Chapter 379: Golden Leaf
February 3, 1872.
Harare, Zimbabwe.
On his way to the front, Ernst led his command staff through what is modern-day Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe in his previous life. He happened to see flourishing tobacco plants in the fields, looking vibrant and full of life.
He had been traveling steadily for days, so he decided to take a break here and inspect the development of Zimbabwe.
The town mayor of Harare, Laiaka, respectfully introduced, "Your Highness, this is the tobacco planting area designated by the Hechingen Tobacco Company in Zimbabwe this year. We've already expanded tobacco cultivation in various parts of Zimbabwe. Eventually, the Hechingen Tobacco Company's production base will move entirely from northern East Africa to Zambia and Zimbabwe—especially Zimbabwe, which will focus on producing high-grade tobacco."
Seeing his policy being carried out effectively, Ernst felt very gratified. Zimbabwe is famous for its agricultural products, especially tobacco.
In his previous life, Zimbabwe was a major tobacco exporter. Zimbabweans once said, "Tobacco means to Zimbabwe what gold means to South Africa—if Johannesburg is a city built on gold, then Harare truly thrives because of tobacco."
Ernst knew Zimbabwe's tobacco leaves weren't so uncommon, because in his past life he'd gone to Zimbabwe on business and met a friend from a Far Eastern tobacco company.
He couldn't understand why the Far East, a major tobacco producer, would import Zimbabwean tobacco. What amazed him even more wasn't just that they had to import—it was that Zimbabwean tobacco was sold through auctions in Harare, where each country bid, and the highest price won.
Through an employee of that Far Eastern company, Ernst learned why Zimbabwean tobacco was so sought-after it needed auctions.
First is the quality. Zimbabwe's tobacco leaves have plenty of fragrance and are fully mature, recognized as one of the world's finest. They offer mellow flavor, a unique sweet aftertaste when burned, moderate strength, and minimal irritation. Besides a great taste, Zimbabwe's flue-cured tobacco is especially known for having fewer chemical residues, making it relatively healthier.
Quality alone isn't enough if you can't get sufficient volume. Yet Zimbabwe lies between 15°33′ and 22°24′ South, with annual rainfall of six to eight hundred millimeters, about sixty percent falling in the tobacco-growing season. It's ideal weather for producing high-quality leaves. The unrepeatable blend of sunshine, rainfall, and climate is perfect for flue-cured tobacco.
Moreover, Zimbabwe has unique granitic sandy soil fields at this latitude, ideal for tobacco plants. Called the world's "golden tobacco fields," Zimbabwe yields soft, golden leaves known as "golden leaf," which is widely used in premium cigarettes.
So if Zimbabwe's tobacco is so good, why do so few people know about it? Everyone is familiar with Cuban cigars, yet when it comes to flue-cured tobacco, Zimbabwe's golden leaf is as famous in its own realm as Cuban cigars are in theirs. Even among the world's biggest cigarette markets, many smokers might not have heard of it.
In reality, the Far East was Zimbabwe's top tobacco importer in Ernst's past life. For all the high-end brands of cigarettes sold there, aside from homegrown tobacco in Yunnan, they used select Zimbabwean leaves. That means the pack in your hand might contain a blend of Zimbabwean tobacco.
In Ernst's previous life, Zimbabwe's tobacco was introduced from the United States, and even when their relations were at their worst, almost all premium American brands included a proportion of Zimbabwean leaves. This unique sweet aroma is a mark of high quality and status.
Zimbabwean leaves are excellent but expensive. Even the top three premium markets—Europe, America, and the Far East—usually mix them in rather than using them at 100%. This speaks to their status.
Still, none of that is why the Hechingen Tobacco Company chose to expand tobacco planting in Zimbabwe on a large scale. Their fields in northern East Africa were already enough to meet demand.
But East Africa's immigration policy changed that. Ernst wanted to accelerate the process, so part of the agricultural population was moved inland, with tobacco farmers as the first group.
Of course, Ernst was aware of Zimbabwe's potential for tobacco production. Yet no matter how amazing it might sound, this is Zimbabwe's first planting season. No one knows how the end product will turn out. But results shouldn't differ too much. The Hechingen Tobacco Company's technical staff inspected the area and agreed that Zimbabwe is better suited for growing tobacco than other parts of East Africa. Even the lowest-grade harvest here should be above the global average. With a few years of selective breeding and refinement, it can reach world-class standards.
That gave Ernst an idea. He told Mayor Laiaka, "This year, please ask your tobacco farmers here to work a bit harder. If you run into difficulties, let the government know. If there aren't enough workers, request more slaves. Right now Harare is, and will continue to be, our kingdom's tobacco-growing base. I plan to set up a tobacco factory here in Harare under its own brand name. That means tobacco planting must be the top priority."
Hearing the Crown Prince's directive, Laiaka quickly replied, "Understood, Your Highness. I will make sure everyone in Harare treats tobacco cultivation as our biggest task."
Excellent. In East Africa, Ernst founded a tobacco company mainly for his own amusement, especially regarding brand names. He intends to borrow the name "Golden Leaf" from a well-known cigarette brand in his previous life's Henan Province.
Zimbabwe's tobacco is called "golden leaf," which can also be translated as Zimbabwe's "golden leaf." It's a perfect match, and "Golden Leaf" doesn't carry a regional label but directly highlights the quality of Zimbabwe's leaves.
If he pairs it with packaging in shiny gold, it'll stand out on the market. Ernst plans to position "Golden Leaf" grown in Zimbabwe as a mid- to high-end product for both East Africa and Europe.
At the same time, it would separate these goods from the Hechingen Tobacco Company's current low-end brands. Over the past few years, Hechingen Tobacco relied on sources like the Netherlands for supplies, so its cigarettes were never of particularly high quality or flavor. Offering mid-range and higher-end products meant extra costs to buy better leaves.
Only after East Africa slowly opened more tobacco fields and began to see bigger harvests did quality really improve. But by then, it was too late to salvage their earlier reputation. They managed to seize much of the market only by leveraging the convenience of industrial mass production to cut prices, appealing to groups like the army, workers, and farmers—people with limited budgets.
Currently, East Africa's tobacco output is high enough. Keeping Hechingen Tobacco Company's low-end brands affordable won't be a problem, and they can now add some Zimbabwean leaves to enhance the flavor. Once East Africa's "Golden Leaf" hits the market, the company will also have its place in the mid- to high-end segment.
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