There are many differences between the romantic city of Paris and other cities.
Especially after 1848 and the baptism of industrialization, the originally narrow and dirty old city was demolished to pieces, and new apartment buildings, factories and other infrastructure gradually changed people's view of Paris.
In fact, you don’t even need to go to the streets. Just stay at the train station for a while and you will feel a completely different atmosphere.
On the train from Berlin to Paris, Li Ben knew this very well when he had to take the first-class cabin. Even though the train he booked is not considered a luxury train, he can still feel the difference of this romantic city from the flow of passengers.
There is a kind of nobility and elegance everywhere here that has been carefully polished by various educations. The chats between men and women make people feel like they are in a dream, and the first class cabin he is in is even more crowded with these beautiful people.
When he handed the suitcase to the train station platform attendant, enjoying the envious looks from others, he realized how correct his choice was.
The 3 francs were well spent.
The fragrance of Paris perfume, the tobacco smell of yam flakes and sugar flakes, and the special smell of tar, spikenard and coconut oil. Li Ben finally had the real feeling of escaping danger and embracing a better life again.
Listening to the roaring whistle, the atmosphere was heightened to its peak.
He couldn't help but take out the half-cut cigar he used to fill his face from his pocket, and asked the platform attendant to light it and take two deep puffs, enjoying the feeling of being freed from restraints.
Unfortunately, after a while, a slight sting in his throat pulled Li Ben back from his fantasy. After calming down, this liar who often wandered at the bottom of society still discovered the nature of this city that could never be changed.
In the distance, there are drunkards huddled in the corner of the waiting hall, closer to them are vendors snatching business from each other on the platform and yelling at each other, and even closer to here are pickpockets who are constantly looking for targets among the crowd...
There is not only a pungent aroma, but also flies flying in the garbage, maggots climbing and squirming, and some unspeakable evil things. "Dirty" never disappears, it just disappears from the surface into the darkness.
The world is still the same world, it just needs to change the perspective of observation.
Li Ben likes this feeling very much. This is the place that is conducive to his life. And in his opinion, he was really safe now, because he really couldn't imagine Mick leaving domestic work to look for him all over Europe just to have a personal grudge.
Li Ben touched his pocket. His originally bulging wallet was a little deflated. This train ticket was indeed not cheap.
"You still have to make money." He took a puff of his cigar, looked at the ashes and shook his head, "You have to have a good meal first, and then feel comfortable... Yes, you must feel comfortable after holding it in for so long in Berlin. !
! "
When he thought about this, the girl who turned him into a bloody man appeared in his mind unconsciously.
Li Ben unconsciously bent over and touched his unconscious left leg. Inconvenience in walking and phantom limb pain seriously deviated his life trajectory and deprived him of all the joy of life.
"Mr. Li Ben~"
"Miss Ashley." Li Ben came forward with a cane.
"Your legs and feet are not convenient. Would you like to call a carriage for you?"
The girl was luxuriously dressed and well-spoken. She looked like she was no ordinary person, but she had no defense against the disguised liar in front of her. Li Ben was not in a hurry, and was still paving the way for his character: "It's okay, the waiter has already called the carriage for me."
"Then... why don't we have dinner together?"
Have a meal? !
Eating is a good idea, and it was the other party who suggested it first. As long as you know the right proportions, you might even be able to improve your relationship. It's like a big fish coming to your door.
The only pity is that it will be a little painful when you pay the final bill, which may cost several hundred francs for a meal. But then I thought about it, this kind of expenditure is also an important investment in the early stage. It has to be spent sooner or later. As long as nothing happens, it will be paid back soon.
Just when he was about to agree, the girl's last words forced him to retreat: "It just so happens that my father will also be here. He used to be a soldier, and he will definitely be willing to get to know you."
"This... As a gentleman, I really shouldn't refuse your invitation... But, I'm really sorry, Miss Ashley, I have an appointment with my friend and we will meet before five o'clock. Li Ben looked apologetic, "I'm really sorry, let's do it next time."
