"What is this?" Joseph asked, furrowing his eyebrows. Joseph didn't have much urge to put the unknown in his mouth, so it can be seen that he was by no means a big eater before the crossing.

"Let me tell you, this crystalline liquid is the jade liquid elixir that the goddess of youth Heber used when she entertained Zeus, the god king who ruled the thunder and lightning. It is a fetish given by the Muses to His followers...... Try it, it can bring you all kinds of dreams and inspirations, and make you forget all your sorrows. Armand replied in an exaggerated tone like reciting Cid.

"Come on, Armand, you're not on stage, you're not on Cid. To put it bluntly, what the hell is this thing? Joseph's tone was a little impatient.

"Ah, mortal man, the endless treasure is in front of you, and you have no eyes to see it." Armand continued in that aria-like voice, "Do you love gold? With it, the treasure troves of Ali Baba and Alexandria will open up before your eyes; Do you love fantasy? Drink it, and the infinite space and the deep ocean will open their arms to you; Are you keen on power, drink it, and you become Caesar, you become Augustus, you become Alexander. Isn't that tempting enough? ”

"What the hell is it?" Joseph said with a frown. He knew that in this era, it was an era when all kinds of psychotropic drugs were commonly abused.

"Have you ever heard of Sarasin?" Armand asked.

"Of course I've heard of it, and I know Assassin's Creed." Thinking so, Joseph said, "Of course, of course I know. ”

"Then you should also know that the old man of the mountain who wanted to assassinate Philip Augustus. Legend has it that he ruled over a fertile valley flanked by towering mountains – where his legendary name comes from. Legend has it that in that mysterious valley there was one of his gardens, where, according to Marco Polo, he cultivated a fairy grass.

His elect, the Assassins, could ascend to heaven early if they ate it. After seeing the bliss of heaven, they all believed that by serving the old man, they would enter that heaven forever. So the old man told them to kill whomever they wanted. Even if you have to trek to the end of the world, to the golden apple tree where Hercules once belonged; Or face torture, or even beheading. They were all fearless, for they thought that it was only a way for them to ascend to the heaven they had briefly visited. My friend, the keys to heaven are now in front of you. ”

"Indian Hemp!" Joseph said.

"Yes, this is it!" Armand said with an exaggerated smile, "How about it, do you want to try it?" ”

"No, no," said Joseph, hastened, "Armand, you know, I've always been resistant to these strange things, when it comes to food. ”

"Alas, Joseph, your life will be less fun because of this! Maybe you don't really need that, though, because you're never short of sparks of inspiration. Also, this attitude towards your diet is a bit similar to that of my uncle. "Well, what's your father's illness?" ”

"Not sure yet." "But the doctor suspects that he has a tumor in his stomach, which causes his stomach to continue to ulcerate and bleed. In short, it is very dangerous, and the doctor can hardly do anything about it. They don't think he will last long. Maybe soon I will have to leave school and go back to Corsica. ”

"Will you come back, then?" Armand asked.

"I hope to come back." Joseph said, "Who wants to leave Paris?" It's just, you know, I have several brothers and sisters. The sisters are okay, but the brothers have to study, which is a big expense. If anything really happens to my father, as the eldest son in the family, I have to stand up and take all the responsibility of the family. ”

"Joseph, you are not yet fifteen years old." "Even if you want to come out to work, it's early." You're still a year away from graduating. If you drop out of school at this time, not only is it a pity, but also, if you go directly to find a job now, and look for a job after graduating and getting a certificate, the salary you can get will be much worse.

