With the help of his brother and on the advice of his wife, he manages to get temporary (and unpaid) sick leave from his job as a clerk at the shipyard where he works, under the excuse that he is suffering from a nervous illness.

Laarmans dedicates himself fervently to his task, but is so carried away by his new job as a merchant that he is initially only concerned with the organization and furnishing of his 'office', the purchase of a suitable desk, a typewriter and a telephone, design of his stationery, the recruitment of agents in his district, which consists of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the naming of the company (it ends up being "Gafpa", which stands for 'General Antwerp Feeding Products Association') that he loses sight of his real task.

In the meantime, his name as a merchant has become a guarantee for his position in the higher circles of his friend Van Schoonbeke, where he is treated with more respect afterwards.

In practice, however, Laarmans is not suited for his work and proves unable to sell even the smallest quantity of cheese (a product he himself detests).

His hired agents turn out to be mostly non-valeurs and the enormous quantity of Edam cheese, stored in the Blauwhoedenveem, hardly wants to diminish.