gentleman's manor

The ship has been on the sea for three months, and we look at the vast sea every day, waiting for the sunrise and sunset.Although there were several storms and rainstorms, the fleet sailed safely around Africa to Calcutta, the largest port in India.

India is located in the tropics, and the climate is humid and hot, but I had to wear a black monk's robe. I didn't feel it for a while, and my clothes were soaked.Before disembarking, the sailors on the ship came to say goodbye to me one after another and asked me to pray for them. I guess the people on the ship liked that I, the pastor, could take a boat with them.

Mr. Aiwen laughed at me: "Of course they like you. You are the most charming gentleman on our whole boat. They probably fall asleep thinking of you."

"Your joke is not funny." I shook my head in disapproval.

"As expected, you are a monk. Your lifestyle and thinking are too rigid. Those crew members go to sea for a year and a half, and there are no women on board. Sometimes the crew will comfort each other." He said with a smile.

I can't deny his statement.

Soon, the deck was lowered.As soon as I got off the boat, I was fascinated by the exoticism of India.

The port is very lively, and there are brown-skinned Indians everywhere. Unlike blacks, their facial features are very beautiful. Because Indians are mostly descendants of Aryans, they look like dark-skinned Europeans.There are many camels and elephants transporting goods at the port. I have only seen these animals in picture books. When I saw them with my own eyes, I was so shocked that I couldn’t speak. There are such wonderful animals in the world.

Ivan ordered his servants to carry my luggage, and found a restaurant opened by an Englishman near the port. After disposing of my goods, I got 300 pounds.

With the help of Aiwen, I went to the British Governor's Mansion, where an officer warmly received me.

"We have been looking for a new pastor. You can live in the church near the barracks. There are a few deacons who can be sent by you. Pastor Cole is in charge of the entire parish, but he has not been well recently and needs someone to help. "

When I asked him about Edward, he told me, "We don't have a Mr. Edward Fairmont here, and maybe he's not in this city at all."

Then I saw Pastor Cole in the church. He had gray hair and a very kind face, always smiling.He is a devout believer, not for money and status, but for preaching across the ocean to India.And he was a very knowledgeable gentleman, studied medicine himself, and often helped the poor.My presence eased his troubles. Recently, his feet were swollen and he couldn't go out at all, even for Mass.

He took me to familiarize myself with the environment here, and told me about the history and culture of India: "This place had no concept of country at all before we came here. There are countless small countries dotted around, and there are thousands of languages."

"But they are very easy to manage, because the customs here are divided into four classes. The top nobles are called Brahmins, who are in charge of Hindu sacrificial ceremonies; the second is called Kshatriya, who are rich landlords; and then Vaishya, who are engaged in agriculture and handicrafts , commercial common people; lastly there are Sudras, they are beggars. Brahmins are cowardly and weak, seeing that the army is only seeking profit, so they take the initiative to help the governor’s office manage the lower-level people.”

I was surprised by the cultural traditions of these foreign countries, so I asked him: "Don't they resist at all?"

Pastor Cole shook his head and said: "The Brahmins in power only care about their own interests. They don't even have the concept of a country. And they are extremely cruel and cruel. They don't even need to take responsibility for killing the lower castes casually. They will raise 'goddesses', and keep hundreds of young and beautiful 'goddesses' at home for their own and guests' pleasure, while countless slaves in the manor are working for them. So even if they are nobles, they are still a group of uncivilized barbarians. "

Pastor Cole seems to be a sympathetic person. He sympathizes with the poor people in India and is dissatisfied with the British invasion of India and the enslavement of the local people.He even opened an orphanage for abandoned Indian children.

"Hinduism is a native religion, and it is difficult for the local people to accept foreign missionaries like us, so we must show respect for their original teachings." Pastor Cole said when he took me out to preach.

"How do you show respect?" I asked.

"Such as lovingly worshiping their 'divine cows', when you meet cows on the street, you pet them and show affection." Pastor Cole made a very strange suggestion, and I seriously doubt the effectiveness of this method.

Perhaps seeing my distrustful expression, Pastor Cole said with a smile, "Don't doubt it, that's what I did. The local people think I'm very kind."

There are many cows on the streets of India. They believe in the bull god, so these cows can walk on the streets casually, even if they get cow dung everywhere.So I tried many times to touch the "God Cow" when I met it on the road, but I only got strange crowds from the people and blisters on my hands.What looked like smallpox-like bumps made me nervous for a while, but within a few days the blisters burst, leaving a few tiny scars.

I got a house in an English part of the country where the previous priest had lived, and I didn't have to pay any rent. The house was large, spacious, and well furnished.They also sent an Indian named Telugu who could speak English and was a Kshatriya to help.

On the day he came, he asked me: "Sir, do you want to go out for a walk? I can prepare a camel for you."

"Of course, I'd love to go out and have a look." I told him enthusiastically.

The business along the streets of the town is very prosperous. There are many merchants with small stalls selling all kinds of tropical fruits and food. I must say that these fruits are very delicious. I have never seen them before, let alone eaten them.

The women on the side of the road wrapped their heads and necks in brightly colored saris, as if they were draped over their bodies with a large sheet, without any lines at all.Men like to wear white robes, because the tropical sun is strong, and they also wrap thick turbans on their heads. Different colors represent different statuses, such as white for Brahmins, red for Kshatriyas, and brown for Vaisyas.

I also saw the British army on the street. They wore red uniforms and big black boat caps, but they wore skirts on their lower bodies, and the skirts only reached the knees. It was probably because the weather was too hot, so they changed the style of their uniforms. .

I was riding on a camel, looking around vigorously, when Telugu suddenly pulled the camel back.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"Sir, there are untouchables passing by, let's avoid it, listen, they are beating the gong."

