Volume 1 Chapter 23 - Partner

Volume 1 Chapter 23 Partner

“Karma City?” Viscount Leslie quickly looked at Butler Brunei who had been standing on the side the entire time and said in an astonished voice, “I never thought that you would have already sold Magic Fans in other cities, that really is unexpected.”
Xu Yi laughed and shook his head, “Strictly speaking, we didn’t sell them, but rather they were the ones who came to us.”
“Oh? What do you mean by that?” Viscount Leslie asked in a very curious voice.
“Lord Viscount has just said it, the population in Banta City is limited. Even adding in the villages outside Banta City, there is still a limit to the need for Magic Fans, so we have already made plans to promote the Magic Fans in areas outside of Banta City. But we didn’t promote this earlier because the timing was not right.”
“Why wasn’t it right?” Viscount Leslie was a bit confused, “If people are willing to buy, you aren’t willing to sell?”
“No, it’s not like this. This is based on my consideration for the future.”
Xu Yi put down his fruit juice and decided to explain it all to Viscount Leslie.
After the short period of contact with him, his impression of Viscount Leslie had greatly changed. He felt that he wasn’t as useless as those normal noble dandies and rather had his own ideas and views. With this kind of person, Xu Yi was willing to interact with him more.
“Although looking at it from the surface, it is inevitable that we would bring the Magic Fans to a broader market, this is still very good for our development. But we can’t rush this matter because as the number of sales increase, we must also increase our output. Otherwise, if our output can’t keep up and we can’t fulfill the orders we receive, not only will it create losses in terms of sales, the most important thing is that it will be a large hit to our reputation. If we lose our reputation, it will damage our foundations and hurt our future development.”
Viscount Leslie thought about it and asked with knitted brows, “Then why can’t you increase the output? Is it because you don’t have enough people? But I’ve heard Brunei say that you have only recruited thirty students from Baron Rickto Magic Academy, you aren’t producing to your full potential yet. You said just now that you are producing one hundred and fifty Magic Fans each day, then if you recruited some more people, you don’t have to recruit a lot, wouldn’t you at least be able to produce two hundred per day?”
“Lord Viscount, you’ve forgotten a very important question.” Xu Yi shook his head.
“What is it?”
“That is quality. Although it is very simple to make the Magic Fans, up until now, the people that can produce them has been very small. Accurately speaking, there is only me who can make Magic Fans perfectly. Those students that were hired, although they can work on the most important Magic Array, for the small adjustments and installations, there is no one else but me who can do it. This is a fact that has made me very helpless, which is that the production of the Magic Fans depends completely on my work efficiency. But as a single person, my abilities are limited, so the production line is limited and it can’t be increased.”
Viscount Leslie looked at Xu Yi for a while, “This isn’t right. Since you can give the most important Magic Array work to the students, it is impossible to give the other work to other people to do. I think…..you should be afraid of revealing the core secrets, so you’re not willing to do this, right?”
“Lord Viscount, you’re looking down on me.” Xu Yi revealed a smile, “I have just said that the Magic Fans aren’t hard to make and to me, they aren’t considered a secret at all. Only, I’m in charge of a very difficult matter right now, so it’s hard for me to hand it to other people. But I believe this won’t last for long. Those students have slowly started to learn the main parts and I believe that after a period of time, they will be able to completely take over my work. When that time comes, you’ll find that the Magic Fan production will greatly increase.” After saying this, Xu Yi paused for a bit and revealed a mysterious smile, “Other than that, I might as well disclose a real secret to you. If nothing unexpected happens, a new generation of Magic Fans are about to appear.”
Viscount Leslie was instantly stunned, “A new generation? There are different Magic Fans? What is different about it compared to the Magic Fans you sold before?”
“As for what difference it has, I’m afraid I can’t simply describe it. When the new generation of Magic Fans appears, you will naturally know.” Xu Yi deliberately kept him guessing, “Moreover, I can tell you that the new generation of Magic Fans are made with completely different production methods and has a completely different design. Its output will far surpass the Magic Fans currently being produced. When that time comes, that is when we push the Magic Fans onto the broader market.”
Viscount Leslie stared at Xu Yi for a while before shaking his head with a smile and saying, “When I saw the plan Butler Brunei gave me at first, I thought you were a lunatic with big words. Looking at you now, it seems I’ve truly underestimated you. Very good, since you didn’t disappoint me, that means we can discuss this further. Brunei, bring out the contract.”
Butler Brunei bowed before turning to leave.
“Contract?” Xu Yi saw Viscount Leslie’s confident look and slightly knit his brows.
Could it be that this fellow wants to play some tricks?
