Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 117 Jewelry Factory in Peterhof

The ruby ​​brooch chosen by the Countess looked gorgeous in terms of decoration. Although she was very intuitive, she didn't say anything and just faithfully followed her best friend's instructions.

In a group of workshops near Oranienbaum in Peterhof Palace, there is a factory that specializes in supplying building materials to the royal family and nearby nobles. This factory was established in 1721 under the order of Peter the Great, and originally it only provided building materials.

There are huge amounts of stone available for mining around Peterhof Palace. Some natural stones are sent here and directly processed into suitable building materials. They are very skilled in polishing. In the later years of Peter the Great, he was very satisfied with the Dutch merchants serving here.

But in 1731, a serious fire destroyed the factory. Then the "local rich" Empress Anna Ivanovna from Courland ascended the throne. She ordered the reconstruction of a new factory, and the business was more complex, including hard stone cutting and mosaic tiling processing.

By the time of the Empress, this place was directly under the jurisdiction of the Academy of Arts, and it had begun to process jewelry, and produce complex mosaic collages and various utensils used in the palace, including some jewelry and objects decorated with small gems. It can be said to be a luxurious luxury goods processing center.

The person in charge here now is old Count Stroganov. As the leader of the nobility in St. Petersburg and the chief chamberlain of the court, he indeed has a lot of things to do.

This also includes the recent wedding of Prince Arkady Suvorov and Elena Naryshkina, where the 15-year-old groom and the 14-year-old bride became husband and wife while they were still young. The reason was also due to news from Silesia. In the end, the Duchess gave up her marriage plan, but did not give a reason.

But later on, some things became clear: both parties of the engagement were free because there was no formal confirmation of the engagement.

The guests all praised the couple for being so cute and well-matched, but they failed to establish a solid relationship.

Solovyov, as the last disciple of the Field Marshal, also attended the wedding. At the wedding, Arkady did not let his cousin sit by his side, but Prince Bagration, who could be said to be the Field Marshal's most proud disciple who had followed him the longest and had inherited his "fiery" offensive thinking.

What he was thinking about was that the "little goblin" at No. 7 Million Street had always asked him to come and inspect the prince, but in terms of personal interactions, they were already very familiar with each other. The prince was resolute and brave, and very loyal to his friends, but his gambling addiction was a huge problem. As a veteran gambler, he was often tricked after losing a game of cards.

Although Solovyov knew that many of these were due to cheating, the Georgian prince himself enjoyed it.

Among the nobles present today was the Stroganov family, because Arkady's cousin Andrei was the old count's son-in-law and married his daughter Sophia. Although the old count and his wife were separated, he still missed his daughter and finally gave a considerable dowry.

If Yusupov later became the richest man in Russia, followed by Count Bobulinsky, and Count Bezukhov, who was rumored to be the richest man in Moscow, owned huge wealth, then now Count Stroganov's family is the richest in Russia. In addition to jewelry, their family also owns a large number of artworks, including sculptures and paintings, as well as mosaics. These works of art are difficult to measure by wealth value. Instead, it can be said that this family owns a huge amount of spiritual wealth, and a considerable number of them are treasures.

In addition to the treasures in the collection, there are also a large number of imitations displayed in the home, such as some of Bernini's sculptures. The originals may be in Italy, but after the skillful hands of craftsmen, a series of works have been completed. Although it cannot be a complete imitation, it is also highly similar.

It is precisely because of this that the old earl himself is still very confident in appraising treasures, but he has a cane in his hand, not a small hammer like the adults.

What's more, last year He Da Ren had already followed Emperor Qianlong and passed away, so as the richest men in the country, they had no chance to meet.

The Countess came from the family of Prince Golitsyn. She had always been well-educated and handled things properly.

"Ma'am, what can I do for you?"

"Your Highness in the palace asked me to give this brooch to your sister, Julia."

She also explained that the Crown Princess hoped that Yulia could be a palace maid for her eldest daughter in the future. Although it was not as honorable as the maids assigned to the Queen and the Crown Princess, it was also a kind of trust.

Solovyov's heart skipped a beat, and he knew what the prince meant, because their encounter in the English garden did not cause any incident, and outsiders did not know. The reward for his sister was also a normal reward for a noble lady like the queen or the crown princess to the girl they liked. Of course, although he was moved, he could not detect the slight fluctuations in the prince's emotions.

"Your Highness Elizabeth is really thoughtful. Madam, on behalf of our entire family, thank you, Your Highness."

"Let's not talk about that. I have some things to do at home and I need your help."

After hearing what the Countess said, Solovyov realized that someone could no longer hold back and wanted to publish the first twenty volumes of his translated books.

If a book is to be published in Russian and to be equipped with illustrations and the font size is to be very large, then it needs to be processed. Then the old count received a task to make a mosaic painting in the home of a book lover.

"You are an expert in this area. Apart from sinologists, you are the only one in Petersburg who can understand the original meaning of the work."

In addition, there are indeed some nobles who regard "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" as "Knight Legend PLUS", which is much more exciting than the knight novels ridiculed by Cervantes. Not only does it not make people's brains dull, but one can also learn a lot of basic military skills from it.

So, it was a big hit, bringing a lot of income to the Petersburg News and the publishing house. At least the sales of newspapers increased dramatically.

"In this case, it won't just be a hardcover book, we can also have peripheral products!"

"Nearby?"

