Rimbaud's girl

Everything in the manor is as usual, and it is thriving.

Mrs. Rimbaud stayed in the manor for a week, and returned to Charleville with Isabel.

Vitaly and Caroline went to Paris at the end of January and saw many houses with real estate agents.

"You should buy an apartment in Paris, too," Vitaly said to Caroline, "that way you can be with Henry. Henry can save the rent, oh, you tell him the house belongs to your uncle, Let him pay you the rent."

Caroline hid her mouth and smiled, "You are so bad!"

"Don't trust Henry too much. A man, either likes women, or likes to drink, or likes to gamble, neither of which is a good thing. You have to control all the money in the family, and do some business that you can control yourself. In this way, In the future, Philip and Romy will not worry about money anymore."

"You think so much!"

"Of course we women have to consider everything. Not having money is a terrible thing. Look at my father. He couldn't finish writing a novel a few years ago, but now he can finish writing at least one novel a year."

Caroline was even happier, "Yes, you are right."

"It won't work if a man doesn't force it."

"What about you? Where's your Gabriel?"

"He's fine. I asked Arthur to help me monitor Gabriel, and Gabriel helped me monitor Arthur, so that neither of them should have any bad hobbies." She can say about this initiative He was triumphant, "In the future, I will also manage Gabriel's property, and I will never allow him to spend money in any messy place."

Caroline held her chin up, "Good sister, learn from my lesson. I used to think that making money is a man's business, and a woman has fulfilled her responsibility as long as she takes care of the family. Husbands and children are what we women need to care about. Of course men care about money matters, no matter how stupid a man is, he should understand that it is their bounden duty to take good care of their wives and children. But Henry—”

"There is nothing wrong with Henry. He doesn't smoke, gamble, or go to brothels. He doesn't drink too much. He loves you and the children very much, and he knows how to make you happy. Such a man is considered very good." Vita Li comforted her.Although, what she said is what men should do, but in fact, there are a lot of men who can't do it, so people have to lower their requirements for men, while correspondingly, their requirements for women have increased .

Caroline smiled bitterly, "You don't have to speak well of him."

"Father's body is what it is, his disease... won't go away, and Paco and Mr. Boyle will take care of him. So many years...he has suffered a lot, and sometimes I don't know how he can stand it- —”

"He can't take it, and no one can take it."

"So don't worry about your father's illness, you have to take care of your own happiness. This is my plan. Our houses are bought together, or not far away, so that when my father comes to Paris for a short stay, you can easily bring your children Go and see him. Isn't it nice that Philippe comes to Paris to go to school and come home every day and see his parents?"

"It's really good." Caroline's heart softened when she thought of her son who was studying in Rouen.Although the uncle's house was good, it was not as good as our own, and little Philip quickly became precocious.

"The housing prices in Paris are not expensive now, so I am going to buy an apartment for my father in Paris, so that he can entertain friends at home. The general trend of real estate will become more and more valuable. No matter what happens in the future, as long as The whole city of Paris is not destroyed, and it is not enough to have no place to live.” Thinking of later World War II, compared with the United Kingdom, France was able to keep Paris from being bombed by German planes in a large area, while London was destroyed. The bombing was all over the place, and ruins were everywhere.

Caroline also felt that Vitaly was thinking long-term.The Commanville family originally had a house in Paris, but they also sold it to pay off their debts. It is really heartbreaking to think about it.

Looking at a house is a long-term project. It is difficult to find a suitable house at once. There are requirements for transportation, surrounding environment, surrounding residents, schools and churches. Not to mention living in a wealthy area, at least you must be middle-class or above. Affordable place to live.Flaubert’s living environment is less demanding, and he does not need to consider whether there are suitable schools nearby; Conmanville’s family has higher requirements for transportation, being relatively close to Henry’s work place, and it is convenient to call a carriage to work in the morning. If middle- and lower-level officials drop by, they will raise funds to rent a horse-drawn carriage to go to work in the morning, which is equivalent to carpooling to work in later generations;

Vitaly bought the house mainly for renting out. If they lived in Paris in the future, they would definitely live in the mansion of the Oran family.The last time I came back from Marseilles, Gabriel took her to see the house, and said that I will live in the mansion in Paris in the future. The mansion is a whole small building with 4 floors. The master room, children's room, servant room and kitchen are well arranged. , very suitable for a couple with 2 or 3 children to live in, Vitaly took a fancy to this mansion at a glance, -->>

I like it so much that I took Caroline to see the mansion when I came to Paris this time.

