"What's this?" Joseph asked as he furrowed his eyebrows. For those unknown things, Joseph didn't have much of an urge to bring it inside his mouth, thus showing that before crossing over, he was by no means a big eater.
"Let me tell you, this crystalline liquid is none other than the jade jelly that the Goddess of Youth, Herb, treated Zeus, the God King who ruled over thunder and lightning, back then. It is a divine gift given by the Muses to His followers ... Come and try it, it will bring you all kinds of dreams and inspirations and make you forget all your sorrows." Armand replied in an exaggerated tone like a recitation of the Cid.
"Come on, Armand, you're not on stage, you're not performing The Cid. To be clear, what the hell is this thing?" Joseph's tone was getting a little impatient.
"Ah, O mortal, the endless treasure is before you, yet you have no eyes to see it." Amand continued in that aria-like voice, "Do you love gold? With it, the treasures of Ali Baba and Alexander will burst open before your eyes; do you love fantasy? Drink it, and infinite space, and deep oceans will open their arms to you; are you keen on power, drink it, and you become Caesar, become Augustus, become Alexander. Isn't that tantalizing enough?"
"What is it, exactly?" Joseph said with a frown. He could tell that in this day and age, it was the time when all kinds of psychotropic drugs were commonly abused.
"Have you ever heard of Sarasin?" Armand asked.
"Of course I've heard of it, and I know about Assassin's Creed." Thinking so, Joseph said, "Of course, of course I know."
"Then you should also know about the old man of the mountain who tried to assassinate Philip Augustus. Legend has it that he ruled over a rich valley flanked by lofty mountains - the place from which he took his legendary name. Legend has it that in that mysterious valley was one of his gardens, where, according to Marco Polo, he grew an immortal herb.
His chosen ones, the assassins, could soar to heaven ahead of time if they ate it. Having seen the supreme joy of heaven, they all believed that by serving that old man, they would enter that heaven forever. So whoever that old man told them to kill, they went to kill. Even if they had to trek to the end of the world and walk beside the golden apple tree where Hercules had once been; or if they had to face torture or even beheading. They feared nothing, for they thought that was but a way to enable them to ascend to that paradise which they had briefly visited. Now, my friend, the key to this paradise is before you."
"Indian fire-hemp!" Joseph said.
"Yes, that's the stuff!" Armand said with an exaggerated smile, "How about it?"
"No, no, no," Joseph hurriedly said, "Amang, you know, I've always been resistant to these strange and weird things when it comes to diet."
"Alas, Joseph, how much less fun your life will be because of it! But perhaps you really don't need them too much, since you've never lacked a spark of inspiration. Besides, this attitude of yours toward food and drink is somewhat similar to my uncle's." Armand said, "Well, what was your father's illness?"
"Can't say for sure yet." Joseph said sadly, "But the doctors suspect that he has a tumor growing inside his stomach that is causing his stomach to constantly ulcerate and bleed. All in all it's very dangerous and the doctors can barely do anything at all. They don't reckon he'll last much longer. Maybe soon I'll have to leave school and go back to Corsica."
"And will you come back?" Armand asked.
"I hope to come back." Joseph said, "Who wants to leave Paris? It's just that, you know I have several brothers and sisters. Sisters would be fine, but brothers have to study, and that's a lot of money to spend. If anything did happen to my father, as the eldest son of the family, I would have to step up and take all the responsibility of the family."
"Joseph, you're not even fifteen years old today." Aman said, "Even if you want to come out and work, it's still a bit early. You're also a year short of graduating now. If you drop out of school at this time, not only is it a pity, but also, the salary you can get from going straight to a job nowadays, and from going to a job after you graduate and get your certificate, will be much different.
Maybe the salary you'd get if you dropped out and worked a year earlier wouldn't be one-half of what you'd get if you bit the bullet and went back to school for another year. Your family is aristocratic ... Of course, I know that there is a big difference between the aristocracy of Corsica and the aristocracy of France ... You know, I'm talking about economic differences and nothing else. But, after all, nobles are nobles, and even if they are poor nobles, they are only poorer relative to other nobles. So, I think that there is always a way for your family to support for one more year."
