The Age of Electricity

After sitting down, Caderousse immediately inquired about the cost of the headlight modification from Bovan expressed his intention to take out a loan.

"Ah, you mean these electric lights? I know a little about that," Mr. Bovan said.

Caderousse knew that the banker Bovan had long been connected to the Military-Industrial Complex. It was said that back when Joseph was still running Naval Research Institute in Toulon, building various smuggling ships, they already had business dealings—although at that time, Mr. Bovan's business was actually quite limited, he still made a considerable amount of money from his dealings with Joseph. Later, after the Military-Industrial Complex was established, Mr. Bovan was one of the earliest businessmen to join Military-Industrial Complex. It was also said that when Ironwall Bonaparte Bonaparte —well, we're talking about the older, more formidable Bonaparte—was tasked with the defense of Verdun during a time of crisis, much of his procurement of supplies and financial transactions were related to Mr. Bovan.

Dean Bonaparte later retired from the army and devoted himself to becoming a scientist, so much so that now, unless you subscribe to a professional journal like Nature, you almost never see his name. However, according to subtle hints from some influential people, both the Bonaparte government and Minister Bonaparte held his brother in high esteem.

This light bulb—without a doubt—was something produced in Dean Bonaparte's laboratory, most likely manufactured by Bonaparte General Electric. And Mr. Bovan supposedly also holds shares in Bonaparte General Electric; how could he not know such a thing?

"Light bulbs, in terms of price, are actually quite limited. Well, Mr. Caderousse, although you're not in the business of general consumer goods, you should know that any product has many grades. For example, wine has a distinction between estate wines and factory wines; and estate wines are further divided into first-growth, flagship, and regional wineries; first-growth wines are then divided into Grand Cru, First Growth, and Second Growth. Mr. Caderousse, which category of wine do you think has the highest profit margin? And which category has the highest total profit?"

"The highest profit margins should be from Grand Cru wineries, right? But in terms of total profit, factory wines should have the most," Caderousse replied.

"Yes, Mr. Caderousse. Any product, the luxury level will be very expensive, with an astonishing profit margin; while the general level will be very cheap. Like a bottle of Château Lafite Estate, which is worth more than a cartload of factory wine. But as for drinking, they are both drinkable. In fact, a nouveau riche like me can't even taste the difference between them," Bovan laughed.

"The same goes for electric lights. You see, places like the Moulin Rouge, the lights they use are like their wines. While they can't guarantee every bottle is from a Grand Cru, even the worst wines they use are from star wineries—of course, their prices are even more outrageous; they can sell star wines at Grand Cru prices—and the same goes for electric lights. They use luxury-grade lights, so the prices are naturally terrifying."

For example, that large crystal chandelier we have above, six meters in diameter, uses tens of thousands of crystals alone, and the price is naturally... Ah, Mr. Caderousse, I believe you're not interested in that chandelier. You might be more interested in the smaller crystal chandelier next to it, the kind with a diameter of 80 centimeters. Hmm, that would probably cost around two or three thousand francs. Of course, if we lower our expectations a bit, replacing all the crystals with glass and changing the lamp as well, hmm, then it would probably only cost a few dozen francs, or even a dozen francs."

"Is there a big difference between that and this one?" Caderousse asked quickly.

"Is there a big difference between Lafite Estate wines and factory wines?" Bovan asked rhetorically.

Caderousse was speechless. Bovan continued:

"Actually, for a typical nightclub, the lights themselves might not be the biggest expense. The biggest long-term expense is probably electricity, because electricity costs money too."

"So, how is the electricity bill calculated?" Caderousse asked quickly.

"As far as I know," Bovan said, "Bonaparte General Electric set relatively low electricity prices to quickly expand its customer base. If it's just one household turning on two or three lights for two or three hours a day, it won't cost much, and the average working-class family can afford it—that's how electricity can be widely adopted. However, I heard they designed something called tiered pricing, which sets limits on each household's electricity consumption, and anything exceeding that limit increases by a certain factor, like the story of putting grains of wheat into chess squares. So, if you really want to make your nightclub like the Moulin Rouge, I estimate that the electricity bill will be a huge expense."

"They're passing on the costs to us!" Caderousse exclaimed immediately. "I bet even the simplest light bulbs would be very cheap, right?"

