His Excellency the Count of Grandet

Obviously, handing things over to Eugenie was the only way for the two Grandets to cooperate smoothly.

Because it is absolutely impossible for Grandet to invest his property directly in a factory that he is not good at, and it is even more impossible to hand it over to Charles; Charles also has to be careful that his good uncle does not take his help , And swallowed up the profit that should have been distributed to him.

At this time, a middleman who reassures people on both sides is needed.

In recent years, Father Grandet has noticed that his physical condition has begun to decline, so he is very supportive of Eugenie learning more housekeeping skills; as for Charles, he believes that his cousin can turn a blind eye to a large inheritance With the disposition of giving up freely, it is absolutely impossible to covet something that does not belong to you.

So the two parties easily reached an agreement on this point.After confirming the most important prerequisites, the biggest remaining problem is time——

Shire's textile factory is located in eastern France. It is now one of the most profitable factories in France, and it is undoubtedly the leader in the textile industry.Because the production scale designed earlier was running at full capacity, he naturally had the desire to open a branch factory in the west or south.

The government has already dealt with it well, the mechanical and technological innovation is guaranteed, and the production process is stable and efficient, and the only thing missing is reliable candidates.If it was given to Eugenie—his dear cousin also brought a large sum of money to invest—wouldn't it be the best?

In these aspects, Charles could think that Father Grandet, who had been on the sidelines for a long time, knew better.It was precisely because he thought that Charles was unlikely to refuse this kind of cooperation, he felt that this matter was a sure thing before.And now that Charles has agreed, apart from the necessary time, he also cares about the location.

"Oh?" Charles raised his eyebrows slightly, "Is this a place you like?"

Grandet choked suddenly.

What do you want him to say?

He could only see his daughter once in half a year, and he couldn't bear it anymore. He hoped that the factory would be closer to Saumur—this is true, but wouldn't it be the same as admitting defeat?

Because as far as he knows, the location of the textile factory has something to do with the drop of the river, and it is best to match it with a dam, which is not what he thinks; and as a professional grape planter, no matter how accurate his estimation of weather changes is , and it is impossible to figure out which of the Loire, Garonne and Rhone is more suitable for building factories!

No matter what the reason was, the old cooper felt that it would be embarrassing to say it, so he could only falter - he had stuttered so many times, and this time the stutter was finally real.

Charles looked carefully at his dear uncle. "You seem to have something to hide," he commented objectively, and at the same time reaffirmed Eugenie's influence on her father, "If it is not convenient for you to tell me, you can tell my cousin. I don't think she will against your wishes."

Hearing that this meant "the location is negotiable", the old cooper secretly heaved a sigh of relief in his heart.

Eugenie told him before that if she wanted to go out and earn money for him, the only requirement was to take Madame Grandet with her.At that time, he had already seen the rising trend of Shire's career, and was worried that he could not get started, so he nodded immediately.

At that time, apart from the secret joy of saving two people's rations, he was more worried that Eugenie would not be able to bear the hardship.As a result, the fact is quite the opposite——

Eugenie did things well in a strange place, she didn't look like a big girl who had never learned anything and basically only went to church when she went out.Mrs. Grandet was taken care of by her daughter, and her complexion has gradually improved in recent years (after all, she is not yet 50 years old).

"Ah, Nanon, they have left us so cruelly!" Father Grandet once said bitterly to the maid.

"My dear lord, isn't it because of you that Mademoiselle did this?" replied the tall Nanon. "Although I miss Mademoiselle and Madame very much, don't you want to earn more gold?"

For the first time in 37 years, Grandet was silenced by his own servants.He didn't think much of Eugenie when she was sewing at home every day, but as soon as she was out of sight, she...

Can he say that if he wants gold, he also wants his daughter?

Charles drew the correct conclusion from his uncle's slightly trembling eyes.It seemed his uncle was finally starting to realize that gold wasn't enough?

This was a good thing not only for Eugenie, but also for him.

