Chapter 354: The Difficulties of Tigani
By the banks of the Seine, the setting sun slowly dipped below the horizon, its light fading with the cooing of the spotted wood pigeons in the background. In that moment, the sky suddenly grew dark.
The villa of Wells was brightly lit, and the servants in the kitchen were bustling around with great energy. The head chef, his forehead covered in sweat, shouted toward the telephone, “Where’s the tuna?”
“It’s already on the plane, it should arrive in about half an hour!”
“Is it fresh?”
“Yes, it was caught today!”
...
Two hours ago, they had heard that young master Tigani had been granted a one-day leave and would be coming back for a welcome dinner that evening. However, fresh tuna, his favorite dish, could not be found anywhere in Paris.
There was no choice but to hire a plane to transport the fish from a coastal city 200 kilometers away.
Finally, a delicious plate of "charcoal-grilled fatty tuna" was brought to the table and placed before Tigani.
(Note: "Fatty tuna" refers to the fattiest and most expensive part of the tuna, located in its belly.)
The chefs’ hard work earned Wells a remark at the table: “That’s from Dunkirk, would you like to try it?”
“Thank you, Father!” Tigani cut a piece of fish and put it into his mouth, smiling as he praised, “Delicious, I really like it!”
Wells nodded in satisfaction, raising his glass toward Tigani, “I am proud of you, Tigani, not just because of your successes on the battlefield, but also because you’ve matured a lot.”
“The battlefield is a place of personal growth,” Tigani responded while chewing his food, “But when it comes to success, most of it is Charles’s. I mostly just…”
Tigani shrugged his shoulders, “I mostly follow his orders or plans.”
Tigani didn’t seem embarrassed at all, instead, he was almost proud of it.
He didn’t think it was shameful; if anyone wanted to compete with Charles or steal his credit, they would have to be the most foolish person in the world.
Wells appreciated Tigani’s frankness: “What you said may be the truth, but the reason you can be Charles’s partner is not without reason.”
Tigani raised his eyebrows, “You mean because of the shipyard?”
“No!” Wells laughed, “It’s because of you, Tigani. You may not realize your strengths, but Charles saw them.”
Wells thoughtfully looked at his son. He had never seen this strength before, even thinking it was a flaw: Tigani, who grew up with no financial worries, had no interest in money or power but was deeply passionate about the "art of war."
But now, Wells realized he had been wrong.
Tigani was doing very well. One day, he might become a victorious general of France or Charles’s right-hand man.
That was also one of the reasons Wells was hesitant.
Taking a small sip of wine, Wells changed the topic and asked, “Tell me about Charles. Is he really as excellent as people say?”
As soon as Charles’s name was mentioned, Tigani became animated. He stopped what he was doing and looked up at Wells, “He’s even better than people say, Father. There are many things people don’t know.”
“Yes,” Wells responded thoughtfully, “Behind every success lies dangers that people don’t see. People often only see the surface and overlook the process of obtaining it, but that process is the hardest part.”
Tigani nodded, “That’s how it is, but every time Charles can turn danger into opportunity, I’m very glad we’re standing by his side.”
Wells’s expression froze. He fell silent for a while before responding, “Yes, you’re right.”
However, Tigani, knowing his father well, immediately sensed something was wrong. His face gradually shifted to disappointment, and his tone grew cold, “You’re not planning to stand by Charles’s side, are you?”
“No,” Wells shook his head, denying it, “I just… haven’t decided yet.”
Tigani laughed bitterly, “Haven’t decided? Let me think… it’s been two or three months since you last met with Charles!”
Then Tigani understood. He asked coldly, “Is it ‘haven’t decided’ or ‘don’t want to decide’?”
If it was “don’t want to decide,” then it wasn’t a matter of time. No matter how much longer he took, it would still be “undecided.”
Wells did not deny it. He calmly answered, “You will understand one day, if you’re in my position…”
“I don’t understand!” Tigani stood up, his tone agitated. “Charles is the future, Father! He is everything! Can’t you see that?”
Wells helplessly shook his head. “But if we ‘decide,’ we may not have a future, Tigani. I want to fully support Charles…”
“Then do it!”
“But I can’t…”
“Because of interests, right? All you see are interests, and immediate ones at that! Do you know what ‘narrow-sightedness’ is? I can see it!”
...
With that, Tigani threw his napkin onto the table and stormed out of the house, leaving Wells sitting quietly in his chair, staring blankly at the delicious food on the table.
The relationship between father and son could never be reconciled, not because of this issue, then because of that one.
...
At the police training base, Charles sat bored at his desk in the 105th Infantry Regiment headquarters, reading through the instructions for the use of gas masks.
After personally experiencing a series of issues with gas masks, the 105th Infantry Regiment summarized a set of precautions: Before use, check if the gas mask is damaged, ensuring there are no cracks or tears.
Then, check its seal.
It is also important to wear it properly and ensure that the filter canister is new.
...
These steps seemed simple, but behind each one were bloody lessons: during the counteroffensive at Ypres, more than two hundred soldiers of the 105th Infantry Regiment were incapacitated by gas, with at least half of those casualties caused by avoidable issues.
However, it was easier said than done. On the resource-starved battlefield, sometimes, even when soldiers knew their gas masks were damaged, they couldn’t replace them.
They could only choose between wearing them or not.
At that moment, Tigani returned. When he saw Charles, he forced a smile and explained, “I couldn’t leave the troops, so I came back.”
“Really?” Charles asked in response.
The excuse was too weak. If Tigani truly couldn’t leave the troops, he wouldn’t have needed to take the day off.
Tigani didn’t answer, instead sitting back at his desk in a sulking mood. He stared for a moment before pretending to busy himself by pulling something out of his drawer.
He didn’t know how to deal with this issue. On one side was his father, on the other, Charles. It seemed wrong to stand with either one.
“Let me guess,” Charles said unexpectedly. “You had an argument with your father. It’s because of me.”
Tigani suddenly looked up at Charles, “You… how did you know?”
“I also know your father abstained from voting, General,” Charles said, “Do you remember the proposal about changing the military uniforms?”
Tigani was stunned, then nodded, “Yes, you of course know.”