beautiful friend

Chapter 6

"Come with me, I will take you to see the boss now, otherwise you will have to wait until seven o'clock in the evening."

They passed the drawing-room, where those who had been waiting were still sitting motionless.As soon as Forestier appeared, the young lady and the old woman, who looked like a past actress, got up and went towards him.

Forestier led them to the window, and although they spoke in as low a voice as possible, Duroy heard them addressing each other with "you."

Then Forestier and Duroy went through two upholstered doors to the manager's office.

After Duroy entered the door, he found out that the meeting, which lasted for more than an hour, turned out to be just the manager and some gentlemen in flat caps playing cards.Some of them Duroy had seen at Forestier's the night before.

Mr. Walter held the cards and played them with concentration and skill.His opponents were not bad either, they played cards and played cards skillfully, and they played the colorful thin paper pieces with ease.Noble de Valen sat on the manager's chair and buried himself in writing, while Jacques Rival was lying on the sofa with his eyes closed, smoking a cigar.

The door of the room was closed all the time, and the air inside was turbid, mixed with the smell of leather from some furniture, the smell of aged tobacco, and the smell of printing ink.We can smell it in the newsrooms of all newspapers.

On a copper-inlaid mahogany table, there is a haphazard stack of various papers and printed matter: letters, postcards, newspapers, magazines, supplier invoices.

Forestier shook hands with the gentlemen standing behind the players, and stood beside them, looking at the cards without saying a word.After the old man Walter won the next game, he took the opportunity to say:
"My friend Duroy is here."

The manager's eyes suddenly shot over from above the lens, looked at the young man, and then said:

"Did you bring the article I want? The discussion on Morel's suspicion has already begun. If this article can be published in the newspaper today, the effect must be extraordinary."

Duroy took out some papers folded into four from his pocket, and said:
"Here, sir."

The manager took it happily and said with a smile: "Very good, very good, you really keep your word. Forestier, how about you take a look for me?"

Forestier hastily replied:

"No, Mr. Walter. In order to teach him the trade, I have written this article with him, and it is not bad."

Now it was the turn of the lanky Congressman, whose views were center-left.While receiving the cards, Mr. Walter said casually: "In this case, I will listen to you."

Before Mr. Walter started a new round of cards, Forestier leaned down and leaned into his ear and said: "You once promised me to let Duroy replace Marambo, so, is it right? His same treatment?"

"Okay, that's it."

With that said, Mr. Walter enthusiastically threw himself into a new round of poker.Forestier hurriedly dragged Duroy away.

Noble de Wallen never looked up, he did not seem to notice or even recognize Duroy.Jacques Rival came up and held Duroy's hand tightly, showing extra enthusiasm.

When Forestier and Duroy passed through the drawing-room again, all looked up at them.Forestier greeted the youngest of them all, in a very loud voice, as if to be heard by all present:
"The manager wants to see you shortly. He's in a meeting with two members of the budget committee."

After speaking, Forestier hurried away, looking as if he was in an important position and busy with official duties, as if he was rushing to write a very urgent manuscript.

Once back in the editorial room, Forestier unwrapped Bill from the drawer and resumed his game of tossing the ball.He counted while catching the ball, and then used the interval to explain the work to Duroy:

"Well, you come to me every afternoon at three o'clock. I will tell you where to go, who to interview, whether to go during the day, at night, or the next morning. First, I will give you a A letter of introduction, which you take to the Chief of the First Police Department. Two, he will arrange for a subordinate to contact you, who will provide you with all important news. Three, of course, these news are official or Semi-official news. For the details of the job, you can consult Saint-Potain, he is very experienced in this area. Four, you can go to him immediately, or you can go tomorrow. The most important thing is that you have to find ways to avoid being interviewed The information we need is drawn out of people's mouths. Five, no matter how strict the access control is, you have to find a way to get in.... Six, your monthly basic salary is two hundred francs. If you can write some interesting interview tidbits, And if you are selected for publication, you will be paid two sous per line. Seven, if the newspaper asks you to write a manuscript, you will also be paid at this price.... Eight,"

Then, he began to concentrate on playing the game, counting slowly in his mouth: "Nine, ten, eleven, ... twelve, thirteen," but he failed to catch No.14, and he complained:

"Damn thirteen! This number always brings me bad luck. My future death must be related to thirteen."

