Rimbaud's girl

She wondered, would he still have the passion to pursue art after marriage?I'm afraid I can only spend time on family chores.He is different from people like Zola or Degas. Zola can maintain two families with ease, and he can publish a book at a rate of nearly one year. His family will not become a burden; what about Vincent? ?Can he do it?He looks like...a bit divided. On the one hand, he wants to be an obedient son and become a role model and support for his younger siblings. On the other hand, he has begun to realize that what he wants is not a stable family life, or in other words, he wants to What is needed is not an ordinary family life.

He may still be able to maintain his creative passion after marriage, and even become a great painter in advance, and she will find a way to help him build momentum so that he can create without worrying about food and clothing.But at the same time, she was also worried that if he really had no worries about food and clothing, would he lose that passion——

This is something that cannot be predicted in advance.In terms of money, she wants to book this future famous painter in advance; in terms of friendship, Vincent is a reliable friend, a reliable intermediary, and many art dealers have maintained good commercial and personal relationships with the painter. Friendship, that's not conflicting at all.

She worried that she had reversed the course of his life, only to obliterate an artist ever since.

After a while, she said: "I can't say anything, it all depends on you, whether you are only satisfied with being a rich art dealer, a husband and a father, or want to pursue something more."

"I don't know yet. That's what I'm struggling with."

She thought for a while, "I knew what I wanted when I was 12 years old: I wanted to be famous, I wanted to be rich. But it took me a few years to think about becoming a writer, and for that I needed to keep learning, and I wanted to be rich. As I was studying, I became more and more convinced that I would be a great writer whose name will be remembered years after death. What about you? What do you think?"

Vincent looked at her in shock, "I don't know you...Compared to you, I'm so stupid!"

"Don't demean yourself like that. You know that I don't have a father, and my mother's ability is limited. I have to rely on myself. Your parents love you very much, and you will follow their wishes, so that you are a good son in their hearts, I can understand But you have to control your life by yourself, and you can’t wait until 20 years later to regret it: I should have insisted on learning painting at the beginning, and I should be 'myself'. Therefore, all you need to consider is: Will I regret it in the future? I follow the rules of my parents Willing to spend my life, am I worthy of myself?"

She stayed in Paris for a day and a half, and was busy distributing the items brought back to Flaubert’s friends. She sent gifts to Zola’s two families, Maupassant, Turgenev, and Daudet’s residence. , most of which are fruits, packed in rattan baskets, with cards attached, signed by Flaubert and his own name; also sent some gifts to Degas and Foran, signed by his own name; sent to Hugo 4 Japanese decorative paintings, also signed Flaubert and his own name;

Sent back to Charleville some fabrics that could be used at home, and small objects that a little girl like Isabel would like; sent two cans of American tobacco to each of the two uncles, and a fashionable fedora hat to Cousin Charles; An Italian wool jacquard scarf and two dozen Chinese silk handkerchiefs were sent to Gabriel; the same two dozen silk handkerchiefs and an angora wool sweater were sent to Arthur.

Vincent liked those Japanese decorative paintings very much, and they bought almost all the decorative paintings of the merchant, there were more than 20 of them, Vitaly kept 4 for himself, and gave all the others to Vincent.

Vincent sent her on the train to Rouen.

Flaubert's health improved and he was able to go for a walk.

"How about Marseilles?"

"That's great! The sea breeze is a bit cold, but if you wait until June, in summer, the sea breeze will be very comfortable. And that blue, so beautiful! At sea level, you can't even tell where is the sea and where is the sky , I also drew a lot of paintings! Vincent also painted a lot of paintings, I brought back all the paintings we drew, and Mr. Degas said that I have painted very well." She was smug.

"What else?"

"Lots of good food, lots of fruit, much better than Paris. Perhaps you should go to Marseilles to recuperate."

He smiled wryly: "You already know what disease I have... This disease makes people feel weak, and when it happens, it hurts so much that you are about to die. It is an unbearable pain. You will try everything to make yourself not It hurts so much—"

"**?"

"Yeah, fuck, or whatever."

