[Gone with the Wind] Back to the beginning

Scarlett couldn't wait to go back to Tara just after reaching an agency agreement with Rhett.To be honest, she missed that lovely red land and dear mother so much.I don't know how much Su Ailun can help Shangma?Naturally, Melanie and Aunt Pete tried their best to dissuade her from going home, and they didn't give up until Scarlett promised that they would definitely come back within two weeks.As for some gallant captain coming to dine on Sunday?Scarlett rolled her eyes and smiled secretly.She didn't think she had to show up, although she knew that the guy who knocked on Melanie's door was probably for her.

"Girls should have some willful rights, right?" Scarlett's calculations were clinking, "Anyway, I've already met him, so don't worry about missing out in this life. Besides, he has already agreed to help me deal with the jewelry and salt, There will be opportunities to meet again in the future, and of course this time on Sunday is not bad. Maybe he will miss me even more if he doesn't see me!" Thinking of the end, he felt his face heat up.

As far as the eye can see, on both sides of the boulevard paved with cobbles, the branches of cedar meet overhead to form a circular arch.The long driveway is like a dark tunnel, shielded from the harsh summer sun.Clusters of dogwood dazzle with white flowers in emerald green bushes, exuding a refreshing fragrance.On the endless blood-red land, green cotton plants thrive.The brown cotton bolls are slightly open, revealing the pure white cotton wool.Scarlett looked at this beautiful and rich scenery engrossed, feeling peaceful yet endlessly joyful in her heart.Oh red earth!I would die for it!

After Gerald received Scarlett's letter saying that he would come back for a short stay, he sent Big Sam to pick her up in a carriage, which made Scarlett feel deeply worried.As usual, it would have to be Polk or Dad himself who came to pick her up. The family must be very busy right now!Scarlett was very worried. Mother couldn't work any longer, and she had to help anyway when she went back.Well, the Quartermaster Corps doesn't know how much food they can leave for them. Is there a way to secretly leave a few piglets or something... By the way, there is also the matter of typhoid medicine.

Now that the war is raging in the south, the price of drugs in Atlanta is rising rapidly. Important drugs such as quinine, iodine, and opium are given priority to hospitals.Scarlett gritted her teeth and bought some expensive typhoid medicine on the black market.In this matter, she did not intend to ask Rhett for help.In the end, everything is her own journey after all.Moreover, the two hadn't known each other for long, and Scarlett didn't want Rhett to underestimate her.

I just wonder if the typhoid medicine in the county will be cheaper?Scarlett remembered that old Dr. Fontaine would join the army next year, so now he might still have typhoid medicine in his hand to sell!

It’s not that Scarlett doesn’t want to make all the preparations earlier, it’s just that the medicines can’t stand to be stored, so instead of risking the risk of the medicines becoming invalid, it’s better to start buying now. Scarlett didn't care about the efficacy of the medicine.

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On this trip back to Tara, apart from helping Ellen, what Scarlett cared about most was to persuade Gerald to sell cotton as soon as possible.She knew that in the blockade office in Atlanta, countless businessmen with a keen sense of smell were gathering one after another, constantly transporting all kinds of materials needed by the south to seek high profits.They also shipped out the cotton that Britain and France were eager for, and they could earn several times the difference between them.

Scarlett remembered clearly that in her previous life, Tara had a backlog of cotton for three years!The war lasted four years, and in the last year the slaves were scattered, and she was left to struggle on the land.Scarlett will never forget the despair and bitterness at that time.In this way, Tara's harvest from last year has already been backlogged in the warehouse, and she must persuade Gerald.

Although so far, Scarlett still couldn't figure out why her father hadn't sold those cotton in his previous life.The memory is too long and strange, not to mention that she was just a frivolous and shallow girl at that time, it is even more impossible to pay attention to these affairs. "But," thought Scarlett optimistically, "I can always find a way!"

But the reality gave Scarlett a blow.

When the green-eyed girl stretched out her hands from the carriage to her father who greeted her, let her mother kiss her cheek, stabbed Sue Ellen, and teased Karin, Scarlett didn't realize that her father's belief was so ingrained.

"What did you say? Katie Scarlett O'Hara, tell me again?" Gerald yelled angrily in Ellen's study, "You told me to sell cotton to those blockades gringo?"

Scarlett screamed inwardly, and quickly explained: "Dad, I'm also afraid that the cotton will be overstocked and there will be no place to put it at home... Besides, after the war is over, so much cotton in the south will be sold together, and the price will drop. go……"

"We have to finish this battle in a few more weeks! To be honest, I think it's been too long." The fiery Irishman looked extremely dissatisfied, and he waved his hands vigorously, "Scarlett, one year's worth of cotton I can still afford your dad! By the way, since when did you start caring about the price?" This is not like his eldest daughter who only cares about dressing up and boys.

