From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

The day after receiving the appointment certificate and having a stable source of income, Lawrence planned to move out of Carlo's mansion.

Although Carlo enthusiastically expressed that the room was very spacious and hoped that Lawrence could stay and live together, Lawrence politely refused.

Firstly, it was because Lawrence was preparing to form his own force in Ajaccio and still needed his own place to live; secondly, he did not want to disturb Carlo and Maria's human-making activities.

It would not be good if this affected the birth of Napoleon in the future.

Lawrence came to Corsica empty-handed, carrying only the dagger Grosso had given him. Therefore, he did not pack any luggage and left with only a few items that Maria had thoughtfully packed for him.

After leaving Carlo's house, Lawrence first went to the Corsican Finance Bureau with two appointment letters to receive his first salary. After that, his monthly salary would be delivered to Lawrence's mansion by postman.

The Finance Bureau is just an office building converted from a three-story single-family apartment.

The Corsican people do not use the currency of other countries, but mint and issue two currencies independently. Since they are mixed with a certain amount of real gold and silver respectively, the locals simply call them gold coins and silver coins.

Since gold and silver prices are constantly changing, there is no official regulation on the exchange relationship between gold coins and silver coins to avoid the financial phenomenon of bad coins driving out good coins.

However, the residents of the island are accustomed to the ratio of one gold coin to twenty silver coins when conducting small denomination transactions.

Of course, due to its proximity to France, residents occasionally used the French cities of Livre and Ecuy directly to conduct transactions. However, given France's chaotic monetary system, the circulation of these two currencies is still very small.

Taking into account the price level in Corsica, Lawrence roughly estimated that three gold coins could sustain a poor person at the bottom for a month.

However, due to the huge gap between rich and poor in the 18th century, the monthly expenses of a decent middle-class home would even reach more than one hundred gold coins.

"The deputy captain's monthly salary is only thirty gold coins. The staff officer's salary is better, fifty gold coins per month." Lawrence looked at the salary stipulated in the appointment certificate and shook his head helplessly.

The money is barely enough to maintain a decent middle-class life, let alone to make a difference.

"A penny really stumps a heroic man." Lawrence walked out of the Finance Bureau, carrying a bag of rattling gold coins, and couldn't help but sigh.

The next important thing is to find a place to stay.

Ajaccio is not a large city, but it is home to nearly half of the entire population of Corsica.

The entire city can be roughly divided into four areas. Since Xicheng District is close to the bay, most of the residents are dockworkers, docked sailors and the poorest people at the bottom. The security situation is also the most dangerous.

The Dongcheng District is completely opposite. Due to its higher terrain, it overlooks the entire Ajaccio and is the location of the Governor's Palace, so it has become the residence of Corsican dignitaries. Carlo's mansion is in Dongcheng District.

As for the northern and southern urban areas, they are the gathering places for ordinary people, small businessmen and craftsmen.

Considering his modest income, Lawrence had no choice but to rent an apartment in the north and south districts.

However, the process of finding housing made Lawrence somewhat difficult. In a small city like Ajaccio, there was no such thing as a housing agency, so Lawrence had to wander around the streets like a headless fly.

Occasionally, I see properties listed for rent that do not meet Lawrence’s requirements for various reasons.

“Well, although I often scolded dog agencies in my previous life, it’s really inconvenient to have these people around.”

Lawrence stood on the street and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He had been walking around here all morning, but he still couldn't find his favorite place.

"Sir, are you looking for housing?"

Just when Lawrence was at a loss what to do, he heard a timid and childish voice coming from behind him.

Lawrence turned around and looked around. Five or six meters behind him, stood an unkempt girl wearing a linen robe.

Most of the girl's face was hidden under the gray hood, but Lawrence could still see her blue eyes. At this moment, she was looking at Lawrence from a distance, as if she didn't dare to move forward.

"Huh? How do you know?" Lawrence responded while looking at the girl. Judging from her height and voice, she was probably only fifteen or sixteen years old.

And this linen dress is undoubtedly a girl from a poor family.

Hearing Lawrence respond to her, the girl became a little bolder and said:

"Sir, you have been wandering around here for a while, and what you are carrying should be a change of clothes. In addition, you are not Corsican."

"Oh?" Lawrence became a little interested. He didn't see any difference between himself and the Corsicans at all, so he asked:

"How can you tell this?"

"First of all, the dagger you are wearing is a style commonly used by Italian sailors." The girl timidly pointed to the dagger on Lawrence's waist, and then added:

"Then your shirt. Only Italians like pleated collars. Corsican gentlemen wear flat collars."

After hearing this, Lawrence subconsciously touched the collar and found that it was indeed wrinkled. This shirt was worn on the White Rose at that time, which shows that this girl's analysis is absolutely correct.

"So I'm guessing. Please don't be angry, sir." The girl carefully glanced at Lawrence's face, and then said carefully:

"You are probably a traveler from Italy, carrying your luggage and looking for a place to stay."

"Not bad, not bad." Lawrence nodded in surprise and satisfaction. He didn't expect that the girl he met on the street was so proficient in observing words and expressions.

As he spoke, Lawrence took out three gold coins from the purse in his arms and held them between his fingers. The shining golden coins were particularly dazzling in the afternoon sun, and they immediately caught the girl's eyes.

A child from the slums like her doesn't even know what the texture of gold coins feels like in her hands.

"I am indeed looking for a place to live, and if you can find one that meets my requirements, the money is yours."

Lawrence shook the gold coins in his hand, said to the girl, and then added:

"I'll even consider giving you a decent job if it satisfies me."

Decent work!

The girl froze in place for two seconds. Ever since she learned to speak, she had been thrown onto the street by her parents, earning a few meager silver coins by providing guides for outsiders.

Although I can barely fill my stomach, it is common for me to attract blank stares and insults from others.

"People would even call me miss for a decent job!"

Thinking of this, the girl hurriedly nodded her head like a chicken pecking at rice and said, "Leave it to me, sir, my name is Anna."

Lawrence nodded with satisfaction and stated his request:

"Very good, I want an apartment. It must be a detached house with a basement, preferably with multiple floors. The area must be spacious. It must be located in the north and south city areas. It must be facing the street. In addition, the furniture must be Complete, the rent cannot exceed fifty gold per month. Do you need to repeat it?”

"Already noted, sir." Anna was very focused and remembered all of Lawrence's requirements after just listening once.

"Okay, I will come here again at noon tomorrow. I hope you won't disappoint me. By the way, this is the deposit."

Lawrence said, tossing a gold coin to Anna.

This was the first time Anna had received a whole gold coin. She opened her mouth excitedly, but didn't know what to say. His dusty face became rosy, and after bowing deeply to Lawrence, he turned around and ran out, quickly disappearing around the corner of the street.

"This child can be of great use." Lawrence looked at the back of this girl who left a deep impression on him and couldn't help but sigh.

Despite having two public jobs, Lawrence still didn’t know much about the city of Ajaccio. It would save a lot of trouble if Anna were recruited into his army.

Seeing that the housing problem was basically solved, it was time for Lawrence to report to his post. Lawrence did not need to worry about the work of the staff every day. He only needed to wait for Governor Pauli to summon him.

Therefore, what Lawrence needs to worry about is the position of deputy captain of the patrol.

"I hope it goes smoothly." Lawrence sighed and prepared to report to the Ajaccio patrol.

But he also knew that for an airborne vice-captain like him, it might take a lot of trouble to convince his subordinates.