"So that's it, okay then."
Looking at the girl's retreating figure, Li Ben exclaimed that it was a pity, but there was no other way. Anyway, I have found out the other party's name, net worth and address. As long as I establish a foothold here in the future, I can see her anytime and anywhere.
At this moment, a newsboy suddenly appeared in front of him, with an exaggerated satchel full of newspapers: "Sir, do you want a newspaper? There are Le Figaro, Le Progress, Le Française, and..."
Li Ben asked in stiff French: "How much?"
"10 centimes. (100 centimes = 1 franc)"
"Okay, let me see."
Li Ben bent down and rummaged through his satchel filled with newspapers for a while. When he was hesitating, he suddenly saw a familiar name. This was not because of how sharp his eyes were, but because the newspapers all reported on this man invariably.
He didn't believe it at first, so he took out a copy of Le Figaro and looked at a piece of news in the corner of the headlines. Then he realized that his intuition was right: "It's really him...Why is he also in Paris?" "【1】
】
The newsboy coughed slightly and asked cautiously: "Sir, if you are satisfied with Le Figaro, can you pay first, which is only 10 centimes."
If in normal times, these 10 centimes were not much money, Li Ben would definitely give it to him. But now that he has just come out of Mick's shadow, he accidentally bumps into an old acquaintance again. The key is that the other person has a very close relationship with Mick, and his mood suddenly becomes complicated.
A sudden remark would only upset him: "I want to see something else."
Li Ben smiled and stuffed the newspaper back into the newsboy's bag, and changed it to a copy of the Progress News: "I'm new here. I don't know which newspaper is suitable for me. Let me take a look at it twice and buy it after confirmation." [2 】
This is not the first time that a newsboy has encountered this kind of thing. People who can make a "see first before buying" move may be prepared to have sex for free from the beginning.
The child still kept a smile on his face, but his brows were already furrowed: "(I've almost finished reading it for you!) This... Sir, it's only 10 centimes."
The words were not loud and were quickly swallowed up by the noisy environment around him, but Li Ben heard them clearly. In an instant, he changed his mind and kept the coin he was about to take out after convincing himself in his pocket: "I have to read the Times again." [3]
"gentlemen......"
"Don't show it? Forget it if you don't show it."
The newsboy was very aggrieved: "Where can I buy newspapers first and then buy them?"
Li Ben chuckled, threw down the newspaper, and limped toward the train station exit with crutches. The newsboy was left alone and disheveled in the autumn wind.
At this time, the waiter who just ran out to help him find the carriage glanced at the newsboy who silently picked up the newspaper in the distance and asked: "Mr. Li Ben, why did you come out on your own?"
"I'm just annoyed by a little kid." Li Ben sighed and asked, "Have you called the carriage?"
"Yes, the luggage has been carried up for you too.'
"good."
Li Ben followed him all the way to the carriage, and finally took out the cigar that had just been extinguished from his mouth. Looking at the bustling crowd outside the window, he always felt at ease in the carriage.
"Sir, where are you going?"
"Let's go eat first." Li Ben took out the key and poked the ash off the cigar, then found a corner to stub it out, and then neatly put it back in his pocket, "Find a high-end restaurant, I'm hungry ”
"OK."
"By the way, what restaurants are there around Pigalle?"
Li Ben’s French was very difficult to speak, but the coachman immediately understood what he meant when he heard “Pigalle”: “Haha, it turns out you want to go have a good time. Don’t worry, I know that place well, and I will definitely make arrangements for you! "
...
The so-called romance has many meanings, and so does Paris, the romantic capital.
Romance here can be about finding vigorous love, or it can be about fighting against fate and finally realizing lofty ideals. But for most people, especially the upper class, romance means romance in a broad sense. A person with high EQ means romantic and indulgent, while a person with low EQ means...
While Li Ben was working hard for what he considered to be "romantic", a luxury special train had left Vienna, passed through Linz and Salzburg, and was heading for Innsbruck, the southwestern city of the Austrian Empire.
