The late autumn wind brought a lot of coolness, and the two young men drunkenly helped each other slowly walk forward in the street, as if they had just come out of a banquet. It was not yet very late, and there were still many pedestrians on the streets, but no one paid any attention to the two of them, because it was all too common for such young people to return drunk.

"Charles, I said before, I can help you do it, how about it?" Albert's tone was full of pride and excitement.

Charles certainly understood what he was excited about.

"Albert, Xiexie, don't worry, the reward I said is absolutely indispensable."

"Xiexie, Charles." Albert patted Charles on the shoulder.

"However, I advise you to keep some money for yourself...... "Charles sighed, "with the way you live now, no amount of money can withstand it." ”

"Don't persuade me anymore, I like to live like this...... Albert replied the same as before, "and maybe it's more affordable to live like this." ”

"More affordable?"

"At least I'm enjoying life, aren't I? Like my father, who huddles in the manor all day long and counts his two sons, he may not be able to keep the family business for long, and in the end he will not be tossed and bankrupt? I've seen too many examples like this to count......" Albert burst out laughing, "What did that kid just say?" "According to my father's way of life, my family may have to be tossed and bankrupt one day, so friend, there is only one truth on this shijie: timely fun is the most important thing", this is really to my liking. Rather than go bankrupt and enjoy nothing like everyone else, it's better to find a way to squander it yourself......"

Charles was silent.

That's probably Albert's innermost thought.

The mid-nineteenth and twentieth centuries were a time of great change, in every sense of the word.

It was the era of the triumph of capital over the aristocracy. It was the era of the bourgeoisie replacing the aristocratic class as the rulers of the state, and it was the era of the great bankruptcy of the landowners, who are still fearful.

In England, with the repeal of the Corn Laws, grain imports increased dramatically, and the original landed aristocracy began to slowly go bankrupt, and Zuihou survived with capitalists and foreigners; In France, the Revolution and several dynastic successions completed the job; In the United States. Farmers went bankrupt one after another under the crackdown of railroad companies and banks and the economic crisis; In Russia, the aristocratic landowners were also slowly going bankrupt due to changes in the situation and poor management.

Writers faithful to reality wrote one work after another to record and reveal that era, and the Frenchman Balzac wrote The Antiquities Gallery. Chekov, a Russian, wrote "The Cherry Orchard", and the American Steinbeck wrote "The Grapes of Wrath", both of which faithfully reflected the changing times of the times, in the face of the emerging sober and pragmatic and greedy and powerful bourgeoisie, the landowners were powerless to resist and could only go bankrupt. Wealth is no longer measured in terms of the amount of land. It lies in the abundance of intangible capital.

Hidden beneath Albert's usual optimism and indulgence is a pessimistic soul and a bewildered heart. He almost saw through the world, but he felt powerless, didn't even want to contribute at all, and didn't want to establish any goal for himself, so he simply chose to play the world drunk and dreamed of death, and used alcohol and indulgence to numb himself. The philosophy of timely pleasure has been deeply imprinted in his bones, and some of the things that people cherish and fear in their daily lives have long been disdainful, and they don't even care about their own situation.

He helped Charles do that. It's not because I agree with Charles's philosophy, but because I just think it's fun. That's all, as for breaking the law or not, he doesn't care at all. This kind of thinking is not uncommon among today's aristocratic youth, and it can even be said to be a popular attitude to life.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I can't tell. But Charles would not allow himself to do so.

"Well, your own way of life is up to you." Charles sighed slightly, "But, my friend, we are friends after all, and if one day you suffer, I will never stand idly by, just come to me!" ”

"Me too."

Two young men, who had been friends since their youth, stumbled forward on the street with each other in their arms, and walked a long way.

=======================================

"Grandpa, you can rest first." Charlotte took a cup of coffee and carefully placed it on her grandfather's desk, "You've been sitting there for a long time. ”

"I'm fine, don't worry." The Duke of Tremville sat upright in his seat, his expression unchanged.

Then he gently picked up the coffee cup and took a small sip.

"Well, yes, Charlotte, it's a lot better than before."

Although it was a compliment, his tone was still very indifferent. But even so, Charlotte was still very happy, after all, grandpa rarely praised people.

"Grandpa, I have something I want to report to you."

Perhaps sensing Charlotte's surprisingly excited expression, the Duke suddenly looked up and looked at Charlotte with some suspicion. "Charlotte, what's wrong with you today?"

