Whether it's Downton Fire, the Opera House Dessert Shop, or the compressed dry food and canned food printed with the Crawley family totem, they are all included in the Crawley Food Company.
This is a company founded by Gao Bin half a year ago. It is structured according to the size of the group and has unlimited potential.
There are no secrets in the castle, and there are no secrets among nobles.
After all, the aristocratic circle in the UK is only so large, and if there is any trouble, it will be known immediately.
No one knows how much money Crowley Foods makes, they only know that they make crazy money, and almost all the nobles have red eyes with envy.
In fact, even Gao Bin doesn't know how much money he earns, because some money cannot be calculated.
Anyway, just a fraction of the money earned in the past two years can easily solve the castle repair problem that has worried two generations of Earls of Grantham.
This renovation was not only a simple repair, but also a modernization. For this purpose, the family went to Grantham House in London to live for three months.
New water pipes were laid, the whole house was electrified, the entire castle was re-protected against cold and moisture, and the roof was completely repaired.
By the way, the most important thing is that Downton finally got on the phone, which means Gao Bin can control his business empire through the phone.
This overhaul can at least ensure that there will be no problems in the next 30 years and that it will remain standing for 100 years.
In addition, Gao Bin also opened a garden behind the castle near the forest and invited a floral master who had served at Windsor Castle to create it himself.
In the 21st century, the most beautiful castle garden in the UK must be in Downton!
Without money, who has the energy to garden?
Not to mention that Tibin also built a modern private sanatorium in Downton, which was a preparation for the post-war period.
The more you earn, the more you spend.
The production line is still being further expanded, the battle is about to begin, and demand will inevitably rise to a crazy figure.
Gao Bin doesn’t want to give up the market to others just because his supply cannot keep up. He will never allow it!
...
In the past two years, the relationships among the people around Gao Bin have also undergone earth-shaking changes.
The most surprising thing is Matthew and Edith. The two of them actually came together, which surprised countless people.
Two months ago, the two got engaged in London and received the blessing of their entire family.
Although there are some differences from the original arrangement, Robert is still happy to see the results.
And Mary is still looking for a perfect lover, no one knows what she likes.
This also made Robert wary of handing over his wife's dowry to her.
Because the company is gradually getting on the right track, Robert no longer invests more energy. Except for some work that requires opening up contacts, most of the time, he stays in the castle and manages this increasingly large manor.
The two have a clear division of labor, and since they are both young and strong, they won't have to worry about successors for decades anyway.
They have enough time to plan.
On this day, Gao Bin was revising the budget in the office and received a call from Robert.
"Gao, come back."
"What happened?"
"There is an unexpected situation that requires your opinion."
"Okay, I'll go back right away."
Gao Bin bought himself a Rolls-Royce Silver Phantom, which has a few more side windows than the same model owned by Anthony Strain.
The whole body is silver, which matches the name very well. Not to mention the speed, and it is not easy to drive.
But classic cars are driven with feelings, that’s what Gao Bin thinks anyway, it’s faster than walking anyway.
After returning home, Gao Bin went straight to the study, where Robert worked most of the day.
"Father, Carson."
"Back."
"Master~"
"What happened?"
Robert handed a telegram to Gao Bin:
"You should read it first, about Bates."
I probably read it once, but it was just that Bates had been in jail for stealing military silverware.
"Do you believe it? I don't believe it. Mr. Bates's character is worthy of trust."
Gao Bin said without hesitation.
"Yeah, I don't believe it either, but this matter must be resolved properly, otherwise..." Robert reminded.
"It's very simple, just find someone to investigate. Of course, the most direct way is for Mr. Bates to tell the truth, and then we can find ways to help him."
Robert said decisively:
"Carson, bring Bates here."
"Okay, sir."
In fact, this matter is not complicated, but after Bates came, he actually admitted that he had been in jail for several years for stealing weapons.
Asked him why, he didn't say anything, and Gao Bin was speechless.
This man has advantages, but more disadvantages. He is a typical Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles character.
Of course, he definitely doesn’t see it that way.
Behind this frame-up, it was actually Bates who took on the crime of theft for his wife.
Mrs. Bates was caught stealing weapons, but Bates believed that he had harmed his wife because of his bad temper, so he took the initiative to bear the crime.
As for why this letter came to Downton Abbey, it was purely because of that old woman O'Brien.
She and Thomas have been secretly communicating. Thomas was released from prison some time ago and borrowed money from O'Brien.
As a result, he was bewitched by the old woman, and a burning fire of revenge arose in his heart.
He believes that all this happened because of the arrival of the lame Bates, which changed his life.
So he set the target of revenge on Bates, but in fact, he was just picking on the weak.
After some investigation, he actually found out some interesting things, such as that Bates had been in prison like him.
Then there was this scene.
"Mr. Bates, I think you should know very well what your father thinks of you."
"Yes, Master, I am very grateful."
"In this case, I hope you will tell the truth. This is not a suggestion, not a discussion, but an order."
Bates is silent:
"Does it matter?"
"Of course it's important, if you don't want your father to make an unfair decision on you."
Under Gao Bin's pressure, he finally told the truth.
