Southern Rose [Gone with the Wind]

"I heard that some people don't allow slaves to study, because they are afraid that they will be smarter than this 'master' after reading."

"Indeed, most of the black slaves can't read, and they sing hymns and recite them all."

"You ban what you fear, like keeping women from going to college, keeping black people from being able to read."

Charles looked at her in astonishment, "I didn't know you wanted to go to college."

"I don't necessarily want to go to college, but I think I should have the right to go to college." Josephine threw down a card, "I should also have the right to vote."

Now even Rhett Butler looked at her in astonishment.

"Is it necessary to be so surprised?" She smiled mockingly, "This world belongs to the nobles and rich people, that is, the ruling class. If you define gender, it belongs to men; women, as another gender, are inherently opposed to men. But you can't do without women—"

She didn't go any further, she just threw down the cards in her hand, "You lost!"

"What do you mean by that?" Charles muttered.

"Whether I use my rights or not is one thing, but I can't not have this right, if women can go to university, I can choose to go or not, rather than not having the possibility of going to university at all."

Charles shook his head, but nodded again, "I can understand what you mean, but..." As an older brother, he felt that what his sister said was correct, but after thinking about it again, there seemed to be something wrong.

"University isn't for you, it's full of punks," Rhett said. "You have to know what it's like to have a lot of young boys, and they're shamelessly talking about women, regardless of your origin."

"How about West Point?" she asked.

Rhett was slightly startled, then smiled, "What? Are you here to laugh at me?"

"Do you think you're a 'joke'?"

He raised his eyebrows, "I have a clear understanding of myself, and other people's words cannot have a specific impact on me."

"Do you care what other people think of you?"

"Honestly, not much. Do you know how the world works?"

"Depending on money and power."

The dark-skinned man who looked like a pirate showed that dangerous pirate-like smile again, "You're right."

"Having power can ensure that your money will not be taken away at will. The Jews just don't understand this, so they don't even have a place to establish a country."

"As you see it, how are you going to keep your property?"

The corners of Josephine's mouth slightly curled up, revealing a sweet smile, "I have my family, and the authority of my father and elder brother can guarantee that my property will not be plundered by others at will."

Rhett muses: The words she uses are interesting.

A strong family can certainly guarantee her property. A widow’s property rights need strong external force to guarantee her property rights if she has a son. Otherwise, the richer she is, the more dangerous she is. It’s nothing to kill a 5-year-old child It is difficult, and it is not difficult to make a widow die or live a life worse than death.So, that's why she's going back to America with her baby?

Rhett sympathizes with this fragile woman, but any man with a little humanity and compassion should sympathize with her experience.

Immediately, Josephine said: "What about you? How are you going to keep your property?"

He smiled, "My money comes and goes quickly."

Sly man!

As someone who has read the original book, Josephine knows that this guy is very business-minded and bold enough. During the Civil War, he became a fortune-teller and accumulated considerable wealth.It is easy to make money from war, but it is also very dangerous, which shows that Rhett is very smart, courageous enough, and understands human nature very well.

A smart and rich man will be very proud, will think highly of himself, and will think that there is nothing in the world that he can't do, someone he can't buy, and a woman he can't conquer. He treats Scarlett in the future because Scarlett is not Love him, he got her man, but not her heart.

Think about it, it's a miserable hero.

But it has nothing to do with her.She didn't actually think that Charles would find Rhett, but thinking about it again, among the young men Charles knew, Rhett was indeed the best candidate.

Neither Charles nor Rhett knew exactly how much property Josephine had. She went to several banks in New York, met a lawyer, found a broker, and bought two pieces of land in New York; went to Boston for a few days, Also bought two pieces of land; then went to Washington, D.C., and then returned to New York to buy shares in some factories.

The two men went out with her separately, so it was unclear what she did every day.Rhett guessed that she invested in the property she brought back from France. Real estate and factory shares are indeed the most suitable investment methods. Real estate will never depreciate in value, even if there is a war.

He knows a few factories for investment, all of which are infrastructure construction, textile mills and steel mills, etc. He is still consulting about starting a railway company by himself, and he went to Washington DC for this purpose.Because women cannot become company bosses, bringing Charles is to let his brother stand out.

