Chapter 187 Business Union that survived in name only
“Chairman Xu, you….really are too impulsive.” Chairman Rank looked at Xu Yi and said this with a soft sigh.
After meeting the new City Lord Count Stagg, Count Stagg said that he didn’t need any merchants to accompany him. So the Banta City merchants had all scattered and then gathered at chairman Rank’s private hotel.
At this temporary conference of the Business Union, Xu Yi once again became the center of attention.
Although many people admired Xu Yi secretly, thinking that he had refuted Count Stagg to the face because of how he treated merchants, most people thought that Xu Yi was too impulsive and he didn’t consider the consequences.
Count Stagg was the new City Lord, Xu Yi and the Frestech Chamber of Commerce were in Banta City, so they would be in his jurisdiction.
Now that Xu Yi had gone against Count Stagg so openly, it would be strange if Count Stagg didn’t cause trouble for him and the Frestech Chamber of Commerce.
“Why are your expressions so serious today?” Compared to everyone else, Xu Yi had a relaxed expression, “The one who refuted Count Stagg to his face was me and not you, Count Stagg will definitely come looking for me to cause trouble, he definitely won’t go looking for you.”
The others looked at each other before revealing bitter smiles.
Chairman Vincent gave a sigh before shaking his head and saying, “Chairman Xu, what everyone is worried about isn’t him causing trouble for one person, rather it is the attitude that the new Lord City Lord had.”
“That’s right.” Chairman Cruise also gave a sigh, “This new Lord City Lord doesn’t like us merchants, so I suspect it’ll be hard to do business in Banta City in the future.”
“This….shouldn’t be that serious, right?”
Through the public transport system that was a core part of Banta City, the Fersen Carriage Company had also joined the Banta City Business Union. This time chairman Pompeii was taking part as a non-voting delegate. Seeing his peers sigh around him, he couldn’t help speaking up for the first time.
“Now that Banta City’s developed much faster and last year’s tax income is around ten times more than usual, not being modest, it is all because of us merchants. We pay for most of the tax revenue and with how much Count Stagg looks down on merchants, once he received this information, wouldn’t he try to do something to us?”
“Humph, he won’t do anything?” Chairman Cruise said with a snort, “Didn’t you see what happened today? If we’re talking about contributions to Banta City’s development, who would be able to say that they could compare to chairman Xu and the Frestech Chamber of Commerce? He was clearly deliberately looking for trouble with Xu Yi! Of course, speaking of this, Xu Yi, you really were too impulsive. Even if Count Stagg causes trouble for you, you shouldn’t oppose him that strongly, right?”
Xu Yi gave a shrug, “Since I know he is causing trouble for me, what meaning is there in avoiding it? He is the new Banta City’s City Lord, how could I avoid it if he wanted to cause trouble for me?”
“But there’s no need to offend him, right?” Chairman Cruise said with knit brows.
“You think that…..a great person like Count Stagg would be insulted by a few trivial words from me? His attitude towards me was already set before he came here, it can’t be changed.”
Chairman Cruise fell silent.
It was because everyone knew that the Frestech Chamber of Commerce and Xu Yi was on the same side as her highness Seveni. The Stagg Family had already announced their support for his highness Eric to become the next king.
Count Stagg causing trouble for Xu Yi and the Frestech Chamber of Commerce wasn’t just because of a few words. Rather it was already decided before he became Banta City’s City Lord.
The conference hall fell into a strange silence. Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to say for a while.
After a while, a thin looking merchant with sharp eyes said, “Actually I feel that…..even if Count Stagg is aiming at chairman Xu, it doesn’t mean he will aim at all of us Banta City merchants. So I think…..I think…..that if the Frestech Chamber of Commerce withdraws from our Business Union, wouldn’t it be better for everyone?”
Everyone’s gaze fell onto the thin merchant. Their eyes were filled with shock, doubt, confusion, and a trace of excitement.
“Chairman Lawrence! What do you mean?” Without waiting for Xu Yi to speak, chairman Cruise slapped the table. He pointed at the thin merchant and angrily said, “At this time, you actually want to make the Frestech Chamber of Commerce withdraw from our Business Union? Don’t you have a bit of conscience at all? Did you forget? Your company almost went bankrupt and it was because Xu Yi didn’t charge you a single cent for the Magic Kettle technology, renting the magic production machines to you for free, and sending technical staff to help you that your company could come back to life. What is the meaning of your words now? You truly are ungrateful!”
