little miss austin

Henry raised his forehead, "Pay attention to your language!"

Alice blinked and pretended "I didn't say that sentence just now".

Tom said: "The matter of finding an engineer will have to wait until after the New Year, which should not be difficult."

This is an era of intensive technological innovation. The Industrial Revolution has been counted since 1760. So far, it has been 40 years. In terms of knowledge reserve and technology, there is no obstacle, what is lacking may be design direction and funds.

So it was preliminarily determined how much money to use to develop a new printing machine.There is no need to spend tens of thousands of pounds all at once, and if it is apportioned to each year, it will not feel that the research and development funds are too high; of course Alice means that the sooner the better, it is very important to occupy the market first, and set five Year plan, it can't be later.

Henry has enjoyed the sweetness of the blank market of typewriters, and also feels that it is very cool to be a blank market, and he can make as much profit as possible.There is nothing embarrassing about this. I have spent a lot of research and development funds, and of course I want to make a lot of profits. Those dignitaries may despise the sudden wealth of the Austin family, but they will definitely not despise the gold coins in their pockets—— Besides, the profits of the Austin Typewriter Company were not so high as to make people envious, and there were many more profitable enterprises in England.

But in terms of marketing methods, Austin Typewriter Company is undoubtedly the one with the most gimmicks in the past two years. The newspaper advertisements are done all year round, intensively placed, full of tricks, and it is not easy to be familiar with them.

There are also a lot of gossip news, every now and then there is a scandal between a certain typewriter lady and some noble son or small business. It is a gossip tabloid, and it keeps a good sales volume.No matter what era, people are very keen on this kind of gossip.

She is too young, and she is a girl. She can't do anything in her early years, and she can't do it. No one would talk business with an 11-year-old child, and they can only count on Brother Henry.Fortunately, Henry has always trusted her. After all, she was the one who went to Wesley and Mr. Hastings to discuss half of the investment when he started the typewriter company. It was also she who saw the business opportunity for typewriters. Henry felt that his little sister was very smart. , I would ask her about business matters first, hold a meeting to discuss and discuss, and did not put her aside.

This is the ideal state for partners.

Tom is also very concerned about the affairs of the Austin company. In addition to his annual salary, the company will also give a year-end bonus before Christmas at the end of the year, and there will be benefits in kind. Alice calls this "Christmas allowance". The treatment is very good.The better the business of Austin Enterprise, the more annuities it will give to Jane. In the future, Austin Publishing House will carefully release Jane's novels, which means that Jane will have a very good income in the future.Love is very important, but money is also very important. He understood the truth that if you don't have money, you can't do it at a very young age.Jane can have a lot of money, plus the inheritance he will get in the future, they will be able to live well.

This prospect spurred him to work hard. The work of the court and the company did not fall behind. At the same time, he was also preparing for entering the House of Commons in the future, which would inevitably reduce his time at home. Jane was quite critical of this.

Alice was having a meeting with Henry and Tom in the study, and Jane had been talking to Eliza.The relationship between the two cousins ​​has always been very good. Eliza married Henry, and Jane was very happy and felt closer to her.And as a married woman, Eliza can tell Eliza many things that Jane can't tell Cathy.

For example, Eliza showed her an indescribable notebook. Jane blushed and flipped through it for a while, thinking that if she was not pregnant next year, her mother would probably have to prepare a similar notebook for her.

Eliza was very helpless, "I went to the doctor for an examination and said that I am in good health and should be able to have children, but I really can't tell whose fault it is. What about you? ? Do you want to check it out too?"

Jane blushed even more.

Life after marriage, except that there will be an extra man in the family at night, and having their own house, it seems... most of the time it is no different from that in Steventon's house.

Tom left early in the morning and rarely came back at noon. After getting off work from the court in the afternoon, he had to go to the Austin company to take home the work files to be done. After eating dinner, he worked in the study. It's also quick to do, usually within an hour or so.In this way, they can still have some two-person world at night, sometimes chatting, sometimes playing cards, and sometimes going out to social dances together.

