aristocratic engagement

"What did you say?" Allen didn't hear clearly.

Annie didn't answer, she just stared in that direction, her eyes were reflecting the soaring flames.

That's Phoenix.

Annie was a little confused, she knew it was Phoenix, but how could it be Phoenix?

As early as when she first acquired the factory, she had formulated strict rules and regulations, prohibiting workers from smoking in the warehouse, and prohibiting the use of open and dark fires for heating, just to prevent dust explosions and fires.

Take all precautions, such a thing is still not prevented?

Seeing that Annie was looking straight in that direction without any reaction, Allen thought she was stunned.He put his arms around her shoulders and led her towards the carriage.

"I'm taking you out of here, it's too dangerous." Allen yelled, and then he was choked by the smoke and coughed.

The screaming workers on the other side of the river made a fuss, and no one came out to host. The workers and residents hurriedly carried the nearest container to the river to fill the water, but they knocked each other down.

More people were so frightened that they wanted to stay away, crowded onto the bridge, and ran here in a panic.

"No!" Annie reacted instantly, her eyes widened, she grabbed Alan's wrist, and said loudly, "If the fire cannot be controlled, not only will the factory suffer, but the surrounding factories will also burn! "

She pointed to the shipyard on the other side: "What will happen if the shipyard and steel factory are burned? There are already a lot of fuel and machines there, which will cause a bigger explosion!"

Allen reacted immediately, he grabbed Anne with his backhand and continued to walk towards the carriage: "Then you should leave! But you are right, at least I have to be responsible for the shipyard!"

Before Annie could refute, she was knocked down by a black figure behind her.Allen pulled Annie into his arms without letting her fall to the ground.

Du Li arrived, grabbed Annie's hand, and brought her out of Alan's arms.

Annie let out a "hiss", and supported her bruised waist, almost unable to stand still.

Allen looked at Anne's painful face, angry and anxious.He stared angrily at the black figure, trying to chase after him, but Annie grabbed the hem of his clothes.

"Don't worry about him, the top priority is the fire! You go and organize people to fight the fire, don't worry about me, I won't ask for trouble." Annie held Du Li's hand tightly, and Du Li immediately understood and promised that she was Annie's. The personal maid will definitely stand by her side to ensure her safety.

Allen hesitated, and finally looked at the burning flames, gritted his teeth, turned and ran towards the shipyard.

Seeing Alan's figure disappear into the crowd, Annie let go of the hand holding her waist.

She spread out her palm, and inside was a dirty wrinkled paper ball.Du Li was taken aback. She glanced left and right, but found no suspicious person. She didn't know when it appeared in Annie's hands.

"The person who hit me." Annie's tone was very calm, completely different from the bewildered and flustered expression she had shown in front of Allen just now. "It was little Guli. He guessed my identity."

After thinking about it for a while, Annie understood the joints.When I met little Gu Li that day, although they were all wearing cloaks and didn't show their faces, at this place, Du Li pointed to Alan at the gate of the shipyard and said his name.

"Such a clever boy."

Annie lowered her head and unfolded the ball of paper. It seemed to be randomly torn from some old and yellowed manuscript paper, and it was out of shape.

On the blurred typeface, there is a line of words written in a hurry by little Gu Li:

"Brown is an arsonist."

Annie squeezed the ball of paper tightly in her hand.

Looking at the flames on the other side of the river, she grabbed the hem of her skirt and ran against the flow of people towards the bridge.Du Li didn't dissuade her and followed closely behind.

Annie was panting heavily, and her heart was overwhelmed.She couldn't figure it out, why did Mr. Brown set the fire?Even if he had the intention of betrayal, then the object of his betrayal should be her, not the textile factory?

Because Mr. Brown is not only the director of the current Phoenix, he also has an important identity, that is, the closest partner of the old owner of the old Phoenix before the acquisition.

When it comes to his feelings for the Phoenix textile factory, he will only be deeper than Annie.

For Annie, Phoenix is ​​her painstaking effort, but "Mr. Richter" does not depend on the textile factory for a living. Those workers and managers have made a living from the old Phoenix since the day it was established.There is even a unified residential area near the Phoenix textile factory as a "staff dormitory". Anne has no intention of reneging on the benevolent gift of the old owner. Until now, Phoenix is ​​the only textile factory in the entire industrial area that treats workers so kindly.

It is precisely because of these reasons that Annie never doubts the loyalty of the Phoenix workers until the reality of betrayal is in front of her eyes.

Annie ran to the bridge panting, but she didn't move on.This is, there are not many people on the bridge, either they have already run to the side bank where she came, or they stayed at the place where the fire broke out and tried their best to put out the fire.

She stood on her tiptoes and looked there, trying to see which part of Phoenix was burning, but she couldn't see clearly because it was blocked by the wall of the factory building.Annie looked around and found a thick pier, and quickly climbed up it.

"It's the warehouse that's burning. There doesn't seem to be any fire in the production workshop in front." Annie squinted her eyes and muttered to herself.

Pots of water were thrown on it, but they failed to shake the terrifying flames, and managed to keep the flames in place, preventing it from spreading to other factories and workshops on both sides.

Suddenly there was the sound of horseshoes behind her, and Anne looked back, and saw Alan and other gentlemen and factory owners leading the workers in carriages, forming a considerable convoy.On the carriage was a machine with huge axles and wheels. Annie guessed that it was a tool for pumping water.

Allen saw Anne standing on the pier, whipped his horsewhip immediately, and rushed over.

