Pricing

"Brother Yi, tell me all about this air conditioner. Let's discuss how to price it."

The mere mention of pricing made Fatty Lin's face light up with excitement.

Yi Xuan smiled and nodded.

Although he was a cultivator, he was neither a sage nor a true immortal. When it came to worldly gold and silver, he too believed the more the better. Otherwise, he would not have worked with Fatty Lin for so many years.

It could be said that their years of cooperation had been a win-win for both of them.

Yi Xuan used the power of technology to make modern products, then handed them over to Fatty Lin to sell. Yi Xuan took the larger share of the profits, while Fatty Lin took the smaller share.

Over the years, that smaller share alone had made Fatty Lin one of the wealthiest men in the city.

Yi Xuan, who received the larger share, invested those profits in his research. That was why he had been able to bring modern computers to this world in just ten years.

Even with limitless technology, without a massive investment of money, Yi Xuan could not have hoped to reproduce a modern computer in fifty years.

And now that Yi Xuan had created a computer, his technological development would advance by leaps and bounds.

To return to the matter at hand, Yi Xuan was very much in favor of Fatty Lin learning about the air conditioner's functions.

A good salesperson needed a thorough understanding of a product's functions to promote it more effectively.

Besides, Fatty Lin was no ordinary salesperson. At the very least, he qualified as a sales manager.

Pointing at the air conditioner, Yi Xuan explained, "Its main function is to improve the indoor environment. Just look at things now. Outside, the summer heat is blazing, but with the air conditioner, this room and the outdoors seem like two different worlds."

Having already experienced it himself, Fatty Lin nodded in agreement. He also picked up on the implication in Yi Xuan's words and asked, "Improve the indoor environment? Does that mean in winter...?"

Fatty Lin truly was worthy of Yi Xuan's regard. His business instincts were extremely sharp, and he immediately seized on the key point in Yi Xuan's words.

Yi Xuan nodded. "That's right. Unlike a fan, an air conditioner isn't limited to summer use. It can be used all year round. When it's hot in summer, we use its cooling mode. When winter comes and the sky is cold and the ground frozen, the air conditioner also has a heating mode. Even during the coldest days of winter, it can keep your room warm."

After hearing Yi Xuan's explanation, Fatty Lin was eager to try it. But then he remembered that it was the hottest part of summer outside. He glanced at his plump body and could only give Yi Xuan an awkward smile. "Maybe I won't try it just yet! There'll be plenty of chances later!"

Seeing Fatty Lin say that, Yi Xuan said nothing more. But knowing Fatty Lin, he was certain the man would try the heating mode later. Only after experiencing it himself and making sure there were no problems would he dare sell the product. That was one of the reasons Yi Xuan was willing to work with him. People said that the rich were heartless, but Fatty Lin was a businessman with a conscience.

Of course, that was only to the extent of having a conscience. When it came to truly lucrative deals, Yi Xuan's assessment of him was: he had one, but not much of one.

Next, Yi Xuan showed Fatty Lin the air conditioner's other functions, such as dehumidification, purification, and dust removal.

Seeing these functions, Fatty Lin repeatedly called the air conditioner a treasure.

Of course, Yi Xuan had also made this air conditioner using certain cultivation techniques.

For Yi Xuan as he was now, making an air conditioner like those in his previous life would certainly not have been difficult. After all, judging by its working principles, an air conditioner was not a high-tech product. Humanity in his previous life had mastered the relevant technology as early as the beginning of the twentieth century.

But Yi Xuan was already in a cultivation world. Making a purely technological product would have been rather like neglecting the root for the branches.

Thus, after the Book of Technology imparted knowledge of the air conditioner's principles, components, and other related matters to Yi Xuan, he made sweeping changes to its design based on cultivators' abilities. Although the air conditioner's functions were no different from those in his previous life, its interior was completely different. The biggest change was that Yi Xuan's air conditioner had no outdoor unit.

Nor did it use refrigerants such as Freon to cool the air. Yi Xuan had inscribed several formations inside it, including the Raging Fire Formation, Frigid Ice Formation, and Hurricane Formation commonly used in the cultivation world. There was also a control formation Yi Xuan had developed himself, inspired by the electrical circuit controls of his previous life. This allowed him to control the three basic formations with great precision and achieve the effect of an air conditioner.

Yi Xuan had even incorporated the cultivation world's Dustless Formation, giving it the ability to purify the air and remove dust.

In the end, the air conditioner only needed Spirit Stones installed to run perfectly, solving the problem of its power supply as well.

"Brother Yi! What does this air conditioner cost to make, and how much does it consume? Is it about the same as the fan from before?"

Yi Xuan shook his head. "How could it be? How much difference do you think there is between their effects?"

Fatty Lin thought for a moment. "They're worlds apart. Now that I have this air conditioner, I never want to use a fan again!"

Yi Xuan nodded as well. "Exactly. But that's precisely why this air conditioner costs far more than a fan. I'm planning to sell it for one Low-Grade Spirit Stone apiece!"

Fatty Lin could hardly believe the price Yi Xuan had set. "That expensive? Wouldn't that be a thousand taels of silver? When the fans first went on sale, they were only fifty taels each, and by now they've dropped to twenty."

Yi Xuan nodded. "That's right. Even at twenty taels apiece now, our profit is still twice the cost. But air conditioners are different. Even if we sell one for a Low-Grade Spirit Stone, our profit is only equal to the cost. Once we deduct all the other miscellaneous expenses, what actually ends up in our hands may be even less."

Fatty Lin nodded in agreement. "How much does the air conditioner consume?"

"One-tenth of a Spirit Stone per year!"

"What? Wouldn't that be a hundred taels of silver? Ordinary people can't afford that at all. A fan only uses a tael of silver's worth of Spirit Stone a year, you know."

"Air conditioners were never meant to be sold to ordinary people!" (In this world, Spirit Stones and money had a fixed exchange rate. Ordinary people could obtain them if they had money; they just couldn't use them!)

Hearing Yi Xuan's words, Fatty Lin seemed to realize something. "The premium route?"

"Exactly!" Yi Xuan nodded.

With Yi Xuan's reminder, Fatty Lin began to ponder. Yi Xuan had proposed the premium route when they first started selling fans. Besides selling ordinary fans, they had also introduced a high-end model for two hundred taels of silver apiece, aimed squarely at the rich and powerful.

"One Low-Grade Spirit Stone won't do!" After thinking for a long while, Fatty Lin spoke with a serious expression.

Yi Xuan did not understand what he meant, but he said nothing.

Then Fatty Lin suddenly narrowed his eyes and looked at Yi Xuan with a mischievous grin. "We'll sell them for five Spirit Stones!"

Yi Xuan stared at Fatty Lin in surprise. Seeing the confidence on his face, he stopped dwelling on it and decided to do as Fatty Lin suggested. After all, Fatty Lin was the one skilled in business.

After the two discussed a few more matters, Yi Xuan ate dinner at Fatty Lin's residence and strolled back to his little courtyard.