[Gone with the Wind] Back to the beginning

Scarlett felt both happy and moved, and the conversation with Ellen largely solved Scarlett's long-hidden heart knot.Up to now, she still can't believe that Ellen actually accepted her like this-of course, she will always be her daughter, but the mother didn't even say a word of accusation (maybe the mother's concept has changed? Scarlett I can't imagine), just tell her to love her heart... love her heart, Scarlett understands the weight of this sentence, she made a mess of it at the end of her previous life.But in this life, she will keep her heart and the bottom line—maybe she doesn't care so much about ladylike demeanor.She can have living parents, and their love.It's all very nice.

After living in Tara for half a month, Scarlett left for Atlanta.She had just seen off the Melanie family a few days earlier.After Ashley proposed his plan to Ellen, Ellen was very supportive.So, shortly after writing back to his northern friend, Ashley set off with Melanie and Beau.Scarlett was reluctant to part with Melanie, and repeatedly told her to remember to write back.The doctor she called before diagnosed that Melanie was weak, and it would be risky to have another child. He suggested raising her for a few more years.For such a result, Scarlett felt a little complicated. "It's a little risky", such a comment, Mei Li is definitely willing to take the risk of having one.Scarlett worked so hard to help Meili recuperate her body before, turning "very dangerous" into "somewhat risky", would it have given Meili hope instead?But Scarlett quickly dismissed the idea.It is not clear how much Melanie likes the child Scarlett. Since it is her wish, Scarlett has no reason to stop it.No matter what, it is an indisputable fact that she is healthier than her previous life.Probably, after a few years of good care, it will be no problem to have another child, right?

But in private, Scarlett still solemnly emphasized the doctor's words to Ashley over and over again, and Ashley was even ashamed of being pronounced by her--for a girl to mention this so bluntly, God !But it is still useful. Ashley said that he did not intend to settle in the north, and he planned to think about the child when he came back.Scarlett was very relieved to get this guarantee.

Scarlett, therefore, was simply refreshed to be back in Atlanta.The mother accepted the most unbearable of her, Mei Li's fate of miscarriage and death seemed to be avoided, and Ashley's unexpected but reasonable self-reliance attempt, everything couldn't be better!Scarlett's good mood lasted until her lunch at Aunt Pete's house. At the dinner table, Aunt Pete told her a piece of news that immediately made her feel bad-Rhett Butler actually left Atlanta!

Naturally, Rhett Butler has his right to travel, and his rationality keeps telling Scarlett that this man has his own business, and it’s nothing to go out to do business, not to mention that he even mentioned it to Aunt Pete... But, Hearts cannot be deceived, and Scarlett was terribly uncomfortable at the news.She thought she was seriously fighting Rhett Butler!Before she went back to Tara on her own, she probably avoided Rhett and gave him a cold shoulder.However, Rhett Butler walked away without saying a word, as if he was not affected at all, this, this is just... this makes her so angry!It hurts one's self-esteem too much!He just didn't put her at ease!Fortunately, she saw her mother's attitude was soft before, and she carefully tested a few words about her future marriage partner and mother's attitude.Well, to hell with Rhett Butler!She is the only one who cares about the affairs between the two of them, so what!

After silently repeating "He has his own business to do, and he told Aunt Pete that he will be back in two months", Scarlett still felt unable to restrain her inner anger.In the end, she tossed her head, whatever that bastard was doing!He explained it when he came back.Now, she doesn't want to take care of that man's affairs, and just concentrate on doing her own business well!

So Scarlett threw herself into her own sawmill with such vigour, that it surprised Tommy Welburne.Scarlett, who was recognized by Ellen, simply let go of her hands and feet, and she started her own business in Atlanta in a hurry.

In the fall and confusion of the spring of 1866, she devoted herself to running the sawmill and making it profitable.The construction boom gave her a great opportunity, and there was money to be made in Atlanta.Scarlett knows that as long as she doesn't offend those in power and is thrown into prison, she can do whatever she wants.Jonathan had been quiet lately, and Scarlett would have liked him to disappear forever.Scarlett tried to be careful and patient with anyone who might harm her, as long as she was not so offending as Jonathan.She hated the high-spirited free niggers as much as everyone else, the baggers and nouveau riche who made war fortunes, and the Yankees who gave orders indiscriminately.But her answer was to work hard, and Scarlett had made up her mind not to put herself in danger by a blunt fool.

