little miss austin

"—I don't know," he looked very confused, "maybe what you said is right, he will be happier when he dies, but he is a child whose mother gave birth to her with all her life, I don't know... I may have been I hate him because my mother died in order to give birth to him."

"Then do you want to know whether he is dead or alive?"

"I don't know." He was a little terrified, holding her hands, "I'm very scared when I think about it, because I don't know what result I want. I may not be a good brother, nor a good son .”

"Don't think so. You're fine, you're a good man, and you'll be—well, a good brother, at least Julian doesn't know what to do, and will write to ask for your opinion. Ah, speaking of which, I always thought Julian hate you."

"He's just childish, so you don't have to pay attention to him. From now on, if you're happy to see him, you'll see him. If you're not happy to see him, I'll send him away, and I won't let him annoy you."

"Are you going back?"

Oliver thought for a while and struggled for a while, "I'd better go back, otherwise Julian will annoy me to death. My father doesn't need our consent to remarry, but he should tell me. I will talk to him about the future of Julian's marriage." The property issue that can be obtained, at least not let him starve to death."

"Then when are you leaving?"

"Just for a few days, I'll send someone to book a boat ticket later. I'll be back early, do you want me to bring you something?"

"Whatever, I don't want anything in particular."

"Be obedient and wait for me to come back, and I will come back to spend Christmas with you. By then, you will be 18 years old."

Although 14- and 5-year-old brides are not uncommon throughout Europe, it is still generally believed that girls are not suitable for marriage until they are 17 or 8 years old, because pregnant women who are too young may not be able to survive the childbirth process.

18 years old is generally recognized as the marriageable age for women.

Oliver soon returned to London.

But Jane and Tom took Helena and Diana to Madeira Island and rented a villa on the outskirts of Funchal, planning to live there until the New Year.

Seeing that the two of them had brought their children together in a reckless manner, Alice told them anxiously that they are not allowed to bring their children to this villa. If mother misses her granddaughters, she can go there, but she must pay attention to hygiene and stay in the carriage. Get some new skirts, change clothes, and wash your hands well before you can hug the girls.

When Jane and Tom came to visit her, they were only willing to "look" at her from a distance. She did not stay in the same room with them, nor did she eat at the same table with them.

Jane was not so nervous, and took her husband and children on a leisurely tour of the mountains and rivers.Funchal and other settlements have very nice gardens that can be visited, with mountains, seas and flowers, and beautiful scenery.

The flower shop on the island sells all kinds of flowers, and Tom buys a bouquet of flowers for Jane every day, with notes full of sweet words.

Oliver also ordered flowers at the florist, even if he is not on the island, a bouquet of flowers is still delivered every day.

Two weeks later, Henry's family of four also arrived in Madeira.

Alice felt that her siblings and even her mother did not correctly understand that tuberculosis is highly contagious.

One day two weeks before Christmas, Alice took the Jacob brothers and sisters out to paint.

There are no beaches suitable for swimming in Madeira Island. There are many mountains, cliffs, and lush vegetation. Alice's painting skills are not very good, it is just an average level, and the flowers are better. So I often practice painting mountains and sea water recently. .The places she chose were quite remote, and she just didn't want to meet anyone.

So she was quite surprised that someone came over on horseback.

The horseshoes are so impressive that they are very eye-catching in the open suburbs. Both Alice and Jacob turned their heads to look at them. A tall and thin man rode his horse to a place that was only two horses away from them, and then reined in neatly. Stop the horse, turn over and dismount, "Hello, miss."

Alice looked at him without answering him.

Jacob stood in front of her nervously, and Kate and Sidney got up from the picnic blanket and walked over.

The man smiled, "I don't mean anything malicious, it's just that there are very few girls around here who like to draw mountains and sea water."

Alice showed half of her face from behind Jacob, "Do you live near here?"

"I live there." The man pointed in a direction.

"Whoa! I know it! Mother said she was supposed to rent the villa, which had a direct view of the ocean and a nice garden. So, did you take my seaside villa?"

"I don't know about that."

"How long have you lived there?"

"Almost two years."

"When are you going to move out?"

The man laughed. "Sorry, it might take another two years. My name is Calvin Percy."

"Hello, Mr. Percy."

"I'll leave you alone, Miss?"

"Austin."

"Okay, Miss Austin, see you next time."

Calvin Percy got on his horse and galloped away.

