little miss austin

But Alice thinks that things like having a baby are not changed by your wishes.Jane may be too romantic in love. In this era, it is an ideal way of thinking to think that love is greater than bread, but she is also very practical, knowing that there is absolutely no money without money. Of course, she also thinks that Henry should have his own children.She grew up in a family with many children and doesn't dislike little ones, and even loves her brothers' kids, so she'd definitely like to see Henry's kids in the future.

Alice said, let everything go as it pleases.After all, even with the development of reproductive medicine in later generations, there will still be cases where a couple can't have children at all, and after divorce, they marry each other, but they each have their own children.

She came up with an idea, "Or, if he has no children in a few years, let him adopt one of Edward's sons? He can choose one from George, Henry, and William." It is also common for relatives to adopt children. Edward's eldest son is Edward, who is 5 years old this year, the eldest son must have stayed at home to inherit the family property. It is a common practice for the youngest son who cannot get the family property to adopt to a rich uncle.

Jane smiled and tugged at a lock of hair around her cheek.

"What about you? Did Mommy ask you—"

Jane understood immediately, "Little guy! You ask too many questions." Wei Wei blushed.

"If you have a daughter, it must be called 'Alice' too."

Jane's face turned redder.But she sighs, "We...haven't had the money to raise our kids yet." Both she and Cathy have seen what it's like to have a lot of kids in a family: Mom can be exhausted, even with the help of a maid. falling asleep; each child means a considerable expense; what is even more frightening is having children one after another.

My mother has given birth to 9 children, and she is still working hard until now. It is only in the past three years that Alice has not been at home very much, so she has a little leisure.

Edward's wife, and their sister-in-law Elizabeth - Jane didn't even know what to say.Cathy was born in January 1773. Elizabeth was a few months younger than Cathy, but she now has 1 children!Both Cathy and Jane found this intensive birthing unimaginable!Jane finds it unacceptable just to imagine what it would be like if Cathy had five children too.

Especially after the eldest brother James' first wife died of dystocia, the two older Miss Austins were extremely terrified of it.

Alice was very worried about Jane's health.Jane is the poorest of the 9 siblings. Brother George is just a brain burnt out, but his body is very good, and he rarely even catches a cold. No, the reason why my mother indulged her in playing cricket was also to hope that she could run more, so that she would not catch a cold every two days.

Jane has always been the most favored child in the family. Even after Alice was born, her mother loves Jane the most.Alice has been very naughty since she was a child. If she could run, she would follow George's brother all over the mountains and plains. She didn't have to worry about her body. Her mother just raised her like a sheep.

Regardless of men and women, if you reach the age of marriage and do not marry, you will be urged to marry, and after you get married, you will be urged to give birth, and the pressure is huge.Jane was married, and naturally it was time to worry about her children.She is still newly married now, and the pressure is not too great. Generally, if you have no children after two years, you will be gossiped.

This year, the youngest brother Charles returned from the sea.

Charles went to the Royal Naval Academy at the age of 12, became a second lieutenant officer on the warship Daedalus at the age of 15, and was promoted to lieutenant at the age of 18 because of his military merits.He is 10 years older than Alice and is 20 years old this year.

When he left home, Alice was only two years old. After that, he could only go home during the Christmas holidays; when he got on a warship, he had been floating around in the sea, changing several warships, and hadn’t returned home for 5 years.

The two navy boys often write letters home, and Pastor George often writes letters to his sons who have been at sea all year round. Half of the letters will be about religion, and the other half will be about family matters.If they could meet at any pier, they would exchange information. For example, if Francis did not come back this year, he asked Charles to bring back the things he brought to his family.

Together with the things he brought home, Charles had 4 large suitcases. He rented a carriage directly in Southampton, hurried all the way, and returned home before Jane's birthday.

When he saw Alice, who was about to turn 10, he was pleasantly surprised and said, "Look! You have grown into a big girl!"

He picked up Alice and spun her around many times until he felt dizzy before putting her down.This was the game they used to play when Alice was very young.

Alice also likes to go around in circles like this.The last time she saw Charles was in the summer of 1794, as he was about to board a warship and return home to visit his family before leaving.At that time, she was only 4 and a half years old, and she didn't have photos to deepen her impression. Her impression of the youngest brother was already very weak, and she only remembered that they had a good time together.

