Creating an Industrial Empire in 19th Century Parallel World Chapter 88 A Cheerful Day

Jonathan arrived at the main office. He went upstairs to get changed, removing his coveralls and wiping off the sweat that he had accumulated from working in the factory for five hours.

But that was enough to remove the tallic off his body so he went to take a bath. After that, he donned his formal suit and went downstairs, and into the office room where Poul and Alia were discussing things.

"Oh, Jonathan! You finally arrived. So how did the teaching go?" Poul asked as he stood, and gave him a fistbump.

"Well if you ask , it was fulfilling," Jonathan said, chuckling. "I didn't know that I would use the lessons that I learned in the machine shop subject."

As he said that, Alia's brows raised. "Do you perhaps go into a university or school or applied for an apprenticeship to learn how to use a lathe, Mr. Axelsen?" Alia asked.

"You can call that an apprenticeship, Ms. Weiss," Jonathan said, sighing inwardly as he managed to mislead her. He got carried away and ended up speaking things that would otherwise result in confusion.

"I see," Alia nodded understandingly.

"I heard that you gave my partner here so gift?" Jonathan asked.

"Uhm…yeah I did, it was a pocket watch and Mr. Nielsen liked it," Alia said.

Poul pulled the pocket watch out from his pocket purse and held it up to show it to Jonathan.

"That's so intricate and expensive-looking pocket watch," Jonathan comnted. "Where did you buy that?"

"From Tiffany and Company, the delivery man mailed it last week."

"Tiffany and Company?" Jonathan's mouth gaped after hearing the na.

"What's the matter, Jonathan? You looked as if you knew about the company," Poul said.

"Well, Tiffany and Company is a retailer of luxury goods established in New York. They are known for selling high-end luxury items, including pocket watches."

"How are you knowing all of that?" Poul asked.

"I'm reading magazines, Poul. You should try it," Jonathan replied, his gaze flickering back to Alia. "So Alia, how much was it?"

Alia fiddled with her hand nervously and then revealed. "Two hundred dollars."

"Two hundred dollars?!" Poul and Jonathan intoned together.

"That's like a month of your salary!" Poul exclaid. "I accept gifts but not if they are super expensive. I'll pay for this…"

Alia's initial salary was one hundred dollars. But as years passed by, her performance at the company brought significant changes and thus her inco increased to two hundred dollars. Which is like the modern equivalent of five thousand and nine hundred twenty-four dollars.

"No, please don't! Mr. Nielsen. It was my gift to you, returning it to will make feel bad," Alia said somberly.

"But Alia," Poul called her casually. "You don't have to spend a lot of money on a gift. I co from a humble background, and I'll accept whatever it is, even if it has no monetary value as I value its sentintality. But this…"

"It's really okay, Mr. Nielsen. I save my money every ti I get paid, so it's okay," Alia said, fumbling her hand.

Poul's expression softened as he looked at Alia. "Alia, I appreciate the thought, but I can't accept this. It's too expensive, and I don't want you to spend your hard-earned money on sothing like this."

Alia shook her head. "Mr. Nielsen, please don't worry about it. I wanted to give you sothing special, and I saved up for it."

Jonathan spoke up, sensing the tension in the room. "Perhaps we can compromise. How about we accept the gift, but Alia, you don't have to spend so much money next ti. We don't want you to go spend one hundred to two hundred bucks,"

Alia's face brightened at the suggestion. "Thank you, Mr. Axelsen. I appreciate your understanding."

Poul nodded in agreent. "Yes, that's a good compromise. With that, allow to thank you again for this gift. I'll cherish this pocket watch and rember your kindness every ti I use it."

Alia blushed and smiled gratefully at Poul. "You're welco, Mr. Nielsen. I'm glad you like it."

""Hey, Poul, before I go, I just wanted to say sothing," Jonathan said, his tone suddenly serious. "I know we don't always say it, but I want you to know how much I appreciate you. You've been more than just a partner to , you're like a brother. And today, on your birthday, I want to wish you all the happiness and love in the world. You deserve it, man."

"Aww…co on man, we know I'm vulnerable to that," Poul chuckled and punched Jonathan's arm lightly. "Thanks, man. I appreciate it. It ans a lot coming from you."

Alia smiled warmly at the exchange. "That's so sweet, Jonathan. You guys have a great friendship."

Jonathan grinned. "Yeah, we do. And I hope it stays that way for a long ti."

Poul nodded in agreent. " too, man. too. Well, next month is Jonathan's birthday. Perhaps you'd want sothing?"

"I haven't given you a gift yet, but if you are asking for it, then here it goes. Poul, I want a heat pump. You know how hot it gets during sumr and cold during winter."

"Heat pump?" Alia propped her chin up, musing on that thought.

"A heat pump Ms. Weiss is a chanical device that can cool or heat the room depending on your needs. You'll see it once the office building is fully completed but if my partner badly needed one earlier, I can make it for him."

Alia was curious and asked, "Excuse , Mr. Axelsen, but what exactly is a heat pump? I'm not quite familiar with that term."

Poul smiled kindly at her and replied, "Ah, I see. Well, a heat pump is a device that can regulate the temperature of a room or building. It can cool the air in hot weather and warm it up during colder seasons."

Alia's eyes widened in amazent. "Really? It would be amazing to have that kind of technology."

"Okay, the year has been great for the company and the subsidiaries. I want to make sure that everything is in order. So, what is our agenda for today?"

"Well, we are going to visit Berlin next month, Mr. Axelsen, Mr. Nielsen. Where we can look for a spot in our first overseas branch for the Air Brake Company."

Jonathan clapped. "Germany, here we go."