Chapter 13 013 Since there is a product, there will naturally be customers and sales

Chapter 13 013 Since there is a product, there will naturally be customers and sales

Chapter 13 013 Since there is a product, there will naturally be customers and sales (Part )
Countess Ekaterina Skavronskaya is a very cute little girl, but her outlook on life may be due to the fact that she was born in a diplomat's family and is the designated heir to a huge fortune, so she has never had to worry about food and clothing. Therefore, her willfulness and sometimes her reckless behavior can be a headache for people. However, it is within a certain limit. This little girl is very smart, and if she has bad intentions, anyone who meets her will be in trouble.

Standing next to her is Madame Le Brun's only daughter Julie. Her sister Maria is already sitting on the sofa. The height of the sisters makes Julie look like a giant. It may be that Madame Le Brun and her daughter are taller because of their figures, which is even more obvious in the painting.

The difference is that the lady herself is thinner, while Julie, due to her young age, is much rounder in face and body than her mother. No wonder, as a mother, Julie is the model for many of her mother's self-portraits and paintings, both from the perspective of maternal love and painting, and she has also been learning painting techniques.

Originally Solovyov wanted to discuss this issue with Madame Lebrun alone, but now it has become a lively place, with the Countess and two countesses also here, and this has become a topic for afternoon tea. Moreover, they have to talk in French. Madame Lebrun and Julie are not completely unfamiliar with Russian, but most of the people they met in St. Petersburg speak French. Perhaps they can find some Russian-speaking customers in Moscow.

As for the carriage outside the window of No. 7 Million Street, the countess did not notice it at first, but when they were talking to Solovyov, she noticed the carriage, and the sign on it proved that it belonged to Count Bobulinsky, and the count himself was getting out of the carriage.

The Countess was very familiar with Count Bobulinsky. When she had just become a maid in the court of Catherine II, the empress's illegitimate son fell in love with her. Things in the Russian court were always complicated, including the complicated feelings between Prince Potemkin and his nieces.
Count Bobulinski got married last year. His wife is a German noblewoman from the Baltic Sea. However, she is not good-looking, but looks a bit like a "dragoon". What does this count who loves beauties and food think of marrying such a wife? Anyway, it doesn't matter. The count accepted such a marriage. His wife is healthy and lively. In short, as long as the couple is happy, it's fine.

"Madame, the comte and the comtesse Bobulinski are visiting." (Madam, Count and Countess Bobulinski are visiting.)
Although it was a bit unexpected, Countess Skafronskaya still showed a welcoming attitude towards the son of the empress who once loved her very much.

"Catherine, please forgive me for coming to your house at this moment. I was just passing by with my wife and happened to talk about the interesting things that happened in Tsarskoe Selo." (Catherine, please forgive me for coming to your house at this moment. I was just passing by with my wife and happened to talk about the interesting things that happened in Tsarskoe Selo.)
By the way, Count Bobulinsky was only interested in the girl's looks at that time. Later, he would serve in the legion and travel to France. He only returned to Russia in 1788. Speaking of interesting things, it should be some things that happened to these two when they were younger.

"Yes, it's good to be young, but look at my daughters, they are almost grown up, and I have to find husbands for them by then." (Yes, it's good to be young, but look at my daughters, they are almost grown up, and I have to find husbands for them by then.)
At this point, Count Bobulinski slapped his forehead and laughed awkwardly. He was outspoken and spoke directly.

"It depends on how your Majesty chooses. If it is a decision made by your Majesty himself, even if the intention is good, there will always be some deviation in the choice." (It depends on how your Majesty chooses. If it is a decision made by him personally, even if the intention is good, there will always be some deviation in the choice.)
He is Paul's biological brother. It is conceivable how destructive the arranged marriage of Tsar Paul is. However, he is not worried about spies. After all, the Tsar has only this one biological brother. After his mother's death, he is his closest relative. Although he is the child of his mother and his father's mortal enemy Orlov, he is still loved by her. Count Bobulinsky was directly granted two palaces, a large estate in Tula, jewelry, and book assets of millions of rubles in the state bank account.

