[Titanic] I can't help myself

After dinner, Mother and Rose went to the living room first, and Carl and I stayed for a while to chat about "men's topics" as usual.

The thought of Karl staying for Christmas made me so distraught that it was just me and him in the dining room, with the servants waiting outside, that I didn't even know what to say but to be polite. Asked: "Rose took you around Acton today, what do you think of it?"

"Acton is a very beautiful place." Carl said, "It's very peaceful and elegant. I saw houses in the town. They were very interestingly built, and they looked like fairy tales."

"Thank you." I smiled.

Discussing the familiar is always relaxing.Acton's terrain is not flat, with ups and downs, but the houses are very well-arranged, distributed along a small river that runs through the middle of the town, and it doesn't look messy at all.These houses are painted in various colors by the optimistic and lively residents, such as light brown, cream yellow, light blue and even light pink, which look particularly fresh and moving in the gray and depressed winter.

Maybe I laughed too happily, Carl asked: "You love this place very much."

"Yes." I said, "Although I am not good at management, I really love this land."

Karl nodded, took a sip of wine from his glass.There was a moment's silence between us, and then he went on: "Well, Henry, it may be presumptuous to say that, but I don't mean anything else, and I hope you won't be offended."

"Of course not. Tell me, please."

"Acton is indeed beautiful, and its beauty is full of charm. However, from another perspective, it is a bit out of date. No matter how beautiful it is, it is not utopia. It is yours estate, you need it to maintain a manor - no, maybe much more than that - to keep a lot of things going, it takes a lot of money. And I don't think Acton can meet these requirements now .”

A family's financial situation is generally not a private matter that can be discussed with outsiders, but considering his current relationship with the Bookett family, I don't feel offended.Although I was a little surprised that he would tell me this, I was not surprised by his topic, after all, it is nothing new for nobles to make ends meet.

"You're right, Carl. I don't need to say anything to whitewash the peace," I said. "It's really the biggest problem facing Acton right now. Since my grandfather's generation, since the Conservatives repealed the Corn Laws 》, the situation of the manor began to deteriorate, and the price of grain dropped sharply, which made it impossible for many people to rent land. Now there are many abandoned farms in Acton. Money is what keeps these farms going."

Before our father's investment failed, we had been relying on our ancestral property and mother's dowry to barely maintain the standard of living that this class should have. We could afford the salaries of the servants, ensure the annual maintenance of the castle, and ensure that all belongings to Bucket The operation of the farm guarantees a certain amount of contributions to charity, as well as the supply of clothing, accessories, horses, hounds, etc., which are luxurious but necessary, so as to maintain our life that meets the requirements of the upper class.As a woman, my mother has been learning how to invest with difficulty and carefully, so as to ensure that the little wealth left in the manor will not be squeezed dry before I inherit it.Then a test of the waters by the father on a whim made it all come to naught.

"I know that if we continue with the current way of doing business, I'm afraid this beautiful land will eventually become a vampire, suck the last drop of Bukett's blood, and then be taken back by others." I shrugged and said with a sigh, " But to tell you the truth, I don't have any firm ideas on how to make changes. But I guess, since you bring it up, does it mean that you have some good suggestions?"

Carl raised one eyebrow and curled the corner of his mouth: "I do have some ideas, not mature suggestions, but I think you can refer to them, which may give you some inspiration."

"Don't be so humble. You are well-informed and know a lot more than me. If you want to say it, it must be a very good suggestion." I said.

"Thanks," Carl said. "Do you know the Homestead Act?"

"Slightly heard."

"After the Civil War, the United States promulgated a law designed to encourage young people to go to the West to reclaim land and cultivate it. This is the "Homestead Act." Any young man can get a piece of 10 acres of land for as long as he pays $160. After five years of continuous cultivation, he can become the legal owner of the land. This law has greatly promoted the development of American agriculture. Since then, American agriculture has developed rapidly, surpassing Europe and becoming the Number one in the world. Oh, I hope you don't mind when I say this."

"No." I smiled, "I'm not one of those rigid people who only see the benefits of their own country and think that Britain is always unsurpassed. The United States is developing at an astonishing speed. Up."

"That's good, let's continue. Agriculture has developed for so many years. There are countless large and small farms and pastures in the United States. The processes and methods of operation are different. In the end, the results of these people who cultivated their dreams in the west are also very different. Although I do Steel business, but for the development of these farms, we can still see some basic concepts. Simply put, the intensive management of large farms is much more profitable than individual contracting of small farms.”

