aristocratic engagement

The appearance of Elizabeth made Darcy raise his eyebrows in surprise.She was wearing a plain long dress, not shabby, but definitely not a lady's choice.Taking another look behind Annie, there is no Du Li, and Darcy guessed the reason why she came here.

Although Annie didn't say it clearly, she must be the "Mr. Bennet" who published his work in the newspaper. After all, the Bennet family doesn't have a son.

Darcy nodded slightly to Liz, even as a greeting.

Liz was almost offended by this contemptuous attitude, but she quickly remembered that she was playing Du Li instead of a lady, so she followed behind the two with a "low eyebrow and pleasing eyes" and walked towards the gate.

The few people at the gate saw Annie's attire, but they didn't react, and opened their mouths in shock.Mr. Smith and Mr. Brown even blushed and looked away in embarrassment.

But Anne's expression was extremely natural, which made the two of them even more embarrassed.

Smith and Brown looked at each other, understood the same emotion in each other's eyes, coughed dryly, and forced themselves to be calm.

"Miss de Bauer, the Browns have been waiting here for a long time." Mr. Smith, the only person who knew her true identity, took the initiative to introduce them to each other, "Mr. Brown, Mrs. Brown, this is the honorable Anne De Bauer Miss Bauer, of course, you are more concerned about her other identity."

"I am Richter." Annie said loudly, she took a small step forward and stretched out her hand.

Mr. Brown was taken aback for a moment, but he was bumped by Mrs. Brown's elbow before he reacted, and reached out to shake her hand.

Anne felt her hands being tightly held, and Mr. Brown's eyes were full of shock and excitement.After introducing himself, he seemed to have something to say, but was interrupted by Mrs. Brown.

"Which would please you more? Mr. Richter or Miss de Bourgh?" Mrs. Brown saluted, holding up the hem of her skirt.

"It's all right, these two titles don't have any real meaning." Annie replied in a hurry, "These two identities are me."

In fact, people who know her identity now also call her a mixture of the two names.

"Okay, Mr. Richter. Please come with me. Do you want to go to the office first or inspect the lathe?" Mrs. Brown said kindly.

"Go directly to the production area." Anne replied, and in Mrs. Brown's gesture, she walked in the front, with Liz and Darcy only one step behind and followed her on both sides.

Walking into the gate of the factory, there is a tall and large warehouse-like building in front of you.As they approached, there was a neat and pleasant sound of locomotives coming from inside.

This is the first time Anne has stepped into this factory after many years.

The door of the production workshop was wide open. As soon as she stepped in, Annie nodded in satisfaction, but she didn't show it on her face.

The looms were neatly arranged in two rows, one through the end.Two female workers stand by the loom and cooperate with each other.They wear simple "masks" on their cheeks. Although non-woven fabrics cannot be invented with the current technology, they can block many large particles of dust.

The white silk thread is neatly arranged on the loom, and under the skillful hands of the female workers, it is woven into a light and soft fabric. Beautiful dark patterns appear on the fabric, and it shines with a delicate luster under the oblique sunlight.

The arrival of a group of people caught the attention of the female workers.

Annie walked at the front of the line, listening to Mr. Brown introduce the various design layouts of the production workshop to her.Her gaze casually swept over the faces of the female workers one by one. Some female workers met her eyes and lowered their heads in shock; some just looked at her from the corner of their eyes, with vague expressions. ; and some young girls, brightly aggravated the movements of their hands, looking rather unwilling.

Mr. Brown noticed the discordant note too, but Anne raised her hand to signal him not to contradict it.

Annie paced slowly, her expression unchanged, and walked towards the door at the other end.

The sound of locomotives continued to be heard, and at the same time, soft whispers came from the place behind him.Annie realized that the female workers must not be able to help discussing her identity, even though she hadn't gone far.

"...she was wearing pants..."

"…debauchery…"

"...can't get married..."

"...arrogant..."

"..."

These words faintly passed into Annie's ears, but she didn't feel much, but Liz on the right was flushed with anger, turned her head sharply, and stared fiercely at the source of the whisper.

Darcy held Anne's hand, wrapping her hand in a warm palm.

Annie patted his shoulder, opened her mouth, and said silently, "I'm fine."

Suddenly, there was a "pop" sound from the front right.Everyone looked up, and saw a female worker staring blankly at the slender parts that fell off the machine in her hand, her angry expression froze on her face, and gradually turned into daze, bewilderment and fear.

Mr. Brown's face suddenly relaxed - Anne had never seen him like this before. Mr. Brown was always humble, polite, gentle, and capable in front of her, but the anger on his face could not be faked now, his brows were tightly frowned, and his eye sockets were squeezed. If it gets deeper, even Annie herself feels a little scary.

The female worker was already trembling with fright, and tears filled her eyes.The partner next to her was also very frightened, and tried to put back the parts she broke off with trembling hands.

However, this part is clearly broken and cannot be put back on.

