Joseph's life thereafter was indeed as hard as Armand had estimated, and he had to live every day with black bread and cold water. This life lasted for about two months, and Joseph managed to make himself more like a bamboo pole.

"Joseph, there is a troupe that has recently been preparing a comedy called 'The Governor of the Islands.' Well, this story is taken from Don Quixote. I think you're in shape right now to play the role of Knight Quixote in this comedy. Armand said to Joseph with a grin.

"Hell!" Joseph said, "Don Quixote is certainly not the protagonist in this play, is he?" The main character should be Sancho. ”

Speaking of this, he looked Armand up and down again and said: "I have to say that if you want to play the leading role, you need to make a lot of effort." ”

"Who said I was going to play the lead role? How is this possible? "Sancho is a short and fat man, and I, though a little shorter than you, have nothing to do with me, whether I am short or fat. Joseph, do you have a problem with your brain, or do you have a problem with your eyes? Or maybe it's because you're fully into the character and can already see the windmill as a giant? ”

When Joseph heard this, he laughed: "Ah, Armand, why is your brain so rigid? Isn't comedy a comedy because of its absurdity? Armand, you must know that the world is absurd and life is painful. Friends, this is the reality of the world.

King Midas had long searched the woods for the Dionysian companion, the wise Silenos, but did not find it. When Silenos finally fell into his hands, the king asked him, "What is the best and wonderful thing for man?" The god was dumbfounded, and said nothing, until the king forced him, and at last he uttered these words in the midst of a loud laugh: 'Poor creature, poor creature, son of impermanence and sorrow, why do you force me to say what you would better not hear? The best things in the world are the ones you can never get – that is, not to be born, not to exist, to be nothing. However, for your next best you still have time to find it, and that is - hurry up and die! ’

What a terrible story this is, and what can we see when we lift the fog that envelops the towering Mount Olympus and expose its foundations before our eyes? We find ourselves in the face of the great fear of the violence of nature, the fate that ruthlessly rules all knowledge, the goshawk that torments Prometheus, the great lover of humanity, the terrible fate of the wise Oedipus, the calamity of the Atreus family that drove Arestis to kill his mother. We see that behind the sacred and majestic Greek gods, there are actually terrifying Titans. In order to survive, the sensitive Greeks had to create a dream that they could use to resist the horror of reality. It's like Apollo raising Medusa's head high, thus making all sorts of terrifying monsters retreat. And comedy and even all kinds of art are this dream.

Dreams can be absurd, or even have to be absurd. Only the terrifying Medusa can scare off other terrifying ghosts. So, why do you insist that Sancho is a Humpty Dumpty? ”

"Joseph, you abominable fellow." Armand said, "You guy is purely relying on your own knowledge to fool people. I'm dizzy with you. Although what you say seems to have some truth, what the audience needs is a sweet dream, not a nightmare that scares them away. I don't think they'll accept a tall and handsome Sancho like me. ”

Indeed, the image of Sancho and his intelligence form an interesting contrast, and this contrast arouses the pleasure of the audience. If you go up directly, there is indeed no such contrast. But have you forgotten, my friend, that there is a kind of thing that can turn Gree, even though it doesn't make Gree, but it can turn Helen into Gree. Joseph laughed.

"You're talking about makeup, right? But how can makeup change a person's appearance at most, and how can a tall man become a short man? Armand wondered.

"How can it not be helped? There is no shortage of solutions to problems in this world, only clever brains who can think of solutions. Joseph said as he picked up a pencil and a piece of scratch paper full of math problems from the table next to him.

"You see, we make a ...... the same way we make a baleen dress," Joseph said, drawing on the paper.

