Volume 1 140 - Two sprouts (End of volume 1)
Actually even without the talk with Xu Yi, she would have already noticed the problems the elves had encountered.
Only with the appearance of Xu Yi, it gave her a chance to apply the good opportunity she had thought of.
So after a long talk between elder Illusia and Xu Yi, they easily set their cooperation agreement.
In the beginning cooperation between the two, Xu Yi had to help the Night Song Tribe solve their water source issue.
So Xu Yi’s preliminary plan was to construct a large dam upstream of the river flowing into the Falling Rain Forest while also dredging the river, allowing it to connect again.
This was a large project and would take quite a bit of time even on the technologically advanced earth, so it was naturally not that easy on the Sines Continent.
Moreover, to properly control the river, Xu Yi decided to ask the Amrit Chamber of Commerce that had just learned the reinforced concrete technology from him to construct an even sturdier dam. As well as having them create reinforcement on the river bank.
Based on his calculations, as long as this project succeeded, he wouldn’t need to worry about this river for at least a hundred years.
There was a large cost associated to this project and naturally the Night Song Tribe couldn’t take out that much money.
So in response to this, the Night Song Tribe followed Xu Yi’s request and began studying resin related project, while also collecting resin in large amounts. When Xu Yi finished developing the resin refiner with the Night Song Tribe, they would begin refining large amounts of materials for the Frestech Chamber of Commerce to use.
As for the request of Agnes working for the Frestech Chamber of Commerce, because of Xu Yi’s suggestion, Agnes didn’t become Xu Yi’s slave. So elder Illusia couldn’t take this request as repayment.
On the surface, it would cost a lot to fix and dredge the river. According to Xu Yi’s initial estimates, even if this river wasn’t too big, the lowest cost would be over a hundred thousand gold coins. The repayment the Night Song Tribe gave wasn’t that much to look at.
But in the long run, grasping this resin material technology had a large significance to the development of the Frestech Chamber of Commerce. At the same time, they would be opening a new point of benefit, therefore it created a good relationship with the Night Song Tribe.
In short, it was still the Frestech Chamber of Commerce that gained.
Xu Yi, Still, and Vivian stayed at the Night Song Tribe for three days. After Xu Yi explained all the requests he had in terms of the resin research to the elves, they finally left.
Because Agnes wanted to stay in her tribe for New Years, when they left, Agnes sent them out of the Falling Rain Forest and back to the Angola Tribe before turning to leave.
Because it was already the thirtieth of December, the last day of the year, the three didn’t stay in the Angola Tribe at all. They just quickly told chief Monto to give their greetings to chief Siluka and the other dwarves before getting back into their horse carriage and rushing back to Banta City.
It was already dusk when they arrived and after entering Banta City, they found that it was very lively today. There were bright lights coming from the windows of each house and all kinds of sounds were coming out, sounding very lively.
It seemed like whether it was earth or the Sines Continent, no matter what world it was, New Years was a very important thing and a good time for a family reunion.
Seeing Xu Yi looking at the sides of the road, Still couldn’t help saying, “Xu Yi, how about you and Vivian come to my place for New Years? There is no need to mention grandfather and mother and father will definitely welcome you and Vivian. If you go, you will be very happy. This is better than you and Vivian being alone, right?”
Xu Yi turned to look at Still with a faint smile and said while shaking his head, “No need. Still, I’m very grateful for your well intentions, but New Years is a very important thing. According to the rules of my hometown, New Years must be spent with your family, so I won’t disrupt your family. Then again, I will go greet your grandfather tomorrow morning for new years, we’re just not seeing each other for a night.”
Still’s fae turned a bit red and muttered, “It isn’t like I want you to go because I want to see you……”
The horse carriage quickly came to Still’s house. When Still jumped down, Xu Yi didn’t have any intentions to go in. He waved his hand to Still and brought Vivian back to his own home.
Seeing the home he had rented for half a year, but had always forgotten, Xu Yi couldn’t help smiling.
It seemed like his fourth year in this world would be spent in this small and worn out room.
Although he was just with Vivian, Xu Yi still decided to make some delicious dishes.
Other than the dishes Vivian was in charge of, Xu Yi used his memory to make some dishes that would normally be made at New Years on earth.
Although since Xu Yi had never cooked on earth, causing these dishes to look and taste terrible, Xu Yi and Vivian were happy eating them.
The liveliness was a bit lacking compared to other homes, but with Xu Yi’s effort, the atmosphere wasn’t lacking at all.
The only thing lacking was that this world didn’t have a television, so there wasn’t the New Year’s Gala that Xu Yi rarely watched.
Compared to Xu Yi’s disappointment, Vivian was truly happy in this moment.
This was because not long after she was born, her parents who were also slaves had died in the famine of the Lampuri Kingdom over ten years ago. So since Vivian was young, she didn’t have any impression of her family and never had family members to spend New Years with.
In her fifteen years of living, she had spent fourteen years just trying to survive.
If it wasn’t for meeting Xu Yi and being bought by him, not mentioning all this delicious food, warm clothes, and the right to go to school, she might even have died suddenly.
