Chapter 5

On both sides of the main road and the river embankment, the wheat fields were flat and neatly arranged, stretching endlessly. The intersecting paths were like white lines, cutting the fields into pieces. Amidst each wheat field, there were lush strips, which were the vineyards of the countryside. However, what caught Felix's attention were the farmers' houses in the fields. Compared to the wealthy families in Saint-Denis, these houses were mostly low and dilapidated, leaning in all directions, with roofs covered in rough thatch. Dirty livestock moved about haphazardly in front of the houses. Occasionally, one could see naked children slapping the ears of pigs in the mud, stimulating them to run and squeal, for their amusement. Such farmhouses could be seen at intervals, like mud spots splashed on a beautiful landscape painting.

"Brother, has your memory been damaged by the fall into the water three days ago? Madeleine's appearance is more like our mother, while ours resemble our father." Aire said in a very surprised tone.

"Yes, that's true. I was just marveling at the wonders of creation." Felix was very cautious and did not continue to inquire. Some things were better to probe indirectly. "Is Father not planning to come?" Felix quickly changed the subject.

After breakfast, Mr. Rene dressed and went to his workshop in town. In theory, he should have been present at the memorial Mass for his daughter.

Under the green umbrella, the pretty light-brown-skinned girl Aire's eyes dimmed, and she sighed, "At the cemetery, those two tombstones will crush poor old Dad's heart..."

So Felix did not press further. He wanted to cheer Aire up, so he jokingly asked if Dr. Tronchon in town had really shaved him to treat his illness.

At this, Aire burst out laughing. She said that before obtaining his pharmacist's license, Tronchon had been a barber, but three years ago, he had also been the village teacher in Saint-Denis. Each household paid five sous a year to send their children to him, and the town hall subsidized him with a lot of wheat annually. However, Tronchon did not know Latin and could hardly speak the national language well. When he got excited, he would revert to his dialect. His only textbook was a catechism book, which he had almost worn out from repeated use. There was a well-known dialogue between Tronchon and a child in town.

One afternoon, a child was very late, and Tronchon, in a fit of rage, put a paper donkey's ear hat on him and asked what had happened.

"I was leading my donkey (horse) to drink water," the child replied.

"It's pronounced 'horse,' you uneducated brute (animal)!" Mr. Tronchon exploded in anger.

This made Felix laugh as well. He thought his French was very fluent, which was clearly an advantage for his survival.

Later, a young man came to Saint-Denis to replace the deceased parish priest and also took over as the village teacher. He had a beautiful voice and led the choir, was diligent and hardworking, and also managed the sacristy. His main job was to teach the children of farmers to read and write. Both the children and their parents liked him, and even during the busy farming season, the absentee rate was very low.

Thus, Mr. Tronchon had to step down.

Of course, when Felix and his sister arrived at the church on the Great Hill, they met this priest named Estuni. His Mass was performed very well. He was not the kind of village priest who just went through the motions but was truly knowledgeable and capable, and very gentle. When they arrived at the cemetery, Felix saw his deceased sister Madeleine's tombstone, which, like the other graves, was kept clean and tidy by Estuni. The green grass and simple flowers surrounded Madeleine's white tombstone, which read:

"Madeleine Gaudin

Died at the age of twenty-one,

Pray for her!

1783 AD"

Felix laid flowers and silently prayed. It turned out that this blonde beauty was also his sister in this world, who had passed away two years ago. Her room in the house was locked by their grieving father.

While Aire was praying, Felix gently swung his cane and walked around the cemetery on the hilltop, where the winding city walls and port of Rouen were clearly visible in the distance.

Under a cool pine tree, the robed Estuni approached and politely offered Felix a pipe, asking if he wanted to smoke. Felix politely declined.

So the two stood under the tree, looking down at the river valley connected to the Seine River. Estuni lit his pipe and, in the swirling smoke, said, "From here to there, this vast land is church property."

Felix was slightly surprised because this river valley should have very fertile land, the essence of Saint-Denis, but the fields were scattered and poorly managed, far from the neat and beautiful fields they had seen along the way.

Estuni squinted and pointed with his pipe stem to the shady side of the Great Hill, where there was a dilapidated, fortress-like house on the hillside, just as isolated as the Gaudin house, but with much poorer decoration. However, it had an iron weather vane and a pigeon coop outside the back door. "The country residence of our town's noble, Lord Coignard de Blangy. Only nobles have weather vanes and pigeon coops, right? Look at the land around his residence."

Felix focused his gaze and indeed saw that the hillside where Lord Coignard's house was located also had fields, which seemed to be cultivated, but the situation was not good, with the appearance of "thin oxen plowing thin land."

Between Coignard's "tower" and the Gaudin house was a vast forest, nestled between several fields, like the chest of Saint-Denis.

"This is the common land of Saint-Denis. We follow Gallic law, right, Felix?" (In France, Gallic law and Roman law coexisted until the Revolution, and Gallic law stipulates that the common land of the village belongs to everyone.) Estuni took a puff of his pipe and said in a deep voice.

After a few words with this young parish priest, Felix immediately understood the current situation in France, at least in the town.

Saint-Denis was a place where workshop owners, shopkeepers, and wholesalers lived. The Seine River and the main road ran through it, providing convenient transportation and water power.

Surrounding the town were several isolated villages. Half of the land belonged to the farmers, distributed to each household, with very little land per person, requiring intensive farming.

The other half of the land was concentrated, with three-tenths belonging to the church and two-tenths to the country noble Coignard de Blangy. These lands could only be managed by hired labor and were in poor condition.

Between the town and the fields was a "wasteland," a forest covering about 800 to 900 arpents, which belonged to the common land, not private property. Farmers had the right to gather firewood but not to clear the land for cultivation.

"Is this the current state of France?" Felix asked sharply.