The next day, Calvin Percy saw Alice again at the same place.

"Miss Austin." He was still galloping on horseback alone.

"I've been here before, why haven't I seen you?"

"I went to sea, and this time I went for five months before returning."

"Go to sea? Are you an officer on which warship?"

"No, I'm not a soldier."

"The captain of the merchant ship?"

Calvin laughed: "Half of the guess is right. Guess again."

She shook her head, "I can't guess."

"I've got to go. I'll invite you to dinner with Mrs. Austen the day after tomorrow. Do you think Mrs. Austen will accept the invitation?"

"I don't know, you can try it."

Mrs. Austin was very surprised when she received the invitation to the seaside villa, "Have we met this Mr. Percy?"

"I don't know if you've seen it, but I have. I was painting by the sea a few days ago and saw him."

"Oh? How is he?"

"Polite, but maybe not very well educated, some words are not pronounced correctly, but he is not British, maybe he grew up in a foreign country, has a little French accent, and a little Portuguese accent."

"Then he might be a illegitimate child, or of average birth. What does he look like?"

"Very thin, very tall, about Oliver's height, maybe - 30 years old, I can't tell how old he is, maybe very young. He has a mustache on his upper lip and a scar on his left cheek , it probably was left a long time ago when I was very young, the wound has healed well, it is white, not red."

Mrs. Austin frowned. "If someone has a scar on his face, then I will remember where I saw him. I'm sure I haven't seen him before."

"He said he had been out at sea for five months and had just returned."

"Crew? Officers on the warship?"

"He says he's not an officer. You can ask him directly."

Mrs. Austen wrote back a note to Calvin Posey the next day, saying that Alice had tuberculosis and that she might not be able to go out.Calvin wrote back, saying that he had been in close contact with many tuberculosis patients, had never developed a disease, and was not afraid. Once again, he sincerely invited their mother and daughter to come to visit.

The invitations were for Austin's mother and daughter, and Henry went with his mother and sister.

The host is very enthusiastic, and the dishes are extremely rich. There are many seafood, fish, shrimp and crab, clams, oysters, scallops, razor clam conch, seaweed, kelp, wakame, sea cabbage, asparagus, and unicorn algae. The cooking methods are different, but they are all delicious.

Calvin is quite talkative, well-informed, has been to many countries and regions, and is never silent, but he is very shrewd and has never mentioned which line of work he is doing.Both Henry and Mrs. Austin could see that he was not the son of a rich family who inherited the family property, and he might even be of very low birth, or he might be very miserable—maybe he was really an illegitimate son.

Alice wondered why Henry or Mum didn't just ask him what he did.

"I heard you tell so many interesting experiences, but you haven't said what you do." When dessert was served, Alice finally picked a time she thought was appropriate to ask. "You're not an officer, and certainly not a sailor, at least not now."

"I've been a sailor for a few years, starting as a young sailor wiping boards on the deck, and working my way up to first mate."

"How many years did it take?"

"10 years old, to 20 years old."

Henry raised his eyebrows, "A 20-year-old first mate! That's quite young." The first mate is the second in command on the ship, and sometimes the first in command, if the captain is too busy.The requirements of the chief mate are very high. In addition to being familiar with all affairs on board and all sailors, he must also be able to balance the relationship between the captain and the sailors.

"I'm a fast learner." Calvin said lightly.

"And then? Are you the captain now?"

"That's true. I bought a boat a few years ago, had it fully refurbished, painted, and recently it's been parked at the marina in Funchal for routine maintenance and fresh water and citrus refills. .”

Alice nodded.Fresh water is the largest cargo on any ship, so ships sailing at sea will always stop many times to replenish fresh water reserves.Citrus is to prevent scurvy.

In the early days of great navigation and discovery, because lack of vitamin C was not known to cause scurvy, the worst thing about long-term sea voyages was not the lack of food, but the inexplicable death of the crew.Sailors at that time often had very bad teeth, and many lost half of their teeth in their 30s.

Calvin's teeth are not very good, he lost a few teeth and had gold teeth filled, so we can judge from this. First, he had no money when he was a child, and he didn't eat well, and he didn't have enough fruit to eat; second, he has Money can fill teeth, or gold teeth, most of the poor can only leave the lost teeth empty there, or fill them with cheap alloy teeth.The reason why rich people mostly fill their teeth with gold is because silver or silver alloys are easily oxidized, while gold is chemically stable and can be renewed for a long time.

