I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 713 Pie
When it came to the end of 1919, countries finally entered the reconstruction stage one after another.

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 Wars, Constantinople was almost completely destroyed, with only one in ten buildings left. The Ottomans fled to the Anatolian Peninsula, and the economy suffered a devastating blow.

George rebuilt the city on the ruins and also replanned Constantinople.

After the Ottoman Empire ceded Constantinople to Russia, Russia rebuilt Constantinople according to the standards of its capital and prepared to move the capital later.

Napoleon once said: If there is only one country in the world, then its capital must be Constantinople.

After reconstruction, Constantinople retains the classical elegance and subtlety while taking into account the progress of science and technology and the times.

When night falls, the neon lights on both sides of the Bosphorus and the Milky Way in the sky complement each other. Seagulls and sightseeing ferries full of tourists wander in the Golden Horn. Fireworks burst in the sky from time to time. Although deafening, what they bring to people is no longer war and death, but spiritual conversion.

After four years of world war, people's desire for peace is unprecedented.

London’s winter is always monotonous gray and white, just like a black and white photo. Although it makes people miss it, they never yearn for it.

The streets of Paris were occupied by striking workers and wandering veterans. The upper class continued to live a life of debauchery, but life for ordinary people became increasingly difficult, with no hope at all.

A loaf of bread in Berlin now sold for 1 marks. The Weimar government tried every possible 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 complicated impression of Russia. Most of them think of Russia as a frightening polar bear, an unreasonable neighbor, and occasionally the landlord's stupid son.

During the World War, Britain and France finally had some positive propaganda about the Russian Empire.

These positive propaganda, 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 work system and minimum wage guarantee system have caused strong repercussions among the lower classes of people in Britain and France.

Not only did the lower classes become more interested in Russia, but even the upper classes in Britain and France also showed a strong interest in Russia.

Louis from Paris was an exhibitor at the World Expo. He brought French black truffles and foie gras, hoping to open up the Russian market.

What Louis didn't expect was that Constantinople not only had black truffles, but the quality was also as good as that of France.

The black truffles in Constantinople are imported from Dongda.

Speaking of black truffles, the owner of the hotel where Louis stayed told an interesting story that left Louis stunned.

Before Russian businessmen discovered black truffles, the Chinese did not understand the value of black truffles, so they fed black truffles to pigs.

Black truffle is actually a kind of wild mushroom and is the favorite food of sows, so some people in France use sows to find black truffles.

Louis never imagined that the black truffle, which is so popular in France, is actually used to feed pigs in the East.

"What's so strange about this? A few days ago, some Italians brought some spaghetti. After tasting our spaghetti, the Italians threw away the spaghetti they brought—"

The hotel owner laughed, seemingly unaware that the noodles he was referring to, "our" noodles, also came from the East.

To be more precise, from the Amur.

"If you really want to gain something from the expo, you'd better change your mindset and import goods from Russia to sell in France."

The proprietress is the mother of six children, a typical Russian old woman with a strong figure, and speaks fluent French.

"It sounds good, but why don't you do it?" It was Louis' first time dealing with Russians and he didn't know them well enough.

Before the proprietress could say anything, several policemen walked into the hotel and questioned the guests one by one.

Louis learned about the character of the Russian police from French newspapers, so he put 10 rubles in his ID and handed it to the police.

"Dig lotus roots, dig lotus roots, dig lotus roots. Look, this time it's 10 rubles. You're really generous—"

The policeman smiled and showed it to his companions, then thanked Louis; "Thank you for your generosity, you are such a good person."

Louis was confused and had no idea what the police meant.

"This money will serve as your donation to help the families of soldiers in Constantinople."

The boss was very happy and poured Louis a glass of vodka.

Free gift.

Louis was very surprised. Don’t Russian police charge money?

"Grand Duke Yuriev does not allow them to accept bribes, otherwise it will affect their work and then their pensions. Will the police give up their future security for 10 rubles?"

The boss answered questions and resolved doubts, his words full of pride.

The Russian police in the imperial era were famous for their formidable reputation. They even dared to make concessions to death row inmates. There was nothing they dared not do.

Today's Russian police have high salaries, good benefits, and pensions after retirement. Naturally, they will not give up their future security for such a small profit.

"If this happens, your administrative costs will accumulate to an unbearable level."

Louis believed that Grand Duke Yuriev was just acting on a whim.

French politicians always say nice things during their campaigns.

Once elected, French politicians seem to have amnesia and forget all their campaign promises.

This is the root cause of the unrest in French politics.

"Grand Duke Yuriev always keeps his word!"

The boss's face turned cold, and he was very dissatisfied with Louis's questioning.

"hope so."

Louis did not argue, and he himself was not aware that curiosity about Constantinople was increasing wildly.

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, the road surface has been purified and the sanitation is very good. There is no garbage and the greenery is also 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 and polluted Paris, Louis walked for a whole morning and did not encounter any homeless people or beggars, nor did he encounter any thieves or robbers. This made Louis feel incredible.

Walking out of the quiet residential area, Louis came to the Plaza de Nations, where many merchants were inviting customers to taste food for free. Louis ate about a dozen pies of different flavors until he could no longer eat any more.

Maybe it would be nice to go back to Paris and make pies.

(End of this chapter)