I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1092 Perfect Collaboration
After queuing for a full day and night, Mike and Sean finally received their land purchase application form—there were just too many people buying land, and even with the efficiency of the Santo Domingo government, the clerks couldn't keep up even if they worked 14 hours a day.

However, things went smoothly after they submitted their application to purchase 110 acres of farmland.

The Santo Domingo Ministry of Agriculture sent someone to assist them, and the entire process, from bank settlement to land measurement, was completed in less than ten days.

Then, Mike Grant took a stroll around the docks and brought back more than 80 strong black men, all of whom had worked on plantations.

The wages are only 2 francs a month plus three meals a day—and that's only because the Santo Domingo council has set a minimum wage; otherwise, these people would even be willing to work for free.

Next came the purchase of farm tools and sugarcane seedlings, and the intense rush to plant them began.

To Mike Grant's surprise, after he and his workers finished planting, the Marian city government approached him, offering an interest-free loan to help him purchase another 60 acres of land, given his expertise in farming.

It's like pie in the sky!
What MacGregor was unaware of was that the French crown prince had promised President Auger of Saint-Domingo that if Saint-Domingo's sugarcane production increased by 50% this year, he would bestow upon the latter a knighthood.

Auger is currently in a state of extreme excitement, personally sending people to inspect the newly built plantation every day and inquiring about the supply of farm tools, sugarcane seedlings, and grain to ensure that the planting can be completed smoothly—that's a French title! A president only serves for a few years, but a title can be passed down through the Auger family forever.

In fact, the plantation area in Santo Domingo has already expanded by more than 35% compared to last year. And people are still continuously pouring in from all over the Caribbean.

With the existing plantations gradually recovering from the effects of previous social unrest and a very sufficient labor force, the goal of increasing production by 50% is highly likely to be achieved.

Port-au-Prince.

In the president's office, O'Gher frowned as he looked at the report in his hand and said to the trade official in front of him in French, "These shameless Americans, they're simply extorting money!"

According to the latest quotes from US grain traders, the prices of corn and wheat have risen by 38% and 25%, respectively.

Santo Domingo relies primarily on the United States for its food supply, with a small portion purchased from Mexico. With the recent influx of people and the surge in food demand, Americans immediately seized the opportunity to raise prices.

Brisso chimed in, “We can’t let food prices rise too much, or new plantation owners might reduce the number of workers they hire. I’ll ask the French Reserve Bank for a loan for food subsidies.”

If those who flee cannot find work, they may resort to theft and robbery due to hunger, or even riots.

Just then, Brisso's assistant knocked on the door and handed him a letter: "Sir, it's from the Governor of St. Louis."

Brisso quickly used a knife to open the envelope, took out the letter inside, and began to read it.

Soon, he smiled and said to Oger, "We need to negotiate the price with those unscrupulous American merchants. Otherwise, we'll use bison meat instead of wheat."

The latter asked in surprise, "Wild beef?"

Brisso waved the letter in his hand: "Yes, very cheap bison meat, only slightly more expensive than American wheat. There are also pumpkins and vegetables."

In the letter, Governor Theorac told him that the first Native Americans had settled down, and that they were hunting bison faster than harvesting wheat. He hoped that Brisso could buy several boatloads of bison meat to help him find a market.

After Aure explained the situation, he immediately nodded excitedly: "Then let's buy two boats every month, this is just in time."

“Buy?” Brisso smiled and shook his head. “No, trade them for the flintlock muskets in the warehouse. The Indians love them.” During the abolition of slavery, Joseph brought nearly 15,000 flintlock muskets to Santo Domingo, and with those captured from the British army, the warehouses in Port-au-Prince had a total of more than 26,000 guns.

Santo Domingo currently only has a few thousand troops, which are of no use at all.

Food for weapons: Saint Louisiana and Santo Domingo form a perfect synergy.

A week later, when the Indian tribes of Awoyal learned that bison meat, which they usually discarded as garbage, could be traded for flintlock rifles, they went crazy and the whole tribe set out to hunt. Previously, only bison hides could be sold as commodities; they themselves only ate a few pieces of meat from the back and ribs, and threw away most of it.

On the other hand, under pressure from uncertain competition for staple foods, US grain traders have had to restore corn and wheat prices to last year's levels.

……

1796 11 Month 27 Day.

Nancy Industrial Development Zone, Lorraine Department, France.

Through continuous development, the French United Steam Engine Company has now become a behemoth covering more than 600 acres.

Yes, even the industrial development zone has expanded its area three times because of it.

At this moment, in the demonstration workshop on the west side of the company, a bidding process is underway for "medium and large metal parts precision machining equipment".

As Eli Whitney watched several technicians from his competitor walk into the demonstration workshop, he casually turned to the general manager of Bryce Steel and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Cruze, the order is definitely ours. I bet there's no milling machine in the world that can achieve 0.3 millimeters of precision."

Yes, his meticulously designed rotary milling machine could only barely achieve an accuracy of 0.4 millimeters. Although it failed to meet the requirements of the United Steam Engine Company, if other bidders could not do it either, then his new milling machine could defeat all competitors with its ability to precisely machine complex concave parts!

The demonstration workshop was filled with continuous "ch-ch" sounds, clearly indicating that a prototype milling machine was processing parts.

Suddenly, Whitney heard gasps from the bidding judges, their voices drowning out the noise of the milling machine.

He couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

A moment later, one of Cruze's friends pretended to pass by them and whispered, "I heard that the machine just now produced a precision of 0.2 millimeters."

Whitney's eyes widened immediately: "This? This is impossible!"

Before he could think it through, a staff member announced loudly, "The next one is Bryce Steel. Please complete the prototype debugging within half an hour."

Whitney hurriedly led several of the company's technicians toward the demonstration workshop.

He was discussing technical issues in hushed tones with Cruzee when he suddenly noticed a commotion among the surrounding crowd.

Earlier, Cruze's friend came over again, saying in an excited yet nervous voice:
"It seems to be His Highness the Crown Prince!"

(End of this chapter)