Chapter 42 Volume 5 Downhill

What has become of the mother who was considered by the residents of Montfermeil to have abandoned her child?where is sheWhat are you doing? Having left her little Cosette in the hands of the Thenardiers, she continued on her way to Montreuil-sur-Mer. It was 1818, we remember. Fantine had been away from her native country for about ten years.Things had changed in Montreuil-sur-Mer.While Fantine was passing from one misfortune to another, her native place was thriving. In the past two years, a light industry has developed there, which is a big deal in a small place. These details matter so much that we think it is worth stating them.We'd almost say, state it as a point.

From an untraceable age, Montreuil-sur-Mer has had a peculiar industry of imitating English jet and German burnt.That kind of industry has always been underdeveloped, because the raw materials are expensive, which affects wages.By the time Fantine returned to Montreuil-sur-Mer, the production of "fireworks" had undergone an unprecedented revolution.At the end of 1815 a man, unknown to all, came to live in the town, and it occurred to him to use lacquer glue in place of loose glue in manufacture, especially in bracelets, where he used only The method of closing the two ends replaces the method that the two ends are connected and welded.This very small reform has made a big difference.

That small reform has indeed greatly reduced the cost of raw materials. Therefore, first, wages can be increased, and the whole town has benefited; second, manufacturing has been improved, and consumers have benefited; third, selling prices can be lowered, and profits Triple the increase, and the factory owner also gains a profit. Thus, three outcomes are derived from one approach. In less than three years, the person who invented this method became a millionaire, which is of course very good, and the greater advantage is that the people around him also became rich.He is not from this province.Regarding his native place, the general public does not know at all, and not many people know about his past.

It is said that he came to this town with very little money, a few hundred francs at most. He used this meager capital to realize the ingenious method he had carefully researched, and he gained benefits for himself and the whole town. When he first arrived at Montreuil-sur-Mer he dressed, moved, and talked like a workman. It seems that on a December evening, with a bag on his back and a barbed stick in his hand, he was groping into the small town of Montreuil-sur-Mer when he encountered the district office on fire.He once jumped into a fire and rescued two children, regardless of the danger to his life. The two children were the sons of the captain of the police, so no one thought of checking his passport.From that day on, everyone knew his name, Uncle Madeleine.