It turns out that in addition to the four castes, there are also the lowest casteless people who clean up excrement and dispose of animal carcasses.In order not to pollute the eyes of high castes, he only haunts at night. If he haunts during the day, he will beat gongs along the way. People will hide when they hear it, so as not to see them, and even splash water to clean the streets after they pass by.

When I first arrived in India, I was amazed at everything I saw, but as time passed, I gradually became familiar with the life here and even learned a little bit of the local language.Every few days, I went to the treaty port to inquire about Edward, but all failed. I also deliberately left Calcutta by boat for other port cities, but there was no news of him at all.I was not willing to give up, so I had to be patient and inquire slowly.

There are many houses of military officers and businessmen in the diocese. Their wives and daughters followed them across the ocean to live in India. Because they are far away from home, these people have a very close relationship and often come to church together to pray.

It's just that I suddenly received invitations from many families, inviting me to visit their homes.As a newcomer, I was overwhelmed by the exceptionally warm reception I received.Until one day Pastor Cole said to me with a smile: "The young ladies and their mothers in the neighborhood are about to fight over you, boy, you have to hide, lest they can't fight and tear you apart."

It was only then that I realized that I was a sweetheart here, as a gentry, unmarried priest, and the daughters of merchants would indeed break my head for me.Every morning, so many young ladies gather around me and ask me to pray for them, and the situation of being surrounded by so many people makes me laugh and cry.Even once, they actually got into an argument over me in the middle of the church hall, and it wasn't until Reverend Cole gave them a stern beating that they finally got me out of trouble.

Normally, I often work with Pastor Cole in the church's orphanage. Many local people abandoned girls at the church door, and many sick poor people came to ask for medical treatment.Pastor Cole is very kind, always willing to come, and even donated his own money to help these people. Seeing this situation, I also donated all the 300 pounds I had with me, but it was still a drop in the bucket.

I also saw several disfigured women in the church. Their faces were injured to varying degrees, which was horrific.

"What's going on here?" I asked an Indian woman.

She shook her head and didn't answer me.

Pastor Cole told me: "The custom here is very disrespectful to women. She pissed off a man and was ruined by that man, saying that she should learn a lesson. There are many such cases."

"They need medicine, otherwise they will die." I said worriedly.

Pastor Cole shook his head regretfully: "We don't have much money, and the donations from believers to the church are not enough to help too many people, not to mention that the church does not allow us to spend all the money on helping local people. The superiors always give me orders , Let me go to other places to build a church, but the church exists to spread love, what is the use of an empty house without love?"

"Maybe I can take the opportunity of being a guest and ask the ladies to donate money." I said.

"Hehe." Father Cole smiled and said, "Then I'm afraid you will change from being loved by everyone to being hidden by everyone."

One morning, just after I presided over Mass, a strange young man came to me suddenly.

He was very muscular, with prominent muscles in his shoulders.His face was tanned, but his eyes were piercing. He first looked at me curiously, and then smiled at me: "Mr. Pastor, I heard that your church has a tight income and is raising money everywhere?"

"Yes, sir."

"What a coincidence, I'm about to make a donation to the church," he said, handing me a check.

I took it over and saw it, and was startled. It was a check for £500.

"Sir, please also tell me your name. You have donated such a large sum of money to the church. I should publicize your generosity and let those who receive your help know the name of your benefactor." I said gratefully.

"No, it's nothing, there's no need." The young man waved his hands with a blushing face: "I have to leave beforehand, you should be busy."

Before I could say anything else, he left in a hurry.After three months, he came again and donated a sum of money again. This time, I couldn’t let him go anyway. He was anxious when I questioned him, and told me: “I am a crew member, Mr. Pastor. Just call me Daniel. This is not money donated by me, it is donated by our fleet, you accept the money, and then pray more for those of us who go to sea."

"But if you don't tell me the name of your fleet, how can I pray for you?"

The young man struggled for a long time and said, "Then you can just think about my face and pray."

After finishing speaking, he ran away. I still haven't found out his full name, let alone the name of his fleet.

The days in India passed quickly, and I was very busy every day.

In a blink of an eye, two years have passed, and my term of office is almost over.During this period, I visited various trading ports in India while I was preaching, but there was no news of Edward at all.The worry in my heart is getting heavier and heavier. He did come to India at the beginning, but why there is no news, did something happen to him?Should I leave India or keep searching?As time went by, the uneasiness in my heart became heavier and heavier.

The author has something to say: I wrote a little bit about India, and compared the current accounts.

I found out that the high incidence of rape in India is not accidental, this country is very disrespectful to women, it has always been there.Moreover, their caste system is still prevalent, and the lower castes have to kneel and kiss their toes when they see the higher castes.If you are not satisfied with your daughter-in-law's dowry, you can burn her to death and marry a new one.It is an old tradition for men to pursue women and be rejected, and they will cruelly disfigure women.

The country of India has never been unified by itself. In modern times, it was only achieved under the aggression and colonization of Britain. The country was formed because of colonization, and independence was obtained through non-violent non-cooperation.The thick-skinned Indians claimed to inherit all the legacy left by the British, including the national borders unilaterally delineated by the British, so they had a territorial dispute with our country, and a war broke out for this.The reason is that in the past there was a British man who traveled around southern Tibet in our country and drew a map when he went back, and then the Indians said that southern Tibet belonged to them.There used to be a monk in China, and I visited you for a while. Your whole family belongs to us.But it’s amazing. I didn’t know until I graduated from university that we had fought with India and almost captured their New Delhi. I thought that after the founding of our country, we only fought the Korean War. It seems that it never appeared in history textbooks. live.

Some students said that they are afraid of abuse, don’t worry, and promise not to abuse. My last novel was too abused, and my liver hurt because of the abuse. I will definitely not write abuse articles this time.