Continuation of "Gone with the Wind"

Chapter 29 Strange Memory

Scarlett had already received Will's previous call back, and he was sorry that he couldn't pick up Scarlett because Chun Plow was too busy.Scarlett understood him and said nothing more.She hired a carriage, and the coachman helped Jack carry the box up. When Scarlett got on the carriage, she found that Jack was staring at her pitifully, with one hand reaching out to her, trembling.She thought of something, and angrily threw the small cloth bag out of the car. Jack caught it with quick and precise movements, but very gentle, as if the bag was made of glass, for fear of breaking it.Scarlett deliberately said coldly: "The things are already given to you, why don't you get in the car soon? What's so special about a small bag, I don't know what you think?" Having said that, Jack's eyes just now still made her She was terrified, as if a bloodthirsty little beast was about to rush up and tear her apart.Jack thanked in a low voice, stepped into the carriage, and sat opposite Scarlett, keeping his head down.Neither of them spoke again.

Scarlett stretched her neck to look outside, and the land was still deserted, full of weeds and short trees, and from time to time, idle black people could be seen walking through it, like savages wandering in the primeval forest.It had been ten years since the war ended, and the South hadn't recovered from the blow of defeat. Thinking of this, Scarlett's heart ached.She doesn't care about politics, nor does she care about the confederacy that has been wiped out, but the attachment to the land in her Irish blood has never changed.Seeing the once fertile land turned into a wilderness, she couldn't help worrying about Tara.The dilapidated scene she had seen the last time she went back to Tara was a nightmare she would never forget in her life.

"It's so beautiful!" Scarlett turned her head, and it turned out that Jack had stuck his head out of the window at some point, admiring the vast fields and sky.But it sounded like irony to Scarlett.She said coldly: "Your eyes are fine, what's so beautiful about this wilderness?" She didn't expect Jack to answer, she just wanted to say something to relieve her sorrow.

"The wilderness has its own beauty. Every piece of fertile land was a wasteland before it was reclaimed, and every piece of good land ends up being a wasteland. Everything in the world is like this, where it starts, it will end there." Jack's The voice didn't sound unpleasant at all, and Scarlett didn't understand what he was talking about, so she just replied, "What nonsense again?" and ignored him.

Jack has been a different man since he came to this land.The mist in the eyes disappeared, replaced by a piece of clarity and flashing light from time to time.Although Scarlett didn't understand why, seeing that Jack liked her favorite thing so much, she also liked him more in her heart.Just like the affection for Will at the beginning, it has nothing to do with utilitarianism or personality, it's just because they have something in common that they want to protect.

The white house stood there quietly, magically lighting up Scarlett's eyes like a guiding light.Suellen really has a way. She still remembers Tara before it was destroyed. It seems that she is from the O'Hara family, and her sister is not useless.For a moment, Scarlett forgot all the unhappiness between them, forgot that Suellen had sued her, forgot that she slapped Suellen hard, and forgot their petty quarrel.

"How's the house, Jack?" She asked Jack's opinion on a whim, only to hear his compliment.

"It's beautiful, it's beautiful, it's beautiful." Scarlett didn't understand what his first two words meant, but she understood the last sentence "very beautiful", which put her in a good mood. "I've seen prettier ones, though." "Where did you see them?" Scarlett didn't believe him at all. "I forgot, but I must have seen it. Where is it?" Jack showed a thoughtful expression, trying to remember something. "Forget it, it's not there at all. You still want to lie to me." "Whoever said it, there is." Jack showed childlike persistence and stubbornness for the first time, which made Scarlett laugh.She patted Jack's head magnanimously, and said in a coaxing tone, "Okay, yes, yes. Just let me know when you think about it." Jack looked dissatisfied, but he didn't insist anymore.Seeing him angrily turning his head to one side and walking ahead, Scarlett felt that he was more like a child at this time.