As for what weird things he said, as long as they did not endanger the rule of Tsar Paul, it was generally nothing. The Tsar did not mind this joke of "arranged marriage genius". He even admitted his mistake and promised in public that next time when he wished the newlyweds to get married, he would make an appropriate choice.

But I wonder if the countess can hear that although Count Bobulinsky's brain is often offline when he speaks, what he said also involves the embarrassing things that are always arranged in the court. This can be reflected in the countess's parents-in-law, "an ugly and stupid man, his ugliness is equal to stupidity" (Ekaterina II's own evaluation) and a "stubborn, unscrupulous and obscene countess" (the original words of Count Vorontsov, the ambassador to the UK) "who has a bad reputation wherever he goes".
It was awkward anyway, and the countess's attention was drawn to other things. She had a sharp mind, but she didn't use it often. After Count Bobulinski sat down, she had to introduce the people who were here today.

"Here are my daughters Maria and Catherine, Madame Lebrun, Julie and Baron Solovyov, who came to my house to discuss business matters with Madame Lebrun." (As you know, my daughters Maria and Catherine, this is Madame Lebrun, her daughter Julie, and Baron Solovyov, who came to my house to discuss business matters with Madame Lebrun.)
When Solovyov was introduced, he saluted the count again. Although this count had little to do with the military, his brother the Tsar awarded him the rank of major general. It was said that this would give his younger brother more annual salary to support his astronomical observation activities on the Moika River embankment and in his official residence on Galanaya Street. He was still a count with a heart for the universe.

"Alors, de quel genre d'affaire parlez-vous, lieutenant?" (What kind of business is this, then, lieutenant?)
"Alex, you're such a forgetful person. It's the makeup pencil I saw the other day."
It was Countess Bobulinsky who reminded her forgetful husband, and the count remembered that although he had not attended the salon at Prince Saltykov's house, he had seen a sharpened eyebrow pencil in the hand of the prince's daughter-in-law when he visited the official residence on Bolshaya Moskaya Street a few days later.

It may not look like much, but according to Solovyov's description, this little thing is probably harmless pencils and various makeup pencils produced in the country, which can replace foreign products. Moreover, from a cost point of view, it is not high. The hexagonal shape is also convenient for placement and storage.

"Well, that's it. I want to get involved, too."

Bobulinski's bad habit is that he speaks French and German well, but even though he has learned some in the manor over the past few years, it is still a bit difficult for him to communicate in Russian.

"Soloviev, your Excellency Count."

"Let's talk in French. You know, I have been either at court or abroad for a long time, and Madame Lebrun is also giving you valuable advice." Indeed, listening to the count's pidgin Russian is even more uncomfortable than Miloradovich's plastic French, especially the tongue problem. However, he can still speak sentences that are not fluent but meaningful. Some nobles cannot even reach this level.

As for many aristocratic figures, if you observe carefully, you can find that they look glamorous on the outside, but are clumsy and sometimes even stupid on the inside. It is no wonder that the French Revolution broke out at the peak of autocratic rule. Other autocratic countries should take this as a warning, as there will always be some people who rise up in revolution.

However, the United Kingdom is an exception. The cabinet has always used mounted police to suppress rebellions, using the most advanced weapons.

"The investment you mentioned doesn't require much. In the past, some people came to me and proposed an investment of 200 to 000 rubles, which is not a small project. I asked Mr. Yakovlev to do an evaluation, but his managers thought that these industries were just scams." (The investment you mentioned doesn't require much. In the past, some people came to me and proposed an investment of 300 to 000 rubles, which is not a small project. I asked Mr. Yakovlev to do an evaluation, but his managers thought that these industries were just scams.)
Although Count Bobulinsky himself did not understand much, he knew to hire professionals, and he always asked managers from the family of Russian industrial tycoon Yakovlev to come for an assessment. With his status, people were willing to do the assessment for free, not to mention that he had always been paying.