At this time, an editor was busy with the work at hand and took out a ball from the cabinet.The 35-year-old editor is short in stature and looks like a child.After a while, several reporters walked in.One by one they went to the cabinet and took out their balls.Soon there were six of them, standing shoulder to shoulder with their backs against the wall, throwing the ball skyward again and again.Their movements are uniform, but the balls in their hands are of different colors because of the wood, some are red, yellow, and black.In this way, an internal competition unfolded, and the two editors who were still working also stood up and judged them.

Forestier took eleven.The little boy who looked like a child lost, rang the bell, and said to the footman, "Go get nine glasses of beer." They took the opportunity to play again.

Duroy drank a beer with his new colleague and said to Forestier:

"What should I do?"

His friend replied: "There is nothing to do today. If you want to go, you can go now."

"So... are we... our article... going to press tonight?"

"Of course. However, you don't need to worry about it. I will help you to correct it. Go back and write down. Come here on time at three o'clock tomorrow afternoon."

Duroy said goodbye to the colleagues present, although he still couldn't pronounce their names.Then he happily descended the stairs.

Georges Duroy hadn't had a good night's sleep.The thought of the article that was about to appear in the newspaper made him sleepless with excitement.At daybreak, he got up and wandered in the street.At this time, the porters who delivered the newspapers to the newsstands had not yet arrived.

Duroy came to the St. Lazare station because he knew that the "French Life" was delivered here every day, and then distributed to the newsstands in his neighborhood.Since it was still early, he had to stroll on the sidewalk.

After a while he saw a shopkeeper come up to the shop and open the glass door.Then a man walks up with a stack of newspapers folded in half on his head.Duroy rushed to meet him, but found that there were only "Le Figaro" and "Gill?Blas, Les Gauls, Les Negatives, and two or three other morning papers, but not Les Vitas.

He couldn't help worrying: "Did they decide to publish "African Service Notes" tomorrow? Or, old man Walter was not satisfied with the article, and finally decided to withdraw my article?"

He went to the newsstand again and found that Le Vie Française was being sold there, although he did not know when it had been delivered.He threw down the three sous, picked up a newspaper, opened it impatiently, and scanned the headlines on the front page, but could not find his article.His heart was pounding, he hurriedly turned another page, searched nervously, and finally saw "George Duroy" in black at the end of an article.Success!Duroy was immediately excited.

He carried the newspaper and walked cheerfully along, his hat on one side, his head blank.At this moment, he really wanted to stop every passer-by, and then say to them: "Come and buy, come and buy, there is an article I wrote on it." , yelling loudly: "Please read Les Françaises, please read Georges Duroy's article "A Brief Notes on Service in Africa." Suddenly he had an urge to read this article he wrote aloud in a public place, such as a coffee shop. , in short, it is the kind of more eye-catching place.So he started looking for cafés that were already there, and after a long search he sat down at last in a bistro.There are already a few early risers seated here.Duroy called out: "Rume." It never occurred to him that now is not the time to drink this kind of wine, and it should be called absinthe.Then he yelled again: "Boy, get a copy of Les Françasses."

A waiter in a white apron ran up and said:
"Monsieur, we don't have Le Vie de France here, but Les Echos, Le Monument, La Lanterne, and Le Petit Parisien."

When Duroy heard this, he was furious: "It's really a tavern, hurry up and buy me a copy."

