Having received Sophie's promise, Lionel finally relaxed.
The 'Colonial Communications Office,' as the company's communication department, although it only handled miscellaneous tasks like delivering letters and messages, certainly possessed more detailed personnel information than other departments.
The only departments that might have more detailed information would be Human Resources or the Secretariat—but the people there probably wouldn't have the patience to listen to him elaborate on his family history.
They wouldn't close until 7 PM, and it was only 3 PM, leaving a full four hours. Lionel decided to go and investigate the Panama Interoceanic Canal Global Corporation again.
Without delay, he spent five sous to take a public carriage to the French Overseas Chamber of Commerce in the Eighth Arrondissement and was stunned as soon as he got off—
A long queue stretched from the building's entrance, its end even reaching another street; despite the cold wind, the people in line were cheerful, chatting amongst themselves.
Lionel did not join the queue, but walked around it directly to the entrance, only then realizing the reason:
Everyone was waiting to subscribe to the Panama Canal bonds issued by the Panama Interoceanic Canal Global Corporation, with an annual interest rate of 6%, first come, first served!
A middle-aged man who had just purchased some bonds saw Lionel peeking around and kindly reminded him, "Young man, it's too late to queue now. If you hurry to Baring Bank or Société Générale, you might still be able to buy some."
Lionel immediately asked, "Is everyone so confident about digging the Panama Canal?"
Hearing this, the middle-aged man's eyes lit up: "Don't you know who is presiding over this great project?"
Lionel shook his head, and the middle-aged man was very pleased with his reaction: "It's the wise and courageous Mr. Ferdinand de Lesseps! He was the one who presided over the construction of the Suez Canal and secured a 99-year operating right for France.
With him in charge, this canal is sure to become another source of pride for France!"
The middle-aged man's voice grew louder and louder, and the surrounding people, hearing him, spontaneously cheered:
"Long live France! Long live France!"
Driven by the slogans, the entire queue became fervent. Many people pulled out wads of cash from their pockets, waving them above their heads, urging those ahead to complete their procedures faster.
Although Lionel was not entirely clear on the historical detail of whether the French ultimately succeeded in digging the Panama Canal, as an excellent, well-read liberal arts student, he knew that almost all historical investment frenzies involving the French had not ended well…
He asked somewhat worriedly, "How long will it take?"
The middle-aged man replied confidently, "Mr. Ferdinand was able to dig a 190-kilometer canal in the hot, arid, uninhabited desert of Egypt, and the Panama Canal is said to be only about 80 kilometers long!
The Suez Canal took 10 years; the Panama Canal, well, optimistically it will open in 5 years, and no later than 7 years!
By then, francs, pounds, dollars… will flow into our investors' pockets like the canal's water!"
His words sparked another round of cheers.
Lionel: "…" This time, there was no need to go inside to investigate.
The matters of "digging the Panama Canal" and "Panama Canal bonds" did not seem to be a scam, and the Panama Interoceanic Canal Global Corporation was not a shell company.
Ferdinand de Lesseps was indeed a famous industrialist, a nobleman, and had even served as a diplomat; he was no swindler.
This was also the cleverness of Émile, the swindler; most of the information was true and easily verifiable, but he only lied about the most crucial and hardest-to-verify parts…
Now, he could only see if Sophie could give him some good news.
Full of worry, Lionel walked all the way from the Eighth Arrondissement back to the Second District (the two districts almost adjoin), not even stopping to look closely at the Champs-Élysées as he passed.
It took him a full hour to arrive at the agreed-upon "Seine Sunset" cafe, where he ordered a black coffee and began to drink it silently, while also picking up a copy of Le Petit Journal to read.
A short while later, a burst of laughter erupted from a neighboring table. A rather gentlemanly customer directly sprayed coffee onto the newspaper on his table, then covered his eyes with one hand, trying desperately to suppress his somewhat unseemly laughter.
The cafe waiter, however, seemed accustomed to it, stepping forward to wipe the table clean for the customer and replacing his coffee.
Only as he passed Lionel did he grumble a complaint: "Another one, damn Le Tapageur…"
The speaker was unintentional, but the listener was attentive. Lionel called out to him: "Could you get me a copy of today's Le Tapageur?"
The waiter gestured with his lips towards the customer who had just sprayed coffee: "The last clean copy of Le Tapageur is on that gentleman's table."
Lionel smiled: "Oh?" Cafes subscribed to multiple copies of each newspaper so that customers could pass the time.
The waiter leaned in and quietly explained, "Today's Le Tapageur features several new jokes, and several customers who've read it have sprayed coffee on the paper…"
Lionel's smile grew brighter: "Oh? What kind of jokes?"
The waiter gave an ambiguous smile: "I think it's best if you see for yourself… I swear, they are the most subtle, most vicious, yet most amusing jokes I've ever read…"
Lionel nodded, indicating he understood.
It seemed the three short stories had been quite effective; he was very confident that the owner of Le Tapageur would accept his offer!
After all, when it came to jokes, from ancient times to the modern era, Europe could not compare to China in terms of variety, diverse techniques, or subtle language.
He chose to rewrite jokes from the "Xiàolín Guǎngjì • Sangdào Bù" not only to deliberately break the most taboo and deeply secretive layer of French religious culture but also to test the bottom line of these tabloids.
If even this subject matter could be published, then he could act without restraint and fully display his talents.
What he didn't know, however, was that this bottom line was one he had personally created…
Of course, the true identity of "An Honest Parisian" absolutely could not be revealed—after all, if he were to make a formal debut in the French literary scene, it absolutely could not be as a writer of risqué jokes.
Something, after he met Maupassant that day, began to grow and spread uncontrollably from his heart like weeds…
This was also the reason for choosing "poste restante," which required monthly renewal.
However, the most important thing at the moment was to resolve the crisis of the Sorel Family, far away in the Alps. He feared that if he waited even one more day, his father might hand over the dowry and savings to that suspicious man.
After waiting for almost another hour, Sophie Denave's figure finally appeared at the cafe's entrance, wearing a thick coat, yet still looking slender.
And Lionel only then realized that she was very tall, almost 170 centimeters, which was quite rare for women of that era.
He raised his hand and said, "Here!"
Sophie looked over, a smile on her face, and quickly weaved through the tables and chairs to sit opposite Lionel.
Lionel smiled, not immediately asking about the results of Sophie's inquiry, but instead said, "You haven't had dinner yet, have you? May I have the pleasure of inviting you to dine with me?"
Sophie's face flushed, like pomegranate juice spreading on milk.