"You've grown into an adult too." Alice blushed and praised him with a smile.

Charles laughed happily.

Pastor George and Henry also came out, standing aside and watching the two brothers and sisters play with a smile.

Mother was directing the two coachmen to carry the box into the Vicarage, and asked Charles if he had paid for the car, and if he was hungry, and if he had had lunch.

Charles answered a series of questions from his mother, took out his purse and paid for the car, sent the carriage and delivery carriage away, and handed the purse to Alice casually.

Alice opened the drawstring of the purse and looked at the coins inside: there were several different gold coins, some different silver coins, and a very few copper coins.

"These were impromptu exchanges at Southampton. I have a lot of foreign gold coins, but some don't work in England."

"Did you bring it back? Those gold coins?" Alice was only interested in gold coins. At the end of the 18th century, there were many types of gold coins in Europe, some of which could be used in most European countries, and most of them could not.Not to mention the wide variety of African and Asian currencies.Since the Great Geographical Discovery, a large number of gold and silver mines have been discovered in South America and Central America, and Mexican gold coins are very popular in Europe.

"I brought some back, and I'll show you later." The grown-up little sister loves money, which is already known by the whole family.

It wasn't until she saw brother Charles that Alice expressed her amazement at her mother's powerful genetics: all the Austins have inherited a high nose bridge.

Charles and Francis don't look much alike, but their eyes, nose, and mouth are very similar. They are not beautiful, but have a simple male appearance. Alice still thinks that Henry's brother looks the most in line with her aesthetics.

The next few days were spent sorting out the big boxes the Navy boys had brought back.Francis asked Charles to send back 1000 pounds, saying that it was a reward for hunting down a group of pirates last year, a bonus based on military merit, and a share of the pirates' property.There are also a lot of other messes: silk, tea, pearls from China; expensive spices from Asia; some legendary aphrodisiac drugs-don't doubt, these things are in short supply no matter what era or country; half a dozen are extremely exquisite Chinese and Japanese jewelry boxes; each box contains some precious stones, not many, but the sum is considerable.

Alice's eyes lit up when she saw the gems: "Wow! So many gems!" She opened each jewelry box and poured all the gems inside on the table. Shine bright on unpretentious cotton.

There was a letter in the bottom of one of the jewelry boxes, unsealed.

Alice opened the letter. "Dear Alice," she said with a nod at once to her mother, "it's for me."

Mother Cassandra had never seen so many gems at once in her life, and she was almost stunned. "Quickly, what did he say? Where did these - so many gems come from?"

"Okay, Mom, I'll read it now." Alice read the letter earnestly, "I've been floating around in the Indian Ocean for the past few months. The Indian Ocean is huge and the climate is changeable. The sea is most afraid of heavy rain and windy waves. Fortunately, I haven’t encountered any particularly alarming storms recently. Please tell Mom, don’t worry about my safety, the captain will definitely be more worried about the safety of the warship than I am. If our guide says that there may be bad weather recently, then we will Stay in the harbor and wait for the bad weather to pass.

I'm so sad to hear what happened to Cathy, Foer is a very good man, may he rest in peace in heaven.My little sister, please tell our sister to stop being so sad and tell her that I love her and that I want her to find peace of mind and move on with her life.

How is Jane?Hopefully next time I get home, she'll be engaged.Could it be Mr. Lefroy's nephew?He seems to be a penniless pauper, with a bad reputation in London, a brief fascination, and I needn't worry too much.

I have bought you a great deal of Chinese silk, and hope you will make pretty dresses, so that when I come home my sisters will be the prettiest girls around Basingstoke.

Oh, and the gems you were talking about last time, it just so happened that I participated in a siege against pirates in this part of the Indian Ocean and got some really nice gems for almost no money.God!I must tell you about this when I get home!The wealth of pirates is beyond your imagination!I now know why so many people are willing to become pirates.I also heard so many stories about pirates, I can't wait to tell you, you will love these strange and spooky stories!

That's all, dear Alice, say hello to my mother, and tell her I think of her and love her every day.Tell Cathy and Jane I love them.I have another letter from my father, but please also give my father a kiss and tell him that I miss him very much.