She stepped up and urged the clerk to make the warehouse business more prosperous.But most of her hope lies in the sawmill.Atlanta is like a huge tree that has been felled to the ground. Now it is sprouting vigorously and its branches are flourishing. The supply of building materials is far short of demand, and the prices of wood, bricks, and stones are soaring.Her sawmill works from dawn to lamplight.

Scarlett spent some time every day going to the mill, asking about everything, trying to prevent anyone from stealing the wood.But most of the time she drives around town, dealing with architects, contractors and carpenters.She even went to look for strangers, as long as she heard that they were building a house.Some sweet words coaxed the master into agreeing to buy her wood, and only hers.In no time, she was a scene on the streets of Atlanta.Miss Scarlett O'Hara, young and pretty, always sat in the buggy with her gloved hands folded on her knees, and the black driver sitting in front of her was Big Sam that Tara had brought.She wore a beautiful green cloak and matched it with a green flat hat, which set off her green eyes like water.When touting business, she always dresses up like this, with a little rouge on her face and a little perfume on her body, making her beautiful and charming.She sat in the car, smiled and nodded, and the man ran over stammeringly, often talking business with her in the rain.

She wasn't the only one eyeing the lucrative lumber business, but Scarlett dared to compete with anyone.A shrewd mind becomes more and more unstoppable through the tribulations of adversity.At first, her opponents laughed at her, making harmless remarks about what business women do.But now they couldn't laugh anymore, and they could only curse secretly when they saw her carriage passing by.Scarlett had the privilege of being a woman, because she could put on a pitiful and helpless look from time to time, making people feel that she was a brave and weak little girl, forced to live in this situation, if no one bought her She will be hungry for wood.Seeing her attitude, the man had no choice but to surrender softly.

Most of the time ladylikeness worked perfectly, but the occasional moment when they didn't, Scarlett didn't mind showing her razor-sharp fangs.She can ruthlessly use all kinds of business methods, and would rather lose money than beat her competitors.She is merciless in robbing people of business, and at the same time she skillfully uses her advantages as a lady - southerners will not believe a man's slander of a lady, because that just proves his lack of style and disrespect.Scarlett's opponents were so helpless that they wished God could change Miss O'Hara into a man for a duel, even for five minutes.

There was only one thing that made Atlanta people complain about Miss O'Hara, and that was that she was too kind to the Yankees.Yes, Mrs. Merriwether and many Southerners did business with the new Yankees, but they had to, with reluctance written all over their faces.But Scarlett didn't, at least she was kind on the surface.If someone questioned her, the sharp-tongued Miss O'Hara would smile softly, saying that she was a woman who didn't know how to do business, but only knew how to be kind and sincere.I am indeed stupid, but Jonathan will never forget the great hatred of trying to capture Tara.It would be best to keep Tara's tax money out of the Yankees, and she was willing to suffer for it, at least Mr. Gerald O'Hara certainly couldn't stand it.So under her deliberate show of weakness, Atlanta's attention to her only lasted for a while before turning to other places.Scarlett felt more and more that it was not difficult to deal with Southerners—to understand and identify with their sensibilities, their similar pasts, their shared hatred of the Yankees.And she herself was originally a southerner.

As for the Yankees, Scarlett looked at it purely from the customer's attitude.She found it easy to make friends with them—or at least make them think they were friends.It is not difficult for this group of foreigners to come to this hostile land.Many people are eager to associate with decent people in the south, but decent people all stare at them.And Scarlett is obviously a decent woman, with the blood of the Robillard family. Although she goes out to do business, she has a charming smile.Their ignorance of the South made them believe everything Scarlett showed, and they even trembled when she frowned slightly, for fear that they would offend "the aristocratic manners of the old South", which was so ridiculous that it was hard to believe.Miss O'Hara, noble and lovely, charming and dignified, the Yankees really admired her.

