[Pride and Prejudice] Becoming Katherine Bennett

Mr. Nate brought back good news for Catherine - a sincere contract.

The Mr. Gordon who wrote the letter is not only the boss of the "Daily Telegraph", but also a publisher. He is willing to accept the conditions proposed by Catherine: publish her in the newspaper first, stop serialization when the last ten chapters are reached, and publish the book.

Catherine felt a little guilty about this way of publishing, and admitted that her proposal was very ungentlemanly.Presumably the two big publishers didn't even look at her, which was directly related to the publishing method she proposed.

But Catherine had no other choice.The granary knows the etiquette, and the food and clothing are sufficient to know the honor and disgrace.She needs to live, and to live she needs money.

Catherine doesn't know how the rest of the Bennett family are so optimistic that when the girls find a good marriage, the problems in life will be solved naturally, but what she knows is that she will never be able to pin all her hopes on on another person.

I can make money by myself, and the money is in my own hands, which is more reliable than any good man.

At first, Mr. Bennet was very opposed, but when Catherine told him calmly and seriously, if she lived to be 70 years old, the inheritance of a thousand pounds would be 25 pounds a year on average. However, after she got married, if she was not lucky enough to marry into a wealthy gentleman family, the amount of 25 pounds a year almost sentenced her to be poor for the rest of her life.

She didn't mind Mr. Bennett's reluctance to save more, and she had no position to blame him, but she hoped he would support her actions.

"I read in the book that the wise orientals have a saying 'repair the doors and windows of the house before it rains', Dad, maybe I won't fall into that field, but if I can get more money in my hands , then there is no 'maybe', but 'certainly'."

After Catherine finished speaking, Mr. Bennett, who was sitting on the chair, looked at her for a long time with those old and cloudy eyes. Catherine's letter was a tacit consent to her thoughts.

In fact, it is not that Catherine has other ways to make money.

In any case, she is also a person in the 21st century. There are several methods in Catherine's mind that can be put into action immediately, such as producing underwear. Now British women generally wear suffocating corsets. There is no concept of underwear yet, and there are already in the market. Steel wire, cotton cloth and other necessary items for making underwear appeared.If Catherine went into business, it would be impossible for her to be as rich as an enemy, but it would be no problem to greatly improve her life.

But she can't go.Her father is a gentleman, and her sisters are ladies. Although society's evaluation of businessmen has been improving, if Catherine "shows her face" to do business, the entire Bennett family will become the object of contempt. The other four girls Don't even try to find a good marriage that meets today's social standards.

After thinking about it, Catherine found that the only way she could go was writing. If it didn't work out, she didn't know what else to do.Fortunately, Mr. Gordon appreciated her talent, not only fully accepted her request, but also paid a high remuneration for the manuscript, paying Mr. Bennett 35 the market price for 2 words.

And greater profits lie behind.With the circulation of the "Daily Newsletter", her book is printed on it, and the readers who buy the newspaper are all potential audiences of the book. She keeps the most exciting ending and does not publish it. It is temporarily unknown what criticism will be received by such a sales method, but It must be effective for stimulating sales.

It is conservatively estimated that "Blood Return" can bring her 500-600 pounds.

Mr. Bennet handed Catherine two Bank of England notes worth £90 and one £20, and she took them with shortness of breath and blood.

She took the bank notes in her hand, looked at them carefully and rubbed them repeatedly, and then handed them to Mr. Bennett, asking him to help convert the money into gold.

Catherine is not an economics major, but she still knows a little common sense about financial management.Currency will depreciate, but gold is eternal hard currency.

Of course, Mr. Gordon is a businessman, not here for targeted poverty alleviation.He demanded that Catherine's follow-up articles must be serialized in the "Daily Newsletter", and the quality and quantity should be guaranteed. At least one manuscript should be contributed every year, and the first three should be seamlessly connected. After the serialization of this one, the next one should be picked up immediately. superior.

Mr. Bennett said these requests were made by Mr. Gordon on the spot after he had spoken about the publication proposal.Catherine admired the business acumen of Mr. Gordon, who had never met before. These common sense of Internet articles that became popular later are unprecedented measures now. She only mentioned methods to stimulate sales, and he could draw inferences from one instance and come up with more Perfect solution.

Catherine appreciated Mr. Gordon's proposal as much as he appreciated her publishing plans, and readily acceded to his request.

Mr. Bennet waited for her consent to the contract before signing it, and the butler rode to London to deliver the contract to Mr. Gordon.When the butler came back, he brought back a letter from Mr. Gordon, saying that "Blood Repayment" would start to appear in the newspapers in two weeks.

For days Catherine had a twinkle in her eyes and a flowery smile, happier than even the other sisters who were finally looking forward to the public gathering.

