Lord of Industrialization

The salt on the ship was quickly finished. The carriage here can carry twice as much cargo as other places. The carriage is not slow at all and runs steadily.

There is a place specializing in purchasing salt next to the pier. The staff randomly selected a few barrels, took a certain volume of salt, put it into a conical measuring cylinder, and added water to dissolve it all.

Wait for the brine to stand for a while, and the impurities in it will settle at the bottom of the measuring cylinder.

The quality of this batch of salt is good and belongs to the first grade.

Because the wooden barrels are sold separately, it took a while to pour out all the salt, weigh it, and then find other containers to put it in.

When the two parties signed the contract, the owner of the cargo pointed to an item in the contract and asked, "What is this stamp duty? I've never heard of it anywhere else."

The agent immediately explained: "This is a type of transaction tax invented by our young master after he became a family. According to the price of the contract, he bought a tax stamp and affixed it to it. If there is a lawsuit, the court will first recognize the tax stamp. The contract serves as evidence.”

"If you add some taxes, the tax bureau will keep the attachment for one month to fifty years. Even if the age limit is exceeded, you can check the names of both parties, the types of goods sold and the amount of money in the registration book."

The cargo owner understood immediately and praised: "This method is good. It will be much easier if you want to litigate."

"That's right," said the agent. "We don't have to argue so much when we ask for agency fees."

Armand held a tax stamp aside and studied it. It was a small piece of white cotton with red roses and green flower vines printed on it. The year and month were printed below. It could be glued onto the parchment.

He couldn't help but think deeply. The tax rate of this kind of stamp tax was not high, but it came from a wide range of sources, and businessmen were willing to pay it. The annual income was quite a lot.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but become curious about Frederick.

After selling out the salt and barrels, they started selling beans.

When he reached the edge of the city, Armand suddenly found many children on the grass beside the city wall.

The youngest of these children is more than 3 years old, and the oldest is almost 10 years old. They sit in groups of about ten on the grass. In each circle, the children wear hats of a certain color, and there is an adult teaching them to recognize things and count. , singing children's songs, and the older ones were taught literacy and arithmetic.

Armand asked in surprise: "Whose children are they?"

The agent replied with a smile: "It's our child. My little boy is here too. Look, it's the one with a white hat with a red edge and green clothes."

Armand saw the child, who was five years old. He and others were putting their hands on their heads to imitate rabbit ears, singing "The little rabbits are jumping around on the grass, their big ears swinging happily to the rhythm." ".

A smile appeared on his face and he said, "It's quite interesting."

The agent said with a smile: "Basf's newly opened workshop was short of manpower a while ago, so we planned to recruit some women to work."

"But many women have to take care of their children at home, so Mr. BASF came up with a way to ask his fiancée to build this kindergarten, so that women don't have to take care of their children at home to work."

"This matter spread within two days. My family discussed it and decided to send the child there as well."

"My mother-in-law is a tailor. She didn't have much work to do when taking care of her children at home. Now she can be given some money to go to a kindergarten to take care of her children, and she can work in a tailor shop. The family can earn several shiny silver coins a month."

"I dropped off the baby early in the morning and went to the pier. In the evening, my mother-in-law took her home after work. I bought some steam bread on the way. When I got home, I had the soup ready for dinner."

"Well, the place where the houses are built over there will be the kindergarten building in the future. Now the children have to make do in big tents."

"My little boy hasn't been able to enter the new house, but I heard that the young master is planning to open many schools in the next two years. Children over six years old will learn writing, arithmetic and other things."

"If you are promising, you can go to Weissenburg University to learn magic. If you can't go, you can go to a trade union school to learn a trade..."

Armand suddenly discovered that there was a hint of pride and hope for the future in this intermediary man's chatter.

He was no stranger to this. When he used to drink and brag with his classmates at the military school and talk about their future life, they were also so proud and full of hope for the future.

However, they are all children of nobles. Their father is the king's favorite, and their godfather is the marshal of Gaul. The other families are also rich or noble, and they all have bright futures.

As for this intermediary, for a civilian like him who has no force, no financial resources, and no status, what does a bright future look like, and why is he proud?

Armand couldn't help Sister Li.

The convoy of chickpeas soon arrived at the mill by the river. The agency man went over to find the mill steward to discuss business with the owner of the goods. After inspecting the goods, he signed the contract.

The unloaded carriage was called away by another agency, and Armand and the others walked towards the Yelena Chamber of Commerce not far away.

Armand paid special attention to the waterwheels along the way and found that they turned very fast.

It was close to noon, the weather was very hot, and everyone was sweating a little.

"Yelena Chamber of Commerce" is the common name. The sign at the gate reads "Yelena Sugar Factory" and there is a white rabbit trademark.

It looks a bit rough here, the houses have just been erected, and there are still many houses under construction inside.

It was very lively here, and the carriages coming in and out occupied the road, requiring someone to direct the traffic.

The house next to the gate was an eye-opener for Armand. There was no wall on the side of the row of wooden houses facing the street. There were several waterwheels near the river at the back. There were only pillars inside and there were many tables and chairs. Many people were eating and talking. There is a counter in the section near the sugar factory, with steam rising from the back.

These are not the key points. The key point is that the water wheel-driven fan on the wall blows through the water curtain, bringing bursts of cool wind to the hot summer day.

After Armand and others sat down, the agency man called over the salesman from the sugar factory and some "ice crystals."

"What is this?" Armand looked at the cold jelly powder. He had never seen anything like this before.

After Frederick ate the jelly, he tossed the ice-cold powder made with agar-agar. The agar-agar cut into small pieces and mixed with frozen maltose water became Weissenburg's hot summer treat.

The agent said: "It's too hot. This ice crystal can reduce heat and quench thirst. It's a good thing invented by the young master."

Armand pointed to the sugar factory salesman sitting opposite and asked, "Then why doesn't he have one?"

The salesman smiled and shook his head and said, "We have rules and we can't eat what guests ask for."

Armand nodded, scooped some with a spoon and ate it.

It's cold, sweet, and has an indescribable taste but it feels good. I've never tasted anything so interesting in the palace.

Before the ice crystals were finished, the deal of exchanging chickpea flour for Wesson syrup had already been negotiated, and the goods would be picked up in three days.

The agent paid the agency fee and was about to leave when Armand said, "I want to see the steel this afternoon. Please take me to see it."

"Okay!" The broker smiled brightly. The steel business is a big business, and the agency fees are quite high.

He immediately went to order lunch and served the most expensive steam bread with salt and pork knuckle stewed with sauerkraut to the customers. The cheapest bran multigrain steam bread with sauerkraut was placed in front of him.

The guests from the Kingdom of Gaul studied the steamed buns for about ten minutes before cutting them into slices and eating them like bread.

Armand glanced at the price list hanging on the pillar and couldn't help but ask the agent: "You have earned a lot today, why are you still eating the cheapest?"

The agent replied with a smile: "I heard from the kindergarten teacher that my little boy is quite smart. My family has decided to save some money and send him to Weissenburg University if he is really promising. The tuition there is not low."

Armand felt that this man was skilled at work, neat and talkative today, and he wanted to give him a hand, so he said: "You can come to Balis City to find me then. I think Baron Wesson will recognize my letter of recommendation."

The agent was stunned, shook his head and said, "The young master said that Weisenberg University doesn't look at recommendation letters or anything like that, it only looks at test scores."

Armand couldn't help Sister Li.

But he understood one thing, why this man was full of hope for the future.