[Pride and Prejudice] Rich Lady

Uncle Gardner's arrival was well received by everyone except Mrs. Bennet, who was a little less enthusiastic.

Elizabeth heard her drinking the bitter Chinese medicine while muttering to herself: "The two strangers are both unmarried young men, but none of them can become my son-in-law."

Covering her mouth with her hands, Elizabeth almost couldn't hold back her laughter.

The little baby Lydia held the second sister's arm in her arms and said in a low voice, "Mom has been reading this sentence for two days. Yesterday, my father asked her which husband she wanted to keep, and my mother disliked Mr. Jared too." Old, Mr. George is all very well, but he's always out of the house."

"Bad baby, I heard you laughing at Mom!" Mrs. Bennet turned from the sofa, feigning anger.

Elizabeth hurriedly ran downstairs with her little sister in her arms. The two sisters covered their mouths and snickered on the stairs. It was a tacit understanding: Fortunately, Mrs. Bennet didn't know that Mr. George had a manor, otherwise everyone's ears would not be quiet.Mom can talk about her own regrets to the regrets of others before giving up.

"Mom's spirit is much better, she no longer can't fall asleep, so she has more and more strength to talk non-stop." Lydia spread her hands, "I don't dare to mess with Mrs. Bennet anymore."

Mrs. Bennet regards Chinese medicine as a golden rule. She even watched the maid cook the medicine herself, no matter how bitter it was, she drank every drop.Such a good patient who follows the doctor's advice will naturally have faster results, and the whole family can see the transformation of the hostess. She is full of energy and radiant, and when she stands with her husband, Mr. Bennet is ten years older than her. .

Mr. Bennet took good care of his face recently. He even used a little bit of Mrs.'s ointment to moisturize his cheeks, but it didn't have much effect, so Mr. Bennet told his wife that he would like to accompany her to Kensing next time. Ton's pharmacy.

Mrs. Bennet was overjoyed, and at once left her dear Lizzie, saying, "Good Lizzie, go to the town whenever you like to call on the Silk Country doctor, as long as you have someone to accompany you." , I agree. You don’t need to be kicked out of the college next time, dear Mr. Bennet said he would accompany me!”

"...It doesn't matter if we don't speak Chinese, don't they all speak English?" Mrs. Bennet said disgustedly, it was inconvenient for her to have her underage daughter by her side, and she had to ask for leave for many things The doctor's.

While Mrs. Bennet was counting the days to go to the pharmacy again, the two stores in Meryton changed hands.

"This is really a bargain. The two shops are enough to add another fortune to the ladies of the house! Who do you plan to leave it to, Miss Jane or Miss Elizabeth?" Sir Lucas specially came to Longbourn to visit, Chat with Mr. Bennet.

"No one will give. If I want to give, I must treat each daughter equally. It is not a father's behavior to favor one another." Mr. Bennet replied.

Sir William smiled, "Old man, that's because you have fewer male heirs. I think the law of primogeniture is very reasonable. When I went to the palace to meet with the upper class there, they all paid attention to it. If there is no eldest son, the elder His daughters should also be treated preferentially, because it is a blessing for the younger sisters below if they get married as soon as possible, and everyone in the city thinks so."

"I haven't been to the palace, and I don't go to the city very often. I don't have any sons, and the eldest daughters don't worry about being married. In fact, I am tired of those young boys who surround Jane-I I didn't plan to send my daughters out early, they are far from stable enough to meet my requirements." Mr. Bennet said calmly: "In view of this, I am willing to treat my five daughters as fairly as possible."

Sir William paused, and could only ask about the business, "The baker and Mrs. Brown's store need at least a thousand pounds. With such a large amount of money, has Longbourn's farm found a new good customer?"

The Bennett family entertained two strangers, and the neighbors spread the word. After the two guests left, there was a big movement in his family's farm, and the seedlings were brought in and the farm was turned over again. .This has to make people suspect that the Bennet family has found a new customer for the farm. They are much more generous than the previous purchasers, and they gave the Bennet family a large deposit in advance: otherwise, the Bennet family made such a quick move. Buy two stores directly.

"No, in fact, one of the two guests is a seed merchant. I bought a lot of good seeds from him, as well as some new farm tools. If you are interested, I can introduce him to the neighbors. "Mr. Bennet said slowly: "The other guest is a friend I know from the city. He is a factory trader. Thanks to him, I can invite the seed merchant to Longbourne."

Mr. Bennet's confession instantly dissuaded Sir Lucas, who had no interest in better seeds and new farm implements: "You always have these outlandish ideas. I heard you donated some books to the Sunday School for free." Well, it's God's favor that they can read and write, and those old preaching books are enough to get rid of them. Why bother?"

Sir William looked to his old neighbour, expecting an answer.But Mr. Bennet always insisted on his own opinion, and had no intention of going along with him.

