If you want to talk about the foundation created by the ancestors of the Bai family in Rome, we have to mention the changes in history.

Although personal fate has always been related to individuals, it is also inseparable from the torrent of the times.

The ancestor of the Lao Bai family crossed the ocean alone, experienced ninety-nine eighty-one difficulties, and became the son-in-law of the nobles by eating soft rice, and gained a foothold in Rome.

But in the final analysis, the Bai family is still a businessman.

When it comes to businessmen, in fact, before the bourgeoisie grew and completely entered the stage of history, it had no social status.

Shinong industry and commerce, the last commercial auction, in the Great Xia, in the past Rome, the status of merchants is not high.

Rome was founded for 800 years.

The thicker the history, the more it means that there are many behemoths.

From Cortilia's account, we can get a glimpse of today's Rome as a constitutional monarchy that transitioned from a feudal monarchy, and its composition is very complex, and it is divided into many factions.

The imperial and ecclesiastical powers were unified, so that the royal family still had a strong power, followed by the nobility...... Below the nobility were the citizens, and these citizens had the right to vote.

The aristocracy and the royal family corresponded to the Senate; The citizens correspond to the National Assembly.

This is a very standard bicameral system.

The difference is that in Rome, where the imperial power and the clerical power are unified, the power of the emperor is still supreme, and the position that everyone wants to get by breaking their heads and grabbing their heads is nothing more than the position of prime minister under the emperor, and the real first consul is always the Roman emperor himself.

The origin of the bicameral system originally came from the Estates-General.

However, with the progress of society, the ordinary bicameral system cannot actually meet the needs of society as a whole.

The Senate in Rome was an aristocratic group with hereditary power; Citizens have the right to vote, but underneath these citizens, there are also ordinary civilians.

In the past few hundred years, although the number of ordinary people is large, the overall social resources they occupy are not much, and the citizens, nobles and other classes have a greater number of extraordinary people, and the limit is to ensure their own class interests through legislation.

But later, as the magic energy was developed, the cake was enlarged, and even the common people were able to reap enough benefits, which gave birth to another group from among the common people...... Businessman, or capital.

This has been the case in many countries since ancient times, where wealthy merchants, although they have gained great wealth, have always had a low social status, and even if they have a lot of money, they have always had to act according to the faces of the aristocracy and the citizen class.

This makes the merchant class very cautious and treading on thin ice, and the so-called accumulation of family property is not practical, and they always need to judge the situation and stand in line.

For example, 500 years ago, Fredelica's family, her father was a well-known businessman, who once monopolized 80% of the carriage manufacturing market inside and outside Rome, but even then had to hug the thigh of a councilor, donate all kinds of political donations to the other party, help the other party elect, become a member of the National Assembly, almost lose all the family wealth, and finally endured ten years of hard work before the other party reciprocated a citizenship.

This is a successful investment in the eyes of a businessman, who has almost lost his wealth before moving up one level.

This is Rome 500 years ago, and it took ten years for a merchant to succeed in investing, even if he was looking at people accurately, which shows how difficult it was.

Five hundred years later, with the launch of the world network and the development of magic energy, Rome started the Industrial Revolution, and in the Industrial Revolution, the speed of land annexation would also reach several times that of the agricultural society, and all kinds of absurd laws followed.

In just one generation, you can earn the wealth of the past ten generations, and too many people have eaten this wave of dividends in the wind of the times.

The economic base determines the superstructure, and these businessmen will gradually realize that they hold the lifeblood of the entire society and huge social resources in their hands, and naturally they will not continue to be satisfied with their current social status.

This had already had a serious impact on social stability, and it was imperative for the Roman emperor to reform the system.

The original four-tier system of emperor, nobles, citizens, and commoners added a bourgeoisie represented by merchants;

The emperor must squeeze out a sufficient share of the pie to allow these merchants to get promotions and share in each other's qualifications to enter the power field.

It is clearly unrealistic to have a separate parliament...... The bicameral system is convenient for the emperor to mediate and play balance, just as the emperor in the East will micro-manipulate to balance the civil bureaucracy and the eunuchs, if the number comes to the three councils, the emperor will not get real benefits, and the efficiency of the tricameral system is too low, and the redundant bureaucratic problems it brings will also drag down the national finances.

As for the increase in the number of citizens and the number of seats in the National Assembly, the entire population is certainly not happy.

