Chapter 269 Grevi's "Cooperation"
Saint-Étienne, more than 400 kilometers away from Paris, is the 14th most populous city in France.
Grevi sat alone by the window in Weber's Café, drinking coffee and looking out at the huge chimneys that were spewing out thick black smoke in clusters. Occasionally, sparks could be seen, like ink spraying high into the sky, dyeing the entire sky black.
Even the snow on the ground and on the top of the layer was covered with a layer of faint black spots.
Everything was gray, including the suffocating air!
Who would have thought that a few decades ago Saint-Étienne was just a quiet town with a population of only a few thousand people.
During the industrial boom, various minerals were discovered in Saint-Étienne, especially coal, which brought energy, wealth and prosperity to the town.
The metallurgical industry, mining industry, metal industry and textile industry flourished here, and France's largest arsenal was also located here.
Grevi withdrew his gaze from the coffee in the cup and suddenly realized that its color was so similar to the black smoke, including the burnt taste in the bitterness.
Why didn’t I realize this before?
Grevy sighed softly and placed the coffee cup back on the tray on the table.
Just a moment ago, he was still longing for coffee to bring some stimulation to his confused head, but now he has lost interest in it.
He took a train for more than seven hours, but not for this!
"Are you not used to the coffee here?" Layom smiled and sat on the chair opposite Grevi.
"No!" Grevi forced a smile: "I just don't quite adapt to this place..."
Grevy raised his chin toward the window.
Layom nodded to show his understanding: "You will get used to it if you stay for a while. This is not an easy thing."
The waiter brought Layom a cup of coffee. Layom thanked him and looked at Grevy: "Besides, you don't seem to need to adapt."
He was implicitly asking Grevi why he came.
Grevi and Layom were not acquaintances.
When Dominic was in high school, Grevy helped Dominic a lot, and as his brother, Layom was grateful for that.
Grevi picked up the coffee spoon and stirred it gently in the cup, although he had no intention of drinking it.
"Perhaps you have heard something about the Shire," Grevy asked.
He had no intention of beating around the bush with Layom, because unlike Dominic, Layom was a shrewd businessman and had been managing the arsenal for Steed in Saint-Etienne.
"Yes." Layom frowned slightly. He thought he had guessed Grevi's purpose. Was he here to inquire about the equipment developed by Charles?
"Grenades, mortars, 37MM artillery, aerial bombs..." Grevi shook his head and smiled slightly, with an incredible expression and some respect in his eyes: "It's enviable, don't you think?"
Layom replied coldly: "This doesn't seem to be your business, Grevi. If you want to know the information about these equipments, I'm afraid you will be disappointed..."
"No, no, you misunderstood," Grevy replied. "You know I'm not interested in any of this."
Only then did Layom remember that Grevi was a representative who opposed industrialization. Layom was so busy at the arsenal that he ignored this.
"So," Layom looked up and looked Grevy in the eye. "You didn't come here just to drink coffee, did you?"
Grevi smiled gently and said calmly: "I hope to cooperate with you, Mr. Layom!"
"Cooperation?" Layom laughed. "Is there room for cooperation between us? Are you interested in industrial or military equipment now?"
Grevy shook his head and explained, "You don't seem to know what kind of cooperation your father is carrying out with Charles?"
This question stumped Layom. Steed did not tell him. He only knew that Saint-Etienne and Charles each had a 50% share of the profits.
There's nothing wrong with that, it's a win-win situation.
"It's not as simple as you think, Layom," Grevy continued, his tone slightly mocking. "You know, the equipment currently produced by the Saint-Etienne Arsenal will one day be obsolete, all of it, without exception. And what is obsolete will be replaced by equipment invented by Charles."
Layom's eyes suddenly widened. He really hadn't thought about this.
Not long ago, he was excited by the amazing creativity of the Shire and the practicality of the equipment.
Now reminded by Grevy, Layom immediately realized one thing: If Charles has 50% control over all invented equipment, and everything produced by the Saint-Etienne Arsenal in the future is invented by Charles, does that mean that Charles has absolute say in the Saint-Etienne Arsenal?
"As far as I know," Grevy added, "your father has such a plan. He has been completely won over by Charles. He hopes that Charles will lead the Saint-Etienne Arsenal, rather than simply cooperate..."
"No, that's impossible!" Layom interrupted Grevi.
My father was a shrewd businessman. He would never hand over his life's work to an outsider, even if he was Charles.
"If it was someone else, it would be impossible." Grevi answered, his voice was cold, as if describing Layom's cruel future: "But that person is Charles, and you know very well what kind of strength Charles has. His talent is innate. He is a genius military strategist and inventor. Inventing equipment is only a part of his many abilities, a small part. What's more terrifying is that his creativity seems to be endless..."
Layom remained silent, knowing that what Grevy said was true.
No one in the world could compete with Charles. When others were thinking about making money by producing cannons, warships and airplanes, he simply put gunpowder in wood and iron shells to make grenades, and easily realized this dream, even making more money than building warships.
Grevy went on to say: "Your father apparently knew that he could not compete with the Shire, so he decided to become part of the Shire, or more precisely..."
At this point, Grevi paused intentionally, emphasized his tone, and said in a low voice: "It should be, 'surrender'."
This word deeply hurt Layom's self-esteem. He gritted his teeth, frowned and complained: "Stupid, this is surrender without a fight!"
Hearing this, Grevi knew he had come to the right place.
From the beginning, he should have approached Layom instead of Dominic.
Layom is Steed's designated successor to Saint-Etienne, and the future development of Saint-Etienne is closely related to Layom.
As for Dominic, he was only interested in guns and didn't care about his inheritance rights at all, so he naturally didn't care about Charles' threat to Saint-Etienne.
This might be the reason why Dominic rejected him, Grevi thought!
(End of this chapter)
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