She smelled his perfume, and a faint but distinct stench.She didn't pay attention to the smell before, and thought it was the common body odor of older people, but thinking about it now, he rarely had any contact with her, and he rarely let her into his room. She was also very careful not to touch her hands when she was lecturing.At that time, she thought it was him avoiding any inappropriate contact with her. Now that she thinks about it, he knows that his illness may be transmitted through damaged skin. In order to prevent all possibilities, he tries not to contact her, and he rarely even shakes hands. , and basically wearing gloves.

In fact, when you think about it, young people in this era have limited opportunities for sexual enlightenment. Most young men complete their sexual enlightenment in brothels, and they don’t care about the high risk of sexually transmitted diseases. It’s really strange—but not surprising. Even in the era when condoms were easy to obtain everywhere and were not expensive, there were still some men who felt that condoms were "unpleasant" and had high-risk sexual behaviors.

So, they asked for it.

For that matter, she has little sympathy for these brothel-seeking men, not even Flaubert.However, Flaubert had already paid a heavy price for his mental retardation in his youth, so she would not judge him.

He is already a late stage patient, and the medicine stone is ineffective, but Maupassant seems to be in the first stage, so he should be able to save it. She wondered whether to find a way to save his life?

She hesitated and asked: "The last time I saw Maupassant, he... he was also sick, that's the disease. I asked in Marseilles, there was an Egyptian doctor who had a new treatment, but only for the first period." The patient is effective. I think Maupassant is still very young, he is absurd, but it is better not to suffer too much. I wonder if your brother can introduce a physician who dares to experiment with new treatments. Try this new therapy?"

Flaubert was very interested, "What method?"

"It's—you know malaria. There are reliable medicines for malaria now, and they can basically be cured. The new treatment of Egyptian doctors is to infect patients with malaria. After the patients have a high fever for a few days, they then use quinine to treat malaria."

"What's the principle?" The Flauberts were surgeons, and they were not very familiar with the strange treatments of these physicians.

"It is said that high fever can burn... germs to death. It may not be completely effective, but as long as there is a possibility of more than 30.00%, you should try it. Egyptian doctors are still figuring it out, so—"

"I'll go and tell my brother to find a prudent and experienced physician. Guy—" He sighed, shaking his head. "Young man!"

After all, this kind of thing is not easy to tell her an unmarried girl, so she quickly changed the subject, "Are you ready to go to Dijon?"

"You can go whenever your body allows."

Before they set off for Dijon, Mrs. Conmanville came again.

This time, I brought the children together. The two children, Philip, a 6-year-old boy, and Romy, a 4-year-old girl, are both born in pink and jade, extremely cute.

She came back without writing a letter beforehand, and with her luggage, she seemed to be planning to stay for a while.Vitaly was busy arranging for the servants to clean up the room, for the maid to take the children to play outside, and for the cook to make desserts.Mrs. Commanville went to Flaubert's room.

Vitaly wondered if it should be a matter of money, right?Since they brought their children back for a short stay, there was probably a quarrel. Judging by Caroline's expression, she seemed to be fine, not like she had been beaten.Most men in this era don't think "wife beating" is a big deal, regardless of class and wealth.

If Conmanville can make up 10,000+ francs, she can still make up 7 to 8. The manor can be mortgaged, but the problem is that if the money cannot be earned in the future, the manor will be returned to the bank.If it only relies on land rental income, it will take more than ten years to repay the loan.In short, she didn't want to mortgage unless it was a last resort.Caroline borrowed 10,000+ francs from her natal relatives. After all, she should have a voice in the family, right?Conmanville, if he is not satisfied, what a fool!

Both Philip and Romy are well-bred, well-behaved, without losing the liveliness of the children. It can be seen that Caroline has devoted a lot to the children.Xiao Tuantuan obediently played with the toys he had brought in the living room, and didn't make any noise. When the maid brought puffs, he knew that he would obediently wait for the maid to come and wipe their hands before eating.

Vitaly watched the two children play for a while, and the housekeeper came to ask her to go upstairs again.

