Lionel had been writing the extraordinary adventures of benjamin button every day recently, often staying up until the early hours to sleep. So, when he was abruptly woken by a cacophony of footsteps, loud slogans, and stirring music, his anger was palpable.
He grabbed the old pocket watch from his bedside table, glanced at it, and saw it was only 10 AM. Furious, he leaped out of bed, pulled back the curtains, and looked down.
It turned out to be the daily life of the French:
Lafitte Street was filled with a long procession: old veterans in worn military caps, university students waving tricolor flags, workers holding banners that read, "Restore Alsace!", and some women dressed in black, revered like saints at the very front.
A band was also in the procession, playing "The Song of the Sub-Lieutenant," a tune that was tragic, somber, and impassioned, accompanying the marchers as they slowly advanced.
At this point, Lionel also clearly heard their slogans:
"Down with Germany!"
"Alsace and Lorraine belong to us!"
"Humiliated France will rise!"
"No forgetting! No forgiveness!"
"Long live the Republic! Long live revenge!"
...
Lionel then remembered that it was almost May, and the signing date of the Treaty of Frankfurt was approaching.
In this humiliating treaty, France had ceded Alsace and Lorraine to Prussia, and the war reparations amounted to a staggering 5 billion francs.
This was a humiliation that the French people of this era could not erase from their hearts.
The women dressed in black at the very front of the procession were likely exiles from Alsace and Lorraine, or war widows.
Although Lionel's heart didn't swell with emotion like an ordinary Frenchman's upon hearing these slogans, having studied "The Last Lesson" since childhood, it still held a special significance for him.
When Daudet's "The Last Lesson" was first introduced to France, it was considered a paragon of patriotism; after the internet became widespread, people mocked Daudet for distorting the truth, claiming that Alsace and Lorraine clearly spoke German.
But the actual situation was far more complex than simple labeling.
Although Alsace spoke German, it was a German dialect largely unintelligible to standard German. The middle and upper classes spoke French daily, while the lower classes identified more with French institutions and laws.
Lorraine, on the other hand, was a bilingual region; the western part spoke French, while the ceded northeastern part spoke another German dialect. And regardless of the specific area, both parts preferred to remain with France.
Therefore, after the Treaty of Frankfurt was signed, approximately 100,000 to 150,000 people from both regions successively chose to 'exile' themselves to France, with the elite—civil servants, teachers, merchants, intellectuals—almost entirely leaving.
Germany, despite annexing the two regions, found them a constant source of discomfort and took a long time to assimilate them.
From 1874 onwards, Alsace-Lorraine held 15 parliamentary seats in the German Imperial Parliament, and local voters consistently elected representatives who explicitly supported 'returning to France' for many years, earning them the moniker 'the disobedient faction.'
So, Daudet's "The Last Lesson" actually had a strong basis in public opinion at the time; "teacher Hammel" was just one of thousands of ordinary French teachers in the region.
However, when the people of the two regions belonged to France, they were not eager or enthusiastic about learning French, which is why "Little Franz" in the novel initially arrived late and carelessly.
Conversely, after being ceded to Germany, various secret French language classes flourished in both regions, and the public's enthusiasm for learning French was unprecedented.
"What a bunch of troublemakers…" Lionel could only conclude, after all, with his peaceful sleep disturbed, no one's mood would be too good.
Leaving the bedroom and entering the living room, he found Petty sitting at the dining table with a worried expression, a large basket beside her containing only a few baguettes.
Seeing Lionel, Petty pouted aggrievedly: "Young master, the market is closed today, I only managed to buy a few loaves of bread."
If Paris's markets encountered a large-scale procession passing through, they would usually close for the day to prevent looting.
Petty usually went to the Saint-George Market near the Opera House and the Old Opera House Street, which was bustling with vendors, to buy groceries, a round trip taking less than twenty minutes.
Markets further away required a public carriage, and Petty's basket would likely be emptied by Petty thieves before she even got home, so Lionel strictly forbade her from going too far.
Lionel was now accustomed to eating Petty's cooking every day, so he frowned upon hearing this: "What else do we have at home?"
Petty counted on her fingers: "We still have a few slices of bacon, a string of sausages, two bunches of parsley, a bag of potatoes, a…"
Lionel quickly interrupted: "Alright, alright, let's eat out today—I hope the restaurants are open."
Hearing Lionel say this, Alice's head peeked out from the bedroom: "Which one are we going to?"
Confined to the apartment for most of the time, Alice especially cherished every opportunity to go out, especially since her last trip to Jersey, which had greatly broadened her horizons and remained fresh in her mind.
Petty's eyes also lit up, not because she craved restaurant food, but because these foods always gave her some culinary inspiration.
Without further ado, the three changed into their going-out clothes and, following the "Houbuxun Gourmet Guide" in Le Petit Journal, found a restaurant called "Magouli" at the intersection of Opera House Street and Montmartre Avenue.
This restaurant was famous for its affordable fish dishes, especially a dish called "Magouli-style Sea Bass," which was renowned throughout Paris and said to be exceptionally delicious.
After enjoying the delicious meal for 9 francs, Lionel took the two to the nearby Le Bon Marché department store, bought each of them a set of clothes, and purchased some daily necessities before returning home laden with goods.
A single outing cost 200 francs, which pained both Alice and Petty.
But Lionel didn't care—with the swindler brought to justice, the 5,000 francs at home would largely be recovered; even if not all of it could be retrieved, he figured 3,000 francs was still likely.
The remaining 2,000 francs he considered a lesson learned.
His biggest financial crisis was finally resolved, and he also held 5,000 francs in cash and long-form novel contracts with Le Petit Parisien and Modern Life, with weekly serialization fees no less than 700 francs.
Looking across all of Paris, he was definitely in the high-income bracket, almost surpassing most professors at Sorbonne.
So Lionel felt it was necessary to indulge a little.
Lionel also didn't eat dinner at home; he had gone to the Orby Trading Company in the Second District that afternoon to find Sophie Denave.
The swindler's capture was also thanks to Sophie, so he had to treat her to a lavish dinner—
Certainly not at "Seine Sunset," but at "Chartier Soup Kitchen," where the broth, pork hocks, stewed beef, and mushroom chicken liver were especially famous, and there was free bread and wine.
This time, Sophie did not decline, claiming her mother was waiting for her at home, but readily accepted Lionel's invitation.
Under the warm restaurant lights, Sophie's already fair complexion appeared exceptionally delicate, like the finest unglazed porcelain, touched with just a hint of blush.
After they finished a post-dinner drink, Sophie suddenly asked Lionel: "So… is this our last meeting?"
Lionel paused: "Hmm?"
Sophie lowered her head: "The swindler has been caught… you don't need to 'report on the progress' to me anymore, do you? Actually, I saw it in Le Petit Parisien…"
Lionel put down his wine glass: "Uh… besides the swindler, didn't we talk about many other things?"
Sophie looked up, her gaze burning: "I also read your novel in the newspaper… it's excellent. You'll become a great writer someday, won't you? Like Mr. Zola, Mr. Flaubert, Mr. Eugène Sue?"
Lionel was a little "shy" at the question, and replied awkwardly: "It's not that easy…"
Seeing him like this, Sophie let out a soft chuckle, then composed herself, her tone calm: "Thank you for dinner tonight, it was delicious. It's getting late…"
Lionel suddenly had a flash of insight, looking into Sophie's eyes: "May I walk you home?"
After a long while…
"Okay."
Outside the window, the streetlights glowed like warm suns, illuminating a long, quiet street.
This was also the daily life of the French.