Scarlett successfully opened up the market in the Yankees, and even gained an absolute position in this market, and her business was booming day by day.It was so easy to fool the Yankee officers, and Scarlett could catch them all, but the Yankee wives hated each other.They knew nothing about the South but were full of prejudice. They took "Uncle Tom's Cabin" as a revelation, and they all chased Scarlett to find out if "The Hound Chased the Negro" and "The Master Branded the Mark" were true.Scarlett was so annoyed that they couldn't believe it when she finally explained it clearly.Scarlett really didn't want to face these women if it wasn't necessary.However, some businesses have to be negotiated at the door. Once the door comes, it is always troublesome to refuse the owner's endless questions.If Scarlett wanted to maintain the friendly but dignified "Lady of the South" that the Yankees had imagined, she couldn't just walk away.It gave her a headache.

"One day I'll never pay attention to these people again!" Scarlett cursed and lowered the brim of her hat, lest the sun burn her newly recovered delicate skin.She was damned having to go to Mrs. Elsing's sewing clubs, just to maintain a little self-image—after all, she was in business with Southerners as well as the Yankees.It's not beneficial to get yourself to the point where you betrayed your relatives at the end of your previous life.

The carriage wobbled to the destination, Scarlett resisted impatience and waited for Big Sam to get off the carriage before helping her. The whispers of passers-by burrowed into her ears like mosquitoes, which disturbed her mind.

"Hey, see? That carriage!"

"That depraved|depraved bad woman..."

"I could swear her money was wrong, as if her red hair was definitely an afterthought!"

"..."

At first, Scarlett was annoyed and thought that she was back in her previous life, when the whole Atlanta was talking about her.But the last sentence made her wake up.She turned her head and stretched her neck to look over, her eyes collided with a pair of lazy eyes.Bell Watling raised an eyebrow at her and smiled vaguely.Her eyes were clouded by the mesh veil hanging down the front of her splendid hat, and her hair, blatantly red, hung over a long thin woolen shawl.The luxurious car curtain just covered most of the car windows, only her snow-white arm covered with a gold bracelet rested on the car window, and was pillowed by her charming face full of dust.The eye contact happened only for a split second, after which Scarlett thought she heard Belle giggling, but she wasn't so sure.Her eyes were still following the gorgeous and tacky carriage, and when the carriage disappeared completely, she suddenly became angry when she realized what she was doing.

"She opened a brothel, this woman is not a good thing..."

"It is said that it was sponsored by that nasty Butler...how dare you be so ostentatious..."

The voices of the noble ladies and wives in the south came again, and Scarlett jumped out of the carriage full of irritability, ignored Big Sam and walked into the house, subconsciously not wanting to hear those women's guesses about the relationship between Watling and Rhett , although I understand that there may be a lot of truth in it.A word that had nothing to do with it suddenly touched her nerves——

"The ghost knows what the two of them are doing, but I'm sure Butler has more than one lover. He may have met a lover when he went out this time..."

Scarlett stood where she was, clenching her teeth.She remembered where Aunt Pete had told her that Rhett Butler had gone—New Orleans.What's more, a conversation in a very long past in her previous life, which she didn't study and didn't take seriously, suddenly came to mind.

"You haven't said why you go to New Orleans all the time?"

"Well, since you're asking so bluntly, I'll satisfy your unrefined curiosity. I'm not going to New Orleans to see a lover, but to see a child, a boy."

"little boy!"

"Yes, I'm the boy's guardian, and it's my duty to take care of him. He's a student in New Orleans, so I see him often."

"..."

Good God, Scarlett was so overwhelmed by this unexpected conversation!Rhett Butler was still the guardian of a little boy, and she--if she hadn't suddenly remembered it today, she wouldn't have known about it!Why didn't she ask a few questions when Rhett said this to her in the previous life - no, he should have made it clear!What the hell!What is the relationship between that boy and him? Could it be an illegitimate child? No, Rhett Butler has always liked children. If it is really his own son, there is no reason not to keep it with him, and there is no reason not to mention it to her once. Certainly not his son—but what if it was?If it's true, he hasn't mentioned a word to you?For a while, Scarlett's mind was in a turmoil, and she didn't know what to do.The only thing that was certain was that she had grown even more angry with Rhett Butler—she had written him off again.How many secrets does this damned man still refuse to tell her!Waiting for him to come back—waiting for him to come back—Scarlett secretly clenched her fists, all the grievances in her heart turned into raging anger.When he comes back, she will settle the score with him, and that's it!

Damn Rhett Butler!