Chapter 709 - 328: Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees_3

At present, the Royal Family’s assets are already countless, and the booming wine industry is just a relatively ordinary piece of good news for Carlo.

Even upon learning that the Royal Family can annually earn tens of millions of Pesseta through wine exports, Carlo merely nodded slightly, showing little happiness.

Just how exaggerated is the Spanish Royal Family’s profit rate right now?

The Royal Family’s total assets are at least 1 billion Pesseta, with many properties still unaccounted for. Currently, the most lucrative royal enterprises are the Royal United Bank, Mercedes-Benz Company, and Royal Grain Company.

Each of these three large enterprises brings in tens of millions of Pesseta in revenue to the Royal Family annually, and collectively they have long been generating over 100 million.

Counting other assorted industries and assets, the annual net income of the Spanish Royal Family has already exceeded 200 million Pesseta and is advancing towards the 300 million Pesseta milestone.

This is annual income. Just how exaggerated is 200 million Pesseta? Based on the current cost of constructing an Ironclad, ranging from 500,000 to 700,000 Pounds, the Royal Family’s annual income is sufficient to build more than 10 of the most advanced Ironclads.

Even if future Battleships are more expensive, the Royal Family’s income can build five or six annually. In other words, if Carlo is willing to invest his income into Spain’s naval construction, Spain’s Navy has the potential to become the world’s second largest after the United Kingdom’s in the next five years.

Of course, establishing a navy is far more complex than it appears, and Carlo would not pour all his income into naval construction.

On one hand, building a navy so conspicuously could easily incite the wariness of other nations; on the other, Spain’s national finances cannot support a navy of such large scale.

The United Kingdom’s Royal Navy boasts the world’s leading scale because the UK possesses colonies spanning the globe. After two rounds of colonial swaps, Spain’s major colonies are mostly in Africa, with only one in Asia—the Philippines, and just one remaining in America—Puerto Rico.

A small Puerto Rico certainly doesn’t warrant a large naval garrison, and there are no strong naval adversaries around the Philippines, so there’s no need for a sizable detachment there.

Although Africa has several large colonies, it is fairly close to Spain’s mainland and doesn’t necessitate stationing a large naval fleet.

Consequently, the Spanish Royal Navy consists of only one main fleet, which is the domestic fleet of Spain.

The combined scale of the remaining fleets—African Fleet, Asian Fleet, and American Fleet—is smaller than the domestic fleet. Although these are called detachments, they are essentially small colonial-level navies.

In addition to the continuous growth of the two Royal wine brands’ revenue, one of the Royal Family’s three major enterprises, the Royal Grain Company, is also experiencing continuous revenue growth.

The Royal Grain Company is an official enterprise jointly established by the Royal Family and the Spanish Government with the aim to control Spain’s grain imports and exports, using grain trade to stabilize domestic grain prices.

Due to controlling the dominant grain trade, the Royal Grain Company quickly became a giant within Spanish companies within a few years, with its revenue naturally climbing steadily.

The primary reason for the Royal Grain Company’s continuous revenue growth in recent years is Spain’s achievements in agricultural exports, particularly in vegetables and fruits.

Speaking of increases in vegetable and fruit production, one must mention Spain’s agricultural development plan in West Africa.

As noted earlier, the agricultural development of the West Africa Colony provides Spain with abundant grain, lowering domestic grain prices and alleviating the pressure from poor domestic land yielding insufficient crops.

With sufficient grain, land not suited for grain production can be used for growing vegetables or fruits.

Transitioning land production helps offset farmers’ incomes, as lower grain prices reduce farmers’ earnings. Spain’s poor native lands can’t compete with the triple-harvest lands in Africa for grain, but they are exceptionally suited for vegetable and fruit cultivation.

Keep in mind that in later generations, Spain becomes Europe’s largest vegetable exporter, and its fruit production ranks among the top in Europe.

After shifting parts of domestic land production from grain to vegetables and fruits, the production of vegetables and fruits increased substantially in Spain.

In this era, European countries mainly focus on grain production and pay little attention to vegetables and fruits. Simply put, when the domestic populace doesn’t have enough grains, what use is there in producing vegetables and fruits?

Despite modern emphasis on balanced nutrition, fundamentally, satiation still depends on grains, and nourishment comes from meat.

With the drastic increase in vegetable and fruit production in Spain, not only did Spaniards’ meals become more diverse, but Spain’s scale of agricultural exports effectively expanded.

Although the poor aren’t very interested in vegetables and fruits, the wealthy are enthusiastic about enriching their tables with such produce.

From the growth in Spain’s export scale, it’s evident that Europeans are indeed welcoming of vegetables and fruits.

Reports from Spain’s agricultural department also reflect that within the past five years, Spain’s grain, vegetable, and fruit production experienced significant increases.

In 1885, Spain’s grain production was 1.3 times that of 1880, vegetable production was 1.4 times, fruit production was 1.6 times, and total agricultural production increased by about 34%.

Spaniards not only can buy sufficient food at lower prices but also enjoy richer meals.

In addition to the increases in grain, vegetable, and fruit production, the production of beef and lamb also rose by approximately 10% in 1885 compared to five years prior.

With more diverse food options, Spaniards’ physiques have noticeably changed. Compared to the previous generation, the new generation of Spaniards is not only taller and stronger but also appears healthier.

Walking through Spain’s streets and alleys, one no longer sees those emaciated individuals afflicted by hunger.

Everyone has a healthy complexion, and some even sport a little extra flesh on their faces and stomachs due to improved living standards.

The increase in total agricultural production not only symbolizes the growth in Spain’s export scale but also denotes an increase in the income of both the Royal Family and the government.

Compared to 1880, the annual net profit of the Royal Grain Company in 1885 has exceeded 50 million Pesseta. Based on the 60% stake held by the Royal Family, Carlo can receive approximately 30 million Pesseta in income from the Royal Grain Company every year.

This amount is post-tax, signifying that government revenue isn’t limited to 20 million Pesseta; there are also the millions of Pesseta in taxes paid annually by the Royal Grain Company to the government.