"Mosaic collages are too big, they can be made into some exquisite small sculptures." Solovyov said this, as if he was making a soldier figure, or a model in the 21st century.

After listening to Solovyov's explanation, the Countess knew what to do next.

The old count called him over to discuss this issue in depth.

"Alexander Sergeyevich, it is hard to imagine that a noble leader in Petersburg would condescend to ask a country baron's son for advice on cultural issues. Your vision in art is unmatched by anyone in Petersburg."

"It should be noted that all of us have areas that we are not familiar with. Come, Misha, sit over here and take a look at the drawing of this pattern. How about that?"

"Except for his facial features, which make him look more like a Russian, there is nothing wrong with him."

"There is no way. We can't describe the Chinese in the same way as the Tatars and Kalmyks. They look different from the ethnic groups under our rule."

"However, it is interesting to draw General Zhang Fei as a brave Cossack. You must have read my annotations on the weapons before designing them this way."

"Although legendary stories can be reflected in carvings and paintings, we must also see that many of them are based on facts, so I asked the craftsmen in the jewelry factory to pay attention to changing Marshal Guan's sword into a spear during production." "Fortunately, the craftsman did not make a Frankish lance in the drawing, which is already very good."

Solovyov put forward his own suggestions for adjustments and also explained a point.

"Mishka, do you mean that in China, Guan Yu is commemorated as 'Imperado'?"

"That's not what I said. It was Her Royal Highness Elizabeth who told me this when I was telling stories to the royal highnesses in the palace. Although the meaning of the Chinese 'emperor' is not quite the same as ours, we also have to consider the origin of the 'emperor' here."

"That's right. Since it was said by such a talented lady as Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess, it should not be wrong. However, we want to make this kind of mosaic collage and exhibit it in the 'Chinese Garden'. Not to mention the Emperor, many nobles in Petersburg have this kind of demand."

“That’s a huge order?”

"That's it. In addition, there should be a lot of illustrations in the published books. You also need to pay attention to the content that is needed and whether there are any fallacies."

Just by looking at the exquisite decoration of the first volume, Solovyov knew that there was something fishy going on. The royal factory and the factories in St. Petersburg could make a lot of profit from books like luxury goods, and even make French versions for export.

Although no revolution was achieved in industry, the handicraft industry did start to make profits.

The old count was very satisfied with Solovyov's suggestion and invited him to dine at his villa.

"Young man, you have a bright future ahead of you. Don't get involved in something that's not good for you. This is my experience as a person who has been through it. In terms of age, I'm older than your father."

The old count gave Solovyov a lot of instructions and also wished him a complete success this time.

However, it will take until August to complete the first batch.

The font on the cover is also relatively thick and simple - considering the fonts used by Europeans.

In addition, he was invited to the bathhouse by Prince Bagration. Although this Georgian prince was "ugly", he still paid great attention to his appearance and cleanliness and even took a bath.

After returning, he could tell the "little fairy" that "Prince Bagration, although dark-skinned, was strong and vigorous"

Some aspects involving privacy still require the parties involved to experience it themselves, so what he said was relatively simple.

You have to know that happiness after marriage has related aspects both physically and mentally.

Although the rumor released by Tsar Paul cannot be fulfilled immediately, it also depends on the final feelings of both parties, at least that is what the Tsar himself thinks.

If you tell the "little fairy" some in-depth content, her face will probably turn red. Although this girl talks a lot, she still has a strong sense of shame.

And she has been freer recently, leaving Elena and going to Luisa.

However, Solovyov was not so stupid as to ask about the "little devil" Crown Princess's current situation. He only asked about the recent profit sharing situation.

"Our pen business, whether it is cosmetic pens or pencils, is very profitable. We even export them to Denmark, Norway and Sweden. From the news in the Stockholm newspaper, it seems that Her Majesty the Queen of Sweden has publicly displayed her makeup box, which has become a fashion there."

By the way, the Queen of Sweden is Louisa's younger sister, and her display has a strong advertising effect.

"That would be great, we could get a lot of profits from Sweden."

"I'm just worried that the King of Sweden will do it again. He can't be trusted."

"Don't worry about the king. Elena has always hated him."

If the stupid ass king of Sweden suddenly had the idea of ​​imposing taxes on Russian goods, it could be a devastating blow to the second armed neutrality.

However, Gustav IV had made many stupid mistakes in this matter, and he was not afraid of the itch even if he had too many lice.

Inside the palace, the Crown Princess received a small mosaic, but the one on it was not a character from the best-selling book, but a girl in red.

Julie went to the old house of Soloviev and brought back a story that was not even noticed by Soloviev himself because it was just a love story. How much of the script of Romance of the West Chamber has been revealed by this "large Cosette" with an apple-like face?

"I still like this love story very much, Katya, how about you?"

"It's just a pity that the 'idiot' was busy with the palace security work while completing some 'great' work in the jewelry factory in Oranienbaum."

When talking about "idiot" and "great", the "little elf" emphasized her tone. She was very familiar with Solovyov, so she said the same thing.

"If he is focused on some work, this major is undoubtedly a 'dumb'. I hope he is not too dull in emotional matters, but there are rumors that he doesn't like men or women, he just knows how to do things."

"Your Highness, that's not the case. I think he is a kind person. He helped me find out a lot of things. But what is it? Your Highness, even you have to keep it a secret."

Louisa would not ask too many questions, but Major Solovyov had already made a good impression on her. He was capable, loyal and reliable, and just a bit of an emotional fool.

(End of this chapter)