His Excellency the Count of Grandet

The next day was the weekend.Charles woke up early, but waited for Grandet to go out before getting up slowly.He did it on purpose, to give his dear miser uncle a bad impression that "this guy is just a lazy, lavish, dandy"——

You know, he signed a large wine contract with the Duke of Orleans, but it is something that cannot be hidden.Now, one and a half months have passed since the signing of the contract; no matter how late Saumur's news is (the government strictly restricts news channels such as newspapers and can only rely on word of mouth), if you ask a little at this time, you will definitely know.

Fifteen thousand barrels!With such a large sum, why not cry and beg the owner of the vineyard to sell wine?

It must be said that Grandet himself is Saumur's biggest vineyard owner.And if he knows that Shire is going to buy wine, the biggest possibility is not to lower the price appropriately, but to hoard it and wait to sell it for a higher price.As for the fact that Guillaume was his own brother, he would never consider it.

Other people who are not related by blood will not even consider it.If things are sure to sell, why don't they raise prices?

For Charles himself, this matter cannot be covered by paper, so can he only buy expensive wine?

In fact, Charles had already considered this point.

Everyone hopes to obtain greater benefits for themselves, which is the essence of a businessman, and there is nothing wrong with it.Even if Grandet wasn't so stingy, he wouldn't be so naive as to ask his relatives to sell it to him cheaper, and at no cost.Now Grandet is a standard businessman, and he will never help, which saves him trouble.

Then, according to the normal thinking circuit, those who have wine in their hands will stock up and wait and see, waiting for the market price to rise to a new height, and then sell them.

Consider time again.

It is now mid-July, and the early-ripening grapes have already begun to be picked; by August, most of the grapes have been picked off the racks, and the year's winemaking can begin.If the weather is fine and the temperature is right, new wine can be brewed in 20 days; if it is colder, it will take about [-] days.

That is to say, new wines have been on the market one after another since early September, and then more and more.Wait until October, and every household's wine can be listed for sale.By November, most of the deals had already been done.The businessmen all pack up and go home, count their income for the year, and then wait for Christmas.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, savvy wine wholesalers will arrive at the place of production by the end of August to watch the market and collect the wine.However, under normal circumstances, buying is not as good as selling, and Grandet is one of the best.

Put yourself in the shoes of a miser and think about it, if there is a big client who is in urgent need of buying wine, he will definitely not be the first to rush up; Don't let go until the moment before the customer is impatient, so that the price offered is the highest.

This is easy to say, but very risky to operate.Because there is definitely more than one wine merchant in the market, if someone satisfies the customer first, or has other accidents, then he doesn't have to sell it, and he can wait to pay for it.

The shrewdness of Grandet lies in his ability to accurately grasp this highest point.If it is too early, it will make less money, and if it is too late, it will not be sold. There is only such a perfect time.This is also the reason why the residents of Saumur envy him and fear him but dare not show it—anyone who has been tricked many times in the open or in the dark and still can't compare will be the same as them.

As for Charles, what he wants is Grandet's exotic goods to live in.

Grandet was the most influential vineyard owner in Saumur, and everyone imitated him.As long as Grandet stays on the sidelines, it is guaranteed that no one will get rid of the wine before him.If those people know the news of [-] barrels, this matter will be even more certain.

However, they thought he would be in a hurry to buy it, so he just didn't buy it!

Charles thought about it.

As far as Grandet is concerned, he certainly does not want others to know about fifteen thousand barrels.Think about it, if other people sold out the wine in their hands early, and he was the only one left, wouldn't he charge all the shocking prices?

For him, Charles, of course, the more people know about this matter, the better.There is no greater and more stable market than the military supply, and anyone who knows will surely want a piece of the action: save the wine, wait for the price to rise!

But no one expected that Charles would be caught by surprise.If they procrastinate on selling it and Charles procrastinates on buying it, then after the time has passed, whoever is in a hurry will lose.

This plan is very risky.But as long as Charles and Guillaume can hold their breath and prevent others from seeing their flaws, the success may be at least half.Ciel has set up a step-by-step process for this, and now it is only the first link - dragging the word - that's all.

After breakfast, Charles accompanied his aunt and cousin to church for Mass.Nanon stayed at home to take care of the two bamboo chickens that were left, and to make whipped cream for Charles to drink with his coffee, as Eugenie had ordered--Eugénie was convinced that Charles was not used to Saumur's rough food.

In this regard, Xia Er failed to stop him, so he could only let her go, as a reward for his generous gift.Moreover, looking at his cousin's face brightened by joyful emotions, he really couldn't say anything harsh.To be honest, his cousin has a good foundation, she is also a beauty if she takes good care of herself...

