Chapter 421 Canary

Vienna, Old Town Opera House.

Since this place is one of Solomon Rothschild's underground industries, any manager will not give face to ordinary officials.

Not to mention that the person in charge, Chio Rom, was different from everyone else in the theater. He was from a true noble family and even had the title of earl.

However, during the Napoleonic Wars, his family's fortune was wiped out and even his family members were killed or injured. However, his family did not receive compensation after the war.

Chio Rom enjoyed prosperity and wealth in his early years, but fell into poverty in his youth. In his middle age, he met the most important "nobleman" in his life, Solomon Rothschild.

Although Solomon Rothschild's business has been poor in recent years and his reputation has plummeted, as a white glove, his business has been good.

Austria's economy has developed rapidly in recent years, and the entertainment industry has naturally made great progress. Especially the upper-class nobles and businessmen are having more and more fun.

People say that there were two emperors in Vienna, one was Emperor Ferdinand who sat in the palace, and the other was King Solomon who lived in the Caesar Hotel (now moved to the Lion's Pride Hotel).

In fact, there is another one, and that is him, Chio Rom, the King of the Night in Vienna.

But today he encountered some difficult problems. Someone wanted to buy a canary. This is not a problem, after all, performances are held every day, and guests can choose slowly.

After all, such elegant things should be done slowly...

However, this time the guest was very rude, demanding immediate service and the best products in the city.

Usually when encountering this kind of situation, Chio Rom would not be alarmed, and his subordinates would just drive them away. If the other party dares to make a mistake, they will be arrested directly by the gendarmerie, or they will be blocked in an alley and beaten.

However, this time the person who made the request, Chio Rom, could not afford to offend him. Not only could he not afford to offend him, but Solomon might not be able to offend him at this time either.

The young man in front of him who looked to be seventeen or eighteen years old was the eldest grandson of Count Korolaf and the future Count Lebsteinsky.

This kind of person cannot afford to be offended. Not to mention that his family is already rich and powerful, but his personal future is also unlimited.

As a businessman, naturally he would not do this kind of thing, especially when it is too late for such a young man to curry favor, so how dare he offend him?

But Chio Rom, the King of the Night, still needs face.

"Lord Akadov, please rest assured that our products are the best in Vienna." Chio Rom gave a rare smile.

But the young man opposite didn't buy it.

"You don't understand what I'm saying, do you? I want the best in this city, everything. I'll give you a week. If you can't do it, I'll demolish this shabby house."

Although Chio Rom wanted to strangle the guy in front of him immediately, he still said with a smile on his face.

"We are not the only ones you know about Vienna."

"Don't worry, someone has already informed you. You just need to leave the venue." Akadov said casually, but Chio Rom was not an ignorant person. He knew that this would be a huge event. business.

Soon the news spread in Vienna, and the entire aristocratic circle knew that a grand "banquet" was about to be held.

Vienna, Lion Pride Hotel.

Word spread quickly, and Solomon thought this might be an opportunity because the buyer this time was very promising.

Solomon now likes young people with potential. Perhaps he feels increasingly powerless and always wants to pin his hopes on the future.

However, there seems to be a lack of people among his nephews who can do great things. Lionel (son of Nathan Meyer Rothschild and nephew of Solomon) may be one, but he is still too young and always seems hesitant. resolution and getting too close to the British government.

There is no doubt that this is playing with fire, Lionel's ambition is obviously not as small as he himself portrays, the young man intends to surpass his father.

Not only does he want to become the master of the British financial world, but he also wants to enter the political world and move from behind the scenes to the front.

This ambition was too big, but what really made Solomon feel uneasy was whether Britain, which seemed to be at its peak at this time, would collapse in an instant like the Napoleonic empire.

At this time, Russia dominated the East, France dominated Western Europe, and had global colonial plans like Britain. Austria, the ancient empire, was also recovering. Lionel made his bet too early.

