Granville's estate

"It seems that Bisson Tailor's salary is not enough to pay you enough, so that you need to take another part-time job."

"Oh, sir, no one thinks that I got too many gold coins!" Facing Louis' faint threat, Ossion seemed calm and unhurried, not worried at all that Louis would report his behavior to Bisson's tailor: " After all, this is Paris, and there are many places to spend money. Bread, milk, firewood, candles, everything costs money, and if you don’t have enough gold coins, you can’t even breathe fresh air! Besides, this kind of thing It’s very common in Paris, you don’t need to feel guilty, you don’t need to have any religious or reputational concerns.”

"Then can I know which lady entrusted you to pass the message?" Louis asked, "After all, I have to know who wants to make a deal with me, and I must make sure that she really has the strength to pay the price she proposed before I can consider asking for it." Don't make this deal, do you?"

"It is Mrs. Tihasson, owner of the Portrait Gallery of Mrs. Tihasson in Tabe Street, who has entrusted me to advise you on the occasion."

"You know that's not what I asked. Of course I know it's Mrs. Tihasson's Portrait Gallery. They have looked for me before—I'm talking about the person who entrusted Mrs. Tihasson."

"I'm sorry about this, sir. I'm just in charge of delivering a message to you. I don't know who in Paris is the one who entrusted my client." Ossion said, "But I can swear to you , my client Mrs. Tihasson is very reputable, she will handle everything safely, if you want, you can make your request without worrying about any problems. If you are worried that it will damage your reputation , I assure you that when it is done, no one will know about it, not even your friend M. de Granville."

It's ridiculous to hear a person who is doing things that are wandering on the edge of morality and law, saying "we have a good reputation" in a serious manner, at least Louis doesn't believe it at all.

"You mean I can put forward my offer for the deal to be conveyed to you?"

"Yes, you can bring it up as you like, and I will convey it to my client for you, and she will convey it to her client."

If it was changed to ten days ago, someone told Louis that he would encounter such absurd things, he would definitely think that the other party was crazy, but now the fact is like this-this is a sum of money and sex without any disguise Trading violates all religious and secular ethics, and they are actually discussing the trading market in a serious manner.

Louis glanced out of the small living room. Alrede hadn't come back yet. He thought for a while and made a decision almost immediately.

"In this case, please tell your client for me." He said, "Please tell Mrs. Tihasson to tell the person who entrusted her to try her best to find me. I am not very satisfied with their quotation."

"Well, monsieur, then, with all due respect, how many francs do you think it takes to be worthy of your worth?"

Louis gave a number without thinking.

"At least twenty thousand francs."

At the Café Riesle, the figure on the business card that Gemma Esther of the lover’s house gave Louis was two thousand francs, in order to directly dispel the absurd idea of ​​the customers behind the lover’s house, lest they continue to send people Entanglement, Louis simply increased this number by ten times.

As Alred said, [-] francs is enough for a family of five to survive in Paris, and [-] francs is already a considerable amount of money, which is equivalent to the income of Alred for three years, which is close to that of Louis. six years of income.No matter how many rich people there are in Paris, Louis doesn't think that the person who commissioned Mrs. Tihasson's portrait gallery will really spend such a large sum of money just to have a ridiculous love affair.

Just in case, Louis also added: "I need to get the money first, and it must be a bill issued by a reliable big bank, otherwise I will not consider any of your proposals."

Ossion remained calm when he heard Louis say that he wanted [-] francs, but when he heard Louis said that he must get the money first, his expression changed subtly—obviously for these lovers’ houses It is not strange to agree on the price in advance and then go back on it later. It is quite doubtful whether the people who deal with them can get the number they guarantee.

"Mr. Farentin, I didn't expect that you are also a good negotiator. You should not suffer a disadvantage when dealing with others." Ossion sighed and said to Louis: "It's just my personal opinion. For a few hours of entertainment, the price is too high, even the top actresses in Paris will not be higher than this price."

"After all, it's the price of selling your soul, so it's naturally higher—you just need to tell your client."

Louis answered him this way.

"Well, Mr. Farentin, since this is your wish, I will faithfully convey your wish to my client for you."

"Then this topic ends here, Mr. Ossion, how much does the clothes I order today cost in total? Choose the one just now for the coat."

"The trousers and shirt are 35 francs, the vest is 25 francs, and the coat is 100 francs. The total is 195 francs. The bill will be sent to M. de Granville's residence in the St. George Street, M. Farentin."

"I see."

Louis didn't want to stay in the same room with this Ossion for a minute. After he changed his clothes, he picked up his cane and went to Alred, only to find that his friend didn't check the bill as he said, Instead, I ran into a little trouble.

A small landowner from other provinces from Le Mans came here to order a dress because he had heard of the name of the tailor shop in Bisson. As a result, the people in the tailor shop in Bisson were negligent-Louis suspected that they were actually doing it on purpose. To divert Allaide--arranged Allaide's carriage and the gentleman's carriage so close together that the two cart-horses hoofed and bit each other.

Although the money needed to domesticate a good horse is not as expensive as a carriage, it is not a small amount that can be ignored. Horses need careful care and love in daily life.Although the coachmen at the scene pulled the two horses away in time, the gentleman from the provinces had a bad temper. Seeing that his horse was at a disadvantage, he got angry and quarreled with the coachman in Allaide regardless of his status. , and things got a little out of hand.

When Louis found Alrede, he was standing far away with a cane, seemingly calmly watching the people from Bisson's tailor shop mediate the conflict between the two parties, but in fact, he was very surprised by this sudden accident and that person. I am already very impatient with the persistent pestering of the people from other provinces.

"Why did you come down?" Alred asked Louis, "I was thinking about going back later to see how you look in the latest coat. You can drink tea and wait for me inside."

"I've already picked out which coat I want, so I don't need to stay here any longer - anyway, I still prefer more modest clothes." Louis looked at the Bisson tailor who was mediating between the two customers The people in the store didn't say a word about the Portrait Gallery of Mrs. Ossion and Mrs. Tihasson: "Didn't you say it was a birthday gift for me, then I should be able to choose the gift I like, right?"

"Of course, although I prefer the one I'm looking at, as long as you like it." Alred said with a bit of regret.

The farce ended with the promise of the gentleman from the provinces by the tailors of Buisson that he would make him a free high-necked shirt, and it was almost five o'clock in the afternoon when this result was reached.

"What's the matter! The people in Bisong's tailor shop are always thoughtful in their work. I don't know why such a mistake happened today."

Alred, who finally got out of this farce, complained to Louis, perhaps because he trusted the relationship with Bisson's tailor shop, and he didn't suspect that this trouble was deliberately created by someone.

"It should be that the new clerk doesn't know the doorway inside. Something went wrong when making the arrangement!"

Louis, who also didn't want Alred to be suspicious at all, answered him in this way.