An increase in numbers is a weakening of their privileges, and if you look at the strike of the stick doctors next door, history repeats itself, and when anyone gets in a car, they don't think about opening the door, but about welding it shut.

For the Roman emperor, how to reasonably increase the social status of merchants, allow them to participate in politics and complete the social class elevation was a great historical problem.

From the Emperor's point of view, he could not allow the merchants to form a parliament alone, nor could he allow the complete flow of capitalist power into the 'National Assembly' or the 'Senate', lest this overwhelming force be directed to either side, which would completely destroy the balance between the two chambers.

His solution was to make the merchant community into a cake, and then cut it in half, so that half of it would be poured to the nobles and the other half to the citizens.

Whether it is a cabinet system or a presidential system, it is impossible to achieve such a one-word decision as the Roman emperor, and having an emperor to directly divide the cake can sometimes effectively avoid the two chambers falling into meaningless internal friction, or the administrative inefficiency caused by the separation of powers...... After all, both the prime minister and the president are one of the products of the system; And the Roman emperor was the creator of the system, and he was beyond the system.

As for whether there will be people who are unhappy about this?

Yes, definitely, but no one will say.

After all, the royal family and the church are really canonized.

Truth exists only on nuclear bombs.

According to historical data, as long as there is one or more canons on both sides, the probability of maintaining peace between the two sides will be greatly increased to more than sixty percent, and if there is a third-party force to mediate, the probability will be increased to more than seventy percent.

The Roman royal family was undoubtedly clever and acted as arbiters, without having to end up in person.

But this does not mean that all contradictions have been bridged, and in the final analysis, the past has only been covered up.

A part of the merchant community was allowed to give nobility titles to the Senate; Another group was granted citizenship and entered the National Assembly......

But none of them are eternal.

Noble titles need to pass the test of time, and they must be withdrawn if they are not compliant;

And the same is true of citizenship.

Many businessmen have to work hard just to keep their current identity, and all kinds of competition are indispensable, and the background is constantly consumed in the competition and exclusion.

Not to mention the more senior membership of both houses.

As a result, in the hundreds of years of running-in, the foundation of merchants was relatively weak, and they did not have an advantage in all aspects compared to the nobles who had been in business for a long time and a large number of citizens...... In the days of this elevator of advance and retreat, some merchants chose to withdraw, while other merchants realized the influence of the new class in the process of this back and forth, and directly realized that they, as a third force, did not need to rush to their own end.

Business is business, politics is politics, and those are two different things.

In other words, these businessmen have learned well.

The way these people think is: I don't need to join both houses at all, I just need to choose the right and satisfactory partner to work with.

I learned to mediate between the nobility and the citizens, and I learned to jump back and forth between the two houses to seek a plan to maximize interests.

The result may not have been even expected by the Roman emperor.

Huge family-based business groups emerged.

After 150 years of development, in the present era, Rome is almost calling for wind and rain, and under the commercial society, social resources themselves are engulfed by these giants.

Although the citizens and aristocrats still exist, it is no longer the era of hundreds of years when merchants can be kneaded at will.

This situation is completely different from that of Great Xia, which allows the emergence of regional leading enterprises to drive the local economy, but does not allow monopoly and giant enterprises, and it is necessary to carry out some beatings when they appear; But Rome's own system was formed, and the bicameral system pulled each other's underwear, which gave the giant business family an opportunity to rise.

There may be a chance to cut them off before they are developed, but once they are formed, cutting them off will inevitably affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of families, and even the emperor would not dare to do it easily.

However, this family group is not invincible.

The success is also the family, and the defeat is also the family.

Since it is a family, it is possible to divide the family; Once separated, it will lead to the separation of industries.

There have been several times in history when super-business groups split over inheritance, and it is suspected that the Roman emperor was behind this.

Back to the point.

In present-day Rome, there are still a total of ten business families and magnates...... The actual number is a little more than that.

The foundation of the Bai family has been worked hard for more than ten generations.

It is naturally ......

Not part of the Big Mac group.

As mentioned before, the Lao Bai family is scarce, and it is impossible for it to become a giant because of the lack of people.

Although it is not a giant-level group, its size is almost one-tenth of that of a giant.

The industry is quite large, with a wide range of business scope, spanning several fields, from physical to virtual digital industries.

