Bulgarian Empire

Chapter 5: Preparing the Flour Mill

The Volvo supermarket, open for business ten hours a day, along with the setup work, the staff, in fact, had to work twelve hours a day. No one had any problems, and no one sought overtime pay from Ferdinand.

One: Ferdinand gave a salary that was slightly above the market rate, thus giving his staff full credit.

Two: At that time, the local factories in Vienna had to work basically twelve-hour shifts every day. Some of them had to work sixteen-hour shifts.

Three: It is easier to work in a supermarket than in a factory. On the one hand, it is a department store with a friendly working area. On the other hand, it is dreary and risky to work in a factory. Anyway, in the view of people at that time, it is still a decent job to work in a department store.

Ferdinand stole the concept. On the surface, it looks similar to a department store, except that there are slightly different things to do.

After all, the supermarket is a new thing. People do not know what it is to do. For the sake of convenience, Ferdinand just put the word department store so that people can quickly get it.

Many people just choose to apply for the job because of the name of the department store. It took Ferdinand a short time to hire the full number of people, and it was quite a misstep.

After three days have gone past, Butler Karl is still very fast and efficient. He checks out all the flour mills near Vienna.

"Your Highness, there are thirteen flour mills of all sizes in Vienna. Only two of them are large enough to make a profit, seven are mostly keeping their capitals, and the other four have come into the deficit. It makes this a very fierce business!" Butler Karl report dutifully.

Butler Karl disagrees with Ferdinand's plan to establish a flour processing mill. In his opinion, the flour processing market is already full, and the burden of competition is too great. It isn't easy to make money by joining in now.

After heard Karl's report, Ferdinand was a little hesitant. After all, there were thirteen flour mills in a small Vienna. So, how many were there in the entire Austro-Hungarian Empire?

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After a few moments of silence, Ferdinand still decides that the plan remains intact. He still has the upper hand, he can produce and sell himself, and his costs are much lower than theirs. The big deal is that when the time comes to focus on improving some secondary products, what is the fear of going to the game!

"Well, I know. Thanks for your hard work, Karl!" Ferdinand affirms the old butler's work.

"It's an honor to work for Your Highness!" said Karl happily.

"Karl, how much do you think it would cost me to obtain a flour processing plant?" Ferdinand asked cautiously.

To build a factory in 1881 was not that simple. They had at least one year to put the factory into business, and they had to buy machines, train workers, and so on.

It is much simpler to obtain a factory. It takes little effort to put it into business.

Ferdinand is still willing to take over as long as the price is not too high.

Butler Karl was silent for a moment as if he was giving an estimate for the plants and then said, "Your Highness. If they were small plants that went bankrupt, they might only cost a few thousand pounds. The two flour processing plants that are making a profit are probably going to cost seventy to eighty thousand pounds!"

It was a shock to Ferdinand's heart. The gap was too big, right? And then he thought, with losses in the factory, there must be problems of one kind or another, either the equipment is old or poorly run, or too small to be able to compete, and now, in this case, someone willing to take over is good, why pick and choose.

"Well, then first contact with the owners of those factories to see if they intend to sell. I will decide after making an assessment!" said Ferdinand.

"Yes, Your Highness, as you wish!" After Butler Karl spoke, he left, seeing that Ferdinand felt no desire to stay.

When he sent the old butler away, Ferdinand was at home reading the newspaper. Today he had a special party that he had to attend in person, the birthday of his uncle, the tragic emperor - Franz Joseph I.

Franz Joseph I (August 18, 1830 - November 21, 1916) is known for his work in forming the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He created an alliance with the Prussian-led German Empire in 1879, and in 1914 he sent an ultimatum to Serbia, which brought Austria and Germany into World War I. In 1916 he passed away in Vienna at the age of 86 due to an attack of pneumonia.

After reviewing the life of the old emperor, Ferdinand felt a lot of sentiment. A living figure in the flesh!

"A great diplomat!" It is the world's verdict on him. Maybe God wrongly chose his talent. Compared to the sharpness of his diplomatic skills, the rest of him could take as mediocre.

He made use of diplomacy to form the Austro-Hungarian Empire. But this rotten empire, with its endless problems of ethnicity, always came to plague him, impeding the progress of the empire and leading most to its downfall.

In this respect, Franz Joseph I, sadly, was not very good. His lack of resolve was evident. Although he also took many measures to ease ethnic tensions, it had little effect.

In his later years, his brother got executed in Mexico. His wife was stabbed to death by an Italian anarchist in Geneva, and his son committed suicide at a young age. His chosen heir was stabbed to death by the Serbian party, and his vengeful war for which tens of millions of people fell in a sea of blood make the Austro-Hungarian Empire, for which he had spent so much of his life, was in shambles.

"Ferdinand, it's time to go. You're not messing around again, are you?" Princess Clmentine said with some concern.

She clearly feels Ferdinand has grown more strange these days. He likes to fool around with some weird stuff, which worries her.

"How could you, my dear mother, how could you think that! You have to believe me!" Ferdinand said as he rushed over. It was obvious that he struggled with Princess Clmentine's problem.

The original Ferdinand will act slightly unusual. Unlike most aristocrats, he has very few friends and likes to get into some mess.

Princess Clmentine did not suspect that he was not in the same boat. When she saw Ferdinand coming, she took him directly to the carriage.

Vienna - Schnbrunn Palace, its history goes back to the Middle Ages. The old emperor, Franz Joseph I, was born in the Schnbrunn Palace, and it was also Franz Joseph I's favourite and longest-lived residence.

Now, this grand palace is bustling with people, as the creation of The League of the Three Emperors, the political and diplomatic of Austria-Hungary, are in the most favourable times.

Aristocrats and ministers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, ambassadors of various countries, and great aristocrats from other parts of Europe sent people to come over. The prestige of the Habsburg family shows up at this moment.

The banquet was different from what Ferdinand was thinking. There were not so many formalities, and the old emperor accepted the people's good wishes and began at once.

Ferdinand is not the main focus. Except for many big shots mixed with a famous face, the legendary bloody drama did not happen.

Of course, Ferdinand also knows a few ladies. If he is willing, there is a chance of further progress.