrigerator in a bit before standing up. The little bowl was filled with this sticky thing that was covered in red powder.
Ankto waved at the girl and signaled for her to come onto the stage before handing the bowl to her.
“Give it a try, the taste is quite good.”
The girl looked at the unknown thing in the bowl and hesitated a bit. She found that everyone under the stage was staring at her and after thinking about it, she gritted her teeth and used the spoon to bring a spoonful of it to her mouth.
As soon as it entered her mouth, a chill quickly filled it, as well as a sweetness that could intoxicate a person.
The taste was very refreshing and smooth, it was sweet without being greasy, as well as bringing a cold sensation to one’s mouth. The girl had only taken a single bite, but she found that she couldn’t help letting out a satisfied moan.
After the first bit, the girl didn’t hesitate at all as she took several big mouthfuls in front of everyone’s surprised gaze. After she finished the entire bowl, she found that her tongue was numb from the ice. She unwillingly put down the bowl and took a deep breath before saying to Ankhto with a sigh, “Too delicious! Manager Ankhto, can you tell me what this is called?”
Ankhto revealed a faint smile, “It has a very simple name, it’s called ice cream.”
Chapter 56 Elven workers
Perhaps it was because the girl’s reaction was too overexaggerated, but everyone was deeply interested in the ice cream. There were many reporters in the front row who requested to try it.
Ankhto naturally satisfied their requests one by one.
After eating it, although the reporters didn’t react in an exaggerated manner like the girl, they also loudly praised it.
The crowd around the reporters were hungry from seeing them eat it, but because the prepared ice cream had already been taken, they could only helplessly watch the reporters smack their lips.
The ice cream was just a small interlude, but it deepened everyone’s understanding of the use of the Magic Refrigerator.
After Ankhto explained a bit more into the use of the Magic Refrigerator, everyone had a deep interest in the Magic Refrigerator.
When Ankhto announced that a single Magic Refrigerator would only cost eighteen gold coins, everyone was shocked.
Everyone thought that such a large Magic Refrigerator with an outstanding function would sell for much more, but they never thought that the price would be even cheaper than the smaller Magic Air Conditioner.
So when they heard the price, almost everyone here had secretly made a decision to buy one for their own home.
Ankhto escaped the reporters with great difficulty and when Xu Yi returned to the stage, everyone realized something.
Without knowing it, they had forgotten their goal coming to this product announcement and had focused completely on the Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s new product.
Seeing everyone fall silent under the stage, Xu Yi said with a smile, “What? Has everyone awakened from the shock brought by our new product?”
Everyone laughed as the strange atmosphere was instantly swept away.
Ankhto who had walked to the back saw this situation and couldn’t help feeling more admiration for Xu Yi in his heart.
Actually he had been a bit nervous when he was on stage and when he was being questioned by the reporters, he had stuttered several times.
But now that it was Xu Yi in front of them, he had easily grasped the mood of the crowd in the palm of his hands.
“Chairman Xu, don’t try to lie to us. Quickly tell us, what’s the big news this time? I’m very curious.” A reporter said in a loud voice.
“That’s right, quickly tell us, we’re all waiting.”
“Chairman Xu, stop stalling, everyone is quite anxious.”
“That’s right, quickly, quickly……”
…...
“Hey, you’re all this excited, so if the announcement I make isn’t stirring enough and you’re not satisfied, wouldn’t you all want to beat me up?” Xu Yi made an exaggerated strange expression.
Everyone under the stage broke out in laughter again.
“How could that be, we believe in you.”
“Right, chairman Xu has released all those big pieces of news, we wouldn’t be worried at all.”
“Right, even if you say that you’re getting married to young miss Still, that is also a big piece of news.”
“Go to the side, young miss Still is still young, how could she get married this early?”
“She’s going to marry chairman Xu eventually……”
…...
Xu Yi raised his hand and the crowd fell into silence again. Everyone’s eyes were gathered on him, as they silently waited for him to speak.
“Alright, in order to not disappoint everyone, I will announce a shocking piece of news to everyone. This piece of news is…..” Being stared at everyone’s unblinking eyes, Xu Yi deliberately paused before raising his voice a bit to say, “Our Frestech Chamber of Commerce has just recruited a hundred workers three days ago,”
“Ah?”
Everyone under the stage was stunned.
After a while, the sounds of complaining rang out.
“It can’t be? Chairman Xu, are you teasing us? How is the Frestech Chamber of Commerce recruiting a hundred workers considered big news? Aren’t you always recruiting workers?”
“That’s right, not mentioning a hundred, even if your Frestech Chamber of Commerce recruited a thousand…...Oh, no, recruiting a thousand people can be considered decent news.”
“It’s only a hundred people, what is there to be shocked about? Chairman Xu, you’ve disappointed us too much!”
…...