Love your brother, Francis. "

Mom was already in tears, she wiped her tears, and whispered: "He is always like this, he never said what happened to him! I worry about him and Charles all day long, afraid that they will encounter pirates, afraid that they will encounter pirates. Storm—but look! he's off to fight some pirates!"

"Mom, isn't it all right?" Alice received the letter and comforted her mother, "Don't worry, if they are just some little sailors, you may still need to worry, but they are already lieutenant officers, and the officers are still safe of."

While Mom was still sad, Alice was already arranging the gems, sorting these beautiful stones by color.She took these gems as a gift from Francis very consciously, but her mother quickly said that she would put them away.

She started yelling, "No! I'm going to pick some jewelry! Mom, I want pretty jewelry, and Lucinda has a lot of gemstone jewelry."

Mom disagreed at first, but Cathy said that Alice would socialize with girls from rich families like Lucinda in the future, and she couldn't do without some decent jewelry, so she reluctantly agreed.

Alice quickly picked out some rubies and sapphires.Picked up a few more pieces for Jane and Cathy.

Cathy said, "What do I want gems for? I don't go to balls anymore, and I don't need pretty dresses and jewelry anymore."

Alice was puzzled, "Why didn't you go to the ball? Last time William asked me, I also found it strange." Before that, even though Cathy was engaged, she occasionally danced with men other than her brothers and relatives, but now she danced at all. I don't dance anymore, and I rarely go to dances.

"There's no reason, I just don't want to go." Cathy immediately changed the subject, "When will Jane come back? Isn't Tom still on vacation?"

"They won't be back until a few days before Christmas." Alice picked out a jewelry box, put the chosen gemstones in it, and put the jewelry box on her lap.

Mom is saying, take out these gems and sell them.

Alice said: "Don't sell. The big gems are very precious, and I am not willing to sell them. The smaller gems can't be sold at a high price, so don't sell them. Mom, we will be rich in the future, very rich." "

"That's Henry and your money too."

"Without Dad and you, where would we be? Because Henry originally said that he would give Cathy and Jane 500 pounds a year, but now our business is doing well, so he decided to save a sum of money for Brother George, so... …George will not have to worry about living expenses in the future. In addition, he will give Cathy and Jane a certain amount of money every year. Mom, I will also give you a certain amount of money.”

Mom is really going to cry now, "Baby, let Dad help you collect your money, don't give it to us, our money is enough."

"No, money is for spending, just earn it after spending it. I want a personal maid. I'm used to maids in London. Mom, help me hire a maid."

Mom stared at her, "there is no spare room for you at home." Except for James and Edward who are married, the children's rooms are still reserved. For example, if Henry comes home, he can live in his own room.

"Then we should buy a bigger house."

"We're going to have to live here if Daddy's still a priest."

Alice was discouraged, "Dad's health has not been very good these few years, he doesn't have to continue to work, he can retire."

"Let's talk about it later." Mom sighed.

Wearing the uniform of a naval officer, Charles was immediately welcomed in Steventon, Dean, Ash, and even Basingstoke, went out to balls almost every day, and was the love of many girls.

The boys in the Austin family are very popular, far more sought-after than the Austin sisters. The most important reason is of course the economy.The allowances of naval officers are much higher than those of militia officers, and there are also a lot of gray income, which can be carried back to the country with private goods in luggage, or bought and sold in port cities along the way.Naval officers have high incomes and high expenses. Many people will squander their allowances on good wine and women in the cities along the way. Charles and Francis are the sons of priests. There was a clear stream.

So you can save a lot of money.

In addition to the 1000 pounds that Francis brought back, Charles also saved 1000 pounds.He felt that the money was not too much, and he was a little upset, complaining that he always spent the money without knowing it, and when he looked back, he couldn't remember where it was spent.

"I hope I can bring back more money next time I come back, or I should pay off the pirates once." This is a typical "horse has no night grass and no fat", how can the officer's allowance be enough?Wanting to get married is out of reach.

Charles stayed in a boy-only Naval Academy during his adolescence, and he couldn't easily see any girls; when he was at the age when he should be in love, he would soon go to the ship to serve, and he had no chance to meet girls of the right age and family background, so he is still a boy. Innocent boy.