Exactly how many guests Mr. Bingley would invite to the party changed and changed from what Catherine heard from Mrs. Bennett, until the final version was that he would bring six young ladies, all his sisters.

By the time everyone was dancing on the day of the public gathering, five strange faces walked through the doors of the banquet hall.Everyone looked around and found that only Mr. Bingley had seen it before.

Mr. Bingley has a handsome face with a smile on his face, and his demeanor is very gentlemanly. His two sisters are well-dressed, and his brother-in-law is plain and a little fat. 3

And his friend was the most attractive looking of all the men present.This gentleman is tall and straight, with deep and charming facial features, and an elegant and luxurious temperament.He is wearing a new three-piece suit, a dark brown jacket, half pants, and a vest of the same color inside. The tailored and high-grade clothing makes him more dignified and upright.

The group of them attracted everyone's attention as soon as they entered the ballroom.

Catherine immediately looked at Mrs. Bennet when Mr. Bingley and others entered the door, and found that the latter's attention had been completely attracted, she immediately walked out of the hall through the side door, walked through the corridor to the lounge, and sat down in a relaxed manner. On the couch, thinking about her next book.

Catherine doesn't like prom. This social custom of having strangers dance in close quarters, with each partner dancing for a long time, accompanied by a lot of awkward chats during the process, is killing socially anxious teenage girls in the 21st century.

She participated once, and in the future balls, she could hide whenever she could, and if she couldn't hide, she had to find a corner to hide, which made Mrs. Bennet always stare at her at the ball now to prevent her from disappearing.

With Mr. Bingley to attract Mrs. Bennet's attention, Catherine slipped quickly, and the ball was not less lively without her.

Mr. Bingley has a cheerful and frank personality, and is very easy to deal with. He does not have the kind of reserve that is common among gentlemen, and he quickly gets acquainted with everyone in the ballroom.

The gentleman who came with him was treated in the exact opposite way.Not long after he arrived at the scene, the news that he earned as much as [-] pounds a year spread throughout the ballroom. Everyone also said that there is a large field in Derbyshire, and his wealth comes from the land. He is a true traditional aristocrat and respected. .

The men present said he was a perfect example of a gentleman, and the women said he was more handsome than Mr. Bingley. 4

Catherine slipped away early, and if she heard it, she would definitely be amused by everyone's simple, straightforward but serious criteria for judging.

But soon his word of mouth collapsed like jumping off a cliff, which was worse than the A-share market during the stock market crash.

The gentleman, who was extremely haughty, with a superior attitude and look, danced only once all evening with Mr. Bingley's sisters each.He refused to know other female guests, so that he could follow the etiquette that a man should not invite strange female guests to dance, and he would not dance with other women.And when someone came to talk to him, he also looked serious and said very little.

Elizabeth sat in her seat, watching everyone on the dance floor change their arrangement to the music and dance the English country dance together.Today, there are more than twice as many women as men. According to the rule that both parties must change their partners after each dance, she had two dances without a partner, and she sat on the sidelines.

Mr. Bingley and his friend happened to be standing not far from her, and she accidentally heard Mr. Bingley who was persuading his friend to invite her to dance.

Of course the gentleman refused.Not only refused, but the words were also very mean.

Mr. Darcy looked at Elizabeth for a moment, and then said coldly: "It's not bad, but it's not very good-looking. It's not attractive to me. Now I'm not in the mood to be disliked by other men. The girls on the stage are cheering." 5

Elizabeth was cheerful and lively, and she was not offended by Mr. Darcy's words, she just thought it was funny.After seeing Catherine, who had disappeared from the beginning of the ball, be dragged by Mrs. Bennet and reappear, she ran over happily and told them about it with great joy.

Mr. Bingley was already ready to continue dancing, but when he saw the girl who suddenly appeared at the ball, he signaled to Darcy excitedly: "Darcy, is that the girl we met a few days ago? I was just thinking, If she is also a girl from the Bennett family, why didn't she look at her? I asked Jane, and she said that several sisters came to the ball, but one sister, Catherine, like you, doesn't like this kind of occasion. Opportunity to hide. This pretty girl must be Catherine."

Darcy looked in the direction he was pointing, and when he looked at her, Catherine happened to look at her too, and their eyes intertwined for a moment.

Catherine was being scolded by Mrs. Bennet, and she was very happy when she saw Elizabeth coming, waiting for her sister to rescue her. However, as soon as Elizabeth spoke, she froze in amazement, as if a thunder had exploded above her head.

Elizabeth smiled and told her that the Mr. Darcy brought by Mr. Bingley is said to have an annual income of [-] pounds. He is very proud. Just now he said that I am a girl that other men look down on.

Catherine felt dizzy for a while, and couldn't believe her ears.

What, Darcy?Elizabeth?

here is……

The world of pride and prejudice?