His Excellency the Count of Grandet

From Paris to the southwest, after passing through Avry and Étampes, and walking a similar distance as before, you can reach Orleans, which is located on the northernmost edge of the Loire River.

It is an old and gentle city.If it were the former Shire, he probably only cared about the skills of the barbers in the city and the comfort of staying in the hotel. Maybe he would pay a little attention to the statue of Joan of Arc on the Martyrdom Square.But now, he is playing the role of a leisurely traveler, but what he pays attention to is quite different from ordinary passengers——

All the way to Orleans, he asked Antoine to take the carriage and walk along the Paris-Orleans railway under construction.This confused Antoine very much, because Charles, who used to stay in the carriage without showing his face, not only took a rough road, but also stopped to look at it from time to time, and occasionally asked him to inquire about the progress of the project... …

What about the young master who couldn't bear any hardships?What about the young master who was afraid that the moisture would ruin his hair?What about the young master who didn't learn anything other than the popular ways to pass the time in the upper class?

What kind of stimulation did the young master get interested in railways, something that doesn't conform to his aesthetics at all?

Of course, Charles could see that his servant's internal complaints were about to break through the sky, but he just pretended not to notice.When doing wine wholesale, the biggest cost besides purchase is transportation. Of course, he cares about bulk, cheap and fast transportation channels.

The Loire Valley region is an entire plain that stretches from northwestern France to the Aquitaine basin in the southwest.This flat and low land has the largest area of ​​vineyards planted in France, including the Loire, Bordeaux and Southwest regions.Most of the wines produced here are of high quality and low price, and there are also top wineries, such as Lafite, Latour, Ozon, Petrus and other well-known wineries.

The Loire is not deep and has a gentle flow.It’s okay to go to the mouth of the sea, but if you go to Paris, the ship with a deeper draft will not be able to go, and you can only rely on land transportation.And just imagine, the efficiency of the train is not much higher than that of the horse-drawn carriage.

Shire is almost sure that if he can handle [-] barrels of wine, the freight here will take up more than half of it.And Orleans not only built trains to Étampes and Paris, but also trains to Tours and Saumur to the west, and to Limoges and Toulouse to the south, which played a pivotal role in connecting the north and the south.

Therefore, it is necessary to care about the traffic in Orleans, and it can come in handy.

Of course, there is no need for Charles to explain the mystery to his servants.He just asked Antoine to find him a good place to stay, and then walked around the city every day, talking to people in the square and so on.He is beautiful, well-groomed, gentle and generous, so why not like him?

Soon, everyone thought that Charles was a rich man who knew nothing about the world, he had no vigilance, and he knew everything about the problems of a Parisian like him.In this way, it was easy for Charles to find out the information he wanted to know-the details of leasing or purchasing freight railways, and the preferences of relevant executives; , has entered the Loire Valley production area.

Know yourself and the enemy, and you will never be imperiled in a hundred battles.Ciel said this to himself in his heart, remembering the important news, and then set off for the next destination.At this time, he had almost completely forgotten about some bad people and things in Paris.

Stopping and stopping like this, by the time Charles arrived in Saumur, the first ten days of July would have passed.It was early in the morning when he entered the city, and everyone who was supposed to be up was up, but there was no one to be seen on the main street.

"What's going on here?" Antoine frowned at the closed doors and windows on both sides of the street.Do not open the door in broad daylight, is it haunted?At this time, he suddenly saw a pale face flashing through a dark window opening on the side, and his face turned pale immediately.

Charles, who had been looking out with the curtain of the carriage drawn up, now had a full view of the frightened expression of the servant. "The weather is fine." He said succinctly, and sat back down again. "Just go."

Saumur is a small town, but also an old town.Although some buildings disappeared after the catastrophe in [-], people in the city are more willing to settle down and be content with the status quo at any time, so more old houses have been preserved.

Most of them are built with white stone produced by the river, which is soft in texture, and holes of different sizes have been eroded by the years.There are beams made of solid wood or stone above the gate, which are covered with black bruises due to damp and neglect, and the original carved patterns cannot be seen clearly; Things like compound flowers, tangled vines, and even small cherry trees.Most of the doors and windows are made of oak wood, and even under the sun, there is a cold and musty smell.

The road is very deserted.On the one hand, this is because most of the Saumur people stay quietly in the house when they are free; I'm busy in my own field, and I don't come back to look at the shop until the afternoon.

After seeing several people through the window hole one after another, most of them were elderly women (with unconcealable shock and curiosity on their faces), Antoine finally calmed down a little.He has traveled far, but he has never been to Saumur.At this moment, he also roughly recalled it, and guessed what was the reason for this abnormal quietness.

Then he was even more confused.I really don't understand why the young master is not surprised at all when he sees his uncle living in this kind of country?

After finally finding an old woman to ask for directions, the carriage finally turned to the right fork.Saumur's Grandet house was at the end of the highest street in the city, Antoine discovered.He guessed that it was because the surname Grandet was widely heard in Saumur, but he didn't guess that the so-called Grandet mansion was even more... dilapidated than the old houses he had seen before!

"Young master, this..." An Tuowan wanted to say that he had gone the wrong way.

Sensing the carriage stopped, Charles glanced out, then jumped out of the carriage lightly. "It looks like it's here." He took a few steps forward and knocked on the door knocker under Antoine's shocked eyes.

The copper animal-shaped door knocker has been corroded to the point of disrepair, and compared with his white and slender fingers, the drop is very strong.There are symmetrical copper nails on the door, and a half-open square window with iron sheets nailed on the edge, through which you can see the green and dark corridor vault inside.

The sound of knocking on the door came faintly.Few outsiders came to Saumur, and the sound of the carriage attracted so much attention before.It's even worse now, Antoine felt that there were real eyes coming from the windows in all directions, and the focus was on his young master who finally showed his face——

Of course, with their young master's dress and appearance, it's like a phoenix falling into a chicken coop here!

There was a rustling sound at the end of the corridor, accompanied by a hoarse and loud voice that was almost indistinguishable from male to female: "Come on, wait!" Then there was a clatter of clinking buckets.

Charles knew that this was Nanon, the tall maid of his uncle's house, who was probably working in the garden at this moment.He adjusts his expression to make a perfect first impression.Before the job was done, he heard the slight creak of the window on the side opening.When he raised his head again, he bumped into a pair of dark eyes protruding there.

... His cousin, Eugenie?

Judging by the location and age, Ciel realized who it was almost immediately.He raised his lips slightly, showing a polite yet friendly smile.

Eugenie looked at this handsome young man on the side of the road, and was a little dazed.It took her two seconds to react, her cheeks flushed, and she ran away like a frightened deer.Before today, she never knew that her heart could beat so fast!