[Pride and Prejudice] Lady Makes Money

"Father, where is the meat I asked you to buy?"

She pursed her lips, her tone was coquettish and complaining.

Mr. Bennet glared at her, jumped off the horse gracefully, came over, put his hand on top of her head, and grabbed her indiscriminately.

"How old is a girl, and her mind is full of food. Pork! Is there anything to eat at home, and you want to buy that dirty thing?"

"Hey, you haven't washed your hands, don't touch my hair! Also, how many times have I said, it's not dirty, it's not dirty! It can make a lot of super delicious things!"

Manli quickly jumped two steps back, dodging her father's big hand, put her hands on her hips, and yelled at him dissatisfied.

Elizabeth, who followed her out of the house, finally felt relieved after seeing this scene.

When she was in the room just now, she saw in Manli's eyes a calmness beyond her age, and even something she couldn't understand, as if she was aloof... This made Elizabeth very worried

She was afraid that this younger sister, who had been introverted since she was a child, read too many books and got into a dead end.

Although knowledge made Manli excellent, if she lost her happiness because of it, it would be too much to lose.

Elizabeth has been thinking about finding an opportunity to have a good chat with her sister, but as soon as she came out, she saw her dancing with her father like a child...

Suddenly, I realized that I was thinking too much.

"What a heartless girl! She actually despises her father? It's in vain for me to go out to help you fetch things in such a cold weather."

Mr. Bennet blew on his not-so-long beard, stared at him, and deliberately made a look of being aggrieved.

And following his words, a slow ox cart, pulling something that looked huge, turned around the corner and came into their sight.

Manli blinked vigorously, unable to believe it, she rubbed her hands again.

Then he stared at the bullock cart and shouted excitedly: "Ah!!! Bathtub!!!"

Her voice was so sudden that Mr. Bennet and Elizabeth who were standing nearby were startled.

And Mrs. Bennet, who had just walked out of the house, was so frightened that she almost didn't fall down!

"God, what's going on?" she cried out.

"Ah, my tub! My tub is back! Thanks Daddy!"

Manli was going crazy with excitement, her eyes were no longer calm and mature beyond her age, just like a real teenager, she was so excited that she jumped on the spot several times.

Then rushed over to hug Mr. Bennet, stood on tiptoe and kissed him heavily on the cheek.

"What's wrong with Manli? Is she crazy?"

Mrs. Bennet obviously hadn't gotten into the situation yet, but she couldn't wait for someone to answer. Manli had already run up to her, hugged her as well, and kissed her hard on the face.

"Mom, I'm so happy! Dad finished my tub!"

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

As she spoke, she rushed towards Elizabeth again...

I have never seen the third daughter so gaffe, like a little fool.

The Bennet couple looked at each other and shook their heads helplessly.

But the corners of his mouth raised up uncontrollably.

They didn't understand that it was just a wooden barrel, how could it be worthy of their daughter's happiness?

But, no matter what the reason, making the child happy makes the parents happy too.

"Don't be crazy, I'm about to knock you apart."

Elizabeth glanced at her sister with a smile, and patted her little paw off her shoulder.

Curiously, he raised his head and looked at the ox cart that was getting closer: "What are you doing? It's just a wooden barrel, it's worth your excitement? What are you doing with such a thing at home? Are you going to make wine?"

Uh, brewing in a tub?

Just thinking about that scene, Manli couldn't help shaking her head quickly.

It's too beautiful to think about it.

"That's not a wine barrel, it's a bath barrel. Take it back for bathing." She explained patiently.

"Bath? What kind of bath? It's so cold, do you still want to take a bath?! God, no, absolutely not! If you take a bath in this weather, if you get sick, it will be terrible!"

Only then did Mrs. Bennet understand what her daughter had brought back.

But this time, she didn't connive as before, and objected loudly.

In England in the eighteenth century, people usually took a bath once a year.

Even the noblest ladies don't wash their clothes more than once a year at best.

In their conception, water, especially hot water, is harmful to the skin. Some doctors even advise children to wipe their face and eyes with a clean white cloth without getting wet. ①

There are many reasons for the formation of such a concept, and the greatest possibility should be that medical conditions cannot be met.

If you catch a cold from taking a bath, it is likely to kill a person.

But no matter how I understand it, this kind of lifestyle is completely unbearable for Manli!

When she first came here, it was still hot. At that time, even if her mother disagreed, she would ask the maid to pour the boiled water into the wooden basin and bring it to her room.

He would even sneak to the river behind the house to wash while everyone was asleep at night.

Anyway, no one here has the habit of swimming at night.

However, it was getting cold day by day, and it became impossible to take a bath in the river.

