When it came to the end of the year, not only did the New Flyer have a year end summary and a year end banquet, Banta City did the same.
Just like last year, on the second last night of December, the City Lord's Manor held a large year end banquet, inviting all the famous people of Banta City to attend.
Xu Yi was naturally among them.
Compared to last year when Xu Yi was invited to the year end banquet by Count Samo because of the agricultural magic machines' contribution to the fall harvest, the reason why Xu Yi was attending this year was because he had already become an important person in Banta City.
In the business circle of Banta City, the New Flyer was gradually being compared to the Falcao Chamber of Commerce, the Sarank Chamber of Commerce, the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce, and the Armani Chamber of Commerce, becoming one of the five large companies of Banta City.
Even if the New Flyer couldn't compare to the other four companies with long histories and deep backgrounds whether it was in terms of scale or profits, everyone could see that with the New Flyer's current speed of development, in just a few years, they would catch up to the other four companies and even surpass them.
Moreover, everyone knew that the magic machine industry had wide prospects for development. Other than the Lampuri Kingdom gradually popularizing it, even the surrounding countries were paying attention to it.
The agreement between the New Flyer, the Kingdom of Ruhr, and the Principality of Constantine wasn't hidden from everyone. Now everyone knew that the New Flyer had sold magic machines to other countries and the Principality of Constantine had even used minerals to invite the New Flyer to invest in them.
A country's mineral resources could be considered the foundation of a country. The Principality of Constantine was actually willing to use minerals to attract the New Flyer, which meant that Duke Stantine attached great importance to the New Flyer.
Other than his success in business, what made everyone look at Xu Yi in a new light was his other identity, the title of baron that the king had personally given him.
Although baron was the lowest rank among nobles, Xu Yi's title was given to him by the king in front of countless people. Moreover, the Royal Parliament didn't have any objections to Xu Yi's identity as a merchant, which was enough to show that Xu Yi was different from the rest.
The people attending the City Lord's Manor's year end banquet were the large and small nobles and the large and small merchants of Banta City, but the only one who could openly be a noble and a merchant was Xu Yi alone.
So at the banquet, Xu Yi naturally became the center of everyone's attention.
Of course, Xu Yi wasn't willing to become the center of attention.
Even if he had attended countless banquets in the past year and was already familiar with this kind of situation, he still didn't like this kind of situation.
Moreover, because Stiel said she wasn't feeling well, she didn't come with Xu Yi. In the end, when they saw Xu Yi appear alone at the banquet, there were countless young and beautiful noble ladies that surrounded Xu Yi.
There were many noble ladies that were bold, openly expressing their love for Xu Yi in front of everyone. There were even some that were bold enough to invite Xu Yi to spend a beautiful night with them in front of everyone … …
Even if Xu Yi's determination was outstanding, strictly rejecting all the noble ladies' invitations and expressions of love, he was still a bit embarrassed by them.
Finally breaking away from these noble ladies, Xu Yi finally had a chance to catch his breath. When he took a sip of fruit juice to calm down, chairman Cruz came looking for him again.
"Hei, young and handsome Chairman Xu, being surrounded by all these beautiful and noble noble ladies, don't you feel incomparably happy?" Chairman Cruz said with an exaggerated smile.
Xu Yi snappily glared at him, "What is there to be happy about?
Why don't you try being surrounded by them?
It really is strange, what is wrong with these noble ladies today?
I've never seen them treat me this warmly before. "
"You don't understand?"
Chairman Cruz looked at the noble ladies that were whispering to Xu Yi in the distance and said with a smile, "Actually the reason is very simple.
In the past, although you were young, handsome, and very rich, your identity was ultimately just an ordinary businessman.
In the eyes of those nobles, no matter how powerful a merchant is, he is still a commoner, so even if the noble ladies love you to death, they would never consider marrying you. "
"In other words, now that I have become a baron, I have also become a noble, so I have an equal status to marry these noble ladies?" Xu Yi asked with some amusement.
"That's right."
Chairman Cruz pointed at those noble ladies in the distance and continued to tease, "You see, those noble ladies are looking at you with blazing eyes, I even suspect that they can't wait to swallow you in one bite.
Actually … … If I were you, I wouldn't mind having a little intimate relationship with one or a few of those beautiful ladies. "
Xu Yi couldn't help but roll his eyes, "I don't plan on marrying any of them, why would I want to have a little relationship with them?"
"No, no, no, having a little relationship has nothing to do with marrying them."
Chairman Cruz said with the appearance of an experienced person, "The private lives of these noble ladies are far more chaotic than you can imagine, they wouldn't mind this kind of thing at all.
On the contrary, if you have a little relationship with them, it will become something that they can brag about in front of their friends.
So as long as you are willing, you can choose one of them, or even a few of them, to have a wonderful night tonight. "
"Forget it, I'm not interested."
Xu Yi shook his head and took a sip of his drink. He turned his head to not look at the noble ladies who were still filled with passion as he said to chairman Cruise, "You came looking for me, is it because you've decided on a time to set off?"
Seeing that Xu Yi was talking about business, chairman Cruz also straightened his face and nodded, "Yes.
If nothing unexpected happens, I can leave on the fourth day of the new year, what about you? "
"As for me ….. I'll definitely go to Stiel's house on the first day and I'll come to the City Lord Manor on the second day, then I'll meet my peers ….. Un, if we hurry, the fourth day should be about right." Xu Yi said.
