Three Philosophical Questions for Travelers

"Attend class?"

"Go to class." Hai Wen said, "If you want to improve, you have to study. I am preparing lessons these two days. I plan to start teaching the servants at home every afternoon from the day after tomorrow. The class lasts three hours, and the first class is Chinese. I I will teach you how to read and write, and by the way, teach some thoughts and culture..."

"What's the use of this?" Hyacinth asked, raising his hand.

Haiwen said: "Knowing words can make you read books, transmit information, and make you smarter."

"More wisdom?" Hyacinth tilted her head and looked at him with a puzzled look on her face. "I heard they say that the dumber the female slaves, the better. The female slaves only need to learn to serve men." Violet also said: "My lord, learning these things is not good for us. It's useless. We've already..." She bit her lower lip and stopped talking.

"You are no longer slaves," said Haven. "In the future, you will no longer have to sacrifice your body to serve a man. From now on, you should respect yourself and don't let anyone touch your ass unless you meet a man you love." Body, violation of your dignity—hyacinth, violet, remember this sentence."

Violet still nodded earnestly as before, and Hyacinth said excitedly as before: "Then Lord Haiwen, I love you!" She opened her small arms and came to hug Haiwen's arm.Violet was half a beat behind, but also said: "My lord, me too!"

Haiwen sighed, and said, "That's not what I mean, I may not be the one you are destined to be. I just hope that you can cherish yourself and value your feelings."

"But I really love you, Master Haiwen." Hyacinth hugged me even tighter, "No one has ever treated me so well." Violet pondered for a moment, and said, "She's right, no one has treated us so well , I thank you very much, my lord."

"Then you are just grateful to me. This is not love. The world is huge, and there are many people of all kinds. You must return to your normal life before you can feel the beauty of love—remember, you are not slaves anymore."

Hyacinth asked: "Then what are we?"

"You're Hyacinth." Haven smiled. "She's Violet. And I, I'm Haven Ambleside, we're all the same, and although you all work in my house, we're no better than Whoever is noble, all beings are equal."

"I don't understand, I just like you." Hyacinth said with a resentful face.On the side, Violet nodded silently and said, "I will try, my lord."

"You are only 15 years old. You have to wait at least another year. According to the law, a girl must be at least 16 years old to marry. Now is not the time to talk about this." However, few people abide by this law, Hai Wen thought to himself.

Then they continued with the previous topic.

"The second class in the afternoon is health and hygiene. I will teach you a healthy lifestyle and change your previous wrong living habits; the third class is a thought class. I will teach you moral etiquette so that you can Distinguish between good and evil, and be a good person. After the class, you are free to do whatever you want during that time—that’s all, is there anything else to ask?"

Hyacinth asked: "Work in the morning, go to class in the afternoon, and then be free... what about the evening?"

"Night? Of course it's sleep at night."

"with whom?"

Haiwen smiled and said, "Sleeping by yourself, maybe you two share a room. Anyway, there's nothing else to do."

Hyacinth scratched the stamen brand on her face, then nodded silently.Violet asked, "Is there really no night job?"

"No."

"Don't we have to serve you?"

"I said, no need."

"Then can you... arrange some evening work for me?" She lowered her head and said, "Please."

Haiwen looked at her suspiciously, and said, "I don't understand why you insist on doing...that kind of thing?"

Violet pursed her lips with anxiety on her face.But Hyacinth said: "Once the bed slaves leave the master's bed, they are useless. Useless bed slaves will be ravaged by the people below - we are just commodities."

Haven said, "I told you, you are the same person as me."

"People?" Hyacinth blinked innocently, "Aren't people also commodities?"

Her seemingly inadvertent speech made Hai Wen speechless for a while. "You're right." Hai Wen nodded slightly, "From now on, you will come to make my bed every night, wash the washbasin and chamber pot, and then go to sleep. But I will tell others that you two are dedicated to me Maid, whoever dares to move your mind, I will not spare him lightly."

Only then did Violet's expression soften, she got up and bowed, "Thank you, my lord." Hyacinth followed suit, "Thank you."