Mrs. Conmanville looked embarrassed and ashamed, and Flaubert gave her the real estate certificate again, "You look at selling some land."

Vitaly frowned, took the file bag, "How much did Henry borrow?"

"Less than 10."

That is, there is still a gap of more than 10 francs, and the mortgage loan is less than 10 francs.

Vitaly was upset, "I'll go talk to him."

Mrs. Conmanville was stunned, and smiled wryly, "Don't go, his relatives can take out almost 10, which is considered family affection, and they can't take out more."

She looked haggard and helpless.

That's true.An ordinary family has a deposit of tens of thousands or 10,000+ francs, which is already considered rich, and they cannot lend it all to others. It is a great way to show family affection if they can borrow tens of thousands.Only Flaubert, who treated Caroline like a daughter since he was a child, can help her with all his strength.

She lowered her head and thought for a while, "Then I have to make it clear to him, there is only this time, there is no next time. The manor will be mortgaged, and it may not be possible to raise 10 francs. The husband has not made any large sums of money in recent years. It is very difficult to repay the loan. Henry is going out to find a job, not to make any investments. Also, everything in the family is up to you, including where to live in the future, the education of the children, and marriage. I can’t make my own decisions, I can only listen to your arrangements.”

Mrs. Conmanville gave another wry smile.

"He...he didn't hit you, did he?"

"No." She shook her head, "It's just...he got angry and blamed uncle for not refusing to mortgage the manor."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Vitaly said angrily, "The manor belongs to Mr., not him, nor yours. Mr. is willing to mortgage the manor, all for the sake of you and the children What does it have to do with him?"

What an abominable arrogance a man is!

In the next few days, Vitaly had to be busy with the mortgage loan. She went to Rouen with Flaubert to meet the lawyer, went to the bank with the lawyer, mortgaged all the manor and land, and borrowed 8 francs. ; and listed houses in Rouen and Le Havre for sale.Fortunately, the name Flaubert is still well-known in Rouen. A family member of a patient of the old Flaubert bought a seaside villa in Le Havre and gave it 2 francs; another friend --> >

A friend's family bought a small building in Rouen, and gave 2 francs higher than the actual price; plus the family's cash, they made up another 13.

They asked Henry Commanville to meet and asked him to sign an IOU of 13 francs and press his fingerprints. Vitaly also insisted that the lawyer write down the contract, stipulating that Henry would not interfere in the marriage of the two children, and agreed that as long as he had a good relationship with his wife or If the child has any violent behavior, even if it is just slapping, Caroline will immediately file for divorce.

Conmanville was extremely displeased, but signed the contract anyway.

According to Vitaly's thinking, it is impossible for this major event not to change the way the Conmanville couple get along. Caroline borrowed two-thirds of the money from her natal family, so there is no reason why she cannot be the master of the house. Whose money is this? The principle of whoever talks, if 29 francs can't buy the right to be a parent, then it's really better to get a divorce.It's just that Caroline won't agree to a divorce, so let's save it.

She also suggested that Flaubert and Da Flaubert personally take Conmanville to pay back the money—mostly bank loans, and pack him up and throw him out to work immediately after paying off the debt.Flaubert's family has three generations of doctors in Rouen, and they still have a lot of contacts. It is not difficult to introduce a job.As a result, Commanville got a job in the Paris government department, with an annual salary of 5000 francs.

This salary is enough in Paris, don't think about any social activities, go to and from get off work every day, and stay honest when you get home from get off work, half of the annual salary must be sent to Caroline.

It is impossible to repay the debt with this amount of money. At most, you can save 2000 francs a year, and only 10 francs in 2 years. It will take 40 years to pay off the mortgage loan of the bank-this is not counting the interest. !However, he can still get promoted and raise his salary. If he becomes the director of the department, he can have an annual salary of 1 francs a year. The government will also provide housing, carriages, and servants. Almost all 5 francs can be saved. Of course, it is spent with other gray income.

Vitaly went to talk to Commanville about the advantages of being a civil servant.He is not too old. He is just 32 years old. He is in the prime of life. He is not stupid, but a little greedy. This kind of person is really suitable for working in the government department, he can adapt quickly, and he can climb up quickly. .

