Chapter 2 Chapter Two Two Classmate Friends

The doctor's son, Octave Sarrazan, was not what one might call a slacker.He was neither stupid nor particularly intelligent, neither beautiful nor ugly, neither tall nor short, with chestnut hair, neither brown nor blond, in short, of the same sort.In middle school, he usually won a second prize and two or three ordinary prizes.In the middle school examination, his result was a pass.When I applied for the Central Polytechnic School for the first time, I was not admitted. When I re-examined the next year, I was admitted as the 126th.He is indecisive and indecisive, he does not seek to make progress, he is always just about enough, and he will not make great achievements in his life.For a person like him, the fate is in the hands of the god of destiny, just like a cork on the top of a wave, let it go south and north, east and west with the change of the wind direction.Their life career is determined by chance.If Dr. Sarrazan had had no illusions about his son's character, he would have hesitated before writing him the well-known letter.However, the best people will be blinded by the relationship between father and son, which is also reasonable.

With the help of luck, Octave met at the beginning of school a stubborn man whose somewhat authoritarian but salutary influence forced him to change.Octave's father sent him to finish high school at the Lycée Charlemagne, and he formed a close friendship with one of his schoolmates.The classmate was from Alsace, Marcel Bruckmann, one year younger than Octave, but he quickly made Octave feel the pressure in terms of physical strength, intelligence and energy. Orphaned at the age of twelve, Marcel Brickmann inherited a small annuity, just enough to cover his education.If Octave had not taken him to his parents' house during the school holidays, he would never have walked out of the school gate.

From then on, Dr. Sarazan's home soon became the home of this young Alsatian.In spite of his aloof exterior, he was a man of deep affection, and he knew that his life would belong to these two upright men who treated him like parents.So it was quite natural for him to respect Dr. Sarrazan and his wife and the lovely but serious little girl who had opened her heart to him.However, he expressed his gratitude to them with actions rather than words.Indeed, he took it upon himself to take on the delightful task of helping Jean-Nario Octave.Jeanne likes to learn, and he wants to help her become a girl with a sense of justice, perseverance, and knowledge. At the same time, he wants to help Octave become a son worthy of his father.As for the latter task, we must tell the truth that it was not as easy for the Alsace youth to do it as helping Jeanna. Although Jeanne was young, she was better than her brother.Marcel, however, was determined to do double duty.

This is because Marcel Brickmann is a champion with courage and strategy, and Alsace routinely sends such people to participate in major sports competitions in Paris every year.As a child, he was distinguished by his physical strength, lightness, and intelligence.He is strong-willed and fearless at heart, as sharp-edged as his exterior.When he was in middle school, he was distressed because he was so strong. He wanted to be the first in everything, whether it was the parallel bars or playing ball, whether it was in gymnastics class or in the chemistry laboratory.If one of the exams is over and one fails to win a prize, he thinks the year has been wasted.At the age of twenty, he was already a tall, burly, straight young man, full of vigor and vigor, like a machine running at full speed and crazily.His bright head has been favored by discerning people.He entered the Central Polytechnic School in the same year as Octave, and he was determined to graduate first and go out of school.

Octave was able to admit, but also because of Marcel's persistent energy and his double vigorous fighting spirit.In the year before the exam, Marcel forced him to work hard and urged him to study, and finally his hard work paid off.For Octave, who was weak and indecisive by nature, he showed a kind of pity for Octave, like a lion for a puppy.He is happy to use his excess energy to nourish this tender seedling and let him blossom and bear fruit by his side. In 1870, two classmates and friends were taking an exam. Suddenly, the Franco-Prussian War broke out.On the second day after the exam, Marcel, who was deeply worried about his country, was anxious because of the urgent situation in Strasbourg and Alsace, so he joined the army and joined the 30th Light Infantry Battalion.Octave immediately followed suit with his fellow students.

They fought side by side, taking part in the grueling battle against the siege at the outpost of Paris.Marcel was shot in Champigny's right arm but carried the epaulet on Bizenval's shoulder.Octave was neither promoted nor injured.To be honest, he couldn't be blamed for this, because in the battle, he was always behind his friend, at most the distance was less than six meters, but these six meters decided everything. After the war ended and work returned to normal, the two university students lived together, in two adjacent rooms in a small hotel near the school.The misfortune of France, the cession of Arsal and Lorraine, had brought Marcel's character into the maturity of a man.

