Sales Soar

"Karl, this problem is actually not difficult to solve." After thinking for a moment, Oscar spoke.

Karl looked at Oscar, wanting to know how he intended to solve this problem.

"Karl, the company we establish in the future will be called the Welfare Lottery Company. What is a welfare lottery? It means that a portion of the profits from selling lottery tickets will be set aside for social welfare projects. For example, providing food and medical subsidies for the poor, funding orphanages, and so on. That way, we will gain an extremely high reputation in society. If others want to make a move against us, they will have to take society's reaction into account." Oscar smiled.

Many times, social prestige was also a talisman. Once one possessed an extremely high social reputation, many underhanded methods that could not see the light of day could no longer be used. Otherwise, they would provoke a fierce backlash from all of society.

"Your Highness, that is indeed a good solution." Karl nodded.

"Besides, the lottery market is a huge cake to begin with. Even as a Prince, I cannot swallow it all by myself. Therefore, I have decided to give a portion of the profits to the royal family. With the royal family backing us, no matter how bold others may be, they will not dare touch us!" Oscar continued.

If possible, he naturally wanted to swallow all the profits himself. But his frame was still too small and too fragile; he simply could not withstand that kind of pressure. The only way was to distribute part of the benefits in order to preserve the greater share. That was still better than being swallowed whole without even bones left behind.

"With the royal family's support, such high social prestige, and Your Highness's own status, there should be no one in all of Germany who would dare set their sights on us." Karl nodded repeatedly, believing Oscar had considered everything with great thoroughness.

As for the distribution of profits, Oscar had planned it this way: twenty percent would be used for social welfare projects, twenty percent would be contributed to the royal family, and the remaining sixty percent would be at his own disposal. After all, if Oscar was to fulfill his promise and donate Battleships to the German Navy, the funds required would not be a small sum.

"Then it is settled. Tomorrow, we will register the company, find an office, and begin preparations. Within three months, our lottery tickets will officially go on sale," Oscar said.

Although three months was far too little time for preparations, time was pressing now. He did not have the luxury of preparing at leisure.

"Your Highness, we can first promote it throughout North Germany. Once we succeed there, expanding into South Germany will be much easier. Of course, we must first apply for a patent for this format. Otherwise, those fellows will begin copying it very quickly," Karl said through gritted teeth.

Qin Shou nodded. "Then after registering the company, we will apply for the patent."

"This is all my savings—five million Mark. Let it serve as the company's startup capital. If we spend carefully, it should be enough. You will serve as the company's legal representative. I will give you twenty percent of the company shares," Oscar said. Given his status, it was unsuitable for him to step forward as the company's legal representative. Having Karl take the lead could not have been more appropriate.

"Your Highness, it is my honor to partner with you. Besides, this is a project guaranteed to make a profit without loss. If I contributed nothing yet held so many shares, I would not be able to rest easy. Consider this money my investment." Karl pulled out a check from his coat.

Oscar took it and saw that it was a check issued by the German Commercial Bank, worth one million Mark.

"Karl, where did you get so much money?"

"Your Highness, this is the startup capital my father gave me," Karl said with a smile.

"Haha, it seems Lord Jonarait is quite supportive of us." Oscar burst into laughter.

"However, Karl, although you hold twenty percent of the shares, you can only receive ten percent of the profits. After all, the other forty percent of the shares must be used for social welfare projects and contributions to the royal family."

"Of course, Your Highness, I understand. Being able to receive ten percent of the profits already satisfies me greatly," Karl said with a sincere expression. He knew that even just ten percent of the profits would be an astronomical figure. After all, according to Oscar's plan, there would be three draws every week. Over a year, that would become an astronomical sum.

The next day, Oscar and Karl registered the company and began applying for patents at the same time. The patents Oscar applied for were not limited to Double Color Ball; they also included later lottery games such as Super Lotto.

Oscar's status as a Prince granted him many privileges while handling these matters. Things that originally would have taken a long time were all completed within a week.

Next, the company began recruiting employees. At the same time, preparations for the lottery's launch got underway.

For the printing of the lottery tickets, Oscar and the others specially hired a professional printing plant and designed anti-counterfeiting markings. Moreover, selling lottery tickets now was unlike in later generations, when the entire country was linked by a network. Therefore, each ticket was divided into two parts. The first part was held by the lottery player, while the second was kept on file by the company after the ticket was sold. Sales would stop six hours before the draw. All archived tickets would be transported to Berlin, preventing inside and outside parties from colluding to cheat their way into prize money.

To promote the lottery, Oscar placed a large number of advertisements in Germany's major newspapers. The advertising slogan was highly tempting: Want to become rich overnight? Play Double Color Ball—five million Mark awaits you!

Although the massive advertising campaign made Oscar and the others' funds flow away like water, and several million Mark quickly ran dry, the intensive barrage of advertisements also made Double Color Ball wildly popular before it had even gone on sale. Lottery players throughout Germany went mad over Double Color Ball. Even those who normally never bought lottery tickets were drawn in.

In this era, few could resist the temptation of a five-million-Mark prize. If someone truly won first prize, they would really become rich overnight.

Time passed bit by bit. On November 18, 1904, the German Welfare Lottery Company's Double Color Ball tickets officially went on sale throughout Germany. They had originally planned to sell only in North Germany for the time being, but the advertisements were too powerful, and the southern German regions were easily covered as well.

At lottery outlets across the country, long queues formed the moment business opened. Double Color Ball sales exploded across the board.