When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 1203 is amazing!

Enqing Department Store.

Both Solani and the valet were somewhat stunned when they saw the cathedral with such a sign.

"Are you sure this is Enqing Department Store?" the servant asked the coachman, turning around.

The coachman scratched his head and pointed to the map sign by the roadside: "This is it. I didn't go the wrong way."

Compared to the small white mortar buildings with large floor-to-ceiling windows used in the Holy See, the buildings in Rapids City are more rustic.

Simply put, the Grace Department Store in Rapids City was converted from a church.

However, to maintain a unified style, Eun-Ching Department Store specially painted the entire church white.

Compared to the multi-story department store in St. Regis, the Grace Department Store in Rapid City is a long corridor-style building.

"You should go borrow a small cart," Soleni patted the manservant on the shoulder. "You might not be able to carry it all."

"Oh, wasn't the budget only 10 dinars?"

10 dinars is roughly the weekly wage of a baker or a skilled construction worker.

"Yeah, didn't you look at the price list?"

Seeing the puzzled look on the servant's face, Solenei began to explain.

This is also how merchant families pass on their wealth; today's personal male servant may become tomorrow's head butler.

Otherwise, why not have maids?

In the Holy Union, with the dinar exchange rate stabilizing, people often prefer to use the dinar as a unit of measurement over the gold pound.

Generally speaking, the Holy Union government refers to people with an annual income of less than 500 dinars as the poor.

This group generally consists of farmers, laborers, unskilled workers, and low-level service industry workers.

Those with an annual income of 500 to 1500 dinars are considered low-income earners, which can basically be categorized as workers.

Of course, there are also differences among skilled workers.

Bakers earn around 1.5 dinars a day, while tailors and furniture makers can earn 4-6 dinars a day.

A threshold of 1000 dinars is considered a dividing line; those earning between 1000 and 5000 dinars are referred to as the middle-income group.

Government employees, senior engineers, doctors, notaries, workshop owners, and so on all belong to this group.

Those earning 5000 dinars or more are considered high-income earners in the Holy Alliance, such as the heads of several institutions under the Holy Armory and managers of Holy Companies.

"Ah, I see." Looking at the expression on the servant's face, Soleni knew he hadn't understood.

Compared to the Holy Alliance's sensitivity to numbers, the Imperials' understanding of numbers is not specific enough.

Just saying this might be hard for many Imperials to understand, and even Soleini couldn't match it back then.

However, Soleni knew how to make him understand.

"5000 dinars or more is equivalent to the annual income of two knightly territories."

"Ah!" The servant slapped his forehead. "That's quite a lot... Wait a minute, how come the income of the high-ranking members of the Holy Alliance is only about the same as that of two knightly lords?"

Putting aside everything else, an earl in the empire earns around 2000 gold pounds a year.

It is worth noting that His Holiness Horn, as Pope, only earns 200 gold pounds a year.

Compared to commoners, this is quite a lot, but compared to other high-ranking nobles in the empire, this number only qualifies as that of a middle-class family.

If you really want to calculate it, this is about the annual income of a regional bishop.

For example, the current general manager of Enqing Department Store, the crippled Godan, seems to have an annual salary of 8000 dinars, which is only the income of 3 knights.

"This brings us to the prices in the Holy Alliance." Shaking the price list in his hand, Soleni exclaimed, "The Holy Alliance has so many and so abundant goods, and the prices are so low."

Moreover, due to the prevalence of Sacred Way, people pursue worldly pleasures and do not reject material desires.

Unlike imperial monasteries, they wouldn't bury their wealth underground and never use it...

Although he still didn't quite understand, the servant still paid a deposit and borrowed a wooden four-wheeled cart from the department store counter.

"This time we're mainly simulating the lives of ordinary people, so let's mainly buy bread, meat, eggs, wine, and vegetables."

"it is good."

"Come on, let's have a challenge: will 10 dinars be enough to eat for seven days?"

Upon entering the church, the basilica-style corridors on both sides have been opened up and lined with shipping containers.

The once quiet, solemn, and dimly lit El Pillar is now brightly lit by fluorescent lamps, and passersby are carrying paper bags of vegetables.

Their first stop was a bakery.

Stepping into the bakery, behind the wooden counter are stacks of steaming 4-pound loaves of bread, and the owner is weighing baguettes on an iron scale.

"Boss, how much is 4 pounds of bread?" Solini asked, pointing to the top layer of wheat bread.

"9 francs, government-set price, fair and square." The shopkeeper said, tapping the Sacred Heart Authority mark on the weight.

"What about rye bread?"

"This is a blend of wheat, finely milled, and more expensive than regular rye bread, 4 pounds for 7 francs."

“Eight pounds, please.” Soleni pulled out a 2-dinar note and handed it over, and the shopkeeper immediately gave him 6 faren in change. He turned to the valet and said, “Remember, 8 pounds of bread is 1.4 dinars, 10 minus 1.4, we have 8.6 dinars left.”

