His Excellency the Count of Grandet

Although Grandet has a big heart for his nephew, Mrs. Grandet and Eugenie are completely opposite.Even Nanon can see how good Eugenie is to Charles; and Madame Grandet, on the third day after Charles arrives in Saumur, discovers that Eugenie has fallen in love.

It's a bit ridiculous to say, but Grandet, who has always been shrewd, is the only one who is kept in the dark.Because he devoted all his attention to the grapes that were about to be harvested, he went out early and returned late all day long, so of course he didn't notice it.

Therefore, when Charles leaves Saumur, it is only natural that the three women escort him to the docks.Grandet acquiesced in this matter; he had never been the best talker in his life in recent days.

Saumur was located at the fork of the river. Antoine hired a boat in advance, put the carriage and luggage on it, and waited for his young master to order the boat to set off southward.

This reassured Eugenie a little.With a servant, she wouldn't have to worry about her dear cousin's poor life on the road--for example, he couldn't light white candles but had to use bad-smelling wax oil, or had to live on the stairs and be killed by insects. In a decayed house.

"Dear cousin, how time flies, you are leaving," she looked at Charles, blushing, "I hope you are not bored here." In fact, what she was saying was that this was simply She had been living the happiest few days of her life; but Saumur's manners were more conservative than Paris's, and she racked her brains to think of something less obvious to say instead.

"How can you think so? It shames me, my dear cousin," replied Charles. "I can hardly imagine a better family than my aunt and you."

Madame Grandet looked at the two children, half of her smile was gratified, and half was worried.It is gratifying that Charles seems to be a good young man, who is a few grades higher than President Cruchot and Adolphe; what is worrying is that if the husband knows what Eugenie is thinking, the possibility of stopping it is far greater than agreeing—if When Eugenie gets married, she needs a dowry and a part of her property.

For a world-famous miser, this is simply an unbearable burden in life!

"It's getting late," she said at last. "If I understand you correctly, you are still passing here before returning to Paris, my nephew?"

Charles nodded. "I will definitely bring you some good wine from Lafite Castle, Auntie."

A few more courteous words were exchanged on both sides, and then they bid farewell—the most obvious being Eugenie.Standing at the bow of the boat, Charles watched her getting farther and farther away on the shore.His cousin is very good, but the problem also lies in the identity of the cousin——

If close relatives marry, the probability of having a child with a genetic defect is high.If it was his era, genetic fine-tuning could still be done in the embryonic stage; but what about this era?Not even a syringe was invented!It is not easy to take care of your body, let alone cure congenital genetic diseases!It's fine if you don't know, but after you know... Well, of course, this kind of risk can't be taken casually.

In this way, Charles' ship went south along the Vienne River, and it was not until Châtelero that it changed to land.This place is still within the scope of the Loire Valley appellation, and half of the grapes on the left bank of the Vienne River have been picked.He stops and starts, very slowly.And before reaching Pavatier, he finally got what he had been waiting for——

Guillaume's reply.

Charles glanced over it.Guillaume was faster in the east than he was, had already reached Besançon from Saint Dier, and was already in Lyon when he wrote the letter.Because the situation in the East is pretty much what they expected before——

Guillaume was originally a well-known wine merchant in the Burgundy region, and he is familiar with the people on the ground; it is quite difficult to lower the price.Due to friendship, Guillaume couldn't show his old face, and those vineyard owners saw the opportunity to raise the price; if they really bought from there, the purchase price might be higher than the previous price when they broke the contract.

...If that's the case, what do they want to do with their twisted plans?

Charles could only sigh helplessly.He already knew that his father's character was not suitable for such things as bargaining, but luckily he had already considered this possibility.He immediately wrote back the letter, using polite words, but the point is still obvious——

First of all, even if you can't buy wine at a reasonable price, you can't go back to Paris immediately, at least you have to delay your departure until the end of August.Otherwise, those creditors in Paris will not act as they hope.

Then, the mouth must not be loosened, and neither is the hand.If you buy high-priced wine or set a high price at the beginning, there will be no room for maneuver in the future.You must know that their funds are limited, and it is impossible to make small profits but quick turnover.

Finally, ask his father to find some reliable subordinates.You don't have to be too smart, just be honest.When they are found, let them go to Nantes, Angers, Saumur, Tours, and Orléans.As for what to do specifically, it was written on another piece of letter paper.

"If you settle down, you can spend a good summer in Provence," Charles wrote at the end. "It is also a good choice to see the scenery of Corsica from afar."

After signing, Charles was about to put down the pen, but after thinking about it, he added Pavatier to the previous location, and indicated that the candidate had better not have anything to do with Logan and Su Xie—anyway, there must be no shortage of manpower, so be prepared Isn't it better?