Rhett immediately fell in love with this business plan, but Charles did not agree with it. He thought that Josephine should stay at home obediently, actively participate in social activities, find a suitable husband to marry, and still be her in the future wealthy wife.The property left by her dead husband will go to little Victor in the future, and she better not mess around.

"But why not? There's still a good chunk of America that doesn't have trains, and it's going to be a good business."

Charles was instinctively disgusted, "Women shouldn't be in business, and I have no interest in doing business."

Rhett followed immediately, "I can help her travel to New York and Washington, she is a noble wife, and she is really not suitable for dealing with those boring politicians and businessmen."

"Are you optimistic about this business?" Charles asked suspiciously.

"I can't say that yet, I'm going to do research." Reid said solemnly.

"Then I'm interested."

"What are you talking about?" Josephine went downstairs.

"Speaking of whether your business is over, may I have the honor of inviting you to play in New York?"

"Anything fun to do?"

"You can go to the theater, play tennis at the club, or attend the Morgan's dinner. I have a boat in New York Harbor that can take you out to sea."

Charles sneered: "Josephine is seasick."

"Sorry, I don't know. How did you get back from France?"

"In the first few days, I could only lie in bed all day, unable to eat anything, and was so dizzy that I didn't want to move at all." She easily took his arm, "How about taking a carriage and strolling around the streets of New York today?"

It was already very cold in New York in October, so I rented a four-horse carriage and took a tour of Manhattan Island.Manhattan Island is now the most prosperous area in New York, Wall Street has begun to take shape, and Broadway audiences gather.

As a southerner who often comes to New York, Reid introduced the layout of Manhattan Island to the Robillard brothers and sisters: Wall Street is a special economic zone in New York. Banks and commercial firms are all located in this small block, and there are some residential areas next to it. , a piece of land that Josephine bought is in the residential area;

Broadway is divided into lots, some are theaters that perform operas and stage plays, and some are dirty places. The employees are male and female, and both men and women have "prices".

He said it so cryptically that the Robillards had to think about it before they knew what he meant.In this era, actors are still a "humble" industry. People with good family background and status don't bother to become actors. Both the north and the south think that music can be regarded as "noble art", and stage plays are mostly vulgar, so actors can't It is a decent profession, not to mention that many actors become "missing youths" after they leave the stage, and there is no distinction between men and women.

Rhett was worried about scaring Josephine, so he didn't go too far.

Josephine thought, in fact, it is no different from Paris. She thought it was nothing, and Charles thought it was nothing, but Charles thought that Rhett should not mention these things, so Rhett immediately shut up.

The trip to New York was generally very smooth, and Rhett's role was to introduce reliable banks and law firms to Josephine, find reliable brokers, and negotiate prices without being ruthless.

The role of Charles is that he is a male member of the Robillard family, and wherever she cannot go as a woman, Charles will go for her. For this reason, she can't help complaining about these unreasonable rules.

Rhett was a little confused as to whether she was complaining because it was inconvenient for her to handle things, or because she was really angry at being discriminated against for the female group.

If we talk about the former, all women will complain more or less; if we talk about the latter, he doesn't believe that a young lady from a wealthy family like Josephine who grew up in a well-off environment can understand this truth.

He felt that she was an unusual Southern lady, which made him very interested in her.

It was almost a month since I left Savannah. At the beginning of November, the young lady of the Robillard family returned home.

The family carriage picked up the two young masters from the train station. As soon as Josephine got off the carriage, she asked, "Where is the young master?"

"The young master knew that you came back today, so he didn't even take a nap, so he kept watching from the window." Manny replied cleverly.

"Go and bring him down."

The black slaves were busy going in and out, busy unloading suitcases from the carriage.Rich people have to bring a lot of clothes, shoes and hats when traveling, so traveling in this era is a troublesome thing, and ostentation and convenience are indispensable. The main reason is that the production and sales areas of commodities are underdeveloped. You can also buy ready-made clothes in stores, but coats and long skirts must be handmade.

This is why even a family like Robillard's in the city needs at least a few dozen black slaves. You can't expect the wives and young men to carry their luggage, right?

The author has something to say:

*If you want to be rich, build roads first.