Bai Potian is quite capable in business, second only to his talent in writing.

Ten years ago, the old man became a murderer, was expelled from the country, returned to Rome from the Great Xia Fold, gambled on all the family business, began to expand production capacity, put all his energy into entrepreneurship, and finally created a business miracle of 'Donghuang Group'.

It's just that, as a canon, he will not be directly involved in management.

After the initial results, he lived in seclusion behind the scenes, and the person who actually took care of the Donghuang Group in an orderly manner was the granddaughter adopted by the old man.

……

It's night.

The night view of the city is full of light.

Under the light, a woman lowered her head and continued to work at her desk.

In the same spacious room, there were only four desks, and the three secretaries were all engaged in their own affairs, and the room was only quiet with the sound of papers and signatures, and no discussion and exchange could be heard, and everyone was doing their job.

The atmosphere was oppressive and tense, and it was a little breathless.

The more things you have, the more things you need to worry about.

Each decision corresponds to more subdivisions, especially for large groups, where a small mistake can be fatal.

The job of the Secretarial Department is to organize and summarize all the information and report to the President in detail.

The three secretaries stopped when they heard the sound of writing on the desk at the top, and immediately the three of them were excited, then stood up and walked to the front of the desk.

"Start debriefing."

Behind the desk, the woman who had just finished processing all the documents at hand raised her eyes, after more than four hours of non-stop work, her expression did not see the slightest tiredness and numbness, but showed sharpness and calmness.

Melusina Vivian Wallenstein.

The current president of Donghuang Group is also at the helm of it.

She has twice appeared on the cover of Empire Weekly and has been hailed as the most outstanding female entrepreneur of the decade.

The report praised that no matter how radical the operation strategy, under her hands she can always turn decay into magic and smoothly pass every dangerous cycle.

And she herself is only twenty-six years old this year.

At the age of sixteen, he already held the position of assistant to the chairman.

is a domineering female president script, taking the absolutely superior elite route, the aura that has been trained in the shopping mall for many years is strong, coupled with the energy like a monster, it is the king of the volume that Donghuang Group takes the lead in opening the book.

The three secretaries combined couldn't roll her alone.

The red-haired secretary, who has long ears and is a sub-species of the forest long-eared people, took out the information and began to report: "Recently, the sales volume of snacks and beverages of the subordinate companies has fallen by two percentage points, and the market share is being further affected by the impact of new products......

The first two secretaries reported on the market.

Melusina's answer is very clear, just follow the fixed plan, she has always had a keen sense of the market, these have become stereotyped markets will not produce too many waves, and its audience is very stable.

The third secretary walked up, swallowed and foamed at the mouth, and said: "I received news here that Green Group and Heavy Rain Group are in the stage of reducing costs and increasing efficiency, postponed the production plan, and sent company representatives to ask for a grace date. ”

“…… How long? ”

"It can take months to restructure a production line...... That's what the other side said. ”

"What else?"

"Giant Bank's new batch of loans did not go through in the internal process."

"Isn't our group very credible? Never defaulted on a loan. Another secretary couldn't help but ask: "I didn't pass it, and this loan is not much, right?" ”

"Go on." Melusina said calmly.

Then the secretary reported several things again, but they were not good news.

It is nothing more than the partner postponing or postponing the delivery date, or the loan from other banks cannot be approved, and then the sales side is cold.

"Good work." Melusina said lightly: "You guys go after work first." ”

The three secretaries glanced at each other, left their information, and exited the office.

They walked down the aisle and couldn't help but start talking to each other.

"Isn't the cash flow pressure a bit big lately?"

"Well, the financial situation is not very good."

"The scale of production has been further expanded."

"If it weren't for the fact that the chairman had withdrawn the funds for the next three years before leaving, he would not be so stretched now."

"In order to open up the midwinter market, it must cost money to invest in the early stage, and this is also approaching Queen Victoria's birthday, the midwinter nobles are so rich, and there are so many specialties in the fairy world, but unfortunately the market has not been opened."

"Yes, how did I hear that the chairman is going to give a dowry?"

"Huh? Is there such a thing? ”

"The chairman is that old!"

"Bah, don't talk nonsense, it's not that the chairman is going to get married, but I heard that the chairman's grandson is coming to Rome, and it seems that he has found a midwinter relative, and a large part of this money has been exchanged for a dowry."