Chairman Lawrence’s face turned red in shame and he lowered his head as he refuted in a soft voice, “I…..We miss paying him back a single copper coin afterwards…..”
Chairman Cruise was even angrier as he slapped the table again and cursed out, “You think that Xu Yi didn’t help you because you paid him back? If it wasn’t for Xu Yi helping you, you might have jumped into the Sandy River and killed yourself! What qualification would you have to sit here now and say these kinds of words?”
Chairman Lawrence was probably angered by chairman Cruise’s straightforward words, so he suddenly raised his head and said with a red face, “That’s right! Chairman Cruise did help us before, but I am thinking from the viewpoint of all the small merchants in Banta City! We are just small and weak merchants, how could we resist the Lord City Lord? Now that the Lord City Lord has set his eyes on chairman Xu, we can’t just use ourselves to block him, right?”
“Nonsense! You’re clearly someone who has no gratitude, but you dare act this righteously, it really is disgusting!” Chairman Cruise spat onto the ground and prepared to curse at him more, but Xu Yi reached out a hand to stop him.
“Alright, chairman cruise, let’s stop. Although I am very disappointed with chairman Lawrence, his proposition is quite good. I have already accepted being targeted by Count Stagg’s rage, but I don’t want to implicate my peers. So I’ve decided…..” Xu Yi turned to chairman Rank, “President Rank, from this day forth, our Frestech Chamber of Commerce is withdrawing from the Business Union.”
The hall was silent for a second before it suddenly exploded.
“Chairman Xu, are you joking?”
“You’re actually leaving the Business Union? Is this a mistake?”
“Your Frestech Chamber of Commerce is one of the biggest companies in our Banta City, how could it just leave the Business Union?”
“That’s right. If even your Frestech Chamber of Commerce withdraws, what meaning will there be in this Business Union?”
“You can’t really withdraw right? I think that chairman Lawrence is just blind with worry.”
“That’s right, you don’t need to…..”
…..
Everyone chattered for a bit, but Xu Yi just listened with a smile without saying a word.
After a while, people just naturally stopped.
Seeing the expression on Xu Yi’s face, everyone understood that Xu Yi had already made his decision and there was no changing it.
Chairman Rank shook his head with a bitter smile and said, “Chairman Cruise, why do you always do things so intensely?”
Xu Yi replied with a smile, “Because time waits for no man. I don’t have time to use a gentle method to achieve my goals.”
Chairman Rank gave a deep sigh, “I can see that. The ideal in your heart is much bigger than my imagination. Alright, since you’ve made your decision, I have nothing to say. As the Business Union’s president, I authorize your Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s application to withdraw from the Business Union.”
“Alright, many thanks for president Rank’s understanding.” Xu Yi gave a nod before saying to the others, “I pledge to everyone as the Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s chairman, although our Frestech Chamber of Commerce is withdrawing from the Business Union, we will still be everyone’s best partners. Withdrawing from the Business Union will not affect our cooperation. Of course, that depends on if you have the courage to cooperate with our Frestech Chamber of Commerce, ha, ha…..”
Xu Yi’s joke was too cold, no one could reveal a smile.
The others just looked at Xu Yi. Some wanted to say something, but they found that there was no meaning at all, so the conference hall fell into silence.
After a while, chairman Cruise suddenly slapped the table and said to chairman Rank, “Since it’s like this, that’s fine. Our Amrit Chamber of Commerce also wishes to withdraw from the Business Union. President Rank, please approve this.”
The others looked at chairman Cruise in shock.
Xu Yi was someone in his twenties, so it was understandable that he was young and impulsive. But Cruise was a fifty year old middle aged man, how could you be as impulsive as Xu Yi?
However, this astonishment was just beginning. After chairman Cruise, there were over ten different chairman that also applied to withdraw from the Business Union.
To qualify for joining the Business Union, naturally that company had some status in Banta City. Although the company of those ten people couldn’t compare to chairman Cruise’s Amrit Chamber of Commerce, they weren’t small companies.
Now that they had withdrawn from the Business Union, half of the companies at this conference had chosen to withdraw.
Chairman Rank revealed a bitter smile as he looked at Xu Yi and said, “Chairman Xu, the Banta City Business Union has been formed for close to a hundred years. I never thought that it would only survive in name once you withdrew today. I really don’t know whether to be angry with you or to admire you.”
Xu Yi gave a laugh before saying with a sigh, “President Rank, you should be clear that this isn’t my meaning, rather it’s everyone’s choice. I can only say that…..the times are changing.”
