Chapter 21 Bonus
On the land rented from Viscount Leslie, the factory that had been built just three days ago was already in full swing.
Actually, saying this place was a factory was being too nice because the so called factory was only a building. It was nothing more than a simple wooden log that took less than five hundred square meters of space.
To call it something, it was just a small workshop.
But of course, there was no other choice, time was very tight. They had only rented this land from Viscount Leslie for less than ten days and Heinz being able to find enough people to build such a large cabin could already be considered quite talented.”
“If his thoughts could be more flexible and he had some more foresight, he could be considered a very good CEO.” Xu Yi looked at Heinz who was busy supervising the production and his heart filled with a trace of regret.
Talented people were hard to find, that didn’t just apply to research staff, but also management staff.
Xu Yi currently could only rely on Heinz right now, so he basically gave all the management work to Heinz.
It should be said that Heinz was quite good. Whether it was production or sales channels, he did everything properly. It allowed the process to suffer no setbacks and proceed smoothly.
But that was all there was.
Heinz had only been a normal general store owner before, his realm was limited. He was very outstanding in doing some mundane things, but he didn’t have any form of higher cognition that would allow him to make changes and react to things.
Many times, Xu Yi had to supervise the general situation and give pointers to him. It also took quite a bit of mental concentration away from Xu Yi.
If there was someone who was even more talented than Heinz in terms of management, not only would Xu Yi be freed, he could focus on research and his long term plan. At the same time, it would also free up Heinz, allowing him to focus on managing production and sales channels. This would greatly increase their productivity.
“Where can I find this kind of talent?” Xu Yi was a bit worried.
“Chairman, can I discuss something with you?” A young voice suddenly came from beside him, breaking Xu Yi’s train of thought.
Xu Yi turned over to look and was a bit surprised, “Orin, you already finished your work?”
This slightly chubby kid was one of the thirty students he recruited from Baron Rickto Magic Academy, but he was different from the other twenty nine kids who came from normal or poor families. This student called Orin Zetaman was the biological son of Viscount Zetaman in Banta City, he was a true noble.
When he saw this fellow’s background at first, Xu Yi was very surprised. This fellow with his background, why did he need to run here and work for him?
Orin’s reply had made Xu Yi a bit speechless. He said that he was here for life experience and was very interested in the Magic Fan, so he came here to study it.
Xu Yi thought back then that this kind was just applying because he wanted to have fun. Once he realized how boring it was working in the factory, he probably wouldn’t remain.
Xu Yi wanted to reject him, but there wasn’t a suitable reason to reject him. This was because he was from the first batch of students recruited from Baron Rickto Magic Academy and Orin was known as a magic genius in the school, so if he couldn’t bring out any reason to reject him, it would affect his recruitment in the future.
Not to mention that a student like Orin with a rich family and was talented in magic was willing to work for him, this was a kind of stimulation for the other students of the school.
Look, even Orin is willing, is there anything the others could be dissatisfied with?
So Xu Yi recruited Orin with a trace of worry.
He never thought that after working for a week, Orin not only persisted in this job, he also meticulously finished all the work he was given. Because of his outstanding magical talent, he could make arrays that were better than the other students, which had better effects.
This performance made Xu Yi see him in a new light.
“I’ve already finished the morning’s work.” Orin loudly replied.
Xu Yi looked in the direction of the other students working. He found that there were some others who had finished their morning work and were currently resting, so he gave a nod, “Un, very good. What do you want to discuss with me? Is it a request for work? Speak freely, as long as it is a reasonable request, I will agree to them all.”
“If it is work requests, there are. For example, this place is too hot, so I strongly request that you lay down a large scale Frost Array, otherwise it will affect our work efficiency and enthusiasm.”
Xu Yi revealed a bitter smile and said while shaking his head, “I’m afraid I can’t agree to this. You have a large scale Frost Array in your home, so you should know how much it costs to set one and maintain it, right? I can’t afford that right now. But just bear with it for now, wait until I make the Magic Air Conditioner and everything will be much better.”
“Magic Air Conditioner?” Orin’s eyes lit up and excitedly asked, “What is that thing? Is it a new magic machine? Chairman, can you tell me the details? I am very interested!”
Xu Yi realized that he had been careless and quickly waved his hand, “This thing is just a thought right now, I haven’t started studying it yet. It won’t be finished for this summer at least, so you shouldn’t ask about it.”
