Sitting on the soft sofa, Banno had a nervous look on his face. He straightened his back and stared at the ground in front of him without saying a word.
"Mr. Banno, you're too nervous."
Seeing Banno's expression, Mei Yin could not help but ask curiously.
"Don't worry. Mr. Fangzheng is a very nice person. He's a very amiable person."
"Is that an amiable question? You stupid girl! "
Hearing Mei Yin's words, Banno was furious. As Mei Yin's boss in name, he had some understanding of Mei Yin's situation. He also knew that she went to live in Fangzheng's castle. But at that time, Banno only thought that Mei Yin was favored by the nobles. After all, it was easy for a commoner's child to be favored by the nobles and be adopted by them. And if Mei Yin wanted to cure her illness, there was only one way out, so Banno did not find it strange.
But at that time, he only thought that the other party was an ordinary noble.
But now, after coming to this castle, Banno understood that the person he was facing was definitely not an ordinary noble!
The luxurious decorations and the room …. To be honest, he might even think that this was a palace!
No, even a palace might not be this luxurious!
"Tell me now, what is the identity of Sir Fangzheng? What is your relationship with him? "
Seeing that there was no one around, Bannuo hurriedly asked. As a businessman, negotiating with the other party without knowing the other party's details was simply too troublesome. If he was not careful, he might even be eaten by the other party.
"Hmm …. Mr. Fangzheng and I are friends? He can be considered a friend. Mr. Fangzheng is a very powerful person, but as for his identity … I'm not too sure. "
You silly little girl!
If it were not for the fact that Fangzheng might come over at any time, Banno would have rushed over and hammered Mei Yin's head. This little girl is always like this, unable to see the situation around her clearly. Doesn't she understand the situation at hand?!
Besides, what is a friend?! You're the daughter of a commoner, and you still want to be friends with a great noble?!
At that moment, the door of the reception room slowly opened, and Fangzheng walked in.
Seeing Fangzheng come in, Ban Nuo hurriedly stood up.
"It's my honor to meet you despite your busy schedule. I'm the president of the Chilbota Chamber of Commerce, Banno."
"Hello, my name is Fangzheng."
Fangzheng nodded to Banno and sat down. Soon, Lahm and Leimu also came forward and prepared refreshments for the three of them before leaving.
"I'm not good at being frank, so I'll get straight to the point. Next, I'll talk about the conditions of the paper machine on behalf of Mei Yin. I think Mei Yin should have told you about the situation of the paper machine. "
"Yes."
Banno hurriedly nodded.
"If Miss Meiyin is right, then this cheap papermaking process and machine can indeed become a product that will shake the market. But we haven't seen the finished product yet, so I haven't made a decision yet. "
"That's understandable."
Fangzheng nodded. Banno originally thought that Fangzheng would increase his efforts to explain the advantages and disadvantages of the new papermaking process, but what Banno did not expect was that after listening to his words, Fangzheng directly changed the topic.
"Then, let's talk about the way of cooperation."
"Huh?"
Hearing this, Ban Nuo was stunned.
"But we haven't seen the finished product yet …"
"That's right."
Fangzheng nodded.
"The finished product hasn't come out yet, but that doesn't prevent us from talking about the way of cooperation, does it? If you need it, then it'll work. If you don't think it's worth it, then it won't work. It's very simple, isn't it? In that case, why should we waste extra time and wait for the finished product to come out before talking about this? "
"… Lord Fangzheng is very confident."
Ban Nuo quickly understood what Fangzheng meant. To put it bluntly, if Mei Yin failed, then there would be no cooperation, and naturally, there would be no need to talk about anything else. And if Mei Yin succeeded, then they could talk about it … Wait a minute, shouldn't they talk about the finished product first? Or are they that confident in their own craftsmanship?
Hmm, that's not right. This might be some kind of bluff … No, how can there be such a negotiation method ….
Ban Nuo's mind went blank in an instant. As a businessman, he was more used to the other party presenting the product, and then both parties would use that as a standard to negotiate and discuss. But now, the other party had not presented the finished product yet. This immediately put Banno in a dilemma. The other party was a noble, while Banno was just a businessman. In terms of social status, a businessman could hardly refuse a request from a noble. So what he had to do was fight for benefits.
However, Fangzheng was asking him to "give it to him as he sees fit".
This was the most troublesome part.
"For now, we don't intend to discuss the specific amount. We only want to discuss the way of cooperation."