Scarlett was not only pleasantly surprised by the restoration of the house, she saw that almost all the black slaves in the house had returned, and even some she didn't know were working hard in the fields.She asked Will how he got them back, and Will said that after the war, the blacks who ran away before could not find a job in the North, except for the young ones who were lazy and unwilling to work, all returned to their old masters .Because the economy had suffered so badly, many former plantation owners could no longer afford black jobs.But with the money Scarlett sent back, Tara not only repaired the house, but also expanded the cultivated land, so she also hired some black people from other families to work.Now the reclamation of the red soil is about to be completed, and after the first spring rain comes, it can be ready to sow.Speaking of this, he looked at Scarlett helplessly, and said to her that I really didn't expect that I would not accept your money, but you turned your mind on Suellen.Scarlett smiled triumphantly, but said nothing.

While Suellen was recuperating in the house, Will asked in a low voice how Karin was doing.Scarlett told the truth, anyway, Karin's life is not bad.After talking about this matter, she told Will triumphantly that she got the property rights back.Seeing Will's unbelievable expression, she felt that it was time, so she told him about Jack's adoption, but she didn't say about Jack's stealing of the ledger and her extortion of the monastery.Will still looked suspicious, but didn't say anything more.He was a little reluctant about Scarlett's proposal to buy back the property rights in Suellen's hands, but he said that as long as Suellen had no objections, it would be fine.Seeing his worried expression, Scarlett comforted him and said that even if she bought back the property rights, the Will family would still belong to Tara, no different from before.In fact, she knew that Will couldn't do without Tara. He had already regarded himself as a part of this place, and he had no less affection for every handful of red soil, every pine tree, and every flower in it; Tara What's more, Will is inseparable. Without him, Tara would not be able to complete the reclamation in such a short time. Every seed in its barn just needs to wait for the call of the spring rain to wake up in peace. Well, it's all thanks to Will.

Jack's expression had regained his composure, and he politely greeted Will, and then he remained silent.Will liked his manners, but he whispered to Scarlett that he thought the kid was a little strange.Scarlett was used to what people said about Jack and told him it was no big deal, that Jack was her hired nanny.Didn't Will say he was a kid himself?Scarlett said that didn't mean he couldn't manage other children well, don't underestimate him.

Wade and Ella were full of curiosity about Jack and soon became acquainted with him.Suellen's three little girls seemed a little afraid of him, but it didn't take long for them to play with him.Scarlett found that Jack was really not bragging, and those children listened to him very much.He didn't rely on force. In fact, with his strength to lift a suitcase close to a hundred catties, they were indeed no match for him.But he didn't use his own strength to tame anyone. It should be said that he relied on the wisdom of a child.Adults can never understand what children are thinking, but children understand themselves.Jack's method is very simple, using children's thinking to understand their ideas, and then using adults' methods to help them realize them.He always has fresh game ideas on his mind, and that alone is enough to make the other kids look at him with admiration.He still had more stories to tell, more and more interesting than all the storybooks Scarlett had bought combined, so it was not surprising that the children hung around him all day.

Suellen was very dissatisfied with Scarlett bringing back another child, and it was even more uncomfortable to hear that she was going to get back the property rights.But Jack's good upbringing and just-right compliments made her feel a little more comfortable.She was displeased when she heard that Scarlett was going to buy her property, and she agreed only after getting assurances from Scarlett that she would never drive them out.

Now Scarlett had Tara again, which filled her with joy, and even Jack's tentative request to see the whole house was granted.It's just that the visit was not very pleasant, especially after they came to Mammy's room.In fact, Scarlett asked Sister Will how she was doing as soon as she came back, and Will's gloomy expression had told her everything.Mammy didn't die, but the situation got worse.Before she could barely recognize a few people, now she hardly knows anyone.Scarlett gently stroked her drained hand, full of sadness.Jack stood aside, not disturbing her.This time it wasn't entirely out of politeness, but because his eyes were drawn to a portrait of a little girl hanging crookedly on the wall.This portrait was originally discovered by Scarlett from the Yankee soldier she had killed.Later Sherman's army came to rob Tara, and the pearl frame on it was taken away, but the Yankees were not interested in portraits.Melanie, who always loved children, reframed it into a new picture frame and hung it in her room at Tara.Maybe Mammy snatched it away when she fell ill and hung it in her room again.Jack always felt that he had seen this little girl somewhere, but he couldn't remember where.