It is the job of French youth to make up for the mistakes of their parents. He said that this important task can only be accomplished with hard work. He got up at five o'clock and forced Octave to do the same.Then, he dragged him to the classroom, and after class, he didn't leave him a single step.When I came back, I was busy studying. At most, I would smoke a pipe, drink a cup of coffee, and take a break from time to time.Go to bed at ten o'clock in the evening, not full of joy, but contented and full of mind.From time to time, they go to play a game of billiards, watch a good show, occasionally go to the concert hall to listen to concerts, or go horseback riding in the forest of Verrières, or take a walk in the forest, and go to boxing or fencing twice a week. , This is their way of leisure.Octave sometimes showed a marked disinterest in these pastimes, and coveted some unflattering entertainment.He often proposed to see Aristide Leroux, who was studying law at the bar of Saint-Michel, but Marcel sneered at such crazy ideas, so he was often dismissed.

On October 29, 1871, around seven o'clock in the evening, two good friends sat side by side at a desk as usual, doing their own work by a shared lamp.Marcel devoted himself to an interesting descriptive geometry problem for cutting stones.Octave is brewing coffee with care and attention. Unfortunately, he thinks that's more important than anything else.It was one of the few talents he could boast of being superior to others, and perhaps he thought that each day would provide him with an opportunity to escape for a while from the dreaded drudgery of solving equations.He felt that Marcel was preoccupied with solving those equations a little too much.He let the boiling water filter drop by drop through a thick layer of Arabic fine muha coffee, and this leisurely self-satisfaction probably satisfied him.However, Marcel's painstaking research made him feel guilty, so he couldn't help wanting to chat with him and disturb him.

We'd better get a big coffee pot, he said abruptly, an old stupid filter that's out of modern civilization. Then buy a big coffee pot!That might save you from having to waste an hour every night tinkering with this, and then Marcel goes back to solving his equations. An arch has an ellipse with three unequal axes as a soffit.Assume that the largest axis OA∥a of the original ellipse ABCD, the medium axis OB∥6, and the minor axis (O, O'C') are vertical and equal to C, then this arch becomes an oblate arch At this time, someone was knocking on the door. There is a letter from Monsieur Octave Sarazan, said the hotel servant.As you can imagine, this good distraction was a big hit with the young college student.

It was from my father, said Octave, whose handwriting I recognized. It was at least a letter from home, he added, weighing the thick letter lightly. Marcel knew, as he did, that Dr. Sarrazan was in England.A week before, when he was passing through Paris, he had treated them both to a good dinner at the Palais Royal.This restaurant, famous in the past, is outdated today, but Dr. Sarazan still regards it as the best hotel in Paris. If your father talks to you about the Sanitary Assembly, tell me, said Marcel.He was right to go there.French scholars have always been too reclusive.After Marcel finished speaking, he immersed himself in solving the problem: the outer arc is composed of a semi-ellipse similar to the previous one whose center is below O' and on the vertical line O.After marking the intersection of the three main ellipses, after F1, F2, and F3, draw auxiliary ellipses and hyperbolas whose common axis

