Life of Being a Crown Prince in France-Chapter 717 - 625: Business ’Divine Tool

Chapter 717: Chapter 625: Business ‘Divine Tool

An hour later, Joseph walked out of the parlor with a relaxed expression.

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Beaumont had already agreed to sign the “Land Contract Agreement,” handing over 40,000 hectares of Church land to the Minister of Agriculture for management, with fees increased by 6% on the current tenant farmer taxation, though the specific lands were to be selected by the Minister of Agriculture himself.

Although Beaumont could not command other archbishops in different regions, as long as he found it feasible, other archbishops would generally accept it as well.

Joseph boarded his carriage and hurried to the Palace of Versailles.

Spring wheat and barley in France were generally sown in March, and he had to finalize the “contracting” of Church land with Venio as soon as possible, so that the farmers could switch to planting sugar beets before sowing.

In fact, Joseph also wanted to leverage this “contracting” event to pry into a corner of the Church land.

If he could continue to control the land of the Church in this way through contracting, he could gradually phase out the tenant farming system on these lands. After it had been in practice for about a decade, it would have become the accepted norm and the Church would find it difficult to revert the change.

Later, by finding excuses to reduce the contracting fees, he ultimately aimed to reclaim the Church lands.

However, with the Church possessing more than two million hectares of land in France, the process of contracting all of it was bound to be very lengthy.

But it was imperative to gradually reclaim the Church’s lands, shares, bonds, and other assets. The Church must not become a stumbling block on France’s path to the industrial revolution. If the matters could be settled peacefully, it would be ideal, but if absolutely necessary, implementing religious reforms was also an acceptable option.

It was just that all of this would have to wait until various facets of French society stabilized a bit more before taking action.

…

Bavaria.

Munich.

No usual clanging and banging of the forge came from “Old Brandt’s Ironworks.” The workshop owner, Walter Brandt, stood at the entrance, his face gloomy as he looked at the crowded group of people across the street.

The place was filled with jubilant music, with streamers occasionally drifting over the heads of the people, creating a vibrant scene.

Brandt knew that the grand opening celebration of Munich’s first “France Department Store” was taking place over there.

“Damn the French people! Pah!”

He cursed bitterly and spat forcefully on the ground.

Since a year ago, the place across the street had become the central selling point for French merchants. Almost every fortnight, a large number of French merchants would come with loads of French goods to sell in their stalls.

Whenever that happened, people from Munich, both nobles and commoners alike, would flock to the scene, sweeping those goods as if they were free.

Brandt accepted that the French goods, whether ironware, alcohol, machinery, furniture, cosmetics, or paper, were of high quality and priced reasonably. Even the merchants’ loud hawking was unique and very stimulating for people’s purchasing desires.

However, since the regular appearance of those French merchants, his own workshop’s business had been on the decline.

The agricultural tools, kitchenware, knives, scissors, shelves, and other items he manufactured here were also sold by the French merchants, and the quality of iron used in the French goods was much better than what he bought from the Bavarian foundries, and the prices were somewhat cheaper as well.

As a result, aside from items in urgent need, people would opt to wait for the French merchants to come and buy from them.

In reality, even Brandt’s own home was now filled with various French goods—featuring French laminated furniture, using French soap, drinking French wine…

But his workshop was barely staying afloat. Just last week, he had dismissed two apprentices, barely maintaining a balance between expenses and income. However, a more serious situation soon emerged—the France Department Store across the street had been constructed.

He had seen a France Department Store in Vienna when he had visited, with its neat counters, each manned by two beautiful female sales assistants and one male cashier behind them.

Inside the glass counters were displayed a variety of French goods, all with prices marked.

The sales assistants would introduce the goods to customers with pleasant voices. After the customers made their choices, the goods would be packed in exquisite paper boxes.

Once money was collected, the cashiers would provide purchase receipts. If the goods developed issues within the warranty period, the store would offer free repairs.

Brandt had heard that even those pretty packaging boxes had become collector’s items among the citizens of Vienna.

Every Sunday, long queues would form outside the department store, taking a long time to get inside. Even if the goods there were slightly more expensive, people still preferred to buy from there.

Brandt knew that such a store had now appeared right across his street.

His workshop would become even more deserted, and he was fearful that he was heading towards bankruptcy…

Naturally, the department store was a concept Joseph had copied from the future. Originally, he had planned to introduce supermarkets, but considering the moral standards of this era, he opted for the department store model instead. Since labor costs, especially for female sales assistants who could be hired for half the wage of males, were low, the cost wasn’t increased by much.

This innovative business model, which had originally appeared around the year 184x, during the mature phase of the industrial revolution, was introduced by Joseph half a century earlier.

Compared to the commonly seen, single-operation shops and inconspicuous grocery stores of the time, France Department Stores were firstly very attractively decorated and spacious inside. Even if people didn’t buy anything, it was quite pleasant to just walk through—an unusual experience in cities of this era, where aside from parks, taverns, and cafes, there weren’t many other places to go.

Moreover, the stores offered a comprehensive range of goods, mostly high-quality French products, and thanks to the low tariffs set by the Rhine-Saone Treaty, the prices of these goods were also affordable.

The warm and friendly service of the sales assistants, along with the after-sales guarantees, meant that wherever the France Department Store appeared, it rapidly took over the local retail market.

Additionally, the department stores even had food courts and kids’ play areas, which were truly refreshing.

For the past year and a half, major cities in the Southern Germanic Region had mostly established department stores, stocked by merchant caravans continually selling French goods throughout Germany.

The music playing across the street stopped, followed by a burst of rapid drumming, causing the onlooking crowds to surge crazily into the department store.

As Brandt coldly stared at the shopping frenzy across the street, a carriage stopped beside him.

The man with a square face leaned out of the carriage window and waved at him, “Walter, go to Wisgen Street for the gathering. The action begins in 1 hour. Oh, don’t forget to bring the straw man and banners.”

Brandt nodded firmly, called his two sons, picked up the prepared items, and without a word, hurried toward Wisgen Street.