Fox of France

"What is this?" Joseph asked, frowning. For those unknown things, Joseph didn't have much urge to send them into his mouth, so it can be seen that before crossing, he was definitely not a big eater.

"Let me tell you, this crystal clear liquid is exactly the jade liquid that Hebe, the goddess of youth, entertained Zeus, the king of thunder and lightning. It is a fetish bestowed by the Muses to his followers... Let's try it Try it, it can bring you all kinds of dreams and inspirations, and make you forget all your worries." Amon replied in an exaggerated tone like reciting "The Cid".

"Come on, Armand, you are not on the stage, you are not performing "The Cid". To be clear, what is this thing?" Joseph's tone was a little impatient.

"Ah, mortal man, the endless treasure is in front of you, but you have no eyes to see it." Amon continued in that aria-like voice, "Do you love gold? With it, Ali Baba, The treasury of Alexander will burst open in front of your eyes; do you love fantasy? Drink it, and the infinite space and deep ocean will open their arms to you; are you keen on power, drink it, and you will become Caesar , became Augustus, became Alexander. Isn't that tempting enough?"

"What the hell is it?" Joseph frowned. Does he know that in this era, it is the era when various psychotropic drugs are commonly abused.

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

"Of course I've heard of it. I also know about Assassin's Creed." Joseph thought, and said, "Of course, of course I know."

"Then you should also know, the old man on the mountain who wanted to assassinate Philip Augustus. According to legend, he ruled a rich valley with towering mountains on both sides-this is where his legendary name comes from. It is said that in that mysterious valley, there is one of his gardens. According to Marco Polo, he planted a kind of fairy grass there.

His chosen ones, those assassins, as long as they eat it, they can ascend to heaven in advance. After seeing the bliss of heaven, they all believed that by serving the old man, they could enter that heaven forever. So whoever the old man told them to kill, they would kill whoever. Even if you have to trek to the end of the world, walk to the golden apple tree that Hercules once visited; or face torture, or even beheading. They have nothing to fear because they think it's just a way to get them into the heaven they've been to for a while. My friend, the key to heaven is before you now. "

"Indian hemp!" said Joseph.

"That's right, it's this thing!" Amon said with an exaggerated smile, "How about it, do you want to try it?"

"No, no, no," Joseph said quickly, "Amon, you know, in terms of diet, I have always resisted these weird things."

"Oh, Joseph, how much less fun you'll have in your life! Maybe you don't really need it, though, because you're never short of sparks of inspiration. Besides, your attitude to food is a bit like my uncle's." Amon said, "Well, what's wrong with your father?"

"Not sure yet." Joseph said sadly, "but the doctor suspected that he had a tumor in his stomach, which caused his stomach ulcer to bleed continuously. In short, it is very dangerous, and the doctor can hardly do anything about it. They estimate that he supports Not long. Maybe soon I will have to leave school and go back to Corsica."

"Then will you come back?" Amon asked.

"I hope to come back." Joseph said, "Who wants to leave Paris? It's just that you know I have several brothers and sisters. The sisters are fine, but the brothers all have to study, which is not a small fortune." Expenses. If my father really has something to do, as the eldest son of the family, I must stand up and pick up the responsibility of the family."

"Joseph, you are not yet fifteen years old." Amon said, "Even if you want to work, it's too early. You still have a year to graduate. It would be a pity if you drop out at this time, and you are now There will be a lot of difference in salary between looking for a job directly and looking for a job after graduation and getting a certificate.

Maybe you drop out of school and work a year ahead of time, and the salary you can get is not as good as one-half of the salary you can get after gritting your teeth and studying for another year. Your family is aristocratic...Of course, I know that the Corsican nobility is very different from the French nobility...You know, I am talking about economic differences, not anything else. However, nobles are nobles after all, even poor nobles are only poorer compared to other nobles. So, I think, there is always a way for your family to last for another year. "

Joseph shook his head and said: "My friend, our family's economic situation is worse than you imagined. The poor nobles you are talking about are the poor nobles in France. But the poor nobles in Corsica are poorer than the poor nobles in France. You I know that Corsica has just experienced a war, and the war has caused huge damage to wealth. In addition, at the beginning, France did not recognize the aristocratic status of the nobles of Corsica. Although it was conditionally recognized later, but It also costs money to get that recognition. And it costs a lot of money. It pretty much wiped out our family. So today, our family is much poorer than you can imagine."

"Okay, okay." Amon said, "But I still think... 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?" Amon asked, "Someone asked me to find someone to help translate Shakespeare and Milton's poems and plays. He paid a good salary, not much less than if you dropped out of school to find a job. Well, in fact, you It doesn’t cost much to study, even if you live a simple enough life and still have a little leftover, you can do more work like this while going to school, and make your family more frugal, and it should not be a big problem for one year. One year After that, you graduate and you have the opportunity to get much more money than you have today."

Joseph knew that what Amon said, that he was asked to find someone to translate the poems and plays of Shakespeare and Milton, was not all true. The real situation is probably that someone asked Amon to translate these things.

"Amon, this is someone who asked you to translate it. If I follow up, wouldn't it be stealing your money?" Joseph said.

"Hey, I'm so busy now, how can I have time to do these things? You see, I want to enjoy the elixir of Hebe, the goddess of youth, and I have to deal with my whole company of mistresses at the same time... God, where do I have time?" Time for such nonsense? If I spent my youth at a desk, my mistresses would go to the bed of Fabio or some other kid I don't know. Just trust me People are my friends, and I can't shirk them. If you are willing to do it, it will really liberate me!" Amon replied in an exaggerated tone.

Amang is good-looking, from a good background, and his family is rich, so he is indeed very attractive to women. And he himself often likes to compare himself to Don Juan (a typical pervert in European medieval legends, which is similar to the meaning of "dengtuzi" in Chinese), so he can often see different women around him, but To say that you have a company of mistresses is to be bragging.

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

"What? Be his assistant?" Amon's eyes widened. "Ah, my friend, with your level of mathematics and natural philosophy, of course it's no problem. However, I don't suggest that you go to work as an assistant after graduation." My famous uncle as an assistant."

"Why?" Joseph asked.

"If you don't have financial pressure, it's not bad to be his assistant. You can learn a lot. But you may not know that my uncle...ah, he is my elder and the whole of France. Proud, I shouldn't have said anything about him. But no one is perfect except Jesus. My uncle is the same, in a way... Have you seen Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice?"

"I see." Joseph nodded.

"In some respects, he is somewhat similar to Sherlock in that. So, if you are under financial pressure, it is not a good choice to be his assistant." Amon smiled wryly.

"So that's how it is..." Joseph followed suit.

Joseph knew that Amon's uncle, Lavoisier, was one of the greatest scientists in France, but he also knew that Amon should not have slandered his uncle. Lavoisier was full of thirst for wealth. So even in the period of the Great Revolution, even if 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 tax, hoarding, speculation, and so on, and finally he was sent to the guillotine and his head was cut off.

At that time, the great mathematician Grarange lamented: "It took France a hundred years to grow such a clever head, but they only took one second to chop him off." Lange did not think that Lavoisier had not done the things that the Jacobins accused him of.

"Actually, with your ability and the signboard of Louis the Great School, it is not difficult to find a suitable job." Amon said, "For example, for you, it is actually very difficult to become a priest in black robes. Easy. Of course, being a priest is a lot to give up in theory, but in practice it's a different story. You know, a lot of popes have mistresses. Pope Alexander VI may even have a...really... ...is enviable!"

"You beast!" Joseph said hastily.

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