industrial lord

Chapter 810 Could Make Big News
Jin Dou Gang woke up very early in the morning.

The eastern sky had just faded from indigo to a pale white when the creaking of winches, the shouts of sailors, and the muffled thuds of canvases came from the dock. The air was filled with the sweet aroma of boiled bean paste—the breakfast of prisoners of war on the plantation.

Paul walked along the newly built seaside promenade. The cement pavement had not yet been painted with white lines, and there was a street lamp every fifty steps, which was now off, with many seagulls perched on it.

The new industries in Dafranche were located on the east side of the port, in a semi-natural bay.

The water here is not deep and there are many reefs on the seabed, so no port was built here, only a few fishermen's wharves.

Paul walked to the seaside, and the sight before him made him stop in his tracks.

The bay was as calm as a mirror, with several small lighthouses neatly arranged on piles of stones in the water. Countless ropes were fixed to the lighthouses, and about every meter along each rope was a brightly colored lifebuoy.

Several people rowed a small boat and stopped next to a lifebuoy. When they lifted it up, a long string of things was visible underneath, looking like a necklace.

Paul saw the people on the boat measuring and recording something. After putting the "necklace" back into the sea, he gently rowed to the lifebuoy on another rope next to him. This time, he didn't lift the "necklace" but a rope with many long strips of dark green seaweed.

He had seen similar seaweed on the dock, tangled around the waterwheels beside the boats, and the sailors were grumbling as they cleaned it up.

Paul watched for a while, then walked towards the factory on the shore.

The factory buildings are all constructed from prefabricated wooden components. As long as there are enough people, they can be built in a few days working around the clock.

On the other side of the factory's main road, several concrete workshops were under construction, and the sound of mixers could be faintly heard.

The sound of car horns could be heard in the distance; a convoy was heading towards the factory. Paul immediately moved aside.

As the car drove by, he saw that it was full of brownish-yellow wine roots, with damp soil still clinging to the stems, clearly freshly dug from the ground.

Paul had heard of this plant, which was discovered by the Grand Duke of Wessen on the southern coast of the southern continent. It was extremely productive and tolerant of poor soil, and its rhizomes could be harvested, sliced, steamed, and eaten after six months.

If you plant it for a year, it's excellent for brewing alcohol, and it's also good for drinking.

Many tribes in the forest are now cultivating this wine root, not only for their own consumption but also to sell to United Fruit Company in exchange for various daily necessities.

Over the years, Paul has interviewed countless similar small factories in the Principality of Wessen and is very familiar with the processes.

He arrived at the guardhouse, showed his badge, and said, "Hello, I am Paul, the editor-in-chief of the White Stork Times. I have an appointment to interview Mr. Dafranche this morning."

He wrote a letter yesterday morning explaining the purpose and topic of the interview, and had it delivered to him by the hotel waiter.

Dafranche readily agreed to the interview request and sent a letter back that afternoon through his secretary.

The security guard had already been notified and immediately contacted the factory's reception area via walkie-talkie, asking the distinguished guest to wait a moment.

A moment later, a middleman rushed over.

Paul recognized him; he had met Mr. Loisel, the secretary of Dafranchis, yesterday when he came to the hotel to deliver a letter. They were said to be from the same hometown in Dafranchis.

With a broad smile, Loisel led Paul to the simple reception room and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, the boss is currently inspecting the newly delivered wine. Please wait a moment."

Paul smiled and replied, "It's alright, I understand."

Unscrupulous merchants exist everywhere. Paul once reported a case of someone wrapping potatoes in mud and selling them as black crystal eggs to passing cars on the roadside. News of factories being cheated when purchasing raw materials is also common.

Loisel chatted with Paul in the meeting room for more than half an hour before Dafranche rushed over.

“Oh, Sir Paul!” Dafranchet seemed delighted. “I never expected you to come here for an interview.”

"I'm sorry, I was just too busy. The chiefs of those tribes in the forest are too cunning; they even sprinkled water before coming out from the port." "They thought that would increase their weight and allow them to sell for more copper coins."

He was very angry at the end.

Paul laughed and said, "These unscrupulous merchants deserve to be shown the power of the dryer."

Dafranche immediately nodded in agreement.

Not long after Frederick started making dehydrated vegetables and soup packets, desiccators were used for quality testing, initially for milk, and later gradually extended to various agricultural and livestock products.

After chatting for a while, Paul revealed his purpose: "I am here for a special report on the food aid provided by the Duchy of Wessen to the Bohemian region."

“Aid is a good deed,” Dafranche said cautiously, with some doubt. “Bohemian region has had a poor harvest this year, and the Duchy’s assistance is the responsibility that the Grand Duke of Vesen should have.”

He was puzzled as to why they wanted to interview him about matters in Bohemia. Did they want Ella to help contact relatives back home?
“I’ve heard,” Paul said, setting down his tea, “that your wife is from Bohemia?”

Dafranché thought to himself, "Just as I thought," and nodded, saying, "Yes, she comes from Iron Mine Town."

Paul said, "I have also heard that your wife contributed to this aid effort."

Dafranché then understood that Paul intended to interview Ella.

So he said, "So you want to interview Ella? I'll go and get her right away."

"She's very anxious about her factory now, she practically lives there."

Paul was used to factory owners like this and said, "If it's alright, I'd like to take a tour of the factory, what do you say?"

Dafranchet readily agreed, "No problem."

He realized this was a good opportunity for publicity.

Crystal noodles are a technology developed by the Weisen Academy of Sciences. Many people have bought them, and now there is a factory in almost every port on the southern coast of the Inner Sea. Competition has already begun.

If we can seize the opportunity, we might be able to grow and succeed in this field.

Dafranché led Paul to a bustling wooden factory, where many of the workers were local women with dark skin.

Ella was studying two pieces of paper in the sunlight, next to a somewhat shy local girl who looked a little nervous.

After the introductions, Ella said to Paul, "Editor-in-Chief, which of these two designs do you think is more suitable for use as a trademark?"

Paul took the two pictures, looked at them for a while, and then asked, "Is this a glass slipper?"

Ella said somewhat shyly, "These are the glass slippers that changed my destiny."

Paul nodded slightly, realizing that the opera was probably based on them.

A fairy, who looked just like Mrs. Wesson, with charcoal-black hair, cherry-red lips, and snow-white skin, gave Ella beautiful clothes and jewelry to attend the ball. At the ball, Ella met Dafranchus selling oysters and fell in love at first sight. After the ball, Ella ran home and accidentally left her crystal shoe behind...

Rumor has it that the Duke of Wessen had his police dogs find Ella, but on stage, it was Dafranche who persuaded the Duke of Wessen, and the Duke himself summoned all the girls in town to try on shoes.

Paul was a little excited. He had found the right news material. If he didn't make a big splash, he would be letting down the principal who had nurtured him.

(End of this chapter)