His Excellency the Count of Grandet

It was nearly noon when Grandet, who was at the pier, set off for home.

He had just sold off all the poplars on his hundreds of hectares and was watching the workers load the logs onto the boat.Because he is in urgent need of gold, he plans to sell the fodder from the pasture, and then transfer the land—he wants to concentrate the land and the pasture on the newly purchased estate of the Marquis of Floavon for easy management and care.

Speaking of the estate of the Marquis de Floisfonds, this is likely to be the headline news for Saumur this year.Private real estate is a symbol of nobility, and the estate of the Marquis of Floavon is famous far and wide-gardens, mansions, farms, rivers, ponds, forests, covering a vast area and beautiful scenery.

But at the beginning of the year, the young Marquis of Floisfon was desperate for cash and wanted to sell the land.Then Cruchot's uncle and nephew came up several times in turn and persuaded him that it would be better to sell them to Grandet at a discount because the latter could pay in cash in one lump sum.

No matter whether the Marquis suffered a loss in this transaction or not, it is true that Grandet paid real gold in one lump sum.Everyone was astonished to death, and their guess about how much money the Grandet family had was raised to a new level - you know, even if the estate of the Marquis of Floavon is discounted, it would need at least 500 million francs in gold!They had guessed that there was a secret room full of gold in Grandet's house, and they were even more certain at this time.

The incident spread westward to Nantes and eastward to Orléans, and it is conceivable what a sensation it caused.

But Grandet, the person involved, did not do anything unusual at all. He only took a ride to see the manor on the weekend after the transaction, and decided to merge all his other properties into it when he came back.In his judgment, the physical value that this transaction can produce is equivalent to a long-term stable loan with an interest rate of [-]%. He doesn't need to worry too much, he just earns gold from other places and refills the secret room at home .

So, on the way home, Grandet was thinking about this matter in his heart.After the timber was sold, it was not difficult to transfer the land.It is not even necessary for him to pretend to be in front of Cruchot's uncle and nephew to make them offer to help, because this is what the notary is supposed to do.

"Oh, Monsieur Grandet!"

Just when Grandet was about to climb up the road leading to his home with a heart of "I will soon see my gold", a voice approached with the sound of horseshoes.

It probably means that Cao Cao Cao Cao is coming, and the person who comes is the notary Kluxu.He is nearly 60 years old, and he is still in good spirits, but in fact he is not as good as Grandet, who is almost 70 years old.The coat and shirt were sloppy and ill-fitting, but that's how provincials look.If Parisians care about fashion and freshness, what they care about is how to buy a pair of gloves cheaper.

But since Cruchot has appeared on the stage, we have to describe a few more words, the meaning of this surname.

In Saumur, it was generally accepted that Father Grandet was the richest.In addition, the most prominent are divided into two factions, the Cruchot faction and the Grassin faction.

The Cruchot faction includes Father Cruchot, Notary Cruchot, President Cruchot—the first two are the uncles of the last one—and Cruchot from several nearby cities. More than 20 people with the same surname joined together to form A family interest group.

As for the Grassan faction, it has already appeared once before.It was the son of the family, Adolphe de Grassin, who was studying law in Paris, and the young man who had failed to catch Charles at the Nucingen ball.His father, Mr. Grassin, with his aristocratic glory, as well as his achievements and connections in the army, was barely able to fight against the Cruchot group in this city.

What?Ask why fight?

Isn't that obvious?Grandet was so rich that he only had an only daughter as heir; whether it was President Cruchot or Adolphe, who would not want to marry Eugenie?This is marrying a big golden mountain!

Therefore, it is natural that both the Cruchot faction and the Grassin faction are counting on the thick thigh of Grandet, a local tyrant.At the beginning of this year, Cruchot clearly gained the upper hand in the competition by helping Grandet successfully buy the estate of Floavon.

Who will be the other half of Eugenie has long been the most concerned matter of the residents of Saumur after dinner, and the dispute between the two factions caused by this is even more interesting to talk about.And since they all knew it, why didn't Grandet himself know it?In fact, he was ambiguous on purpose at all, not expressing his position anyway, so that both sides would scramble to help him.

For example, at this time, Grandet narrowed his eyes and looked at the old gentleman who carefully climbed down from the carriage, probably just to have a word with him, thinking in his heart that there was something that could make Cruchot abandon his weekly routine. Contact time, must rush to find in advance.always feel bad...

The notary Cruchot finally got out of the car and strode up to Grandet. "You're back at last--fortunately I caught you before you got home."

"What does that mean?" Grandet asked him back.

"I knew you hadn't heard..." Cruchot blinked his eyes, and approached Grandet's ear.The outside here is no different than indoors, there are always people ready to eavesdrop. "Your dear Parisian nephew has arrived, and now lives in your house with dignity!"

Even Grandet, who was so mature and calm, couldn't help being surprised by this accident.His younger brother was in Paris, and he hadn't contacted him for a long time, so he didn't take it seriously, and it was even more to his liking - anyway, they each earn their own money!Suddenly a son came over at this moment, could something have happened?

Cruchot looked at his face, but regrettably found nothing.But it is not a day or two for him to deal with Grandet. He knows that the other party definitely does not welcome other people to live in his house-Grantai never goes to banquets, never treats guests; never helps, and never owes money. Humanity; it is more difficult to enter the gate of Grandet's house than to ascend to heaven.At this moment, a nephew descended from the sky, eat what he has and use what he has, it's no wonder that Grandet, who is extremely stingy, would be happy!

"Speaking of which," Grandet thought for a while before opening his mouth, "Is there any news from Paris recently?"

"Really." Cruchot was waiting for him to ask about it. "I heard that your brother has also left Paris. It is said that they went out to see the scenery. I don't think that is the case at all."

There was no reaction on Grandet's face.But he felt in his heart that, regarding Paris, the news of the Grassin faction should be more informed.Traveling?Then come to Saumur?What nonsense!Why not just go back and have a look! "I'm asking about bonds," he said grimly, and passed Cruchot. "But now I'm going home for lunch, and we'll see."

The notary Cruchot suddenly made a bitter face.here we go again! "I don't know, I can't, I don't want to, just wait and see"... Grandet's four maxims when he doesn't want to talk!Did you do white work again today?