Octave gave a cry, and Marcel immediately looked up. What's up?he asked, seeing Octave's pale face. look by youself!Octave said he was stunned by what he had just learned. Marcel took the letter, read it from beginning to end, then read it again, glanced at the printed materials enclosed with the letter and said: What a strange thing! Then he filled the pipe and lit it meticulously.Octave was waiting to hear his opinion. Do you think this is true?He shouted at Marcel in a choked voice. Is it real?Obviously true.Your father is a very rational and scientific man, and it's not true, he doesn't believe it so easily.Besides, the evidence is all here, and in fact it couldn't be more clear. The pipe was fully lit, and Marcel resumed his work.Octave stayed there flailing his arms, not bothering to finish his coffee, let alone concentrate his thoughts on a problem.However, he needed to talk to be sure that he was not dreaming. But if this is true, it is really earth-shattering!Did you know that 500 million is a huge fortune? Marcel looked up and said approvingly: Huge indeed.There may not be another one in France, and there are only a few people who are so rich in the United States, and there are only five or six in the United States, and the whole world adds up to fifteen or twenty. In addition, there is a title of nobility!A baronial title, said Octave again!I have never dreamed of getting a noble title, but since I sent it to my door by myself, it is still very beautiful, much better than just being called Sarrazan. Marcel puffed on his cigarette, but said nothing.The voice of puffing out smoke said it very clearly: Bah!Pooh! Of course, continued Octave, I never wanted to add a noble word to my name, as many people do, or to boast of being a pompous marquis of some kind!But it is also a beautiful thing to have a real and proper title of nobility, officially recorded in the American and Irish peerage books, without the slightest doubt or ambiguity, as it is often seen Marcel's pipe is always whistling!Pooh!the sound of. My dear, it is useless for you to do so, Octave continued confidently, as the Americans say: blood is something! He stopped talking when he saw Marcel's mocking eyes, and brought the topic back to the huge wealth. Do you remember?He went on to say that our math teacher, Benome, has to talk about numbers in the first class every year. Five hundred million is a very, very large number. Without the help of charts, human intelligence cannot understand it. If you have a correct concept, if you think about it, if a person spends one franc per minute, it will take more than a thousand years to spend the money!ah!It is really a strange thing to be the heir to a huge sum of 500 million francs! Five hundred million francs!exclaimed Marcel, shocked by the figure rather than by the event itself.Do you know how to use it better?Donate it to France to pay reparations!The compensation amount is ten times higher than this! Don't give my father such a bad idea!cried Octave, frightened.He would really do that!I can already see that he is planning something in his own way!Even if it is deposited in the country, we must at least keep the interest! Come on, you're born a capitalist, you just haven't figured it out until today!Marcel Interface said.My poor Octave, I have always had the feeling that this sum of money was nothing to your father, who was a man of integrity and reason, and that this enormous sum, if it was much smaller, was nothing to you. better.If you shared twenty-five thousand livres with your honest little sister. ]'s annuity, instead of this golden mountain, I would be happier!After speaking, he started to do the questions again. As for Octave, he was incapable of doing anything, and he was so troubled about the room that his friend, a little impatient, finally said to him: You had better go outside for some air!It's clear you can't do anything tonight! You are right, and Octave, who was expecting that word from him, so as to do nothing, replied very cheerfully.He snatched up his hat and ran down the stairs into the street in three strides.He had not gone ten paces before he stopped by a gas lamp and hastily read his father's letter again.He needed to reassure himself that he was fully awake. Five hundred million!Five hundred million!he repeated.This can have an annuity of at least 25 million!Even if my father gives me a million dollars a year for board and lodging, even if he only gives me half a million, two hundred and fifty thousand, I will still be very happy!There are many things you can do with money!I'm sure I'll spend the money well!I'm not an idiot, am I?After all, I was admitted to the Central Polytechnic School!And I have a title of nobility!I will cherish this title! He passed a store and examined it in the store's mirror. I'll have a house and some horses!One of them belonged to Marcel.Now that I am rich, it is obvious that he is also rich.This thing can come at just the right time!Five hundred million!Baronship!It's so weird that now that it's come true, I feel like I've been waiting for this day!I always have this hunch that I won't be so busy dealing with books and drawing boards all the time!Anyway, it was a wonderful dream! Octave walked along the arcades of the Rue de Rivoli while he was working on these thoughts.He came to the Champs Elysees Avenue, rounded the corner of Wangjia Road, and arrived at Chengji Avenue.In the past, he just casually glanced at the beautiful decorations in the window, thinking that in his