Chapter 713 Pie
When the time came to the end of 1919, various countries finally entered a state of reconstruction.
Russia’s reconstruction began at the beginning of last year.
The reconstruction of Constantinople dates back to 1913, before the outbreak of the world war.
During the Balkan War, Constantinople was almost completely destroyed, with not a single building left. The Ottomans fled to the Asia Minor Peninsula, and the economy suffered a devastating blow.
George rebuilt the city from its ruins and redesigned Constantinople.
After the Ottoman Empire ceded Constantinople to Russia, Russia rebuilt Constantinople according to the standards of its capital and prepared to move its capital later.
Napoleon once said: If there is only one country in the world, its capital must be Constantinople.
After reconstruction, Constantinople not only retained its classical elegance and subtlety, but also took into account the advancement of technology and the times.
When night falls, the neon lights on both sides of the Bosporus complement the Milky Way in the sky. Seagulls accompany the sightseeing ferries full of tourists in the Golden Horn. Fireworks bloom in the sky from time to time, although they are deafening. , but what it brings to people is no longer war and death, but spiritual conversion.
After four years of world war, people's desire for peace has never been greater.
The winter in London is always monotonous gray and white, just like a black and white photo. Although it makes people miss it, it is never yearned for.
The streets of Paris are occupied by striking workers and homeless veterans. The upper class is still feasting and feasting. The lives of ordinary people are becoming more and more difficult, and there is no hope at all.
A loaf of bread in Berlin now costs 10,000 marks. The Weimar government tried every means but failed to stabilize prices. People were struggling with hunger, and even death was no longer a fear.
Constantinople is like a colorful oil painting, completely breaking people's stereotypes about Russia.
Europeans have a very complicated impression of Russia. Most of them are sometimes scary polar bears, sometimes unreasonable neighbors, and occasionally they are the silly sons of landlords.
During the World War, Britain and France finally had some positive propaganda for the Russian Empire.
These positive propagandas, along with the demise of the Russian Empire, further deepened the British and French stereotypes of Russia.
The real turning point came during the Paris Peace Conference.
The eight-hour working day and the minimum wage guarantee system triggered strong reactions among the lower class people in Britain and France.
Not only the lower class people's interest in Russia has greatly increased, but even the upper class society in Britain and France has also developed a strong interest in Russia.
Louis from Paris was an exhibitor at the World Expo. He brought black truffles and foie gras from France, hoping to open up the Russian market.
What Louis didn’t expect was that not only did Constantinople have black truffles, but the quality was not inferior to France.
Constantinople’s black truffles are imported from Dongda.
When it comes to black truffles, the owner of the hotel where Louis stayed told an anecdote that left Louis stunned.
Before Russian traders found black truffles, the Chinese did not understand the value of black truffles, so they fed them to pigs.
Black truffle is actually a kind of wild fungus, which is the favorite food of sows, so in France, some people use sows to find black truffles.
Louis never expected that the black truffles that are so popular in France are actually used to feed pigs in the East.
“What’s strange about this? A few Italians brought some spaghetti a few days ago. After tasting our noodles, the Italians threw away the noodles they brought——”
The hotel owner laughed, seemingly unaware that the "our" noodles he was talking about also came from the East.
To be precise, from Amur.
“If you really want to gain something at the expo, you’d better change your mind and import goods from Russia to sell in France.”
The proprietress is a mother of six children and has a good figure A strong, standard Russian lady, fluent in French.
“It sounds good, but why don’t you do it?” This was the first time Louis was dealing with Russians, and he didn’t know the Russians well enough.
Before the landlady could say anything, several policemen walked into the hotel and began questioning the guests one by one.
Louis learned about the virtues of the Russian police through French newspapers, so Louis put 10 rubles in his ID card and handed it to the police.
“dig lotus roots, dig lotus roots, dig lotus roots, look, this time it’s 10 rubles, you are so generous——”
The policeman showed it to his companion with a smile, and then expressed his gratitude to Louis; “Thank you Your generosity, you are such a good person.”
Louis was confused and didn’t know what the police meant.
"The money will be used as your donation to help the military families in Constantinople."
The boss was very happy and poured Louis a glass of vodka.
Free gift.
Louis was extremely surprised, the Russian police don’t charge money!
"Grand Duke Yuriev does not allow them to collect black money, otherwise it will affect their jobs and then their pensions. Will the police give up their future security for 10 rubles?"< br>
The boss answered questions and answered questions with pride in his words.
The Russian police in the imperial era were so prestigious that even those on death row dared to be accommodating, and there was nothing they dared not do.
The current Russian police have high salaries, good benefits, and pensions after retirement. Naturally, they will not give up their future security for this small profit.
"In this case, your administrative costs will accumulate to an unbearable level."
Louis believed that Grand Duke Yuriev was just on a whim.
When French politicians were campaigning, everything they said sounded nice.
Once elected, French politicians seem to have amnesia, forgetting all their campaign promises.
This is the source of the turmoil in French politics.
“Grand Duke Yuriev always does what he says!”
The boss’s face turned cold and he was very dissatisfied with Louis’ questioning.
"I hope so."
Louis did not argue. He did not even realize that his curiosity about Constantinople was increasing crazily.
Early the next morning, Louis left the hotel and wandered the streets of Constantinople.
The hotel is located in a quiet residential area. Although the streets are not wide, all the roads have been purified. The sanitation work is very good, there is no garbage in sight, and the greening is good.
It can be seen that the people of Constantinople love to grow flowers, and there are flowers and plants planted on almost every windowsill.
Unlike the smoky Paris, Louis walked all morning and did not encounter tramps or beggars, nor did he encounter thieves or robbers. This made Louis feel incredible.
Out of the quiet residential area, Louis came to the Place des Nations. There were many merchants here asking customers to taste food for free. Louis ate about a dozen pies of different flavors until he couldn't eat anymore, and Louis gave up. .
Maybe it would be nice to go back to Paris and make pies.
(End of this chapter)