Relying on the small wooden basin to collect water, at most it is to wipe the body with a towel, which is not considered a bath at all.

Therefore, in order to beg her father to help her make such a bathtub, Manli almost broke her lips.

"Mom, I won't catch a cold. I specially asked someone to make a cover for this bathtub. It is very warm. You can try it at night and you will know."

Manley explained.

"No, I will never wash it! You can't wash it either!"

Mrs. Bennet was very anxious, and suddenly felt that this third daughter really broke her heart.

"Manli, don't read so many books in the future, it will ruin your mind." She said worriedly.

Mary turned a deaf ear.

No one can stop her desire to take a hot bath right now!

Neither can my own mother!

Ignoring the disapproving stares of her parents, she personally directed the servants to move the bathtub from the bullock cart and put it into the room she had chosen in advance near the kitchen.

"Manli, Manli, look at how many petals we have picked back!"

Mrs. Bennet really couldn't accept such behavior, and she was chattering tirelessly behind her busy daughter.

But at this moment, there was another burst of shouting from a girl outside, mixed with the sound of laughing and joking.

"My God, one by one, can't you save me some time?!"

A look of annoyance suddenly appeared on her face, she turned around and yelled outside: "Reserve, pay attention to your reserve! You are all girls, how can you shout so loudly? Oops, my nerves are raised Such a group of ignorant children, my neurasthenia is about to happen again!"

Saying that, she couldn't care about Manli anymore, lifted the corner of her skirt and rushed outside.

Manli stuck out her tongue towards her mother's back, then winked at Elizabeth and laughed.

"You little villain, you're going to piss mom off." Elizabeth stretched out a finger and poked her forehead helplessly.

"Lizzy, taking a bath is really comfortable, try it? Seriously, I can compromise on anything, but I must insist on taking a bath. You don't know, in the noble families of the East, girls are You have to take a shower every day."

"This is what you read from the book again? You can't believe everything in the book." Elizabeth frowned slightly, and said with disapproval.

Manli wouldn't blame her for thinking so.

After all, Elizabeth is a native girl.

The education she received since she was a child told her to stay away from water, bathing is not good for her health, and it is normal for her to resist.

Manli didn't continue to explain, she felt that if she set an example first, the sisters would slowly accept it.

Asking Martha to take the people to clean the bathtub, and ordering them to bring more water to boil, Manli and Elizabeth walked back to the house.

"Manli, why are you so slow? Come and see how many flowers we picked!"

As soon as she entered the door, Lydia rushed over, excitedly holding Manli's hand and running towards the living room.

"You're going to tear my hand off!" Man Li laughed and cursed, but she still ran forward while being dragged by her.

As soon as he entered the living room, he smelled a tangy fragrance of flowers from a distance.Immediately afterwards, I saw several small baskets scattered on the table, each filled with colorful petals.

"Jane likes roses, and she picked rose petals. Kitty and I picked daisies, cherry blossoms, and rosemary. By the way, we also found a jasmine that didn't bloom... Look, these petals are enough Have you made a sachet?"

Lydia pointed to a table of flowers, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Because the two younger sisters disliked Mrs. Lucas's talkativeness and didn't want to talk to their mother and daughter at home, Manli sent them out to pick flower petals on the grounds that she wanted to make sachets for them.As a result, after Jane heard about it, she also strongly requested to join in.

Looking at the flowers on this table now, what sachet is there in Manli's mind?There are only three words floating in front of my eyes - petal bath!

"Do you want to make yourself more fragrant and show off at the ball three days later?" She took Lydia's arm and asked in the tone of Grandma Wolf seducing Little Red Riding Hood.

"Hmm!" Lydia nodded without hesitation.

"Let's go, my sister will take you to take a flower bath!"

Although she really wanted to reserve the right to consecrate the new tub to herself, Manli didn't have the habit of letting people watch her bath.

However, she really wanted her sisters to develop a good habit of bathing, and it would be best if they could bring their parents into this camp.In this way, your nose will suffer less grievances.

And now, she finds that Lydia is the best partner besides doing what she wants.

This girl is for beauty, so it can be said that nothing else is important.

And she is mother's favorite little baby.As long as she is determined to do something, no one can stop it!

……

Mrs. Bennet's screaming and cursing had become useless with the sisters' single mindedness.

After watching the youngest sister take a bath, she really turned into a sweet and sweet little girl as Manli said.After even the hair on their heads became lighter, the other girls finally couldn't resist the temptation of the petal bath anymore.

So much so that, on the day of the prom, even the Bennets took a shower halfway.

The whole body exudes a quiet and elegant fragrance.

The fresh and pleasant appearance of the family shocked everyone as soon as they entered the ball hall.