I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 67 Military Uniform Effect

Shire returned to the small town on the third morning.

This was Gallieni executing the decision of the House of Representatives: "Give Shire a relatively relaxed environment so he has the time and conditions to continue inventing new equipment."

Shire worked two days and had one day off, meaning he spent two days in the military and the third day on leave at home.

Perhaps only Shire had such a vacation in the entire army.

During the war, soldiers who wanted to get a vacation either had to make significant contributions, bribe officers, or trade their limbs.

Lauren took Shire to his doorstep and then left. His job was paired with Shire’s: when Shire was in Paris, he was Shire’s driver and guard; when Shire was in Lavaz Town, he was responsible for the security and confidentiality of the factory.

So, after dropping Shire off, he immediately drove to the factory.

It was around nine in the morning, the sunshine lazily sprinkled on the ground of the small town, as if it had laid a thin layer of sand.

Shire found the house empty after opening the door.

It was normal for Dejoka to be absent. He should be at the factory at this time.

Camille...

Shire suddenly realized that he didn’t know what Camille was supposed to be doing during this period.

Recalling the day he was confined at home, Camille would go to the nearby market to buy groceries after breakfast. Shire guessed Camille should be there.

He thought he should at least tell Camille before going to the factory; otherwise, she wouldn’t even know he was back.

Walking alone on the town’s street, Shire felt a bit strange.

Usually, the neighbors would warmly greet him, and Shire couldn’t keep up with the responses. Now they were busy with their own affairs, not even glancing at him, as if they hadn’t seen him at all.

Shire didn’t understand what was happening until Teddy passed by him, munching on a pizza.

"Teddy!" Shire called out.

Teddy turned his head at the sound, glanced at Shire, then widened his eyes in surprise, dropping his pizza and having a bit of onion stuck to his face and mouth corners.

"Sha... Shire, you’re Shire!" Teddy swallowed hard.

"Am I that hard to recognize?" Shire asked in confusion. He had only been gone for two days.

"No, no!" Teddy’s tongue tied due to nerves: "You, you’re a soldier, no, an officer!"

Shire seemed to understand. It was the uniform symbolizing him as "military" that caused this.

During this period, soldiers had been coming and going in the small town, including patrol squads, and the citizens were used to automatically ignoring all soldiers since it had nothing to do with their lives.

The reason the neighbors ignored Shire might be because of the same reason as Teddy; they hadn’t recognized Shire.

Teddy looked at Shire’s uniform with intense envy, his eyes moving to the revolver on Shire’s waist, and he couldn’t help but utter a "wow," his eyes sparkling with amazement: "Is that... real?"

"Of course!" Shire pulled out the revolver, holding it in his hand and shaking it. It wasn’t loaded, and Shire had never tried it.

"Can I... try?"

"No, Teddy!" Shire shook his head: "We have orders; we must protect our weapons well!"

"Of course!" Teddy’s eyes showed regret but added another layer of envy for Shire.

While classmates were idle due to school closures, Shire had already become an officer, carrying a brand new revolver.

Shire, however, smiled bitterly and shook his head slightly. When they got a weapon and wore a uniform themselves, they would regret it.

At this moment, Shire saw a familiar figure; it was Camille returning from grocery shopping, carrying a basket filled with potatoes, onions, and seemingly some beef.

Shire quickly put away his gun, leaving Teddy behind, rushing to greet her, habitually stretching out his hand to take the basket from Camille.

Camille was startled by Shire’s action. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

She was lost in thought while walking, her mind filled with worries about how Shire was doing in Paris, whether he was not used to military life, and most concerning, whether Shire would be sent to the battlefield.

Suddenly approached by an officer reaching to snatch her belongings, she screamed and stepped back, dropping several potatoes.

The surrounding neighbors cast vigilant glances in their direction, thinking someone was trying to harm Camille.

"It’s me, Mom!" Shire regretted his rashness, realizing he should have anticipated that the uniform effect would occur with Camille too.

Camille froze, unable to believe that the person standing before her was Shire, dressed in a military uniform and seemingly bearing a rank.

Then she reacted, realizing Shire had joined the military, of course he should be in uniform.

"Shire!" Camille gasped for air like someone who had just been released from being suffocated.

Her fear instantly turned into joy as she looked Shire up and down with proud eyes, occasionally touching his military cap and collar, mumbling: "It’s really you, Shire. Look at you, you’ve become a lieutenant!"

The neighbors also recognized Shire, exclaiming:

"God, it’s Young Master Shire!"

"I almost didn’t recognize him."

"Look at him, he’s like an adult now!"

Then someone shouted at the two:

"The uniform suits you, Young Master Shire!"

"You have an excellent child, Madam Bernard!"

...

Camille proudly held Shire’s arm, thanking the neighbors one by one, her face beaming with a bright smile. Nothing could satisfy a mother more than compliments about her child.

Shire seemed a bit unaccustomed to being treated like a child; he took the opportunity to carry the grocery basket to free himself from Camille’s affectionate actions.

Just then, a patrol squad passed by. The soldiers, seeing a lieutenant ahead, saluted from afar, and as they got closer, exclaimed:

"God, it’s Young Master Shire; he became a lieutenant!"

"Of course, he’s a capitalist; he became a lieutenant in just a few days after enlisting!"

"Damn it, isn’t that expected? Have you forgotten how much merit he has made?"

...

The guards’ squad had plenty of Shire’s supporters, but also staunch opponents of capitalists. Their conflict had never been resolved. If the officer hadn’t intervened to stop them, they might have started fighting in the street.

Shire guessed this might be the situation Lauren deliberately maintained.

When journalists came to interview, Lauren would bring out the batch opposed to capitalists for interviews. They would complain to the journalists:

"Protecting capitalists? We hardly have the time; our task is to ensure they don’t make mistakes!"

"Indeed, who knows if capitalists would sell technology to the enemy for money!"

"They would do anything; we should be on guard!"

...

Meanwhile, in important core areas like Shire’s home vicinity, the factory, and on the roads, Lauren arranged Shire’s supporters as guards, ensuring Shire’s safety wholeheartedly.

This is called making use of local conditions and resources well. Lauren wasn’t as dumb as he appeared; he just had some bad luck.