"Big farm?" I lowered my head and thought for a while, then asked, "You mean to merge all the small farms under my management into one big farm for centralized management?"

"That's almost what it means." Carl nodded with satisfaction, "There are many factors that affect the production value of a farm, such as the production tools used, the fertilizers needed for the land, the planning of the crops, the trucks used to transport the crops, and so on. Now, large farms in the United States use all kinds of machinery to cultivate and harvest the land, and use advanced concepts to manage them, while your tenants are probably still practicing the most primitive farming methods. So in the end, even if the cultivated area is about the same , but the output will probably be very different. And if you recycle and merge your land, buy various agricultural machinery, and hire special personnel to manage it, then in the end these lands will no longer become vampires that drag you down, but will serve you well. You create enormous wealth."

"Then what about those tenants? I took back all the land, so wouldn't they have no land to cultivate?"

"You can hire them to farm on your big farm."

"Like a worker in a factory?" I paused and said, "I don't want to say that I am too noble or selfless, it's just... just that as a manager of a piece of land, I enjoy the noble life while , but also to fulfill the obligations brought to me by the title of earl. While accepting the value of the land output, I also have to guarantee the lives of the residents on this land. I took back the land and turned them into workers. That's really... sorry, Karl, I can't do that."

Carl chuckled twice: "Henry, you think about the economy too simply. This is not a closed and self-sufficient utopia. The lives of the residents of Acton are not controlled by you alone, but by you. The impact of the whole country, even the whole world. You feel that this is depriving them of their jobs. In fact, many people have already been unable to rent land and have turned to other jobs. If you continue to be dragged down by this status quo, you will go bankrupt If the land is reclaimed, then the next owner, whether it is a country or an individual, will use the method I said to operate, and the result is still the same. To run your farm well is actually to give Acton There are more job opportunities for ordinary residents, and traditional farming methods can only make everyone poorer and poorer."

Speaking of this, Carl put his hand on my shoulder, held my shoulder slightly with his palm, looked into my eyes and said: "Now is the time for the UK to integrate national resources and labor. You should seize the opportunity and don't be fooled." Traditional ideas bind the hands."

I felt a slight shock in my heart. That feeling was like a hole was cut in the sky covered with dark clouds, and the sun burst through it.

I always think that I am a modern person from a more developed world. Compared with the "ancient people" who are still in the steam age, I understand more things and have a broader vision.In fact, I was not bound by traditional concepts, but by my own thoughts. I was selfishly immersed in self-righteous advancement and enlightenment, and refused to watch, listen, and learn with an open mind. And the problems that cannot be solved, just use the family responsibility, the fault of the father, and the inevitable trend of the times to make excuses for his failure.I only want to use the knowledge I have learned to make money to change the status quo, but I have never thought about how to really solve the difficulties faced by the manor. , I'm afraid it is no different from those dudes who are waiting to die now.

I am not a genius, even though my ability in a very narrow aspect can leave people in this world far behind, but there are more and more important things here that I need to learn.

Carl's words were a blow to the head. He gave me suggestions to solve the problems in the manor, and gave me a chance to see myself and the future clearly.

"Thank you, Karl, thank you so much." I said gratefully, wanting to hold his hand, hesitated for a moment, then retracted and put it on my lap, "You are Acton's savior. I have never thought about what you said. Your words have inspired me a lot. My God, I think I should start studying now, make a plan plan or something... maybe you can introduce it to me Some books on this?"

"Of course, but I think there is a more convenient way." Carl stopped in pretended suspense.

"Don't be so tight-lipped, Carl, I'm really anxious." I complained jokingly.

Seeing my eagerness, Carl smiled and said slowly, "Don't forget, Henry, I will spend the whole Christmas in Acton. I have a lot of free time, and I am very willing to tutor you personally. Homework." His hand slowly slid down from my shoulder, and finally grabbed my hand and held it in his palm, "Are you happy?"

Carl leaned over and looked at my face with a smile, stroking the back of my hand with his thumb back and forth.

"High, happy...Of course..." I stammered, suddenly lost the ability to organize words, and my tongue was stiff.

"I believe you must be a good student." He said in a low voice, his voice was particularly confusing in the spacious and quiet dining room, "We can stay in the study all day and study together."

"Thank you, thank you..." I blinked, stood up abruptly, withdrew my hand, and said forcefully, "I think we should go to the living room." Then I walked towards the door on my own.

Carl followed me out of the dining room without objection, as if he didn't mind my faux pas at all.