Duke Makaros didn't make his decision in the end.
But even if he didn't buy the agricultural magic machines, it didn't stop him from preparing to buy some household magic machines.
After all, after coming to the Marquess Of Southguard's manor and personally seeing the amazing effects of the household magic machines that Xu Yi brought, no matter how stubborn he was, he had to admit that these things were very easy to use.
Since spending a bit of money could bring this much convenience to his life, why wouldn't he do it?
Of course, this so called "a bit of money" was only for Duke Makaros.
Actually, he had bought seven sets of household magic machines from the Frestech Chamber of Commerce, spending a total of three thousand and six hundred gold coins.
For the citizens of the Malor Empire, this was a large amount of money that they would never be able to earn in their entire lives.
After Duke Makaros left, Xu Yi suddenly asked the Marquess Of Southguard, "Sir Marquis, can I ask what the average yearly income of the citizens of your territory is?"
"Why are you asking this question?" The Marquess Of Southguard was a bit surprised.
"I just want to use this to estimate the general consumption level of your territory."
The Marquess Of Southguard looked at Xu Yi with a strange look.
"Chairman Xu, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you.
To be honest, although the citizens of my territory are considered quite good in the empire, compared to the people under your Frestech Chamber of Commerce, they are far from being able to compare.
I'm ashamed to say this, but as their lord, I can only barely guarantee that they can live a normal life, but I can't truly improve their lives. "
Xu Yi shook his head with a faint smile, "Sir Marquis, this isn't your fault.
Not to mention that you brought our New Flyer here, so you will definitely be able to give them a better life. "
"Definitely?" The Marquess Of Southguard took a deep look at Xu Yi.
"Chairman Xu, you sure are confident."
"Of course. If I didn't even have this bit of confidence, I wouldn't have come at all, right?"
Xu Yi smiled and continued to ask, "Sir Marquis, if I know the average income of the people in your territory, it will be of great help to my future plans. Please tell me."
"Really?"
The Marquess Of Southguard frowned and thought for a moment. He sighed and shook his head. "Actually, your question … is really hard to answer.
As I said earlier, the people in the fief are barely able to survive every year. If you want to talk about income … they actually don't have any income at all. "
"If that's the case … then I think I know what to do."
Xu Yi nodded. Suddenly, he looked straight at the Marquess Of Southguard and said seriously, "Sir Marquis, now we can discuss the issue of the employees in the magic machine industrial base."
"The people in our fief must be the main force. There is no room for discussion." The Marquess Of Southguard replied without hesitation.
"Of course, this is what we have agreed on before. I have no intention of changing it.
What I want to discuss now is the salary given to the employees. How do you plan to deal with it, Sir Marquis? "
The Marquess Of Southguard was stunned, "What do you mean?"
"What I mean is, as the lord, you have the right to order the people under your name to work in the factories. It is the same as if they are farming in your fief. Then, our company doesn't need to pay them extra. We only need to pay you, the lord, to hire them.
What do you think? "Xu Yi said.
Marquis Southgate knit his brows in thought before asking back, "Chairman Xu, I remember that whether it is the employees of your Frestech Chamber of Commerce or the other magic interest rate companies, their wages are all paid by their companies, right?"
"Yes.
But before this, there were still many magic machine companies that were set up by the nobles of various countries. They then ordered the people in their fief to work in the factories. This way, they didn't have to pay the employees. "
"Then why are there no more?"
"Because these companies have all been eliminated." Xu Yi replied with a smile.
Xu Yi shook his head, "Facts have proven that this model is very hard to arouse the enthusiasm of the employees, causing the quality and performance of the magic machines to be lacking. So in the end, our Frestech Chamber of Commerce and the other magic machine companies have eliminated this industry."
"Enthusiasm for work …" The Marquess Of Southguard rubbed his chin and thought for a moment before nodding, "I understand what you mean.
Chairman Xu, if I let the people under my name enter these factories as individuals, what would you do? "
"That's very simple. Just treat them like we do in the Lampari Kingdom and the Principality of Constantine. Treat them as our ordinary employees, give them a corresponding salary, and provide them with some necessary benefits.
But … "
Speaking of this, Xu Yi paused.
"If they accept our employment in this way, then they should be considered as workers under our companies. As long as the management rights are in the hands of our companies, even if you are their lord, you can't directly interfere with them. If there is anything, you have to get the agreement of our companies first."
Looking at the serious expression on Xu Yi's face, the Marquess Of Southguard frowned deeply.