"Alright, then we'll have another day, so we'll set off on the fifth day."
"That's good.
Although we'll miss the New Year's banquet like this, we can't delay it any longer.
Anklo had someone send me a letter two days ago, urging me to quickly set off for the Principality of Constantine.
If I don't go, I'm worried that he'll come to Banta City to catch me. "Xu Yi said with a smile.
Chairman Cruz laughed, "Of course he's anxious. The Principality of Constantine's climate is different from our Lampari Kingdom's, so it's only suitable to start construction in winter. There are too many uncertain factors at other times.
But even if you rush over now, it's impossible to start construction this winter. He's urging you to go just to show his attitude. "
Xu Yi nodded, "I also understand this.
But since he has already shown this attitude, I have to show my sincerity.
After all, not only does the Principality of Constantine want to cooperate with our company, I also want to cooperate with them. "
Chairman Cruz thought about it before revealing a confused look.
"Xu Yi, actually I still don't understand, why are you willing to cooperate with the Principality of Constantine?
The environment of this duchy isn't good.
Even if you need large amounts of mineral resources, not only does our Lampari Kingdom have a lot of these things, the Kingdom of Ruhr also has a lot of them.
I think that if you properly discuss this with chairman Newman, it isn't impossible to cooperate with the Kingdom of Ruhr. "
Xu Yi said with a faint smile, "I've already sold the cement production technology, I don't want to sell all the other technology."
Chairman Cruz had an awkward expression, "You'll still invest in the Kingdom of Ruhr one day, won't you?"
"Yes, I'll go one day, but not now.
As for when … … It'll have to wait until the New Flyer and I are strong enough. "
Xu Yi took a sip of his drink and turned his head. He didn't look in the direction of the Kingdom of Ruhr, but to the east.
"Not only the Principality of Constantine and the Kingdom of Ruhr, when the time is right, I'll go to every country on the continent to invest."
"Your ambition is always so great." Chairman Cruz shook his head.
"I'm almost fifty years old this year, I don't know if I'll be able to see the New Flyer develop to this point."
Xu Yi smiled as he clinked glasses with him and teased, "How about you start learning magic now? As long as you become a Great Magician, your lifespan will naturally be extended and you should have the chance to see that day."
Chairman Cruz laughed, "I'll leave this matter to you, I'll forget about it.
Speaking of this, Chairman Xu, you can be considered the most special chairman of a company on the continent.
It's fine if you're a noble, but you're also this young and a powerful magician.
I've always heard Great Magician Camilla say that it's very likely you'll become a Great Magician.
Then I think that once you become a Great Magician, just based on your status as a Great Magician, it'll be enough for those noble young ladies to throw themselves at you, right? "
"Perhaps I'll already be an old man by the time I become a Great Magician. Even if those noble young ladies throw themselves at me, I might not have the energy to accept them." Xu Yi said with a smile.
"To be honest, Chairman Xu, the sooner you become a Great Magician, the more benefits you'll get. So, I'm like Great Magician Camilla, hoping that you can become a Great Magician as soon as possible." Chairman Cruz said with a serious expression.
"If you become a Great Magician, we'll have much less trouble on the Black Rice Wasteland."
"You've also received the news of the beastmen's movements?" Xu Yi asked back with a smile.
"That's right.
This news was sent to me by chairman Renersa.
According to the news he received, there are some beastmen tribes on the Black Rice Wasteland that have somehow found out that we humans are investing in a factory in the Voller Tribe. Moreover, we've paid a large amount of money to the Voller Tribe, so these beastmen want to see if they can get a share of the profits. "
Chairman Cruz said in a worried voice, "Although chairman Renersa said that these beastmen don't dare harm human lives, I'm worried that if they cause trouble, it will delay our progress and increase our losses."
"This is a problem that needs to be considered.
Have you thought of a way to deal with it? "Xu Yi asked.
"I don't have a good idea right now. I can only listen to chairman Renersa's suggestion and have the company's guards follow the workers to the Black Rice Wasteland to ensure the safety of the workers." After saying this, chairman Cruz suddenly thought of something.
"That's right, Chairman Xu, your New Flyer hasn't established any guards, right?"
"Guards?" Xu Yi knit his brows and shook his head.
"The kingdom is currently peaceful and our company hasn't encountered a situation where we need guards, so I haven't thought about this matter.
Hearing you say this, could it be that we need to establish a guard? "
"That's for sure." Chairman Cruz said with a natural expression.
"Which company on the continent doesn't have their own guards?
Although the kingdom has been peaceful these past few years, during the great turmoil ten years ago, the kingdom was filled with bandits.
Moreover, you just said that you want to expand the New Flyer's business to every part of the continent, so it's impossible without a guard.
There's no guarantee that your goods won't be robbed when they arrive. "
"It's that serious?" Xu Yi pondered for a bit before nodding.
"It seems like I've been negligent before. This is indeed a problem that needs to be taken seriously.
Alright, I'll use this chance to deal with the beastmen in the Black Rice Wasteland to establish a guard. "
Chairman Cruz was stunned, "You're planning on establishing a guard in such a short period of time?
Where are you going to find so many suitable people? "
Xu Yi laughed, "Don't forget, our company has many advantages that other companies don't have."
Chairman Cruz was a bit confused at first, but after thinking about it, he instantly understood.