Make France Great Again-Chapter 801 - 792: Class (Part 2)

"Trouble!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded and replied to the elderly woman.

"No need to be polite, sir!" The elderly woman, with a kindly smile on her wrinkled face, then asked Jerome Bonaparte if he would like to add some sugar or milk.

"Add some sugar! Not too sweet!" Jerome Bonaparte replied to the elderly woman with a smile.

After a while, the elderly woman respectfully handed a cup of coffee to Jerome Bonaparte, softly advising, "Sir, please wait a moment before drinking it!"

Jerome Bonaparte acknowledged with a "hmm" and then began to discuss Marguerite with the elderly woman.

The elderly woman told Jerome Bonaparte that Marguerite had met a prince from the Kingdom of Belgium a few days ago, and the two were rapidly developing their relationship.

"However, from what I’ve observed, it seems that Miss Marguerite doesn’t really like that prince! It appears that she communicated with him under certain pressures!" the elderly woman said to Jerome Bonaparte, and then secretly glanced at Jerome Bonaparte from the corner of her eye.

Jerome Bonaparte’s face showed a hint of shame, knowing that Marguerite’s relationship with Leopold was entirely due to his own despicable manipulation of France’s grand principles to force her.

"Nevertheless, that prince was very generous! He paid our miss a significant amount of money!" the elderly woman continued to respond to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Isn’t that akin to... being kept!" Jerome Bonaparte realized that saying "solicitation" was inappropriate, so he quickly corrected himself.

"Sir, in Paris, being kept is considered fortunate!" the elderly woman replied to Jerome Bonaparte in a knowing tone, "Many people, even if they want to be kept, don’t have the opportunity! Like our upstairs residents, they dream of being kept!"

"The upstairs residents?" Jerome Bonaparte’s expression froze, and he immediately asked the elderly woman about the residents two floors up.

The elderly woman pointed to the ceiling above her head and replied to Jerome Bonaparte: "Our next floor is mostly occupied by floating interns and junior accountants in Paris, and some dancers with beautiful dreams and students from the Outer Province!

They all yearn for the chance to rise to prominence, dancers hope to be recognized by dignitaries and become respected noblewomen overnight.

Students from the Outer Province hope to enter high society through the study of law.

Indeed, in our country, law is one of the shortcuts to high society. (The fastest route is journalism)

However, I bet the success of each one of them is very slim!

Paris is a city full of dreams and hope, yet also one brimming with sadness and despair.

I have lived in Paris for almost 30 years and have never seen anyone truly take flight!

The vast majority of dancers will muddle through their youth; the luckier ones will save enough for their dowry and leave Paris, returning to marry an honest person. The less fortunate ones will succumb to illness.

And those aspiring future lawyers will live out their lives through one lawsuit after another..."

Jerome Bonaparte quietly listened to the elderly woman’s speech and then responded: "Old lady, isn’t that a bit too pessimistic on your part?"

"Pessimistic?" The elderly woman smiled slightly and said to Jerome Bonaparte: "Sir, I guess you’re an aristocrat with a notable background!"

"Hmm? What makes you say that!" Jerome Bonaparte asked the elderly woman.

"These eyes of mine haven’t aged like my body!" The elderly woman pointed confidently to her own eyes and replied to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Well, you could say that!" Jerome Bonaparte ambiguously responded to the elderly woman, "But what does that have to do with what I just said!"

"Sir, because you are an aristocrat, the education and path you received from birth were quite different from those people upstairs, one could say that from birth you were destined to stand at a height that some people can’t reach in a lifetime!

Therefore, the information you receive varies greatly from theirs!

Pardon an old woman’s frankness, but we in the eyes of aristocrats of your level might just be a series of numbers!" the elderly woman replied to Jerome Bonaparte.

Indeed, when the secretariat recently presented the disaster situation in various provinces (the floods in August and September) before Jerome Bonaparte, upon seeing the number of deaths, Jerome Bonaparte was relieved that fewer than a thousand had died.

Considering more deeply, it was truly terrifying how hundreds of vibrant lives were swept away by sudden floods.

Each of these people affected their family’s harmony, and the disappearance of hundreds means at least one to two thousand people grieving.

