Rebirth: Romania Rising

Alexey stared at the mirror and saw his own figure, half a head shorter than Victor, with some freckles on his nose and cheeks, and a pair of black eyes. At this moment, he was very proud, raising his eyebrows, and excitedly looked at the person who belonged to him. My first pocket watch.

The dial of the pocket watch is exquisite and simple, using classical style design elements.The silver and mother-of-pearl dial is inlaid with exquisite Roman numerals, and the delicate hands move silently on it, showing the accurate time.There may also be elaborate carvings around the dial.

Alexey couldn't help but praise: "Victor, this watch is so exquisite! How much did it cost?"

"It didn't cost much, so I bought one for myself."

Victor took out his pocket watch with his right hand and looked at it casually. He took out a wad of banknotes with his left hand and handed it over lightly. Alexei's eyes widened in shock: "So much? It's almost enough for my salary for several months."

Alexey quickly put away the pocket watch, but he liked it so much that he kept taking it out of his pocket and putting it back. He couldn't put it down and said proudly: "This is a gift from you, Victor. If anyone dares to break it, I promise to fight hard, and it’s still a great achievement!”

"Don't say such nonsense."

Victor frowned and regretted buying Alexey a pocket watch. He had an impatient personality and would often argue with others when he disagreed. Sooner or later, he would cause big problems. If he provoked other people, I'm afraid It's better to buy him a hammer for self-defense.

Victor reprimanded: "I bought you a pocket watch to remind you and me, to warn us to arrange time reasonably and cherish time. Moreover, as a high-end jewelry, the pocket watch also requires the recipient to treat others with respect and good etiquette. special meaning and value.”

"And, you have to know. In Romania, the rule of law comes first. Even if someone dares to steal, they should not fight privately. The army will only send those who fight privately to a small dark room for confinement. As for fighting, people will be disfigured and even imprisoned. If someone breaks a bone, etc., they will be tried by a military court. If a firearm is stolen, the punishment will be even more severe."

Alexei snorted and put away his pocket watch obediently, no longer having such ridiculous thoughts.But after a while, after passing by two girls who were pointing and whispering, he said happily:

"Victor, let's not mention your abilities. Do you know that your figure and appearance alone are very attractive? Those two girls in the pocket watch shop just now, look at the way they look at you...hehehehe , and the way he is dressed makes him look like a big shot."

"Go, go, don't even think about it." Victor knew what he was thinking and rejected him flatly.

……

Victor bought a newspaper with a headline that read "International Mediation in Progress!" 》On November 11, the Ottoman Empire was forced to ask the European powers for peaceful coordination, and now it has ceased war with the Balkan Alliance!

History is still the same history, and even time has not changed.Victor was in a good mood and took Alexey to a tavern to relax.

The name of the pub is "Progressman Bar", which has a very famous name, but in fact, the total business area is less than 100 square meters, and the decoration is hardly up to standard.The location is remote and the business is barely there. The only bright spot is that the price is not expensive and can be considered affordable.

Logically speaking, this kind of bar should be a place frequented by local workers. Many people have a couple of drinks with their coworkers after work, and then listen to some young people talking happily to newspapers about major events at home and abroad. .But something seems different today.

"It shouldn't be, Victor. How come there are so many decent people visiting such a remote place?" Alexey also felt the same way.

Victor also discovered something was wrong: those middle class people who care about face, or the little bourgeoisie.They disdain to patronize this kind of tavern. After all, there are more workers here doing manual labor. They dislike the workers for being rude and lacking in taste.

Their favorites are mid-to-high-end bars with poetic and bourgeois names like "Dacia Dream" and "Carpathian Tower Serenade".

There were still people coming and going in the tavern. Victor and Alexey were sitting in the corner, drinking and humming, listening to everyone's remarks.

It turned out that the war in the Balkans had just ended, and everyone here was in high spirits after drinking. Communication about the war was obviously the first priority. There were many rumors, big and small, but to Victor, they were nothing. Nutrition.

However, although the bar was very noisy and chaotic, Victor still felt that the opinions were slowly changing.

Initially, there were a bunch of people bragging and chatting and discussing national affairs. Later, the topic of discussion finally became close to daily life. Several vendors said with mixed feelings:

"In the past few months, the ministers have really gone crazy. Seeing that after autumn today, there will be a bumper harvest of grain across the country, but all of it will be bought and sold to other countries..."

