Father Mavie

Chapter 678 Baconsfield (two in one, please subscribe!!!)
The issue of participating in the election was handed over to the second prince. After the discussion, Mavi was not idle and went to King's Cross Station, intending to take the train to see the situation in the small town of Baconsfield.

Although the award ceremony was held in the morning, as early as a few days ago, the church that decided to assign the small town of Beckensfield to the Manstein family had already made preparations in advance. After the official documents were signed, Beckensfield The town and the surrounding land within 20 kilometers became Levin's territory.

At noon, the train left London and headed northwest. As soon as it left the city, the gray fog covering the sky dissipated. Under the bright sunshine, both sides of the railway were lush and full of spring.

Soon, the train arrived at the small town of Baconsfield, located in the northwest suburb of London. This is a small town established in the Middle Ages. The houses are still old stone houses with red chimneys. There are only a few thousand residents, and it is quite idyllic.

woo-

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Dense steam billowed up, the train stopped at the station, and the town had only one platform, located in the southern outskirts of the town. The only conductor dozed off behind the glass window, snoring intermittently.

Taking a deep breath, the fresh air that is completely different from London was poured into the lungs, and the mind suddenly cleared up a lot.

"Let's go, let's go into the town and have a look."

Without saying hello in advance, and without publicizing or disturbing the sleeping conductor, Ma Wei and the others walked out of the platform and walked along the country road towards the town not far away. On both sides were yellow farmland. Several farmers were sowing seeds. In the silhouette of a Viki, a farmer stopped swinging a hoe, straightened his waist, and cast a curious look.

Compared with the peasants in sackcloth, the well-dressed Mavics are very unique, especially Levin, who also wears the earl's red dress when he was awarded the honor, with golden epaulettes and medals on the chest, Exudes invisible nobility.

Ma Wei and the others had no intention of concealing their identities, and walked into the town naturally.Although there are only a few thousand residents, the town inherited from the Middle Ages exudes ancient charm everywhere. Weeds grow in the cracks of the stone-paved ground, moss grows on the stone house walls, and smoke curls from the chimneys.
Whoa!

The door on the left side suddenly opened, and a woman in a brown-red flannel dress poured a basin of dirty water onto the street. With soiled clothes, Ma Wei and the middle-aged woman looked at each other.

After looking at the outfits of Ma Wei and the others, and at the clothes splashed by dirty water, the middle-aged woman's complexion changed, she closed the door with a bang, and hid in the house.

When she poked her head out of the window and carefully observed the situation outside, Ma Wei and the others had already walked away.

The ground of the whole town is paved with cobblestones. This kind of smooth stones is not difficult to find. There are many near the river beach. It is a little rough to step on, but it looks very beautiful.

While walking, Junia suddenly raised her nose and sniffed the air: "Father, it smells so good!"

There is a faint milk fragrance in the air, like a certain bakery is baking bread. Walking along the scent, I saw a bakery at the corner of the street. Unlike other stone houses, the bakery is newly built with a still roof. It wasn't completely sealed, and when Ma Wei and the others arrived, two masons were squatting on the roof, plastering mud and making the final seal.

"Be careful! I heard that the new lord likes to eat snacks! The bakery must be done properly!"

An old man with gray hair and wearing a formal suit pointed to the workers on the roof, followed by several young and strong young men, carrying tools on their shoulders, walking towards the center of the town without looking back.

"Mayor, when will the new lord come?" A young man asked, "Is it too late for us to repair the castle now?"

"What do you know!" The gray-haired old man stared: "Our new lord is not short of money at all! Do you know who he is? The second son of the Manstein family! I heard that the walnut cane in his hand It's made of gold! If you're happy, maybe you'll be exempted from taxes!"

Hearing that the new lord is very rich and can be exempted from tax if he is happy, several young men are eager to give it a try, without complaining, they happily follow the mayor to the center of the town, where there is a medieval castle, It is said that it was left by a knight, and it has not been abandoned. Every new lord will repair it, and the church will also send people to overhaul it regularly. It is already considered a kind of 'relic'.

