It wasn't that nobody dared take over. At least Shineway Food Group was very interested. Kro-Ivan was good at working a room. His business wasn't very large, but he had connections everywhere.
Through a friend's introduction, he got in touch with an executive at Shineway Food Group. After some haggling, Kro-Ivan sold the slaughterhouse for the rock-bottom price of ten thousand Leu.
Of course, Kro-Ivan's slaughterhouse was far from the only business to be acquired. Around the same time, Shineway Food Group had already taken over more than a dozen factories, large and small. It now had the infrastructure to become a monopolistic conglomerate.
While Bulgaria's food industry was wailing in distress, Shineway Food Group was thriving, with plenty of resources left to expand.
Because the company had prepared in advance, it had pulled several substandard products and cleared its inventory. Even if it had stock left over, it could sell it overseas through Volvo's channels.
All the products it sold now met the standards. Welian had even publicly invited people from all walks of life to keep the company under scrutiny, welcoming experts and scholars to inspect its products. And after it dropped its low-end goods, sales of mid- and high-end food had quickly surged.
At Ferdinand's instruction, Shineway Food Group made "You get what you pay for" the centerpiece of its advertising campaign. It advertised everywhere, driving the idea home to the Bulgarian public.
The frightened middle class immediately became loyal fans of Shineway Food Group. Its "exclusive for nobles" products, in particular, became hot commodities.
After all, the nineteenth century was still an age of nobility. Nobody dared cut corners on goods supplied to nobles. The impact of poisoning a thousand commoners couldn't compare to that of poisoning a single noble.
Shineway Food Group also went around calling for the government to pass a food safety law and standardize hygiene and safety requirements across the food industry.
Food processing companies were demanding that the government legislate. The news instantly set off a public outcry, and before long, Shineway Food Group had become synonymous with corporate conscience.
Seizing the opportunity, Welian simply spun off all the group's substandard products and arranged for several shell companies to manufacture them.
From then on, every food product made by any factory under Shineway Food Group worldwide would meet the standards, laying the groundwork for its future food empire.
The food safety scandal grew ever more intense. Everyone knew the storm was about to break.
Within just half a month of Kro-Ivan selling his factory, the police had shut down more than fifty food processing businesses, large and small, and arrested dozens of unscrupulous merchants.
Since Bulgaria had no laws governing food safety, what to do with them became a problem.
Under normal circumstances, they would only have needed to pay some money to make the problem go away. There would have been no need to shut down factories or arrest anyone. But now, under pressure from public opinion, nobody dared let them off lightly!
With public opinion firmly behind them, the government soon introduced a draft of the Food Safety Management Act. But people immediately began arguing over the specific standards.
Set the standards too high, and food processing companies wouldn't be able to meet them. Even if they barely managed to comply, the prices would be beyond what ordinary people could afford. Set them too low, and the public might not accept them.
The food industry's capitalists weren't naïve. They were now pulling out all the stops: bribing experts and scholars, using newspapers to steer public opinion, and showering the government with money in an attempt to win its favor—all in hopes of lowering the standards.
The capitalists caught up in the scandal were pulling every trick in the book, doing everything they could to lower the penalties and escape unscathed.
But they had clearly miscalculated. Konstantin was looking for a breakthrough. How could he possibly let this opportunity, handed to him on a silver platter, slip by?
To quiet the public outcry, Ferdinand instructed the government to hold a hearing, inviting relevant experts, scholars, and news outlets to attend, along with representatives from several different social classes.
At the hearing, Konstantin represented the government and read out the newly drafted Food Safety Management Act.
"Mr. Konstantin, aren't these standards too high? Can they really be met? What will we do if most businesses fail to meet them?" a reporter asked doubtfully.
"Don't worry," Konstantin said confidently. "We set these standards after conducting market research. Some businesses already meet them, so it's technologically feasible, and the costs won't rise significantly."
Kobelev, a capitalist, objected, "But most businesses can't meet them!"
"What does that matter?" Konstantin answered emphatically. "Our goal is to make sure the public has safe food they can trust. If most businesses can't do that, then let the capable ones have the market! Survival of the fittest—that's the law of nature!"
"But what about production capacity? Our businesses can't transform overnight. They need time to improve before they can meet market demand!" Kobelev said heatedly.
Konstantin smiled. "There's no need to worry about that. Most food processing techniques aren't very difficult. Expanding production only takes a few short months. I believe the public can accept a temporary decline in their standard of living to protect their lives. As for gradual improvement? I'm sorry, but the public can't wait any longer. Our government can't keep letting people eat slow-acting poison!"
The moment Konstantin finished speaking, thunderous applause filled the room.
Seeing this, Kobelev continued his feeble argument. "But this will create a terrifying monopoly! Just imagine: the entire Bulgarian food market controlled by one company, or a handful of companies. The market will become stagnant. What a dreadful prospect!"
Before Konstantin could speak, Aleko jumped in, furiously challenging Kobelev. "No matter how dreadful that sounds, it can't be worse than things are now! You greedy devil! At least we'll know our food is safe and our lives are protected. We won't have to live in fear of meeting God at any moment!"
Another wave of thunderous applause broke out. Aleko had voiced what everyone was thinking. Someone shouted, "Greedy devil, get out!"
The crowd immediately joined in, shouting in a chaotic chorus, "Greedy devil, get out!"
Seeing that he had provoked the crowd's fury, Kobelev fled in terror, no longer caring why he had come that day.
The proceedings went smoothly after that. The news reports had frightened everyone over the past few days. Apart from eggs, no food felt safe to eat anymore.
The wealthy were all right. They simply went to the countryside to buy raw ingredients and process them themselves, or bought food reserved for nobles from Volvo. Some even switched entirely to eggs, sending egg prices soaring.
But ordinary people had it rough. They couldn't afford high-end food, and eating ordinary food felt like eating poison. Their appetites stayed poor for a long time.
After the Food Safety Management Act was passed, Bulgaria banned all noncompliant food from the market. The police were kept busy, shutting down businesses selling substandard products and arresting unscrupulous merchants.
To meet the public's needs, the government also bought a large quantity of raw ingredients from the countryside and sent them to market. To protect their lives, ordinary people had no choice but to process their own food themselves.
Fortunately, Shineway Food Group had prepared well in advance and stocked up on a large supply of compliant food. Its products flooded the market and helped calm the crisis.
Taking advantage of the food industry crackdown, Ferdinand had, in effect, completed his monopolization of Bulgaria's food industry.
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