"Okay, the arrangement is over, I should go." He got up and left the table, and the two maids hurried to open the door, and then stood on both sides of the door to see him off.

Just as he was walking out the door, he felt someone tug on his sleeve, and he turned around and asked, "What's the matter?" Then he saw Hyacinth leaning against her body, she stood on tiptoe, and quickly touched Hai Wen's face Print a kiss.After doing this, she withdrew into the room like a shy bunny, leaving Violet alone outside with an embarrassed look on her face.

Haiwen touched the warm hickey on his face, shook his head and turned to leave.Hyacinth is still too young, and her previous life was too deformed, she probably doesn't understand the true meaning of this kind of thing; and more importantly, his mind is full of Isrit's fiery eyes and her The temperature on your hands.Although Hyacinth is full of charm and lovable, when thinking of her, Haiwen only feels plain happiness, but when thinking of Isrit, he will feel a dull pain in his heart.

He realized that he fell in love with Isrit, and couldn't help it.

Author's message:

ps: Thanks to an unknown book friend for the reward and monthly pass, I will add an update today.

The next chapter is still posted in the early morning.

Chapter 10: Count on the count

Chapter 10: Count on the count

That night, Haiwen dreamed about his life in his previous life. He dreamed about his family, school, and his girlfriend in his previous life... He dated, ate, and watched movies with that girl, but gradually, her face began to blur.In an instant, that person turned into Isrit.He woke up suddenly at this moment, and found himself in a cold sweat.

He realized that his connection with the old world was disappearing bit by bit, and his previous feelings had deteriorated even more.Now he is Haven Ambleside, and the memories of the past are presented in his mind like a movie, everything is very clear, but he is just an audience, not one of them.

Now he is in love with a new girl, and he is embarrassed by the sudden love.

He couldn't sleep for a while, so he lit the oil lamp, and then went to wash the sweat off his face.At this time, he looked at the water surface of the washbasin and couldn't help sighing: Haven Ambleside, I'm afraid you are not good enough for her.

You are weak, depraved, ugly, and old. You are a consumptive ghost who has been hollowed out by alcohol and sex. Although you are only 30 years old, you look as old as 50 years old. Why do you want to fall in love with a 16-year-old girl?

He soaked his face in the cold water and took it out after a long time.The faces on the water were blurred, but he still remembered how ugly he was.

In the second half of the night, he had a nightmare. He dreamed that he was going to grab Isrit's arm, but Isrit turned into a white bird and flew out of the window.Then he dreamed that he was getting old and dying alone in this world.

But all this is a dream.On this day, he got up early in the morning, and he decided to start a fitness program right away - I may not be able to make my face look good, but at least I want to restore my previous energy and make myself look like a man.He jogged around his house. After running for about 5 minutes, he became out of breath. He was sweating profusely, coughed, and kept spitting out white sticky sputum. He couldn't move a step.He rested for a while, drank some water, and then did push-ups, crunches and squats. As a result, he could do two push-ups at most, and then he would "snap" and fall to the ground; other movements could not last for a set .

I need time, he thought to himself, at least half a year before I can exercise my body.

For breakfast, Haven ordered some eggs, cheese and steak.After eating a meal, he went to find Gellite, and he was going to start preparing for Gellite's laboratory.The witch has many requirements, such as the need for ventilation, the need for a backlight, and the need for privacy and sound insulation. Hai Wen realized that her house could not satisfy her.He discussed with Dreyer, and decided to arrange Gellette to a farm outside his own.The farm was bought by Hai Wen from an old knight a few years ago. The knight was old and had no heirs. He was no longer able to manage the manor, so he put the manor up for sale.At that time, Judge Haven happened to have some spare money, so he bought the manor.

According to national law, the purchased manor cannot be hereditary, but he can keep the manor until his death.This manor is just ten miles east of Yema Town. There are 200 tenant farmers in the manor and more than [-] mu of land, all of which belong to Haven's private property.The man who now manages the estate is his twin brother: Galumon Ambside.

