Kays Translations

Chapter 28: The Power of Industry

“Brother, I’ve missed you so much.” Yuan Zhao suddenly leaped out. Good heavens, after not seeing him for a while, he had jumped to the seventh level of the Qi Refining stage.

Shangguan Yong bumped Yuan Zhao aside with his shoulder, “Brother, let me take a look. Wow, your cultivation seems a bit higher than mine.”

Zhang Quan, the most composed—or perhaps the most reserved—only stepped forward after Yuan Zhao and Shangguan Yong finished their greetings. “Brother, we have a total of 2,500 shi (units) of textile materials, including cotton, hemp, and silk, as well as various dyes in blue, black, red, yellow, gray, purple, green, and pink, enough for twenty thousand bolts of cloth.”

“As for thanks, I won’t bother saying much. Come, I’ll take you all to see it—to witness the power of a miracle.”

Li Xian knew that neither Zhang Quan nor Yuan Zhao believed he could weave twenty thousand bolts of cloth before the end of the year. The best way to convince them was to let them see the textile factory for themselves.

Honestly, letting others see the textile factory was something Li Xian had thought through carefully. No matter what, the four of them were still in a partnership, and would likely remain so for at least the next five years. Given that, it was necessary for him to “build trust with others.” Moreover, Li Xian knew that the textile machine and the low-end engine technology couldn’t be kept secret for long. Since that was the case, he might as well reveal it voluntarily and seize the opportunity to gain the most benefit.

Besides, the textile machinery was the least technically complex, so it didn’t matter if they saw it. The other workshops had long since closed their doors for production, but the textile factory’s doors were still open.

Naturally, someone else would handle sorting the materials. Such trivial matters were not something Li Xian and his group needed to concern themselves with.

Li Xian led the way, with Xu Ren in charge of explaining, and the five of them toured the textile factory together. The reason Xu Ren was explaining things was because Li Xian was worried that, in his excitement, he might reveal things he shouldn’t. Xu Ren, however, was an absolutely qualified strategist; every word he said was just enough to amaze and enlighten Zhang Quan and the others, yet without giving away too much.

“Is this the power of industry? Why is it called ‘industry’?” Yuan Zhao asked casually.

Li Xian chuckled, “The grand enterprises of craftsmen are abbreviated as ‘industry,’ so this place is also called a ‘factory.'”

Xu Ren, who was introducing the textile machinery to the group, twitched at the corner of his mouth: “Young master, you’re misleading people again.”

In the end, Shangguan Yong, Zhang Quan, and Yuan Zhao stood in front of the first combined spinning machine, dumbfounded. Watching the machine roar, seeing the cloth flowing out like a waterfall, the shock in their hearts was imaginable.

Zhang Quan was the first to look at Li Xian. “Brother, is this machine for sale?”

As Zhang Quan asked, Shangguan Yong also turned his head. Only Yuan Zhao was still curiously inspecting the textile machine, picking up the cloth to check its quality, seemingly unconcerned.

Li Xian was naturally prepared. When he heard Zhang Quan’s question, he simply said three words: “A bit expensive.”

Li Xian’s meaning was clear: It can be sold, but it’s a bit pricey — you need to be mentally prepared!

Selling fabric certainly makes money, but the most profitable is selling the machines — this was one of Li Xian’s plans! Fabric is just a product, but the loom is a real money tree.

The higher the technological content, the more profitable it is. That’s the nature of technology. When Li Xian decided to make the loom available to Zhang Quan and the others, he had already considered this.

However, if you want to take this money tree, you have to be prepared to bleed — besides, what if you take it back and reverse-engineer it? This is almost inevitable!

Li Xian knew his “good friends” too well. They had no problem indulging in entertainment and extravagance together, making money together wasn’t an issue, and uniting against outsiders as long as their own interests weren’t threatened was fine too; but they were not to be considered life-and-death friends. If the benefit was big enough, they wouldn’t hesitate to stab you in the back.