Joseph shook his head and said, "My friend, our family's financial situation is more serious than you think. The poor nobles you speak of are the poor nobles of France. But the poor nobles of Corsica are poorer than the poor nobles of France. As you know, Corsica had just been through the war, and the war had wreaked havoc on wealth. Also, in the beginning, France didn't recognize Corsica's nobility. Later, it was recognized conditionally, but it cost money to get that recognition. And it cost a lot of money. It pretty much drained our family dry. So today, our family is much poorer than you think."
"Okay, okay." Ah Mang said, "But I still think ... By the way, how is your English?"
"Not too bad, maybe slightly better than my French." Joseph replied, "What's the matter?"
"Aren't you short of money?" Armand said, "I was asked to find someone to help translate Shakespeare's and Milton's poems and plays. He pays well, not much less than if you dropped out of school and got a job. Well, the truth is that it won't cost you much to study, and you'll even have a little left over if you live plainly enough; it shouldn't be too much of a problem for you to support yourself for a year while you go to school and do more of this kind of work, and keep your family frugal. After a year, you'll have graduated, and you'll have a chance to get a lot more money than you have today."
Joseph knew that what Armand had said, that he had been asked to find someone to translate Shakespeare's and Milton's poems and plays, was not really all true. What was really going on was more than likely that someone had entrusted Armand with the task of translating these things.
"Armand, this is what people have asked you to translate, isn't it. If I go next, isn't this robbing you of your money?" Joseph said.
"Hey, I'm so busy nowadays, how would I have time to do these things? You see, I have to enjoy the immortal dew of the goddess of youth, Herb, and at the same time have to deal with that whole company of my mistresses ... days ah, where do I have the time to do such boring things? If I spent all my youth at my desk, then those mistresses of mine would surely run off to the bed of Fabio or some other kid I don't know. It's just that the man who entrusted me is a friend of mine, and I can't afford to shirk it. If you're willing to do it, it would really liberate me!" Amang replied in another exaggerated tone.
Ah Mang was good looking, came from a good family, and his family had money, so he was indeed very attractive to women. As for himself, he often liked to compare himself to Don Juan (a typical lecher in European medieval legends, similar to what the Chinese call "Dengtu Zi"), so it was true that he often saw different women around him, but to say that he had a company of mistresses, that was definitely bragging.
"Then thank you very much." Joseph replied sincerely, "Also, do you think that after I graduate, I can go work as an assistant for your uncle?"
"What? Be an assistant to him?" Armand's eyes widened, "Ah, my friend, with your level of math and natural philosophy, that's certainly not a problem. However, I do not recommend that you go and work as an assistant for my famous uncle after graduation."
"Why?" Joseph asked.
"If you don't have financial pressure, then working as an assistant for him is not bad, you can learn a lot. But you may not know, that uncle of mine ... ah, he is my elder, and the pride of the whole of France, I should not have said anything about him. But no one is perfect except Jesus. So is that uncle of mine, in a way ... Have you ever read Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice?"
"Read it." Joseph nodded.
"He is, in some ways, somewhat similar to Shylock in that. So if you're under financial pressure, giving him an assistant wouldn't be a good choice." Amang laughed bitterly.
"So it's like this ...," Joseph followed.
Joseph knew that Amand's uncle, Lavoisier, was one of the greatest scientists in France, but he also knew that Amand should not have slandered his uncle. Lavoisier had a thirst for wealth. So even by the time of the Revolution, even knowing full well that he, as an aristocrat, was not liked by the Jacobins in power. But he still took the risk of doing things like tax-packing, hoarding, and speculation, and was finally sent to the guillotine and had his head chopped off for it.
At the time, the great mathematician Gralange exclaimed, "It takes France a hundred years to grow such a clever head, but they cut it off in a second." But even Gralange, who said this, did not think that Lavoisier had not done those things of which the Jacobins were accused.
"Actually, with your abilities and the sign of Louis the Great's school, it won't be hard to find a suitable job." Armand said, "For example, it would actually be easy for you to become a priest in black robes. Of course, being a priest theoretically involves giving up a lot of things, but in reality it's a different matter. You know, a lot of popes have kept mistresses. Pope Alexander VI might even have a daughter with his own ... It's ... really enviable!"
"You beast!" Joseph said hurriedly.
"Thanks for your high opinion of me." Amand shamelessly replied.