MARRYING A PRINCESS Chapter Six Starting an Industry

Bob talked to his uncle Paul, who was Managing Director of a subsidiary of the Genuli Group, which manufactured intermediary products required for ceramic industries, which Bob's father had set up to compete with a Fortune 500 company which had set up its factory in Koltron a few years ago. However, he had died before he could set up the proper infrastructure. When the subsidiary recieved orders, it just bought the stocks from the Main group and sold it to the customer.

This was not a good business model, and profits were very low, though, while Bob's father was still living, they had sold a million dollars of military equipment to an Arab country(A million dollars in those days was worth a billion today)! However, the company had no salesman, and only a clerk at a group factory, to arrange packing and despatch. However, they had some land and sheds near the Genuli Group factory, and an abandoned furnace within the factory shed.

Paul appointed Bob as Production Manager, to look after the company interests. He spent some time in discussions with the Laboratory personnel in the Genuli Factory, to try to understand why the furnace was abandoned.

Apparently, the technical people at the Genuli group thought the steel hatch covers of the rotary furnaces would could contaminate their products. Bob, however, felt that with the temperatures involved, and the nature of the product, the steel hatch covers would not be affected, and neither would the product be affected. Then he spent some time with the factory clerk, to recruit some local labourers for working the furnace with him. He talked his uncle into supplying the required minerals and chemicals to the furnace shed, then bought Irene for a weeks stay at the Groups factory Guest House.

That week, the first day, he spent the whole day and night at the furnace, supervising the newly recruited labourers in the subsidiary's first production. for the rest of the week, he had to spend only a few hours supervising his workers, and had time to take Irene to visit the local tourist sites, so that, for her, it seemed like a pleasant holiday.

In that weeks stay at the factory, Bob prduced enough materials to cover the entire sales of the company for the last year! Now came the job of selling the products.

Since the Genuli Group would not support him in this enterprise, Bob bought an old, rarely used Austin A55 from them, as no one wanted to use such a low end car. He then spent the next few days driving around Koltron City, to visit all the potential customers there, with free samples for those who had not used their products before. These efforts got in a number of new orders. In fact, a medeum sized unit on the outskirts of the city placed an order of a hundred thousand dollars! This made Bob very happy, and he told the Colonel about his efforts, but his grandfather was not impressed. 'Let's see if they repeat the order.' he said.

In the first year, the subsidiary, ED Corporation was able to increase its sales three times over the previous years sales. Bob felt that sales in Koltron City would not increase much more. It was now time to expand business to the outlying towns, and to the neighboring States.

Finances were still a problem, so he took a long distance train to a neighbouring State of Uptron and the city of Shorey. He was accompanied by Irene. The best hotel in Shorey, was a very small one, with only 20 rooms. It lacked both air conditioning and room service, but it was clean, and the food at its single restaurant was quite good, so Irene was not too unhappy.

After settling into their hotel room, and a not uncomfortable night, he visited the two factories in Shorey, who were his potential customers. Bob spoke very little Uptronese, so communication was made in his American accented English, which the factory owners had difficulty in understanding. However, he did manage to partially convince them of the quality of his products, and ended up getting two small trial orders.

After spending another night at the Hotel, Bob and Irene packed up, and payed the hotel bill. Bob tipped the room boy, who carried their luggage to their taxi, a whole dollar. Because Uptron was not a rich country, and Uptronese did not believe in tipping, the boy was so happy that he did a little jig right there and then.

From Shorey, they took the train to the National Capital, Dolin, and checked in at a 5 star hotel at a deluxe double room. In the next two days, he spent the mornings visting factories, while Irene availed herself of the hotel spa. In the afternoons Bob took Irene out to various sightseeing spots in the city. Evenings were spent at clubs and restaraunts. Three days of visiting many factories gave ED Corporation several trial orders, but one factory gave a substantial order of three hundred thousand dollars.

On the return journey, Irene asked Bob, 'Will the profits from these small orders cover the expenses of this trip?' Bob assured her that if the trial orders could be converted to full orders, they could fly first class for the next sales tour.

Chapter Seven

Building a Home

While Bob was studying in America, his grandmother had gifted him a plot of land in an upscale part of Koltron City. His father wanted to build a ten storied home, to accomodate not only his sons and their wives, but his two brothers families also. He got the plans for the building sanctioned by the municipality, and got the civil engineering department of the Genuli Group to lay the foundations and start the building. He even held a housewarming ceremony with Shanta, once the first floor was completed!

Unfortunately, he passed away before the second floor could be completed, and when Bob returned from the States, after his studies, he found a structure with a single complete floor, and floors and pillars for three more. Irene's grandmother, the Queen of Kersenberg, had seen the structure and its potential, making her think of Bob as a propertied man, and this, perhaps influenced her in agreeing to her granddaughter marrying Bob. However, Bob's elder brother Tom, who had grabbed control of the Genuli group from his mother Shanta, would not cooperate with Bob, to complete the building, as the property was in Bob's name.

