A Visit

Ferdinand did not stay long in Vratsa. The next day, he set off on his journey again.

Koinare, a village in Vratsa Province, was still just an ordinary little mountain village: poor and backward, with no trace of the future Bulgaria's leading village.

Ferdinand had concealed his identity and arrived quietly with a few guards. It was already noon. He went to the village's only restaurant, which also served as a general store and tavern.

From chatting with the locals, Ferdinand learned that the owner was a man in his forties named Carter Dilov. He seemed optimistic, despite the fact that business at his little shop was poor.

Ferdinand told his guards to order whatever they wanted. He asked for some yogurt, a piece of bread, and a local salad made with onions, green peppers, celery, and bamboo shoots. That would have to do for lunch.

As for the taste, there was nothing worth saying! Ferdinand could barely force it down. The only seasonings were salt and jam; aside from knowing it was all natural, he couldn't detect the slightest hint of good food.

After managing a few bites to take the edge off his hunger, Ferdinand couldn't help asking, "Mr. Carter, is there nothing else here?"

Hearing Ferdinand's question, Carter Dilov hurriedly replied, "Oh, God! Of course there is, respected guest. Look, these snacks were brought back from Vratsa by my son! What would you like? We have ham, sausages, canned goods, and even French fries..."

Ferdinand asked in confusion, "Wait, Carter, you have so many goods. Why don't you put them out for sale? You'd only have to write a few more names on the board. It's simple!"

The owner, Carter, answered at once, "Oh, I'm sorry, respected guest. You're a well-traveled man, so you must know that not long ago, there was a nationwide crackdown on food safety in Bulgaria. These goods have all gone up in price!"

"Our village of Koinare is just a small place. We're all poor folk, and hardly anyone could afford them before. Now they can afford them even less."

"I only brought in this batch a little over three months ago. When I tried explaining the price hike, they didn't believe me. They said I was cheating them, so I got angry and took the goods off the shelves!"

"Carter, you're lying again. How could prices have doubled all at once? I went to Vratsa when I was young. There are poor people in the city too, and they're hardly better off than we are. At your prices, they'd all starve to death!" said one of the customers, an old man of about sixty.

The old man was full of energy. His clothes were a little worn, but clean and neat, without a single patch. Ferdinand could tell he was probably doing fairly well.

With an aggrieved look, Carter said, "You know me, Master Frank. When have I ever lied? That really is what they cost! If you don't believe me, ask this gentleman!"

The old man called Frank rolled his eyes and said, "I know what you were like before, but things are different now! You changed as soon as you went into business. How many merchants don't lie?"

Seeing that Frank wouldn't believe him no matter what, Carter grew so anxious he practically stamped his feet. Ferdinand understood what had happened. He picked up a can of beef and checked the production date, and at once he saw the problem.

Ferdinand smiled and said, "Mr. Frank, you really have wronged Mr. Carter this time!"

Frank stared at Ferdinand, bewildered. He'd been defending Carter—why was Ferdinand saying he was in the wrong?

Ferdinand continued, "Judging by the production date, this was made six months ago. If Mr. Carter bought it three months ago, then it would have been worth that price. Back then, many substandard goods had been seized, and shortages were widespread, so prices were somewhat high."

Frank still looked doubtful as he asked, "Sir, are you saying prices really have gone up that much out there?"

Ferdinand replied calmly, "No! I was talking about three months ago. The market has returned to normal now, and prices overall shouldn't have risen by more than ten percent!"

Carter exclaimed excitedly, "Master Frank, now you believe me, don't you? I really wasn't cheating you!"

Frank turned his head away and said scornfully, "Oh, God! Carter, you really are a fool! Didn't you hear the gentleman? Those were prices from three months ago. Things have returned to normal now! You're still selling them at the old prices. Doesn't that tell you something?"

Carter said agitatedly, "But that's what I paid for them! If I lower the prices, I'll lose money!"

Frank laughed and said, "That's your problem. Isn't taking a loss part of doing business? Besides, you'd better figure out how to sell them quickly—or keep them and eat them yourself. It'd be a disaster if they expired!"

