[Gone with the Wind] Back to the beginning

On the front steps, Scarlett still held on to the red clay.She deliberately didn't go through the back door, for fear that Mammy's sharp eyes would see that she was restless.She doesn't want to see anyone now, she just wants to clear her mind.

She was neither ashamed nor disappointed about the idea of ​​killing Jonathan before.Scarlett in this life may have changed in some things, but for the outright enemy Jonathan, if necessary, she will definitely pick up a pistol by herself-just like killing the Yankee who broke in.But when Ashley calmly said that he was going to kill Jonathan, Scarlett was inexplicably flustered.

She was so ruthless in wanting Jonathan's death, and she didn't hide it.In order to keep Taras Belle, she can do whatever it takes, but what she didn't think about was that her crazy actions might also involve her friends, and let Ashley kill Jonathan—let alone Scarlett in her previous life, Even if she no longer loves him in this life, she will definitely not be able to do it.Ashley's words made Scarlett realize that if she always took killing as a solution to the problem so easily, the people around her would be implicated sooner or later.But she couldn't find a solution to her tax crisis other than killing Jonathan, and that was her real worry.

The sound of horseshoes interrupted her thoughts, and Scarlett looked up towards the driveway, only to see smoke and dust rising in the distance, and a carriage was approaching.The brand new carriage was shiny, and the person sitting on it was clearly the same person she wanted to kill just now.Jonathan Wilkerson.Scarlett stood still at the door.

She coldly straightened her loose hair, put her hands on her chest, and looked directly at the carriage against the cold wind.Jonathan Wilkerson came down from above, the ex-overseer of Tara, who had been kicked out for his infidelity, driving a handsome carriage and wearing a smart coat, full of self-satisfaction and self-satisfaction.Scarlett knew that his current position in the Freedmen's Bureau was not low, and she examined him.How easy it would be to solve it with a gun.

Jonathan helped a vulgar woman down from a gorgeous carriage.This woman has a red plaid skirt and a short black velvet coat.The red velvet hat was dressed to the point of flattening the teeth, and there was a pile of wigs on his head.A thick layer of white|powder was applied on the face, and one could tell that the teeth had been dressed up.She got out of the car, looked around, and then smiled charmingly in Scarlett's direction.

"Long time no see, Miss."

Amy Slattery!

Although Scarlett knew very well that Ellen was busy at home in a simple black dress at the moment, this did not prevent her disgust when she saw Amy Slattery-this woman and her family were lazy. Selfish, lived on Tara's handouts before the war.She gave birth to a child through fornication and left it to Ellen to take care of. She caught typhoid fever and instead of going to her family, she turned to Ellen for help. In the end, the infection dragged down her mother's body.Scarlett could never have liked Amy Slattery in any life.

"You are not welcome here." Scarlett said coldly.

Amy's face changed, and she couldn't help but glance at Jonathan.The latter sullenly suppressed his anger, pretending to be full of style.

"Don't talk like that to my wife," he said.

"Ma'am?" Scarlett glanced contemptuously at Amy's heavily made-up face, "It's really time to marry, she didn't give you a bunch of little bastards who died in the ground."

Amy screamed and was about to hide in the carriage, but Jonathan grabbed her arm roughly, and the anger on his face could no longer be concealed.

"We're here to visit old friends--to discuss some business. I suggest you better be nice to my wife, or else--"

"Otherwise?" Scarlett sneered.The cold killing intent before made her enter a very calm state—cold and without anger, but that kind of contempt made Jonathan the most uncomfortable. People, are you ashamed to call yourself a friend?"

The yellow face of the ex-overseer was flushed like an irritated turkey.He cried out:

"What kind of airs are you putting on? I don't know the details of your family now! Huh, let's see if you can still be proud for a few days, you can't pay your taxes, just wait to be kicked out to auction the house! Let me tell you who is in charge now , I'm going to buy the whole place—I'm going to be the master of it!"

Sure enough, it was him who played the trick, Scarlett sneered, her expression clearly not taking Jonathan seriously.

"Get out of here right away, I don't want to hear you show off. Get out! Even if I set fire to Tara and sprinkle salt on every piece of land, I won't let it fall into your hands! Don't think about your stinky feet Take a step into Tara and never even think about it—dirty bastard!"

Jonathan stared at her, swearing non-stop, and turned back to the carriage.He climbed into the cart, sat down beside the weeping Amy, turned his horse and drove off.Scarlett's contemptuous and haughty look was too hateful, and one day he would make her pay.But Scarlett just watched the carriage turn around coldly, and walked home with her palms clenched.

Should have seen blood bursting from his face, Scarlett thought grimly.

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Scarlett found Ellen and Gerald in front of the restaurant. The parents had apparently just learned from Will why Tara was targeted, and Gerald's loud voice could be heard from afar.Scarlett barely suppressed the churning emotions in her heart, and said, "Dad, Mom."