Who in the city of Saumur has not suffered under the hands of Father Grandet?In fact, Grandet's cruelty has already earned him the nickname "Old Dog" among the Saumurs, which means that everyone else was bitten to death.Moreover, in the original book, Guillaume went bankrupt and committed suicide. Not only did Grandet not subsidize Charles's travel expenses of even a hundred francs, but he also took advantage of this incident to send a large amount of dead money——

That's right, he has great money-making skills; but at the same time, there is simply no one more ruthless than this kind of person!

Therefore, even the current Charles does not dare to treat his uncle lightly.But at the same time, he also believes that he has successfully avoided this danger in the past few years.In addition, he also believed that Grandet would not be able to do anything to him in the days to come——

As long as his uncle still wants to make money, he will never turn against him!

So we can foresee that their cooperative relationship will be very stable.At the same time, we can also tell the harsh truth, how can Grandet live to this age compared with a 23-year-old young man?I can't even drag it!

Charles took some time to think about this matter, and felt that it was almost time to put it on the work schedule. "I will write to Épernay and let Alphonse take care of the details. If you have any other questions, please send the letter directly to the Grandet bureau in the city; they will send you straight to Paris, and I will Careful consideration for you."

Papa Grandet had no choice but to nod.Because he knows that the Paris Grandet Trading Company has established its own dedicated communication channel, which is always faster than the post station.

Details determine success or failure, attitude determines everything.Then these details happened so silently and imperceptibly, right under his nose.

Young people today!

Although the matter has been negotiated, Father Grandet still feels a little "I'm old".He never felt that there was a day when he needed to retire, but maybe, a new world that he had never expected and that he could not control had arrived?

This sense of loss of "a new era begins, but the protagonist is not me" is exactly the same as "the back waves of the Yangtze River push the front waves, and the front waves die on the beach".

But this kind of hidden sadness, Charles can't take care of it.As he had promised before, after breakfast the next day, he left Saumur by car with the other three and headed for Orleans.There the Paris-Bordeaux railway turned south; they changed trains there and returned to Paris in less than a day.

During this period, several people mentioned Papa Grandet once, and everyone expressed shock——

"Is it true what they say? Your uncle is richer than Lafitte?"

"Isn't it really coaxing us who don't know?"

"Would you like to tell us the truth?"

"I don't think it can compare to the Lafitte family," Charles calmly dropped a bomb in the face of many questions: "But I can tell you in advance that my dear uncle will jointly invest in a new building with me. Textile mills, at least a thousand francs per person."

...at least 1000 million francs?

There was a moment of silence in the spacious carriage, only the sound of the wheels rolling over the gravel on the ground could be heard.

"...Are you serious?" Delacroix hesitated to speak.He really wanted to ask why the multimillionaire lived in that kind of house, but it was impolite to ask, and his face turned red.Taking a hundred steps back, if Shire hadn't told him so, he would never have believed it!

Charles nodded affirmatively. "If all goes well, the news will spread in two months."

The other three looked at each other, and it took a long time to digest this fact—forget about the house, Uncle Shire is an invisible rich man!The kind that far exceeds the average level of the middle class in Paris!

"So the Grandets are finally united?" After regaining consciousness, Hugo asked curiously, "When we talk about it in the future, can we use the sentence pattern of 'How about a Grandet'?"

Jericho let out a chuckle, amused by the description. "That sounds good," he said deliberately, "We are sitting next to the most important 'that Grandet'!"

If it were a group of businessmen, it would be impossible to chat and laugh so easily now.Charles couldn't help but feel that it would be good to meet some friends in fields he was not good at.If there was always a kind of pressure that only he understood when facing these people before, it has almost disappeared now——

Isn't it a good thing to make friends with some literary and artistic masters?

At the same time, Louis XVIII, who was staying in Bordeaux for vacation, was finally willing to go back to the palace. It was a big event for the British mission to come to Paris. As the king, it was necessary for him to go back and meet him.In addition, as the head of the National Chamber of Commerce and the governor of the central bank, Victor also traveled with the king.

In the city of Paris, people who knew the news could no longer hold back their restlessness.The people who participated in the US inspection team made a lot of money before, and everyone was jealous; so, who wants to miss this opportunity?

Mr. James Rothschild naturally did not want to.The foundation of the Rothschild family is the United Kingdom. This time it can be said that the time and place are favorable; if he is not successful, the French business of the Rothschild family will really not be done!