"Grandson? Yes...... As soon as you said that, I remembered that Donghuang Group is also a family business. ”

"Yes, President Meilu is also the granddaughter adopted by the chairman."

"That's weird, why do you have to go to the middle of winter to propose? President Mei Lu is very good, could it be that the kid from outside doesn't look down on her? ”

"I mean, we're not going to see a president change in the future, right?"

"Huh? Don't do that kind of thing, I like President Meilu so much, if you change to a man, maybe you have to be harassed by the sight, it's annoying to think about it, before changing jobs, I had to change into a long skirt and wear flat shoes, and now I dare to wear a miniskirt to show off my long legs, this is the confidence that the female president gave me! ”

"Phew, you shameless one, who are you trying to seduce!"

"I always feel that the group has been going downhill recently, and it's really difficult."

"Let's take one step at a time, it's really not good, just shake the chairman back, the sky is falling, let him go and stand on top of it...... You can't even want the foundation of Rome in order to open up the midwinter market and ask for your granddaughter-in-law, right? ”

"Trisy, why don't you speak?"

"I want to go back to working overtime."

"Are you suffering from President Syndrome?"

"I want to reduce some pressure on the group, I was originally a child who grew up in an orphanage sponsored by Donghuang Group, without all the support provided by the group, I would have starved to death on the side of the street, even if I went to other welfare homes, I would not have the opportunity to go to school...... "Tracey whispered: "Recently, the group has been under so much pressure, I plan to take the initiative to reduce my salary." ”

"Speaking of which, I have received a lot of reports of voluntary salary cuts."

"Maybe it's about the same as Tracey, after all, our group's welfare expenditure has always accounted for a large proportion."

"Hmph, but some white-eyed wolves will also be raised!"

The secretaries chattered out of the company building to finish the day's work.

And on the top floor, Melusina is still working on work.

Another hour passed, and she dropped the pen and paper, moved her stiff wrist, picked up the cold coffee, and took a sip.

Jingle bell~!

A phone rings.

Melusina pressed the answer button, and soon a familiar voice was heard.

"Ah, it's connected, it's connected." The old man's hearty voice sounded: "It took so long to call back, report the meaning...... It's been more than a month, right? ”

"It's thirty-seven days." Mei Lu's serious expression thawed, and a shallow smile appeared at this time: "Forget me, it also proves that grandpa is doing well in the middle of winter." ”

"Where?" There was a murmur from Bai Potian's side: "I just arrived in the middle of winter, and I was inexplicably pulled into the goblin world by the fairy king, what do you have to talk to me about, there is no signal here, and there are a lot of bad things that I don't bother to care about, it seems that Xinghai has thrown some garbage down, let me help clean up the mess, it's really his uncle's ...... I can't leave for a while, I don't know if I can catch up with the empress's birthday, the plan can't catch up with the changes, but fortunately, the fairy king gave a lot of promises, that is, he looked sick, I was afraid that he would burp in the next second after he just signed, and I would be busy in vain. ”

Nagging is a common problem of the elderly, and Bai Potian said a lot before he remembered and asked, "Is the situation over there okay?" Nothing happened. ”

Melusina glanced at the long list of reports on the table, and said calmly, "You know my ability, even some small problems can't stop me. ”

"I'm going to the middle of winter, so I suspect that the recent giants may have some moves, businessmen are profit-seeking, it is inevitable to be short-sighted, Donghuang Group is developing too fast and has many enemies, I will go away, I'm afraid I won't have time to take care of you, you have to take care of yourself, don't always work overtime, find some time to relax."

"Hmm." Melusina casually agreed, "I will." ”

"One more thing."

At the end of the words, Bai Potian finally mentioned the key point: "I can't get out here, but calculate the time, Xiao Yujing is about to arrive in Rome, and when he arrives, he can also accompany you and relieve your boredom......"

"I'll take care of him." Melusina thought for a moment and added, "It's the same as before. ”

"Hey...... When you say that, it seems that grandpa and I am biased. Bai Potian smiled: "But you are thinking about it, grandpa, I mean, I don't need you to take care of him...... That kid is already an adult, and his ability to mix well in Great Xia is enough, and it is enough in Rome. ”

"You have to pay for your living expenses." Melusina teased.

