Chapter 9 009 Drawing eyebrows for little girls is also a way to make money

Chapter 9 009 Drawing eyebrows for little girls is also a way to make money

Chapter 9 009 Drawing eyebrows for little girls is also a way to make money
"That's all, then?"

"You seem surprised at what the Emperor has done, Misha. Don't tell me your family relies mainly on the income from the property."

"There are also some long-term bonds. You know my family's experience, which is always related to Amsterdam."

In fact, when Prince Menshikov was alive, a large amount of property was transferred to the Netherlands. He himself died of smallpox in exile, but his son managed to return to Moscow and St. Petersburg for amnesty and was able to quickly restore the family business. He needed some support, but the only one in the Solovyov family who was related to this was the youngest of the four brothers who was not granted a title, and had nothing to do with Mikhail's branch.

"You're so cunning. You just won't open your mouth and say it."

"But you know, this is Russia."

Mikhail Dolgorukov knew that his new friend spoke very cautiously, and he also knew that the other party definitely did not rely entirely on the land for a living. This amount of information was enough. As for the children brought here today, the two Mikhails could also see clearly at the dividing line.

Julia is 7 years old. She and a girl of about the same age were comparing their eyebrows. The servants handed the prepared eyebrow pencil to the blue-eyed girl, who was very serious and was drawing Julia's eyebrows according to the makeup method.

"Don't worry, Misha. That's my cousin Ekaterina. Her father, Vasily Vasilyevich, is a lieutenant general and a member of the Privy Council. She has a very good upbringing. Moreover, this child has been receiving dance training since she was 4 years old. She also likes painting."

"So makeup is a piece of cake? This kid has a really steady hand. My sister Yulia can't do that. She would paint my face like a cat."

"A cat? But I think you are more like a fox. My brother and I are good friends. How about we invest in you? If you, a fox, have some time to run the business, you will definitely do well."

To others, it might seem a bit outrageous that a few teenagers were discussing business, and even a bit like middle school syndrome in the 20th century. But in 1797, it did not seem strange. Alexander Saltykov, the second son of the owner of the salon, would later become an honorary member of the "Arzamas" Literary Association, a literary organization. The youngest member of the association was Pushkin. When he was a middle school student, he had always wanted to join the association, but by the time he joined, it was already the end of the association. So it did not seem strange, as middle school students in that era were considered high-level intellectuals.

Therefore, it is not surprising that a few smart young people talk about business.

"But I am still serving in the Grenadiers, and the Emperor will not allow officers of our age to retire without reason. Even if there is a legitimate reason, we have to wait for a year. And I should not return to my old job. I still hope to stay in the army for a while longer."

"Then you come up with an idea. We can pool the money and hire a manager."

"An English butler might be fine, a German manager would be fine, but if it's a French or Italian, it's terrible, and the Poles are sometimes..."

He was about to tell a joke, but then he remembered that the Saltykovs had relatives in Poland, so he gave up. At this time, Yulia came over holding the hand of Princess Ekaterina Dolgrukova.

"What's the matter, Yurochka, my brother's little kitty, are you here to see me with your new friend?"

"Brother, what do you think? Katya drew this for me."

"Bonjour, M. Baron, je m'appelle Ekaterina Dolglukova." (Hello, Mr. Baron, I am Ekaterina Dolglukova.)
Yulia couldn't even speak French properly, and the other girl was able to introduce herself, but she didn't know how to say it properly. Sometimes there is a big gap between children.
As for this girl, her father is a prince, a retired lieutenant general, and a member of the Privy Council. But according to Mikhail, although her family looks very noble and has inherited two large estates in Moscow with tens of thousands of serfs, the debt disputes and a lot of household chores they face have given the 45-year-old Vasily Vasilyevich a headache.

It looks like the oil is boiling in a raging fire, but if you take a wrong step, you may be drawn into the vortex.

"Bonjour, princesse."
The little girl walked with a beautiful step, just like a little deer. She was much quieter than his crazy-running "Hussar" sister. She had obviously received dance training. It can be imagined that the prince was an old-fashioned prince. His children all received a strict education, and all three children had hired special French teachers. The financial resources seemed good, but many outsiders knew that their family had a debt of 200,000 rubles. Although the operation of the manor was relatively stable, the general's sister had always wanted to compete with him for the family property.

After the children went back to play, Solovyov found that he did not need to be a wall, but joined Prince Mikhail in the social aspect. It can be said that this relationship should be "war and socialization". Socialization always occurs in the peace stage, and the rest is war.

In addition, there are problems in life. There are serfs, self-employed farmers, citizens, nobles, soldiers, and the Tsar's family. There are always a lot of troubles.

If we talk about the "King of Prussia", the Army Commander-in-Chief, many people have obviously seen him, and he is also very famous. In fact, Soloviev has met his son and simply greeted him, but Andrei might not recognize him. After he entered, only the young officers were seen holding their bicorne hats with their arms and bowing their heads to salute him. After all, he was also the former Army Commander-in-Chief, a rank second only to the Field Marshal, and in fact higher than the general general. And everyone also knew that he was very serious and meticulous about military appearance. According to this nickname and his temperament, he should be reused by Emperor Paul, but he himself was a good friend of Marshal Suvorov, not a large-scale imitation show in front of the emperor to play the role of King Frederick the Great.

"I think the Marshal will be more serious after his arrival. Also, sometimes you can't speak French. Some generals are really not good at this."

"But in the past, because I couldn't speak French well, people called me a 'horseman'."

"Sorry, Misha, I forgot about you." Prince Mikhail apologized for offending his friend unintentionally, and when the Marshal walked over to greet Prince Saltykov, the meeting seemed to have returned to normal.