So being able to have this New Years meal with Xu Yi, her beloved master, having fun playing with Xu Yi, it was already the greatest happiness for her.
After the finished dinner, Xu Yi looked at the night sky filled with countless stars and suddenly had an idea. He asked Vivian if she wanted to go for a walk.
Of course Vivian wouldn’t go against his idea, so she put on a coat for Xu Yi who was already drunk. She wanted to clean the table, but Xu Yi waved his hand to stop her.
“Don’t worry that much today, just be relaxed and happy.”
So Vivian smiled as she hugged Xu Yi’s arm and the two left the room, casually strolling through Banta City at night.
Perhaps it was because he was a bit drunk, Xu Yi pointed at some kids running around on the streets as he said to Vivian, when he was young, they definitely would have been running around with firecrackers on New Years Eve. One time, he had set a pile of straw on fire while running around with firecrackers, so he had been beaten because of it.
Looking up at the night sky after a while, he pointed and said to Vivian, in his hometown, there would be a constellation that was easy to recognize in winter called Orion. There were three stars that formed a line in that constellation that was called Orion’s Belt.
After a while, his face became dispirited and even some tears came out. This was his fourth New Years away from his family. He really wanted to see his parents now, he really wanted to know how they were doing.
After a while…...
……
Vivian supported Xu Yi as she silently listened to the words that came out of his mouth that she didn’t recognize, as the doubt in her heart became stronger.
What were fireworks? Were they fun?
Why does master say that the night sky in his hometown had an Orion? Could it be that the night sky in his hometown was different from the night sky in Banta City?
Since the master missed his parents, why didn’t he go back?
…...
Questions kept appearing in Vivian’s head, but she didn’t ask them because she knew that the master just needed to vent right now.
As they chatted and walked along, unknowingly the two had already left Banta City and had walked to the Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s factory to the west of the city.
It was already New Years Eve and the two factories were silent. Other than the light of the Magic Lamp the two bachelors Xu Yi had hired as guards for the magic machine workshop, every other place was pitch black.
Xu Yi didn’t have any ideas of disrupting the guards, he just stood in the empty space in front of the factories. Looking at the small workshops in the dark, his heart filled with emotions.
Although the two workshops were very small, it represented the sprout of the dream in his heart.
Although they were just two sprouts now, as the Frestech Chamber of Commerce developed and the people of the Sines Continent began to pay more attention to the magic industry, these two sprouts would one day become giant trees.
There was a figure in the corner of his eyes that came out of the household magic machine workshop, causing Xu Yi to be surprise. When he wanted to call out, he found that this figure was very familiar. After looking carefully, Xu Yi couldn’t help smiling.
“Hey, Heinz, why aren’t you with sister in law at home today, why did you come here?” Xu Yi greeted that person in a low voice.
That person was surprised and looked over. After seeing that it was Xu Yi and Vivian with the faint light coming out of the workshop, he calmed down.
The figure walked over and it really was Heinz.
He looked at the two of them and asked in a low voice, “I couldn’t calm down, so I came to take a look. Anyway, Xu Yi, why aren’t you and Vivian spending New Years at him, what did you come here for?”
“It’s nothing, I just wanted to take a walk outside and naturally came here.” Xu Yi gave a shrug as he turned to look at the two workshops, “Perhaps it is because this place takes up the most important spot in my heart, so I couldn’t help wanting to come take a look.”
Heinz gave a slight now, “I’m also the same. To be honest, Xu Yi, I was just the owner of the small general store half a year ago, I never would have dreamed that I would become a major shareholder in a large company. There are many times that when I go to sleep, I doubt that everything I’ve experienced is false and it is all an illusion. So I come to the factory very early each day just to see this factory, just to see the two workshops. As long as I can see them, I feel that I’m not in a dream and everything I’ve experienced is real.”
Seeing Heinz being in a rare mood, Xu Yi couldn’t help saying with a smile, “No wonder you look unwilling to leave each day when we’re getting off work, are you afraid that everything will disappear when you leave?”
Heinz gave a slight nod, “Xu Yi, you know that I’m not someone with lofty aspirations. To me, I’m very satisfied with my current life, so I treasure the things I have now. I’m really afraid that these two workshops will disappear one day. If that really happens, I might even die from my broken heart.”
“Relax, that won’t happen.” Xu Yi patted Heinz’s shoulder forcefully and said, “These two workshops might disappear because they are too small, they can’t take the requests of our company. What we need is a large work area like the new workshop. But even if they disappear, there will be more workshops that appear to take their places. You have to believe that as our company develops, the magic industry will be like a raging flame that instantly spreads across the continent, lighting it up in the end. When that time comes, there will be our company’s workshops and factories all over the continent. Heinz, can you see every single workshop then?”
Heinz looked into the dark night, but his eyes could already see what Xu Yi described.
After a while, he muttered, “Xu Yi, can everything you said become reality?”
Xu Yi gave a very confident nod, “Of course, because the magic industry has already sprouted on the continent and it’s very hard to stop its growth. One day, our Frestech Chamber of Commerce will create a giant magic industry empire on the continent!”
(End of volume one ?Sprouts of the Magic Industry?. Please anticipate volume two ?Fires of Industry?.)