Grasp the farming script in the famous book

After a heavy snowfall in Hertfordshire, the temperature rose very slowly.Two weeks later, the ice and snow finally melted, and all production and life in Longborn returned to normal.

The only inconvenience is the road.

After the ice and snow melted, the road from Longbourne to Meryton suddenly became extremely muddy, and the carriage ruts were deeply sunk in the half-mud and half-melt mud, making it extremely difficult to travel, even more difficult than before the snow melted.

Roland went to Meryton to deliver truffles. On the way, he had to jump out of the car to help out, pushing the carriage out of the muddy water.When she got to Meryton, her petticoat was covered with three inches of mud.

Roland looked down, smiled and stamped her feet, shaking the mud off her petticoats and shoes—she never thought of herself as a lady.This image is quite in line with her farming temperament.

The staff of "Thomson and Fran" were very surprised when the tenant farmers went out in the snow and sent the truffles they collected to Meryton's office:

"We originally thought that you would not be able to fulfill the contract this time."

Roland was proud in his heart, but calm and natural on the surface: "I don't think it's surprising that 'Meridon Ingredients' fulfilled the contract on time."

When the other party heard this, he nodded quickly: "That's true. The reputation of Miss Bennett and the ingredients company has been spread throughout Hertfordshire, and even in London."

The two parties immediately delivered the fresh truffles—these were fresh truffles picked within three days, with excellent color, and the cold weather further guaranteed their freshness, and the other party was very satisfied.

After the delivery, the other party asked Roland to exclusively contract all the truffles produced by Longborn.

After nearly a year of warm-up, it has gradually become known that England also produces high-quality truffles.Eating the top-quality truffles produced locally has gradually become a fashionable thing.

The demand of diners is increasing, but the output is relatively stable - the price of truffles has naturally risen, and it is no longer the price it was when Roland first discovered the truffle last year.

Representatives of "Thomson and Fran" said on the spot that if Miss Bennett could grant the company the exclusive right to purchase, they would increase the purchase price from £10 per pound to £15 per pound.

At this time, Roland was noncommittal, saying that she would discuss with her family again to decide whether to grant the exclusive right to purchase.

She needs to inquire about the market conditions of truffles before making a decision.

And her source, is scheduled to arrive in Meryton today:

Uncle Gardner's family, who usually live in London, decided to spend Christmas in Longborn this year.The Bennetts had received letters earlier, and today they will arrive in Meryton.It was Roland's pretext to meet his uncle's family that he had time to come to Meryton.

Before noon, Uncle Gardner's family arrived.The whole family had a lively lunch at Aunt Phillips' house.

Roland took the time to ask Uncle Gardner about the truffles.

Uncle Gardner is in London, and he has heard that the truffles in England are produced in Hertfordshire, but he has no idea that this precious food is produced in the pine forest under the name of his brother-in-law, and is being managed by his niece with business.

"In London, such a large English red-striped black truffle," Uncle Gardner stretched out his hand and compared it to the size of a pigeon egg, "the market price ranges from twelve shillings to fifteen shillings."

Roland quickly calculated in his mind - from this point of view, the price of 15 pounds given to her by the "Thomson and Fran" company is still reasonable, and the price of truffles on the market has indeed increased by about 50.

The other party really seemed to want to do a good job in this business.

After lunch, Roland found an excuse, slipped to the office of "Thomson and Fren", and negotiated a new contract with the other party's representative for the acquisition of truffles, granting the other party the exclusive right to purchase, but added an additional price fluctuation clause:

Every time the market price of truffles fluctuates by 20, "Thomson and Fren" will revise the purchase price once.

In this way, the villagers of Roland and Longborn can enjoy the dividends brought about by the increase in the price of truffles, and at the same time there will be a buffer. If the price drops occasionally, the purchase will only be adjusted when the change exceeds 20% price--

Judging from the current situation, a decline of this magnitude is unlikely to occur.

