His Excellency the Count of Grandet

Contrary to the four who recognized him immediately, Victor Laffitte took two steps up the steps of the exchange before noticing Charles and the others.It wasn't because he was defiant, but because he was habitually looking around, and his eyes just turned to this side.After a short scan, he found a young man who shouldn't be here, and his eyebrows moved slightly.

Those who have survived the huge wave of Napoleon's abdication and the re-emergence of the Bourbon royal family in the past few years are all smart people who know how to preserve themselves to the greatest extent in this troubled world.Therefore, Guillaume's ability to keep his position unchanged can already be said to have a keen sense of smell, and he is indeed a shrewd and successful Parisian celebrity.

But in contrast, Guillaume's son Charles, like all those who indulge in the luxury life in Paris, is always concerned with the fashion trend of shirts, the whispers of beautiful lovers, and any kind of expression that can make him appear. A more luxurious and handsome way.He doesn't care where the money that feeds his splurge comes from, he cares more about whether the vest is trimmed with rhinestones or moiré.

Thinking of this, Victor stopped thinking about it.After all, with his status, Grandet can't influence him anyway.In his mind, this matter was classified as background information (the Grandet family would either survive for a few more years or fall sooner, the latter being more likely), and he had no intention of finding out.

"Hello, Mr. Lafitte." Guillaume stepped forward and greeted him respectfully.

Victor's various titles are well-known, and he is not very familiar with this big man, so he did not choose the title of Mr. Councilor or Mr. Governor, but chose a well-regulated one.If he remembered correctly, the young and promising gentleman was not fond of flattery.

"Monsieur Grandet." Victor nodded.He noticed Guillaume's words, and also noticed that Guillaume had brought Charles over, and he couldn't help but feel a little amused.He had heard that the Grandets loved their only child very much, and now he saw that it was true.

Guillaume felt that the other party was in a good mood, and he didn't seem to be in a hurry, so he quickly pulled his son closer. "You probably haven't seen him before, this is my only son, Shire." Even if you can only say a few words, it's good to get to know each other!

"Your name is so famous that I admire it very much, Mr. Lafitte." Charles smiled and offered his hand.Although Viktor has something that makes him shudder—the thrill of meeting an opponent—it doesn't affect the level of his social rhetoric.Furthermore, with their current gap, knowledge of current affairs is the most important thing.

The words were smooth, but the tone was completely different—neither humble nor overbearing, not even a little nervous.Is it really calm, or is a newborn calf not afraid of tigers?

Only then did Victor take a closer look at Charles.He has beautiful short chestnut-colored hair, exquisite eyebrows and eyes, soft and fair skin, and he can be seen as a child of a rich family at a glance; the coat is made of silver-faced velvet, with patterns embroidered with silk thread on the cuffs; a short gold pocket watch chain stretches out of the pocket. out, and the other end is fastened to a buttonhole; the buttons of the gray trousers open on both sides of the trousers waist, and the lines are straight and clean.Gray gloves, a black satin tie and suede boots complement each other for a dashing look.

All in all, the dress is still elegant, but compared with the fashion, it seems simple.

If this only shows that Charles has changed to a relatively unkempt and chic route, the eyes and posture are not the same at all.At least Viktor had never seen anything like this before—what young man meeting his eyes for the first time could meet his gaze without hesitation, as if they were actually equals?

"Nice to meet you." Victor stretched out his hand with a smile on his lips. "What do people say about the mantra that describes perfection as impeccable?" He looked at Guillaume, who was on the side, "It hurts the most, doesn't it?"

In fact, this is really a popular compliment, but the problem is that Shire is not original, and I always feel that there is something wrong with this sentence.As for Guillaume, he keenly judged that Victor had a little interest, and quickly replied: "Don't exaggerate too much, he is relieved now, and he is going to start coming to the exchange in the future!"

"Oh?" Viktor masked his genuine surprise with a slightly raised tone of curiosity. "Is Charles an adult?"

"Not yet, but only a few months." Guillaume replied, with unconcealable pride in his tone.Charles was born in the summer and has already started preparing for his 21st coming-of-age birthday.

Ciel is powerless against his father who never forgets to show off his son.How unprogressive was the original body in the past, so that his father would now preach something that he hadn't even started to do when he met everyone?

