I was a tycoon in World War I: Starting to save France

Chapter 31 Poaching

Batches of supplies were shipped to the field hospital from Paris.

The first group of people also rushed from the town. Deyoka took them to the field hospital on foot. There were men and women, young and old, including Camille.

Perhaps because of the trust of her neighbors, Camille naturally became the leader of the young women. Their task was to learn bandaging, changing dressings and other operations from the nurses to make up for the shortage of medical staff.

They have to replace the old bandages on all the wounded with new bandages, and then change them every day. They also have to clean, disinfect and dry the replaced bandages. The workload is astonishingly large.

The older ones, due to their slower learning ability, were assigned to take care of the daily lives of the wounded, while the younger men naturally did physical work.

"They are all volunteers!" Deyoka said to Charles, "I told them you would pay them one franc a day, but they all refused. They said it was what they had to do, for France and for their children, and it was not just Master Charles's business."

Deyoka looked at his busy neighbors and said with emotion: "They are a group of very kind people!"

Charles said "hmm", turned his head and asked Deyoka: "Do you object to me doing this, father?"

Deyoka laughed: "No, Charles! Your mother and I have never been so proud of you as we are now. Look at her..."

As he spoke, Djokovic turned his gaze to Camille in the crowd.

Camille had just bandaged the wound of a wounded soldier when she felt the gazes of Djokovic and Charles. She hurriedly waved over here, turned around and changed the bandage of another wounded soldier, all the while with a smile on her face, and gently asked about the injury.

"I was a little worried about you before, Charles!" Djoka looked at Charles and said in a relaxed tone: "I was worried that you would become a person like Francis. Now I am relieved!"

Of course he wouldn't, Djokovic thought. He spent the money he earned from the capitalists on those in need without hesitation. How could he be like those inhumane capitalists?
Charles knows that Djoka has misunderstood. If Djoka and Camille knew his true intentions for doing this, would they be disappointed?
But it doesn't seem to make any difference, because Charles is actually doing good things now!

Thinking of this, Charles felt relieved.

……

Charles's approach was successful.

The most intuitive thing is that almost all the wounded will ask this question when they lie on the operating table:
"Doctor, can you please keep my hand? If not, please keep one. I hope to work for Master Charles in the future!"

The doctor always comforts: "Don't worry, we have enough manpower and supplies now, we will do our best!"

Once, Charles was really frightened. When he was walking on the road, he was suddenly hugged by a ragged old woman. She was crying and her whole body was shaking because of excessive sadness.

Charles didn't dare to move. He thought he had met a lunatic, and she might even have a kitchen knife in her hand.

After a long while, the old woman stopped crying and bent down. Her wrinkled face was full of kindness and compassion. She put an egg in Charles' hand, held it tightly, and said in a trembling voice:
"My child, if...Axel could have met a capitalist like you earlier, he...would not have died in loneliness!"

Charles heard others explain to him that Aksai was her grandson, only two years older than Charles, and had been wounded in the Battle of Mulhouse more than half a month ago and was sent back.

When his family rushed to the hospital, they found that he had stopped breathing. The bloody wound on his abdomen was blocked by a rag... a rag used for washing dishes!

No one can imagine how desperate, helpless, and even angry he was before his death, angry at this country.

These are just the tip of the iceberg. There are many more legends about the Shire, many of which the Shire has never done or even known.

Charles's reputation soon spread to Paris. People who went to buy medicine and supplies would bring news of Charles to Paris, and the drivers who delivered supplies back and forth would also report back on the situation of the field hospital.

When Francis learned this, he was quite surprised. He snorted coldly:
"This fool thought he was different from Djokovic, but he didn't expect they were the same kind of people."

Then he added: "After all, the child was born by a maid. I'm waiting for him to go bankrupt because of this!" At this time, Francis didn't know that it was him, not Charles, who was going to go bankrupt. This was exactly the first step of Charles' plan.

With the support of the people, Charles began to poach Francis with confidence.

"Holt 75" is more advanced than "Holt 60", but they are produced by the same company, and the former is an upgraded version of the latter. It is inevitable that there are many similarities in technology and accessories.

The difficulty for Charles to produce the "Holt 75" tractor was not funding, as he had enough money to import it.

The difficulty is not in technology. In order to occupy the French market and open up sales, the British will be very willing to authorize production and provide technology.

What is difficult is the skilled craftsmen and technicians. These talents have been learning, researching and passing down knowledge from generation to generation in factories for decades. Many of the things they master cannot be bought with money.

Charles set his sights on Joseph.

Joseph has been in charge of production at the Francis Tractor Factory for many years. No one knows better than him which workers have real skills and real skills.

During this period, because Matthew was injured, Joseph rushed to the field hospital as soon as he got off work. He lost a lot of weight due to the constant running back and forth.

That day, after Joseph finished his work at the factory, he once again rushed to the field hospital before dark. Charles stopped him at the door.

"We'll take care of Matthew, Joseph!" Charles said. "He's recovering well. You need to worry about your own health!"

"I know!" Joseph, who was seriously exhausted, sat on the grass and replied weakly: "Thank you, Master Charles! But I just can't control myself. Only by looking at him (referring to Matthew) can I fall asleep peacefully, even if I am sitting on a chair!"

Charles sat down next to Joseph, bent his legs, and said thoughtfully: "I am thinking about something, Joseph! You know the relationship between me and Mr. Francis!"

"Yes, of course!" Joseph nodded.

"Francis and I don't have a good relationship. We are enemies and will become competitors in the future!" Charles said thoughtfully, "You work for Francis, and Matthew will work for me in the future, so you and Matthew..."

"It won't matter, Master Charles!" Joseph said, "If you can give Matthew a job, it won't matter if I choose to retire!"

This is not a question of salary. Joseph earns 53 francs a month, almost twice as much as an ordinary worker. It is obviously not cost-effective to use his retirement to keep Matthew's job.

But Joseph knew that this was not a question of salary, but a psychological issue.

If Matthew can't get a job, he will feel like a waste and that he has been eliminated by society. After doing nothing, he will eventually be completely devastated!
So, Joseph would rather give up his job and let Matthew work!
I can still find other jobs, Joseph thought, it’s a pity that Master Charles bought a motorcycle factory, otherwise it would be perfect.

"Yes!" Charles nodded and said, "I plan to import the 'Holt 75' from the UK and open a tractor factory. What do you think?"

Joseph was stunned. He said excitedly, "This... This is so... so good, Master Charles. Although it is a little difficult to say, but... Can I recommend myself?"

"Of course!" Charles smiled and held out his hand to Joseph. "Congratulations on joining us, Joseph. You are now the head of the Charles Tractor Factory, with a monthly salary of 60 francs! I plan to send you to the UK to introduce this tractor. Is that okay?"

To introduce tractors, we need to bring a group of technicians and craftsmen to inspect and study, and also to have them checked in the UK before we can safely introduce them into the production line.

Joseph had to recruit some of the most important talents from Francis to accomplish this task.

Joseph blinked and asked hesitantly, "Then, Master Charles, can I... bring a group of people over?"

(End of this chapter)