"However, you still haven't said what you do for a living. It can't be a warship, and it's unlikely to be a passenger ship. So, is it a cargo ship or a fishing boat?"

"Neither. Guess again." Calvin smiled.

"That's—wait! Are there treasure hunters now?" She wanted to guess if it was smuggling, but if it was smuggling, he would probably change the topic. After all, smuggling is a serious crime at any time, and once caught When we arrived, the death penalty was basically gone.So all possibilities are ruled out, and the rarest and strangest things left will probably be the truth.

Sure enough, Calvin Percy was quite surprised, "How can you guess this? Few people know this—it's a profession."

Alice was very interested, "Did you salvage anything?"

Henry looked at Mrs. Austin, both of them were puzzled.

Mrs. Austin said, "Why can't I understand what you are talking about?"

"Mother, Mr. Bossy is a treasure hunter. He salvages sunken ships in the offshore. You know, there are a lot of sunken ships in many places. If you can salvage a cargo ship, it will be very profitable!"

Only then did Henry suddenly realize, "Oh! I've heard of it! There are people in this industry, but very few, and it's very difficult. After all, many sunken ships don't even know where they sank. They only have a general orientation, and it's difficult to locate them accurately."

So I discussed with Calvin, saying that there are a few well-known treasure hunters looking for investors in London, but it is difficult to find interested investors. After all, this work may last for many years without any return, so they are not very interested in this A good investor will not throw money in vain.

Some investors will take risks because they are very interested in a certain period of history or certain ships, because you may not find the ship you are looking for, and you may lose all your money in the end.

Henry hadn't heard of this profession before, because he had no money and his social circle wasn't big enough, and news of such a niche and unpopular industry would not reach his ears.Now he can also be regarded as a successful businessman with a small fortune, and the news channels have been greatly expanded, so he can hear everything.

Alice is very interested in legal issues, "But in theory, those sunken ships should belong to the owner. The owner has an heir, or the owner is a large shipping company, and they still exist. Don't you want to hand over the salvaged goods to the owner?" give them?"

"Of course, we will negotiate with the shipping company or ship owner in advance. Generally, we will give them 20% to 40% of the goods, and treasure hunters and investors will allocate other goods in proportion."

"But if the cargo on this ship is not that special, can you just ignore the owner?"

Calvin smiled, "Probably, after all, if a shipment of goods is worth 10,000+ pounds, 20% is a lot of money."

Alice pondered for a while, "If the failure rate is not very high, this kind of investment is very cost-effective. Many goods are not afraid of water, especially the early shipwrecks are mostly gold, silver and jewelry. Many precious metals and antiques, if they can be salvaged A boatload of jewels can really make you rich overnight."

Calvin smiled silently.

Mrs. Austen invited Calvin Posey back, and asked Henry and Tom to accompany her, but Alice did not appear.

Tom is also very interested in the legal issues of treasure hunters. His way of thinking is judge-like, and he believes that the ship owner must be compensated for the goods, because the ship owner has to pay the cost of transporting the goods. When a ship sinks, the ship owner pays for the ship. Cost and cost of goods, this one cannot be bypassed; but treasure hunters and investors also need to make profits, otherwise wouldn't it be a waste of work?So the focus of the problem is the distribution ratio.

Henry believes that the income of treasure hunters is too unstable, and he may not be able to make a profit for several years, so he will not consider investing in this industry.

Before Henry and Alice discussed the profession of treasure hunter, Alice said that this industry is a typical "three years without opening, and three years after opening". Once a valuable sunken ship is salvaged, the profit is also huge, which can be called "Exorbitant profits".

She is very interested in Calvin's career. She paints by the sea, and Calvin often comes over. He stopped to talk a few words, and soon progressed quickly to come here to chat with her.Alice asked many and complicated questions, and Calvin answered them in detail, starting from looking for information on the sunken ship, and talking about where to find logbooks and nautical maps. The ship sank, and there were only a few incidents in which the captain was rescued, and there were only logbooks left; some captains were not rescued, but the crew was rescued, but the crew usually had limited education and could not tell the latitude and longitude at all, so they could not find it. The exact location of the wreck.In this way, it is necessary to search for information as much as possible, determine a general range, and then divide the grid on the nautical map, and search grid by grid.

