World Literature Classics Library: The Count of Monte Cristo

Chapter 121 Marriage Plan (1)
On the second day after the scene between the couple, it was time for Debray to stop by Mrs. Tanglar for a while on his way to work, but his two-seater carriage was nowhere to be seen in the courtyard.At this time, that is to say, around 12:[-], Mrs. Tangla ordered the car to be prepared, and then she got in the car and left the mansion. Tangla expected that his wife would go out, so she had long been hiding behind the curtains and secretly watching.He ordered his servants to come and tell him as soon as his wife returned to the mansion, but she had not returned by two o'clock.

At two o'clock he ordered his servants to get the car ready, and drove to the House of Representatives to register his speech in order to attack the budget.From 12:[-] to [-]:[-] Tangra has been in the study, opened all the letters and looked at them. His face became more and more gloomy, and he wrote down one number after another. At the same time, he received some guests, one of which was Major Cavalle Conti.The major, always timid, stiff and rigid, always punctual, came at the time appointed the previous evening, and settled his account with the banker.

Tangla was very agitated as the House convened, and the language he used to attack the home secretary was harsher than ever.Coming out of the House of Representatives after the meeting, he immediately got into his carriage and told the coachman to go to No. 30 Champs Elysees.Monte Cristo was in the apartment, but he happened to have a visitor, so he asked Tangra to wait for a while in the living room.While Tang Gela was waiting, the door of the living room opened suddenly, and a man in elder clothes came in, but he didn't stay in the living room waiting like Tang Gela, it seemed that he was an acquaintance here, of course Tangla couldn't compare to that person .The man bowed to Tang La, and then disappeared into the inner suite.A moment later the door through which the priest had entered was opened again, and Monte Cristo came out.

"Forgive me," said Monte Cristo, "my dear Baron, my friend the Abbot Buzzoni, who you may have seen passing just now, has just arrived in Paris, and we have been parted for a long time, so I cannot bear Leave him immediately. For this sake, I hope you will forgive me for keeping you waiting."

"Where is it?" Tang Gula said, "It's nothing, it's because I came at an untimely time, so I'll leave now."

"No, no, on the contrary, please sit down first, but, good God! What's the matter with you? You seem to have something on your mind. Really, you frighten me. The frowning capitalist is like a Comets in the sky always foretell to the world what great misfortune is to come."

"My dear sir," Tangla said, "it's because I've been very unlucky these days, and all I hear is bad news."

"Oh, my God!" said Monte Cristo, "have you lost money again on the Exchange?"

"No, I've recovered, at least for the past few days. My present troubles are purely caused by the failure of a bank in Trieste."

"Is that so? You say a bank has failed. Could it be Jacopo Manfredi's?"

"That's right! Think about it, there is a person who has been doing business with me for a long time, even I can't remember how long, the accounts between each and every year are 90 to 100 every month, and there has never been any wrong or delayed account Well, that dude pays his bills like a prince... generous. I advanced him a million, and when he stopped paying, Jacopo Manfredi wanted my life!"

"really?"

"This kind of misfortune is unheard of. I drew 60 livres from him, and my promissory note was returned to me unpaid. Besides, I have in my hand a promissory note of 40 francs issued by him. It is due at the end of this month and should be paid by his agent in Paris. Today is the 30th, and I sent someone to cash it. Ah, there is such a thing, the agent has escaped. Add to that the Spanish bond, and I am at the end of this month. Happy enough."

"Have you really lost your Spanish bonds?"

"It's really a loss. 70 francs were taken out of my silver cabinet. There is nothing to say."

"How could such a shrewd veteran like you come to make such a move?"

"Hey, it's all my wife's miscalculation. She had a dream, saying that Mr. Carlos had returned to Spain. My wife loves to believe in dreams. She said it was called magnetic induction. She wanted to dream about something, according to her I told her that this was bound to happen. Hearing what she said with certainty, I asked her to play securities trading. She had her own money and her securities broker, so she lost money when she played securities. Of course , her money for playing securities is not mine. But, no matter what, you also know that the wife always takes 70 francs out of her pocket, and the husband always has something in his eyes. What? You don’t know about this? There has been a lot of noise about this.”

"I know, I've heard people talk about it, but I don't know the details, and I don't know anything about the business of the exchange."

"Then you don't play securities?"

"Me? How do you say I'm going to play securities? I'm already in a hurry to settle my income, so, in addition to the housekeeper, I have to hire a clerk and a cashier. However, speaking of Spain, I I think the story of Mr. Carlos's return to China is not entirely the baroness's dream, isn't it also mentioned in the newspaper?"

