His Excellency the Count of Grandet

At the same time, five painters were invited to draw the patterns required for the wine label, which is undoubtedly a big deal.After all, hiring a famous painter already costs a lot, let alone doubling and doubling?

But Charles didn't mind at all.Since there is enough ability, why not do things the best?

So, after agreeing with Michelle, he wrote the same five letters, explaining the matter roughly, and promising a big reward.The letter also attached a miniature portrait of his mother Emily, which can be used by painters as a reference to see if they are willing to accept this commission.Of course, if he is willing to go to Bordeaux to find inspiration, he will also pay for the relevant expenses.

"You are really thoughtful in doing things," Michelle said after reading the contents of the letter, not without admiration. "Who would be unwilling to express it like this? Everyone will see your sincerity and intentions." So he said at the beginning It is wise to insist that Shire oversee the winery!

"That's not good." Charles was not sure about David and Ingres who were still abroad, nor about Gero who was still painting the zenith. "Money can't buy time."

To draw a good picture is naturally time-consuming and labor-intensive, and the appointment time is estimated to be very long.Michele knew the process better than Shire, but he rolled his eyes and figured out a countermeasure. "It's not difficult to get them all to take over. I can guarantee that Eugene agrees, as long as you convince Jellicoe, then there will be no problem."

Charles gave Michel a sharp look. "Did you miss any process?"

"I won't tell you, as long as you understand." Michelle showed a big smile.Then he stood up and picked up a letter. "I have taken Eugene's letter with me, and I will give it to him when we meet next time. Remember Géricot, dear Charles! I will wait for your good news!"

Even if Michelle doesn't say so, Charles will still do it.He sent letters to Brussels and Florence respectively, with instructions that they must be delivered by hand, and then inquired a little about where Jellicoe usually went.Looking at the final location, he twitched his eyebrows, and decided to bring Victor together—

Just kidding, the neighborhood is full of cafes, how can he watch it alone?

The appointment time is a weekend.The stock exchange was closed, so Victor had time to come out and sit around.At the same time, as Christmas was approaching, many students studying in Paris had already embarked on their way home, so the Pantheon area, which has always had a strong academic and artistic atmosphere, was much quieter than usual.

"It's hard to imagine," Victor said after the waiter brought the coffee, "You actually invited me out for coffee one day? I thought you were doomed to never grow a romantic cell in your life!" Although wrapped in thick Drinking in an open-air cafe in a thick woolen coat doesn't particularly fit his romantic definition, but it's not about work anyway...is it?

It was mid-afternoon, and the lazy winter sun lazily covered the entire street.There was no wind, and the windows facing the street were filled with pots of daisies and artichokes, and a warm yellow cat was pacing slowly along the base of the mottled stone wall.The mild climate in Paris makes it even more peaceful and beautiful at this moment.

That's what Charles saw.Even if he did have business, even if he still wanted to refute Victor's statement about romantic cells, he couldn't utter a word at this time-he didn't want to ruin the atmosphere. "Do you mean that you don't want to come?" He threw the question back, his eyebrows raised slightly.

"How is that possible?" Victor was quite dissatisfied with Charles deliberately distorting his meaning. "I can't wait to come back a few more times!"

"That's it, do you have time?" Charles couldn't hold back the idea of ​​tearing things apart.Although Victor always complains that he has too many things to do, Victor also has a lot to do himself!

With almost no reaction time, Victor replied immediately: "It must be more than you!"

Charles rolled his eyes.Look at this speed, you must have thought about it behind your back many times, right?But he didn't intend to expose it, but changed the subject. "Okay, let's be serious, what happened recently?"

"When I first got back, I had a backlog that almost flooded my office," Victor said as he sipped his coffee—they both ordered Blue Mountain—and shrugged slightly for emphasis. "But anyway, those are things that really need me to solve, not someone deliberately adding unnecessary workload to me."

As soon as I heard this, I was talking about Michelle.Charles was determined to avoid this dangerous topic that would explode at any point—it didn't match the current situation—he just said, "So there's no big problem?"