"Good seeds and farm tools will only make the farm workers lazy, and no matter how nice you are to those people, they will not be grateful!" The most merciful one, specially bred several Shire horses to save energy for lazy people, so that the workers on our farm envied them and complained that the master was not kind enough. If this continues to spoil them, it will ruin the atmosphere of the whole town!"

"Well, my lord sir, as you all know, my farm is the largest in the neighbourhood, and there are not many tenants. What can I do? Besides, you are kind enough. I heard that Mrs. Lucas always brings fresh Milk to your workmen's homes, and your own visit to their sick daughters. Who doesn't praise your ladyship for her kindness?"

Mr. Bennet was a little impatient, so he had to dismiss him casually.The land owned by the Lucas family is too small to be called a farm. They don't have too many farm implements and horses, so Sir Lucas is always stingy about paying for it.As for the milk, the fresh milk that is squeezed out of the Longborn farm every day, except for carrying a bucket to the house, the rest are taken by the workers at will.There are 24 families in the vicinity, each of which raises cows. This thing is really not rare, and there is no need to do good deeds with great fanfare.

Mr. Jazz didn't hear Mr. Bennet's irony. He was very proud of being flattered, so he said several modest nonsense repeatedly.

Mr. Bennet rolled his eyes secretly. He really didn't want to socialize with this "gentleman who met at the palace". Compared with Mr. Jazz, Mr. King could talk more together.It's a pity that Mr. Jin did something wrong last time, and his reputation fell sharply. He left his wife and daughter behind and hid in the city.It was whispered among gentlemen that Mr. King had found the love of a young girl in town, bought her from her landlady, and rented her a small flat to house her.Neighbors and gentlemen talked about it with great envy.

"You won't lose your identity and run these two shops yourself?" Sir William was very helpful: "I can introduce you to a few tenants, and I can guarantee that they are all trustworthy gentlemen. If you are willing to The two shops are leased to the same person, and I can give you a good word for you, maybe I can charge more rent."

"Then I would like to thank you for your kindness." Mr. Bennet said with a smile: "My uncle, Mr. Gardner intends to rent it for a small business. You know, I can't refuse relatives."

"He's in Longbourne now, and Gardner is too fond of some nieces to take them for a walk around town. I don't think he minds giving up the smaller former baker's shop, you can wait They'll come back and talk to him in person," said Mr. Bennet deliberately.

Sure enough, since Sir Lucas won the title, he didn't think much of the small businessman, so he rejected it boringly.After staying for a while, he hurriedly said goodbye.

The two stores are certainly a good piece of fat, and Meryton hasn't had a deal like this for several years.It is not surprising that everyone is staring at the aftermath of this transaction.After hearing that the Bennet family rented the store to relatives, they were a little bored. There were rumors that Mr. Bennet did not do well in this matter, and if they rented out to outsiders, they would definitely get more rent.

In fact, Mr. Gardner was so innocent that he was at best a caretaker, like Mr. Hardy, the shopkeeper in his store.However, the nieces are very kind and willing to give him a layer of pure profit to thank him.

That day, Mr. Gardner carefully read the ideas of his nieces several times overnight, and the more he read, the brighter his eyes became. He rudely pulled his brother-in-law out of the bedroom, and the two stayed up all night, discussing them one by one.

The next day, Mr. Bennet had to go to the town with an extremely haggard face, and signed a sales contract with the baker and Mrs. Brown. His title of "JP" helped a lot, and the deputy mayor The formalities were almost completed, and the two shops fell into Bennet's hands without causing a splash.After all, Mr. Gardner is younger. He was pleasantly surprised to find that many of his niece's whimsical ideas can be used in his own shop, so he had a pleasant discussion with the girls for a day without taking a break.

With the help of their father and uncle, especially Uncle Gardner, who is considered a successful veteran, the ladies' "plan" is more complete and detailed, and has practical significance for implementation.Together, they clearly put their plans for half a year on paper. Uncle Gardner also guaranteed that as long as there were no major changes in the outside world, he would guarantee that the store would flourish in Meryton.

Mr. Gardner is very good at managing contacts. He not only has many acquaintances in his business, but also has many friends in other fields.He received a long letter from his brother-in-law before, and has contacted several factory owners and workshops that produce fabrics. He even has channels to purchase the most popular Indian cotton fabrics.Now it is only necessary to decorate the shop, and the other half of the fabric shop can be put into business.

The only thing that Uncle Gardner didn't expect was that the nieces had a lot of appetite. Before he came here, he thought that the small and busy clothing store was the focus, but after seeing the sewing machine and a few finished products, this uncle was the last one. The supported one.

He discussed with his nieces: "We can advance a batch of ready-made clothes so that the store's closets will not be empty. But only for once, and then I will hand it over to my uncle--uncle is going to set up a ready-made clothes workshop. This sewing machine is very good. If If I miss this deal, I will regret it for a whole year! Uncle’s workshop only makes ordinary styles, you just treat it as the same merchant. But I need little Lizzie’s help, I have to place an order earlier than others , preferably the first customers of the sewing machine factory!"