Xu Yi's words were quite straightforward. What he meant was that if they followed Xu Yi's plan, then the employees in the factories would belong to New Flyer and the other companies. The Marquess Of Southguard couldn't interfere most of the time.
In short, Xu Yi was fighting for a certain degree of dominance for the New Flyer and the other companies that invested here.
And if the Marquess Of Southguard didn't agree, Xu Yi also gave the consequences. That was, the enthusiasm of the employees might be affected, which would affect the work efficiency and the quality of the magic machines produced.
Under Xu Yi's gaze, the Marquess Of Southguard pondered for a long time before slowly shaking his head.
"Chairman Xu, I'm afraid I can't agree to your request.
The management of the people in the territory is my responsibility as the lord. At the same time, I also have the responsibility to guide them. So no matter what, I can't let others manage my people. "
Xu Yi's expression didn't change, but he sighed deeply in his heart.
He was very disappointed with this answer.
He originally thought that the Marquess Of Southguard was very open-minded, so it was very likely that he would be more open-minded in this matter. But he didn't expect that in the end, he was like most of the nobles in this world and was unwilling to give up control of everything in his territory.
Of course, Xu Yi wasn't surprised by this answer.
During the development of New Flyer over the years, Xu Yi had come into contact with many nobles and deeply understood the thoughts of the nobles on this continent. He knew that they wouldn't easily change their minds unless they received tangible benefits.
This was something that the Frestech Chamber of Commerce had led in developing the magic machine industry over the years. There were some changes in the Lampuri Kingdom and the surrounding countries, but for the large nobles of one of the two empires of the continent like the Marlow Empire, it wasn't easy to change this.
Xu Yi pondered for a moment before replying, "If that's your choice, Lord Marquis, then it's fine. Our New Flyer and the other chambers of commerce can directly hire people from your hands in the future. The commission will also be directly handed to you, and you won't have to sign a private employment contract with the hired workers.
What do you think? "
The Marquess Of Southguard nodded lightly, "Yes, that's fine.
But there's no need for commissions, you just need to guarantee the living standards of these people. Anyway, your factories still have to pay taxes to me, right? "
Xu Yi revealed a faint smile. He thought that perhaps the Marquess Of Southguard didn't want commissions because he had rejected his suggestion, but this didn't conform to Xu Yi's plan.
"No, Lord Marquis.
Taxes were taxes, and commissions were commissions. They could not be mixed together.
You've already reduced taxes by building a factory on your territory, so if you take away the commission, you'll be suffering a loss. "
The Marquess Of Southguard laughed, "It's fine even if I suffer a loss.
The most important thing is that you can cooperate with me and improve the environment of my territory.
If you can build this place like Banta City or even your Frestech Chamber of Commerce's headquarters, it doesn't matter if I exempt you from taxes. "
"You can't joke about this, Lord Marquis.
If I take this seriously, you will definitely regret your losses each year. "Xu Yi said with a smile.
"In short, from the perspective of a merchant, any transaction or cooperation should be built on a fair basis, otherwise this transaction or cooperation can't last long.
In order for us to have a long term cooperation in the future, it's best to make a fair agreement from the beginning, don't you think? "
The Marquess Of Southguard shook his head with a bitter smile, "Alright, since Chairman Xu insists, then I'll take some commissions.
Un ….. This is my first time doing this, so I really don't know what price to give.
Chairman Xu, you can tell me what price you want, it's fine as long as you give me a decent price. "
"Alright, for each employee each year ….." Xu Yi raised three fingers.
"Thirty gold coins, what do you think?"
The Marquess Of Southguard had gone to the New Flyer twice and had been there for close to a month, so he was very clear that the lowest salary the New Flyer gave their employees was over a hundred gold coins a year.
Compared to this, thirty gold coins a year was clearly much worse.
But the two of them had already made it clear that the New Flyer and the other companies were only hiring people from the Marquess Of Southguard, so they couldn't manage these employees. Naturally it was much worse than hiring them privately.
Although this difference was a bit large, it was still reasonable.
The Marquess Of Southguard thought for a bit before agreeing with a nod.
"Alright, it'll be this price.
But there's still a problem. Chairman Xu, according to your estimates, how many people do you need to hire? "
Xu Yi revealed a sly smile before raising a single finger.
"Not much, we only need around ten thousand people in the beginning."
"Ten thousand people?!"
The Marquess Of Southguard stared at Xu Yi with his eyes wide open. He was so shocked that he couldn't speak for a long time.