The waiter hurried out and bought Duroy a copy of Le Vie Française.Duroy began to read his article with relish, and shouted loudly from time to time: "It's wonderful, it's wonderful!" He hoped to attract the attention of the people around him, and make them eagerly want to know whether this newspaper has any meaning. What an attraction.Then he put down the newspaper and got up to leave.Seeing this, the boss stopped him loudly:
"Sir, sir, you forgot your paper!"

Duroy replied:

"Leave it to you, I have already read it. There is a very interesting article in today's newspaper." He did not point out the specific content, but when he left, he saw a gentleman sitting next to him pick up the took the copy of La Vie Française which lay on the table.

Duroy thought to himself: "What should I do now?" He thought for a while, and then decided to go to the office to collect this month's salary and resign by the way.Thinking of the stunned expressions of the section chief and his colleagues, he trembled with excitement. What made him especially happy was that he could see the shocked expression on the section chief's face.

Duroy walked slowly in order to arrive at around 09:30, since the finance department did not open until ten.

His office was large, but dimly lit, with gas burning almost all day in winter.There is a small yard outside the window and a row of offices opposite.There were eight employees sitting in the office, and a deputy section chief was sitting in the corner, blocked by a screen.

Duroy first went to the finance department to receive a salary of 180 francs and 25 centimes, and the cashier took out a blue envelope containing money from a drawer and handed it to him.After receiving the salary, Duroy walked into the spacious office where he had been working for some time with a victorious attitude.

As soon as Duroy entered the office, he heard the reprimand of Mr. Porter, the deputy section chief:
"It's you, Monsieur Duroy! The chief has asked about you several times. You know, he doesn't allow anyone to take two days' sick leave without showing a doctor's certificate."

Duroy stood in the middle of the room, while packing his things, he replied loudly:

"I don't care about the rules."

His words caused an uproar among his colleagues.Everyone was very surprised, and Mr. Porter hurriedly poked his head out over the screen of the small office, showing a surprised face.

The reason why Mr. Porter sat behind the screen was that he had a severe rheumatism and was afraid of the wind.In order to monitor every move of his subordinates, he also dug two holes in the screen.

The room was so quiet that even the sound of flies flapping their wings could be heard.After a while, Mr. Porter finally asked in doubt:
"what did you say?"

"I said, I don't care about the rules. I've come to resign today. I've been hired as editor of Le Vie, with a salary of five hundred francs a month, excluding remuneration. I started work this morning."

Duroy originally didn't want to tell the whole thing so quickly, but wanted to tease them slowly, but finally he couldn't help but say it in one breath.

His words really achieved the desired effect, and all the colleagues were dumbfounded and did not move.

Duroy went on to say: "I will go to Mr. Petui to resign immediately, and then I will come back to say goodbye to you." After finishing speaking, he went straight to the office of the section chief.The latter was furious at the sight of him:

"Ah! Here you come. You know I can't..."

Duroy interrupted him:

"Please don't get so excited..."

Mr. Petui was a fat man with red hair like a cockscomb.He didn't expect to be contradicted by his subordinates, and he was too surprised to say a word.

Duroy went on: "I've had enough of this place. I've started work at a newspaper this morning, and they've got me a very good position. I've come here specifically to say goodbye to you."

After speaking, he left without looking back.The resentment accumulated for a long time was finally vented completely.

Duroy returned to the office and shook hands with his old colleagues one by one to say goodbye.But none of them dared to talk to him, for fear of affecting their future.The door of the section chief's office was kept open, and they could clearly hear the conversation between the section chief and Duroy just now.

With the salary he just received, Duroy walked on the street swaggeringly.He first went to a restaurant that he frequented frequently, with good taste and reasonable price, and had a good meal.In addition, he bought a copy of La Vie Française, which he deliberately left on the table.Then he went to a few more stores and bought some odds and ends.However, he did not take these items directly, but asked the salesperson to deliver them to his home.He told them his name was "Georges Duroy," and added: "I am editor of Le Vie."