Fortunately, Fangzheng let Banno off the hook, which made the businessman breathe a sigh of relief.
"What way?"
"I heard that you plan to invest a sum of money to buy the ownership of the papermaking machine?"
"Yes."
Hearing this, Banno's heart sank, but he bit the bullet and nodded. This was the proposal he made when he discussed with Mei Yin before, but now it seemed that Fangzheng obviously had a different opinion.
As expected, Fangzheng gave his opinion.
"I don't think this method is very good. I think you should be very clear what kind of impact this cheap papermaking process and machine will have on the world. So, how much money do you think we can buy all this? "
"This ….."
Banno instinctively wanted to say "I haven't seen the finished product yet, so I can't judge", but he quickly understood what Fangzheng meant. Before this, Fangzheng had already told him that this negotiation was based on the success of the finished product. If he used this as a reason now, it wouldn't hold up at all!
"Sorry, I can't judge."
"Me too."
Fangzheng nodded.
"To be honest, I don't know how much I should sell it for. So, in order to protect both our interests, I have a proposal."
With that said, Fangzheng extended a finger.
"We can sign a magic contract. The Mei Yin Workshop can sign a contract with your chamber of commerce and give you an exclusive monopoly for three years. What do you think?"
"Th-three years?"
Hearing Fangzheng's proposal, Banno was taken aback.
Aren't we talking about a lump-sum payment in the end?
"What about three years later?"
"It depends on the situation after three years. If this paper sells well, then you can renew the contract. If this craft doesn't meet your requirements, then you don't have to renew the contract. "
"What will happen if we don't renew the contract?"
"It's the same if we sell the ownership to other chambers of commerce."
"How can that be!"
Hearing this, Banno almost jumped up!
"Why not?"
Fangzheng chuckled and leaned back on the sofa.
"I need to remind you, Mr. Banno. To be honest, I have a more convenient idea, which is to buy a chamber of commerce to manufacture and sell the products of the Mei Yin Workshop. You should also understand that with my financial resources, this is not a problem. Furthermore, the Chamber of Commerce here isn't the only one. As long as I offer enough money, I can totally buy a Chamber of Commerce with more shops and greater influence, instead of a newcomer like Chilbota who has just made a name for himself. The reason why I'm willing to talk to you is that you have a good relationship with Mei Yin. There is a basis for cooperation between the two sides … Do you understand now? "
"…"
Hearing this, Banno stopped talking. Just as Fangzheng said, he could buy a chamber of commerce for Mei Yin to play with. He had money anyway. And this castle also proved that Fangzheng was not talking nonsense. He had the money to buy any chamber of commerce in the city, even the biggest one …
The Chilbota Chamber of Commerce had only recently emerged. In terms of channels, sales ability, and other aspects, there was no way for it to compete with the older chambers of commerce.
It was precisely because of this that Banno hoped to cooperate with Mei Yin and advance the chamber of commerce through this new papermaking process.
"But even so, three years is still too …"
"We have our own considerations, Mr. Banno. To be honest, I'm very skeptical about what you'll do if you really obtain the ownership of the papermaking process."
"This … I don't understand what you mean."
Hearing Fangzheng's words, Banno frowned.
"If the new papermaking process is really good, of course we'll promote it. This will also bring considerable profits to our chamber of commerce. "
"Really?"
Fangzheng narrowed his eyes and stared at Banno.
"What if you hide it in the snow?"
"This … How is that possible?"
Hearing this, Banno suddenly laughed bitterly.
"Lord Fangzheng, you must be joking. If we can really have such a process, it's worth a thousand pieces of gold!"
"Worth a thousand pieces of gold? Then what about ten thousand pieces of gold? How about a hundred thousand pieces of gold? What if someone gives you a hundred thousand pieces of gold to stop promoting this papermaking process? "
"This …"
"Maybe this won't happen in the beginning, but when the traditional industries that have been eroded discover the problem, they may do the same. They may even pressure you through the higher-ups. When that time comes, can you still persist?"
"This …"
Faced with Fangzheng's question, this time, Banno finally did not speak. On the contrary, Mei Yin's eyes widened as she looked at Fangzheng in surprise.
"Will something like this happen again? Mr. Fangzheng. "
"Of course, you can't guess the bottom line of the capitalists."