She felt that the stick was hit, and the sweet dates were also given. As long as Conmanville's brain is not broken, he can measure that he still has a bright future as a civil servant.

Mrs. Commanville was unwilling to go to Paris with her, and her house was sold to pay off the debts, so Flaubert let her and the children live in the manor.I told her about the adoption of Vitaly. Mrs. Conmanville had no objection, but felt that the adoption should have been proposed long ago.

Speaking of which, this was just Flaubert's own business, but he still told his brother Da Flaubert, who also had a good impression of his younger brother's female student, thinking that she was smart and capable.

"When my mother passed away, I thought you wanted to adopt her, otherwise why would you let her handle mother's funeral." The two brothers finally settled a big event in Da Flaubert's study, and the two brothers sat down for a few drinks cup.

Flaubert had been a secluded person for so many years, rarely going out, and the two brothers only saw each other a few times a year.The older brother was well aware of the younger brother's illness, and the father considered the younger son's illness a shame when he was alive, and was unwilling to make a detailed diagnosis.

"I think so, but also look at her character."

Da Fu Lou nodded in understanding. Adoption is a major matter, and it is related to future inheritance. Of course, it cannot be decided lightly.It is sad to think about it, since adoption is considered, and it is preparing for the imminent death.Flaubert contracted syphilis at the age of 21 or 2, and it is rare to survive until now.He also likes Vitaly very much. After all, she is young, beautiful and capable enough to manage the manor in an orderly manner and take good care of the teacher. Even his own daughter may not be able to do so well.

Vitaly received a letter from Marseilles, saying that the plan had been carried out smoothly. To be on the safe side, the person in charge used both methods. A prostitute dresses up as a mistress and goes to the casino to play. If there is no accident, it will take another week to collect the net.

She did not reply.

After finishing the affairs of the Conmanville family, the date was almost the same, and it was already the middle of May, so he packed his luggage and prepared to go to Dijon.

Louis sent several more letters, babbling about his life and studies.He did not attend a public secondary school, but an expensive private secondary school, and after two or three years he wanted to go to Paris for university.Vitaly sent him a letter back.

indifferent.

Louis sent her a large box of cloth and two pairs of Japanese dolls, and even Mrs. Conmanville could see that he was trying to please her.

"He's only 15 years old, and he's still a kid." She said to Caroline indifferently, "Little boys are like this, they always think they can get the whole world."

"Tell me, what kind of 'little boy' is this Master Mandarian." Caroline asked with great interest.

"Very beautiful." She showed Caroline the photo Louis sent, a black-and-white photo of a tall, thin boy sitting on a chair reading a book, with a round and lovely profile, and fine features.

"What a handsome boy," Caroline looked at him carefully, "that is, he is a few years younger. He won't look too young when he is 20."

Vitaly muttered, "He's not as good as Gabriel."

"Gabriel isn't as good-looking as he is."

"But Gabriel didn't strangle me, he almost strangled me."

"Oh!" Caroline exclaimed softly. "What did he do?"

After hearing her talk about what happened at Captain Rimbaud's house, Caroline immediately changed her words, "It's too bad! He has a bad temper. Gabriel is better, he is polite and well-behaved." There is another layer that she didn't After all, Gabriel is the heir to the baron, and his social status must be higher than that of Mandalian. No matter how rich Mandalian is, he is only the stepson of a merchant, and Gabriel is not short of money.

"After a while, when you come back from Dijon, you will go to the court to complete your adoption procedures. Uncle...Uncle is not in good health, and I don't know how many years to live." Caroline lowered her voice, "My things... also broke his heart, what should I do?"

"Don't worry, there will always be money. If he will write a play, there are theater owners who beg him with gold coins, but he has not been willing to write it. If he can write a "Les Miserables" or A play like The Count of Monte Cristo is guaranteed to be a hit at the theaters in Paris!"

"I really don't understand this, and I... can't help him. Vitaly, you know that I have no parents since I was a child. My uncle and grandmother raised me. I always regard my uncle as my father. I respect and love him , but I really don't know what to do."