Then, he left his address and emphasized to them: "Just leave your things to the concierge."

Because it was still early, he walked into a small shop that specializes in making business cards and getting them quickly, and had a hundred business cards printed for him. Of course, he did not forget to print his new position under his name.

Finally, he came to the office of the newspaper "Le Vie de France".

Seeing him, Forestier put on a superior posture and said: "Ah! You are here, very good. I have some things for you to do. Wait for me for a while, I will finish what I am doing first." .” After finishing speaking, he continued to write the letter.

On the other side of the table, sat a short, fat man with a pale, swollen face, and a shiny bald head.Due to his high myopia, when he wrote, the tip of his nose almost stuck to the paper.

Forestier said to the man:

"Saint-Botain, when are you going to interview those people?"

"Four o'clock."

"Then you can bring this new colleague, Duroy, and let him learn the tricks of this job." "No problem."

Then Forestier turned to Duroy and said:

"Did you bring the second article? The one published this morning was well received."

Duroy was speechless for a while, and stammered: "I didn't bring... I thought I could write this afternoon... There are a lot of things waiting for me to do...I didn't..."

Forestier looked a little displeased.He shrugged and said:
"If you don't submit your manuscript on time in the future, be careful of your job. Old man Walter is waiting for your second manuscript. I have to tell him that the article must wait until tomorrow. If you want to get money and do nothing, then It would be a big mistake."

After a moment of silence, he said again:
"You must strike while the iron is hot, how can you do it like you!"

Saint-Botin then stood up and said:

"I'm leaving."

Forestier leaned back in his chair, put on a posture of reprimand, and said to Duroy with a serious expression, "The thing is like this. Two days ago, two distinguished guests came to Paris: one is a Chinese General Lee Teng-fa lives in the Continental Hotel; the other is Indian Maharaja Thaposay Hamadh Bali, who lives in the Bristone Hotel. You will go to interview these two people soon."

Then, turning to Saint-Botin, he said:

"Don't forget the interview points I mentioned to you. Remember to ask the generals and princes what they think of British activities in the Far East, what they think of British colonial policy, and whether they want Europe, especially France, to intervene in their affairs. "

He paused, then added:

"These issues have become the focus of public opinion these days. If we can report the Chinese and Indian views on these issues in a timely manner, it will attract a large number of readers."

He said to Duroy:
"Pay attention to what Saint-Botain says and does. He is a very good field reporter. Learn how he can make the interviewee speak the truth in five minutes."

After finishing speaking, he continued to bow his head and write letters with such a serious expression, obviously to keep a certain distance from his subordinates, especially to let Duroy, a former comrade in arms and today's subordinates, know his position.

As soon as he went out, Saint-Botin burst out laughing.He said to Duroy:

"Look, what a poser! Talking to us as if we were his readers."

They went downstairs and out into the street.Saint-Botin asked:

"Want something to drink?"

"Of course, it's hot."

They went into a café and ordered cold drinks.As soon as Saint-Botin sat down, he began to talk incessantly, counting everyone in the newspaper from head to toe.

"As far as the boss is concerned, he is a Jew through and through. You know, the Jews will never change, they are all the same!" Then, he also listed many amazing facts for Duroy to prove that those descendants of Israel How stingy it is.For example, save a mere ten centimes; bargain with vendors like a housewife until you get what you want; act as a usury lender; do pawn business and so on.

"Not only that, but this guy never trusts anyone, and he deceives everyone. His newspapers, whether official news, or articles reflecting the views of Catholics, Liberals, Republicans, and Party Orleans, are all accurate. Like a grocery store. In fact, he did it only to support his stock trading and the development of various enterprises he started. Because of this, he grew from strength to strength, with only a few companies with a registered capital of four sous , and made millions..."

Saint-Botin talked enthusiastically, and affectionately called Duroy "my friend" from time to time.

(End of this chapter)