Logan and Su Xie, who were waiting, finally found a chance to intervene, followed Guillaume's meaning, and then asked Victor what he wanted to do when he came to the exchange.You know, there is a special person responsible for notifying Victor of the news in the exchange, and he doesn't have to come in person at ordinary times.

"Ah, this reminds me." Victor showed an expression of just remembering, "I still have a few contracts to sign. If you don't mind, gentlemen, let's talk in another place."

"Then I'll take my leave first and don't bother you." Charles bowed slightly.

Guillaume was still thinking about whether to create more opportunities for his son to get close, but now that Charles directly declined, he could only feel sorry.But he thought about it again, Ciel didn't know anything about the exchange affairs, and it wouldn't be good if he looked too stupid in front of Victor later.Anyway, the future is long...

Just like that, Victor led the three of them up the stone steps in front of the gate of the exchange, while Charles left first.When he reached the top, Victor glanced sideways, just in time to notice the carriage disappearing around the corner, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

In the carriage, of course, Charles did not receive this meaningful glance.In fact, Victor's current position is too far away from him. Apart from the feeling of meeting his opponent at that moment, he cares more about Logan and Su Xie.

At this time, it is necessary to mention Guillaume's family history.

Guillaume, like his brother Grandet, was a cooper before the Great Revolution.The Loire Valley region is considered a relatively famous wine producing area, and everyone's occupation is related to grapes.It is absolutely impossible to make a fortune honestly making oak barrels, so Guillaume went to Paris alone to seek more development, but Grandet still stayed in Saumur's family.Parents left them little money, so the matter of dividing the inheritance was saved.

After France declared war on Austria, Louis XVI became the first king to be guillotined, and the regime was controlled by the Directory.Of course, the royalists will not let it go, and the battle with the republicans has escalated.

Guillaume saw this opportunity and sneaked into the National Guard relying on his relatively strong figure and clean net worth.He always greets people with a smile on his face, and he does his job well, so he has been promoted step by step in the guard.In the process, he made many useful connections.

Relying on politically correct standing, knowledge of wine, and fairly shrewd business methods, Guillaume's net worth is getting higher and higher.In order to quickly enter the upper class of Paris, he married an illegitimate daughter of a nobleman.

That doesn't sound like an honorable approach.The problem is that the Civil Code clearly states that illegitimate children have the same inheritance rights, so people don't particularly care about that.But of course, since she is an illegitimate daughter, she definitely doesn't have titles and the like, and if something happens, she can't ask other members of the family for help.With Guillaume's background, being able to marry such a pedal is already considered a tall order.

But Guillaume was not satisfied.He is already old, and all his hopes are pinned on his son; he hopes that Charles can marry a serious noble lady, so as to get a title of title, then their Grandet family will be considered as a real representative in Paris. Steady your feet.

This cannot be blamed on Guillaume's narrow-mindedness.After all, the monarchy has been under the monarchy for so many years, and only Napoleon appeared in the past ten years, and finally he called himself emperor. Most people still flock to the nobles.Not to mention after Napoleon's defeat, France regained its king, Louis XVIII.

That was just two years ago.In view of the fate of the previous two kings, the new king is not too cold about the republicans, which can be seen from the fact that two parliaments have been changed within two years.

And Guillaume, in the process of countless coups and wars happening from time to time, still kept his various identities.

So we can see that although most of Guillaume's achievements were obtained during the Napoleon period, he was not a republican who supported Napoleon.Even, he was not a monarchist who supported Louis XVIII.He is just a businessman through and through, and he is just a businessman chasing profit when talking about reputation.

Then let's talk about other aspects.Whether it is a notary or a broker, it is a profession cultivated in a firm, not a more intimate relationship.Usually, they don't just do this job either.For example, Logan and Su Xie, they both still have their own investment careers to take care of.

No matter what the relationship is, it will become complicated when it comes to interests.As a matter of professional ethics, notaries and brokers have an obligation to do their best to keep their employer's business going strong.But for other people's money, people always don't care about their own money.For their own benefit, some will induce their employers to make less-than-wise investment decisions; the lesser consequences are ruin, the worst consequences are bankruptcy.

This kind of thing is not uncommon, and Charles felt that it was impossible for Guillaume to not know.As for the reason why his father hasn't become wary yet, it's just that the movement is relatively small and he can't see it yet.But silverfish bite too many holes, and the carved beams can only be turned into rotten wood.

Thinking of the reactions of those two people today, Charles frowned slightly.Now that they have already done something, don't expect him to show mercy!