Mr. Brown bowed slightly to Anne, then strode up to the two working girls, and shouted at her for her carelessness.His voice echoed throughout the production workshop, and the chirping of machines gradually stopped.

Annie felt as if everyone was watching her, waiting for her reaction.

She sneered and thought it was very funny.For some unknown reason, the female worker was full of dissatisfaction with herself, and even broke the machine with her hands.Although Mr. Brown rushed forward to reprimand at the first time, but if you listen carefully, you will find that he attributed the mistake of the female worker to "carelessness" instead of resentment against himself-he knew that the real reason for this accident would make people feel uncomfortable. The female worker completely lost her job, which would make her completely offend herself.

Annie's eyes swept across the faces of the female workers again, and they lowered their heads in unison.

Annie coughed lightly, drawing everyone's attention to herself.

"Mr. Brown, this machine doesn't seem to be reliable? Why did the lady break it with a little force? This is not a good thing for the production in the factory. Look, it broke here, and the silk thread was messed up. The regiment, I'm afraid it's all broken."

Mr. Brown bent down, and said respectfully, "I'm going to have every machine checked, Mr. Richter, it's my fault."

"Periodic maintenance is not a hassle to spare."

After Annie finished speaking, she continued to walk towards the gate.The workers heaved a sigh of relief, and Anne's mouth curled up slightly when she heard the voice.When she reached the gate, Annie stopped suddenly and said without looking back, "Work is work, are you right? Mr. Brown."

"You are right."

"I've always felt that it doesn't matter who I am." Annie turned her head, her eyes slowly moving from everyone's face, "Richter's mind will not suddenly become smaller just because she is a woman, she used to What kind of person I am, I will be the same in the future. I do not steal or rob, and I have come to this day with my own ability. I believe that the employees in my factory are also the same, eating with their own ability. This is a very noble quality , isn't it?"

The girls looked at each other and slowly raised their heads.

"Maybe you are just a little weaker than men, but the value you can create is not small at all-not everyone can master every weaving method carefully, and hardly make mistakes in the work."

"Oh! Maybe the strength is not small." After Annie said teasingly, she shrugged her shoulders and looked at the girl who broke the parts of the loom. Her face was flushed, but she was no longer angry.

After walking out of the textile workshop, a group of people inspected the dyeing workshop and warehouse.There are almost no female workers here, and Anne only suffers from "different eyes".

This was something Annie had expected.

"Those who can't accept working for women can leave at any time." Annie said bluntly, she turned to look at Brown, "Mr. At the same time, I am willing to pay an extra month of 'unemployment benefits'. As for the secrecy work... I think with your ability, it will be handled well."

The workers looked at each other in blank dismay. Some wanted to stand up, but they gritted their teeth and shrank back.

——There are only a few textile factories in London, and the salary and benefits are clear.Every factory does not treat its workers as human beings, but only in Phoenix, almost none of the workers suffer from tuberculosis.

Perhaps it is precisely because Mr. Richter is a woman that he is so "soft-hearted" and "kind"!

Thinking of this, the workers who were about to make a move stayed with peace of mind.

"Stupid and soft-hearted woman."

The worker judges this in his mind.

But they have to admit that they need such a soft-hearted and kind employer.But their inexplicable self-esteem made them sneer at such "weakness".

Liz didn't speak the whole time, and followed Annie silently, her wise eyes could see everyone's little thoughts at a glance.Those malicious eyes cast on Annie also fell on her, or rather, on "Doli".

"I don't understand, Annie." Liz lowered her eyes in confusion, "It's fine that those men are prejudiced, why are those female workers..."

"Maybe they simply hate the 'big boss', or maybe they are full of hostility to the well-off ladies because of their own experiences." Annie met her eyes, "But, I don't think that's the main reason."

"why?!"

"You get it, Liz. They're afraid of being 'outliers', of being seen through to what they really think, like me, being spurned."

They are powerless to resist, but they can only go with the flow, and instead become the people they fear.

"But I don't blame them." Annie shook her head, "This cannot be changed overnight."

Darcy never showed up.

When Annie asked jokingly, he was silent for a moment, and then said: "I know, maybe you would be willing to let me stand in front of you at any time, but that is definitely not now."

"Why?" Liz heard herself say.

Darcy turned his head and looked at the young lady: "That is Anne's kingdom, or rather, that is the battlefield of her pride and glory."

Annie's eyes moved slightly, and she raised her head.

When she came back to her senses, she had already rubbed lips and teeth with him, and their breaths blended.

"Next, it's our common battlefield, Mr. Darcy." Anne lowered her voice, "I handed the invitation to the prince to fulfill my promise to the king."

"Now?"

Annie nodded and looked out the window. The carriage was driving to the outskirts on the other side of London.

作者有话要说：这章写得我很唏嘘……感谢在2021-01-2300:42:33~2021-01-2401:25:36期间为我投出霸王票或灌溉营养液的小天使哦~

Thanks to the little angel of irrigation nutrient solution: 1 bottle of Xinghai;

Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!