During the daytime, it is basically her own, and she can carry out her work without being disturbed. In fact, she has adapted to this kind of life pretty well, even better than at home, where she is often surrounded by her mother or Cathy. , Alice, and George are bothering, because there are many people in the family.The uninterrupted continuous working time is very good for her creation, and her creative desire is high.

The social life in London is also very interesting. People talk about things that are completely different from the people in the country in Steventon, and even in the small town of Basingstoke. There are also a lot of gossip news, which is not repeated every day.

These may not be interesting, but they are all worldly things, she is always quietly listening to them, maybe these gossips will appear in her writing in the future.

As for Tom's desire to enter the House of Commons, Henry came to talk to her specifically and said that one of the conditions for Tom's Uncle Langlois to agree to their marriage was that the Austin family would use Mr. Hastings' contacts to help Tom. Become an MP.Uncle Langlois also has some contacts, but of course the more secure the better, the seat of the MP is watched by countless people, Tom is not the only one who wants it.Besides, the family is now a company, and it is of course best to have people of their own in the House of Commons.

Jane thought it was too vulgar for Tom to want to be a politician, but was persuaded by Tom and Henry.The reason why Tom went to Lincoln's Law School to study was that he wanted to become a justice and a congressman. This was his ideal. Being a politician was not necessarily bad, and he could be famous and rich, as Jane wanted. ideal life without conflict.

Alice wrote to her specifically about it.It is said that after Tom becomes a politician, he can try his best to protect the interests of the Austin company, so that parents no longer have to worry about the future of their daughters, and Brother George can also live in a place with better conditions. Tom is actually serving the Austin family.Besides, Tom is too smart to become one of those vulgar old men.

This letter really amused Jane, and she showed it to Tom. Tom raised his forehead after reading the letter: Alice is right!

This is a win-win situation, and it is very ideal at present. Uncle Langlois and Mr. Hastings provide contacts, and Austin Company provides funds. What he lacks now is the necessary qualifications, and he is still very young. He is young and will only turn 25 next year. Judging from this situation, entering the House of Commons at the age of 30 is not a problem.The youngest member of the House of Commons before was William Beckford, who became a member in 1783, but he only stayed in the House of Commons for one year before he had to resign because of a homosexual scandal.William Beckford's father was once a member of the House of Commons and the mayor of London. Tom Lefroy does not have a million-pound family property and a member of the father. It is very fast to enter the House of Commons at the age of 1.

Members of the House of Commons either have rich families or rich patrons, there are no exceptions.It is quite normal to receive financial support from his wife’s natal family. Tom has no barriers to accepting it. Both Henry and Alice think it is normal. Politicians put their interests first, so they are not in the same league as her.

"You don't have to worry about this, Tom is very smart, and a smart person should know how to balance work and family." Alice didn't worry about this, "Is Tom different from before?"

Jane thought for a while, "It doesn't seem to be the same." She was still so alert, with the faint sarcasm of a genius to ordinary people. It is true that the two of them are in harmony in many places, and they can be called soul mates. .

"So don't worry about possible changes in the future. After a few years, maybe your mentality has also changed. At that time, you might think that Tom is naive and a little silly."

Eliza laughed a few times.

When it comes to the fact that Tom doesn't spend much time at home this year, Alice feels that it's not a big deal, "Henry doesn't spend much time at home, you see Eliza doesn't worry like you. You have a lot of time at home." In your own time, you can do whatever you want, ask Eliza to go shopping, go to a circus performance or watch a play, go to a restaurant to have a meal, go to a tea room to drink tea, you have money, you can eat whatever you want What, you can buy whatever you want, without Mrs. Austin nagging in your ears, and without Mrs. Lefroy nagging in your ears, this kind of life is simply not too comfortable, okay?"

Before Jane could speak, Eliza nodded with a smile, "You're absolutely right!" Eliza was very satisfied with her current life, and if she had another child, it would be perfect.Her own mother has passed away, and her mother-in-law, Mrs. Austin, does not live with them. She has a lot of money in her hand, and she lives happily.

Hearing what my sister said, Jane became more balanced.Women, most of the time what they need is to "confide", in fact, they may not be so dissatisfied with the status quo, the current life is also close to perfect in her opinion, if it wasn't for the fact that her mother always asked her if she was pregnant, she would even She also wants to postpone having children for a few more years-she has long known that after becoming a mother, children will occupy most of her time, and it will be difficult for her to have continuous writing time.