“Oh…...It seems like it’s a secret still.” Orin nodded in a disappointed manner, but he obediently didn’t keep asking.
“Alright, let’s not talk about this. Based on your tone, you aren’t here to make a request, so what did you want to discuss?” Xu Yi quickly changed the topic.
Hearing this question, Orin revealed a look of excitement and dug out a blueprint from his chest.
“Chairman, look, this is the Revolving Wind Array I developed last night. What do you think?”
“Revolving Wind Array?” Xu Yi looked at Orin curiously. He thought, kid, you are working on drawing the Revolving Wind Array right now, why are you still researching this thing?
Of course he wasn’t stupid enough to attack Orin’s enthusiasm. Looking over the blueprint, he suddenly made a yi sound and honestly looked it over.
After a while, Xu Yi raised his head and looked at Orin in a daze, “This Revolving Wind Array was developed by you alone?”
Orin stuck out his chest and proudly said, “It was me alone, no one helped.”
It was like meeting Orin for the first time for Xu Yi. He looked him over before patting him on the shoulder and praising him, “Good kid, no wonder Director Shearer said you were a rare magic talent for Baron Rickto Magic Academy and for me to properly look out for you.”
Orin laughed before pointing at the blueprint in Xu Yi’s hands, “Chairman, what do you think about this Magic Array? If feel that if this change is made, it should be a bit better than the previous Revolving Wind Array, but I’m not certain on this.”
Xu Yi laughed, “Don’t you see how much I’m praising you? The answer is of course yes. Let me tell you, although I haven’t tested your change yet, I can tell that just with this change, it can decrease the consumption of the Magic Fan by a bit.”
“Ah? It’s only a bit?” Orin was very disappointed, “Chairman, one can only say the Magic Array you designed was too outstanding, there is almost no flaws at all. I did everything I could and I only made this small change.”
Xu Yi slapped Orin’s shoulder and seriously said, “You mustn’t look down on this small change. I can honestly tell you that for magic machinery, any small change, no, more accurately speaking it’s an improvement, will all be very important. Don’t look down on your modification because it can slightly reduce the Magic Crystal consumption rate of the Magic Fan by a little. This will allow the people who buy the Magic Fans from us to save more money. For us, this makes people more willing to buy the Magic Fan. The more important thing is that it will increase the quality of our Frestech Magic Fan. The meaning of that is not something you can understand right now.”
Orin was stunned by what Xu Yi said. He thought that he had only made a small change, but why did it sound like it was very important when the chairman said this?
Thinking about it, he became happy again.
He had only altered the Revolving Wind Array out of interest, he didn’t think that much about it at all. To obtain Xu Yi’s acknowledgement was already enough to satisfy him.
Xu Yi suddenly pulled Orin by the arm and brought him to where the other students were working.
He was met with the curious gazes of the twenty nine students and Heinz. Xu Yi raised Orin’s arm high up and loudly said, “Everyone listen up, Orin has just proposed a modification of the Revolving Wind Array with me and after my confirmation, this change will have a positive effect on the Magic Fan. So I will now announce that because Orin made this modification, he will receive a special research bonus from the company. The amount is…..ten gold coins!”
Chapter 22 Being a guest
As soon as Xu Yi’s voice fell, an uproar went through everyone.
“Ten gold coins? That much!”
“God! What modification did that kid Orin make? He was actually rewarded ten gold coins at one?
“If I knew this earlier, I would have studied it as well. I’m very confident with Magic Arrays.”
“That’s right, ten gold coins! If I could receive this reward, I could let my mother rest for a while…..”
…...
It had to be known that these students received only two gold coins for each Magic Array they drew. If they wanted to obtain ten gold coins, they needed to draw an entire five hundred Magic Arrays!
To the students whose families couldn’t compare to Orin’s, ten gold coins were a very large amount for them.
Hearing the discussion of the students, Xu Yi looked at the stunned Heinz. Heinz immediately understood and headed to the side. After a while, he came back with a small paper bag in his hand and handed it to Orin.
“Orin, this is your reward. You can count it.”
“No need, chairman. I was just interested in the Magic Array, so I studied it. This reward…..I don’t need it.” Orin shook his head and hands, he didn’t want to accept this reward.
Although he was normally very proud, he knew that he was separated from the other students because of his family background. If he were to take this reward in front of everyone, it could completely divide him from everyone else.
This was not a happy experience.