Obviously, her real question was the latter, because the second sentence Scarlett spoke was: "How much money can the family get together now? Do you need to use 'those'?"

Ellen glanced at her calmly.

"At least half the gap."

Stronger than the previous life, but there is nothing to brag about.Scarlett thought to herself, and the next moment, she immediately asked: "Is Jonathan deliberately targeting us? That is to say, after this time, there may be a next time, or even higher?"

Ellen frowned and said nothing, Gerald kept yelling to find Jonathan to taste his fist for him.Scarlett was thankful that Gerald didn't know about Jonathan's arrival, and she was sure that was enough of an excuse for Jonathan to put his father in jail.

"I think...it's better not to use 'those' for the time being." Scarlett said, "Since it's basically certain that he will do it again—we must leave room for it and find a way from other sources. For example, the dowry."

"Dowry?" Scarlett's blunt attitude failed to make Gerald realize that she was wrong to talk about this, but Ellen obviously would not ignore this point. She frowned and asked, "You mean before the war? The ones you left—”

"To be precise, those reserved for Sue Ellen and Karin." Scarlett pointed out keenly, noticing the change in her parents' expressions, she continued nonchalantly, "Because of my part——I got it in advance at the time." , and replaced it with food and cloth, which were used by Tara in the days before. Dad, Mom, I don’t mean to delay the marriage of the younger sisters, but the dowry prepared according to the pre-war custom should be very large, and it is the same as going to the countryside now. Compared with the general dowry in China, it is too much. I think it would not be a bad thing to take some of it and be more in tune with the neighbors."

Scarlett’s previous behavior of exchanging the dowry for the family’s living supplies made it absolutely impossible for others to accuse her of “taking her sister’s dowry selfishly” at this time. Her behavior has proved everything.After thinking for a moment, Ellen didn't say yes or no.She simply said to Scarlett, "Let me talk to the accountant."

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As soon as she entered the cashier and sat down, Ellen said directly, "What are you going to do with that money?"

Scarlett was taken aback: "I...Mom, have you agreed to use the dowry?"

"The dowry matter is very reasonable, besides, your father and I would have put together another share for you." Ellen said, while observing Scarlett's expression carefully, "However, it seems that you already have 'that money' Intend."

Scarlett moved her lips.

"I thought I could use them as I wished without violating the principles of conscience. After all," she couldn't help but hide her uneasiness with barbed words, "I exchanged dowry for gold coins and then food before the war , It was also based on my own judgment—something that violated the rules.”

Ellen felt a little helpless about the hidden defenses of the eldest daughter: "Honey, I just care about you." She paused, "You have already paid a lot for the family. Of course you can use what belongs to you - Scarlett , can you tell me what you plan to use it for? A third store?"

"Maybe it's a lumberyard," Scarlett muttered softly, out of Ellen's ear.

In fact, the smooth development of the previous two stores was due to the two reasons of "exchanging Confederate goods to the common people at a low price" and "reviving Meili's shop so that they would not be too embarrassed by being dependent on others".For Ellen, the behavior, although deviant, was moral.The lumber factory opened purely for profit shows the ambition of expansion (not to mention that Scarlett is going to manage it herself!), this is a topic that Scarlett is not so willing to touch now.

she said deliberately.

"Mum, we're going to make money off cotton, it's not enough for Jonathan to tax - he wants to deal with us, we can't just get knocked down, we have to find something else. I want the money to be used - can Invested to make more money to cope with Jonathan's endless blackmail. Otherwise sooner or later we will be worn out. Besides, the extra part of that money can be used to buy more farm equipment and livestock, so that Tara's cotton plantation can also recover faster..."

Talking about cotton made Scarlett's eyes shine. Although the production of cotton fields is not destined to be the main means of earning money in her life, cotton makes her feel at ease and satisfied. With cotton farms, there is a future and hope.

Ellen pondered for a moment: "Then what investment methods are you going to use? Scarlett, you have taken on too many extra things for the family. Really, these things can actually be left to me and your father to worry about. But if you must Do it - that money is yours, and, let us know what you're doing."

Scarlett replied with difficulty: "I promise you that my bottom line is above morality."

Ellen frowned, her daughter seemed determined to go further and further down the path of deviance.The post-war world has changed too quickly, and everyone makes different choices.Under such circumstances, she also did not have a good grasp of measuring a boundary for her daughters and arranging a secure future.Ellen had learned that Scarlett's brave and restless nature could not be contained.But her daughter’s moral commitment shows her disdain for traditional rules on the one hand, and on the other hand, it shows that in what she wants to do, adhering to morality is already a compromise—Ellen couldn’t help sighing.

"Mom, if I were a boy you wouldn't have to be so hard," Scarlett murmured. "Sometimes I wish I was, but I think I can do it now." She looked up again, green Eyes shining brightly, "Mom, trust me. I know what I'm doing and I won't regret it. Besides, we have no other choice."