This day's dinner is very rich.Of course, if you are rich, you can eat as much as you can. Henry now has an income of tens of thousands of pounds a year, and he can be regarded as a rich man in London. Like a classy person, play like a classy person, it is also necessary to go out to socialize, often go out to dance parties at night, and the overall living standard has improved a lot.

After eating, it was customary to puff a bit, so Eliza sent Henry and Tom to the game room, and took Jane and Alice to the housework room where they did handwork.

Eliza asked Alice how her female reds were doing, and Alice shrugged, "I don't have time to learn how to embroider, I'm busy in Daylesford."

Eliza just laughed, "It seems that you have made up your mind to be a female scholar."

"I like to learn, and learning can make me understand a lot."

Eliza nodded, "Yes, you are the smart guy in our family." Henry and Tom have both said that Alice is not the only one who knows about typewriters, let's just say that the staff who handled the patent office back then, they Sure, but no one ever thought of commercializing the typewriter.

In fact, typewriters have become a social phenomenon since they were launched on the market. Both the pros and cons know that typewriters will change human writing preferences. The popularity of typewriters is only a matter of time. Mass production will definitely reduce costs. In the near future , Literate families will have a typewriter, this market is huge, and the impact will be far-reaching.

Eliza didn't know much about this. She only knew that Henry was now a hot new entrepreneur in London's business circle just because Alice thought of doing this business.

"Alice doesn't need to learn how to embroider, as long as her mother doesn't rush her, she will be fine." Jane said with a smile.My mother is very anxious, thinking that Alice has learned too much knowledge, but she is not very good at women's necessary skills, such as needlework.Alice thought it would be good to have a maid to do it in the future. It's not that she can't, but it's impossible for her to achieve mastery, and she doesn't have so much time to practice.

"Mom has nothing to do now. In Bath, it's not like in Steventon. There are endless housework all day long, and she has to feed chickens, pigeons, pigs and vegetables. If she has something to do, she won't Always thinking of you and me."

The two married women mentioned now have a close relationship and feel that what she said is quite right.There was only so much she could do in Maxwell Gardens, which was laundry and linens, so she had too much free time to worry about her daughters and sons.He didn't have to worry about George staying in Steventon, as before, sleeping at the farmer's house at night and going to the vicarage during the day, James's children were quite willing to play with Uncle George.

It is not popular in the UK for grandmas to take care of their grandchildren, so after Pastor George retired, my mother suddenly became free. People who have nothing to do always think a lot, so they have the energy to worry about Cathy's happiness, Henry's heir, Jane's child, Alice's female red.

Briefly speaking of Major Bridges.The major is their relative, and he is still very young, which is very suitable for Cathy in terms of age, and he does have thoughts about Cathy, and it is no wonder that mother is very concerned about it.

Eliza felt that Cathy might as well consider Major Bridges, after all, women still had to marry and have a husband.

From Cathy's point of view, Jane felt that the decision was in Cathy's hands, and she could just make up her mind, and her mother couldn't force her to accept Bridges.

Alice thinks it's all right, as long as Cathy is happy.She did not refute her cousin's statement that a woman must have a husband. Except for the difficult few years when her father passed away, Eliza had a good life at other times. The unlucky Earl Floyd loved her very much, and now Her husband, Henry, also loves her very much, and she feels that marriage is very good for a woman.

After Tom finished his cigarette, he came to say goodbye and took Jane away.

Alice also washed and went to bed.

She had planned to stay in London for a week before heading to Bath.

During the period, they were invited to visit Wesley’s house. They went there in the morning. William and Wesley took them for a half-circle in Hyde Park. At noon, they had tea and snacks in the dining room near Hyde Park. They had dinner at 5:8 pm and [-]:[-] pm There is a dance.

Alice thought, William lives in Wesley's house, there is a dance hall at home, and they have money in their hands, how could he not hold a dance?