At times like this, you might want to go talk to the ladies. There are many ladies in the salon, and although the sharp-tongued hostess always brings some ridiculous things, there are still many young girls there.

Young unmarried officers have always been popular with girls. As Mikhail Dolgorukov himself said, many officers of their Guards Light Cavalry have good family backgrounds. That's it.

Solovyov was going to find Miss de Rivery, but he also found that she was chatting happily with a young lady, but... It was the daughter of the former diplomat stationed in Naples whom he met in Moscow last year, Countess Ekaterina Skavronskaya, the niece of Marshal Prince Potemkin. Although a 14-year-old girl is more likely to be at the children's table, it is different in Moscow and St. Petersburg. She is old enough to be willing to come here, and she is more charming than last year.

This girl is naturally attractive to men, especially when she is leaning on the sofa with her two slender legs on the footstool. Just like when they first saw her, men will be attracted to her. If she wears the clothes designed by the French for ladies in a few years, it will definitely be spectacular. With such healthy and fair skin, I believe she will be the darling of the social circle, and men will be dazzled when they see her.

"Ah, it's you, you're wearing a grenadier uniform. I remember you were an infantryman."
Apparently the Countess judged people by their appearance. She might have forgotten that when Solovyov spoke last year, he still acted like a "groom". Maybe she just spoke like that on purpose. It would be difficult for the other party to improve his French in a year, so he might still act like a "groom" to make herself appear to have some advantages.

"Comtesse, I have passed from the infantry to the Moscow grenadiers and now I am adjutant to the camp of General Volkonsky." (Countess, I went from the infantry to the Moscow grenadiers and now I am adjutant to General Volkonsky.)
Judging from the Countess's surprised expression, she must have remembered who the other person was when she was "hooking for a man". Solovyov had no idea what was going on in her mind. She might be surprised that he could now speak a long string of sentences instead of just speaking German to avoid embarrassment and cover up.

This little girl is very cunning, this is Solovyov's idea, but she always manages to pretend to be innocent. Fortunately, although she is a man of beauty, she is not a bad person. Whoever marries her and is handsome enough may be happy. But if a brave warrior who is good at fighting but not good at speaking marries her, he should be careful about his unlucky married life.

As for the countess, she then took the hand of Mademoiselle de Rivery, Baron Mikhail's soon-to-be stepmother. The two had a very happy conversation before. After all, it was easy to find French people in St. Petersburg, but it was difficult to find well-educated French ladies in their early 20s. The Prince of Condé's family had already formed a legion in order to restore the monarchy, and rarely brought their female relatives to such occasions. When the Duke of Gim (or the correct term should be the Duke of Enghien) was young, he was not married yet. No French ladies of this age appeared in the salon, especially those who came to be governesses and mistresses. It was really rare for them to marry into a noble family.

"So you escaped from the Barbary pirates, thanks to the Russian admiral, and came to Russia. It's our good fortune to meet you, and if you marry me, what kind of person will Mikhail be to you?" (So you escaped from the Barbary pirates, thanks to the Russian admiral, and came to Russia. It's our good fortune to meet you, and if you marry me, what kind of person will Mikhail be to you?)
Although this girl is not a bad person, she is very harsh in her words. She always finds ways to play a trick on the young man who obviously has lukewarm feelings towards her. After all, he really is going to have a stepmother.

"Comtesse, on this pleasant occasion, you should pay more attention to the makeup of women. For example, using this eyeliner will make you look more charming." (Ms. Countess, on this pleasant occasion, you should pay more attention to the makeup of women. For example, using this eyeliner will make you look more charming.)
However, Mademoiselle de Riviera knew how to judge the occasion. She felt that this was too impolite to her fiancé's son, so she interrupted the situation and turned to makeup. Then, Countess Skafronskaya, who was devoted to improving her personal charm, was obviously more interested in makeup now, as she was, after all, a 14-year-old girl who preferred to dress herself up.

She instantly turned into a docile cat, lying on her side on the sofa while Miss de Riviera helped her draw eyeliner.

This actually made Solovyov secretly happy. Although this girl was full of thorns, she immediately became like this when something related to enhancing her charm was mentioned. After all, she was still a child, and she even smiled and put her face close to Miss de Riviera's hand.

"S'il te plat!" This was a very polite "please", and Mademoiselle de Rivery took out the makeup pencil that Solovyov had previously matched with the right color, looked at the Countess's hair color, and chose a brighter color.

"coutez, comtesse, vousêtes encore plus charmante maintenant." (Look, Countess, you are even more charming now.)
Indeed, Countess Slavronskaya was very satisfied with this. She looked in the mirror first and then showed off to others. This girl was indeed a gift from God. She also liked to show up in public to let others see how beautiful she was. Many people in St. Petersburg knew that this lively girl was very charming. Even Tsar Paul, although he had a lot of opinions about Prince Potemkin, once promised to arrange a good marriage for the Countess for such a girl, and to find the most outstanding young man in Russia.

However, for a "genius of arranged marriages" like Tsar Paul, arranging a French singer for his personal servant who had loyally followed him for many years (a Turkish prisoner in the Russo-Turkish War) was considered a relatively suitable choice. The other marriages he arranged were more or less a bit shocking, and the previous failed marriage with the Swedish royal family would have been a real hassle if he had arranged it.

However, in St. Petersburg, no one dared to say that the marriage arranged by the emperor was bad. After all, for him to personally come out to take care of your affairs, it meant that he was either quite favored by the emperor, or he hated you to death, or you were involved in some major event.

It can be said that each Tsar is a bit complicated and cannot be explained clearly in a few words.

Solovyov, having discovered the darling of the Petersburg fashion world, was ready to start his business with his new friends, making money from aristocratic women.

(End of this chapter)