Chapter 210: Increasing Production Rate

“I really like this energy-shield booster of yours, though a bulk purchase will still need to get the approval of the Union, I am at least able to make a purchase if it’s just a few thousand sets of this for use. How do you plan to sell this device?” Thuram directly asked.

Xia Fei chuckled. “It’s great that you’re interested in our product, but as you can see, the factory has yet to officially begin its production. I truly have no stock aside from a few samples. Besides, do you plan to buy the standard, enhanced, deluxe, or economy version?”

Thuram furrowed his brows. “What versions? You’re almost about to confuse me; are these energy-shield boosters all different?”

Xia Fei shook his head. “They function similarly, but there’s a difference in terms of their recharging speed; the economy version provides a twenty-five percent increase in recharge, the standard at thirty, the enhanced at thirty-five, and deluxe at thirty-eight. Of course, different versions mean different prices.”

Thuram appeared to be very interested. “Oh, that’s interesting. Tell me about these prices, then.”

“The economy version will be around two million star coins, the standard at four, the enhanced at ten, and finally, the deluxe will set you back thirty million star coins,” Xia Fei rattled off.

“The deluxe is merely three percent better than the enhanced, yet its price is actually three times of the other. Xia Fei, this is some shrewd pricing you’ve got there.” Qin Mang laughed.

Xia Fei feigned innocence. “Old man, don’t get me wrong. Though the difference is merely just three percent, there will be a significant increase in terms of the production cost of the product itself, on top of the difficulty of production, rising up to at least five times the price. Honestly, a thirty-million price tag isn’t at all expensive.”

In truth, the cost of every energy-shield booster was merely around one million star coins, while the various versions were all a result of selecting the products made that fit the mark. The base cost did not differ. The only reason Xia Fei had priced his products differently was solely to differentiate them by performance, allowing him to maximize his profits.

Thuram waved his hand dismissively. “You’re wrong saying that, old coot. To be able to increase a ship’s defensive capabilities by ten percent, several million star coins ain’t nothing. How about this: I’ll order five thousand standard versions and one thousand enhanced versions? Wait till I get my secretary to contact you. If the shield boosters are well received, perhaps I will have a huge surprise for you.”

Xia Fei nodded. “Uncle Thuram, I have no problems letting you sign an advanced order, though I can’t guarantee when I can deliver the goods.”

“What nonsense?” Thuram rolled his eyes at Xia Fei. “This will be a done deal as long as you are able to provide me with the first batch of your products. You can carry on with all the other details as you deem fit.”

Xia Fei and Qin Mang laughed. It seemed that Thuram really liked this energy-shield booster, impatiently wanting to make a large purchase of it.

Xia Fei was of course elated that he managed to get his first order for Quantum Holdings. For them to have gotten an advanced order before their production even started made for a decent start. Xia Fei could not help but feel totally confident of Quantum Holdings’ future with this.

If he could also get that doppler radar system he had gotten in the Dark Abyss into production, Xia Fei was almost positive that Quantum Holdings would be able to find itself a spot in the vast universe. There was also Harris’s genetic research; while it had yet to see any sort of profit at this stage, it would ultimately be able to generate revenue for the company in the long run.

There was no need for Xia Fei to intervene regarding the fine details of the business. He made a call and got the business personnel to take over. Thuram clearly intended to let Xia Fei earn a tidy profit, not even specifying a time for goods delivery. There was no way another contract out there with similar conditions existed.

Later that afternoon, Xia Fei accompanied Thuram and Qin Mang to enjoy the local Chinese funfare. The two men were full of praises for the local delicacies, though Qin Mang was unfortunately still in recuperation, so he could only sample a small taste of each dish, unable to have a proper feast.

While Qin Mang came for a visit on paper to recuperate, Xia Fei could clearly tell that the old man had another intention in mind. His suggestion to sightsee in famous landmarks were all soundly rejected by Qin Mang, and after looking at the world map for some time, the old man actually picked The Pampas in Argentina as the location of his recuperation, even instructing Xia Fei to look for him as soon as he could.

Of course, Xia Fei agreed readily, giving Andre a call so that arrangements could be made for the old man to live and survive out on the plains. Andre had wide connections and was very capable. In just the course of a few hours, he had managed to construct a huge tent out there on the grassy plains, even seeing to the minor details such as providing servants and chefs for the elderly man.

After sending off Qin Mang and Thuram, Xia Fei went to the workshop and saw that Porter had changed into common work clothes, a set of tools strapped at his waist, busy lying under a large molecular forming machine. Charlie was standing at the side, somewhat at a loss. He had no knowledge of machinery, so all he could do was watch, unable to provide any help at all.

“Hand me the no. 3 wire cutters,” Porter said.

Xia Fei nodded, picked up the right tool and handed it to Old Porter. He also picked a tool of his own and crawled under the machine to join the elderly mechanic with the work.

“Qin Mang left?” Porter asked.

“Yeah. He originally wanted to meet you, but I told him that you’re busy.”