In fact, Li Xian was 100% sure that once they took the machine back, they would definitely disassemble and study it, especially the engine. That’s why earlier Li Xian specifically categorized and priced items like the Sea Soul Silk.

Zhang Quan pointed to an ordinary loom, “How much is this?”

“1,350 taels of gold.”

“Hiss…” Even though they were mentally prepared, after hearing this price, Zhang Quan, Shangguan Yong, and Yuan Zhao all gasped.

You have to understand, when Li Xian first arrived at his own Jade Workshop, the entire workshop’s annual profit was only 500 taels of gold, which was already quite substantial. Five hundred taels of gold is five million copper coins!

1,350 taels of gold was nearly half of the Li family’s past year’s income. And now, it could only buy a very basic loom.

Yuan Zhao was the first to jump up, “Brother Xian, this is extortion, this is robbery, this is blackmail! It’s just a few wooden frames, a few iron pillars, and an engine, and you dare to sell it for 1,350 taels of gold? Are you out of your mind?”

Li Xian didn’t say anything, and pointed to the roaring joint loom in front of them, “5,500 taels of gold! You can pick it up in five days. The regular loom, you can pick up right now.”

“500 taels, 500 taels of gold, I want ten joint looms,” Yuan Zhao began to bargain, acting shamelessly.

Li Xian shook his head, “Brothers, it’s only because of our relationship that I’m selling to you. In fact, if I didn’t demonstrate it to you or sell it to you, I could build a massive textile factory and even monopolize the textile industry in Great Xia and the surrounding countries.

How about that?”

Li Xian made it very clear — being able to sell to you is already a huge favor. This is technology. You don’t have it, and I’m willing to sell it to you, which is a favor; as for the price? Of course, I can name whatever I want.

In fact, Li Xian’s pricing wasn’t random at all; it was carefully calculated.

This low-end engine technology can’t be kept secret forever, so now is the time to make as much money as possible. After the three of them take it back, it probably won’t take long before they figure it out. Since it’s going to benefit others, Li Xian naturally had to set a high price.

Secondly, the Sea Soul Silk inside the engine is the key. Selling the engine isn’t the goal; selling the Sea Soul Silk is the goal.

As long as my brothers can master stainless steel, the Sea Soul Silk will be produced continuously. If you want to produce high-efficiency engines, you’ll have to come to me.

Thirdly, it’s a matter of human nature. If you set the price too low, people won’t appreciate it! As long as it’s within an acceptable range, the higher the price, the more grateful they’ll be — they’ll thank you for selling them this great thing. They’ll be moved.

Zhang Quan squinted his eyes and looked around; Shangguan Yong was also observing and even lowered himself to talk to the textile workers, but unfortunately, they ignored him. Only Yuan Zhao was bouncing around, calling older women “sister” and younger women “little sister”; amidst his banter, the rascal actually gathered quite a bit of information.

Taking advantage of the moment, Xu Ren approached Li Xian and whispered, “Young master, none of these three friends of yours are simple. Zhang Quan is shrewd, Shangguan Yong is rough on the outside but meticulous inside, and Yuan Zhao is the most cunning of the four of you.”

“Mm.” Li Xian nodded, feeling somewhat shaken. Indeed, the notion that children of officials were mere useless wastrels was wrong in most cases.

Not long after, Shangguan Yong came rushing over, “Brother Xian, round it down, 1,300 taels of gold. I want two looms, and I want them now.”

Zhang Quan also said, “Two looms.”

Only Yuan Zhao swaggered back, “Brother Xian, two joint looms, 10,000 taels of gold, how about that?”

“Deal. All textile machines will have a five-year warranty for non-human damage; however, I’ll charge for the cost of materials,” Li Xian said with a show of generosity, offering a “five-year warranty.”

“Agreed.” The four of them immediately reached an agreement. As for the impact on Li Xian’s fabric production due to this, neither side seemed concerned.

After settling the details, Li Xian said, “Brothers, let’s talk about the matter of the Wang family copying our lanterns.”

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