The location here is secluded, and it is guarded by his own family, which is safer than his house.As far as he could remember, his brother Galumon was the only person he trusted besides Dreyer.Apart from being greedy for money, Ge Lumeng has no major problems. At least in Haiwen's memory, he has never done anything particularly bad.In general, he is just an ordinary person who is a bit greedy for petty gains.

So he planned to place the forest witch in this manor.There are many empty houses here, and they are next to the apple grove, close to nature.He took Isrit and Geliete to the manor in a carriage. The dirt road was full of potholes, and the horses couldn't run fast and the bumps were not low.This road needs to be repaired.He thought to himself, if you want to get rich, you must first build roads. This is a wise saying.

They traveled through wheat fields and pastures, and over hills, to Haven's manor.Prior to this, Haiwen had already notified his younger brother that he was coming.So Ge Lumeng greeted him at the door ahead of time.

To be precise, the Gelumeng family.

Unlike Haiwen's depraved elder brother, Ge Lumeng has already married.Now he concentrates on running the farm and living a prosperous life.It can be said that Haiwen bought this farm for his younger brother. Haiwen bought the land with all the money, but the income from the farm was divided equally between the two brothers. He bought a manor for his brother. Wen did one of the few good things.

That's why Ge Lumeng was very grateful to Haiwen. Whenever Haiwen came, he always took his family out to greet him.He has two beautiful wives and three boys and one girl.

The two brothers embraced warmly at the door, and then Ge Lumeng took his hand and walked into the manor.Ge Lumeng and Haiwen are very similar in appearance and body type, the difference is that Haiwen is bald now, while his hair is thick.They encountered many farmers along the way, most of them hardworking, and occasionally someone bowed to them.Haven saw many farmers who were emaciated and rickety; barefoot children who were either emaciated or distended from malnutrition.

Clearly my brother's running the farm in trouble, he thought.

"How's the harvest these days?" Haiwen asked.

"Don't mention it." Ge Lumeng sighed, "You have also seen that these slackers would rather go hungry than work. Will the harvest be good?"

Haiwen glanced at the farmer who was almost as thin as a hoe, and couldn't help but said, "Why do I think they are hungry and have no strength, so they can't work?"

"My brother! You haven't been here for a long time. I don't know what's going on here—please sit down first." The two brothers sat down in the courtyard, and Ge Lumeng's wife brought them fruit wine. After that, Haven greeted Drey Bill and Gerrita sat down too.Ge Lumeng recognized the butler Dreyer, so there was no need to introduce him, so Haven introduced Gerrit and Isrit to him, "This is Miss Gerrit, she is expected to live with you for a while, a while I'm going to find a place for her."

Ge Lumeng seemed confused about the relationship between Haiwen and the two girls, "Uh, these two are yours..."

"Gerette is a business partner. Isrit...it belongs to me..." Haven forgot to make up an identity for Isrit, so now he can only say casually, "The maid who came with me. "Haven Ambleside used to take a woman to entertain him at night when he went out. Usually, he would say that it was a maid with him, so this reason would not arouse his brother's suspicion.

"Oh, good." Ge Lumeng has never been nosy, since Haiwen you said so, he will not ask more.Then they chatted about recent events at the farm. "Brother, you don't know, there was a pest plague a few days ago, otherwise it wouldn't be like this."

"You didn't tell me." Haiwen said, "I didn't see a decrease in income last quarter."

"Oh! The disaster is coming, how can you lose your money and food? I urge the people below to work harder and eat less food, and the money and food will be taken out."

I see.Hai Wen said, "How much grain can you produce per mu of land?"

"I haven't calculated carefully." Ge Lumeng thought for a while, and said, "At the best time, it can weigh a hundred catties."

Preferably only one hundred catties?Judging from the brother's habit of putting gold on his face, it is estimated that one mu of land usually weighs fifty or sixty catties.

Haiwen fell into deep thought. If I remember correctly, in the Tang Dynasty, one mu of land could produce three hundred catties of grain, right?Is it a problem with the variety of food, or a management problem?

count on

count on

Apparently my brother's farm is not doing well.And I'm afraid it's not just him who has problems, the agricultural management of this place has a lot of problems.Outdated productivity and production relations have created poverty and exploitation, and it is clear that they need a reform.

