Lionel, stunned by the news, stopped in his tracks on the stairs, pulled out the entire letter, and eagerly wanted to see the content below.
Just then, a voice came from the adjacent room: "Good evening, Mr. Sorel." It was as clear and pleasant as a wind chime.
Lionel put away the letter, turned his head, and forced a smile: "Good evening, Petty."
The one who greeted him was Petty, the young daughter of the Milai family who lived on the second floor. She was only 10 years old, and Lionel had taught her to read before, so their relationship was good.
Petty smiled happily: "Any news today?"
Lionel thought for a moment before saying: "Someone probably treated me to a 'public table' meal?"
Petty's eyes lit up: "'Public table'? I heard a meal there costs at least 2 francs! Was it delicious?"
Lionel nodded: "Delicious, at least the beef was chewable..."
Petty covered her mouth and chuckled: "Don't let Mrs. Martin hear you..."
Lionel also smiled and asked: "Petty, what about you, any news today?"
Petty's expression immediately darkened upon hearing this: "Mom said she's sending me to learn ballet next month..."
Lionel's heart sank. In this era, anyone with a little social knowledge understood what it meant for poor people to send their children to learn ballet.
Ballet was long out of fashion, so only poor families would send their daughters to full boarding ballet schools. On one hand, it saved the family on food and lodging, and on the other, they hoped the child would become a professional dancer and be able to subsidize the family.
Ballet schools implemented strict militarized management. Girls learning to dance were often malnourished and frail, mockingly called "rats."
At this time, some "kind" benefactors would appear—they would either hide behind curtains or move through the backstage of theaters, selecting girls they liked...
Before Lionel could say anything, a gruff woman's voice came from the room: "Little slut, hurry up and come in to work..."
Petty looked terrified, nodded at Lionel, and hurried back into the room.
By this time, it was already dark. The lighting in this old "middle-class apartment" built in the 18th century was very poor, and the residents here were even more reluctant to light extra candles, let alone gas lamps.
Lionel watched Petty's thin back disappear into the thick darkness, and could only sigh, unable to do anything.
He was currently in a situation where he was "a clay bodhisattva crossing the river, unable to save himself."
He went all the way up to the attic, returned to the cramped space with the sloped roof, and lit the candle. Only then did he clearly see the rest of the letter's content.
The reason his family wanted him to drop out of school was simple: his sister had met a good marriage prospect in October of last year. The man was a senior manager at Orby Trading Company, not only earning a high income but also owning a large farm in Guyana.
In this era, for a woman to marry a man of higher social status than her own family, a generous dowry was essential.
Many families, unable to afford this money, ended up with their daughters becoming "old maids."
Maupassant, who had just treated Lionel to a big meal today, described this situation in "My Uncle Jules"—
The two daughters of the protagonist Joseph's family were quite old and still unmarried until their father used a letter written by Uncle Jules to paint a picture for a young man, barely managing to marry off the second sister to this small clerk.
Now that his sister was going to "marry up," the money the family had originally prepared for her was probably far from enough, and his parents would have to dig into their savings to afford it.
The letter did not specify the exact amount, but Lionel guessed it was probably no less than 3,000 francs—this already exceeded his father's entire annual income, almost equivalent to the dowry level of a middle-class family in Paris.
If the cost of preparing his sister's dress and wedding was added, then the Sorel family could be said to have emptied their savings just to welcome this son-in-law into their home.
Lionel couldn't help but wonder, what was the point of spending so much money to marry off a daughter? Even to the extent of disregarding his son's future?
The second page of the letter provided the answer—
Emile, who is about to become your brother-in-law, has obtained an opportunity to invest in Panama Interoceanic Canal Global Corporation. He has promised us that a large part of the dowry, as well as the family's savings, will be used to purchase shares and bonds in this promising company.
Once the Panama Canal is successfully excavated (estimated to take only 5 years), these investments will grow like a snowball on the Alps, allowing our family to completely escape our current fate...
You also don't need to worry about your future after dropping out of school. Emile has already promised to find you a position at Orby Trading Company's branch in Provence. Your monthly income will be at least 260 francs, plus an annual bonus.
Come back, dear Lionel. Even if you graduate from Sorbonne, what then? The job market is terrible now, and you're studying literature...that stuff only adds icing to the cake in good times...
At the end of the letter were 20 francs in banknotes and a train ticket to return to the Alps two weeks later.
Lionel held the letter and fell into deep thought—he certainly knew about the Panama Canal. Before his rebirth, he had just experienced the farce of the Li family selling the port, and the core of it was this canal.
However, he was not very clear about the history of the canal's excavation and whether it was successfully excavated by the French.
If this so-called Panama Interoceanic Canal Global Corporation truly existed and indeed excavated the canal within 5 years, then this investment could indeed be said to be highly profitable.
However, as a socialist youth who had anti-fraud apps installed on his phone, he didn't believe that pie would actually fall from the sky.
Moreover, what fell was a living person, young and wealthy, who could not only lead the whole family to prosperity but also solve his own brother-in-law's employment problem.
Based on his memories of the original owner, that "sister" was just ordinary-looking, with many freckles on her face—if he had to compare, she was even less handsome than her brother.
No matter how he thought about it, this was a pig butchering scam!
But judging from the enthusiasm, joy, and longing overflowing in the letter, it seemed the whole family was already convinced, and he didn't know what kind of hypnotic potion this "Emile" had given them.
Lionel clutched the 20 francs and the train ticket, lost in thought.
Dropping out of school was impossible, and leaving Paris to return to the Alps was even more impossible, especially since he had just met Maupassant.
Once this swindler, "Emile," succeeded and disappeared, the entire Sorel family would face utter disaster...
He hurriedly pulled a piece of paper from his desk, dipped his quill pen in ink, and began to write a reply:
Dear Father, Mother, and Sister:
I am very happy to hear this news...
He knew that trying to dissuade his family by directly saying that "Emile" was a swindler would clearly be a bad strategy. His family would only think he had "gone wild," "become disobedient," or "didn't care about the family's fate." So he could only subtly remind his family to investigate the man's background thoroughly.
At the same time, he was also contemplating ways to earn money, as the possibility of getting tuition and living expenses from his family in the future was already very slim.