[Gone with the Wind] Back to the beginning

"But, Catherine, have you thought about your future?"

As soon as Scarlett had said these words, Catherine turned to her, with a look on her face that said there was no future.

This stubborn girl avoided Scarlett's concerned gaze, and said in a low voice: "I just want to get through now—Scarlett, the South is over, and so am I. I can let Cadean go away with peace of mind." There will be no regrets.”

"But Catherine, how can Hilton make Cade feel at ease." Scarlett strode forward and grabbed Catherine's arm.In fact, she was also in a turmoil. She couldn't bear to see Catherine repeat the same mistakes in her previous life, and felt that she had no other way out.Whether she can help Catherine - of course there is a way, it all depends on whether Scarlett is willing to pay the price.But Scarlett still persuaded, "Hilton is a Yankee, and his behavior is like that... Catherine, you will not be relieved by Cade! Can you believe it, if I go to Cade now and tell him that you plan to Let him marry Hilton with peace of mind, he will either shoot that guy to death or commit suicide in shame."

Catherine's voice was very soft, but she expressed an unquestionable rejection.

"However, when my wife and sisters go north, if Hilton leaves too, there will be only Cade and I left in Songhua. Yes, there will be no servants left. Scarlett, I have no other choice, Say no more."

Such a large manor used to be so busy and busy, but now it doesn't even have a single servant.Scarlett couldn't help feeling sad. If Cade died, how would Catherine keep such a large manor alone? ——It's ridiculous that Songhua was not burned at all because of Hilton, the Yankee.How can Cade rest assured that his sister will survive?She gritted her teeth and made a sudden decision.Scarlett held out her hands.

"Look at my hands, Catherine." Scarlett rolled them up, "look at the scars and calluses... Tara looks better than Songhwa, but even me and the ladies and even Mommy are going to- - I can't bear to have her work! But anyway, it's good to have someone organizing production, though it's hard right now. I mean - I mean - well, Catherine, would you like to join in Us?" As soon as these words were uttered, the rest went much smoother, "Catherine, to tell you the truth, Tara is struggling to earn her life now, but it's okay to have more food for you, as long as you are willing to work in the fields with us. Now at home Everyone is working, everyone is working. Would you like to come to Tara and be our family, Catherine?"

Catherine looks delicate and weak, and the work she does is definitely not enough to support herself. Scarlett knows that it is a loss to take her back—but she can bear the loss in this life, and she is confident that she will earn more gold coins back in the future .Besides, it would be nice to expand the cotton field a little bit, and Tara is really short of manpower.Scarlett really hoped that Catherine would agree to her, and it was Scarlett's bottom line to let her work with her.

But Catherine raised her head and looked at Scarlett, tears rolling down her face.She threw herself into her arms and thanked her repeatedly, promising that she would work hard so as not to cause trouble for Tara, and that she would be able to help tomorrow.Scarlett comforted Catherine with some discomfort, and after a long time, she slowly smiled.

Everything will be better than the last life, really.

------------

After discussing with Cade, the two siblings quickly made a decision.They informed the stepmother and the overseer that they would soon move to Tara Manor, which caused Hilton to curse on the spot, threw down his whip and left, after which no one saw his shadow.And Mrs. Calvert took her daughter and set off to the north soon. The Pine Flower Manor was completely empty.

Polk drives Cade and Catherine to Tara.Ellen quite agrees with Scarlett's actions this time, which makes Scarlett a little embarrassed about her changes.Although Cade was unwilling to leave his homeland and go to others because of his manliness, he knew that his fate was not long, and he had to see with his own eyes that Catherine had a way to survive. In Songhua, the two siblings finally came to Tara together.

Ellen saw Cade once and came to the same conclusion as old Dr. Fontaine.Scarlett secretly sighed that some things really cannot be changed, and she didn't force it, but she and Meili often unraveled Catherine together.Catherine tried very hard to help Tara, although she was very unfamiliar with farm work (Songhua had no one in charge of the overall situation, and Hilton was not someone who would worry about the manor being abandoned, so Songhua did not even have any traces of farming), but Catherine was willing Learning and willing to grit his teeth and endure hardships, his tenacity is filled with the will to survive.For Catherine herself, working hard is better than being married to someone like Hilton, so she worked extra hard.Scarlett had to admit that she might have misjudged Catherine's will to survive—maybe she could support herself and even bring in a surplus, although she certainly couldn't do it without the direction and platform she provided.She could not help feeling a little respect for Catherine.

Now Tara is busy up and down, because the addition of the Calvert brothers and sisters has increased the popularity, and there is a scene of revival in a trance.Scarlett knew it was a long road, but she was still happy about it.She had just come from the porch and had seen Cade helping Mammy cut the cloth.Scarlett thought Cade was cheered up by being able to help, but she didn't care.On this point, she agrees with Mammy—there is a shortage of people in the family, so use as much as you can.Of course, you have to carry your mother behind your back.