Haiwen said: "Well, then I'll pay you back some food tomorrow, and there are plenty of things in my house over there."

Ge Lumeng smiled and said, "No need, Haiwen, don't worry, I'm actually quite well off these days."

"That's not what I meant, brother." Hai Wen pointed to the skinny farmers and malnourished children outside, "I brought money and food to supplement these farmers."

Ge Lumeng frowned and said, "What are you doing for them? I still can't get enough to eat!"

Haiwen didn't want to worry about his younger brother, so he said, "Gai Lumeng, you have to think about it. If they starve to death, who will plow the land for us? It's almost enough. You see, the kid outside is hungry."

Unexpectedly, Ge Lumeng got annoyed first. He slapped the table and said loudly: "They don't want to farm anymore, and some people are willing to farm! There is no shortage of labor in this place. Can't eat enough? Starvation deserves it! Our brothers are hungry At that time, did someone control us? If it weren't for you, brother, who became famous, we might still be begging outside!"

The housekeeper Dreyer also said: "That's the truth, my lord. If the serfs starve to death, there will be new ones, and if they run out of food, they will be gone."

Hearing this, Hai Wen couldn't help but look out.Their voices were not low, and those working outside must have heard them, but no one objected, and no one even looked this way.They work mechanically, exchanging their blood and sweat for a little food.He saw the manor guards patrolling the farmland, cracking their whips or swearing a few words from time to time.Every time they patrol, the peasants move faster, but as soon as they leave, the peasants slow down again; just like whips and tops, they turn when they are whipped, and stop when they are not whipped.

Dreyer began to chat with Galumon about the family life, talking about the latest anecdotes in the city; Gerrit dealt with Galumon's two wives, talked about women's topics, and pretended to be a lady; his nephew My niece was catching dragonflies and eating sweet cakes.Those poor people are as humble as ants, and no one wants to take a second look.

Except Isrit.

She is obviously not good at dealing with this occasion, she is inferior and cowardly, unable to join the conversation of any party; so she, like Haiwen, looks at the poor from afar.Haven saw that the fruit wine on Isrit's table was still full, and the candied fruit cake hadn't even touched a sip.At this moment, a big guard walked past her, and Isrit lightly poked the big man's back with his finger.The man stopped and asked, "What can I do for you, Miss?"

She picked up the sweets on the table and asked the big man, "Can I give these to them?" She pointed to the working poor.

The big man shook his head and said, "No, Miss."

"why?"

"Who do you want me to give the food to? They have so much." After saying this, the guard nodded and left, and then continued to patrol.

Estelle sighed, she stared at the plate of snacks, her eyes seemed to be looking at a plate of poison.Then she quietly turned her gaze to Haiwen's side, and their eyes collided.Haven realized that he had to do something.

Hai Wen patted Ge Lumeng's arm and said, "Brother Ge Lumeng, we won't be leaving tonight, you can come out with the bottle for a long time, let's catch up."

"Okay! Brother, let's have a drink—you two stop being idle and go to the kitchen to prepare some good dishes!" He ordered to his two wives.

Ge Lumeng's success today is entirely dependent on Haiwen, so when he heard that Haiwen was going to stay overnight, he treated him hospitablely.A few people chatted outside, and the back kitchen was already busy.After a while, Haven smelled the aroma of baking bread.The smell wafted out, and the farmers on the farm couldn't help raising their heads and sniffing vigorously, as if they could fill their stomachs with a few more breaths.

Hai Wen said: "Brother, let's give some bread to these farmers today. I finally came here, but I don't want to see these people look sad."

"That's easy! What kind of bread do you use? Can't I just drive them away?"

Haiwen frowned, and said, "A few pieces of bread don't cost much. I feel uncomfortable today. I'm afraid I have to do some generous things to catch my breath."

"These are greedy slaves!" Ge Lumeng said in a low voice, "You give them once, and they want to give it a second time. If there are two, there will be three, then four, five, six, and finally they can eat up your food. , and then you will cramp your skin, beat your bones and suck your marrow."

