[Gone with the Wind] Back to the beginning

Will and Karin's engagement was simple.

There was no other way. Tara only informed relatives, friends and neighbors in the county, and then wrote to relatives in Atlanta and Savannah, agreeing to invite someone to come to the door when the wedding was held.After all, everyone is busy at home, and it is inconvenient to travel, not to mention that Tara can't even scrape together many tables—the food is enough, and for Will's contribution to Tara, Scarlett is willing to spend this money.

Half a month ago, Gerald accompanied Will to Atlanta to replace a new wooden leg, and now he walks much more comfortably.Even when he was covered by clothes, he looked like a gentle and handsome young man.No matter how the neighbors thought that Will and Karin's identities did not match, they also recognized the young man's character, and the marriage that even Ellen blessed must be appropriate, so they all sincerely congratulated and took out the hard-won Gifts, mutual humility, people come and go.

Scarlett was so glad that her mother didn't dislike Will's background—the visitor, Grandma Fontaine, told her bluntly in private, saying that before the war, it was in no case for Will to marry Karin, but it would be good for Tara after the war. Reasonable, although she may not like this marriage.Every time she was misunderstood by others, Scarlett was really embarrassed when she agreed with others, but she didn't explain anything.

To Scarlett's slight surprise, Tommy Wellborn was there too.His family was originally not in Georgia, but after returning home after the war, he learned that his parents had died, and staying on the land alone was also a dead end, so he made up his mind to come to Atlanta to find opportunities. When Karin and Will got engaged, he happened to live with a relative in the county. Next, so we came to congratulate together.Scarlett saw that Tommy was safe and sound, and his legs did not lose the problem of walking in the previous life. He was handsome and personable, so she was very happy, and her rebirth changed more and more things.Tommy was also very happy and excited to see Scarlett. The two talked for a while, and unconsciously talked about their future plans.When Tommy said that he was going to build a house, Scarlett was moved. Building a house and a lumber factory happened to be a chain business, so she couldn't help asking a few more questions about Tommy's plan.It's just that it's not appropriate to talk to each other at the lively engagement banquet, so I made up my mind to talk to him again in Atlanta.

In Tara's living room, everyone was laughing and drinking their own blackberry wine.Dried apples and corn mush are fine as entrees, and a little ham and chicken is heaven.People are considerate, knowing that it is not easy for anyone to host an engagement banquet these days, so they are full of praise for Tara's hospitality, making sure to make the host happy.The banquet started at noon. Karin and Will exchanged simple engagement rings and accepted everyone's blessings.After that, the topic quickly deviated from the theme of the newcomers, and people began to talk about the hatred of the Yankees and the hardships of post-war reconstruction.They tacitly exchanged glances and understood that the other party had experienced the same years, so their relationship grew deeper.Will reads a poem for everyone - he found it on the back of a Confederate bill.

"Whether on land or sea,

This thing is a piece of waste paper,

Symbolizes a lost kingdom.

Leave it for posterity to see.

Show it to posterity, let them

Listen to its tragic story.

Because it symbolizes the freedom that patriots dream of,

And the final demise of the Land of Distress. "

After listening to this poem, tears glistened in people's eyes.

"Oh, it's beautiful! It's touching!" cried Merry. "That's a beautiful poem! Scarlett, let's leave these Confederate bills, a dead country!"

"Come on, Merry, the roof is leaking and we need paper to fix it." Scarlett said bluntly, "Don't dwell on the past, we have to look forward."

The whole hall was discussed because of the poem Will read, and Scarlett and Merry even competed with each other sentence by sentence.Will and Karin talked in low voices, smiling and staring at each other from time to time.Karin bent down to tease Xiao Bo, when Will just raised his head and saw a black spot in the distance, he set up an awning to look carefully.

"Someone's coming," he said. "It looks like a soldier."

Scarlett looked in the direction he pointed, and saw a bearded soldier slowly walking up the cedar avenue. The military uniform was a pile of rags stitched together in gray and blue.He bowed his head wearily, struggling to move.It was a familiar sight again.