Chairman Rank looked at the chairmen who had chosen to withdraw before finally looking at Xu Yi. He said with a slow nod, “That’s right, the times are changing…..”
Chapter 188 It was intentional
Count Stagg’s response came very quickly.
When Count Sean gave him Banta City and he officially became the City Lord, in just a week, the City Lord’s Manor released new measures.
There weren’t any problems with it on the surface because the new City Lord was taking office, so deciding to inspect Banta City, especially how the land was being used was a good way to familiarize himself. This was a measure that had good intentions.
But this operation was soon targeted at the Frestech Chamber of Commerce.
The first goal was aimed at Sandton Manor.
Sandton Manor used to be the private residence of Viscount Sandton, but after Viscount Sandton’s family went bankrupt, he was forced to sell the manor attached with the territory. It was bought by Xu Yi at a high price and then rebuilt into a small scale production base for the Frestech Chamber of Commerce by Xu Yi.
When Count Sean was City Lord, no one had thought there were any problems.
But when Count Stagg became the City Lord, after checking the land use in Banta City, he raised problems with Sandton Manor’s current use.
According to the notice of the City Lord’s Manor, because Sandton Manor used to be the private residence of Viscount Sandton, this land was considered private use property.
According to the laws of the Lampuri Kingdom, private property couldn’t be used for commercial use.
That meant that although Xu Yi could buy this manor from Viscount Sandton, he could only use it as his private residence and couldn’t use it as the Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s production base.
For this situation, the City Lord’s Manor stated that Xu Yi had to change Sandton Manor immediately. He had to move the Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s factory from there as soon as possible, otherwise the City Lord’s Manor would have to follow the kingdom’s laws and seize the rights for Sandton Manor.
Once this notice was released, it immediately roused large amounts of disapproval in Banta City.
Sandton Manor had already been the production base of the Frestech Chamber of Commerce for a year now and no one thought there were any problems with it. Even the previous City Lord Count Sean didn’t say anything about it, so why did Count Stagg suddenly order Xu Yi to change it?
But the ?Banta Times? published an issue with the headline ?Lampuri Kingdom land use laws?.
According to the laws, Sandton Manor’s current situation was indeed going against it and the City Lord’s Manor’s actions were following the laws, so there was nothing wrong with them.
Moreover, the ?Banta Times? even stated in a corresponding article that there was no avoiding this situation.
If after buying Sandton Manor, Xu Yi had applied to the Royal Parliament to change its use to commercial use and received their approval, there wouldn’t have been any problems.
Although in the laws of the kingdom, the territory of nobles was their personal property, so it was their business how they handled their territory and no one had the right to interfere.
This land belonged to Viscount Sandton theoretically. If he used it for commercial use, indeed no one had the rights to say anything.
But Xu Yi had bought this land from Viscount Sandton. So according to the laws of the Royal Parliament, although the property rights belonged to Xu Yi, Xu Yi didn’t have the same freedoms as Viscount Sandton on how he used it.
In short, the City Lord’s Manor’s notice to Sandton Manor didn’t have any problems on the surface.
“Pei!” Chairman Cruise viciously spat on the ground, “There’s no problem on the surface, but who would only care about that? This Count Stagg, he is clearly aiming at you.”
Xu Yi revealed a faint smile, “What? You only learned this today?”
Chairman Cruise looked at the relaxed Xu Yi with a confused look and he couldn’t help asking, “Hey, aren’t you worried about this at all? Count Stagg is starting to move against you, what are you planning to do?”
“What else can I do?” Xu Yi spread his hands, “You already said it, there’s no problems with this on the surface. Moreover, he is after all our Banta City’s City Lord, so no matter how he handles things, he has his justifications. I am just an ordinary merchant of Banta City, how could I go against the City Lord’s Manor which has the law behind them?”
Chairman Cruise said in a depressed voice, “Then you’re just sitting here waiting for death?”
“What waiting for death?” Xu Yi asked back, “Didn’t I already expect this matter and already start making my preparations?”
Chairman Cruise was stunned, but he soon understood and his eyes popped out. He looked at Xu Yi in disbelief, “I say…...It can’t be that you already expected him to aim for Sandton Manor, so you moved ahead of time, right?”
“It’s fine if it was said like this, but I already expected him to make a move against me and the Frestech Chamber of Commerce, so I made my preparations. I never expected him to attack Sandton Manor right away, he really is impatient.” Xu Yi said.