This coincides with Elizabeth's idea. She originally planned to divide the clothing store into two levels, just like the high-end and mass-market stores in later generations.The couture is naturally from the Bennet family, while the mass seller is handed over to the uncle.Meryton's geographical location is superior. Although the town is not big, it is not only very close to London, but also a large town with a large population.

It's just that when she was discussing with Jane, she thought that uncle would make a plan after the store was profitable, and they were going to bring it up at that time, but they didn't expect that Uncle Gardner was far more decisive than they thought.Elizabeth took advantage of the opportunity to speak out the concept of "brand" and suggested that Uncle Gardner draw a generous and easy-to-recognize logo on his products. Once people recognize the high quality and affordable clothes with this logo, mass sales will have a lot to do.

"We are also going to embroider a special logo on the clothes we handle." Jane said, Kitty and Lydia hurriedly presented the pattern that the sisters decided on after intense discussions to their uncle.

"It looks like a coat of arms?" Uncle Gardner touched the complex pattern on the white paper: the pattern follows the tradition of the coat of arms of the nobility, and the emblem in the middle that resembles the coat of arms is the main body, but the ladies don't dare to use the coat of arms shape, It will not use the diamond badge shape of upper-class women, but a shape of six sides connected by corresponding arc-shaped lines between two longbows.This beautiful quadrilateral is not divided into four pieces like the coat of arms of the nobility. It is divided into five pieces, representing the five Bennet ladies.Two pieces are at the bottom, three pieces equally divide the upper part, and the lower two pieces that play a supporting role belong to the two eldest ladies. On the left is a red fire feather, and on the right is a silhouette of a kind of flower with simple lines.

"What's this?" Uncle Gardner asked.

"It's a lotus, a kind of flower in the Ming Dynasty. I like it very much." Elizabeth replied.

"Then I guess the butterfly wing in the middle is Lydia, and the migratory swallow on the right is Kitty, so what is the bird with the red spot on the head on the left? Is it a stork? It doesn't look like it, my little one." Mary?" Uncle Gardner looked at it carefully.

"It's a red-crowned crane. People in the Ming Dynasty call it a red-crowned crane. The whole body is black and white except for the vermilion on the top of the head. I fell in love with it at the first sight." Mary was willing to introduce her favorite bird to her uncle.

"If possible, I really want to see it with my own eyes." The cute little girl made a wish.

The hexagon formed by the longbow is surrounded by a circle of thorns, and the roses on it are marked with several numbers on the side.

Elizabeth laughed: "This circle of thorns, leaves and flowers can be used to mark the batches of the year, so as not to be imitated by others, and to avoid some bad disputes that may arise."

Uncle Gardner was amazed. He liked the pattern very much, but he had to tell his nieces: "This pattern is beautiful and useful. I'm sure the ladies will like it, but it's a bit complicated. I guess it will take more time to embroider this mark." It takes a lot of time."

The girls told the uncle cheerfully: "It will take about half an hour, as long as we use a pen to rub it on the cloth first, after all, the pattern is not too big, and we only need to embroider simple lines."

The two eldest sisters added: "We won't be full of embroidery. In fact, clothes with different prices have different embroidery methods. The most exquisite and expensive ones will be embroidered with colored threads; while the mid-range ones will embroider thorns and roses clearly, and then Whoever made the drawing should embroider the representative pattern clearly; the simplest and low-level ones will only embroider an outline, using red and green dots to represent roses and leaves—as long as the batch can be seen clearly."

This made my uncle admire him very much. He asked his niece to design a unique logo for Gardner. In order to thank his dear girls, he was willing to supply the store's ordinary ready-made clothes at cost price.

Uncle Gardner will take a share of the profit, and the ladies are not polite to him, but act like a baby around him, thanking him for his love.

That night, Uncle Gardner sent his personal servant to Hansford to place an order for the sewing machine factory under construction. Of course, Miss Elizabeth attached a recommendation to Uncle's letter.

Uncle Gardner paid for all the wallpapers, cabinets, and furniture of the store. In just two days, the newly purchased store had a new look, as if it could be opened at any time, which made the residents of the town even more curious.

The author has something to say: Great news from Meryton: Relatives of Longbourn, that Gardiner's clothes are so tempting, and empty the purses of girls and ladies!Mrs. Bennet has become the most popular person in the neighborhood by leaps and bounds!Because only she can order the latest fashions for ladies and ladies; and only she can get a [-]% discount!

Mr. Bennet, who is quite old compared to his wife: ...

Hahaha, Fat Chapter is coming~

Note: "Out of the mud but not stained, in the clear ripples but not demon" - from "Ai Lian Shuo", Zhou Dunyi.