The construction supervisor, Neil Sarkisian, had been the masseur for Bob's father, and before that, to the former Prime Minister of Koltron, till that worthy passed away. Before Bob went away to the States to study, Neil had told him that his muscles were too soft for any heavy physical work, which is why Bob enrolled in karate classes at his university. It not only built his muscles, but aroused his interest enough for him to join tbe University karate team. He participated in several interstate competitions and even earned many medals in kata and kumite, there.

Neil was not technically qualified to be a construction supervisor, but he was sincere, and soon learnt the ropes of the job. He had a soft spot for Bob, and was willing to help him finish the job. But Bob had a meagre salary, and before the 2nd floor was complete, he found himself running out of cash.

While talking to Irene about his problems, he found she was willing to help, and handed him all the cash gifts they had recieved at their wedding! With this money, he was able to complete another two floors, before he ran out of cash again.

This time, he went to his mother. Since Shanta had been removed from the Post of President of the Genuli Group, she, too, did not have much money to spare, but to help her younger son, she mortgaged her Life Insurance policy, and gave Bob a hundred and eighty thousand dollars to work with. This proved enough to complete another four floors, walls, floors and doors and windows, and also the electrical wiring for the entire building. Only a small ammount was left for the elevator company, which he soon paid off.

Onard Sageman, an old friend of Bob's father, was a commission agent for all kinds of things. Every Thursday, he would hold parties at his house, where drinks were free, and the snacks were tastey, and many of the important people in Koltron City visited. At one of these parties, when Bob happened to be present, Onard asked Bob if he wanted to rent out his new house? The tennant was the biggest advertising agency in Koltron, and the rent was ten thousand dollars a month. This was the standard rate for those days, so Bob readily agreed.

Ornad's commission was one months rent. After paying the commissiom, the rent for the next twenty months went to paying Shanta, to help her clear the mortgage on her Life Insurance. Only after the loan was cleared, did Bob feel that he could use the rent money for himself and his wife.

Chapter Eight

Going on Holiday

Bob and Irene decided to use their rent money to go on a holiday to the hilly neighbouring state of Sanbania, where the little town of Ranberg was famous for its waterfalls. They decided to travel by road, since the distances were not too long, and the drive would be scenic.

Bob invited his mother and sisters Chris and Sheila to join them. Chris's husband Rob also accompanied them. Shanta, Chris and Rob travelled in the Buick Electra, with their old driver Jeeves driving them, while Irene and Sheila accompanied Bob in his old Austin A55.

The first part of the drive, across the city and over the river, and then the flatlands of Koltron proved quite quite boring, though they passed many small town and pictuaresque villages. But once out of Koltron, and into the hills of Sanbania, the drive became far more interesting, with forests, hills and meandering streams. It took five hours to reach the town of Ranberg, and settled into the best hotel in the town, where they had booked three rooms, one for Shanta and her unmarried daughter, Sheila, one for Rob and Chris, and the third for Bob and Irene.

After unpacking, they all went to the Chinese restaurant at the hotel, and enjoyed the delicious Chinese food, and them went to bed early, so that they could get an early start fo view the waterfalls.

The next morning, they had their breakfast by eight, and then drove along the long, winding hilly road to the head of Houghton falls. This was a three hundred foot drop of water to a pool and rivulet in the valley below. Bob took a few shots of the falls ln his Iconta camera, with the group standing at its head, but Rob wanted to see the view from below.

The track leading down was steep and narrow, so Shanta decided to stay back with Jeeves, while the younger people climbed three hundred feet to the bottom of the falls. The pool at the bottom was not big enough to be called a lake, and the water was turbid because of the splashing of the waterfall, but the rivulet was crystal clear and pretty.

After taking a few more pictures, they began the long, arduous climb up. Irene stumbled and almost fell once, but Bob was right behond her, and did not let her fall and they made it to the top without further incident.

After a light lunch at a wayside eatery, they drove to the Jonah Falls. This was a cascade fall, dropping in five steps, to the river below. The cars were parked by the river below the falls. The upper four steps were steep and narrow, about twenty feet wide, with narrow uneven ledges, but the fifth ledge was about thirty feet wide and six feet broad. Everyone took off their shoes, to get their feet wet, and stood on the lower ledge, while Jeeves clicked their pictures on the Ikonta.

After a thouroughly enjoyable day of climbing and getting wet, they went back to their hotel, changed their clothes, had tea and snacks, and then drove to the main street of Ranberg, to buy some local artifacts. Ranberg, however, was a small town, which had never seen a car as big and flashy as the Buick Electra, so, when they parked by the roadside near an artifacts store, a huge crowd gathered thinking a Hollywood star had come to town. Some thought it was Clint Eastwood, others thought it was Paul Newman. When Bob, Shanta and Rob came out of the store with the girls, there was some more speculation, because Irene was so pretty, and Bob was so handsome. Jeeves told the gathered crowd that they were tourists and not film stars, and the crowd slowly dispersed, allowing them to drive back to their hotel.