In May, farming takes a break.Scarlett rode around the county and was disheartened by the condition of the neighbors.Grandma Fontaine hadn't been doing well since she put out the fire (Jesus, the Yankees set fire to Mimosa, too!), and old Doc Fontaine had had an amputated arm and was slow to recover from surgery.Alex and Tony, clumsily handling the plow, greeted Scarlett through the fence.Sally looked sad and pale, as if defeat had taken all hope from her.This expression was seen on Karin's face (but Ellen has improved a lot since she relieved it), and it can be seen from time to time in other neighbors' homes, which made Scarlett feel very sad.What the hell is this war going to do?Well now, the war is lost, people's lives are ruined, and hope is gone.

Only the Tarleton's she could not bear to visit.All four brothers of this family were killed in battle, and the house was burned down by the Yankees, so the whole family had to huddle in the hut of the black slaves.However, Ellen said that Mr. Tarleton was dismissed and returned to the field. It would be too sorry for the folks in the village not to visit. Su Ailun, who was extremely tired from work, also clamored to go out, so several people chose Sunday to go together.

The carriage stopped in front of the ruins of the house, and Beatrice Tarleton, dressed in ragged riding clothes and with a whip under her arm, was sitting on the top of the fence in the paddock, in a daze with deep thoughts.Beside her was the little bow-legged nigger of the family, now looking as sad as his master.The paddock, which used to be full of frisky thoroughbreds, was now empty except for a single mule, which Mr. Tarleton rode back from the battle.

"Oh, my darlings are all gone. I don't know how I'm going to live." Mrs. Tarleton climbed down from the fence and said, not sure whether she meant her son or her horse, "My beautiful horses. All dead. Oh, my dear Nellie, it would be nice to keep Nellie for me!"

Jem Tarleton had such a bushy mustache that it was almost unrecognizable.He came out of the overseer's room, greeted the guests, and kissed the girls one by one.The four red-haired daughters rushed out behind them, all patched and patched, with yellow dogs and black dogs on the front and back, rushing outside the door and barking when they heard strangers coming.Compared with the tragic state of Mimosa and the death of Songhua, the family's forced joy is even more desolate.

The Tarletons insisted on having guests over for dinner, saying there were hardly any visitors these days.Scarlett couldn't bear the atmosphere here and didn't want to stay for a long time, but Ellen decided to stay for a while.The guests cherished the beans and bacon served by the host, joked about their experience of overcoming difficulties, and forced a smile.But without the four young men in the living room, no matter how you look at it, it feels empty and uncomfortable.Scarlett wondered what was going on in the hearts of the Tarletons.

Karin seldom spoke at the table, but when the meal was over she ran up to Mrs. Tarleton and whispered something in her ear.Mrs. Tarleton's complexion changed drastically immediately, she put away her forced smile, put her arms around Karin's slender waist, and the two guests walked out of the room and walked along the path to the vegetable garden, as if they were going to visit the cemetery.Now that this matter has been mentioned, it seems impolite not to visit relatives and friends in the past, so the guests followed suit.

Surrounded by brick walls of the cemetery under the cedar trees, two marble tombstones were newly erected, before the rain had even had time to splash the red clay on them.

"We just finished it last week." Mrs. Tarleton was a little proud. "Mr. Tarleton went to Macon and brought it back in a big truck."

Brent and Stuart were buried together, and the tombstone was engraved with "joy together in life, and inseparable in death." Boyd's body was not found, and Tom lay alone in another grave.There are also many Latin words Scarlett can't understand engraved on the tombstone.

"The inscriptions are so beautiful," Karin whispered, tears in her eyes.

"Yes," said Mrs. Tarleton softly. "We thought it fitting too—they both died at about the same time. Stuart fell first, and Brent raised his fallen standard."

"They are all great soldiers of the Confederacy." Ellen comforted softly.

Mrs. Tarleton bowed her head, tears streaming down her face.Scarlett stepped forward and patted her on the back, taking something out of her cuff.It was a stack of letters tied with a dark green ribbon, and she handed it into Mrs. Tarleton's hands.

"Mrs. Tarleton." Scarlett called her, feeling very desolate, "I found this—I brought it back from Atlanta. Brun and Stu wrote these letters to me, and even they wrote the last letter. The letters sent out before the war are also here. I want to give them to you." This was her last commemoration of the two brothers.

Mrs. Tarleton took the letter, she only glanced at the familiar handwriting on the envelope, and her eyes blurred with tears.The little woman turned and hugged Scarlett and burst into tears, thanking her for bringing this to her, thanking her for still keeping her son's last letter.

Scarlett put her arms around Mrs. Tarleton, but her eyes flew into the distance.She looked around and saw the deep darkness of the woods in the distance, which seemed to be invading the edge of the field, and she shuddered.In another year, the field might be full of pine seedlings, Scarlett thought.Without black slaves, who could take care of such a large estate?The fields will soon become barren again, and no cotton can be grown. How will everyone live?They are like stepping back a hundred years ago, living in small wooden houses and farming a few acres of Susukida to earn their living just like the pioneers back then—no!Even if she had to pull the plow herself, she couldn't watch Tara go back.There would be countless places in Georgia that would become wasteland, but Tara must not be one of them.Her money is not spent on tombstones, and her time is not spent crying over defeat.We always have a way to survive.But how many men died in this battle!

From now on, countless women in the South will stand up from their tears.They would fight the Yankees and life with the same courage, strength, and wisdom in the place of the men who died.They would hold on to what was left of the South—in this life, Scarlett thought, maybe she could be one of them.