life, these are useless things that do not occupy any place.But now, he stopped to watch, thinking with joy, all these treasures, as long as he is willing, will belong to him. All for me, he thought, for me the spinners of Holland spin their spindles, for me the mills of Elbeuf weave the softest cloths, for me clockmakers make fine clocks, For me the chandeliers of the opera are shining, the violins are playing for me, the divas are singing for me!People are training good horses in the stud field for me, and the English Cafe is brightly lit for me!Paris belongs to me!All belong to me!Am I not going to travel?Shall I not go to India and visit my barony?One day I may well buy a pagoda, complete with monks and ivory Buddha statues!I will also have some elephants!I'm going to hunt tigers!Also buy some beautiful weapons!and beautiful boat!boat?don't want!Want a beautiful, well-equipped steam yacht, go where you want, stop when you want, and go when you want!Speaking of yachts, by the way, I have to break the news to my mother.I have to go to Douai!But school!oh!And school!You can leave it alone!But Marcel!He must be notified.I will send him a telegram.He will understand that in this case, I am anxious to see my mother and sister! Octave went into a telegraph office and telegraphed to his friend that he was going to Douai and would be back in two days.Then, he called a carriage and came to the North Railway Station. As soon as he boarded the train, he began to weave his sweet dreams again.At two o'clock in the morning Octave was at the door of the house, knocking desperately and ringing the bell.The doorbell rang in the middle of the night, disturbing the quiet Auberge district. Who is sick?Households opened their windows and women were asking each other. The doctor is not at home!shouted the old maid from the top window. It is I, Octave!Come down and open the door for me, Francine! After waiting ten minutes, Octave finally entered the house.His mother and his sister came running downstairs in their pajamas, and he didn't know why he came home so late. He read his father's letter aloud, and the doubts disappeared. Mrs. Sarazan was stunned for a moment.Then, she was so happy that she shed tears, and embraced a pair of children in her arms.She felt that the whole world would soon belong to them. The two young men with hundreds of millions of fortunes would not dare to mess with them in any misfortune.Women, however, are always more adapted than men to these great changes of fortune.Mrs. Sarrazan read her husband's letter again, and thought that his fate, and the fate of the two children after all, was for him to decide, and her heart was calmed.As for Jeanne, she was happy to see her mother and brother happy, and she was happy too.She is only thirteen years old, living in this simple and ordinary family, under the guidance of teachers and the love of her parents, she already feels happy and sweet, and she can't imagine any greater happiness.She couldn't see how much a few bundles of bank notes could make a difference in her life, so the incident didn't stir her emotions at all. Mrs. Sarazan married a natural scholar man who devoted herself to scientific research when she was very young. She respected her husband's love of science and loved her husband deeply, although she didn't understand him very well. .Because she couldn't share the happiness her husband gained from scientific research, she sometimes felt a little lonely beside this tenacious scientific research worker, so she focused all her hopes on her two children.She had been dreaming of a bright and splendid future for their brother and sister, imagining that they were extremely happy.She was not worried about Octave, who was sure of his success.Since he was admitted to the Central Polytechnic School, in her mind, this humble but useful school for young engineers has become a cradle of celebrities.Her only worry is that their poor family background will be an obstacle to her son's bright future, at least it will cause some difficulties, and it will affect her daughter's lifelong affairs in the future.Now, what she understands about her husband's letter is that these worries of hers will no longer exist in the future.Therefore, she felt very satisfied. The mother and son spent most of the night chatting and planning, while Jeanne, who was very satisfied with the status quo, had no worries about the future, and fell asleep in the armchair early. When they were going to rest for a while, Lady Sarazan asked her son: You haven't mentioned Marcel to me yet.Did you tell your father what his letter said?What did he say? oh!Octave answered, You know Marcel!He is not only an upright gentleman, he is simply an extraordinary person!I think he's terrified of us with such a large inheritance!I mean he was just for us not for my father, he said he was clear headed, very reasonable and he wasn't worried about him.But, hell!To me, and to you, mother, and Jeanne, and especially to me, he told me bluntly that he would rather have a small inheritance, an annuity of two thousand five hundred livres. Maybe Marcel was right, Mrs. Sarazan looked at her son and replied that a sudden fortune may be a disaster for some people! Jeanne has just woken up.She heard her mother's last words. You know, mother, she said, rubbing her eyes and going to her little room, you know what you told me the other day?You say Marcel is always right.And I, I believe everything our friend Marcel says. Then, she kissed her mother and withdrew.