Yet the fluctuations caused by these numbers at that time did not hit Jerome Bonaparte as hard as witnessing soldier deaths in person on the Crimea Peninsula.

"You are right!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded and acknowledged the old woman’s words.

"What you see are just rows of numbers, while we can feel it all!" the old woman responded to Jerome Bonaparte, "Sir, it’s not that I’m pessimistic, but we live in a pessimistic world!"

With that, the old woman bowed to Jerome Bonaparte and said, "I was being a bit talkative just now, please forgive me!"

"Madam, you spoke very well!" Jerome Bonaparte replied kindly to the old woman and then continued to ask, "By the way, you haven’t said what the top two floors are!"

"The top two floors, ah!" the old woman sighed and replied to Jerome Bonaparte, "If the floor below still holds some hope of staying in Paris, then the top two floors have absolutely no hope at all!

The fifth floor houses female workers from a nearby textile factory, and the sixth floor houses construction workers working nearby! They usually squeeze five or six people into a small room, and because they don’t need anyone to serve them, the monthly rent is very low.

(Landlords in Paris often act as both servants and waitstaff, and without anyone serving them, the rent is particularly cheap. The ’Old Gao’ is a typical example.)

Every day they are among the first to leave in the morning and the last to return at night as well!"

"That’s really hardworking!" Jerome Bonaparte remarked.

"Hardworking? What’s the use of being hardworking! If hard work could lead to wealth, then they would be the richest people in the world!

Unfortunately, they get up early and stay up late every day to earn only about 3-5 francs. (Each worker earns about 1600 francs annually, while female workers earn 80% of that, which is 1200 francs.)

Their annual salary isn’t even enough to cover Miss Marguerite’s monthly expenses!" The old woman lamented the fate of the top two floors, "To be honest, sir, I once had certain prejudices against those people, thinking their existence was a blemish on Paris!

But as I interacted with them more, I realized they are just like us, with similar dreams!

Our city cannot do without them, yet many people in our city still see them as a blemish on Paris, wanting to drive them out completely!"

"Ah!" Jerome Bonaparte sighed and said to the old woman, "People can never fully understand each other!"

Then, Jerome Bonaparte casually asked the old woman for her opinion on the Empire.

In his view, the old woman should be one of those discontent with the Empire’s rule.

"To be honest, I am quite satisfied with the Emperor’s rule!" The old woman’s response was beyond Jerome Bonaparte’s expectations.

"Why?" Jerome Bonaparte asked curiously.

"Sir, I have experienced the Bourbon Dynasty (this refers to both generations of the Bourbons, which to ordinary people, seemed no different from each other), and their wages were nearly 20% lower compared to now, while the cost of living was even higher than now!

So, if I had to choose from three, I would rather choose the current Empire!"

"What about the Republic?" Jerome Bonaparte asked the old woman again.

"The Republic? Are you referring to the regime that couldn’t even regulate prices effectively?" the old woman answered Jerome Bonaparte in a disdainful tone, "Sir, forgive my bluntness, no regime was worse than that one!"

While Jerome Bonaparte was talking with the old woman, there was a knock at the door.

"This time it should be Miss Marguerite!" the old woman said to Jerome Bonaparte, then got up to open the door.

When the old woman opened the door, Marguerite happened to be standing at the doorstep.

"Miss, the guest is already here!" the old woman said to Marguerite.

"Guest!" Marguerite hesitated for a few seconds, then looked behind the old woman. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Jerome Bonaparte stood up, pointed at his wig and fake beard as if signaling to Marguerite, and Marguerite quickly understood and nodded, "That’s right!"

Then Marguerite entered the room, and Jerome Bonaparte hurriedly shook hands with Marguerite and took the initiative to speak, "Miss Marguerite, do you remember me! I am Jerome Patterson!"

"Mr. Patterson, I of course remember you!" Marguerite replied to Jerome Bonaparte accordingly.

Next, Jerome Bonaparte gave the prepared birthday gift to Marguerite and personally put it on for her.

Afterwards, Jerome Bonaparte and Marguerite enjoyed a sumptuous lunch together, which also fulfilled Marguerite’s wish.