Make France Great Again-Chapter 885 - 876: The Gradually Darkening Governor

Chapter 885: Chapter 876: The Gradually Darkening Governor

The party lasted from 7 p.m. until 11 p.m., during which time the bureaucrats at the Governor’s Mansion, under the hint of Secretary Rastigne, frequently toasted with the group of geologists as hosts amidst the flickering candlelight, with one glass of red wine after another being consumed.

When the party ended, none of the geologists could stand up straight; all of them slumped in their chairs, with a slight blush on their faces. If you touched them, you could still feel a slight warmth.

Rastigne smiled subtly at the corner of his mouth, looking at this group of disheveled geologists, and turned to Governor Jerome Patterson, saying, "Your Excellency, they’ve all drunk too much!"

Governor Jerome Patterson’s expression was somewhat complex as he looked at the geologists before him, unable to help but ask Rastigne, "Rastigne, did we really have to use this method?"

"Governor, we must use this method!" Rastigne spoke without a trace of compromise, "If we don’t do this, they will quickly run away once the survey is completed!

Very few people are willing to stay in this damned place!

If we don’t use some means, they might find it hard to stay here!"

"But..." Governor Jerome Patterson still hesitated.

"Your Excellency, this is also for the Governor’s Mansion!" Secretary Rastigne responded to Governor Jerome Patterson.

This sentence was like the last straw that broke the camel’s back for Jerome Patterson. He sighed, his gaze firm as he said to Rastigne, "Do as you said!"

With Jerome Patterson’s authorization, Rastigne showed a smile on his face and hurriedly ordered his servants to bring over the items on his office desk, along with a pen and inkwell.

The servants quickly began to act upon Rastigne’s orders, soon finding everything Rastigne needed.

Rastigne looked at the agreement he had drafted in his hand, an insidious smile at the corner of his mouth, silently murmuring in his heart: Don’t blame me!

Then, he woke the dazed geologists one by one, asking them to sign at the end of the agreement.

The dazed geologists couldn’t distinguish between dream and reality and asked Rastigne to let them continue resting.

"Sign! Once you sign, you can rest!" Rastigne coaxed.

"Once we... sign, we can rest?" a geologist burped, drunkenly asking Rastigne.

"Of course!" Rastigne said, gently guiding.

"Alright! I’ll sign!" The drunken geologists no longer cared about the content of the agreement, picking up the pen and scribbling down their names.

"Okay... this... is all... right! Burp! I can... rest... now, right?" The geologist mumbled after signing.

"Of course you can!" Rastigne looked at the crooked signature, his smile satisfied.

With this signature, he would not fear them running away.

If they dared to flee, Rastigne would take the agreement to the Supreme Court.

By then, they would be in a tight spot with no way out.

Besides, according to Rastigne’s understanding of these people, they wouldn’t dare to challenge him legally.

A group of fresh graduates and a teacher who stayed in the school were no match for him.

"Alright!" Rastigne waved to the nearby servant, saying, "Pair up and help them back to their rooms!"

"Yes!" The servants followed Rastigne’s order, pairing up to assist the geologists.

Two of the geologists, due to the bumpy walk, vomited directly in the hall.

Jerome Patterson’s face immediately showed an unpleasant expression, while Rastigne’s face remained unchanged.

Instead, he calmly ordered the servants to bring cleaning tools and personally cleaned the vomit. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

...

The severely intoxicated geologists only woke up at noon the next day, their heads aching as they tried to recall what happened the night before.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door outside, with geologists inside asking in unison who the visitor was.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it’s almost lunchtime! Secretary Rastigne asked me to invite you to lunch!" The servant outside the room responded, "Secretary Rastigne also mentioned, once lunch is finished, he will personally accompany you to the mines!"

The geologists inside the room showed expressions of surprise upon hearing this, never expecting to be put to work so soon.

One of the geologists remarked, "Good! It’s good to start early! If we start early, we can finish early and return! You all don’t want to stay here forever, right?"

The surrounding geologists, upon hearing this, nodded in agreement.

Despite Libreville not being poorly developed, it would still lag behind Paris.

This made them unused to Libreville’s lifestyle, having been accustomed to Paris.

Especially with various diseases in Libreville, it reinforced their reluctance to stay long-term.

Yet, they didn’t realize that returning was impossible unless they were prepared to face litigation upon returning to Paris!