“I’ve heard plenty of things about him from your end. That person isn’t bad, but I wish to have a peaceful life right now, so perhaps we’ll have another chance next time,” Porter said as he worked.

Xia Fei could vaguely sense that his personality had changed ever since he came back from Black Abyss. Porter was originally a very passionate man, yet he was now somewhat distant, most likely affected by what had happened with Windchime.

Some things were just that fantastical; Porter, who survived great upheaval and changes, only had a change in personality after his dealing with a certain woman. Who would have believed that?

“How’s this machine?” Xia Fei changed the subject to ask about his machinery. The operation of this equipment was directly related to the quality of their products and production efficiency, which was why Xia Fei was very concerned about it.

“Hmph. Your people actually fitted the purifier and the material separator together. It’d surely cause plenty of problems if the operation began with it like this. It’s a good thing that I saw it in time,” Old Porter casually commented.

Xia Fei gave it some thought. “Their goal could’ve been to improve the purification efficiency, but putting the two together is truly inappropriate and could very easily cause damage. Why don’t we build an alloy pipe and connect the purification nozzle to the separator? That way, we’ll be able to improve the purification efficiency and also keep the two machines separate, thus hitting two birds with one stone,” Xia Fei suggested.

Porter, who had been busy with his two hands, suddenly halted his work. “You thought of this?”

Xia Fei nodded.

Porter broke into raucous laughter. “Sure enough, your talent in machinery is much higher than Boateng’s. It’s a pity you’re unable to specialize in it despite your talent. You’d surely see great achievements if you were to devote your time wholeheartedly into the field of machine research.”

Xia Fei felt a wave of melancholia wash over him. It was impossible for him to learn machinery now that he was putting time and effort in various combat fronts; be it electronics or combat techniques, machinery simply had no choice but to be placed on the backburner.

Doing it in such a manner might allow him to grow greatly in power, but it also meant that what little, free time Xia Fei had on his hands would be further reduced; most of the time, Xia Fei would find that he only had an hour to sleep because there were simply too many profound and complicated courses awaiting him.

There was always a limit to a person’s energy, and since Xia Fei had chosen to improve in various skills at the same time, he of course had to spend even more effort and hard work than others. Fortunately, Xia Fei was not afraid of enduring hardship, so he had been able to hang on the entire time.

“The raw materials input interface needs to be widened by a bit; best if we change the interface circuit to modular. After all, the chances of that part becoming damaged are high, and a modular design can help in facilitating the installation. What do you think?” Porter asked.

Xia Fei gave it some thought. “I think that’s a great idea. Plus, we can install a shunt to the module. This way, it can become a second insurance; even if it gets damaged in the future, there’s no need to shut the machine off, and we can just directly swap it out.”

Porter’s eyes shone, pleasantly surprised. “Not bad. That’s a good idea. Let’s do that.”

Time passed quickly. Xia Fei and Porter frenziedly dedicated themselves into the modification of several machines. With the two men working together, all the problems with these were cleared, and each was optimized according to its concept.

In the blink of an eye, the machines, allegedly top quality in the Alliance, were completely revamped. Any industrial product would have its constraints in terms of base cost and flexibility. Xia Fei and Porter made specialized modifications on these machines for the production of the energy-shield boosters, undoubtedly improving their performance beyond the original.

For four days straight. Xia Fei and Porter lived and dined in that workshop, busy every moment they had. Even Boateng had brought along several workers to lend a hand.

As there was not just one machine in the entire workshop, Xia Fei and Porter became like designers, redesigning each and every machine while Boateng led his men to make the modifications according to their new blueprints, ensuring all the other machines were also modified accordingly.

Boateng was an honest man, and he was thrilled to be working with his master once more. That workshop turned boisterous, with Porter full of praises for Xia Fei’s workmanship, especially the ideas that he came up with. Due to Xia Fei having studied many advanced concepts of the ancient people, his vision was far wider than Porter’s, able to put forward a feasible modification plan after a problem was found.

Sticking the universal pliers to his waist, Xia Fei held a water bottle to his lips and drained it noisily, “Uncle Porter, I think we’re more or less done with the modifications to these machines. Qin Mang’s still waiting for me out in the prairies. I’ll be heading over for a visit if there’s nothing else.”

Porter wiped his sweat. “Yeah, go ahead. Boateng and I can take care of the rest of the details ourselves. I’m sure our production efficiency should increase by about forty percent after all the modifications we’ve done, and that’s basically the maximum output we can get out of these machines.”

The original production rate of this factory was about three hundred sets of energy-shield boosters a day, and a forty percent increase would mean that the number had risen to 420 sets. Every single extra produced just meant more profit.

Xia Fei was of course overjoyed. Not only did the production rate increase, he also introduced these modifications with his two hands, not at all spending money to do so. This was definitely killing two birds with one stone.

Vampire pierced through the troposphere as it headed toward the prairie plains located in the South American continent. It was evident that Qin Mang had a purpose for visiting Earth this time, though Xia Fei had no idea just why he had specifically chosen this location.