Wesley now dresses and behaves like a rich kid who grew up in London. Four years of college life has brought him almost earth-shaking changes. He is no longer that clumsy and honest country boy.This cannot be said to be a bad thing, in fact, it should be regarded as a good change.Because of William, his social circle has expanded countless times. William has a very different temperament from him, but he has become a good friend. Alice has never been able to understand.

William said with a smile: "That's because Wesley is a kind person. You know, in this society, it is so difficult to find a truly kind person!"

Alice looked at him suspiciously, "You mean, he's an idiot, a rich idiot?"

William couldn't help laughing, "Your words are a bit too much. I used some of his money, but he is not really stupid. If I just want to use his money, some people are richer than him , People who want to curry favor with me more. Friends don’t have to worry too much about who spends more money, do you think that if I am that kind of person, Mrs. Gresham will be polite to me?”

This is true.Mrs. Gresham valued Wesley very much. If she knew that William was a libertine and a bad friend, she would not have allowed them to associate with each other.Wesley respected his aunt very much and would follow her arrangement.

If you think about it that way, there's nothing wrong with it.

"When are you going to Europe?"

"In January, I will go after the New Year. What? Do you want to go with us?" William teased her.

"That's probably not possible. Even if I can go, it will probably be after I'm 16. I have to ask one of my brothers to go with me."

"You can also ask your fiance to accompany you."

有钱的淑女16、7岁就订婚也是正常的，订婚1、2年后结婚。像爱德华的妻子伊丽莎白就是17岁订婚，18岁结婚。

"Fiance? It's too early to think about this."

"If I don't find a rich wife in the United States, then, when I come back, I can accompany you on your travels." William said solemnly.

Alice burst out laughing, causing Henry, Eliza, and Wesley who were walking in front to look back at her.

What William meant was very clear. Wesley was really traveling, and he wanted to find a wealthy heiress in the New World, which perfectly solved his financial problems.

His grandfather, Earl Kingsley, is still alive, so his father is called Lord Kingsley, Lord Kingsley, the word "Lord" can refer to the son of a noble without a title, Lord Kingsley is the heir of the earl, William's eldest brother is the heir of Lord Kingsley, but the eldest brother has been married for many years and has only two daughters. It is very likely that there will be no male heir in the future. There is still the possibility of William inheriting the title.

But William will certainly not pin his hopes on the eldest brother not being able to give birth to a son, so finding a wealthy wife is a top priority.

"I told Charlie to write to me everywhere he goes."

"I will also write to you." William said immediately, "The letter I wrote to you must be much more fun than Wesley's letter!"

"He has my address. Just send your letter together with his."

"Bath, or Daylesford?"

"Dalesford."

"By the way, are you going to Bath for Christmas?"

"Yes, next week to Bath."

"Then you might meet my cousin, William Beckford. He's also spent the winters in Bath with his daughter Suzanne for a few years now. Suzanne is - fourteen this year, and you'll probably be good friends." friend."

Alice was noncommittal.

Susan Beckford had such a notorious father that it was unlikely that she would have any friends in the English countryside, or at worst a good temper, if her father hadn't been extremely rich, She will not even have a decent marriage in the future, and she will probably only be single for the rest of her life.

William went on to say that the spendthrift Beckford bought art collections everywhere, some of which were genuine, but obviously there must be a lot of fakes, and the art counterfeiting industry has a long history. Lord, there must be someone who wants to make a fortune out of this.Beckford was indeed a clever man, and an artist, but he certainly couldn't spot all the fakes.

Alice can't continue this topic, after all, her art accomplishment is not too high.

William also mentioned Beckford's fascination with contemporary architectural art, saying that he spent a lot of money to build a Gothic-style Fengshan Manor (Fonthill Abbey) in Fengshan, Wiltshire. If there is a chance, Alice can go and watch it .He verbally described the appearance of the manor. The manor has a unique tall tower with a magnificent and huge front hall, which is asymmetrical. .But now the manor has not been completed, the tower has not been capped, and the front hall and left and right arms have been built.

The author has something to say:

*Fonthill Abbey is quite spectacular, but probably the tower is too tall and the construction technology is not enough, the tower collapsed twice in 20 years.Now most of the main buildings should be gone.