"It's ......" Armand's eyes widened, "Hey, it seems to be really okay, but it's too tiring for the actor to play this." ”

"It's a bit difficult, but it's hard to find a dwarf who can act. But actors who can act and endure hardships are easy to find, aren't they? Joseph glanced at Armand and said, "Of course, a guy like you, who loves art but lacks the spirit of sacrificing for art, will definitely not be able to endure such suffering." In addition, this has the advantage of waiting for the end of the play and the actors to take the curtain call, and the actor who plays the short man suddenly stands up straight, which must be very funny. ”

"Hehe, hehe......" Armand laughed as he put the piece of paper that Joseph had drawn into his pocket, "Joseph, you should go to England to apply for a patent for this design." However, it is useless to apply for it, because France does not recognize British patents, and France does not have patent legislation. ”

"So Britain is superior to France in terms of technological invention." Joseph replied.

……

After this conversation, another two days passed. Armand came to Joseph again and said:

"Joseph, you had a good idea last time. Especially at the end of the curtain call, there was laughter below. The results are fantastic. I think you can still be a screenwriter, Joseph. You know, the Greeks, the Romans, those scripts, while good, but a lot of things are too old and not very suitable for today's stage. The same is true of more recent Renaissance works. In addition, even the works of modern writers are often imitated by the ancients, so they cannot really be performed on the stage without modification. So a lot of theater companies need a screenwriter.

Most of these screenwriters are ordinary actors, they know the stage very well, but their understanding of art is very insufficient. Therefore, many theater companies, in addition to a screenwriter who is an actor, will also find a screenwriter who has enough taste for art and let them cooperate with each other. For example, the 'Dragons and Roses' troupe, which last performed "The Governor of the Island," now wants to hire a playwright like that. In addition, many artists also started in this position.

Originally, they asked me to be a screenwriter for them. But, you know, I'm busy, and now you're in need of money. It's just Joseph, my friend, do you still have the energy, the time to do this work? ”

"Ah, thank you so much, my friend." Joseph said gratefully, "As for energy and time, my friend, these two things are like water in a sponge, and if you squeeze hard, you can still squeeze some out." ”

"Joseph, do you know? One of the things that's interesting to talk to you is that I always hear something extraordinarily philosophical from you. Actually, you are a very interesting person, and if you don't deliberately look like a priest, you will definitely be favored by the girls. Of course, it's still a little worse than me, but it's definitely better than Lucien. You see, Lucien already had a mistress. ”

"Lucien also has a mistress?" This news surprised Joseph, for although Lucien's family had a lot of money, he had very little money at hand, and his father would not support him in raising a mistress.

"Of course." "I met Lucien's new coat and hat near the church of Saint-Genevieva," said Armand, "and his shiny new leather shoes, with a Lucien wrapped in them, and a bouquet of flowers in his hand, and a wooden and wooden head, and I didn't even hear him say hello. I saw the anxious and expectant expression on his face, as if he was going to defend his dissertation and like a general preparing to go to the battlefield. Ah, I'm familiar with that expression—because I've seen so much. I gave this state a biological name called 'estrus'. Well, Lucien is in that state right now. I'm sure he must have had a little mistress. You can't go wrong! ”

"What do you mean, you're not sure?" Joseph said, "It's not like you. Didn't you sneak up behind Lucien to see what kind of girl she was, and what kind of girl could charm Lucien at once? ”

"Of course I went along, I thought this guy was going to have a tryst with his little lover in the little garden behind the church. I thought, 'This kid really knows how to find a place.'" 'I didn't expect him to get into a public carriage over there, and then ......"

"And then you lost it, didn't you?" Joseph laughed.

"That's right. But I'll be sure to figure out what kind of goblin it is that would make our Lucien look like that. Hahaha......" Armand laughed.

"Ah, by the way, the head of the Dragons and Roses, Monsieur Denardi would like to see you for a cup of coffee. You see when you can have time. ”

"How was Sunday afternoon, I didn't have anything to do that afternoon." Joseph replied.

"Alright, then I'll go and make an appointment with Mr. Denardi. Well, do you have any requirements for the location? ”

"You can go anywhere." Joseph replied.