"In that case, why do you want to hide it?" Robert was puzzled.
"Because no one believes me when I say it. I was the one who ended up in jail. This is the ironclad fact!"
"I understand, you go and do your work first." Robert sent the person away.
"What do you think?" Robert asked Gao Bin's opinion.
"This letter didn't come to us for no reason. It must have come from a source. But there's no need to check. I can tell who is behind it with just my fingers."
Robert said suspiciously:
"You know?"
"O'Brien no doubt."
"O'Brien?" Carson wondered: "Why her?"
"Except for her, I can't think of anyone in the manor who would be so hostile to Bates."
In fact, O'Brien is considered an outstanding career woman in this era.
She was originally a farm girl in northern Scotland. Most girls like her would choose to work in farming or as a salesperson. This kind of job would give them more freedom in the evening and more rest time.
At the same time, the working hours of a servant are long and the wages are relatively low.
But why do many girls want to be maids? That’s because being a maid will greatly save living expenses.
The master's family will provide free fabrics for the servants to make clothes, and provide three meals a day and accommodation, although the accommodation is not very comfortable.
O'Brien started out as a maid, but if she was promoted to a personal maid, she would have the opportunity to travel with her mistress.
Of course, to be a personal maid, you need to learn how to take care of your hair. Since O'Brien is committed to this job, he once saved money to learn hairdressing and enhancement techniques, and even learned some French in order to be selected by a certain heroine.
Personal maids must be good at darning and learn to sew underwear for the mistress, including tailor-made underwear, long and short petticoats and vests.
People in this position are most likely to understand the privacy of the heroine, so they can easily become the heroine's confidant, but they also sacrifice a lot of freedom.
Because from morning to night seven days a week, you have to wait for the call of the master and the wife at any time and obey the orders.
You can only rest one afternoon a week, which is only two or three hours, and take a short vacation on every other Sunday.
Such a busy life as a personal maid makes it difficult to get married, have children and start a family.
It can be said that O'Brien sacrificed his personal and family happiness to fulfill his career as the countess's personal maid.
Her enthusiasm for the job itself was far greater than her loyalty to Cora, so when O'Brien suspected that Cora was going to fire her, she was so angry that she actually slipped the pregnant Cora on the soap, causing her future injuries.
The tragedy of the stillbirth of the new Earl of Grantham.
The countess didn't know the bad things O'Brien had done. She naively believed that she and O'Brien were masters, servants and friends.
Any other maid would definitely be grateful to be treated like this by her master, but O'Brien is not like that at all.
She only recognized her as master and servant, and said personally that she and the Countess had never been friends.
That's not right. She also thought that she was qualified to be the countess's friend at first.
But after being reminded by Cora to pay attention to his identity several times because of making suggestions, this idea changed.
O'Brien later discovered that Cola never intended to fire him, but he began to regret it after he misunderstood that Cola had advertised for a maid to the old lady.
Although O'Brien is a very bad person, he is not completely without conscience. Perhaps in foreign countries, religion restrains the evil thoughts in people's hearts.
When the countess was seriously ill, O'Brien's meticulous care day and night was just to make his conscience feel better.
But after she got a new job opportunity and had the opportunity to go to India with the new owner, she quietly left Downton Abbey and the countess, leaving the housekeeper and the countess in a mess that they were unprepared for.
All in all, she is just a selfish and calculating scheming woman.
And Bates is just a target of her scheme, so she may not really hate him to the core.
"Gao, do you have any basis for what you say? I don't want you to be someone who relies on guesswork."
Robert tried to teach him in this way, but unfortunately Gao Bin had his own opinions.
"Father, you can ask the servants what they think. If any of them says that they like O'Brien, I am willing to apologize to her personally."
Robert subconsciously looked at Carson.
Carson hesitated, shook his head and said:
"Miss O'Brien did do a lot of disgusting things."
"Well, even so, you can't just frame someone without evidence."
Having said that, Robert actually believed Gao Bin's words and decided to find an opportunity to deal with O'Brien.
After all, she is my wife's personal maid, so I must have a reasonable reason to deal with her.
"Carson, go back and comfort Bates, let him work with peace of mind, and don't think about things."
"Okay, young master, emm~ By the way, Mrs. Patmore has a problem with her eyes. She often suffers from blurring. I'm afraid she won't be able to continue to do this job."
"What's going on?" Robert felt a little annoyed. Accumulation of small things can indeed easily ruin a person's mood.
"It should be cataracts, Dr. Clarkson said."
"Can it be treated?"
"Yes, but you need to be hospitalized for surgery."
"Then arrange to go to Crowley Hospital for treatment as soon as possible. This kind of disease cannot be delayed." Gao Bin said.
"But then, kitchen work..." Carson wondered.
In this day and age, it’s not that easy to find a loyal and excellent cook.
"Father, maybe we can borrow a cook from a relative's house."
The Crowley family has many relatives, and the UK can find suitable people.
"Okay, I need to make a few calls." Robert sighed.
"Then let's do it this way. Don't let Mrs. Patmore cook for the next two days, and let Anna accompany her to the hospital to settle down." Gao Bin said again.