After a while, Butler Brunei came back with a document, which Viscount Leslie placed in front of Xu Yi.
“Look at this and feel free to ask any questions you have.”
Xu Yi curiously picked up the document and found that it was a land rental contract that was about the land that he was currently renting.
But compared to the first contract, this one was much more in depth and also much more preferential.
In the previous contract, Xu Yi and Heinz had only been renting the land from Viscount Leslie for a year and they didn’t have any authority at all. They were very limited by Viscount Leslie and if he felt unhappy one day, he could drive them away without any questions.
As for this contract, it clearly stipulated that Xu Yi had completely control over the use of the land and Viscount Leslie only had property rights.
This also meant that Xu Yi could do whatever he wanted with the land without any problems, even without needing agreement from Viscount Leslie.
At the same time, Viscount Leslie had directly increased the length of the contract from one year to five years, as well as decreasing the rent. One hectare per year was actually decreased by half, which became only fifty gold coins!
Xu Yi carefully looked over the contract and after confirming he had missed nothing, he put down the contract. Thinking about it, he asked, “Viscount Leslie, do you have any conditions?”
A look of praise flashed in Viscount Leslie’s eyes and he said with a faint smile, “If I didn’t raise any conditions, would you believe it?”
Xu Yi smiled without saying anything.
“Ha, ha, alright, I won’t joke around. Of course there is a condition, but I think you won’t reject it.”
“Lord Viscount, please tell me.”
“Un, this condition is very simple, I want to invest. Pay attention, this is not as simple as the 10% share you gave me, rather I want to participate. In the future, whether it is the Magic Fans or any other projects you make, I want the right to know and to give my opinion. Of course, I will not force my way in. Other than providing land, I can also inject capital into the Frestech Chamber of Commerce. Other than that, I can also rely on my connections to open up markets for you. For example, I can help you bring this Magic Fan to Anvilmar City to sell. How about it, what do you think of this condition?”
Xu Yi’s expression didn’t change and after thinking for a while, he asked with a serious look, “Lord Viscount, I want to ask something. When you raised this condition, are you using your identity as a noble or as an ordinary merchant?”
“Oh? Is there a difference?” Hearing Xu Yi’s strange question, Viscount Leslie was very interested.
“There is a large difference.” Xu Yi nodded, “If you use your identity as a noble, then according to the rules set by the kingdom’s Royal Parliament, your rights as a shareholder must be supervised by the Royal Parliament and can’t hide anything. Like this, there will be many things of our company that can’t be hidden from the Royal Parliament. This is one thing that I can’t accept and I can only apologize to you.”
“Then if it’s as a normal merchant?”
“If it’s as a normal merchant……” Xu Yi revealed a sly smile, “Then in terms of business, the condition you have stated is very attractive. But I must clearly tell you that while there is no problem for you to become a shareholder of the Frestech Chamber of Commerce, you will only have a small amount of rights. That means that other than the right to give ideas, you will not have any decision making powers. What do you think about that?”
Butler Brunei on the side tightly knit his brows and angrily said, “Audacious! The Lord Viscount is willing to invest in your little company, that is your honour! You dare say the Lord Viscount won’t have any decision making power? Simply audacious!”
Xu Yi’s expression didn’t change. He completely ignored Butler Brunei and kept looking at Viscount Leslie with a faint smile.
Viscount Leslie did not show a single trace of surprise, rather he nodded and asked, “I understand your thoughts, but Xu Yi, how can you ensure you won’t make the wrong decisions? Simply speaking, how can you guarantee my benefits?”
Xu Yi smiled and unexpectedly winked at Viscount Leslie as he said, “Lord Viscount, don’t you believe in me?”
Viscount Leslie was surprised before breaking out in laughter.
“Good! Good! Xu Yi, you really are an interesting person. Brunei, it’s fine, take out the other contract for him to see.”
Xu Yi received another contract from Brunei and found that it was an investment contract.
The contract stated that Viscount Leslie would be using territory to join the Frestech Chamber of Commerce and his original 10% would be raised to 30%.
The contract also clearly stated that in terms of company decision making, Viscount Leslie didn’t have any decision making power. For everything about the company, Xu Yi was in charge and Viscount Leslie could not interfere.
Another thing that was specially added was a privacy clause, which meant that this contract wouldn’t be protected by the kingdom’s Royal Parliament.
But because of this, Xu Yi felt relaxed.
After carefully reading the contract, Xu Yi looked up and stretched his right hand out as he looked at Viscount Leslie with a smile.
“Lord Viscount, to a good cooperation.”
Viscount Leslie also stretched out his hand with a smile and tightly gripped Xu Yi’s hand.
“To a happy cooperation.”