Granville's estate

After leaving the tailor shop of Bisson, their carriage went straight to the Latin Quarter where the university where Alred studied for four years was located. Louis felt that the buildings in his hometown even looked newer than the buildings here.In fact, the Latin Quarter has never been looked down upon by the high society in Paris. Among the many districts in Paris, if it has any merit, it is probably that it has a university and is here for a good life. There are many college students who study hard while enduring the taste of poverty.

If the central areas such as Richelieu Street and Tabe Street are exquisite, expensive, and shining, then the Latin Quarter, famous for its universities and college students, is like luxurious clothes compared to the Eighth District and No.16 District. The maid covered in soot next to the noble lady.The streets in this area are narrow and dilapidated. In some places, there is not even a place to put your feet. The well-groomed lady who cannot hire a carriage and needs to walk these streets on her own will soon lose her well-groomed shoes and skirts; Since then, it has been forgotten by the busy officials, and some street lamps can't even be lit, so people who want to rely on them to save a little candle lighting at night have to spend extra money; the houses along the street are so dilapidated that they don't even know How to describe them, Louis even saw an apartment that looked like it was about to split in half, the old exterior walls were mottled everywhere, and there was a sign for rent at the door that said "only 20 francs a year"!

Allaide's beautiful two-seater four-wheeled carriage driving in such a place is as eye-catching as a swan that suddenly broke into a group of ducks - from the moment he stepped into the Latin Quarter, Louis only saw a few of them along the way. Potatoes, oats, and bad wine, each loaded with goods that would have rutted the road, were drawn by horses that were either ridiculously old or skinny; A private carriage is nothing more than the most common and simple Kupp-style carriage. The luxurious and elegant Karasch carriages and Landau carriages they have seen in the Bois de Boulogne, the boulevards and the Opera House. Or the Bellino carriage, those gorgeously dressed people, disappeared here as if by magic, without a trace, and there was no trace to be found.

Alrede seemed to be very familiar with this dilapidated area, and he showed Louis affectionately the shack where he lived during his four years in college, the road he walked, and the old tavern where he drank wine.

"Louis, look, I used to live in that house when I first came to Paris. The proprietress of the house was very stingy, and she only gave us expired bread made on the first day in the shop next door that couldn't be sold. Shin wouldn't even go into that bakery. But she'll do our laundry, too, of course, for an extra fee of one sou a day."

"Sometimes I will accidentally exceed the budget. At this time, I have to rack my brains to find out where to get the extra money back. If I have time, I will go to the fountain in Saint-Michel Square to play for free. water, which saves a sou on water."

"Sologne once lived in this place. According to him, he could see the sky directly through the roof of the attic. If it rained heavily outside, it would rain lightly inside. He had to keep moving his bed to find a dry bed. The place."

"My God, I know that life was very difficult when you were studying in Paris, but I didn't expect it to be so difficult." Louis looked at the old houses that were out of shape, and couldn't imagine living in them. Human life: "If it were me, I would definitely not be able to hold on!"

"Of course!" When talking about those difficult years, Allred seemed quite proud: "You don't know what I can do to save money! Although it is very difficult, I think I have this experience , I will not be afraid of any difficulties I encounter in the future, after all, there is nothing more difficult than living in Paris with only one franc a day!"

On the way, their carriage passed a bridge. When they got on the bridge, Alred gave the bridge guard a sou toll from the window of the bridge. After passing the bridge, Alred told Louis with a smile: " If I was in college, I would choose to walk half an hour longer to bypass this bridge. After all, the bridge toll costs one sou. If I save this sou, I can go to Papa Deni at the end of the month. I have eaten a roast leg of lamb in a restaurant once—it is the roast leg of lamb you ate that day!"

All the way, Louis observed the buildings, streets and bridges of the Latin Quarter from the car window, and observed the residents and tenants here - from the age and clothing, it was easy to tell which people they saw were from their ancestors. Those who live in this dilapidated area and need to live all the time are college students who temporarily settled in this material-poor desert in order to study for university.The latter are often young people in their early twenties. Even if they are poorly dressed, they cannot conceal their vigorous vitality. When they look at Alred's carriage, they have a mixture of envy, longing and disbelief. Some even Will deliberately lower their heads not to look at their carriage to resist this irresistible temptation - owning a private carriage is the dream of young people in Paris, and of course, this wish is true for every man in France of.

The two-seater four-wheeled carriage that does not belong to the Latin Quarter turned around in the narrow and dilapidated streets. After driving for a long time, it stopped in front of an old restaurant.Although it was dark, the restaurant was full of people. Many young people who looked like college students came in and out with friends. They were surprised when they saw a carriage parked in front of the steps, and some even He stopped walking inside, stood under the eaves and waited and guessed whether some important person would come out of the carriage.

As soon as the carriage came to a complete stop, Joseph jumped off the back of the carriage briskly, ran over to lower the steps of the carriage for them, and reminded Louis to be careful of the puddle under his feet: "Sir, be careful, the stone slabs here are not very They are reliable, and some look good, and when you step on them, you will fall directly into the water!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Louis, who got out of the car, felt his feet step on the ground. The seemingly solid stone slab was actually loose when he stepped on it. He almost fell when he couldn't react. Fortunately, Joseph reacted very quickly and held him up almost immediately. over him.

"Louie, be careful! Are you okay?"

Allred, who got out of the car behind him, was terrified by him.

Louis grabbed his cane, and with Joseph's help, he walked carefully up to the steps of the restaurant. He felt terrified: "I'm fine...the road here is really terrible! There's a problem with the stone slabs there, don't step on it." !"

"Oh, it's like this here, just get used to it!"

Alred skillfully avoided the potholes on the road without even splashing a speck of mud on his shoes, and then led Louis and Joseph into a restaurant with a "B" signboard.

The real name of this restaurant nicknamed "College Student Cafe" should be called Brown East Shop, but maybe it has been open for a long time, and the letters on the signboard have dropped a lot, leaving only a faded letter at the beginning. "B" is still strong where it should be; the inside of the shop is as old as the outside, the glass is a foggy gray, and a huge oak dining table in the middle of the first floor makes one wonder whether it is It was not resold from some monastery; the middle of the second floor is empty, but it is said to be the second floor, but it is actually just a low mezzanine. From the perspective of the first floor, people on the second floor only need to raise their hands. Touch the ceiling above your head.

The restaurant was very busy, full of young men who looked like college students, all dressed casually - or rather shabby, to put it bluntly - hardly anyone could be called well-dressed; People come and go at any time, and there are buzzing voices everywhere, but if you listen carefully, you can't hear any useful information.

Louis and Alrede, who were neatly dressed, carrying a cane and a servant, received quite a lot of curious stares as soon as they walked in, but Alrede seemed to be quite familiar with the people here, or looked at them enviously or appreciatively. .

"We reserved a place on the second floor, and we also ordered lamb chops and tenderloin steak."

Allred told the cashier.

The person at the counter flipped through the ledger: "Mr. de Granville, isn't it? Ah, it's been a while, I thought you wouldn't be here today!"