Labor Issues

Starting in 1888, Bulgaria launched a Five-Year Plan, with railways serving as the top priority. Whether during the era of the Stam Government or the era of Ferdinand, the normal construction of railways remained undisturbed regardless of changes in the domestic situation.

To ensure the smooth completion of the railway project and to save on expenses, the Stam era began sending criminals to construction sites to serve as forced labor.

The Stam Cabinet allowed the police to run rampant; initially, this was to strike at political rivals, but later it was to raise funds, and there was also the underlying intention of securing a batch of cheap labor.

With the progress of the rehabilitation work, many of the unjust, false, and wrong cases from the Stam era were clarified, and a large number of innocent people were released, leaving the railway project currently facing a labor shortage.

Although Bulgaria cannot be called vast, it is a fact that it is sparsely populated. While a large number of farmers had gone bankrupt previously, they had already been mostly absorbed due to the advancement of industrialization.

Given a choice, few people are willing to go and build railways, even though the compensation for railway workers is higher.

However, railway projects at the end of the 19th century were synonymous with death traps; industrial accidents were perfectly normal. Even if some were forced by livelihood to take the jobs, they would not stay long and would seek other ways to survive at the first opportunity.

Now Konstantin was worried. Without enough workers, even though he had already sent all the criminals to the construction sites, the personnel gap was still severe!

In an era without machinery, where everything relied on shoulder poles and manual labor, coolies were indispensable. To ensure completion on time, the engineers provided a staggering figure: at least fifty thousand laborers were needed.

When this figure was reported, Konstantin was dumbfounded. This meant there was still a shortfall of forty thousand laborers.

Bulgaria only has a population of over three million now; trying to scrape together so many railway workers is simply as difficult as ascending to heaven. Since there was no other way, he could only report it further up.

Chekhov, who was on duty at the cabinet, welcomed unexpected guests. Konstantin had arrived, and he had brought engineers along with him.

Seeing Konstantin and his party, Chekhov was confused and asked puzzledly, "Konstantin, what is going on?"

Konstantin could not spare the time for small talk and went straight to the point, saying, "Mr. Chekhov, the main reason I came to see you today is regarding the railway issue."

Chekhov asked seriously, "Has something gone wrong with the railway project?"

"No!" Konstantin said affirmatively.

Chekhov's hanging heart dropped, and he said, "God bless, as long as nothing went wrong, that's fine!"

"But it's even more serious than that!" Konstantin's next sentence left Chekhov confused again.

"What is it?" Chekhov asked.

"Better let the engineer tell you!" Konstantin said awkwardly.

Chekhov said gloomily, "Fine, it's the same whoever says it!"

Chief Engineer Laurent Holman said with a straight face, "Respected Mr. Chekhov, the railway project is currently proceeding smoothly, but we have encountered a big problem!"

Hearing this, Chekhov was even more puzzled. Since everything was proceeding smoothly, what kind of trouble could there be? He immediately asked, "What big problem?"

Laurent Holman replied stiffly, "We lack sufficient laborers!"

Chekhov's heart settled, and he asked, "How many are missing?"

Laurent Holman said calmly, "To ensure smooth completion, at least another forty-three thousand laborers are needed, and the project budget must be increased by fifty percent!"

"What? How is this possible? This is too far from the original plan!" Chekhov said in disbelief.

"Mr. Chekhov, please trust our professionalism! These are the results calculated by our technical staff after actual measurements!" Laurent Holman said cautiously.

Chekhov was still incredulous and asked suspiciously, "Apologies, Mr. Laurent, I am not questioning your professionalism, but this gap is just too large!"

"For this, I can only say I am sorry. At the time, we underestimated Bulgaria's traffic environment. While building the railway, we had to invest a large amount of manpower to build roads first, and the construction difficulty of the Rila Mountains exceeded our imagination!" Laurent Holman explained.

After hearing Laurent's words, Chekhov's face changed color immediately. He knew this was truly a big problem—a big problem that exceeded the scope of what the cabinet could solve.

Chekhov said with a bitter smile, "God bless! Konstantin, you really have brought a big problem!"

"Chekhov, I didn't want this either!" Konstantin said awkwardly.

This problem was too big, so big that it was a key factor in whether the Five-Year Plan could be completed, as well as whether the interim cabinet could be made permanent.

Chekhov thought for a moment and decided to report it to Ferdinand. He no longer felt optimistic that the railway plan could be completed smoothly. Given Bulgaria's current situation, it was impossible to gather so many laborers in a short time.

Ferdinand, who had just become free, was enjoying a dance in the palace. Several beautiful young girls were performing to their hearts' content, and the costumes were personally designed by Ferdinand.

Just as Ferdinand had caught a dancer and was about to take things further, Alice suddenly walked in and said shyly, "Your Highness, Mr. Chekhov and Mr. Konstantin are here. Oh, and they brought three strangers with them!"

Ferdinand said with some displeasure, "Understood, I will be there immediately!" After speaking, Ferdinand let go of the woman in his arms and looked at the shy Alice, suddenly giving a wicked smile that scared Alice into running away immediately.

In his previous life, he had been a "single dog," and when he first transmigrated, Ferdinand had been quite upright, but he was soon corrupted by aristocratic life. Although he had not reached the point of promiscuity, at least he had never participated in the "uncovered" parties of the nobility for fear of infection; of course, he had never lacked women by his side.

Thinking that there was still serious business to attend to, Ferdinand decided to let Alice go for once and strode toward the main hall.

Seeing Chekhov and the others, Ferdinand, who was in a bad mood, did not give them a chance to speak. Because Laurent Holman had been invited by people sent by Ferdinand, he had met him once before, so as soon as he saw him, he knew what it was about. He asked directly, "You are all here, but has some problem occurred with the railway project?"

Seeing that Ferdinand was in a bad mood, Chekhov dared not play games and said immediately, "God bless, the railway project is proceeding smoothly, but we are currently lacking laborers!"

"Oh!" Ferdinand responded, waiting for the rest. Lacking laborers for railway construction was commonplace and nothing to be surprised about, but it was not normal for them to come to him for such a small problem.

Chekhov thought for a moment and braced himself to continue: "According to Engineer Laurent's calculations, we currently need at least another forty-three thousand laborers to complete the project on schedule!"

Hearing this figure, Ferdinand said in disbelief, "What? Are you kidding me? You still need that many laborers?"