"It's my young master. Thank you for your kindness. I thank you on behalf of Mrs. Patmore."
"You're welcome, go make arrangements quickly. Treatment is important. Tell Dr. Clarkson that the money for the operation is on the manor's account."
"Yes, Mrs. Patmore must be very grateful for your generosity."
After Carson left, Robert spread his hands:
"As you can see, managing an estate is not an easy task, and it is even more complicated than managing a company."
"You can try to hand over the management work to Matthew. He will soon become your second son-in-law, and he will also be a part of this family."
Robert smiled:
"You are very generous, you know I want to hand over the manor to you."
"It doesn't make any difference. I just let Matthew take care of it, not let him inherit the ownership."
"Okay, I understand. Next, we can involve him. How about the company?"
"Not bad, the military has added another alcohol order. It seems that war is imminent."
Robert fell into deep worry:
"After the Napoleonic Wars, no large-scale war broke out on the European continent. Now, this balance is about to be broken."
At this time, there were four main powerful countries in Europe, namely the British Empire, France, Tsarist Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. However, due to various reasons, the focus of these countries was not on the European continent.
For the British Empire, because it is far away from the British Isles, its attention is mainly focused on the competition for overseas colonies. This is the basis for maintaining its dominance of the world. It is not actually interested in dominating the European continent.
However, the British strategy is to maintain the balance of the European continent and keep European countries in check with each other, thereby maintaining its status as the European arbiter.
For France, it has always regarded itself as the hegemon of the European continent, and it is also an established European power. It has been competing with the United Kingdom for overseas colonies.
However, due to the heavy losses in the Napoleonic Wars and Britain's huge naval power, it was no longer able to compete head-on with Britain. Therefore, its strategic focus began to be readjusted back to the European continent, with the intention of reestablishing its leading position in Europe.
For Tsarist Russia, although it has a vast land area and a large population, due to its late development and relatively weak naval strength, it is no longer able to compete with European powers for colonies overseas.
In addition, he suffered a blow from the British and French coalition forces in the Crimean War, and thus put away his ambition to dominate Europe.
After that, it mainly focused on expansion in Asia and Central Asia, and was no longer so enthusiastic about European affairs.
For the Austro-Hungarian Empire, due to its complicated domestic ethnic conflicts and the many conflicts between various ethnic groups, it required a lot of energy to maintain internal rule.
Therefore, it is relatively less involved in external affairs and has no sharp conflicts with other countries.
Therefore, in the 19th century and even the early part of the 20th century, the overall situation on the European continent was relatively stable. Although there were frequent frictions and even wars between countries due to their interests, large-scale wars were not yet possible due to their own agendas. p>
The key to breaking the balance is that Austria-Hungary has become weaker, and Hans, who is between it and France, has risen.
The latter is the key!
"This battle is inevitable. Father, once the war starts, young men will have to face it on the battlefield. By then, the manpower in our manor will be stretched thin. You must be prepared in advance."
Robert has another headache:
"My child, forget about others, but you can't go."
"Don't worry, I'm not that impulsive. Providing logistical support for the military is also one of my responsibilities. If it works well and gets some military exploits, I'm afraid your title won't be as good as Matthew's."
This was definitely a joke, but Robert felt somewhat helpless in Gao Bin's words.
If it weren't for the bloodline issue, the title of earl would definitely fall on his head.
"I'm sorry about my child," Robert said.
"No, this is just a joke, father."
"Perhaps we can use our military exploits to gain a brand new title?"
"Is this necessary?"
"We'll see when the time comes. I will fully support you."
Gao Bin was noncommittal.
Robert motioned for him to sit down and poured him a glass of wine:
"Let's talk about this war. What do you think the future will be like?"
"It's hard to say, but the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the Italian-Turkish War gave all the peoples in the Balkan Peninsula the hope of overthrowing Ottoman rule. The first Balkan War is the best example of this.
Although with the intervention of European powers, the Ottoman Empire was eventually forced to withdraw its troops from the Balkans.
However, after the Ottoman Empire withdrew, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Tsarist Russia again set their sights on the Balkans, and the two sides began to have conflicts over the struggle for the Balkan Peninsula.
Coupled with the crazy rise of Germany, although I hate to admit it, they have far surpassed Britain and France in industry, and are second only to the ugly country on the other side of the Atlantic.
What's even more terrible is that in the process of their rise, the Germans fought a Franco-Prussian War with France, which not only caused France to lose Alsace and Lorraine, but also directly caused France to lose its European hegemony. The relationship between Germany and France
Deteriorating rapidly.
At the same time, Tsarist Russia was dissatisfied with the powerful country that appeared around it, especially the close relationship between Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This led Tsarist Russia to gradually get closer to Britain and France.
These contradictions continue to intensify, and the energy they erupt is difficult to estimate.
So how this battle will evolve and what direction it will eventually take, no one can say for sure!"
If others can't tell, he can definitely tell, but he just doesn't want to say it.
Predicting once or twice can be regarded as foresight. If the prediction is accurate every time, it would be a bit scary.
He just came to this world to have fun, not to be a magician.