Caderousse's viewpoint is undoubtedly reasonable. Providing electricity to Paris is a massive undertaking, and such large-scale projects are always expensive. To expedite the rollout of electricity to every household, the prices of both electricity and appliances cannot be too high; otherwise, it will hinder promotion. However, Bonaparte General Electric are unwilling to spend their own money on promotion and traffic acquisition, so they created this tiered pricing system, using the money from large electricity consumers to fill the gap.

"The cheapest light bulb?" Bovan laughed. "I have one installed in my study. It's really cheap, only one franc."

"Mr. Bovan, are you using the cheapest light bulb?"

"Yes, just like I can't tell the difference between Lafayette Club and factory wine. For me, a light just needs to work. A one-franc lamp will work too. Besides, Mr. Caderousse, look up at that six-meter crystal chandelier. Can you see the difference in how crystal and glass refract light? They all tell me that the light from this kind of lamp is richer and more flavorful. Can you tell the difference between it and a glass lamp?"

"Mr. Bovan, I've never seen even the simplest glass lamp," Caderousse laughed. "However, I think, perhaps—or rather, I'm not sure—I can't tell either."

Caderousse felt confident he could tell the difference between the two lamps, just as easily as he could distinguish between Lafayette Club and factory wine. However, he couldn't say that in front of Mr. Bovan.

"Of course, for people like us, many things can't be considered solely in terms of their practical value; they also have decorative value," Mr. Bovan continued. "For example, that lamp in my living room costs a full ten thousand francs. Hahaha..."

"Mr. Bovan, do you know the specific tiers of electricity prices?"

"I've only heard a little bit about it, but I can't guarantee it's completely accurate..."

After some discussion, Caderousse and Bovan reached a preliminary agreement on a loan. He planned to imitate "Moulin Rouge" in a relatively inexpensive way, which is a common practice for such businesses. Just as the wines in "Moulin Rouge" are at least from star wineries, the wines in Caderousse's nightclub would range from star wineries to factory wines.

As for the electricity bill, it was indeed a problem. However, considering that the Moulin Rouge had actually raised prices due to supply shortages, Caderousse believed that after the Moulin Rouge's renovation, the level of consumption was bound to increase. In fact, the Moulin Rouge had room to raise prices; for its customers, money was never a major issue. Furthermore, the upgrade in prices at the Moulin Rouge would allow them some profit margin, so Caderousse felt he should still be able to make it through. However:

"Sigh, I used to be single-mindedly focused on making money for myself, but from now on, I'm afraid I'll have to work hard to make money for the banks and power plants." After agreeing on the terms, for some reason, this thought suddenly popped into Mr. Caderousse's mind.

The noisy and bustling night passed just like that. The next morning, as soon as the citizens stepped out of their homes, they saw the streets full of newsboys running and shouting.

The newsboys' shouts were almost entirely related to electric lights.

Andrei had just left home, heading to school, when a newsboy ran past, shouting, "The electrical age has arrived! The wonders of last night's 'Moulin Rouge' revealed! Come see <Science Truth Daily> to uncover scientific truth!"

"A revolutionary lighting technology has been born, and darkness will no longer exist! The door to wealth is opening wide! Come and see <The Paris Business> as it reveals the short-term and long-term economic impact of this technology."

"A beauty seen under the lamplight is even more captivating. Come and see the Sun's explanation of the new model for the Moulin Rouge..."

The newsboy had only shouted twice when another group of people surrounded him. Andrei quickly said to his follower, Vasya, "Vasya, hurry up and grab a few newspapers!"

"Young master, what newspaper would you like?" Vasya asked.

"I need any newspaper, no matter what it is!" Andrei said. "Go now!"

Vasya rushed over, and relying on his large size and strength, he pushed aside the people surrounding him with a single movement of his hands. A moment later, he ran back carrying a large pile of newspapers.

"Young master, look, I bought one of everything." Vasya handed the newspapers to Andrei.

Andrei initially wanted to say, "Give me the <Science Truth Daily> first," but then he remembered that Vasya didn't know French at all, so he had no choice but to take all the dozen or so newspapers and start looking for them one by one.

"Hmm, the Sun? I won't read this for now..." Andrei was about to put the Sun aside when he heard a voice say, "Andrei, you've made great progress! You're even reading the Sun now! That's wonderful!"