At this point, Fangzheng snorted. He did not say this groundless, but there were actual cases. It must be known that on Earth, the cost of synthesizing vitamin C used to be several dollars, and the selling price was even more expensive. Then, China invented the two-step production method of vitamin C, which directly reduced the cost to a few cents. This scared the European and American pharmaceutical manufacturers crazy. They almost humbly came to China, tried their best to buy the patent of the two-step synthesis method of vitamin C, and then … directly locked it up.
Perhaps some people might ask, why didn't they use the two-step production method and then sell it at the original price?
The reason was very simple. When the cost went down, the production went up, and the price went down. Not to mention that the new method needed to replace equipment and train personnel, which all cost money. Without competition, who would be willing to change the status quo and spend more money?
Then, the European and American pharmaceutical manufacturers squeezed out the last drop of value from the traditional production method, and determined that it was really not profitable, then turned to the two-step method.
The same was true for patents. Modern people treated patents as treasures, but in fact, they were just a piece of waste paper. Indeed, patents protected the rights of inventors to some extent, but it was not complete protection.
For example, a small company invented a patent that was equivalent to enough to subvert the market. At this time, the small company must want to use this to dominate the market.
Would the big bosses of the multinational companies just sit back and watch?
Of course not.
They will buy it directly.
Is 100 million USD enough? Is 1 billion USD enough? What about 10 billion USD?
Of course, the small company can also say that they are not selling it! This is our technology, and we need it to open up the market!
Then what will those multinational companies do?
Simple, copyright infringement.
Wait, copyright infringement is illegal.
Yes, copyright infringement is illegal, but you still have to sue. Furthermore, if the multinational company sells in dozens of countries, you will have to sue in dozens of countries.
To sue, you need to hire a lawyer, and hiring a lawyer costs money.
How can a small company compete with the financial resources of a multinational company?
The multinational company does not need to say anything, and their team of lawyers will be able to drag you down.
So what if you win the lawsuit? The multinational company's team of lawyers can turn around and apply for a re-examination of the case.
How many years will it take?
During the time the small company wasted, the multinational company's infringing products will sweep the world and consolidate their market. Maybe even the small company's original market will be squeezed out.
A small company can't even open up the market, and naturally, it will die.
When it goes bankrupt, how will you hire a lawyer? How will you sue?
Fangzheng has seen this kind of thing many times in the industry. It was the same during the game console battle. It would be strange if no one objected to an invention like the improvement and innovation of the papermaking process that could change the world.
The modern energy industry is the same. Why can't clean energy develop in Europe and the United States? The reason is simple. Oil companies do not allow it. For example, solar energy, wind energy, hydroelectric power, and electric cars. Is it because Europe and the United States do not have the technology? How is that possible?
But why don't they market it?
The reason is simple. Traditional energy companies are watching. If you dare to release it, they will kill you.
Oil companies don't care about global warming, exhaust emissions, or the fate of mankind.
They only know that if you do these things, it is equivalent to eroding their interests. Then, they will kill you to maintain their monopoly position.
Talking about morality, the future, and civilization development with capitalists? You're still asleep, aren't you?
In the end, Banno ended the negotiation with the reason that he needed to think about it. Fangzheng's words also reminded him. Indeed, this is an opportunity for the Chilbota Chamber of Commerce, but it is also a great risk and challenge ….
"Okay, that's the current situation. Next, it's up to him."
After Banno left, Fangzheng looked at Mei Yin.
"If he is still willing, then the cooperation will continue. But when signing the magic contract, Mei Yin, you have to change the method."
"What method? Mr. Fangzheng? "
At this moment, Mei Yin was completely convinced by Fangzheng.
"I remember you said that different trees can make different kinds of paper?"
"Yes, there are many magical trees in this world. Some trees are basically not burned by fire. It would be great if they can be made into paper!"
"Very good."
Fangzheng nodded.
"In that case, when signing the contract, you have to limit the model of the paper machine."
"… Model?"
"That's right. Let's take the paper machine you're building now. Let's say it's the first model. When signing the contract, you have to indicate that you will only sell the paper making process and products related to the first model."
"Hah …. Why is that?"
Mei Yin blinked and looked at Fangzheng.
"It's very simple. Because you will improve the paper machine in the future, and the improved process will be equally valuable, okay? If you improve the process and make a second model, then you can't update the technology for free. Instead, you have to ask them to re-sign the manufacturing contract for the second model, and so on …. Do you understand? "
"…."
Hearing this, Mei Yin was dumbfounded. After a while, she opened her mouth and said.
"Mr. Fangzheng …."
"Hmm?"
"You're too evil …."
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