"Let's say it's big or small." Victor replied, putting down the glass at the same time. "If you really want to say, there are a few guys on the other side of the strait who tried to muddy the water, but they didn't succeed in the end."

"What's their purpose?" Charles asked casually.

"National bonds." Victor replied, his tone became more thought-provoking, "It's thanks to them that they figured it out!"

National debt?That is really something that the central bank governor should pay attention to! "Did they do this because you were not in France?" Charles became concerned.

"[-]% yes." Victor didn't care much. "But they misjudged the situation—the national debt situation is optimistic, and it has been rising since the beginning of this year. Who would sell at this time? Besides, they can't find anyone to cooperate with." go down.

Charles fully understood.The British were presumably trying to hold onto the French domestic economy by buying large amounts of French government bonds, but no one wanted to sell.They could have done this through Michelle, but Michelle had secretly reached a cooperation intention with them, so naturally she would not easily fall to foreigners. "It looks like the British have realized something."

"Maybe. But since they didn't succeed the first time, they won't succeed in the future!" Victor's tone was light, but Charles could hear the murderous intent, "If they dare to do such a thing, they will have to pay the price!"

"According to you, it's not an official action?" Charles heard something else. "Isn't the wind direction on Duke Decaz's side like this?" If it was really the king's order, Duke Decaz would bear the brunt of it, and he would definitely be sent back to his country!

"That's right. Avery's negotiations are going well; let's talk about this when he comes back, he is already on board. As for the few speculators who are here now, I have to say that they have a keen sense of smell, but their eyesight is worrying!" When Victor said this, No doubt sarcasm.

Charles was already relieved when he heard that Duke Decaz was coming back for Christmas. "Anyway, as long as it's okay. When we set the general direction, they can't do anything." Which company can fight against the British and French governments at the same time?That's not how the Arabian Nights are written!

Victor apparently thought so too. "Because they don't know that our factories here are already better than theirs! As long as the industry develops steadily, the national debt will never fall back. If they want to speculate, they have to spend more money!" He snorted and said with a smile , "I'm afraid they won't be able to come up with it!"

This is a big truth.The price of treasury bonds is closely related to the overall domestic economic situation, which is basically a direct proportional relationship.When the economy is developing rapidly, it is impossible to speculate on the low price, but to speculate on the high...well, it depends on whether Victor, the central bank governor, sells it.

"To be honest, have you kept a lot of bonds in the treasury?" Charles was a little amused.

"Sell to anyone, but not to the British with ulterior motives." Victor said bluntly. "Besides, the price of treasury bonds has risen, and the government can't run out of money, so why bother to issue it again? Even the Minister of Finance is not worried about not being able to sell it!"

Charles laughed. "If this is the most serious thing recently, then I believe you really have more time to come out for coffee."

"Who said no?" Victor quite agreed. "But having said that, His Majesty also knew about it. He felt that you had a lot of credit for being in it, so we were all invited to attend the Eucharistic Blessing Ceremony with His Majesty on Christmas Eve, not to mention the previous banquet. .”

Charles froze.Because the blessing of the Eucharist is a grand ceremony, usually in the middle of the night.It's still Christmas Eve now... "Isn't it possible to stay overnight in the palace? This is an honor!" He was a little shocked, but his head was still running at high speed.

"You are fully worthy of this." Victor leaned forward slightly, "Without you taking the lead, how could there be so many factory projects that are ready to be launched or have already been launched? This is the direct cause of the rise in the national debt market. Your Majesty asked me to tell you, He doesn't want to hear rejection."

"Don't be like that, make me sound like I don't know what to do." Charles laughed. "Of course I will!"

Victor smiled a little too.Not only because Charles nodded, but also because he still had something to say.The king deeply believed that it was Shire's contribution, and he was not stingy. How could the reward he gave be so small?He already knew, but he didn't want to say it now; he was hoping to surprise Charles!