Roland was so satisfied with the newly signed agreement that she was all smiles when she set off from Meryton to Longborn with Uncle Gardner's family.The cousins ​​all felt that this beautiful cousin was more beautiful than in summer, and they were all willing to sit beside her.

But everyone's good mood did not improve the road conditions, and the carriage sank twice into the soft mud along the way.

Roland naturally took the lead and got out of the car to help.

But I saw Uncle Gardner's family, big and small, happily getting off the carriage and helping Roland and the driver push the cart together. Like Roland, everyone's shoes, trousers and skirts were covered with mud.

And Roland's ability to act obviously changed Mrs. Gardner's impression of her——

After everyone boarded the car again, Mrs. Gardner took Roland's hand and her attitude became warmer.

The two talked about the road from London to Hertfordshire.Mrs. Gardner was quite emotional: "The section of road just out of London is newly built. It is really easy to walk, but tolls are required along the way."

"Tolls?"

Roland was surprised—why, aren't these roads public?Do I need to pay extra tolls for passing through it?

Mrs. Gardner told Roland that many roads around London were actually repaired with private funds.At their own expense, they hired workers, built roadbeds, leveled roads, and dug drainage ditches.And the government gives them the power to charge tolls to cover costs.

"Those toll roads are really convenient and quick to travel. Although tolls are required, I still think it's worth the money..."

Mrs. Gardner commented, but she didn't know that the niece sitting next to her was already thinking about the road.

"If you want to get rich, build roads first."

This proved to be an irrefutable truth in later generations.

Roland intends to transform Longborn into an export base of high-quality ingredients, but the imperfect road facilities will obviously hinder the development of her plan.

Not for the income from tolls, but for the long-term development of Longbourne and Meryton, she should repair the roads around here so that she can reach London conveniently and quickly from Longbourn in the future.

However, how can she participate in this kind of privately funded road construction project, and how much capital does she need to pay?

Hertfordshire is in the northwest of London, all the way to the northwest, it is the future industrial city of Birmingham.Further northwest of Birmingham is the port of Liverpool and the industrial base of Northwest Manchester.

Roland instinctively felt that investing in road construction in Hertfordshire was a promising business.

But now Roland doesn't know how to start.

She thought: I should have asked Uncle Phillips when I was in Meryton.If there is such a project, my uncle, as a lawyer, should have news.

Now that the matter has come to this point, Roland no longer thinks about it.

She just welcomed her uncle and aunt and family to Longbourne cheerfully.

Arriving at Longborn, the Gardners first saw the two greenhouses outside the mansion.

The children were crazy about it. The boys ran around the tall transparent glass house, and the girls lifted up their skirts and followed Roland inside to see all kinds of flowers.

Mr. Gardner and Mrs. Gardner stood side by side, and the two exchanged a surprised look:

Earlier, when they heard that Roland had returned from London, they started building two greenhouses.Mr. Gardner didn't pay attention to it, thinking it was just two glass rooms.

But now standing in front of his eyes are two real large greenhouses——

Mr. Gardiner is a well-informed businessman. He knows the cost of this kind of project by heart, and knows that it is absolutely impossible to build such two buildings without two hundred pounds.

Mr. Gardner had doubts in his heart: Has the sister and brother-in-law's preference for the younger daughter really reached the level of whatever they want?

By this time the Bennetts had also come out to greet them.

Mrs. Hill, the housekeeper, invited the guests to the guest room.

When we were young, we had just changed into muddy clothes and got together in the living room.Mrs. Foden, the cook, duly served roast beef sandwiches for dessert.

These sandwiches are made with fresh-out-of-the-oven baguettes and have a golden, crispy crust.Sliced ​​baguettes filled with butter and mustard from Dijon, France, topped with thinly sliced ​​roast beef and thinly sliced... pickles?

Roland took a sip and quickly looked for Mrs. Foden.

