[Pride and Prejudice] Mary's Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 25 The Journey of Canned Fruit

But would the two bear children be grateful to their sisters for having the opportunity to work?

How can it be!

The two younger sisters completely thought that Mary was looking for an opportunity to help them, but it was much better than being locked in a room and memorizing Latin or British history, so the two girls happily agreed.

Together, they found all kinds of glassware and corks that they could find, cleaned them and put them in a large pot for half an hour to sterilize and sterilize.In addition, boil a pot of boiling water and put it in a clean basin to dry.

Picking out fruit free from damage and spots and cleaning it, they found apples, raspberries, pears and citrus.

Apples and pears are peeled and cored and cut into appropriate small pieces. Citrus is thin-skinned. Raspberries only need to pinch off the stems. Then put these fruits into glass containers, sprinkle a layer of sugar, and put a layer of fruit. Sprinkle another layer of sugar and another layer of fruit until the bottle is almost full.

Pour in cool boiled water, the water should not be full, it should be one or two inches away from the mouth of the bottle, gently put the cork on it, do not stuff it in, put it in the boiling water pot that has been boiled, and steam for 15 minutes.

After boiling the pot, take out the bottle, use a towel to pad the cork firmly, and seal it with wax.

It's a pity that there is no can lid like the one from the previous life here, otherwise we can judge whether the bottle is sealed from whether the lid is dented in the end, but sealing it with wax should not be a big problem.The following is to verify whether the can can be stored for a long time without deterioration.

Kitty asked curiously: "Is this really okay? It feels like making jam."

Elizabeth washed her hands: "I think it should be ok. Our jam can last longer than fruit."

Mary thought about it and thought it was not a big problem.In her previous life, she used a screw-on iron cap to seal it. The cork would allow the air in the bottle to flow with the outside world, but a layer of wax on the outside prevented this phenomenon.In fact, tinplate has already appeared at this time, but she was rushed there to find that kind of special machine to make bottle caps, so for the time being, use cork stoppers and iron bottle caps and wait for a later date.

On the same day, Mary wrote a letter to Mr. Lake, asking him to come to Meriton to discuss important matters.Mr. Lake thought that something happened. After all, they had only been separated for two days. After he came to Longborn non-stop, he realized that something serious happened!

Mr. Lake is holding a bottle of canned blackberries in his hand. This bottle may have been a wine bottle. It has a large body and a slender mouth. The blackberries in it roll up and down as he looks back and forth. appetite.He picked up a wide-bore glass bottle, which was filled with large chunks of apple flesh. He turned the bottle upside down and shook it repeatedly, but the water inside did not flow out. It seemed that the seal was well done.The five ladies of the Bennet family were all present today, watching the gentleman check their cans back and forth, Lydia covered her mouth and snickered, and said to Kitty: "He is really stupid."

But Mr. Lake didn't notice this, he asked Mary: "Can this really be stored for a long time?"

"I think so, but I need to verify my experiment."

"How to verify?"

"Now that the weather is getting cooler, I think it's better to find a place with high humidity and high temperature."

Mr. Lake was in trouble: "What do you mean?"

"Big sea!"

Mr. Lake was taken aback: "You mean to put them on a long-distance ship to verify whether it can last for a long time?" After a little thought, he understood the value of this matter. would be huge profits.He paced back and forth, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that it was feasible, but this required a huge premise: "Is this really not going bad and delicious?"

"Yes, sir, I promise, as long as it is sealed well, it will never spoil."

"But it's still too risky, miss. You asked me to start preparing to build a factory now. This is really reckless. We have to wait until the results of your experiment are released."

"That would waste at least three months to half a year."

"Keep your pounds safe in your pockets instead of unusable scrap metal in a factory."

Mary's stubbornness was not only opposed by Mr. Lake, but even Elizabeth and Jane, who had always supported her, did not stand by her this time.

Jane tried hard to persuade Mary not to be so anxious: "We can definitely afford to wait for three months to half a year, why are you so anxious?"

Elizabeth also said: "Mr. Lake is right to be cautious. He can pour cold water on you at this time, instead of complimenting you when the situation is unclear. This is his preciousness. Let's listen to him."

Mary finally succumbed. Although she was 100% confident that her canned food would be a success, there was really no need to be so anxious. She could afford to wait half a year, but this time she still had to discuss the plan to build a factory with Mr. Lake in advance.

After two days of circling in Longbourn, Mr. Lake set out again for London. This time he found a way to send a box of canned food to a cargo ship that was about to go to sea. This ship used to trade black slaves from Africa to Jamaica. This year the British government outlawed the slave trade, so it has switched to transporting produce between India, Britain and Jamaica.Mr. Lake bought the first mate on the ship, and the box was deposited on the ship as a special commodity.It takes more than three months for the ship to go back and forth, which is enough to verify whether these cans can be stored for a long time.

However, after Mr. Lake went back, he still started to plan the construction of the factory. He compared the location of the factory building, inquired about the condition of the machinery and equipment, where to purchase the raw materials, and how to transport the finished products in the future.Although he still had some doubts about this can, Mary's promise in Longbourn still convinced him. This Miss Mary was never ambitious and boastful. Since she was so confident, she would definitely have a high chance of success.

Mr. Lake's blood boils when he thinks of the market prospect of canned food. Think about those people who still want to eat fresh vegetables and fruits in winter. Many nobles have set up greenhouses to grow oranges, pineapples, peas, and cucumbers, but the emperor's glass windows are all To collect a window tax, glass greenhouses are not affordable for ordinary landowners, let alone many wealthy businessmen who do not have land.What should I do if I want to eat fruit?Buy two to try something new, you can't afford more!