"Mayor, what does the new lord look like?"

"I don't know." The mayor shook his head: "I've only seen photos of the new lord brother in newspapers, he looks like he's in his 20s, he's not from Windsor, his ancestral home is in the Kingdom of Frederick, and he's fond of sauerkraut and pork knuckles. The two fat pigs I selected two days ago must be kept, and when the lord arrives, they will be slaughtered immediately!"

Hearing the mayor's description, a young man who spotted Ma Wei and the others swallowed and whispered, "Mayor, mayor!"

The mayor said impatiently: "What are you doing! Time is running out! The new lord may come to our town at any time, so don't worry about it, fix the castle's leaky roof as soon as possible!"

"No, you mayor."

The young man was a little anxious, and was about to grab the mayor, when he suddenly saw Ma Wei put his index finger on his lips, making a silent gesture to himself, and then followed, Levin, who was wearing an earl's dress, led Junia to run After entering the bakery, he came out with a bag of freshly baked cookies after a while, and followed behind while eating.

There are other residents who are also aware of the situation. The clothes of Ma Weiji are incompatible with the town, and they can be recognized at a glance, but the mayor is eager to repair the castle, and he never looks back. People keep quiet.

"Let me tell you, keep your eyes wide open for the past few days. If you see a stranger with extraordinary temperament, you should report to me immediately. Although our town is close to London, it has not been able to develop. This time the new lord has money and wealth." Connections are an opportunity for our town! When the opportunity comes, you must seize it, and if you seize it, you can turn around!"

The mayor walked in the forefront and talked freely, constantly admonishing the young juniors in the town, but no one responded to him.

"Did you hear that?"

"I heard it." A weak reply came from behind.

In the thoughts of the mayor, everyone came to the center of the town, and a magnificent old castle came into view. The castle was surrounded by a moat, and there was a suspension bridge at the front and back. The mayor took out a long bunch of keys and opened the iron gate. , the first to enter the castle.

As soon as he entered the castle, the surrounding temperature instantly became much colder, and goosebumps appeared on his bare skin, as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, and the cold air hit him from all directions.

"This is where people live!"

The mayor cursed in a low voice: "You must be sick if you live here! I hope our new lord is not a vain fellow!"

"Mayor."

"What's the matter? Am I wrong? The castle is not suitable for living at all! It's cold, damp, and overcast! People who live here are short-lived ghosts."

As he was talking, the mayor heard the chattering of his upper and lower teeth. He glanced at his livid-faced and trembling nephew beside him, and saw him staring behind him, and suddenly understood something.

"He's behind me, isn't he?"

Seeing that the mayor finally came to his senses, the young man nodded his head heavily and almost didn't cry out.

"It's actually quite nice here."

The mayor changed the topic: "Look, this hard stone, this emerald green moss, and this rather Renaissance-style door and window layout are tailor-made for the new lord!"

"Don't make it up, we don't live here," said Marvie.

"Who is speaking?"

The mayor looked back in a daze, and his eyes lit up after seeing Ma Wei's face: "Mr. Nicholas! Why are you here?"

Ma Wei smiled, did not expose the poor acting skills of the mayor, and did not get too entangled in the question about the castle, and asked straightforwardly: "How many permanent residents are there in the town?"

"A total of 3522 people." The mayor answered eloquently: "Among them, 517 are old people, 811 are young and middle-aged men, and the rest are women and children."

"Is there a school?"

"The children in the town will go to Father Fran's Sunday school, two days a week."

"Not enough." Ma Wei shook his head and said, "Two days of study time per week are too little, and the children in the town should get better education. Since Father Fran is usually busy with church affairs, in my own name, give Let's start a day-school in the town, and bring teachers from London to teach here."

"Really?!"

The mayor said excitedly: "Mr. Nicholas, do you really want to build a school for the town at your own expense?!"

"This is a joint decision of the Manstein family." Ma Wei said calmly: "Felix is ​​the lord of the small town of Beckensfield, and you are all residents living in his territory. To improve the lives of residents, this That's what a lord should do."