"Domestic food prices have not changed from last year, but the government purchases food from farmers at low prices. It really doesn't treat farmers as citizens..."

"It's just that I don't understand what the parliament is thinking. Doesn't the king stop them?"

"Stop complaining about the king. At least there will be more imports this year, and there will be more money to be made in the future..."

"Indeed, the country is buying luxury goods and miscellaneous equipment from Western Europe..."

Victor has been living in the army and is not sensitive to material supply and prices in society. In his memory, since Romania’s great harvest this fall, the country seems to have suddenly entered a happy mode:

All kinds of commodities are abundant, such as red wine from Bulgaria, coal, iron and wood from Russia, coffee from the UK, chocolate from Belgium and various cheeses and other foods. The prices are surprisingly cheap.

As for French luxury goods, clothes, tableware, furniture, and perfumes, they are everywhere. The Dacian people in Romania enjoy life far less than half of the romantic peoples such as France, the Netherlands, and Italy.

This made Alexey stunned for a moment: According to this group of businessmen, they compared the capital with Western Europe more than once. The result was Bucharest, the capital of Romania. In addition to some newly built buildings and new-style buildings in the city, Transportation facilities and other aspects are as backward as a 19th century rural area!

No matter what, this made Alexei temporarily depressed and couldn't help but fall into deep thought:

Is Romania hopeless and unable to catch up with Britain and France?Did the king and parliament want the peasants to be exploited at every level?

Victor saw the boy's worries and felt very humorous. He suppressed a smile and explained to him: "The second industrial revolution, the second-to-none achievements, are often reflected in heavy industries such as machinery, equipment, electrical machinery, and metallurgy. High-tech field.

At this time, Romania was still importing mechanical equipment, railway equipment, electrical equipment, automobiles, chemical products, etc. from European and American countries.These industries lay the foundation for the development of Romanian industry.This means we have to exchange cheap agricultural products for foreign exchange, trade the market for technology, and make farmers suffer even more..."

"If we have foreign exchange, shouldn't we use it to buy technology and introduce factories? Why do we still have so much money to buy luxury goods that are useless to the people?" Alexey asked rhetorically.

Victor had no way to change history at this time, but he had a firm understanding of historical development and chose to believe in the wisdom of the old King Carol I.

Just drinking wine, he whispered: "We can't change anything now. It may be a matter of time. The king will definitely change this kind of thing."

"Boss, bring me a glass of Melnik or Carmanes rose wine."

"Sorry, no more."

The boss answered mechanically in the background, and then walked out following the sound. I saw a tall and thin man stepping out of the dark bar. It was the bar owner. He greeted him warmly when he saw it.

"I have money, so I can drink to my heart's content this time."

The other party shook the money bag in his hand, and it made a jingling sound. There was indeed a lot of it. It was the unique sound of a large bag of coins, and the businessman's boss was very familiar with it.

"It's not that I don't want to sell it to you, it's just that I really don't have any. The stock will be out of stock for a few days." The boss looked helpless, shrugged, and continued to complain:

"Have you not heard that most of the Balkans have just finished fighting, and the country is also very sensitive and vigilant about the war. Quite a few industries have been affected. The government has issued an announcement that the import of beer, which consumes a lot of food, will be reduced. "

"Moreover, taxes have been increased on luxury goods, high-end furs, and all kinds of drinks. It is said that we need to vigorously introduce advanced machinery. I don't know if others can still get the goods. Anyway, I don't have it, and I won't even do it again in the future. There’s Bulgarian rose wine.”

"I really can't understand it. I can't figure it out..." The worker looked a little frustrated and sighed. He could only choose other drinks while sitting at the counter.

"If you don't have rose wine, you can just have some other beer. I'll treat you and we can drink together."

Victor hit Alexei with his elbow and said with a smile: "Let me just say, the parliament and the king will definitely think of this kind of thing. I believe in the king's wisdom."

Several workers quickly arranged the cups, and the boss filled each of them with a cup, and then poured half a cup for himself.

"Cheers to the health of His Majesty the King."

The wine glass made a loud "bang" sound, but no foam came out.

Victor himself was stunned. What if the old King Carol I, the wise king who was highly respected and loved by all the people, left?