In the end, Duke Macarus still didn't make up his mind.

However, the fact that he was not sure to buy the Farmland Magic Machinery did not affect his idea of preparing to buy some of the household magic machines.

After all, after coming to the private estate of Marquis Southgate and seeing with his own eyes the magical effects of the various household magic machines that Xu Yi brought this time, no matter how stubborn he was, he had to admit that these things were indeed very useful.

If you can bring so much convenience to your life just by spending a little money, why not?

Of course, this so-called "little money" is only for Duke Macarus.

In fact, this time, he had purchased seven sets of all kinds of household magic machinery from the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce in one go, but the total cost was as much as three thousand six hundred gold coins.

For the civilians of the Maro Empire, this number is still a huge amount of money that they will not be able to earn in their lifetime.

"Lord Marquis, can I ask what the average annual income of the people in your territory is?" After Duke Macarus left, Xu Yi suddenly asked Marquis Southgate.

"Why do you ask this question?" said the Marquis of Southgate a little strangely.

"I'm just trying to get an idea of how much you're spending here. ”

Marquis Southgate glanced at Xu Yi with a strange look in his eyes.

"President Xu, I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you. To be honest, although the people in my territory are already a good group of people in the empire, they are still far from those under the name of your Xinfei Chamber of Commerce. It's also a shame to be their lord. I can only barely make sure that they can live a normal life every year. But it doesn't make a real difference in their lives. ”

Xu Yi smiled and shook his head: "Lord Marquis." It's not your fault. What's more, you brought our Xinfei Chamber of Commerce here this time, so you will definitely be able to make them live a better life in the future. ”

"Definitely?" the Marquis of Southgate gave Xu Yi a deep look. "President Xu, you are very confident. ”

"Of course, if I didn't even have this little bit of confidence, I wouldn't have come at all, wouldn't I?" Xu Yi smiled and continued to ask: "Lord Marquis, if you know what the average income of the people in your territory is, it can be of great help to my future planning. Please sue me. ”

"Really?" Marquis of Southgate frowned and thought for a moment, sighed, shook his head, and said, "Actually, you have this question...... It's really hard to answer. As I said earlier, these people in the territory are barely able to live every year, and you have to say income...... They don't really have any income at all. ”

"That's right...... Then I probably know what to do. Xu Yi nodded, suddenly stared straight at Marquis Southgate, and said, "Lord Marquis, now we can discuss the issue of the employees of the various factories in this magical industrial base. ”

"It must be the people of our territory as the main force, this is not negotiable. The Marquis of Southgate replied almost without thinking.

"Of course, that's what we've said before. I don't mean to change it. Now I want to discuss the issue of the salaries paid to these employees. What are you going to do with it, Lord Marquis?"

Marquis Southgate was stunned: "What do you mean by this?"

"I mean, as a lord, you have the power to order your people to work in the factories as if they were working on the fields on your domain, so our Chamber of Commerce doesn't need to pay them separately, but only your lord to pay for hiring them. What do you think?" Xu Yi said.

Marquis Southgate frowned and pondered for a moment, then asked, "President Xu, I remember that whether it is the employees under the name of your Xinfei Chamber of Commerce or other Magical Interest Calculation Chamber of Commerce, all the salaries paid to the employees by each Chamber of Commerce are paid by each Chamber of Commerce, right?"

"Yes. However, before that, there were still many magical machine chambers of commerce that were set up by the noble lords of various countries, and then adopted the method of ordering the people of the territory to work in the factory, so the salaries paid to the employees were omitted. ”

"Then why not now?"

"Because all these chambers of commerce have been eliminated. Xu Yi replied with a smile. "It has been proved that it is difficult to stimulate the enthusiasm of employees in such a model, and there will be some gaps in the quality and performance of the magic machinery produced by the director, so it was finally eliminated from the industry by our Xinfei Chamber of Commerce and other magic machinery chambers of commerce. ”

"Are you enthusiastic about your work...... Marquis of Southgate pinched his chin and thought for a while, then nodded, "I see what you mean." President Hee, what would you do if I allowed my people to enter these factories as individuals?"

"It's very simple, just deal with them the same as we do in the Lampari Kingdom and the Principality of Stantin, treat them as our ordinary employees, pay them the corresponding salaries, and provide them with some necessary welfare measures. But ......"

Speaking of this, Xu Yi paused.

"If they accept our employment in this way, then they should be regarded as workers under the name of our chambers of commerce, as long as the management power is in the hands of our chambers of commerce, even if you are their lord, you cannot directly interfere with them, and anything needs to be agreed by our chambers of commerce first. ”

Looking at the stern expression on Xu Yi's face, Marquis Southgate frowned deeply.