The officers always talked about women when they were together, and laughed at Charles Austen for being a virgin at twenty, saying he should have been old enough to know women.Charles, like Francis, was a naturally cheerful boy, unfazed by the teasing of his peers, but aware that he needed to be a man, but he didn't want to get engaged too early, and he didn't have enough money to support a family.

So he was not interested in almost all women of similar age and background, but flirted with a married young lady he had met in Basingstoke.

Lucy said angrily, "He just thinks Mrs. Grant is very charming!"

That's right, fickle Lucy has moved on again, and this time, she's in love with Charles Austen.

Alice said matter-of-factly, "Mrs. Grant is indeed very charming."

"She's terrible, if you ask me! I don't know how Mr. Grant can put up with such a thing?!"

"Isn't Mr. Grant himself not doing well?"

The Grants are really very interesting, probably because they have a tacit understanding, each playing their own way, flirting with others separately.There are few couples like them in this part of Basingstoke, and it caused a little commotion.

If it weren't for Charles, Alice wouldn't bother to pay attention to the couple.

Of course, the mother disapproved of Charles' behavior, but she had already been unable to control her youngest son, so she could only pretend not to see it.

Alice felt that as long as Mrs. Grant did not intend to hurt Charles' feelings, she would pretend not to see it.Charles, maybe he wants to increase his understanding of women?

Wesley and William also attended the ball in Basingstoke. William went to dance, and Wesley sat and rested in the lounge beside him, chatting with Alice.

Henry and Alice talked to him about dividends before. This year, Wesley received a dividend of up to 2 pounds, which can really be regarded as a huge income.Wesley said at the time that if the dividends are not taken out, they will continue to operate inside.

Alice disagreed, and agreed to pay him his 2 pound dividend in two installments next year, and buy 10% of his shares before the end of next year. At the end of next year, the shareholder shares will be adjusted, and Wesley will reduce his holdings to 15% of the shares; Mr. Stings shares remain unchanged, still 10%; Eliza 12%, Henry 13%, Alice increased shares to 12%; Cousin Thomas increased shares to 3%; 4% reserve fund; continued development funds increased to 31%.

Alice wants to reduce the shares of the two major shareholders to 5% each after at most 5 years. Henry and Eliza's shares will not exceed 30% at most, and Alice's shares will not exceed 20%.Considering that the future profit cannot be as much as the first or second year, in fact, this is still the price of relatives and friends. It does not mean that the company can't wait to get rid of the initial investors after it is on the right track.

Moreover, the two major shareholders are very talkative.

Wesley agreed in principle to transfer the shares.

Going to a dance is no business.

"Have you decided where you want to go after graduation?"

"First go to Holland, Denmark, Norway, then go from Bohemia to Vienna, Berlin, and then board a ship from Belgium to Spain. It will take about a whole year. After that, it will take about two years to go to the New World. .”

"Oh! You've been walking so long!" sighed Alice.

"It's okay, soon, when I get back, you'll be—fourteen, right?"

"Almost." It was said to be 3 years, but it was often more than 3 years. "I'll just pretend that you went to Europe or America to study for four years at university."

"Thinking about it this way, it seems appropriate." He smiled, "I hope you will still remember me four years from now."

Alice looked at him strangely, "Of course I will remember you, you are the major shareholder of my company. But you, the outside world is so-so big, you will probably forget me."

Wesley smiled, "I won't forget you, I swear."

"What's the fun, you have to remember me and bring some back for me. By the way, are you going with William?"

"He said he wanted to go with me, otherwise his father might be called by the Lord in a few years."

"How old is his father?"

"More than 70 years old."

That's really not young anymore.William is 23 years old, but he is the youngest son in the family, and his older brothers are all in their 40s.

"Probably all right with him around. You'd better take some money, but don't tell anyone, not even William. I've heard there are a lot of robbers out there, and if they knew you were rich, they'd take your money away." If you snatch them all, you'll shoot you in the head." Alice frightened him.

"Then I have to go home and find out my most worn-out clothes. When renting a carriage, I only rent the cheapest one." Wesley said cooperatively.