"So, what did you say in the newspaper?"

"I, I absolutely don't believe what is said in the newspapers, but I think the "Courier" is the real one. This is an exception. Their news is all reliable news, and this is all sent by telegram."

"That's right! The article here really doesn't make sense." Tangra said, "It's obviously a telegram that says Carlos returned to China."

"So," said Monte Cristo, "you have lost nearly 170 francs this month?"

"It's not close, that's what I lost."

"Oh!" said Monte Cristo sympathetically, "this is indeed a severe blow to a third-class estate."

"Third class!" Tangra said, feeling a little ashamed, "What do you mean?"

"Of course," continued Monte Cristo, "I divide property into three classes, namely, first-class, second-class, and third-class. The first-class property I am talking about should hold treasures in hand, own land, minerals, have The treasury income of countries such as France, Austria, and the United Kingdom, and the total income of these treasures and minerals should reach 150 million. The second-class industries I am talking about are manufacturing, joint-stock companies, governorships, and prince fiefs. The income does not exceed 5000 million francs, and the total assets are 1500 million. Finally, the third-class industry I am talking about is the capital that makes profit with compound interest. Its income depends on the wishes of others or accidental opportunities. , telegraph messages can also make it shaky, and moreover, its speculation is purely driven by the wind, and its transactions are completely at the mercy of the various opportunities in fate. If the forces of nature are superior forces, then fate is only relative. It can be counted as a low-level force, and the total capital of the false and the real should be [-] million. Your situation is roughly like this, what do you think?"

"My God, that's right!" Tangra replied.

"Therefore, if for another six months the end of the month is the same as that of the end of this month," said Monte Cristo calmly, "then a third-class firm will come to an end."

"Oh!" Tang Gela forced a smile on his face and said, "Your words are too mysterious!"

"Let's say it's seven months," said Monte Cristo, still in the same calm tone. "May I ask, have you ever thought that seven times 7 million equals 170 million, or is it about the same number? . . . No Have you thought about it? Well! You are right, because after thinking about it like this, I no longer dare to touch the capital. Capital is to the financier like the skin of a civilized man. It is our reputation. However, when a person dies, only the skin of the body is left. Similarly, after retiring from the business field, your real property is at most 1200 million, because the actual assets of the third-class industries are almost only superficial. It's only a third or a quarter. It's the same as a locomotive. There's always smoke around the locomotive, so it looks stronger. That's good! Your real assets are 600 million, and you lost nearly 500 million. You Your miscarriage and your reputation will suffer the same damage. That is to say, my dear Mr. Tangra, your skin will be cut open for bloodletting. Repeat this situation four times, it will be fatal .Uh, uh, you must take care, my dear Mr. Tanglar. Do you need any money? Shall I lend you some?"

"Your calculations are too bad!" Tang La said, trying to put on a very open-minded look to conceal his real expression, "At present, I have also made several successful transactions, so my bank There was also money in the chest, and the blood shed was replenished by nourishment. I was defeated in Spain, I was routed in Trieste, but my navy in India may capture several large ships laden with gold and silver. What deposits might be found by the pioneering army in Mexico."

"Very well, very well! But the scars are always there, and when there is a loss, the wound will open again."

"No, because I do things step by step." Tang La continued, speaking like a charlatan, bragging about his own ability. "If you want to break me, you have to break three administrations first."

"Oh! I have seen such a thing."

"Unless there is no harvest in the field."

"Don't forget the story of the seven fat cows and the seven lean cows."

"Unless the sea dries up like in the time of the Pharaoh Dynasty, there are still several seas in the world, and it is not a bad idea to change the fleet into a desert caravan."

"Very good, very good, my dear Monsieur Tangra," said Monte Cristo, "it seems that I have made a mistake, and you can be classified as a second-class estate."

"I think it's okay for me to pursue this kind of honor." Tangra said, with his invariable smile still on his face, Monte Cristo couldn't help but think of the blurred pictures that those poor painters added to their paintings of ruins moonlight. "But since we are talking about business," Tangla continued, happy to find a reason to change the subject, "please give me some advice on how I can serve Mr. Cavalleconti."

"If he has a credit account with you, and you don't think there's anything wrong with it, you'll have to pay him."

"Excellent! He came to me this morning with a check for forty thousand francs. This check should be transferred to your account, and payable at sight, signed by Buzzoni, to you. I forwarded it, and you signed the back of the check. You know. I counted 40 checks for him right away."

Monte Cristo nodded in approval.

"Besides that," Tangla went on, "he opened a credit account with me for his son."

(End of this chapter)