Free Repairs

The crowd fell silent in an instant and exchanged puzzled looks.

"Brand? What's that?"

"Yeah, what is it? Have you heard of it?"

"Who the hell has..."

"He isn't making it up to fool us, is he?"

The crowd broke into discussion. Before long, the burly man lost his patience and shouted at Heinz, "Hey, you crook! What do you mean by 'brand'? Why does not having this brand of yours on it mean it wasn't sold here? I'm warning you, if you're lying to us to dodge responsibility, you'll regret it!"

Heinz chuckled and waved a hand. "No, no. Why would I do that? This is a legitimate business. Of course we wouldn't dodge responsibility. But we can't be held responsible for things we didn't sell, either. Here, everyone, take a look."

Heinz took a Magic Fan from Alex, who had it ready, and raised it so everyone could see. Then he pointed to the emblem above the switch on its base.

"See this emblem with half a wing on it? That's the brand of the Magic Fans we produce. It's called Xinfei. Only Magic Fans bearing this emblem were sold here. If it isn't there, the fan is a counterfeit sold elsewhere!"

At his words, everyone looked down at the fans in their hands.

"Huh? Mine really doesn't have it."

"Yeah, neither does mine."

"Could he be telling the truth? Were these Magic Fans really not sold here?"

"But I asked around. This is the only place in all of Bunta City that sells Magic Fans."

"Oh? Same here. What did the fellow who sold you yours look like?"

"Let me think... He was pretty young, but his skin was dark. Oh, and he had a really big nose."

"That's not the same man. The fellow who came to our village selling Magic Fans was middle-aged."

Hearing the discussion, Heinz nodded slightly. It looked as though the people making counterfeit Magic Fans were a group. They had produced a batch, then split up to sell them in different villages.

After discussing it for a while, everyone's faces filled with worry.

"Hey, if what he says is true and this Magic Fan wasn't sold here, what do we do? I paid two gold coins for it. Now that it's broken, who am I supposed to go to?"

"Yeah, we can't just throw away two gold coins!"

"Ah, it's my fault for being lazy and looking for a bargain. I just asked, and the Magic Fans sold here cost two gold coins each. Think about it: if that fellow was reselling them, how could he charge only two gold coins? He'd have made the trip for nothing. Where would his profit be?"

"That's true..."

"This isn't right. Are you saying we were scammed? That our two gold coins are just gone?"

"What else? We can't blame the owner here. Our Magic Fans don't have that... brand he mentioned, so he didn't sell them."

"But..."

Seeing how worried everyone was, Heinz decided the time had come. He immediately raised his voice. "Quiet, everyone! I have one more announcement."

The crowd fell silent at once, waiting to hear what he had to say.

"I know you were deceived by swindlers, and I understand how you feel. But I must make one thing clear: at present, Xinfei Magic Fans are sold only in this shop. Any you bought elsewhere are counterfeit imitations. Please keep that in mind."

"Tch... What good does telling us now do? We've already been cheated."

"Exactly. He's just talking nonsense. It's not like he'll give us our gold coins back."

"Hmph. He's a crook himself, after all. You think he's going to do anything out of kindness?"

Heinz smiled faintly and continued in a loud voice. "But this whole matter did begin with Magic Fans. The chairman of the Xinfei Merchant Guild has said that, although we can't compensate you for your losses, we can help you with some of your problems. Any Magic Fan you bought this time, Xinfei or not, can be brought here for one free repair if it's damaged! Listen carefully: as long as no parts need replacing, the repair is completely free!"

The moment Heinz finished speaking, the crowd erupted.

"Really? You mean it?"

"Free! He said they'd repair them for free!"

"Seriously? Didn't he say we didn't buy our Magic Fans here? Why would they repair them for free?"

"Are you stupid? Didn't you hear him say their chairman wanted to help us?"

"Wow! That chairman's a good man! What was their guild called again? Xin... the Xinfei Merchant Guild?"

"Right, the Xinfei Merchant Guild. The manager said the Magic Fans they sell are called Xinfei, too. Must be named after the guild."

"All right, I'll remember that. Xinfei, Xinfei. From now on, that's the brand I'll look for when I buy a Magic Fan. To hell with the counterfeits!"