Maybe if you drop out of school and work a year early, you can get a salary that is better than gritting your teeth and getting half of the salary you can get after another year. Your family is an aristocratic ...... Of course, I know that there is a big difference between the Corsican nobility and the French nobility...... You know, I'm talking about economic differences, not anything else. However, nobles are nobles after all, and even poor nobles are only poorer than other nobles. So, I think, your family will always have a way to support it for another year. ”

Joseph shook his head and said, "My friend, our family's financial situation is worse than you think. When you talk about the poor aristocracy, you are the poor aristocracy of France. But the poor aristocracy of Corsica was poorer than the poor aristocracy of France. You know, Corsica has just experienced war, and war has wreaked havoc on wealth. In addition, in the beginning, France did not recognize the nobility of the Corsican nobility. Later, although it was conditionally recognized, it also cost money to obtain this recognition. And it costs a lot of money. This almost drained our family. So these days, our family is much poorer than you think. ”

"Okay, okay." "But I still think it...... By the way, how is your English? ”

"Not bad, maybe a little better than my French." Joseph replied, "What's the matter?" ”

"Aren't you short of money?" "I was asked to find someone to help translate the poems and plays of Shakespeare and Milton. He pays well, not much less than if you dropped out of school and looked for a job. Well, in fact, you can't spend much money on studying, and even if you live a simple enough life, you can still have a little left, and you can do more of this kind of work while you go to school, and then let your family be a little frugal and support it for a year, it shouldn't be a big problem. In a year's time, you'll graduate and you'll have a chance to get a lot more money than you do now. ”

Joseph knew that what Armand had said that he had been asked to translate Shakespeare and Milton's poems and plays was not entirely true. The real situation is that someone asked Armand to translate these things.

"Armand, I asked you to translate it. Wouldn't I be robbing you of your money if I were next? Joseph said.

"Hey, I'm so busy right now, how can I have time for these things? You see, I have to enjoy the fairy dew of the goddess of youth, Heber, and at the same time deal with my whole company of mistresses...... God, where do I have time for such a boring thing? If I had spent all my youth at my desk, my mistresses would have run to the bed of Fabio or some other kid I didn't know. It's just that the person who entrusted me is my friend, and I can't shirk it. If you're willing to do it, that's a real liberation for me! Armand replied in an exaggerated tone.

Armand is good-looking, well-born, and has money in his family, so he is indeed very attractive to women. And he himself often likes to compare himself to Don Juan (a typical satyr in European medieval legends, similar to the meaning of "Dengzi" in Chinese), so he can often see different women around him, but to say that he has a mistress is definitely bragging.

"Thank you so much." Joseph replied sincerely, "Also, do you think I can be your uncle's assistant after I graduate?" ”

"What? Give him an assistant? Armand's eyes widened, "Ah, my friend, with your level of mathematics and natural philosophy, of course that's fine. However, I don't recommend that you go and work as an assistant to my famous uncle after you graduate. ”

"Why?" Joseph asked.

"If you don't have financial pressure, it's good to be an assistant for him, you can learn a lot. But you may not know, my uncle...... Ah, he is my elder and the pride of all France, and I should not have said anything about him. But no one is perfect except Jesus. My uncle was the same, in a way...... Have you seen Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice? ”

"Yes." Joseph nodded.

"He's in some ways, kind of like Sherlock in there. So, if you are financially pressured, it is not a good choice to be an assistant for him. Armand smiled bitterly.

"I see......," Joseph followed.

Joseph knew that Armand's uncle, Lavoisier, was one of the greatest French scientists, but he also knew that Armand should not have slandered his uncle. Lavoisier was hungry for wealth. So even in the time of the Revolution, even though he knew that he was an aristocrat, he was not liked by the Jacobins in power. But he still took risks to do things like taxes, hoarding, and speculation, and was finally sent to the guillotine and his head cut off.

At that time, the great mathematician Graranges lamented: "It would take a hundred years for France to grow such a clever head, but it only took them a second to cut him off." But even Glarange, saying this, does not think that Lavoisier did not do the things that the Jacobins accuse.

"In fact, with your ability, coupled with the signboard of the Louis the Great School, it is not difficult to find a suitable job." "For example, it's easy for you to be a priest in a black robe. Of course, being a priest theoretically has to give up a lot of things, but in reality it's a different story. You know, a lot of popes have mistresses. Pope Alexander VI may even have ...... with his own daughters Is...... It's enviable! ”

"You beast!" Joseph hurriedly said.

"Thank you for your high opinion of me." Amantian replied shamelessly.