Solomon's sons were even more incompetent. Not only did they have no ability, they didn't even have any ambition. He knew very well that it would be very difficult for his descendants to maintain the family business, let alone make progress.

Maybe he would be swallowed up by his own relatives. For this reason, he had to start planning for his descendants, and winning over some of the country's future nobles was a good choice.

"Grandpa!" A little girl suddenly threw herself into Solomon's arms. Hearing this sweet call made his brows relax slightly.

"Scarlett, why are you here?" The little girl snuggled into her grandfather's arms and blinked playfully.

"I came with my father." The little girl's voice was clear and crisp.

Solomon looked up at the awkward man at the door. He was Solomon's eldest son, Anselm Solomon von Rothschild, and the little girl beside him was Anselm's youngest daughter, Scarlett Rose. Childe.

Solomon did not like his eldest son, Anselm, who was a professor but not a good businessman.

Anselm had been asking his father to run the business for a long time. In the original world line, he was not useless. On the contrary, he was Solomon's most valued child because he managed the Rothschild family's business in an orderly manner.

But in this life, due to the arrival of Franz, the entire Austrian business landscape has completely changed. Anselm was completely powerless in the face of Franz's dimensionality reduction attack, and he made mistakes in several key decisions.

Anselm lost not only money, but also confidence and self-esteem. At this time, he saw his father with fear in his heart.

"Father..."

"What are you doing here?" Solomon asked.

"Father, today is Scarlett's birthday, she wants to spend it with you."

Solomon pinched his granddaughter's small and cute nose and said dotingly.

"Happy birthday to you, little smart guy."

"Thank you, Grandpa." Scarlett hugged her grandfather's neck and kissed him.

"Grandpa, I got the first place again."

"Really? My little Scarlett is really amazing, but don't be like your father. It's not good to be stupid." Anselm lowered his head even lower.

Scarlett went to the family school of the Rothschild family. Although there were only a few students, each of them was outstanding in Solomon's eyes, so it was not easy for his granddaughter to get the first place.

"What do you want? As long as you ask, Grandpa can satisfy you."

The other side of the city.

A man in a black windbreaker and a peaked cap was looking at the girls in the troupe with a very picky eye. It seemed that he was not selecting actors, but selecting goods.

This man was not the final buyer, but the one who decided which goods could be put in the window.

Their line of work also has industry standards, so-called slender legs, swan necks, and open, stretched, straight, and upright. In addition, the appearance should not be too bad.

"Open" means that the dancers open symmetrically from the shoulders, chest, hips, knees and ankles, especially the feet should be opened 180 degrees outward.

In all kinds of foot positions and any movements, the legs are required to be opened outward from the hip joint. At the same time, the personality should be cheerful, the character should be open, and the willingness to accept new things should be high.

"Stretching" means that the instep of any outstretched foot must be stretched straight and the instep protruded, which not only makes the foot shape beautiful, but also increases the expressiveness of the foot.

The clothes must be able to hold up the clothes, otherwise they will be deducted.

Most of these girls have been practicing ballet since they were eight years old, or even younger. They torture their bodies to the limit every day, just to be able to break out of the cocoon and perform on stage one day.

Most of them came from poor families, and women at that time were usually not regarded as labor. The only contribution they could make to the family was to "sell" themselves to the troupe.

The families who sold their daughters would receive a meager income, usually 100 francs.

Before leaving, the parents of these girls would tell them to work hard and see each other again when they can perform on stage.

In fact, this is usually a lie. Of course, there are also unscrupulous parents who come back to ask for money when their children can finally perform on stage.

A small number of selected girls were driven onto the carriage like ducks, and their destination was the Old Town Opera House.

A grand ballet will be held here soon. They were told that many dignitaries would come to watch, and the remuneration would be ten times the usual amount.

These selected girls were naturally cheering, and of course some interested people have begun to compete for the position of lead dancer. Because they know very well how much this can bring them.