"It's nothing, it's just news from Baron Beauwon." Charlotte tried to suppress the joy in her heart, and pretended to be a little regretful, "His recent mine project has gone a little wrong, and it has come to a standstill for the time being...... So, he decided to abort the project and pay us back for the investment we had invested in advance. ”

To Charlotte's surprise, the Duke did not look shocked or regretful, but nodded calmly.

"Is that so? That's a pity. Are you sure it's all back? ”

"Yes." Charlotte nodded, "I received a promissory note signed by Baron Beauwan himself, and then I went directly to his silver number to redeem the promissory note, and now the money has been transferred back to our account." ”

It's just sure it's back. Charlotte dared to have the courage to mention it to her grandfather.

"Really? That's fine. The Duke nodded calmly, "Is there anything else you want to report?" ”

"Nope." Charlotte shook her head, "If you don't have any other opinions. I'm going to take out all the money right now. ”

"Yes." The Duke agreed with Charlotte.

Then he continued to look at the papers on his desk.

Is that the end of it? That's great! Thank God!

A big stone in Charlotte's heart finally landed, and the whole person almost collapsed at this moment. God knows how nervous she has been these days!

Thankfully, the nightmare is over.

"You'd better pay more attention to your body, don't get too tired." Before preparing to say goodbye, Charlotte said something about the scene.

"Heh, rest? I don't have time to rest. The duke suddenly smiled bitterly, "Now there are rich nobles." You have to learn how to manage your own house, but which of you can manage this house? I've worked so hard to get the Trevills back from nothing, but I don't want to fall back because of you. ”

In the era of the old dynasty. The ancestors of the Duke of Treville used the favor they had gained in the court and all kinds of tricks to enlarge their estate. After hundreds of years of operation, the Treville family has long become a well-known landowner in France. It's a pity that after the impact of the Revolution. Many of the "hard-won" land zuihou were confiscated by the government in accordance with the law. It was then auctioned off as public property.

[In the era of the Revolution, the government stipulated that once the nobles fled, their assets and property would be confiscated as public property, and then they would be auctioned at a low price, so after the two brothers of the Duke of Treville fled France, their family property would be confiscated and auctioned. 】

After the Marquis of Treville returned to France, the Emperor Napoleon rewarded the property that belonged to the Treville family from the public property, but over the years he had already sold it off to meet his expenses (especially in his early years).

And his older brother, the Duke of Treville, was much more powerful. After following Louis XVIII back to France, he used his high position to make a fortune. Then he made a fortune from the Bill of Noble Reparations, and some of the old property from the public property, and by these means he rebuilt the Treville family property in a few decades - although it was not at all comparable to the wealth accumulated by his ancestors, but at last it was restored a little bit of its old goodness.

However, this can only be the limit.

Not to mention expanding now, even maintaining this family business is a big headache.

Money is essential to maintain the family's pomp and circumstance, and now there is less and less money to be made from the industry.

Yes, relying on the progress of railways, highways, waterways and other modes of transportation, the transportation distance of agricultural products in the shelf life is getting farther and farther, and the transportation cost is getting lower and lower. As a result, competition for agricultural products in Europe has become more intense, prices have been falling, and as a result, farm incomes have become lower and lower – a trend that will become even more pronounced in the long run.

Because the Duke of Tréville has long been planning to make an industrial transformation, to find some new ways for his family to make money, so as to cope with this new situation. Investing in Baron Beauwon's project is only a small part of this plan. It's just that I didn't expect to encounter a tragic failure when I first tried to take the first step.

Grandpa's words made Charlotte a little overwhelmed, what did he mean?

While Charlotte was still wondering what her grandfather meant, the Duke of Trevil looked up at his granddaughter again.

His granddaughter was now wearing a small hat adorned with floral ornaments, her golden hair was also coiled, her blue eyes seemed to shine, and her face was faintly red from excitement.

It's beautiful indeed.

The daughter of the Trevier family deserves this beauty.

"The coffee is brewing well, let's go back and find a chance to make some for Charles." The Duke sighed, then returned to his papers. "You should always thank him, shouldn't you?"

After a brief moment of distraction, Charlotte finally reacted, and then she slowly lowered her head, the expression on her face extremely complicated.

"Haode, I will." (To be continued......)