Everyone knows that he was the empress's incompetent youngest son in the previous dynasty, but in this dynasty he is the emperor's only younger brother and is relatively favored. He is not very old, only 35 years old. He will be the crown prince in the future, and he will be respected because he is the emperor's uncle.

"We only need 100 rubles, and now we have raised 000 rubles, but we haven't found the space for the factory construction yet." (We only need 90 rubles, and we have raised 000 rubles, but we haven't found the space for the factory construction yet.)
The difference was a small sum of money in the eyes of the old man. The Dolgorukov brothers took 6 rubles, and Solovyov himself had 1 rubles, which was the investment from his father and would be repaid in the future. Mrs. Lebrun had 5 rubles and served as the "artistic director" of the brand. The remaining 5000 rubles was mentioned by the Countess just now. This girl was a small rich woman. The largest part of Prince Potemkin's inheritance was all hers. She was willing to pay this money just for fun. Moreover, as the first customer, she had the right to know about Solovyov's products. Just before the Count came in, she also mentioned the quality control problem. If there was a problem with Solovyov's products, he would have to compensate the consumers. As a shareholder, she was still the first.
Count Bobulinski, who had not heard of this, would have thought that the daughter of the maid he had a crush on was a replica of this lady. Of course, he was married now, and with a wife he would not be a playboy like he was when he was unmarried, and he always wanted to do something, so he was willing to participate in places where he could get things done with little money.

Another point is that if the queen were still alive, she would see that her youngest son finally had some "ambition", at least she would not be as disappointed as when she locked him up in the territory.

He decided to join, and the price was exactly what the young brothers Solovyov and Dolgorukov could not get at the moment.

"I will give you the remaining 10 rubles, as well as the venue you need and my Oberparon Castle. It's not far from St. Petersburg, close to Tartu in Livonia. You can go abroad directly by sea from Tallinn." This location is not bad. Tartu can enter St. Petersburg by passing through Narva and Volosovo, and then through Gatchina, the territory of Tsar Paul when he was the crown prince.

For him, this was just a drop in the ocean - he had no way of knowing that his descendants would be the second richest family in Russia, and that the richest was the family of Prince Yusupov, the family of the spirited young man who killed Rasputin - the last time he asked someone to do shipping in Tallinn, he lost 8 rubles in one trip, which was equivalent to the amount of extra pocket money his queen mother gave him at one time, which was the amount she gave him when he was traveling in Paris a few years ago. Money was a small matter for him, but he didn't have a lot of knowledge in his head, and he had learned geography quite well.

The Count did not expect that Solovyov carried a map with him, which was a good habit of an adjutant. After opening the map, Count Bobulinsky pointed to several lakes.

"Here, my castle is between the lakes, and it has so much land that if I need wood I can get it locally." (My castle is right here, between the lakes, and it has so much land that if I need wood I can get it locally.)
The count did not indeed use all his geographical knowledge to make a living. Although he did not run his territory very well, he had a good grasp of the location. The advantage of buying this territory was that it was peaceful and comfortable, which met his mother's requirements and expectations. Now that he was recalled to St. Petersburg by his brother, the situation was completely different. The business there was not very good to begin with, and the management level of a count who lived in his territory all day was the same as that of Suvorov's home in Novgorod.

There always needs to be some way to bring this manor back to life.

But this was actually of no help to Moscow. However, Solovyov knew that there were also some coal mines in Tula and Ryazan. Graphite was sometimes a by-product in such places, and they were close to Moscow, so the supply to the Russian hinterland could also be guaranteed.

Although the big money owner didn't invest much money, he had provided a manor and the serfs in the manor as a business site and labor, which was enough. But the count still had his own plans, he also had a manor in Tula.

(End of this chapter)