His Excellency the Count of Grandet

Just as Charles and the others were on their way back, the news that Grandet was going to entertain Charles had already caused a sensation in the city of Saumur.Even in the past two years, he did not take into account the agreement of all vineyard owners and sold his own harvest privately, but it did not arouse such a huge reaction.

"How many times is this the first time Father Grandet treats you?"

"Not more than three times since he married Monsieur Gudinier's only daughter, including that one—I swear it!"

"I heard that Father Grandet and his nephew are not only able to come and go from the king's palace at will, but have also earned money that no one can imagine?"

"You have heard too little! As long as it is his opinion, no matter what it is, His Majesty will support it!"

"Hasn't the young Earl already conquered France?"

For a while, Saumur's streets and alleys were discussing these topics.They have always been ignorant of news, but they are particularly well-informed on this matter, and it is by no means accidental.

Because Eugenie and Madame Grandet left Saumur twice for Paris and then to the eastern part of France, which is no longer news in Saumur.Furthermore, the news that they are most concerned about has already come from areas such as Berry and Nantes——

Grandet Paris has become one of the most popular wine merchants in the Loire Valley because they usually charge very generous prices!

To what extent has this price attracted everyone?To put it simply, even if someone reports that the people who bought wine at extremely low prices in several places three years ago were sent by Shire, no one will believe it!

"I don't know how many million francs of gold the annual income has, and His Majesty still treats him like a young son!" Everyone said, "Whoever's daughter is lucky enough to marry him, she will no longer see grapes and loess. Only silk and castles!"

This is simply a translated version of "One person attains the Tao, chicken and dog ascend to heaven".

But I also want to know that with Shire's status, farmers like them absolutely don't need to expect marriage.Because of this, people who were ignorant or hostile to new things began to consider whether their previous ideas were too narrow——

In the eyes of conservative provincials, the only reliable things are the crops grown on their own estates, and their well-hidden cash boxes.Putting money in the bank is a great risk, and buying and selling bonds such as government bonds for profit is a manifestation of ungrounded opportunism.

Now, Shire has completely refreshed their cognition.

Textile?railway?steel?coal mine?

It sounds like something from another world, but if you really want to say it, it doesn't seem that difficult?

They secretly compared grapes into wine and cotton into cloth in their hearts, and found that they could understand this new way of making money.Moreover, even if they don't understand industry and science, who can't understand yellow gold?

Therefore, most Saumur people feel that they understand the intention behind Grandet's treat very well.

"Lucky Eugenie!" they said, half heartbroken, half admiring, "did Father Grandet foresee the brilliant achievements of his nephew more than twenty years ago, so he gave birth to a daughter?"

Even if Grandet was indeed good at calculating, no one from Saumur could match it, but it would be impossible to calculate to this extent; besides, Eugenie was a year older than Charles.Everyone knows this, but their envy and ensuing frustration have overwhelmed reason—

It turned out that they thought that the only daughter of a rich family like Eugenie, whether President Cruchot or Master de Grassin married, it was a great luck.And now, it turns out, that's not a big deal—Eugenie's good luck is not only because she has a rich father, but also because she has a super rich cousin!

"If I can become Eugenie, it's okay to let me go to hell after death!"

Some people really said so, but no one said it publicly.

Therefore, the vast majority of people think that the marriage between Paris Grandet and Saumur Grandet is a sure thing - Grandet's father has no reason to refuse his nephew who is richer than him to become his son-in-law; and from Shire's previous performance It can be seen that he does not have the contemptuous attitude towards Eugenie that ordinary Parisians have towards mainlanders.

"If the two Grandets become a family again," everyone said, "is there anyone in France richer than them?"

Some people, such as the Cruchots and Grassins, are not at all happy about this hot topic.

At the beginning, they firmly insisted that Paris Grandet and Saumur Grandet had no contact with each other, and what Paris Grandet was thinking about was marriage with the princes and nobles, and he looked down on Saumur's brother at all—

Then Shire blinded their dogs with three golden gifts.

... Is this an attitude of avoidance?

Then, the Grandet family in Paris successfully completed the military wine order from the Duke of Orleans, obtained more liquidity provided by people, and began to gradually go uphill. They concluded that Charles had finally discovered the benefits of the nobility——

Then Eugenie muddles them with the follow-up of taking her mother to Paris.

...Which family who wants to hold on to the nobles is willing to warmly welcome relatives in the country?

Now, Charles has become what people call the richest man in Paris and the richest man in France who has been booked in the future. He is also the earl who was awarded the Order of Order by the king himself. His achievements are obvious to all——

Then Grandet's banquet gave them the heaviest and most thorough blow.

Not to mention marrying a daughter, even the notary Cruchot and M. de Grassin's status as business agents of the Grandet family were in jeopardy.None of them could gather millions of francs a year in gold like Charles did!

It didn't take a little thought to know that they had no chance of winning, not even half a depreciated livre silver coin!

In this case, you can imagine the situation when Charles arrived at Saumur for the third time—several carriages filed in and were directly surrounded by inhumane crowds.

"...Wait, dear Charles, didn't you just drop by your uncle's house for a quick lunch? Then we leave early tomorrow morning?" Jellicoe was stunned by a row of shining eyes outside the car as soon as he probed his head. Living.Is it his illusion, he felt that it was full of imaginary gold and silver?

