Chương 20: Learning about the People Part 2

As the sun slowly disappears behind the horizon, the city looked like a glittering jewel, with buildings adorned with beautiful lights.

The imperial family was currently on its way to the largest manufacturing plant in the capital city, the Kirov Plant.

The Kirov Plant is a major Ruthenian mechanical engineering and agricultural machinery manufacturing plant in St. Petersburg, Ruthenia.

The imposing structure loomed in front of them, its bright lights shining in the darkness.

The convoy stopped at the main entrance, and the imperial family got out of the car.

The security of the imperial family spread out, setting up a defensive perimeter around them. The chief of security, Rolan walked alongside the imperial family as they walked towards the entrance.

His eyes studied the surroundings of the Kirov Plant. Assessing a possible threat, and if there is, formulate an escape plan, and execute it at the soonest time possible.

Luckily, such elements were not present, indicating that the place is safe and there are no known threats...for now.

Rolan hoped inwardly, that no such situation arises.

Alexander and his sisters entered the premise and they were greeted by the workers.

The workers of the manufacturing plant surrounded them, eagerly waiting to meet the imperial family.

Apparently, they had been informed beforehand that the imperial family will visit their plant.

Alexander scanned each of the factory workers as he passed by them. Normally, they'd look dirty with an oil stain all over their hands. But, they are surprisingly clean, like they haven't started working yet. Is it because of the announcement that the imperial family visiting the factory plant and they have to look presentable to their visitors? It seemed to be the case.

As they walked past the line of factory workers, a man dressed in an expensive suit approached the imperial family and greeted them with respect.

"Your Majesty..." He bowed. "It's a great honor to have you visit us. We are humbled to have your presence here."

Alexander reciprocated politely. "Thank you for the warm reception. I am very glad to be here."

"I am confident that your majesty will be pleased with our manufacturing plant. I'll personally take you on a tour. It will be my pleasure. But first thing sir, you will have to wear this during your tour. It is a safety protection gear."

The manager's attaché handed the imperial family safety glasses and face masks.

The trio donned the safety gear and was ready to tour.

The factory manager took the lead as they walked around the manufacturing plant.

When they arrived at the manufacturing area, they were greeted by a loud clanking noise.

They walked up the stairs to the second floor, where they could view the entire manufacturing process.

Alexander raises his eyebrows. He was pleasantly surprised by the array of machines and the huge assembly line.

"So this is how the manufacturing plant looked like in the past huh?" Alexander muttered under his breath.

Although the factory looked impressive, it looked untidy and messy. The smell of the lubricating oil wafting in the air struck his nose while the rattling of the machines producing cacophonous noise drilled his ears, and the somewhat foggy smoke billowing from the machines irritates his eyes. It's dark, gloomy, and depressing. No wonder why the people of Ruthenia demanded better working conditions. Just watching them factory workers work in this miserable state had worn him down.

Alexander stopped in his tracks as he gazed wistfully at the factory workers.

"Your majesty..." The manager prompted but his words didn't strike Alexander who was in deep thought.

This is nothing like his assembly line in his past life. There, it has basic standards such as ventilation systems, ergonomic designs, safety measures, and quality.

The plant here is completely the opposite of his factory.

Well in the first place, the two shouldn't be compared because the era is different. Even though he had already proclaimed an act of guaranteeing the workers standard wages, better working conditions, reduced working hours, and health insurance, it still pales in comparison to what he has expected.

"It's impressive to see that the factory workers can still work despite the condition," Christina observed.

"Umu..." Tiffania silently agreed.

Still, Alexander was still in deep thought.

The manager hailed him once more, this time, he finally got it.

"Your Majesty?" His voice was loud and clear.

Alexander came back to his senses.

"Sorry...could you repeat that." He apologized.

The manager was about to repeat what he said but Alexander waved his hand. "It's okay, I got it." He proceeded to walk down the stairs.

As they walked down the stairs, Alexander asked. "This factory plant is really impressive...but...the employees here, they work in such miserable condition."

"Oh, that's because..." The manager trailed off and took a deep breath.

He didn't want to tell the truth. He knew that the factory workers worked much hard work under poor conditions but it would be impossible to change it instantly, reform takes time.

"We're still adjusting to it Your Majesty, as you can see, the workers are now wearing safety protection gear compared to last time when they wear none,"

Alexander was disappointed. He wanted to see real results not just words.

"We are doing our best to comply with your laws Your Majesty."

"Well as long as I see progress, it's fine," Alexander said.

Good thing that the government is still an autocrat, where he can basically do whatever he wants. His word is the law, when he demands the factory owners to follow the new working standard, they shall comply. Though that privilege will soon expire once the new government is formed where the law must undergo the legislative process.

Speaking of the new government, due to him being absorbed in his work, there was a document stating that the date of the election for the representatives of the legislative branch will be in October. This gave the politicians two months for their campaign.

"We'll meet the new standards next month," the manager promised.

Alexander nodded in satisfaction. Industries such as this will be the backbone of the Ruthenia Empire. One of his many ideas to increase the economy of the Empire is through modernization of the infrastructure, one of which is factories like the Kirov Plant.

Though he hasn't finalized the draft of his plan for the country yet, he's confident that it will make the Ruthenia Empire stronger economically.

Thinking that something kindled inside Alexander, an urge to finalize the plan. He's been working for it since the first of August.

He knows the economic situation of the empire is currently in dire straits thanks to the domestic policies of his predecessors, but that's not an excuse to keep him from doing his work.

The trio resumed their tour around the factory plant.

Compared to the hospital, this one doesn't look so sad. Probably due to the workers' demand for better work conditions. Visiting places like this gave him first-hand data that will help him make plans for the future.

One flaw that he had noticed during the tour is that the factory is less advanced and it hasn't achieved full automation which will increase productivity. Most of the equipment in the factory is outdated so he'll have to come up with a new design to resolve this.

He's been thinking of using modern technologies to increase the Empire's economy. But to do so requires assembly lines to be renovated.

This idea has been going on in his mind, good thing that he visited this factory plant, confirming some of his assumptions.

Alexander finished the tour and was preparing to head back to the palace.

He learned a lot of things on this travel, that will serve as a great reference for the plan he'll outline later in his office.

"I hope you enjoyed your visit here today, Your Majesty," the manager vernally bowed then turned to his workers, instructing them to resume their work.

"Thank you for the warm reception."

The group left the factory and headed back to the palace.

The journey of the return trip is quite a silent one. All three are in deep thought about the visits to the hospital and a factory.

Christina's thoughts about the tour were about the horrible working condition of the factory workers. How can they endure the harsh conditions? Despite being the grand duchess of the Ruthenia Empire, seeing others suffer in such terrible conditions made her heart ache.

Tiffania's also realized that as the princess of an Empire, she seldomly leaves the palace, most of which are for formal occasions. She's not aware of the lives of the common people outside the palace and she didn't care about them at all until she met them in person. The stories they bring show that the Empire is not as perfect as she once thought.

Meanwhile, Alexander's mind was filled with a plethora of ideas. Thinking what technology from his past world may benefit the Empire? There are at least hundreds of them, but he'll stick to the revolutionary one and probably innovate some of the existing technologies.