"Successful?"

Mrs. Foden smiled and nodded at the young lady.

Yep - Longborn's homemade kimchi is now trial-produced.Sweet and sour, this pickle really adds a unique twist to a roast beef sandwich.

Uncle Gardner's family had never tasted this flavor.They had been running all the way, and now they were a little hungry. They suddenly tasted this sour, fragrant and slightly spicy taste, and their appetites were immediately whetted.

Especially the boys under the couple's knees, each of them was holding a sandwich and ate it, and they couldn't help but want it after eating, regardless of Mrs. Bennett's arrangement of a grand dinner for them.

"I heard about it from Meriton's brother-in-law. My sister's cook and wife are well-known for their craftsmanship. Not only the main meals, but also all kinds of small snacks, side dishes, and condiments... are all original. Now it seems that it is really good. Well-deserved reputation."

Uncle Gardiner, after tasting the roast beef baguette sandwich, was completely unsparing in his compliments, and praised the cook.

Mrs. Foden was there too, and her face immediately beamed with pride.

It's just that she looked in Roland's direction frequently, as if she was asking for Roland's opinion, as if she wanted to know if she should tell the truth: the recipes for so many well-known delicacies in Longborn actually come from small Miss.

Roland just smiled, didn't speak, and shook his head slightly.

Mrs. Foden accepted Uncle Gardner's praise with a blushing face, bowed her knees, and retreated from the living room.

The interaction between the two was noticed by Mrs. Gardner, who then told her husband.

Mr. Gardner also felt that this niece was quite different from what he remembered, but he couldn't say much about the difference.

But it didn't take long for Mr. Gardner and Mr. Bennett to face off.

In Longborn's study, Mr. Bennett solemnly thanked Mr. Gardner for taking care of his little daughter in the summer, and said that he must refund part of the expenses caused by his little daughter.

This time it was Mr. Gardner's turn to be surprised.

"Brother-in-law, this summer, Lydia's expenses in London are all her own... I also wrote to you and my sister specially, thinking that the two of you dote on Lydia too much..."

Roland couldn't hide this little lie immediately.

She was invited into Mr. Bennett's study, facing her father and Uncle Gardner.The two elders, one serious and the other kind, looked at Roland and asked her to "explain" how the expenses in London and the material money for the two "greenhouses" came from.

Roland: ...What else can I do?Honestly recruited!

So she recruited all her ideas and practices in every detail.From digging and looking for truffles at the beginning, to Meryton three yellow chickens, to greenhouse flowers, garden vegetables...

When she talked about the reasons for doing these things, she pouted and explained them one by one pitifully.

"The dowries of my sisters are not rich enough, and they lack confidence when facing the right partner...Since we can't inherit the property of Longborn...My mother will need someone to support and take care of me after a hundred years...I thought, earn a little by myself Let the children's property come out, and give mothers and sisters confidence..."

Mr. Bennett and Mr. Gardner looked at each other.

It's not something a young girl should do, or even think about.

But she did it step by step, patiently and carefully.

Mr. Bennet knew better: the entire Longborn sharecroppers and their families were benefiting from the "whimsy" of his youngest daughter.

Thinking about the reason why the youngest daughter worked so hard—limiting inheritance rights, Mr. Bennett couldn't help feeling guilty.

Why in the world would there be such a bloody inheritance law that had to deprive his daughters of their inheritance rights?

Now his youngest daughter is busy every day for the future of her sisters and mother, accumulating every penny of income from a vegetable and a chicken...

Mr. Bennett had no idea of ​​Roland's ability to make money, but he had an intuition that the vegetables grown in his own house and the chickens fed in the barn cost only a few pennies or shillings at best.

——How much dowry can you earn by earning penny by penny like this?

Furthermore, the youngest daughter built the two greenhouses outside with her own money. I am afraid that she has already used up all her pocket money.

