"You mean, the government won't get involved in food procurement?"
For the first time, Carlo felt that something ruined his outlook was happening right in front of him, and this food purchase was one of them. The reason is very simple. Italy purchases food from Romania and Russia in Eastern Europe, and many of these two countries occupy vast areas.
large landowners, buying grain directly from them is better than the political
Procurement between governments is cheaper, about 8-12% cheaper per ton. If there is profit, there will be business, and some people will take advantage of this price difference and specialize in this kind of business. Italy's grain procurement in recent years has basically been this model, because it saves money.
It’s about money. Italy’s finances are not tight, so it’s good to save whatever you can.
"Your Majesty, it is indeed easier to discuss this with private individuals than with the government, and it is also kept confidential."
Antonio explained to Carlo the purpose of this.
"Then follow the method you have been using."
What else can Carlo say? Of course it would be nice to save money, especially when the drought is so severe and every lira is precious.
The Italian government is fully prepared for the coming drought, and all departments are busy with this. Especially for the most urgent funds for disaster relief, the Italian government even issued a batch of ten-year government bonds worth 800 million lire in London and Paris in April.
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The annual interest rate of this batch of treasury bonds is not high, only 4.25%, but thanks to Italy's good development pattern in recent years, these treasury bonds have sold well, and more than ten securities contractors are willing to underwrite this batch of treasury bonds for Italy.
As time goes by, the drought in Italy gradually becomes apparent after the summer season.
Scenes of the scorching sun, cracked ground, and withered grass seedlings appear frequently in southern Italy. Especially in Sicily, which has the most severe drought, the drought is even more troublesome. The next set of data can illustrate the severity of the drought in Sicily, entering 1897
years
Recently, the climate monitoring station in Sicily detected that the average rainfall on the entire island of Sicily was only 35 millimeters. Of the 94 rivers in Sicily, 73 stopped flowing and 46 were completely dry. All 2.4 million people on the island were affected, including agriculture.
A 50% production cut is a foregone conclusion.
The drought in Sicily not only affects agriculture. As the core enterprise of Sicily's industrialization, the Palermo Steel Plant recently announced that it will cut its steel production by half. The reason is very simple. Steel smelting requires a lot of water. The current drought in Sicily has already affected Palermo.
Production activities at the Lemo Steel Plant.
Of course, in addition to Sicily, Sardinia and the southern region of the Kingdom were also hit hard. The total affected population reached 13 million, accounting for 40% of the total population of Italy.
With such a high disaster-affected population, the Italian government will certainly not wait any longer. As summer approaches, Italy has successively announced several major construction projects, including the construction of the road from Naples to Taranto, the Sicilian ring road, and the Sardinia ring road.
Road construction and other large-scale projects.
In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture has also opened many water conservancy facilities, such as reservoirs, dams, ditches, and countless others.
Since so many projects have been started, a lot of labor is naturally needed.
As a result, notices for recruiting laborers were everywhere in major towns, especially in areas hit by severe drought. Grassroots officials also continued to publicize these notices for recruiting workers.
Basic officials are very enthusiastic about this kind of thing. After all, they are the ones who can most directly feel the severity of the disaster and are more worried about too many victims than others.
Of course, there are so many people affected by the disaster, and the government cannot solve all the problems. It can only provide some relief to most of the people who are affected by the disaster and cannot afford to eat. This kind of poverty-stricken government gives priority to those who have some land savings, which is a bit difficult.
Because there are so many people affected by the disaster, the government can only focus on solving those with serious problems first.
In this case, it is no less than a disaster for these people who still have a small income.
There were no tears in Diane's eyes. Looking at the withered grapevines, his heart was filled with despair. This year's harvest has been scrapped. What do you ask him to do to support his family?
Looking at the smooth cuts on the grapevines, Diane certainly knew what the problem was. It was all caused by this vineyard. Even though he worked hard, those people still wouldn't let him go. Seeing that the drought could not subdue him, they started to conspire.