Xu Yi's words are quite straightforward, which means that if Xu Yi's plan is followed, then these employees who enter the factory will belong to the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce and other chambers of commerce, and the Marquis of Southgate cannot interfere most of the time.

To put it simply, Xu Yi is fighting for a certain dominance for the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce and other chambers of commerce that have come here to invest.

And if the Marquis of Southgate does not agree, Xu Yi also gave the consequences, that is, the enthusiasm of the employees may be affected, which will affect the efficiency of work and the quality of the magic machinery produced.

Under Xu Yi's gaze, the Marquis of Southgate pondered for a long time, and then slowly shook his head.

"President Xu. I'm afraid I won't be able to agree to your request. It is my lord's duty to administer the people of my realm. At the same time, I have a responsibility to guide them. So at no time can I leave my people to someone else. ”

Xu Yi was silent on the surface, but sighed deeply in his heart.

He was very disappointed with this answer.

Originally, I thought that Marquis Southgate was very open-minded, so it was very likely that he would be more open-minded in this kind of thing, but he didn't expect that after all, he was still like most of the noble lords in this world, and he was unwilling to give up control over everything in his territory.

Of course, Xu Yi is not surprised by this answer.

In the course of the development of the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce over the years, Xu has also been in contact with many noble lords. Deeply aware of the thoughts of the noble lords on this continent, and knowing that they would never change this idea lightly when they did not receive tangible benefits.

This point has improved slightly in the Lampari Kingdom and surrounding countries with the vigorous development and standardization of the magic industry driven by the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce over the years, but for the big nobles in the Maro Empire, one of the two major empires on the continent, it is not so easy to change.

Xu Yi pondered slightly, and responded: "If Lord Marquis you choose this way, then it is fine, our Xinfei Chamber of Commerce and other chambers of commerce will be equivalent to hiring people directly from you in the future, and the commission will also be directly handed over to you." But there is no need to sign private employment agreements with the workers who hire them. What do you think?"

Marquis Southgate nodded lightly: "Well, so be it." But you don't have to pay a commission or anything. As long as you can ensure the livelihood of these people, you factories still have to pay me the corresponding taxes anyway, don't you?"

Xu Yi smiled slightly, thinking that the Marquis of Southgate might have proposed not to commission because he had rejected his offer just now, but this was not in line with Xu Yi's plan.

"No, Lord Marquis. Taxes are taxes and commissions are commissions, which cannot be confused. Building a factory on your private property already has a lot of tax relief, and you would be at a loss if you did away with commissions. ”

Marquis Southgate laughed: "Even if I suffer some losses, it's nothing. The most important thing is that you can cooperate with me and improve the environment in the territory. If I can make this look like Bunta City or even the headquarters of your Xinfei Chamber of Commerce, then it won't matter if I get rid of your taxes. ”

"You can't make a joke, Lord Marquis. If I'm serious, you'll regret your annual losses. Xu Yi said with a smile. "In short, from my point of view as a businessman, any trade and cooperation should be based on a fair foundation, otherwise the trade and cooperation will not be sustainable for a long time. In order for us to be able to work together for the long term, it is better to have a fair agreement at the beginning, right?"

Marquis Southgate shook his head with a wry smile: "Okay, since President Xu insists on it, then I will still charge some commission." Well...... It's the first time I've done this, and I really don't know how to make a bid. President Xu, you say, just give me a reasonable price. ”

"Well, every employee ...... every year," Xu also held out three fingers. "Thirty gold coins, what do you think?"

The Marquis of Southgate visited the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce twice, and stayed for a total of nearly a month, and it was clear that the minimum salary offered by the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce to his employees was more than 100 gold coins per year.

In comparison, the commission of thirty gold coins a year is obviously too much worse.

But the two of them had already made it clear that the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce and other chambers of commerce only hired people from the Marquis of Southgate this time, and could not have the right to manage these employees, so it was naturally much worse than them hiring them in a private name.

Although the difference is a bit larger, it is reasonable.

The Marquis of Southgate groaned slightly, then nodded in agreement.

"Okay, for the price. But there's another question, President Xu, how many people do you need to hire, according to your estimate?"

A slightly sly smile appeared on Xu Yi's face, and then he stretched out a finger.

"Not much, maybe 10,000 people will be enough in the beginning. ”

"10,000?!"

Marquis Southgate stared at Xu Yi with wide eyes, and was speechless for a while. (To be continued......)