The more so, the more Mr. Bennet felt guilty towards his daughters.He felt that the reading glasses on the bridge of his nose were foggy, so he quickly took them off, wiped them, and covered up...

So the old father finally gave up his old sense of humor and turned into sincerity:

"Lydia, you don't need to worry too much. If your sister's meager dowry really scares away any suitor, it can only show that he is not sincere enough."

"However, son, Dad promises you, no matter what it is, as long as you need help, come to Dad as soon as possible."

Mr. Bennett's seriousness seemed to only last for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, the old gentleman turned mischievous again, and looked away at Roland with a smile on his face: "I hope you won't ask me to take you to see the military parade. .①"

When Roland came out of his father's study, Mrs. Gardner was sitting in the living room, distributing presents she had brought from London.

Mrs. Gardner gave Roland a long dark blue woolen shawl.Roland liked it very much, hugged his aunt and thanked him again and again, and then went upstairs to her own bedroom.

Her agent cat, Luna, was not squatting beside the food bowl containing dried fish, but squatting on the window sill, flicking its black tail, and the whole cat looked thoughtful.

"what happened?"

Roland asked curiously.

The last time Luna jumped onto the windowsill was when a contestant in this plane retired.Thinking of this made Roland suddenly a little nervous.

"The producer just informed me that your 'anti-OOC card' has been officially cancelled. From now on, your words and deeds will no longer be restricted by that card." Luna said confusedly, "Lan Lan, what just happened?"

It turned out to be like this? — Roland thought to himself.

She just confided her heart to her father and uncle, and...they seemed to accept her naturally?

Roland thought for a while, resting his chin, and came to a conclusion:

"This 'anti-OOC card' should only be useful when entering the initial stage of the plane."

Luna also figured it out at this time, and nodded her head: "Yes! The contestants must either transform themselves according to the character design on this card, or subtly influence other characters on this plane, or even influence the audience..."

Roland nodded: "Once everyone accepts me and thinks that my role should be like me, then the 'anti-OOC card' will be invalidated."

Luna smiled coquettishly "meow": "Actually, you are completely 'OOC'!"

Roland: "That's right!"—she was very happy about it:

Thanks to her insistence on being herself, if she is led by the nose by the original character, not only will she not be favored by the audience, but she may lose herself in the plane.

Good thing now, this plane has accepted the brand new "Lydia Bennett", and Roland has one less restraint, so he can flex his muscles with peace of mind.

The Gardners did not fail to see George Wickham during their Christmas at Longbourn.

Mr. Gardiner was overwhelmed by Wickham's experience in America, and was amazed that Wickham had accumulated such an astonishing wealth at such a young age.

And Mrs. Gardner herself is from Derbyshire, and she happens to be from the same town as Wickham, so there are naturally many common topics to talk about.

Mrs. Gardner agreed with the nieces: Mr. Wickham was a real good man, a pleasure to look at, and a pleasant voice to speak.

But in love, Mrs. Gardiner still advises the nieces to exercise restraint and caution.

"This young man is excellent in all aspects, even too good, which makes people feel...too good to be true."

Because of this advice, even though Wickham launched a fierce offensive against Elizabeth and ordered fresh bouquets from Meryton to Longbourne again and again, Elizabeth only expressed cautious favor for Wickham.

"Little sister, should we let him pay you directly?" Elizabeth asked Roland.

The flowers Wickham ordered were all produced by the Roland Greenhouse, and after a round trip in Meryton, they all returned to Longbourn together with the gorgeous packaging and the income they received.

Roland smiled and shook his head: "Wouldn't it be better to let the people in Meryton's flower shop and those who run errands and deliveries have an extra income?"

Although they are both self-produced and self-sold, Roland doesn't mind at all for everyone to share more income—especially since the money comes from Long Aotian's pocket, so she doesn't need to be distressed.

The only thing that makes people feel distressed is Jane, who is usually gentle and virtuous, but occasionally sad.