Shire sent the fast horse out of the credit post station, and then continued southward.When he arrived in La Roche, Guillaume's reply arrived again.The content this time did not make Charles frown, and everything was properly arranged.

The plan did not go awry, and the probability of success increased by one point!

"Did the master say when he will return to Paris?" Seeing that the young master looked good, Antoine asked boldly.

Charles glanced lightly at his servant.The journey was tiring, and the conditions in other provinces were no better than Paris. Antoine was obviously ready to return. "you are tired?"

"Of course not!" As a qualified servant, Antoine never dared to nod.Just kidding, the master hasn't said he's tired yet! "It's just that you have been out for two months..."

Charles waved his hand, interrupting him. "Wait until Bordeaux, you can rest."

Antoine's eyes lit up, and he understood the words in another direction. "You mean to turn back when you get to Bordeaux?"

"No, but it's about the same." Charles replied, amusedly watching the faces of his followers switch between excitement and disappointment. "It's the beginning of August, and I'm going to live in Bordeaux for three months."

Antoine's face cracked immediately. "Three months? Young master, where do we live?" If it weren't for his ignorance, the Grandet family would have no relatives in Bordeaux!

"Find an enthusiastic squire and pay him enough gold, there must be no problem." Charles didn't take it seriously at all. "Or, just buy a winery directly."

……etc?There’s nothing wrong with renting a house, but “it’s okay to just buy a winery”?

Antoine was about to kneel down to his young master.Even the master would not buy a manor just to live in one place for three months, would he?

Young master, you are so domineering, does your papa know?

When Charles saw it, he knew that Antoine totally disagreed with his point of view, and it was only because of the master-servant relationship that he refrained from saying it. "In any case, I will spend the second half of this year in other provinces." His voice was not high, but he could not refute, "When the work is done, I will pay you double annuity when I go back."

No matter how many objections and dissatisfaction Antoine had before, it disappeared immediately.For his salary, living in other provinces for half a year...isn't a big deal at all!

Originally, La Roche was not far from Bordeaux, and adding this sentence, the speed of the master and servant increased significantly.After crossing the Dordogne and Garonne rivers, Charles embarks on the famous sandy land of Bordeaux.

The reason why it is famous is that this kind of soil has good drainage and air permeability, which is very suitable for the growth of grapes, and the leading position of Bordeaux wine has been determined from the innate environment.

It is a universally accepted truth that good land produces good grapes.You know, the Bordeaux appellation not only includes Bordeaux, but also represents a large area of ​​vineyards located on the left bank of the Garonne River.As you can tell from the name, it is the best in this area.

At this time, we have to mention the level of wine.

Typically, wine is made like this: picked, selected, washed, fermented.The last link is the most important, because the fermentation method, time and temperature will have a great impact on the flavor of the wine.

Ordinary table wine can be sold after about a month of fermentation and decanting.And if the aging process is added later, the time will be extended by at least two years.When aging, taste the taste of the wine every three months, and pick out the best ones for ten or even 20 years of aging.The final product is top-notch stuff, usually presented at banquets of princes and nobles.

A good year has good weather, a good estate produces good grapes, good selection and good brewing, so the sum is the so-called best vintage - to give the simplest example, Lafite 1982.

Obviously, most of the wines belonged to the common table wines, while the best ones were reserved for the upper classes of society, both at home and abroad.The [-] barrels of wine that the Grandet family needs are the most common ones, and famous chateaux such as Lafite, Latour, and Buner-Mouton lead the way, and the wines produced in the Bordeaux region are generally of a higher quality.

That's why Antoine couldn't understand why his young master came to Bordeaux.There's no need to buy better wine, and it's more expensive!Although he was so slanderous, he still tried his best to find a place for Charles.

In terms of geographical distance from Paris, Bordeaux is farther than Saumur; but Bordeaux wine is so famous that dignitaries like to come to Bordeaux to taste it, and even foreign ambassadors have visited this place.Charles was not surrounded by the crowds he had been in Saumur, but he was still popular.

Antoine thought that the Grandet family had no acquaintances in Bordeaux, but it turned out that he was wrong.They had planned to stay at the hotel for a few days, but the next day a messenger from the village of Poiillac called.He brought Charles a letter signed by Mrs. Le Maire, which warmly invited Charles to visit Lafite Castle——

Not to mention Antoine's almost popping eyeballs, Charles was also very surprised.The entry point of his plan is the Chateau de Milon—next to the Chateau Lafite, but it is at least three grades lower than Lafite in terms of area and wine quality (this hundreds of thousands of francs can definitely be done, so he decided to Said to buy a winery) - but Lafite as soon as you come?Could it be that he finally has the aura of the protagonist?