Just as the two of them looked at each other, a hesitant voice sounded from the side: "Sorry to bother you. May I ask, do you mind being a model for me?"

Charles was shocked when he turned around.Isn't the talking baby face Jellicoe?

"What to draw?" Victor was in a good mood and took the initiative to take over the conversation.

Jericho had been prepared to be rejected before—after all, Charles and Victor seemed to be either rich or expensive—and now when he heard this kind of answer like a promise, his eyes immediately lit up. "It's no trouble, you two just need to sit here and continue chatting, that's enough!"

Victor looked at the wooden easel on the opponent's back, and his tone was loose. "How long do you need?" It has to be said that someone wanted to make a portrait of him and Charles together, which hit his mind.

"Before the sun goes down, do you think it's okay?" Jericho said eagerly. "If there is no sunshine, I will not be able to grasp the feeling just now!"

That feeling just now?what does it feel like

Charles was at a loss.Seriously, isn't he just sitting here today?In the end, he was accosted upside down. What kind of development is this?What's wrong?

But Victor was satisfied. "Then it's your fault."

Although Victor didn't say it, Shire knew that if Victor thought the portrait was good, he would pay a lot of money to buy it, frame it, and hang it on the wall where he could see it every day at home——Victor is such a person!

"That's really great!" Jellicoe obviously didn't expect this, and smiled. "Thank you both!" After saying this, he walked to the other side of the stone road and set up the easel.

Taking advantage of the opportunity of Jericho leveling the canvas, Charles lowered his voice and told Victor: "He is Jericho!"

"Really?" Victor was slightly surprised, because he had heard the name before.But then he was relieved, "Isn't that just right?" The quality should be very high!It must be in his taste!

Charles felt he couldn't take it anymore.How is he going to tell Victor the truth?That he actually wanted to ask Jericho to draw a label?Victor must be unhappy about what he said now, right?I can only find another topic and another time to explain... But then again, what is the feeling of Jericho?

The answer to this question is probably known only to Jellicoe, or so it is now.

Just now, he walked along his old route, and saw Charles and Victor sitting there from a distance.He didn't know them, and he caught something unusual in the subtle body movements before he even saw the faces clearly.Even though there was a normal distance between them, the distance between the two seemed to be shrinking, almost to nothing.

Get closer and the details are more apparent.The outline of the older man's face can be described as sharp, but when he looked at the other side, he was gentle and almost gentle; his eyes were natural, but if you look closely, you will find that he looks at the other side casually even when he smiles. Hands on the desktop.And the young face is always smiling, and the attention is equally focused, which can be seen from the coffee that is still full.

What is that stuff in the air that is too thick to ignore?It touches the heartstrings, is it just the scent of the Blue Mountains?It is impossible to ignore the delicate touch of the painter.It doesn't matter whether it is an illusion or not, what matters is that he feels that this scene should be recorded with a brush!

**

That afternoon, Charles and Victor really sat in the open-air cafe for three hours.Because there are people on the side, they can't talk about work; the two of them just chat with each other, and they have never been so leisurely.

However, during this period of time, even a delicate sketch could not be completed, let alone anything else.Gellicoe couldn't finish it right away, but Charles wasn't in a hurry.Although there was something wrong at the beginning, the progress is there-they got to know each other successfully, right?After getting more familiar with it, wouldn't it be more confident to ask the other party to draw a wine label?Anyway, the two letters to go abroad are still on the way!

Two more weekends and Christmas is just around the corner.When Charles was preparing for the palace banquet three days later, an ordinance from Louis XVIII came out from the palace, calling him into the palace to have an audience.

What can happen at this time?Guillaume waited at home from dawn to dusk, not knowing whether it was a blessing or a curse.Just as he was anxiously preparing to switch from outside the house to the street corner to wait, Charles finally came back.Not only did he come back, but he also brought back an official title document of nobility and a St. Louis Knights Order officer medal with a badge——

This means that from now on, people should change their name from the young master of the Grandet family and call Charles the Earl!