"But the mayor, do girls go to school too?"

A resident who came to the castle after Mawei and the others said: "Girls don't need to go to school, right? They just need to learn tailoring and cooking skills! The clothes you sew can also subsidize your family!"

"Yes, yes!" A resident echoed, "Children over the age of seven can already help the family earn money. If they are allowed to go to school, what will the family do?"

The mayor rubbed his hands together with a perplexed expression on his face.

Hearing the complaints from the residents, Daniel frowned. He felt that these residents didn’t know the importance of education. Even if they didn’t know, it’s better to let the children give up the opportunity to receive education and waste the most precious time of learning. Isn't this a kind of ignorance in subsidizing the family?

Perhaps this was a helpless move, but they raised it in front of Ma Wei, probably not saying that building the school was wrong, but wanting Ma Wei to give more benefits.

From a human point of view, this is very possible.

"Quiet!"

There was a loud shout from behind the crowd, and everyone stepped aside. A middle-aged man in a priest's robe came over and said apologetically to Mavi: "Mr. Nicholas, I'm very sorry, please forgive them, they don't know you at all. What a great thing to do.”

The residents looked at each other in blank dismay, and all closed their mouths.

Father Fran has lived in the town for more than [-] years, and he has watched many people grow up. His prestige is very high, second only to the mayor, even surpassing the mayor.

"You are Father Fran, right? I heard Archbishop Brandon mention you." Ma Wei said, "Building a school for the town is something we have considered before we came here. As for the troubles caused by the children going to school , I also have a solution."

"What method do you have?" Father Fran was curious.

"In the last two days, the church will open the collection, planting, and breeding of potion raw materials, establish a potion exchange, and open up the potion market."

Ma Wei said loudly to everyone: "This is the town's opportunity! It's also your opportunity!"

The open potion market means that civilians can also participate in potion trading. Before the market reaches a balance, every entrant can earn bonuses. Mavie wants to use this to improve his reputation in South London. Support for Lambeth.

Just shouting slogans is not enough. The small town of Baconsfield is the best pilot. As long as it succeeds here, there will be many people scrambling to join in. By then...
Are you still afraid that you don't have a high enough support rate?
"You mean, let the residents remove the previous crops and plant potions?" Father Fran asked.

"Yes."

"But everyone doesn't understand potions at all, let alone have relevant planting experience, so they planted rashly"

"Don't worry about this. The employees of the Manstein Potion Company will teach you how to plant potions, and I will also invite relevant church personnel to come and inspect." Ma Wei replied: "In the next three years, anyone planted Potion farmers do not have to pay taxes, and the first batch of seeds will be distributed for free by the Manstein Potion Company!"

If it were someone else, perhaps the residents still couldn't believe such a generous condition, but it was Ma Wei who was talking. The residents of the town more or less knew about the Manstein Potion Company and the huge Manstein Because there is no need for companies to lie to them about this kind of thing.

"Okay!" The mayor made a decisive decision and agreed immediately: "Mr. Nicholas, we listen to you! We will do what you say!"

"In the next two days, relevant personnel will come to investigate and conduct preliminary training. Don't worry."

After finishing speaking, Ma Wei looked up at the castle: "This castle can be simply repaired, we won't live here."

"Yes, Mr. Nicholas, my lord."

"Go ahead, we'll walk around the town by ourselves, and you can do whatever you have to do."

The mayor dispersed the onlookers, and Mavi took Levin and the others around the town, and found that the fields around the town of Baconsfield were fertile and the transportation was convenient, which was very suitable for growing potions.

"Brother, do you want to become a member of the Liberal Party?" Daniel suddenly asked, "I remember you said that you wanted to form a Labor Party."

"Members can change the party they support at any time. Now I am obviously in the second prince's camp. How can I form the Labor Party?"

Standing on the ridge, Ma Wei looked at the farmland in the distance: "It should be the fourth prince who founded the Labor Party. What I want to do is to disintegrate the Liberal Party from within, and subtly reverse the parliamentary structure!"

　push a friend's book

　　
　
(End of this chapter)