"Alright! We know!"

The geologists quickly put on their shoes and went out, then were led by the Governor’s Mansion servants to the dining room.

At this time, only Jerome Patterson and Rastigne were in the dining room. When the geologists saw the two sitting at the dining table, they respectfully said, "Your Excellency, Governor, Your Excellency, Secretary!"

"Come over here!" Governor Jerome Patterson waved them over with a smile, and the geologists sat down one after another.

Once everyone settled down, Governor Jerome Patterson ordered the servants to start serving the dishes.

The servants brought out all the dishes, including caviar, lamb soup, and some sea delicacies.

Though the range of dishes wasn’t as extensive as last night’s banquet, they were more than enough to satisfy everyone.

The geologists expressed their thanks to Governor Jerome Patterson, who then asked if they wanted some wine.

The geologists all declined Governor Jerome Patterson’s suggestion, to which he said to everyone present, "Since none of you want to drink, let’s just leave it at that!

We will have plenty of opportunities to drink in the future!"

"That’s right! We’ll have plenty of opportunities to drink in the future!" Secretary Rastigne echoed.

The geologists showed slight reluctance on their faces upon hearing this—they really didn’t want to stay in this dreadful place.

Governor Jerome Patterson noticed the reluctance on the geologists’ faces and realized they didn’t want to stay here at all. He was secretly glad he had listened to Rastigne yesterday.

"Let’s eat! Let’s eat!" Governor Jerome Patterson said, pointing to the plates in front of him to everyone present.

Everyone began to dig in, and the entire luncheon was over within an hour.

Satisfied, the geologists began to ask Rastigne when they would depart.

Rastigne said to the geologists, "We can leave right now!"

"Great! The sooner we leave, the sooner we return!" said one geologist, with double meaning.

"Indeed!" Rastigne feigned a cheerful expression and said to everyone present.

The geologists and Rastigne took a carriage and left the Governor’s Mansion, stopping at Port Head Pier.

At the pier, Rastigne quickly summoned a steam gunship, one of the few naval assets in Libreville.

Under Rastigne’s direction, everyone boarded the ship in order.

The gunship started slowly, heading south, and after only half an hour, they reached the mouth of the Ouenvi River.

Continuing along the river, they finally arrived near the Enthuya Tribe after another two hours.

At this moment, the Old Chief of the Enthuya Tribe was leading his soldiers, waiting by the shore for Rastigne and his group (Rastigne had sent word to the Enthuya Tribe yesterday to welcome them).

After Rastigne and his group disembarked, the Chief of the Enthuya Tribe looked eagerly at them.

"Welcome, esteemed guests of the Governor’s Mansion!" the Old Chief said respectfully to everyone present.

Rastigne simply acknowledged with a slight "Mm" and then said coolly, "These are guests from France, and they are headed to the mining site!"

"We understand!" The Old Chief of the Enthuya Tribe gestured to the modified carriage behind him and said to Rastigne and his group, "Please, honored guests, ride on it!"

"Get on, if you don’t wish to walk there!" Rastigne said to everyone present, then got in first.

After seeing Secretary Rastigne board, the others also got onto the carriage.

The Old Chief immediately told the villager driving the cart, "Let’s move!"

The villager set off right away, while tribe soldiers with muskets surrounded the cart and departed together.

The Old Chief watched the gradually fading silhouette silently.

Standing beside him, Bongo Entuya asked his grandfather confusedly why he didn’t try to get closer with Secretary Rastigne!

"No rush!" The Old Chief shook his head and said to Bongo Entuya, "In any case, we will see them again!"

After nearly three hours of bumpy travel, the carriage finally arrived at the open-pit mine before nightfall.

Rastigne got off the carriage and gestured a thankful sign to the Enthuya Tribe as they left.

Rastigne and the geologists were led around the mine area by the soldiers, and Andre Milanovic also appeared.

"Secretary Rastigne, I’m late! Please forgive me!" Andre Milanovic said, somewhat disheveled.

Rastigne immediately understood that Andre Milanovic might have been engaged in some personally gratifying activity, although he didn’t know whether he had finished or not.

Nevertheless, Andre Milanovic’s audacity to engage with the local women here earned a bit of Rastigne’s admiration.

How bold must one be to do that!

With a hint of admiration, Rastigne shook his head and said to Andre Milanovic, "It’s nothing!"