“Take it. This is the company’s policy, it doesn’t just apply to you.” Xu Yi took the paper bag and put it in Orin’s hands, “Come, count it and see if there are ten gold coins inside.”
Seeing how firm Xu Yi was, Orin could only open the paper bag with an awkward face and take out the gold coins inside to count one by one.
Seeing in the sparkling gold coins in Orin’s hands, the eyes of the other students couldn’t help lighting up.
Xu Yi revealed a faint smile before raising his voice again, “Listen up, what I said just now, that policy doesn’t apply only to Orin alone. If any of you can make a modification that will improve the Magic Fan, you will also receive the same reward!”
“Chairman, what kind of change is good?” A rather tall student raised his hand and asked.
“As long as it is related to the Magic Fan and has a positive effect on the Magic Fan, it will be enough.” Xu Yi said with a serious look, “Of course, that is on the premise it doesn’t affect your work. If you only think about this and delay your work, affecting the production speed, not only will I deduct your pay, I might even directly fire you based on our contract.”
He had no choice but to be the bad guy. If these students become hot headed and only focus on studying modifications, forgetting to do even their most basic work, the gains would not equal the losses.
The students looked at each other and they all looked down as they focused on their work.
Compared to before, they were working even more enthusiastically.
Heinz looked at Orin who had returned to his post to work honestly and asked Xu Yi in a quiet voice, “Ten gold coins? Was it worth it?”
Xu Yi gave a soft laugh, “Of course it is. Heinz, you have to remember, this kind of modifications are very important to the quality of the product. This policy needs to be maintained in the future and it shouldn’t be only limited to changes with the Magic Array. In the future, we should also include the entire production line of the Magic Fans. If anyone can make a change to the structure of the Magic Fan, they will also be rewarded, encouraging them to do this.”
Heinz said in a confused voice, “Didn’t you do all of this yourself? Do you think that the things you’ve researched can’t compare to a bunch of kids who haven’t even grown hair on their bodies yet?”
“No matter how powerful I am, I am still a person. A person’s abilities are limited, but the wisdom of people is infinite. You mustn’t looked down on these students, perhaps the next great Magic Mechanical Engineering Master will be born from among them.”
Heinz looked at the passionately working students and shook his head.
Why couldn’t he see it?
When Heinz wanted to discuss their next steps with Xu Yi, there was a loud call from the doors of the wooden cabin, “Mister Xu Yi.”
The two were both stunned. To address Xu Yi in such an official tone, only that old butler of Viscount Leslie did something like this.
Turning back, who would have suddenly appeared in the entrance of the cabin if it wasn’t for Butler Brunei?
Xu Yi quickly came forward to greet him.
“Butler Brunei, why are you here? Is there something you need?”
Butler Brunei looked over the wooden cabin before taking out a gold laced invitation out of his chest for Xu Yi.
“Mister Xu Yi, I represent my master, Lord Viscount Leslie to sincerely invite you to his manor to be a guest at noon.”
Xu Yi was stunned. He looked at Heinz, but he was also confused.
When they were renting the land, Viscount Leslie didn’t even show himself, so why did he suddenly invited Xu Yi as a guest?
When he saw Viscount Leslie, Xu Yi was a bit surprised.
Since he rented land from Viscount Leslie, Xu Yi naturally knew a bit about this Lord Viscount.
According to the information Heinz found, Xu Yi knew that this Viscount Leslie was very famous among the nobles in Banta City. He had just turned thirty this year and it’s said that because he was very handsome and he had a rich family, he was very welcomed by the noble young misses in Banta City. He was famous for being a dandy young master in Banta City.
Xu Yi thought that this fellow would grow up as a pretty boy, making his actions very frivolous and making him very prideful, which meant he definitely wasn’t an easy person to get along with.
But after seeing the truth, Xu Yi found that his impression was a bit lacking.
The fellow in front of him was indeed handsome, his face was very serious, with thick brows and big eyes, giving him a very serious aura. His face was not the white colour that was popular among nobles, rather he had a bronze glow that was even considered a bit black.
He was a very tall person and very well proportioned. There was no need to mention it to know that he exercised regularly, he was not was weak as those young masters from noble families.
Just with a single look at Viscount Leslie, the contempt in Xu Yi’s heart towards him disappeared.
This Viscount Leslie, he was not like this arrogant and idiotic noble young masters he had seen before.