Scarlett hurriedly said vaguely: "The price... I, I listened to what the men said when I was dancing. They were all worried about the price falling, the loss of the Confederation's income... Yes, that's it!" She hugged her father's Arms flaunted coquettishly, "Dad, the cotton is still stored, and it can be sold for money to support the great cause of the South!" And it must be sold at a high price now, Scarlett added silently in her heart.

"Dancing?" Although Scarlett never cared about these topics, Gerald was willing to believe that his daughter had a passionate patriotism.I saw the old man rubbing his hands in embarrassment for a while, and was about to speak, but suddenly remembered something, he immediately jumped up and went into a fit, "Dancing! Well, Katie Scarlett O'Hara, you Did you dance with that rascal Butler? Miss, it's not an honor! Mrs. Merriwether wrote to your mother, and it hurts your mother! If Mrs. Meade hadn't declared You are only contributing to the Confederate cause, she has to tell me to pick you up immediately!"

Having said that, he circled around his daughter suspiciously: "Girl, I don't know your dad well? ——You won't be cheated by that playboy, right?"

"What are you talking about?" Scarlett quickly stopped him, but she was surprised by Mrs. Meade's good words to her, "I don't know what kind of playboy, I just danced for the hospital... "

"Several," Gerald corrected. "Mrs. Merriwether's letter says so."

Scarlett scolded secretly, "This old bastard", but continued to act coquettishly at Gerald as if nothing happened: "Dad, I really don't know who he is, I just heard everyone say that he broke through the blockade." Hero...he danced very well and didn't do anything disrespectful. Dad, you didn't make mom angry for this, did you?"

Gerald snorted when he heard the word "hero", but most of his anger subsided.Nodding Scarlett's nose affectionately, the old father with white curly hair said: "Okay, girl. I have to blame your father for the wrong things I did? Your mother is just worried that you will be cheated, after all, Bart Le is a—" He stopped his mouth bitterly, "It's not decent for me to say this to you, let your mother tell you later. In short, it's better to stay away from him in the future. However, the achievements he has made for the South are still It’s worth it for sure.”

Scarlett nodded reluctantly, and it would not take one day to change her father's view of Rhett.But thinking that she is Meili's guest and Rhett is also there, he has no reason to drive her away.Thinking of this, my mood suddenly cleared up, and the end of my words couldn't help rising: "Dad, you haven't told me about cotton yet..."

It's okay if she doesn't say.At the mention of this, Gerald's round face suddenly flushed, and he yelled in a rough voice:

"Still thinking about this, girl? I told you earlier that the Confederacy will win soon. You are in a hurry to sell cotton, don't you have no confidence in the Confederacy's victory? As for cotton, I am no worse than anyone else when it comes to patriotism. Come on girl, stop talking, your father won’t do speculative things!"

"But—" Scarlett argued, "foreigners are also in a hurry to ask for our cotton, right? Dad, it's not the way to treat guests in such a hurry..."

Hearing this sentence, Gerald hesitated for a while. He looked at the expectant eldest daughter, and said firmly: "No. I never heard that Britain and France supported us in the war. Don't sell cotton in the past."

He looked at the delicate and beautiful face of his eldest daughter, and saw the stubbornness on her face, which was exactly the same as his angry expression.The father and daughter looked at each other unwillingly for a while, but Gerald was the first to lose.He said, half coaxing, half comforting:

"Now, girl, Scarlett. What's the matter with you so eager to sell cotton?"

After the quarrel just now, such a soft word just touched Scarlett's heart.The unspeakable panic, grievance, fear, and worry that had been accumulated in her heart since her rebirth all burst out under the stimulation of this sentence, and Scarlett didn't know why she cried out.In front of her eyes was Tara's soaring fire, and three years of cotton were reduced to ashes overnight-that was the wealth of the homeland!If she had this money, why would she push herself to that point later?Scarlett hated, gritted her teeth and hated those invaders!But at this moment, she also hated these stubborn relatives. Why can't they understand?The flames of war will soon ensue. She calculates the wealth at hand day and night, racks her brains to save money, and puts down her ladylike airs to negotiate prices with people in person... That old nightmare of being cold, hungry, afraid and helpless, Like the cloud of war oppressing her heart all the time.Why can't Dad understand her?

She is so tired, it turns out that the blessing of the Virgin Mary is also accompanied by so much suffering.Scarlett really wondered, how could she have passed the stormy days so heartlessly?Yes, she was reborn, but she seemed unable to change anything.Cotton would be burned to ashes, Tara would become the command post of the Yankees, and she, she would lose her loved ones and friends... This is a nightmare, right?A nightmare that never wakes up?

Drowsy, Scarlett felt her mother's gentle hand on her forehead, and the fragrance of beauty cherry blossoms faintly on the tip of her nose.Ellen's voice was so soft and melodious:

"... She has a little fever, and I think Scarlett needs to rest for a while. Mr. O'Hara, don't worry too much, it's just a normal fever... Poor Scarlett, she may be having a nightmare."