"I thought we were finally done with the soldiers." Scarlett complained subconsciously, "But forget it, today is a good day, let's invite him up to the engagement banquet."

Mei Li also stood up at this time.

"I'll get Dilsy to get another pair of knives and forks," she said, "and remind Mammy not to use too much force when undressing the poor man..."

Her words stopped suddenly.Scarlett looked back at her, only to see Merry's face was pale, her brown eyes were wide open, and one hand was pressed tightly to her neck, as if to stop a scream.

"She's going to faint!" Scarlett hurried to help her arm.

But Meili threw off her hand all at once, let go of her feet and rushed down the steps, and ran wildly along the stone corridor.Her thin body ran fast, and her faded skirt fluttered behind her.Scarlett suddenly understood who it was!The soldier raised his dirty face covered with a golden beard, stopped still, and looked at the house in front of him, as if he was too tired to move an inch.Mei Li yelled incoherently and threw herself into Da Bing's arms, his face lowered to hers.Merry cried and laughed and cried, "Ashley! Ashley!"

"It's Ashley!" Scarlett cried, too, with intense joy welling up in her heart.Everyone came to their senses one after another, they all shouted with joy, smiled all over their faces, and all rushed forward to express their concern for Ashley who had returned. Everyone was very happy.They didn't have time for Ashley to change or wash himself, and he belonged to everyone as soon as he and Merry finished talking!The people gathered around him and took him to the banquet to sit down, happy and joyful, and Tara was full of joy.Scarlett couldn't help smiling when she saw Mei Li's excited tears.

It's all gone, which is great.

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Because Twelve Oaks had burned down and Tara was short of manpower, Ashley and Merry still stayed at Tara.

It didn't take Ellen long to figure out that Ashley was really bad at housework, that although he tried to be good at it, he was always clumsy and slow, not even as good as Karin, as if his mind was in the middle of a war. Completely exhausted, most of its souls remain in the pre-war South.Therefore, Ellen tried to arrange Ashley to do some simple work, such as hunting to support the family and the like (Ashley was a good hunter before the war, but he just didn't like it).Scarlett thought to herself that this was a much better idea than her previous idea, but seeing the happy Wilkes family of three, she couldn't help but miss Rhett a little.I don't know how long he plans to hide outside!Did he miss her?

That afternoon, Scarlett sat in the counting room and wrote back to Aunt Pete, explaining to her why she and Merry couldn't go back to Atlanta to be her company, even though she knew that her aunt would pick up her pen and beg her again if she couldn't finish reading the first few lines: " But how scared I am to be alone!"

Her hands were so cold that she stopped writing and rubbed her hands vigorously.Scarlett thought about it and added a few lines.She asked Aunt Pitt about old friends and vaguely mentioned Rhett Butler.If Rhett came back to Atlanta, the talkative old lady would surely mention her.Just as he was about to write a line, he heard the footsteps of Ellen and Gerald outside, and the two were talking about something.Ellen's soft and melodious voice hinted at anxiety, while Gerald could not even contain his anger.

"How dare they!" Gerald said angrily, "300 yuan, they can tell!"

"Mr. O'Hara," Ellen frowned slightly, "I remember that Tara's taxes have already been paid—who mentioned 300 yuan suddenly? It's so high, I'm afraid it's much higher than any other family in the county. If it's this time, the family's money can barely handle it, and I'm afraid it will be charged according to this in the future—Mr. O'Hara, did Will explain to you the reason for the tax increase? Who is targeting Tara? "

Gerald is far less clear about the family's financial situation than Scarlett and Ellen. Hearing Ellen's words, he understands that there is nothing to worry about, but in the long run, he will not be able to support himself, so he can't help but slap his head: "God! I only heard him say something. If you want to raise the tax, you will come to you in a daze, no, we have to go back and ask him to understand!"

Ellen nodded, and the couple were worried, and they left hand in hand, while Scarlett in the account room stood up abruptly.