"Don't worry, it's better than any medicine if you can stay with him forever. And the children, Philip is very cute, and Romy is even more likable. You can stay here until the manor is taken away by the bank."

Caroline wanted to laugh, but she covered her face and shed tears silently.

Vincent wrote to her occasionally, which was generally a serious work report, saying whose painting he liked again.Vitaly loved the newly emerging Impressionism, and Vincent liked many other painting schools, but because of the price, they bought the most works of the Impressionists.

Recently, because of money matters, Vitaly began to let him watch and sell paintings.He ordered a sketch booklet, which contained sketches of the original artist's works and Vitaly's sketches for some of the collections, specially for customers to see the goods. Popular among art dealers.Many painters ask students to draw a few sketches of paintings to show customers samples. Maybe the customers don't like the existing works, but they may like the artist's style and order separately.

Vitaly wrote back to him, and one of the letters contained some manuscript paper on which he wrote a short story about the painter.

The story begins with a day in the life of a down-and-out painter who doesn't understand why no one buys his paintings. He struggles to get by, sometimes painting all day while eating a loaf of white bread and drinking a cup of coffee.This kind of self-abuse ascetic life is because his living expenses are all used to buy paints, and he has no extra money to fill his stomach; when friends come to see him, they scold him for being stupid, do they want to die early if they don’t eat well;

The painter told his friends about his distress: no one appreciates, no income; the friends said that they can pretend that he is dead, you know, the paintings of dead people are only valuable, because there can be no more paintings; the painter is persuaded I chose a part of the works that I was satisfied with from the existing paintings, and then burned all the other works;

The friend returned to the big city with the painting (the actual city name is not here), and made up a story in the newspaper about a great and talented painter who was not appreciated by others and died in the country without a name. In the thatched cottage, it is really sad and regrettable;

Newspapers and magazines published articles praising the painter’s paintings, and everyone wanted to see them quickly. Soon, someone held an exhibition for the painter who died young. The paintings were marked with amazingly high prices. After one exhibition, almost all the exhibits were sold out. ;

At the end of the story, the painter got much more wealth than he imagined. From then on, he traveled around the world leisurely and happily, and never touched a paintbrush again.

Vincent thought the story was weird, but couldn't tell what was wrong.

Louis didn't send a confirmation letter the following week, and Vitaly was wondering if something had gone wrong with Dijon?She was about to write a letter to Marseilles, but unexpectedly, Captain Rimbaud actually came to Rouen and found the Crosva Manor.

He was much older and wore an army uniform that didn't fit well and was too old.

Captain Rimbaud is 60 years old.

He looked at the beautiful young girl in front of him with a pair of blue eyes that he had passed on to several children, with a blank expression on his face.

Vitaly also looked at him blankly.

The author has something to say: *This short story should have a prototype, but I forgot the name, I read it a long time ago.

*The 3 lines, Vitaly's adoption, Caroline's debt, and Captain Rimbaud's trap, have not been finished yet. Why are people so anxious?

Because of debts, Flaubert realized that he could not leave his only property to his niece Caroline, and that there must be a property supervisor. The adoption of Vitaly was not purely because she liked her. Vitaly got Flaubert's surname. To take care of the future of Caroline and the children, if you get it, you will have the responsibility;

Captain Rimbaud is always an uncertain factor. He is not dead yet. When Vitaly becomes a famous writer, won't he come to her and ask for money?Vitaly just didn't want to wait until the time to be passive, and took this opportunity to take the initiative to solve it.

In the real world, are there still few irresponsible parents who ask for money after their children become famous?Are there fewer parents who owe a lot of debt and make their children work hard to pay off the debt?Aren't Cai Shaofen, Wu Qilong and Cecilia Cheung all such children?

The heroine has no feelings for her father. What's wrong with her way of thinking that being a biological father is a "problem" and solving the "problem"?

Someone actually substitutes the illegitimate child instead of the heroine, does he need real affection for a fictional character?What can the hostess do?What can be done?