Now there is only one servant left in the mansion to watch the house. The French housekeeper of the Oran family often comes to check. Vitaly wrote to the housekeeper in advance to inform him that he should wait in the mansion that day.After the engagement, Mrs. Orland gave her a tentative plan to give her some houses in which they would live after marriage: a mansion in Paris, a country house outside Paris (on the Seine), a spacious apartment in London, A country house in Hampshire.After getting married, Gabriel's annuity was also increased from 1000 pounds to 2000 pounds, and they would also be given a sum of money to allow them to go abroad for their honeymoon.

Caroline was also full of praise for the Oran Mansion, "This house is very suitable for a small family to live in. You and Gabriel live in Paris with their children. How nice it is!"

"I may only be able to live in Paris for 3 or 4 months a year in the future."

"That's not certain. Gabriel grew up in Paris too. You should live in France, in Paris."

"It's still early, when we come back from abroad."

"Are you going to redecorate here?"

"Of course, this house has been built for decades, and it's a bit outdated. It should be redecorated before the wedding, the curtains and drapes should be replaced, and someone should check from the roof to the basement to repair the damaged wooden boards. The most important thing The most important thing is to redecorate the bathroom, install the latest water and sewage equipment, and install a boiler in the basement." She turned to the housekeeper and said, "You have to give me the architectural drawings, and I will take them to an engineer to have a look. I don't know how long the boiler will take, maybe several months."

"Okay, miss, I will send you the blueprint as soon as I get it."

"These things should actually be done by Gabriel, but he doesn't have time to come, and he can only come here in the summer. Mrs. Oran said that they will pay for the reconstruction, and she can't go back to Paris, so I decide what to decorate. look."

"Mrs. Orland seems to like you very much."

"Oh, that's because she loves her son very much, not me."

"But just because she loves her son, even you will like it. In my opinion, this is a very good mother-in-law."

"She's very nice. The point is, I won't live with his parents in the future. This will avoid a lot of problems, and I can maintain a friendly relationship with her." She also felt that Mrs. Oran had a high profile , educated and rich but too lazy to take care of things, this kind of mother-in-law will be easy to get along with.

Vitaly and Caroline stayed in Paris for a week, looking at a comfortable apartment, a master bedroom, a guest bedroom, a study, two servant rooms, a large living room, and a fairly spacious There is a large kitchen and a square balcony, which is very suitable for a single person with a servant.

Vita Lima negotiated the price and won the apartment at a price of 2 francs, slightly below the market price.First paid a deposit of 2000 francs, then sent a telegram asking Flaubert to come to Paris, brought a cashier's check, paid off the balance, signed the house purchase contract, and completed the transfer procedures.

The annual rent for this apartment is 1000 francs. It is not a very good location, nor is it a very good luxury apartment, but it is very suitable for Flaubert to live and work.The location of the apartment is very good. The Seine River is next to the building. You can see the Seine River when you open the window.The spacious living room can be used to entertain friends. The two servant rooms are smaller, Paco lives in one, and he brings a maid. It is suitable for Flaubert to live in Paris for a short time, but in fact it is enough for a long-term stay.

Flaubert had seen the apartment and was pleased with it.After completing the formalities, he and Vitaly returned to Rouen, and Caroline stayed in Paris for another week, continuing to look at the house and redecorate the newly purchased apartment.

Caroline is good at housekeeping.I bought a pair of three-person sofa chairs and a set of single-person sofa chairs. The living room can accommodate 7 or 8 guests at the same time without appearing crowded.The curtains were changed, and some nice second-hand furniture was scoured to refurbish the apartment.

In the spring, in March, Flaubert returned to Paris and was happy to entertain friends in his new apartment.

Of course, among Flaubert's literary friends, Ivan Turgenev had the best relationship with him.He and this rebellious Russian aristocratic young master have similar aesthetics and world views, and they appreciate each other, so they can become close friends.Best friends don’t talk about money very much. When Turgenev invited Flaubert and Vitaly to his villa, Vitaly realized how rich this big Russian landowner was—Zola mentioned inadvertently, Turgenev gave a villa in the suburbs of Paris to his goddess, Pauline Viodore.

Shock!How can a country house cost 10 francs and go up!

Among Flaubert's circle of friends, Turgenev was the only one who really didn't worry about money.Although Flaubert is considered rich, he can't have any accidents. If there is another economic crisis in Conmanville, he can only sell the manor.And Turgenev simply didn't know how much money he had, and he probably didn't know it very well himself.