"Eh, Xiao Yujing's vitality is tenacious, he can live with a few dollars on weekdays, and he is better than a cactus to feed, and when he has no money, he will go to the fountain square to perform chest crushing boulders, swallowing swords alive, and earning some living expenses easily, the old man did this back then." Bai Potian laughed, and he didn't know if he was telling the truth or pure banter.

Melusina didn't believe it, and with Bai Potian's character of doting on her grandson, she would be willing to let Bai Yu crush the boulder in her chest...... At most, it's going to perform biting lighters, and nothing more.

The communication soon came to an end.

Bai Potian scolded on the other end: "A few phone bills, urge urge, urge a hammer...... What? The Fairy King was fucked down? And was fucked down three times? No, why can't he even stand it for five minutes, what kind of king is this kind of waste, it is better to abdicate quickly and let Lao Tzu go. ”

Immediately, there was a strange speech that I couldn't understand, it should be some kind of fairy language.

"I'm very busy here, hang up first, and then don't worry that the fairy king will be killed by the absenteeism that fell from the outer regions, let's go, remember to eat well!"

Doodoo ——!

Bai Potian hung up the phone.

Melusina looked subtle and put the phone back.

The old man is still so energetic.

A phone call disrupted some of her thoughts.

Melusina crumpled up the paper and threw it in the trash.

"It seems that someone is behind the scenes, trying to delay the production date and not let the loan go on time, all of which are trying to drag down our company's cash flow."

"The people behind it are probably some giant groups, trying to force me to make concessions in this way?"

"In business, I chose to do it when my grandfather was away, but I still saw that I was young and easy to bully."

She turned her chair and looked out the transparent window, where the high-rise buildings were in danger and people's hearts were as fickle as floating clouds.

A faint snort.

She didn't really care about these little troubles.

There are many financing channels, and Donghuang is not a building block, how can it collapse so easily?

At this time, most of her attention was not about the company's operation, but another thing in the old man's mouth.

Melusina held on to the armrest of her chair and slowly stood up, her movements a little difficult.

She picked up the civilized staff that was placed on the side of the table, which was actually a walking stick.

With her crutches, she walked so that she would not limp and walk very steadily but slowly.

Go to the back of the office, press the button, and the interior room will light up.

This is her living room, about 50 square meters, one bedroom and one bathroom, simple and simple, with all kinds of organs.

Walking straight to the head of the bed, on the bedside table, there are a few items, the most conspicuous is a picture frame.

The photo in the frame is a group photo of a pair of children, the girl is slightly older, about sixteen years old, wearing a white dress, and the boy is about ten years old, wearing children's clothes, with ice cream on the corner of his mouth.

The two of them put their heads to their heads, tilted their heads, and raised their scissor hands, and the group photo was frozen in the summer ten years ago.

Melusina touched the frame, and the boy in the photo had a clear smile and was full of childlike play.

She sat on the bed, her eyes nostalgic.

It's been ten years in the blink of an eye.

I heard that he was injured and lost his memory of that half a year after he went back, and I'm afraid I don't remember the original sister Sunset.

She closed her eyes slightly, stroking a scar on her skin.

Although Melusina is praised in every way, she knows that she is far from perfect, at least in terms of appearance, she has great flaws.

Nearly a quarter of the area on the left side of the face has left red marks, like a scar left by burning, she has undergone surgery and tried various ways to recuperate, no matter how successful the operation is, it will not last long, and soon the scar will grow back, like a curse; The second is her lameness, she can't walk like the wind, and she has to walk on crutches.

The disability and the scars on his face are also scars from a fire in his childhood.

So all along, she has avoided appearing directly in the public eye, and the weekly kind can be operated.

Stroking her scars, she reminisced about her childhood.

She herself is a distant relative of Bai Potian, and after becoming an orphan, she was adopted by the old man and became a granddaughter, treating her as her own.

Most of the old man's love for offspring and his desire for family have been transferred to her.

Melusina always knew she was a substitute.

Since the separation ten years ago, she has imagined many, many things.

"We can finally meet again."

"I'm afraid you don't remember me anymore."

"Well, it's okay if you don't remember."

She lay on the bed with the frame in her arms and muttered.

"Let's get acquainted again."

"This time, I'll do better than the last time."

(For no reason, I suddenly wanted to combine a chapter)

(End of chapter)