While Xu Yi was sizing up Viscount Leslie, he was also sizing up Xu Yi and he seemed quite interested in Xu Yi. He honestly looked over Xu Yi a few times before pointing the little table beside him, “Please sit.”
Xu Yi gave a salute like a commoner before respectfully sitting down in front of Viscount Leslie.
Seeing Xu Yi’s appearance, Viscount Leslie laughed, “No need to be so constrained, I am not as strict with troublesome courtesies like those old men, you can just act casually. Look, I didn’t greet you in the main hall, so this is not considered an official meeting. You can just treat it as a friend inviting you to a meal.”
Xu Yi looked at him and felt a bit strange that he would be this courteous to him.
Based purely on status, Xu Yi was a very normal commoner and the other side had been bestowed a viscount title by the Lampuri Kingdom, he was a true noble.
Even with Xu Yi’s status as a magician, it wasn’t that rare to see magicians on the continent. Most people wouldn’t attach great importance to normal magicians.
In Banta City, only a Great Magician like Camilla would received everyone’s respect.
Not to mention that Xu Yi hadn’t passed the Magicians Guild’s certification exam, so he didn’t have any value at all.
If one looked at it from a business angle, Xu Yi was renting land from Viscount Leslie, meaning he was under his control. By right, he should be even more respectful to Viscount Leslie.
“Lord Viscount, I don’t know why you’ve suddenly summoned me. Is there something urgent?” Xu Yi couldn’t help but ask.
“We’ll talk about this later. Come, let’s eat first.” Viscount Leslie waved his hand and didn’t reply.
Xu Yi thought about it before relaxing his heart. He just enjoyed the lunch that Viscount Leslie called out.
It was just like Viscount Leslie said, he didn’t entertain Xu Yi in the manor’s main hall, rather it was a small cabin beside a pool. The meal he brought out wasn’t that luxurious or official, it was just a few cold dishes.
Of course, these dishes were finely made, it was not something any restaurant in Banta City could compare to.
Viscount Leslie during the meal was very friendly, taking care of Xu Yi while chatting with him. He talked to Xu Yi about matters around the country, not repeating a single matter once, which showed that his insights were much better than normal citizens.
After they finished their meal, the servants took away the tableware and were timely in bringing out two cups of cold fruit juice. Viscount Leslie stopped chatting and looked at Xu Yi before suddenly saying, “Xu Yi, I’ve heard Butler Brunei say that your Magic Fan factory has already begun functioning?”
“It’s here.” Xu Yi’s heart skipped a beat. He took a sip of the fruit juice, wetting his throat while organizing his thoughts. After a pause, he replied with a nod, “Yes.”
“I’ve also heard that your factory has made quite a few Magic Fans. Can you tell me how many Magic Fans you make each day?” After asking this question, Viscount Leslie also quickly waved his hand, “Of course, if this is a secret, you don’t have to tell me.”
Xu Yi revealed a faint smile, “This is not a secret. Right now, we’re producing one hundred and fifty each day, no more, no less.”
“Oh? One hundred and fifty each day…..Let me count it. You’ve already opened the factory for three days, then that would be four hundred and fifty fans.”
“If everything still goes smoothly today, that is indeed the number.” Xu Yi nodded.
“Then I have a question for you.” Viscount Leslie looked at Xu Yi with a profound gaze and asked, “If you can produce one hundred and fifty each day, then you can produce four thousand and five hundred in a month? Do you think you can sell all these Magic Fans? Banta City only has three thousand households and I don’t think each family will buy several Magic Fans.”
“Many thanks for the Lord Viscount’s worries.” Xu Yi said with a smile, “Actually, it is like you said, the Magic Fan needs in Banta City are saturated, it will be hard to sell more Magic Fans.”
“Oh? Then why are you producing all these Magic Fans? You’re not worried that you won’t be able to sell them?”
“If there isn’t anyone in Banta City that wants to buy them, there are still a large amount of people outside Banta City who also needs it.” Xu Yi replied with a smile, “Lord Viscount, I won’t hide anything, actually the orders we currently have exceed over five thousand. There is a very small portion of it that comes from Banta City and the majority of it is from the villages outside the city. Moreover, with each day, the orders keep increasing. For example, just yesterday morning, I just received another order for one thousand Magic Fans.” After saying this, Xu Yi paused for a second. He looked at Viscount Leslie’s expression and said in a more serious tone, “What is worth mentioning is that the order came from Karma City.”