But what a huge profit it would be if it could be canned during the ripe season when prices were cheap, and then sold when there was no fresh stock!

There is also the navy, the convenience pack sold to the navy by the famous Mrs. Dubois in London, the notorious "Worth Cooking" made of vegetables, meat, and animal offal, which are consumed by the navy every year [-] tons, his friend Edwards, who served in the Navy, wrote to him: "That is food from hell! Many sailors have been nine-tailed for refusing to eat it!"

If Edwards was allowed to taste that delicious can, Lake thought about opening a can of apples in Longbourne, which had a different flavor than fresh apples, and Miss Mary assured that this flavor would not change over time like beer. changed.

Ha - he's going to be rich!

Time passed slowly amid people's tossing and turning. Sometimes Mary wished to move the hands of the clock a little faster with her fingers. Now she just hoped that the time would pass quickly.This anxious waiting seemed to take all her attention away, until Elizabeth told her a pleasant surprise.

"You mean, one of your articles was published by The Times?" Mary's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Yes," the editor's letter in Elizabeth Yang Yang's hand, read to Mary: "Your description is so vivid and touching that I, who was sitting in the office buried in my papers, felt as if I could feel the breeze blowing under the lace tree. The fragrance that belongs to the land, the blushing village girls, the postal drivers with their heads held high, the farmers waving on the country roads, and the humorous travel companions all remind me of my experience of traveling to Europe when I was young. I always embark on an unknown journey with anticipation and reap the joy along the way. Please continue to work hard, and I sincerely look forward to your new work."

"Oh, God," Mary didn't know what to say, "you wrote an article about our experience of riding a postal carriage and submitted it to the newspaper?"

"Yes," Elizabeth nodded, her eyes flushed with excitement, "I also added a little bit of my experience of traveling with Uncle and Aunt Gardiner two years ago. I wrote it in a diary after I got home. See, she encouraged me to vote for newspapers, she said she thought I could write better prose than those newspapers..."

"Oh, Jane, you are so discerning." Mary laughed while pulling Jane who was sitting upright beside her.

"I do think Elizabeth is beautifully written, beautifully written, and occasionally mischievous and humorous, and I think she should give it a try, you know when we went to Fleet Street, I never knew there were so many of them in London There are at least [-] newspaper offices on that street, and I was stunned, one of them will publish."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Mary said apologetically, "I didn't even know you were doing this. I've been absent-minded recently, and I don't care about you so much."

"You really don't care about me," Elizabeth pursed her lips deliberately, "so I decided to use the [-] shillings paid by the newspaper to buy gifts for Jane, and you will be exempt."

Mary immediately begged for forgiveness, begging for forgiveness, and the original anxiety was let go while laughing.She was an ordinary person in her previous life, with a very average psychological quality, and she has not made much progress in this life. Fortunately, she has close sisters and relatives to rely on. She is really lucky.

Mary decided to let go of her arms and live a good life. Even Lydia and Kitty put on pants to play on the slide didn't move her. In fact, she didn't make a fuss like Mrs. Bennet. The pants are the ones she wears the most, so she keeps pretending not to see, which makes Kitty and Lydia warm up to Mary quickly, and think that this sister is not so rigid and unreasonable!

Finally, in the fourth month, Mr. Lake came from London in a carriage. The first thing he said when he entered the door was: "We should prepare to build a factory, Miss Mary."

The canned fruit has experienced four months of turbulence at sea. When they returned to London, Mr. Lake found that there was only half a box left. It turned out that a seaman accidentally broke a bottle on the way. A piece of fruit on the ground was picked up and thrown into the mouth. Unexpectedly, it was very delicious, so the canned fruit in this box was often "accidentally" damaged, so that the sailors could eat the fruit inside.

It wasn't until the chief mate found out and punished several people severely that this unhealthy tendency was stopped.The big copy thought that some gold coins would be deducted, but the client, Mr. Lake, was very happy after carefully asking the date when the can was broken and eaten and the sailors’ comments on the can. He gave all the remaining cans to the port on the spot The surrounding crew asked them to taste it on the spot. Except for one bottle that went bad, the rest of the cans were well preserved, and the back road of the bad bottle was found to be a crack in the bottle.

Mr. Lake said that he was about to open a factory to produce this kind of canned food. If the first mate wanted to order it in advance, this made the sailors around very happy. The happiest thing was Mr. Lake. Advertised at the port and received an order, what a triple win!

But now there is a problem. The construction of the factory requires at least [-] pounds. Mr. Bennet does not have this money, and he is determined not to ask for a loan from the bank!

Mr. Bennet said to Elizabeth, who came to persuade her: "Tell Mary, the £[-] hole in her food store hasn't been plugged yet. I will never put all my eggs in one basket to open a cannery, just a gold mine." Neither."

Elizabeth wanted to say more, and Mr. Bennet waved his hand: "I am not young anymore, and you have grown up too. I must ensure that you can marry decently. The income from the food store is enough for your life. I am not willing to take any risks. Let you lose the last dignity in your husband's house, well, go out, don't want your poor old father, unless you are willing to marry penniless."

The author has something to say:

The child is sick, I don't know if it can be updated in time, please don't expect too much, I apologize to everyone first!

This is a saved manuscript, and I haven't proofread it. If you see any mistakes, please tell me, and I will correct them later.