Chapter 354: Tijani's Difficulties

On the banks of the Seine, the setting sun slowly fell below the horizon amid the "cooing" of the wood pigeons. At that moment, the sky suddenly darkened.

(The picture above shows the wood pigeon, also known as the "European pigeon", which is one of the common long-lived birds in the Seine)

The lights in the villa in Wells were bright, and the servants in the kitchen were busy. The chef shouted in the direction of the phone with sweat on his head: "Where is the tuna?"

"It's already on the plane that has been transported. It will arrive in about half an hour!"

"Are you sure it's fresh?"

"Yes, it was just caught today!"

...

They heard two hours ago that Master Tijani was granted a day off, and they had to prepare a dinner to welcome him tonight. However, there was no fresh tuna in the whole of Paris, which was Tijani's favorite dish.

There was no choice but to hire a plane to transport it from a coastal city 200 kilometers away.

In the end, a plate of delicious "grilled fat" was served to Tijani in time.

(Note: 'Big fat' is the part of tuna with the most fat in the belly and is the most expensive)

The hard work of the chefs was rewarded by Wells mentioning it at the table: "That was shipped from Dunkirk, try it?"

"Thank you, father!" Tijani cut a piece of fish and put it into his mouth, smiling and praising: "Delicious, I like it very much!"

Wells nodded contentedly, raised his glass to Tijani: "I am proud of you, Tijani, not only because of your success on the battlefield, but also because you have matured a lot."

"The battlefield is a place to temper people." Tijani replied while chewing food: "But when it comes to success, it's mostly Charles's, I just..."

Tijani spread his hands: "I mostly do it according to his orders or plans."

Tijani's face was not embarrassed, but rather a little proud.

Tijani didn't think it was a shameful thing. If anyone wanted to compete with Charles or steal his credit, he must be the stupidest person in the world.

Wells appreciated Tijani's straightforwardness: "You may be telling the truth, but there is a reason why you can become Charles' partner."

Tijani raised his eyebrows: "Do you mean it's because of the shipyard?"

"No!" Wells laughed: "It's because of you, Tijani. You may not have discovered your own strengths, but Charles has seen them."

Wells stared at his son thoughtfully. He had never discovered this advantage before, and even thought it was a disadvantage: Tijani, who had been well-fed since childhood, had no interest in money and power, but was fond of "the art of war".

But now, Wells thinks he is wrong.

Tijani has done a good job. One day he may become a victorious general of France, or Charles' right-hand man.

This is also one of the points that Wells hesitated.

After taking a sip of wine and putting down the glass, Wells changed the subject and asked, "Tell me about Charles. Is he really as good as people say?"

When talking about Charles, Tijani became excited. He stopped what he was doing and looked up at Wells: "He is better than people say, father. There are many things people don't know."

"Yes." Wells said with emotion: "Behind every success there are unknown dangers. People often only see the surface, but ignore the process of obtaining it, which is the most difficult."

Tijani nodded: "That's the case, but every time Charles can get out of danger, I am glad that we are on his side."

Wells's expression froze , he was silent for a while before responding: "Yes, you are right."

However, Tijani knew his father, he immediately realized that something was wrong, his face gradually turned into disappointment, and his tone became cold: "You are not going to stand on Charles' side, right?"

"No." Wells shook his head and denied: "I just haven't decided yet."

Tijani laughed: "Haven't decided yet? Let me think about it, it has been two or three months since you met Charles!"

Then Tijani understood, he asked Wells coldly: "Is it 'undecided' or 'don't want to decide'?"

If it is "don't want to decide", then it is not a matter of time, no matter how long you think about it, it is still "undecided".

Wells did not deny it, he just replied calmly: "You will understand it later, if you are in my position..."

"I don't understand!" Tijani stood up, his tone excited: "Charles is the future, father, he is everything, can't you see this?"

Wells shook his head helplessly: "But if we 'decide', we may have no future, Tijani. I also hope to fully support Charles..."

"Then do it!"

"But I can't..."

"Because of interests, right? You only have interests in your eyes, and they are in front of you! Do you know what short-sightedness is? I see it!"

...

After saying that, Tijani took off the napkin and threw it on the table, turned around and walked out of the house angrily, leaving Wells sitting quietly in the chair staring at the delicious food on the table.

The relationship between their father and son has always been irreconcilable, either because of this problem or because of that problem.

...

At the police training base, Charles sat on the desk in the headquarters of the 105th Infantry Regiment and looked at the use of the gas mask boredly.

After experiencing a series of problems with gas masks, the 105th Infantry Regiment summarized a set of precautions:

Before using, check whether the gas mask is damaged and make sure there are no cracks or holes in the mask.

Then check its sealing.

Also wear it correctly and make sure the gas filter canister is new.

…

These may seem simple, but there are bloody lessons behind each one: more than 200 soldiers of the 105th Infantry Regiment lost due to poison gas in the Ypres counter-offensive, and at least half of them were due to these reasons that should not exist.

But it is easier said than done. In a battlefield with scarce supplies, sometimes even if you know that the gas mask is damaged, you can't replace it.

They can only choose between wearing it or not.

At this time, Tijani came back. When he saw Charles, he squeezed out a smile and explained: "I can't let go of the troops, so I came back."

"Really?" Charles asked back.

This excuse is too far-fetched. If he really couldn't let go of the troops, he wouldn't need to take this day off.

Tijani didn't answer. He sat back at his desk in a sullen manner. After a while, he took something out of the drawer and pretended to be busy.

He didn't know how to deal with this problem. On one side was his father, and on the other side was Charles. It seemed wrong to stand on either side.

"Let me guess." Charles said shockingly: "You quarreled with your father because of me."

Tijani suddenly raised his head and looked at Charles: "You...how do you know?"

"I also know that your father abstained from voting, General." Charles said: "Remember the proposal to change military uniforms?"

Tijani was stunned, then nodded: "Yes, of course you know."