Watching their exchange, Ferdinand understood. Frank didn't have anything against Carter; he simply disliked merchants. Though his words were harsh, he was still urging Carter to sell the goods quickly.

Ferdinand smiled and asked, "Mr. Frank, how was last year's harvest in your village?"

Frank smiled and said, "You're joking, sir! It was the same as always—enough to get by."

Ferdinand asked in confusion, "Aren't they promoting new farming techniques? Why hasn't the harvest increased?"

Carter cut in before Frank could answer. "How could it not have increased? It's just that some people thought it was too much trouble and didn't bother learning, so—"

It seemed Frank had been prodded where it hurt. "Go on, get out of here, Carter. This has nothing to do with you!"

"Please excuse us, sir. You know agricultural reform doesn't happen overnight. I'm an old man, and I'm cautious. The technician sent from above didn't explain things clearly, so I decided to wait and see."

Ferdinand smiled and said, "Understandable. You're being prudent. By the way, I took a look around. It seems your area lacks irrigation channels. How do you handle the water needed for farming?"

At Ferdinand's question, Frank said helplessly, "What can we do? Thank God the weather's been favorable these past few years! As for the canals you mentioned, building them isn't so simple. Things may look promising for us now, but the sheer scale of the work needed to solve our water problems is more than we can afford!"

Ferdinand nodded gravely and continued, "If the government organized the work, would you be willing to take part?"

Frank smiled and said, "You're joking, sir. If the government were willing to step in, why would we refuse? I can't speak for other places, but here in our village, solving the irrigation problem would let us cultivate at least another third of our land!"

Ferdinand nodded with satisfaction. Since the people were willing to support it, the water-conservancy project could now get underway.

Frank's expression suddenly changed. He asked in astonishment, "Sir, are you with the government?"

"What? Don't I look like it?" Ferdinand asked in return.

Frank hurriedly said, "You do! Then... the rumors are true? The government is organizing a water-conservancy project?"

Ferdinand nodded. "There is such a plan."

Frank asked joyfully, "Thank God! Could it start here?"

"What happened, old sir? I thought you were cautious. Aren't you going to wait and see this time?" Ferdinand teased.

Frank cried, "Good heavens—oh, no! What risk is there in building waterworks? It's not as if we'd lose anything!"

"Besides, life has gotten much easier for us over the past year or two! The Grand Duke has done a fine job. Taxes are much lighter than before. When the railways were being built, we had to provide labor, but later they canceled that and started hiring workers instead. Naturally, that took a lot of pressure off everyone!"

Ferdinand smiled and acknowledged it, but he was pleased inside. I came up with all of that, of course I know! You think I didn't want to use free labor? It's only because there's waterworks still to come! We'll need workers either way, and having you take part voluntarily is better than forcing you.

Ferdinand teased, "But you won't be able to get out of it this time, Frank. The principle behind this water-conservancy project is that the government will provide explosives and some machinery. The rest of the labor will have to come from you."

Frank's expression stiffened, but then he smiled again and said, "That's no problem. The waterworks needed across Bulgaria will require an astronomical amount of labor. I can't think of any other way than for everyone to pitch in."

"That's right. The Ministry of Agriculture estimates that completing the waterworks nationwide will require hundreds of millions of man-days. Even if all the able-bodied people in the country took part, it would still take years. There's not much the government can do about that—you'll have to put in the effort yourselves," Ferdinand said gravely.

"That much?" Carter exclaimed.

Frank glared at Carter and said, "Don't make such a fuss! We're better off here. If everything goes smoothly, it'll probably still take a year or two. In places with worse conditions, it wouldn't be strange if construction took ten years or more!"

After ending their conversation, Ferdinand declined Frank's invitation and left.

In some ways, Bulgarians were rather like the Chinese: they were homebodies and held their land dear.

Even in later generations, they wouldn't leave their hometowns to work elsewhere unless they had no choice.

After becoming wealthy, many merchants liked to return to their hometowns to buy fields and property. Frank was a miniature portrait of Bulgaria's small landowners and prosperous farmers.