Chapter 477 The breath of industry
Soon after, at the ceremony of Leopold II's coronation as King of Bohemia, the French envoy presented a congratulatory gift in public - an exquisite model of the villa and a bunch of gold-encrusted keys. This represents a luxurious property in the "Garden of the Stars" in Paris, worth 50,000 florins.
Since Leopold II had to inherit more than ten king titles, this gift was the most expensive in a single coronation ceremony.
Immediately, Austrian nobles and foreign officials who came to congratulate began to inquire about the "Starry Garden". The French envoy's entourage immediately enthusiastically became "promoters".
Soon, with the emblem of the Habsburg family hanging on a villa in the "Garden of Stars" and a large number of German wealthy people coming to inquire about real estate here, the rich in France could no longer sit still.
Then they encountered an unheard-of thing like a lottery for buying a house, but their desire to buy was even more aroused, and a house purchase number was directly sold for 5,000 francs.
More than half a month later, all the properties in "Starry Garden" were booked out, and some people have even begun to inquire about the second phase of the project.
On the other side, Joseph has launched a development plan for the wasteland between Paris and Versailles. This includes the construction of a large number of affordable housing to offset the impact of the "Garden of Stars" on Paris housing prices and to protect the living needs of ordinary Parisians.
…
In a house in the Louvre district of Paris, Anthony, a salesman from the Royal French Insurance Company, was telling the couple in front of him eloquently: "Whether it was attacked by gangsters or fell down by a carriage, as long as you are injured or disabled, you will You can get high compensation from 'personal accident insurance'. Let me take a look..."
He flipped through the documents in his hand: "You can get a compensation of 800 francs for ordinary disability. If you die unfortunately, you can get a compensation of 1,500 francs. And you only need to pay an annual premium of 10 francs to get these protections." . Oh, and the premium is as low as 7 francs for ladies and children.”
Mr. and Mrs. Evans looked at each other, feeling a little moved.
They have just decided to purchase an education insurance. They just gave birth to a son this year and are discussing his future studies. The annual payment for this kind of education insurance is 80 francs. After 8 years of payment, all tuition fees for the son's ordinary school and university will be borne by the insurance company, and there will also be a monthly food subsidy of 6 francs [Note 1].
What makes them most satisfied is that if their son does not go to college in the future, all the money will be returned when he is 20 years old!
Afterwards, the insurance salesman introduced them to "property insurance", "medical insurance", "pension insurance", etc. These are the latest insurance types launched by the Royal French Insurance Company.
Of course, this was all planned by Joseph.
These insurances, which may seem commonplace to people in later generations, are absolutely novel and attractive today when there are only "navigation insurance" and "fire insurance".
However, the probability of accidents in the 18th century was much higher than in the 21st century, so the Royal Insurance Company temporarily only marketed to nobles and wealthy businessmen - these people were willing to spend money for insurance, but were not as prone to accidents as ordinary people.
In the end, the Evanses subscribed for an education insurance policy and also purchased personal accident insurance for Mr. Evans.
Salesperson Anthony immediately collected the deposit, issued a receipt, made an appointment to sign the contract, and immediately rushed to the next store.
The sales of insurance have been very hot recently. He can even sell more than ten units a day, and the commission makes his hands cramp.
There are currently thousands of salespeople like him in France, and they are going around selling the company's latest insurance products. Royal Insurance Company's daily income is close to 400,000 francs, and its ability to absorb funds is no weaker than that of banks!
At the same time, the Royal French Insurance Company has also opened branches in the Netherlands, Austria, Sardinia and other places. In addition to the above-mentioned general insurance items, sales staff are also focusing on recommending a product called "financial insurance" to customers. thing.
The buyer "only" needs to pay a certain amount of premium to the insurance company every year - a minimum of 300 francs, with no upper limit - after paying for 15 years, the buyer can receive 3% interest from the insurance company every month until death. . And when the buyer turns 50 or dies, the premium will be fully refunded!
Everyone who is 21 years old knows that this kind of insurance is actually a trap, but it is undeniable that if you don’t do calculations carefully, just from an intuitive feeling, financial insurance is simply a good deal.
Especially for people who are still in feudal society, they like the feeling of stability and security very much, so the sales of financial insurance are booming in various countries. This alone can increase the income of the Royal Insurance Company by two to three million francs every month.
As for the United Kingdom, the Royal Insurance Company did not directly open a branch there, but re-opened an "Atlantic Insurance Company", which has nothing to do with the Royal Insurance Company.
If the British dare to carry out any continental equilibrium against France in the future, then this insurance company will probably go bankrupt to show them.
According to Joseph's plan, when the tax collectors are abolished and the government takes back its tax rights, it should be able to raise more than 50 million francs through the real estate and insurance industries.
…
Southern suburbs of Paris.
In a luxurious and low-key villa, Goldmead walked into a spacious conference hall under the leadership of the valet.
There were already more than a dozen people in the room, sitting around an oval conference table, chatting in twos and threes.
When those people heard that someone was coming, they glanced at Goldmead casually, but they didn't pay much attention and continued their conversation.
Goldmead didn't feel dissatisfied. He was just a small banker, and his business was mainly in England. It was already very difficult for him to be invited to attend this meeting today, so naturally he wouldn't care about other people's attitudes.
At the footman's signal, he sat on the chair near the end, and immediately noticed the "Livable" sign branded on the conference table in front of him.
He was a little surprised. "Livable" is the most popular "synthetic panel" furniture in Paris these days, and it is very expensive. A conference table as big as the one in front of him would cost nearly a thousand francs.
Yes, because the production of casein glue has not yet been raised, synthetic board furniture is much more expensive than solid wood furniture. However, under the gimmicks of "anti-insect" and "non-deformation", as well as Joseph's personal promotion before, synthetic board furniture has become the current trend of high-end furniture.
Goldmead lowered his head and sniffed the special smell of the table, and couldn't help but secretly sigh: What a charming smell, this is what they call "industrial smell"!
If Joseph heard his voice, he would tell him with embarrassment that this is actually the smell of formaldehyde, which is bad for your health if you smoke it too much.
[Note 1] The "common schools" in Europe in the 18th century were roughly equivalent to today's middle schools.
(End of chapter)