The valet quickly scribbled on a piece of paper: "4 pounds of wheat bread 0.9 dinars, 8 pounds of rye mixed bread 1.4 dinars..."

He continued forward and turned to the butcher shop next door.

Behind the container was a butcher wearing a greasy apron, with dark red beef hanging on an iron hook.

Soleni said, "We can't just eat bread, let's buy some meat too."

He poked the meat with his finger along the grain: "Boss, how much is a pound of beef?"

"Two dinars, the cow was just slaughtered this morning!" The shopkeeper picked up the beef and put it on the scale.

"Hey, hey, I was just looking," Soleni quickly waved his hand. "What about the sausage?"

With a dark expression, the shop owner hung up the beef: "6 half dozen French francs."

“A dozen is twelve sausages, half a dozen is six sausages, so give me a dozen.” Solene took the sausages wrapped in oil paper, paid 1.2 dinars, and added to the valet, “The remaining 7.4 dinars.”

Twelve sausages in seven days, and then you'll have the meat.

A few steps further on, you'll find the vegetable and fruit section.

"How much are the brown oranges? So expensive? Oh, they're hard to find, right? What about the purple ones? Wow, so cheap! Take two, two each!"

I bought a box of freshly shelled peas, four purple eggs, a handful of bean sprouts, and a few cabbages, all for a total of 1 dinar.

Walking to the grocery store in the middle of the arcade, Solani picked up a bottle of solid cleaning agent and smelled it.

The shop owner quickly introduced, "Lavender scent, one bag costs 1 pound and can wash clothes for half a month!"

Soleni readily paid, then pointed to the cereal in the earthenware pot and asked, "How much is this cereal?"

"One dinar is 10 pounds, enough to make a week's worth of porridge."

"And what about the eggs? And this piece of cheese, and this jar of butter?"

“鸡蛋5法伦10个，奶酪3法伦1磅，黄油6法伦一罐。”

"What is this?" Soleni was about to take out his money when he suddenly saw a disc-shaped metal lump.

"This? A can of fermented herring, 1.5 dinars."

"That's it."

With his dinars in hand, Solenei promptly bought 10 pounds of cereal, 10 eggs, a pound of cheese, and a jar of butter.

Having spent 2.5 dinars, he turned to Pierre and smiled: "Seven days' worth of breakfast and dinner are covered, now we have 7.4 - 2.5 = 4.9 dinars left."

We bought 8 pounds of bread, a dozen sausages, 10 pounds of cereal, eggs, cheese and butter, and vegetables.

"Do the math, all of these together, isn't it enough to feed one person for seven days?"

The servant quickly lowered his head to calculate the bill: "That's enough, but poor families probably wouldn't buy this much meat, eggs and vegetables."

"Poor people wouldn't come to Enqing Department Store to buy things, we're simulating bakers."

Finally, they reached the fruit wine shop deep inside. Soleni picked up a bottle of ordinary green wine and shook it: "Boss, how much is a liter of cider?"

"9 French falcons, produced in the south, perfect for drinking with meals, 1 French falcon for bottle recycling."

“I brought my own wine flask.” Solenei didn’t buy a whole bottle, just half a liter, paid 4 francs, and said to the valet, “The last payment, half a liter of cider for 4 francs, the remaining 4.5 dinars, can be used to buy a shirt.”

To summarize, 10 dinars cost 5.5 dinars.

I bought 8 pounds of bread, 10 pounds of cereal, a dozen sausages, 10 eggs, a pound of cheese, a jar of butter, a bottle of cleaning solution, a box of peas, four purple eggs, a handful of bean sprouts, a bag of cabbage, and half a liter of fruit wine.

A man can easily last seven days, and even bring a woman along.

"Challenge complete." The servant gave a thumbs up. "Awesome!"

Of course, that's what they say, but a significant portion of the remaining 4.5 dinars still goes towards buying salt, sugar, cigarettes, water, and other living expenses.

If there is a loan, it needs to be repaid; if you are an outsider, you also need to pay rent.

Soleni's estimate is optimistic; many citizens of the Holy Alliance don't eat meat every day.

Not to mention, buying the more expensive finely ground rye and wheat blend bread.

Normally, it's considered good if you can save around one or two dinars a week.

Compared to Leia, a low-level baker who managed to save a dozen or so dinars a year, the bakers of the Holy Alliance were already quite fortunate.

Year-end clothing clearance sale, you can even get a new outfit.

"If only a department store like this could open in our Leia..." Soleni couldn't help but sigh.

The servant's eyes lit up: "Hey, that's right, why not? Let's open one too, since our business has been slowing down lately."

“Silly boy, if you opened this in the Empire, I’d buy it all for free that very day.” Soleni counted on his fingers. “Then, bishops, nobles, kings, and gentry would all come knocking on your door trying to rip you off…”

Besides, the food at Enqing Department Store is only partially processed, so it's a bit more expensive.

Their time is valuable, and they're unwilling to spend it on this, but why doesn't our empire just buy it from the country market?

(End of this chapter)