Writer 1879: Solitary Journey in France

Chapter 15 The Bottom Line is Created!

Having received Sophie's promise, Lionel finally relaxed.

As the company's communications department, the "Colony and Overseas Communications Office" only handled miscellaneous tasks such as delivering letters and messages, but it certainly possessed more detailed personnel information than other departments.

The only department that could provide more detail than his family history would probably be the human resources or secretarial department—but the people there probably wouldn't have the patience to listen to him recount his family history in such detail.

They don't close until 7 p.m., and it's only 3 p.m. now, so there are still 4 hours left. Lionel decided to go and investigate the "Panama Canal Global Company" again.

Without delay, he spent five sous to take a public carriage to the French Overseas Chamber of Commerce in the 5th arrondissement, and was immediately stunned upon alighting—

There was a long queue in front of the building, stretching all the way to another street; despite the cold wind, the people in line were in high spirits, chatting with each other.

Lionel skipped the queue and walked directly to the door, only to find out why:
Everyone is waiting to subscribe to the Panama Canal Bonds issued by the Panama Interoceanic Canal Global Company, with an annual interest rate of 6%, first come, first served!
A middle-aged man who had just bought his purchase noticed Lionel peeking around and kindly reminded him, "Young man, it's too late to queue now. If you go to Barings Bank or Société Générale, you might still be able to buy one."

Lionel then asked, "Is everyone so confident about building the Panama Canal?"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man's eyes lit up: "Don't you know who is in charge of this great project?"

Lionel shook his head, and the middle-aged man was very satisfied with his reaction: "It was Mr. Ferdinand de Lesseb, a man of great wisdom and courage! He was the one who oversaw the construction of the Suez Canal and secured a 99-year operating license for France."

With him in charge, this canal will surely become another source of pride for France!

The middle-aged man's voice grew louder and louder, and those around him spontaneously shouted in response:
"Long live France! Long live France!"

Driven by the slogans, the entire group became enthusiastic, with many people pulling out wads of cash from their pockets, waving them above their heads, and urging the people in front of them to hurry up with the paperwork.

While Lionel wasn't entirely clear on the historical details of whether the Panama Canal was ultimately built by the French, as a bright and well-read liberal arts student, he knew that almost all of the French's historical investment frenzies had ended in less than ideal results…

He asked with some concern, "How long will it take?"

The middle-aged man answered confidently: "Mr. Ferdinand was able to carve out a 190-kilometer canal in the hot, arid, and uninhabited desert of Egypt, while the Panama Canal is said to be only 80 kilometers long!"
The Suez Canal took 10 years to open, and the Panama Canal, well, optimistically, will open in 5 years, at the latest no more than 7 years!
Then, francs, pounds, dollars... will flow into the pockets of us investors like water from a canal!

His words drew another round of cheers.

Lionel: "..." This time, there's no need to go inside to find out the truth.

The "Panama Canal construction" and "Panama Canal bonds" do not appear to be scams, and the "Panama Interoceanic Canal Global Company" is not a shell company.

Ferdinand de Lesseb was indeed a renowned industrialist, nobleman, and diplomat; he was not a fraud.

This is also the brilliance of the conman "Emil": most of the information is true and easily verifiable; but he only lies about the most crucial and difficult-to-verify parts...

Now we can only hope that Sophie can give him a surprise.

Full of worries, Lionel walked all the way from the 8th arrondissement back to the 2nd arrondissement (the two arrondissements are almost adjacent), without even stopping to take a closer look at the Champs-Élysées.

It took a full hour to get to the agreed-upon "Seine Sunset" café. I ordered a black coffee and started drinking it in my slumber, while also picking up a copy of "Little Daily" to read.

A moment later, a burst of laughter came from the next table. A rather gentlemanly customer sprayed his coffee directly onto the newspaper on the table, then covered his eyes with one hand, trying his best to suppress the somewhat unseemly laughter. The waiter in the coffee shop, however, seemed unfazed, and went over to wipe the table clean for the customer and bring him a new cup of coffee.

As he passed Lionel, he muttered a complaint: "Another one, that damned 'Buzz' newspaper..."

The speaker meant no harm, but the listener took it to heart. Lionel stopped him and said, "Could you get me a copy of today's 'The Buzz'?"

The waiter gestured with his chin to the customer who had just sprayed coffee: "The last clean copy of The Buzz is on that gentleman's table."

Lionel smiled and said, "Oh?" The café subscribes to multiple copies of each newspaper to help its customers pass the time.

The waiter leaned down and whispered, "Today's 'Noise' newspaper has a few new jokes, and several customers who read them sprayed their coffee all over the paper..."

Lionel's smile widened: "Oh? What joke?"

The waiter gave a cryptic smile: "I think you'd better see it for yourself... I swear, it's the most subtle, the most vicious, but also the funniest joke I've ever heard in my life..."

Lionel nodded to indicate that he understood.

It seems the three short stories were quite effective, and he is very confident that the owner of the "Buzzing News" will accept his offer!
After all, when it comes to jokes, Europe, from ancient times to the modern era, cannot compare with China in terms of the richness of types, the variety of techniques, or the subtlety of language.

His choice to rewrite the jokes in "Xiaolin Guangji: Monks and Taoists" was not only a deliberate attempt to break through the most taboo and unspoken barrier in French religious culture, but also a test of the tabloids' bottom line.

If even this topic can be published, then he can have no taboos and unleash his full potential.

What he didn't know was that he had created this bottom line himself...

Of course, the true identity of "an honest Parisian" must never be revealed—after all, if he were to make his official debut in the French literary world, he absolutely could not do so as a writer of dirty jokes.

Some things, after he met Maupassant that day, grew and spread uncontrollably from the depths of his heart like weeds...

That's why the "anonymous deposit waiting list" option, which requires monthly renewal, is chosen.

However, the most important thing right now is to resolve the crisis at the Sorel family's house in the Alps. He feared that if he delayed even a day, his father might hand over the dowry and savings to that suspicious man.

After waiting for almost another hour, Sophie Deneuve finally appeared at the cafe entrance, wearing a thick coat, but still looking thin.

Moreover, Lionel then discovered that she was very tall, almost 170 centimeters, which was quite rare among women of that era.

He raised his hand and said, "Here!"

Sophie looked over, a smile spreading across her face, and quickly crossed the table and chairs to sit opposite Lionel.

Lionel smiled and, instead of immediately pressing Sophie for the results of her search, said, "You haven't had dinner yet, have you? Would I have the honor of inviting you to dine with me?"

Sophie blushed, like pomegranate juice spreading on milk.

(End of this chapter)