"But you can only look for the sunken ship in the offshore of the continental shelf? A little farther away, the sea is too deep, and no one can dive to the deep seabed."

"Divers are really a big problem. It's so hard to find experienced and strong divers. I have to find people to train myself."

"Do you have any diving equipment?"

"There are diving suits, diving helmets, and diving iron boots. If there are sharks in that sea area, I have to get an iron cage and put the divers in it before I can go into the water."

"The conditions are too restrictive, and you lack the necessary and easy-to-use tools. Do you have competitors?"

"There are some, but not too many. After all, in our industry, it is not easy to find enough investment."

"But as long as there are enough interests, there will always be someone willing to pay."

"It will be after the mid-term. When I determine the specific location of the shipwreck, at least it must be reduced to within a few tens of nautical miles. Only then will anyone be willing to invest. Before that, I have to pay for the initial funds myself."

"But if you have already determined the location, do you still need investors?"

"Maybe you don't need it." He smiled.

"It's better to make money alone. Then how to sell it after salvage?"

"Porcelain is easy to handle. Just ship it to the nearest port. This is unidentifiable. No one will know where I got so much porcelain. The price of porcelain is not bad. If there are not many damages, it can always be sold. A good price."

"What about gold, silver and jewelry?"

"This is very difficult. The famous shipwrecks carrying gold, silver and jewelry are all wanted to be salvaged. The less famous shipwrecks have limited gold, silver and jewelry. However, once I salvaged a ship that was supposed to be sent to King Charles of Spain. The fifth king’s cargo ship got a lot of gold coins.”

He took out a gold coin from the inner pocket of his coat, motioned for her to reach out, and put the gold coin in her palm, "I kept some as souvenirs, look, Mexican gold coins of very good condition."

Gold coins gleamed in her snow-white palm.Because the chemical properties of gold are stable, even if it has been on the seabed for more than 200 years, it has not worn at all, and it is as new as if it was just produced from the mint in Mexico City.

Soon after New Spain became a colony, a large silver mine was discovered, so the Spanish government decided to set up a mint outside the capital, Mexico City, to mint a large number of silver coins and a small amount of gold coins, and then transport them back to Spain.

So, this guy is a rich man now, not short of money.

Mrs. Austen soon knew that Calvin often went to accompany Alice, so she would not let her go out to paint again, and asked her to stay at home obediently on the pretext that Christmas was coming.

Calvin also came to visit Alice at home, and wanted to invite her to visit the garden, take a walk or ride a horse, but Mrs. Austen always used her illness as an excuse to not let her go out.

Don't go out until you go out, she doesn't mind, just take the notebook and let Calvin tell more stories about the sea.Calvin's exact age is 29 and a half years old, turning 3 next March.His life experience can be said to be extremely rich, much richer than that of a man with a higher education in the squire class like Henry, and also much richer than that of a lawyer from a small town in Ireland to London like Tom. It can be said that, He was the second experienced man Alice knew besides Warren Hastings.

While Mr. Hastings' experience is mostly related to high-level decision-making, Calvin's experience is very grassroots.

He talked about his experience as a young sailor wiping the deck on the ship, and that there were all kinds of battles among the sailors, and he had to be a little treacherous to survive smoothly.He has witnessed the death of countless sailors, and sometimes a storm can submerge several ships; he has seen many storms, and fortunately, he survived.

He is clearly educated, but not very well educated, with a lack of vocabulary. At the age of 12, he was favored by the captain, who taught him to read, teach him how to read nautical charts, how to use a sextant and a compass; later, the captain verbally adopted him and made him an adopted son, but the legal procedures did not Don't worry, after the captain died unexpectedly, his family didn't recognize him as an adopted son, didn't give him a penny, and drove him away.He soon found work on another boat and continued to sail.

"Don't you hate the captain's family?"

"Hate? Why?"

"Is it true that if you become an official adopted son, you should share your inheritance?"

Calvin smiled contemptuously, "I don't care about the captain's inheritance. I'm just a pity that they didn't even let me attend the funeral. The captain was very kind to me. Without him, I wouldn't be where I am now. I can earn money through my own efforts , make a lot of money. I have made a lot of money, even if I don't do anything now, I don't look for shipwrecks anymore, my money is enough to make me happy until I am 100 years old. But, that is boring, I like the ocean, the ocean is It is my home, and in the future, I will also die at sea."