I'm reading "Cosette" (the simple french version) and I have a quick question...?

Question

in chapter ,"10. Thénardier au Travail",

Why did M. Thénardier tell the voyager (Jean Valjean) that he would not like him to take Cosette and he claims that he will miss her, but knowing him, thats probably not sincere, is it?

what are his true intentions?

(Cosette from the series of Les Misérables)

Answer 1

Thenardier wants to extort money from Valjean so that Valjean pays a higher price to take Cosette since Thenardier can tell that Valjean is a wealthy man. Cosette also provides valuable servant labor for the Thenardiers.