Abdunia Gifford is one of these girls. She was sent to the troupe at the age of six, and endured eight years of almost inhuman torture before she stood out and became the troupe's chief.

She once dreamed of a dance, applause and flowers.

However, after Abdunia's first performance, she realized that it was not a reality at all. The reality is that if you want to become the chief dancer, you either have to please the fat and wretched troupe leader, or find a powerful sponsor as a backer.

Otherwise, even if you become a formal actor, you have to endure the torture of hunger and fullness.

In front of the Schönbrunn Palace, Franz dressed in civilian clothes and got into a luxurious carriage.

To be honest, Franz felt stupid, but his friends hoped that he could keep a low profile.

Originally, Taffi wanted to take Franz to see the goods, but the latter wanted to refuse because he thought it was a complete waste of time. But under the strong request of the former, Franz reluctantly agreed.

However, Franz did some research before that. This opera house was the property of Solomon Rothschild. It was a theater on the surface, but it was actually the largest black market in Vienna.

But Franz didn't think his friends would have anything to do with the black market. Maybe they were just going to see the "goods".

And the destination was just an opera house in Vienna, so Franz just deployed a 500-man escort team nearby in advance.

Franz's friends had already booked a private room on the third floor, and with a group of 20 guards, he felt it should be foolproof.

But Franz's friends didn't feel so good. They felt uncomfortable all over, and every hair was uncomfortable.

Because Colonel Bordeaux was watching them, although Franz didn't think his friends would harm him, Colonel Bordeaux would definitely not harm him, so he chose to believe the former.

Colonel Bordeaux surprisingly did not get angry. On the contrary, he thought it was a normal social interaction for the Grand Duke. As for disguise, it was a very wise approach, because it could avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble.

So Colonel Bordeaux and his men also disguised themselves, but their aesthetics were still in the last century. After disguise, they looked like a group of actors in a theater.

Although it looked outrageous and embarrassing, there was no obstruction when entering the door. This was of course ordered by Chio Rom. His original words were "No matter how outrageous the things you see are, don't stop them. Even if they come with an elephant, you have to carry the elephant in with a smile."

Franz and his party arrived at the reserved private room smoothly. He even felt a little bored because nothing happened along the way.

In fact, it was also true that a group of well-dressed teenagers, surrounded by a large group of guards, were so blind that they dared to come and cause trouble.

Soon the performance began. The song performed was "Giselle", which was based on "German Winter's Story" by the German poet Heine.

The performance was wonderful, but Franz was puzzled.

"Is this a warm-up?"

Everyone looked at each other and nodded in agreement. Franz felt even more strange. Could it be that canaries have become a rare species that can only be purchased on the black market?

Generally speaking, coal miners like to raise this kind of bird because it may save your life at a critical moment.

There are often toxic gases such as carbon monoxide and methane under the mine. These deadly gases are colorless and odorless and difficult to detect for humans, but birds have a fast metabolism and a small amount of toxic gas can make them comatose.

Miners take canaries down the mine, and as long as it shows any abnormality, the workers can immediately detect it.

However, this thing should not be expensive, otherwise the miners can't afford it.

At this time, Franz found that his group of friends who usually sneered at art were staring at the stage intently. He also looked over with everyone's eyes, but didn't find anything special.

In fact, Franz lacked talent in appreciating art, and had no interest in ballet.

Soon he fell asleep, and Colonel Bordeaux kindly helped Franz put on his cloak.

After a while, the actors began to bow, and Franz woke up and clapped his hands.

"Excellent, wonderful!"

Everyone looked at each other and had to clap their hands.

When Franz thought everything was over, the evil had just begun.

The glamorous dancers on the stage were indeed goods waiting to be sold off the stage.

The white girls on the stage and the dark gentlemen off the stage formed a sharp contrast.

The so-called "canaries" are these young and beautiful girls.