"Why don't you go back? Didn't you say that you won't ask for trouble!?" Allen looked a little anxious, and Annie jumped off the bridge pier obediently when she saw that he was looking like he was going to eat people. , looked at him and twitched his eyebrows, and the words of a lesson were on his lips.

But he is not qualified to teach her a lesson.

Allen gritted his teeth, turned his head abruptly under the joking eyes of the gentlemen and factory owners, and directed the workers to drive the carriages one by one to line up across the narrow bridge.

Seeing that their actions were orderly and the equipment was complete, Annie let go of most of her heart.

Even if she is the master of Phoenix, in the eyes of others, she is just an arrogant lady who causes trouble for them.Annie was well aware of this, and pretended not to see the amount of thoughts of those men. After giving Du Li a look, she left in a hurry and ran towards the carriage.

When the carriage drove away from this chaotic factory area, Annie leaned on the window and looked back, only to see the roaring fire dragon rushing towards the sky under the spray of water jets, restraining its arrogance.

Allen's figure had disappeared on the bridge.

"What's the matter!? Oh--dear, how did you get yourself like this, didn't you say to go to the Bennet sisters to go to Phoenix to buy cloth? How to make it look like a beating in the mortar roll?"

The countess was drinking tea and eating dessert in the garden, when she saw Anne jumping off the carriage, she almost spit out the tea in her mouth.The countess screamed and dropped the things in her hands and ran over. The butler and maids beside her quickly opened the door.

Anne froze when she mentioned Phoenix.

She didn't speak. In the countess' eyes, Anne was bullied and frightened, and she was speechless.

The countess put her arms around the thin girl, comforting and asking questions.The housekeeper hurriedly stepped into the house first, and ordered the maids to move to prepare bath water and hot refreshments.

On the contrary, Annie was "stimulated" by the warmth, and her eyes became warm.

Panic, fear, helplessness and bewilderment broke out in my heart.Anne gritted her teeth and declined all the countess's suggestions, explaining that she was not bullied by the Bennet sisters, on the contrary, they got along very happily.

"I'm just tired, Auntie."

At the stairway, Anne turned around and hugged the countess.The countess touched her head lovingly, but did not continue to ask.After Annie took a few deep breaths, she felt that she had relaxed a lot, and she swallowed back the words that she almost couldn't help.Take Du Li up the stairs.

Du Li tightly hugged the box that Klub's manager gave them, without looking back.

The countess watched the figures of the two disappear around the corner, and turned her face to the butler and whispered, "Let the coachman come and see me."

Du Li was put back in her bedroom by Annie to have a good rest, she put the box on the desk and left.She knew that Miss de Bourgh didn't like to have someone take care of everything. Miss de Bourgh would rather do many things by herself, so in the eyes of many people, she was so unapproachable and difficult to please.

Annie took a hot bath and finally warmed up.She changed into loose home clothes and adjusted her mood. When she came out of the bathroom, she cast her eyes on the box on the table.

Annie came to the table and stood there. She put her finger on the buckle and hesitated for a moment——she always felt that things were confusing before her eyes. In a thicker fog.Regarding Mr. Brown, before the fire, Anne had already prepared to deal with traitors and thieves.After the fire, Annie felt that the incident was more complicated and strange.

Annie finally opened the box.

There was nothing terrible in the box, just half a booklet and a letter that had been torn off violently.

The addressee of the letter is Mr. Richter.

Annie temporarily put the letter aside, picked up the booklet that lost its title page and several pages, and flipped through it.She didn't realize what it was at first, but soon her eyes widened and her mouth opened.

On the booklet, there are complex lines and clear annotations, as well as various weaving and dyeing techniques.

This is a book compiled by the designers of Phoenix, which records how the Yunluo craft was invented, improved and produced from the beginning to the end.Including the invention and improvement of looms, raw material processing, printing and dyeing technology, dyeing agents... all kinds.It should have been lying safely in a safe under the joint care of several parties, but at this time there was only half a broken book left.

Annie didn't know what kind of expression to put on. Now that the matter had come to an end, she would no longer be in pain and bewildered because of it, and her mind was extremely clear.

On the first page of the remaining pages, the page number in the lower right corner is a clear number sixteen, and the chapter on this page is exactly Chapter 1 of the "Improved Chapter".

Annie let out a breath slowly.

"I should feel lucky that what they stole was the loom and technology that were eliminated in the first place." Anne said to herself.

But even so, those crude imitations have flowed into the market and began to eat Phoenix's territory.

Annie felt that it seemed natural that everything was difficult at the beginning, and Phoenix had already completed the most difficult step.Those designers and engineers who spend a lot of money in textile factories are not vegetarians. It is much easier to continue to improve on this cornerstone than to create something out of nothing.

This can explain why there are more simple and crude fabrics similar to Yunluo on the market.

How could this booklet be in the hands of Mr. Klub?What does this have to do with Mr. Brown?Was it really Mr. Brown who stole the booklet?

More questions lingered in Annie's mind, she picked up the letter and opened it.

At this time, the door of the apartment was knocked suddenly, Du Li opened the door, and turned sideways to reveal the person behind him.

Earl Fitzwilliam, whom he hadn't seen for a long time, appeared behind the door. His face was cold, but his body carried the aura of fireworks.Beside him, Rommel showed a kind smile, but his gentlemanly demeanor was greatly compromised by the soot all over his body and the burnt cuffs.

The author has something to say: This book is also 15 words! ! !

After Phoenix is ​​reborn from the ashes, it will enter another chapter_(:зゝ∠)_