"We expect to arrive in Zurich tonight." The train conductor said to Edward. "If nothing else happens, we will arrive in Paris tomorrow afternoon."
Edward drank coffee and took a pamphlet from the train conductor. Looking at the artistic text on it, he was a little surprised: "I haven't been back for many years, have you already come up with something like this?"
"Originally, it was secretly used by the British. I heard that Dr. Kawei understands English and rarely goes to Paris, so..." The train conductor looked at Kawei again and said with a smile, "But Kawei Dr. Wei is so young and good-looking. If this really happens, who might get the advantage?"
"I don't need these things."
Kawei buried his head in writing his operation records and the items that needed to be paid attention to after the operation. He waved his hand at the booklet he was given and said, "Mr. Edward should use it himself."
Edward took the book back, flipped through a few pages, and returned it after humming twice: "This is my hometown after all, so I don't need this thing."
"Indeed, I'm afraid Mr. Edward is already familiar with the road." Kawei complained, and before he could reply, he asked the conductor, "The next stop is Innsbruck. I need to send this thing back to Vienna. .”
"telegraph?"
"Yes, telegram." Kawei signed his name on the note, then tore it off and handed it to him. "Then ask the telegraph station if there is any news from Vienna." [4]
"I see."
"Dr. Kawei is really dedicated. The operation was obviously successful." Edward had to admire the young man in front of him. "And you yourself said that Mr. Edem was in good condition after the operation. You can't tell that he has gone through a lot of pain." Major surgery.”
"Some things are useless just looking at them." Kawei dipped in the last bit of ink and wrote two sentences at the end, "Many diseases and complications are developing under our noses, and we don't give doctors any chance when they break out. .”
Edward didn't understand, but he couldn't stop nodding his head: "Leaving aside technical and theoretical knowledge, you must be the hardest working and most attentive doctor I have ever seen."
"I treat surgery with the same attitude as a work of art. Of course I have to be attentive." Kawei took a sip of coffee. "I don't think there is any painter in the world who would like others to mess around with his paintings, including the brush." itself."
Edward didn't know what to say after hearing this, so he could only use dinner to change the subject: "It's almost time, let Alphonse take action."
"I don't have any objection, but I still want to remind Mr. Ambassador that we have just finished lunch."
"Don't worry, a famous chef like Alphonse can sometimes be very strong in cooking, but he will carefully pay attention to the appetite of the guests." Edward drew a few circles on the menu carefully prepared by Alphonse: "I will If you want these, the rest is up to Mr. Carvey to choose."
"I still have some for lunch, it's pretty good."
"Don't you want a change of taste?"
"No, I don't have such high requirements for food." Kawei suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, Mr. Ambassador, I need the address of my residence in Paris and the specific itinerary for the next month."
"The residence is at the Regis Hotel. The address...I don't know the specific address. It should be between Avenue Montaigne and the Champs Elysées."
Edward was a little confused: "Why would His Majesty Franz do this? The French can completely guarantee your safety. Besides, Paris is the safest place in France. There is no need to worry about this at all."
"How do I know?"
Kawei replied coldly and wrote what he just said on the note: "Where's the itinerary? No need to specify the specific time, just the place I need to go."
"First I went to the Royal Academy of Medicine, then to the University of Paris, then to the Surgical Association, the Sabot Hospital, the Hôpital du Dieu, the Grande Hospital, the Royal Institute of Medicine..." Edward clapped his fingers and said, " I only remember these, the rest will have to wait until I get to Paris."
"Okay, I think these places are enough for him to make arrangements."
After quickly writing these place names, Kawei tore off the note, turned around and waved to the waiter on the side: "Please give this piece of paper to a passenger in the fourth carriage."
The waiter took the note and nodded: "What is the other person's name?"
"My name is Mick. He is wearing a clean black coat." Kawei reluctantly said the man's name. "When you find him, tell him that I gave it to him. Don't say anything else."
"understood"