“Let me finish.” Xu Yi raised his hand again and everyone fell silent as they looked at him.
Only this time, other than expectant gazes, there were quite a few gazes of doubt.
“It isn’t that big news if it was just a hundred workers and you wouldn’t be surprised at all. But I want to tell everyone that these hundred workers are a bit special because…...they are all elves!”
“Ha?”
Everyone was stunned once again.
But this time, it lasted much longer than before.
After a while, even louder voices exploded from under the stage.
“A hundred elves? It can’t be? I must have heard it wrong!”
“How could that be possible! I’m already surprised that there’s young miss Agnes, so how could there be another hundred elves?”
“Chairman Xu, you must be kidding! Where did you find a hundred elves? Are there even that many elves adding up all the elves in our Lampuri Kingdom?”
“That’s right, the only elf I’ve ever seen is young miss Agnes and now you’re telling us you’ve found a hundred of them. This…...This can’t be real!”
“Wait, listen carefully. Chairman Xu didn’t say he found a hundred elves, rather these hundred elves are going to be workers in the Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s factory!”
“Ha? That’s right, the elves came to be workers in a human factory? This…...This is too incredible!”
…...
When the sounds of discussion became more quiet, vice editor in chief Rhine of the ?Karma Times? finally had his choice to raise his hand and ask in a loud voice, “Chairman Xu, since you said that you’ve hired a hundred elves to work in your company’s factory, does that mean that the hundred elves are currently at Sandton Manor?”
Hearing this question, everyone looked at Sandton Manor, mostly looking at the entrance to the two workshops.
Thinking that perhaps there were a hundred elves not far away from them, everyone’s expressions couldn’t help becoming excited.
“You’re guess is right, they are currently here.” Xu Yi nodded and waved his hand behind him.
Everyone looked in the same direction as Xu Yi and they found that in one of the distant workshops, there were two rows of workers wearing the uniform of the Frestech Chamber of Commerce walking out.
These workers all had slender fingers and steady footsteps, it seemed like their physiques were quite good.
But compared to their physiques, what attracted everyone’s attention were the two long and slender ears on the sides of their heads.
Elves!
They really were elves!
Moreover it was a hundred elves!
Everyone couldn’t help holding their breaths, as they watched the elves walk over in a daze before standing on the high stage.
When the elves finished lining up, Xu Yi said to everyone under the stage in a loud voice, “Everyone, let me introduce you all. These are the elves from the Night Song Tribe and they have been hired by our Frestech Chamber of Commerce, becoming official staff of our company. I want to remind everyone that you can’t act like when Agnes had just arrived, surrounding them and harassing them. I hope that you can let them work normally and live normal lives. Can everyone agree to this?”
After the initial shock passed, everyone slowly recovered.
Seeing the hundred elves that included males and females, Rhine swallowed a mouthful of saliva with difficulty before saying to Xu Yi, “Chairman Xu, I can promise this since with the appearance of young miss Agnes before, everyone wouldn’t be as surprised as before at the appearance of elves. But can I ask you something? Why would all these elves suddenly want to work for your Frestech Chamber of Commerce? Other than that, I’ve also been very curious, why do so many dwarves work for your Frestech Chamber of Commerce? Could it be that your Frestech Chamber of Commerce has some special charm?”
Xu Yi laughed, “Perhaps you’re right, our Frestech Chamber of Commerce has a special charm. But I want to say that the most important thing is that whether it is towards dwarves or elves, we humans should keep a calm mind and treat them like normal humans. The dwarves and elves also need a normal life, so as long as you don’t treat them like you’re meeting monsters, you will find that it’s easier to get along with them than with other humans.”
Rhine knit his brows. Although Xu Yi’s words were right, it didn’t answer his question.
But since Xu Yi chose to answer like this, it meant that he wasn’t planning on giving the real answer.
This wasn’t Rhine’s first time meeting Xu Yi, so he knew it was useless to ask anything else and gave up. He changed his tone and began asking the elven workers what it was like working for the Frestech Chamber of Commerce.
When the product announcement was over, everyone looked at the reporter from the ?Canberra Daily Sun? with looks of envy because he had obtained the chance to interview Xu Yi.
At the press conference, there were many questions that Xu Yi didn’t answer in detail.
But in an interview that he had agreed to do, he would definitely answer in more detail than at the product announcement.
But no matter what, the Frestech Chamber of Commerce suddenly recruiting a hundred elves to work for them, this was already a very explosive and shocking piece of news.
Although Agnes’ appearance had shocked everyone, it was just a single elf. It was a completely different idea from a hundred elves.
For the Frestech Chamber of Commerce to recruit a hundred elves, didn’t that mean they could do the same as the dwarves and recruit even more elves?
The most important question was, why did the Frestech Chamber of Commerce recruit so many other race workers?
This fellow Xu Yi, just what did he want to do?