. These smooth-cut grapevines are proof of that, and who else but those people.
"Stop crying, let's go back!"
Diane comforted his wife, who had been crying, and patted her shoulder gently.
"Diane, these people destroyed our vineyard, why don't the police arrest them?"
The wife, who was crying like a tearful person, could not accept everything in front of her. In a hoarse voice, she reluctantly asked her husband, who was actually her mainstay.
"Didn't the police say it all? They can't arrest people without evidence unless someone sees what they did."
While Diaane was speaking to comfort his wife, the policeman's nonchalant answer appeared in his mind.
"Okay, stop crying, let's go home!"
After finally coaxing his wife, who was crying like a child, they helped her back to their house.
But just after returning home, I heard that annoying voice. "Brother Diane, can we talk about the vineyard now?"
Thiago Ferro appeared in front of them again this time, but this time he was not alone. He came with two strong thug-like subordinates. It seemed that even the mafia was afraid of death.
Faced with Thiago's questions, Diane remained silent.
Who is Thiago? One look at Diane's silence and he knew that his heart was loose, so the verbal offensive was about to begin.
"Actually, if you think about it carefully, your annual income from the vineyard is only about 1,400 lire. After deducting fertilizer and other expenses, the money you earn is only 1,000 lire, which is only enough for your family of three. Now any job in the city can cost hundreds.
Lira for a month, you two workers are worth more than 200 lire, and this year is nearly 3,000 lire. Isn't it more profitable than grape growing, so it is better to go out and find a job now when you are farming at home."
This seems very tempting, and you can indeed earn more by working in the city than in the countryside. The only problem is how to find a job. It is not that easy to find a job in the city, and it is unknown whether you can get the salary on time.
number.
Of course, these situations are indeed tempting for the Dianet couple who do not know the inside story.
"Let's do this. I'll pay you 10,000 lire for your vineyard. This is the highest price I can give you out of brotherhood."
Thiago raised the price, a thousand lire more than before.
"Okay, for ten thousand lire, I'll sell you my vineyard."
Faced with the price offered by Thiago, Diane accepted it.
"My brother Diane, your decision is quite wise. We signed the land purchase contract, and these ten thousand lire are yours."
Thiago took out a contract and a thick wad of lira bills and placed them in front of Diane.
Diaane took a rough look at it. It was a formal contract to purchase his vineyard. After seeing that there were no problems, Diaane signed his name and fingerprinted it.
Thiago took the contract with his fingerprints and name on it and placed the wad of banknotes in front of him.
"Brother Diane, this is your money, count it yourself."
"Not bad, exactly ten thousand lire."
After the transaction was completed, Thiago held the contract with satisfaction and waved his hand. "Goodbye, my friend."
"Goodbye, my friend."
Diane also had a smile on his face, as if saying goodbye to an old friend.
After Thiago walked away, his wife, who had been watching all this silently, suddenly hugged Diane from behind. "Diane, you have to promise me not to do stupid things. For little Tony, he can't live without his father."
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As a bedfellow, the wife clearly felt that something was wrong with her husband Diane. The vineyard was gone and she could no longer accept her husband's irrationality.
Facing his pleading wife and thinking of his son, Diane finally had no choice but to swallow his breath. "Okay, I promise you, I won't do anything stupid."
On Tiago's side, after leaving Diaane's house, one of his subordinates said, "Boss, I feel like something is wrong with the man named Diane, and I need to be on guard."
Faced with the warning from his men, Thiago said with a smile. "I know that Diane is very dissatisfied. I hope he won't do anything stupid, otherwise he will lose the 10,000 lire and his family will be harmed."
Yes, as a mafia, since it dares to do such dark-hearted things as forcing girls into prostitution, how can it be without any precautions?
Forced annexations like the one in Diane are not common in Sicily, but they are not uncommon either. In fact, not only in Sicily, there are also many cases of wanton annexation taking advantage of the drought in the south.
This is a real “contribution” to Italy’s stability and unity!