"Me too! If he fixes my Magic Fan this time, I'll buy here from now on. Not just Magic Fans—anything the Xinfei Merchant Guild sells!"

Listening to "Xinfei" come up again and again, Heinz wore an odd expression.

Was this the "Brand Awareness" Xu Yi had talked about?

He still didn't understand what the term meant, but judging by the reactions around him, he and Xu Yi had not only avoided any great loss this time; they had even gained something whose benefits had yet to show.

"Building a brand is hard. It takes years of persistence, and the slightest lapse could ruin everything. So remember this, Heinz: whenever there's a chance, seize it and promote our brand." Having just finished repairing a Magic Fan, Xu Yi took the brief lull to turn and speak to Heinz.

"Mm, I understand," Heinz replied with a nod.

Watching a customer leave with a repaired Magic Fan, smiling and thanking them profusely, Heinz felt he was beginning to understand.

After this, those people would surely remember the Xinfei brand. In other words, they had developed a measure of Brand Awareness.

Seeing Heinz sink into thought, Xu Yi smiled, turned back, and stretched his stiff arms and legs. He nodded to the person waiting across from him. "All right. Bring your Magic Fan over."

Afalia's Father carefully set the Magic Fan he was holding on the table before Xu Yi. After sitting down, however, he watched Xu Yi with open curiosity instead of watching him work on the fan.

Under Afalia's Father's intent gaze, Xu Yi grew a little embarrassed. As he inspected the Magic Fan, he smiled and said, "Sir, why are you staring at me? I don't have flowers growing out of my face, do I?"

"Huh? Oh... It's nothing." Afalia's Father quickly waved a hand and chuckled. "I'm just curious. Tell me, young man, what's your guild's boss thinking?"

"What do you mean?" Xu Yi asked, taken aback.

"I mean... We were tricked into buying these Magic Fans, and that's got nothing to do with you. So why does your boss want to repair them for free?"

"Oh, that. It's simple. Our chairman says a guild shouldn't just know how to make money. It also has to shoulder Social Responsibility. You and the others may have been deceived into buying these poor-quality Magic Fans, but we also failed to explain things clearly beforehand, which left you open to being tricked. So we bear some responsibility too. Think of these free repairs as our way of making amends."

Afalia's Father frowned and thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't understand. You could have stayed out of it entirely. Since you didn't sell these Magic Fans, we couldn't hold you responsible anyway."

"Heh, that's what I meant. It's the Social Responsibility we ought to fulfill."

“I don't understand all this talk about Social Responsibility.” Afalia's Father waved a hand.

Xu Yi laughed. "You don't need to. Just know that's how we do things." With that, he pushed the Magic Fan back toward Afalia's Father. "Here, it's fixed. Try it and see if it works."

"Huh? Fixed already?" Afalia's Father took the Magic Fan in surprise, looked it over, then pressed the switch.

After a few seconds' delay, the blades began to spin. Before long, a cool breeze blew from it.

Afalia's Father broke into a delighted smile. "Wonderful! Wonderful! Now we'll have a fan again, and my little grandson won't fuss when I get home! Thank you, young man!"

"No need to thank me. It's what I should do," Xu Yi said with a smile. Then he added, "Oh, one more thing. The Magic Array inside this fan is flawed, and the fan's design has problems too. You can't run it for too long at a time. Let it rest every so often, or it'll break down again. By my estimate, it can run for less than two hours before it needs a break."

"It can't run all the time?" Afalia's Father's good mood vanished. "What a piece of junk. And it cost me two Gold Coins."

After fuming for a moment, Afalia's Father asked Xu Yi, "What about the one you sell here... the Xinfei Magic Fan, right? Does it need a break after running for a while too?"

"Of course not." Xu Yi smiled and shook his head. "The Magic Fans we sell are reliable. They can run for three full days straight without a problem. Ask around Bunta City if you like. Not one household that bought a Xinfei Magic Fan has had a problem so far. Of course, you shouldn't leave it running forever. Nothing can stand that, right?"

"I understand that. Still, it's much better than this piece of junk." Afalia's Father slapped his forehead in frustration. "If I'd known, why would I have bought one from some fellow outside the city? I should've come here!"

Xu Yi chuckled. "It's not too late to know now. Just remember our brand in the future."

Afalia's Father nodded firmly. "Xinfei, right? I'll remember it!"