When Charles thought so, they had already left the church and followed the flow of people to a relatively large fork in the road.Usually, everyone would disperse in twos and threes; but seeing him today, almost all the women could hardly walk - some were curious, some were contemptuous, and many more had the same reaction as Eugenie.

To sum it up in three straightforward sentences, that is—the local tyrant begs to hug his thigh!So handsome that he has no friends!The male god is coming to my bowl!

This undoubtedly confirmed Antoine's description of his young master, the phoenix fell into the chicken coop.What's more, not only women, most men are also paying attention to Shire, but there are more sour grapes mentality.

As the only daughter of the richest man in the city, Eugenie was already used to all kinds of scrutiny, and she didn't care at all. "Dear cousin," she looked at Charles looking towards the pier, "do you want to go for a walk? For example, to see the scenery along the Loire River? I would be happy to show you!"

What Charles was looking at was not the pier, but the market near the pier.Because he reckoned that Antoine should have "leaked out" their real purpose.But now Eugenie asked, and he could not answer that. "I'm really thinking about it," he said, looking at Madame Grandet. "What do you mean, Auntie? If it's not convenient, I can go by myself."

Having had a little communion in the church just now, Madame Grandet felt that there would be nothing wrong with taking a walk.Besides, the old man asked her to find Madame de Grassin, and she had to give him a chance to come along.So she nodded and said, "Master nephew, you are being polite again, there is nothing inconvenient. But it is best to walk along the shade of the trees, the sun is very hot at this time."

Eugenie rejoiced, and she tightened her mother's hand.Madame Grandet noticed, and couldn't help looking at her daughter—is this just pure joy because she hasn't been out for a long time?

Since Mrs. Grandet was accompanying, no one would gossip—at most, the Grandet family was entertaining relatives—so Charles did not object.The three of them walked down the forked road, attracted many glances when they passed the market, and then stopped and stopped under the poplar trees by the river, the atmosphere was quite harmonious.

When the well-informed Mrs. Grassin arrived, what she saw was such a situation, and her heart skipped a beat.She often travels between Paris and Saumur. Of course, she can see that Charles is a typical Parisian son, needless to say he is chic and suave.Eugenie had never seen the big world, so her eyes were completely focused on Charles at the moment.

This is not good news for our Adolphe, thought Madame de Grassin when she said hello, I must give up the idea of ​​​​this beautiful young man, and I must not let him marry Eugenie!So she said this: "Oh, you are the nephew of M. Grandet in Paris? Then you must come to my house, because we are the only one in Saumur that has a Parisian ball!"

The hidden meaning in these words was so obvious that Charles could hear it right away.He couldn't help but slander, ma'am, you really think too much!Everyone thought he was a young master who didn't know much about the world, but he really wasn't!It's just that Adolphe was not ready to marry Eugenie, and neither was President Cruchot.That being the case, why did he clarify this misunderstanding to this Madame de Grassin?

"Thank you for your kind invitation." Charles said politely, "But I will only stay in Saumur for a few days, and I'm afraid I don't have time to spare."

It was obvious that Charles had unconsciously put himself in the place of Eugenie's brother.

Whether it is Madame de Grassin or Charles, both have a good ability to hide their emotions.At least Madame Grandet didn't notice the turbulent undercurrent, and she was still thinking that she could stop by and invite Madame de Grassin to have a cup of tea later, so that she could complete what her husband had told her to do.As for what Grandet wants to do, she doesn't know at all, because she has never been in control of business matters.

As for Eugenie, knowing that her cousin intended to spend more time with them than expected, her cheeks began to flush again.

Threesomes turned into foursomes, and it seemed even more lively.And when Mrs. Grandet began to think about when they would meet their husbands when they went back, two people came across from the opposite side. They were Grandet and Notary Cruchot.The two parties saw each other, of course they greeted each other, and then introduced Charles to the notary.

"Madame, it's time for you to go back and take a nap in such hot weather." Seeing that everyone was present, Grandet immediately sent his wife home.In front of outsiders, he always appears to respect and care about his wife. "And you, Eugenie, you are blushing!" When he said this, the old cooper had no idea that his daughter was blushing for no reason at all.

That's why she doesn't need to worry about it later.Madame Grandet breathed a sigh of relief, and said to Eugenie: "My lord is right, let's go back."

Eugenie was still a little hesitant, but she also vaguely knew that Charles was different from her, and that sons had to bear much more responsibilities than daughters.Moreover, she knew all she could think with her toes, if her father knew that she liked Shire, it would be over immediately.So she managed to control herself, and followed her mother back obediently.

As for Charles, facing the critical eyes of the two, he didn't have any stage fright at all.He wants to see, he and his world-famous uncle, who digs a pit for whom to jump?