"It's okay, it's all on my shoulders. I'll ask someone to bring you some spare money tomorrow. You can let the back kitchen bake bread. There are about [-] families in the farm, and each person can't exceed [-]."

Ge Lumeng took a big mouthful of that sweet cake, chewed it, and then spit it out on the ground, "So sweet? Prodigal woman, you put in too much sugar!" He shouted towards the back kitchen, and after shouting, he He said to Haiwen again: "Okay, since you have said so, brother, then I will do as it is."

Haiwen nodded in satisfaction, and said, "Let the kitchen make this batch of bread first. I'll have dinner later. I'm not hungry."

"Okay, I'll listen to you." Ge Lumeng frowned and clapped his hands, beckoning the servant to go to work.It didn't take long for the fresh bread to be baked. Haiwen asked the kitchen to put the bread at the door of the house, and he distributed the food himself.In order to avoid looting, he asked the guards to arrange people into two teams in advance and distribute them in an orderly manner.

He said loudly: "Friends, I am Haven Ambleside, the brother of the farmer. Today I am here to distribute bread, one for everyone, and everyone has a share!"

He thought people would cheer loudly, and even the scene would get out of control.However, there was only a faint cheer from below. The children were very excited, but the adults looked numb. They just took the food like a machine, and then left with their hoes on their shoulders.This surprised Haiwen for a moment.

Ge Lumeng whispered to Hai Wen from the side: "Brother, have you seen it? These slackers don't know how to be grateful at all, they don't even say thank you! I can even wag my tail when I feed the dog!"

Haiwen bit his lower lip, but didn't know how to answer.At this time Essraet suddenly said: "No, my lord, you don't understand the poor! The reason why the poor are unhappy is because a piece of bread can't solve the problem! Farmers don't show mercy every day on a whim, they should be hungry If you die, you will starve to death, so..." At this point, Essraet's words came to an abrupt end, because Gelumon was staring at her with those small needle-like eyes; Because the peasants are also staring at her, their faces are full of surprise and panic; because of the guards—the guards don't need to look at her, the guards only need to hold their weapons tightly and let the blades shine coldly.

"You..." Ge Lumeng put his hands behind his back, rubbing his teeth, "You are a servant, right? Who allowed you to talk to me like this?"

Oops.Haiwen rubbed his palms. Although what Estherite said was correct, on this occasion, in her capacity, she should never say that.At this moment, Esriette was obviously also afraid, and she backed away.At the same time, Haiwen saw Gerrit walking over with a gloomy expression. The witch seemed to be planning to make a move.

Just as Hai Wen was about to step forward to stop it, he saw the big butler Dreyer rushing forward, raising his hand to hit Estherite.Haiwen quickly grabbed his arm and asked, "What are you doing?" Dreyer gritted his teeth angrily and growled, "I'm trying to save you, Your Honor!"

Only then did Hewen realize that Delaire was indeed helping him out. If Delaire, the housekeeper, taught the disobedient maid a few times, the matter might be over; The nature will be very different.

But how could he just watch Isrit suffer a loss?He put Dreyer's hand down, and said: "I will take care of my people, and no one else is allowed to beat them." He said and pushed Estherite behind him.

Although he protected Isrit in this way, it really made it difficult for Galumeng to step down.

Seeing this scene, Dreyer slapped himself on the forehead, his face full of annoyance; Ge Lumeng stomped his feet angrily, and shouted loudly: "Brother, what's the matter with you today? You can come to my place to point fingers That's all, after all, you bought this farm; but one of your servants dared to contradict me in front of so many people! And you still protect her! Am I still your brother? If you look down on me, just say it, there is no need Use this method to embarrass my face!"

Ge Lumeng's yelling attracted a crowd of onlookers, farmers, servants and guards, even his wife and children ran out to watch the excitement.This time the scene froze, and no one could give in.

"I never meant to offend you, dear brother. If I did, I apologize."

Galumon let out a low growl and said, "Apologize? Then you should strip the bitch and let me whip her hard! I smashed her mouth so she can learn how to talk. "