Chairman Cruise’s eyes popped out, “Since you already know this, why didn’t you prepare everything? With your relationship with her highness Seveni and Count Sean, can’t you just casually solve a procedural matter like this? How could Count Stagg grab your handle and make you so passive?”
“If I said…..I did it on purpose, would you believe it?” Xu Yi said with a faint smile.
“On purpose?” Chairman Cruise was surprised before he asked with a frown, “Why did you give him a handle to grab? Now you have to change Sandton Manor, what advantage is there to you and the Frestech Chamber of Commerce?”
“Of course there are advantages. Although we’ll bear some losses from Sandton Manor, in the long run, our Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s foundations are at the Falling Rain Valley, so the research department needed to be moved eventually. It’s more convenient to take care of them together.” Xu Yi said, “As for my benefits…...you should be asking what disadvantages there are for Count Stagg.”
“Disadvantages for Count Stagg?” Chairman Cruise was even more confused, “What disadvantages? His actions leave no room for error at all, even if her highness Seveni supports you, it can’t be that she can create losses for him because of this matter, right?”
“There are some losses that can’t be seen on the surface.” Xu Yi revealed a smile with deep meaning. He didn’t plan on explaining to chairman Cruise, so after pausing, he changed the topic by asking, “Alright, let’s discuss this problem in the future. How about we discuss what your company should do next?”
“What is there to do?” Once it came to the Amrit Chamber of Commerce, chairman Cruise immediately became angry as he said with a cold smile, “Our dear Lord City Lord needs to make his inspections, so he’s ordered us to stop all our construction projects in the city. Not being able to work, our company’s people have been bored in their homes without anything to do in the past few days! It seems like we shouldn’t think about working at all in the future!”
“Isn’t that good?” Xu Yi said with a smile, “You were always complaining about a lack of manpower and how there are many things you couldn’t do. Now that you’re being forced to stop, you can use the freed manpower in other places. Isn’t it simple to work? Just me alone has a bunch of projects for your company.”
Chairman Cruise gave a sigh and shook his head as he said, “Actually I’m not worried that my company has no work, rather I’m worried that our company’s Banta City foundations will be destroyed. Our Amrit Chamber of Commerce was founded in Banta City and grew stronger in Banta City. If Count Stagg insists on doing this, I might have to transfer the Amrit Chamber of Commerce out of Banta City like you did.”
“What? You also had this idea?” Xu Yi was a bit surprised.
He didn’t think that chairman Cruise was as irreconcilable like him and Count Stagg, so he definitely would leave Banta City like the Frestech Chamber of Commerce did to avoid Count Stagg’s control and influence.
He never thought that not only would chairman Cruise leave the Business Union with him, he would actually make the same important decision as he did.
“Of course, if there is a possibility, I’m not willing to leave with our Amrit Chamber of Commerce. But based on the current situation, I’m afraid there isn’t much hope.” Chairman Cruise looked at Xu Yi and said with a bitter smile, “Based on the attitude of our new Lord City Lord, he should be aiming at us who are working with you. If he won’t let you off, of course he won’t let me off.”
Xu Yi patted chairman Cruise’s shoulder and said with a sigh, “Sorry, I implicated you.”
Chairman Cruise laughed as he shook his head, “What implication. If it wasn’t working with you, how could our Amrit Chamber of Commerce develop to such a scale in this short period of time? It’s because of you and the Frestech Chamber of Commerce that I realized the dream of our Amrit Chamber of Commerce being able to match the top companies of the kingdom. I only feel gratitude towards you, how could I be implicated by you?”
Xu Yi was silent for a bit before giving a nod, “Since it’s like this, I won’t say any meaningless words to you. Since you’ve chosen to retreat with our Frestech Chamber of Commerce, we will have the same cooperation in the future. Relax, I’m confident that as long as you cooperate with me, the Amrit Chamber of Commerce will not just be the largest company in the Lampuri Kingdom, it’ll become a company that is second to none on the Sines Continent!”
Chairman Cruise broke out in laughter, “Of course I’m confident in you, but Xu Yi, before this, shouldn’t you find a way for the Frestech Chamber of Commerce to survive? Otherwise, these words don’t have any meaning at all.”
Xu Yi laughed before looking in the direction of the City Lord’s Manor. He narrowed his eyes and he revealed a smile of ridicule.
“Just let the new Lord City Lord act like this. I think that he definitely doesn’t know that he’s acting to the script that I wrote for him a long time ago.”