"That's right," Charles, who had already got out of the car, affirmed, "Forgive me for not being able to accompany you at night."

"You are too polite, didn't we all appreciate your care along the way?" Delacroix also spoke. "Your uncle's mansion is nearby?" How could he only see crumbling houses full of wormholes?

Charles pointed up the slope.

Delacroix looked along and was stunned.He was always careless, but at this moment he couldn't hold back his eyes.

In fact, he was quite puzzled before, why Uncle Charles didn't invite them together.Because according to the fashion in Paris, there is never a shortage of seats for a few people in the salon of the mansion.But now that he has seen the so-called Grandet Mansion with his own eyes, he can't help but secretly rejoice that he didn't ask——

Not to mention that compared with the prevalent imperialist-style gorgeous buildings in Paris, even in a small town like Saumur, they are too dilapidated!

But if Charles' uncle is as poor as his house looks, Charles will never sit idly by!

Hugo and Delacroix have the same doubts.But he was also very educated and didn't say that.Besides, he believed in Charles; then the uncle must be the problem...just ask the locals!

It was around four o'clock in the afternoon.The people on both sides separated, and Charles walked up the sloping gravel road alone.As the saying goes, being courteous for nothing means rape or stealing, but he wants to see how his uncle plans to move him today?

Eugenie and Madame Grandet were still at Épernay, so Grandet and Nanon were the only ones in the house.Although Nanon expressed a warm welcome to Charles' arrival, the stone building with its old creaking staircase felt more sinister.

The dinner was finished in silence all the way, it was no different from a funeral meal.But with bamboo chicken, barracuda, coffee, and butter, Grandet really took a lot of effort for the standard of only three people.

When Nanon had cleared away the dishes, the two men sat down opposite the little table.Smiling, Charles assumed a comfortable position in the armchair—he was in no hurry.

Seeing him like this, Grandet felt that it was too quiet at the moment, and it would be better in winter with a fire crackling nearby.In fact, he felt that what he wanted to do was pretty sure, but he just couldn't open his mouth - his stammering was fine for others, but it probably didn't work well in front of Charles, right?

But there is always something to say.So Grandet spoke first, thanking Charles almost dryly, in words similar to those in the letter.Then he quickly got to the point, "Please come here this time, besides thanking you, there are some things I would like to ask of you."

Want to ask for something?It is obvious that he wants to take a share in the textile factory, or ask him to help set up a new textile factory, right?After all, if you want to make a lot of money, you can't get away from his patented machine-this is completely different from his uncle's shrewdness, and it is impossible to do it alone!

Charles had already guessed this, and now he was calmer.

But having said that, his uncle mentioned the factory directly as soon as he opened his mouth. It seems that he didn't intend to marry his cousin to him?

His uncle was really smart.Unlike others, who are eager to use marriage to consolidate the relationship of interests.At least his uncle knew that he had missed the best time to get married—it happened when he came to Saumur the winter before last, and it would seem too thick-skinned and arrogant to mention it now.

In addition, this shows that Grandet still has sympathy for Eugenie second only to gold-it is nothing new to exchange his daughter for money, think of the de Aubrion family!

"With all due respect, haven't you always been willing to do it alone?" Charles asked intentionally.

This is simply which pot is not opened and which pot is lifted.Grandet knew this well, and his face remained calm, scolding Charles all over his heart. "You joked; now, is there anyone who doesn't know what you've accomplished in all walks of life?"

"But I think, with your ingenuity, the cabinet should invite you to help them; there is no doubt that you will be able to make contributions to France!" Charles continued.

Wouldn't it be a meritorious service if his uncle could transfer his focus on personal property to state property?

"There is another possibility, that is, I am only suitable for the small place of Saumur, and after I leave, I will become a poor guy who can accomplish nothing." Grandet answered faster.Among other things, he is already in his seventies, and he should have left Saumur a long time ago. How can he wait until now?

This is a big truth.Charles pondered, thinking that his uncle had always been pragmatic enough; there was almost no chance of losing money, and it was more likely to make more money. "You are my uncle, if you can help, of course I will."

Unexpectedly, Charles agreed so quickly, Grandet was stunned for a moment.He thought he had to do some water grinding...

But just before he showed an ecstatic expression, Charles asked again: "I just want to know, how did you suddenly decide to change your business direction?"

The old cooper had prepared an excuse a long time ago, and it was nothing more than a version that he had just suddenly realized, but he emphasized Eugenie's role in it.

Sure enough, he is a fine person. Seeing that he has a high degree of affection for Eugenie, he started from this aspect in order to increase the probability of success, Charles thought to himself. "I thought you would never do that," he said, as if casually. "Can you trust someone else with your gold?"

At this moment, Grandet's face distorted very quickly - the answer to this question is absolutely no.

Charles looked at the other party and threw out another proposal. "Why don't you leave it to my cousin? I heard that my cousin is a fast learner, and she is already able to do things independently." These words sounded slow, but he saw the timing right, just before his uncle spoke. Before.

Everything that could be said was robbed, and Grandet felt threatened like never before.Not that Shire might deceive him, but a sense of threat that is completely seen through, that the initiative is not in his hands.He was staring at Charles--almost staring--and suddenly had a terrible thought--

This young man saw through him from the very beginning, but he completely missed it from the very beginning!