"You want to consolidate the parts-processing industry?" Xu Yi looked at Freeman across from him in surprise, then found the idea rather amusing after a moment's thought. "Hey, Freeman, you definitely didn't come up with that phrase yourself, did you?"
Freeman scratched his head and gave an honest, good-natured smile.
"Kowach did teach me that term, but he learned it from the book you published earlier, Fundamentals of Establishing a Magic Industry System. The idea really was mine, though. I just discussed it with Kowach and the others."
"Oh?" Xu Yi studied the man who had been nothing more than an honest, simple farmer when they first met. To think that even he could now come up with an idea like "industry consolidation"-it was astonishing how much time could change a person. "Go on, then. Tell me exactly what you have in mind."
Freeman sat in the chair Xu Yi indicated, collected himself, and continued, "Well, President Xu, do you remember that batch of screws we supplied to your Xinfei Merchant Guild earlier?"
Xu Yi smiled. "I honestly don't. I haven't been involved in those day-to-day matters for a long time. Why? Was there a problem?"
"No, no, no. There wasn't any problem. Everything went very well. But when we supplied the same batch of goods to another merchant guild, we ran into a little trouble."
"What sort of trouble?"
"Well... President Xu, your Xinfei Merchant Guild established a standard for screws before, didn't it? You divided them into thirteen types for use in different kinds of magic machinery. Every kind of screw our Ireland Merchant Guild has produced to date has strictly followed that standard. That batch was no exception, and it passed inspection when we supplied it to your guild."
"Yes, as it should. And then? You ran