The Red Mansions Across the Four Seas

Chapter 507 Can You Repent Twice?
In Baoding Mansion of Zhili, a large courtyard was crowded with people.

There are men and women, but most of them are women, and most of them are women in their thirties.

In fact, today's protagonists here are more young women.It was only because it was inconvenient for the young girls to show themselves that their relatives came instead.

Qian Widow is one of these women.

Widow Qian is actually very young, only 23 or [-] years old, with a slender figure, a ruddy complexion, an oval face, and a pretty face.

Six years ago, she married the Guo family, and two years later, her husband died of a serious illness.Two years later, the husband's father-in-law, mother-in-law, uncle and sister-in-law moved back to their hometown, leaving her alone here, and never cared about her.

There was a flood last year, and all of my family members died in the flood. So far, not even a single body has been found.

Today, Widow Qian guards the family's two acres of Susukida, living a life of immortality.

In addition to having to endure the prejudice and discrimination of others every day, one must always be on guard against the coveting of men with malicious intentions.

Originally, there were many disputes in front of the widow's family, but without the protection of her husband's family and her mother's family, life became even more difficult.

On days like this, she didn't know when she would be able to make it through.

Fortunately, she has a good neighbor, that is Gu Xiucai's family.

The young lady of Gu Xiucai's family fell in love with her at birth, and the two got along like real sisters.

Ms. Gu's son-in-law is called Ning'er, and she owns a big house here with more than 20 tile-roofed houses, which are dedicated to imparting crafts to others, such as popcorn, tofu making, and masonry.

Now, Ning'er has earned enough money in Zhili, and wants to go to Beihai to join his former master, the younger brother of Concubine Jia in the palace, and Jia Tanhua, the successor of Duke Rong.

This time, Ning'er not only wanted to take Miss Gu, but also his friends to go with him.

These friends are all from the imperial capital, and they are decent people at first glance.

There is Fang Xiucai and his wife Feng Sanniang, and Liu Tieshan and his wife Wu Hongmei.

There are also two beautiful girls who originally opened a big shop in the imperial capital, named Fenghua and Xueyue.

They will follow Ning'er to Beihai.

Widow Qian never dreamed that it was because of the arrival of these people that her fate changed from then on.

It turned out that these people came here to recruit women to go to Beihai, where there are many men from all over the world, although they are rich, they can't find a wife.

Because there is a lack of women there.

Such a thing is simply unheard of.

At first, people didn't believe it, but later they went to the government to inquire, and the government said that there was such a thing in the imperial capital.Now many men and women have gone there.

Another point is to teach people to gradually believe in this matter.That is, the matter was handled by Gu Xiucai's son-in-law.

Gu Xiucai's son-in-law is also considered a celebrity in Baoding Mansion.Gu Xiucai's family was born and bred in the local area, an old family who knew the basics, and was a scholar with a high reputation.

Even Gu Xiucai strongly agreed with it, and people gradually believed in it.

Even if he took a step back and said that this matter really failed, he could come back to find Gu Xiucai in the future.

The conditions of recruitment are also very attractive.

As long as they are under 35 years old, no matter they are girls, widows or slaves, they can go.

If it is a servant girl, she will be redeemed when she goes.

Therefore, in the past two days, many people have come to inquire about the news.

Widow Qian has already made up her mind, so she will follow this time.

Anyway, there is no good way to live here, so it is better to go there for a while, maybe you can find a good man.

Life is hard for a widow without a man.

Besides, with Ms. Gu going with her, what should I be afraid of?

So, for the past few days, she has come here every day to help answer some people's inquiries, as if she has become one of Fang Xiucai's members.

Now, Widow Qian is receiving one of her acquaintances, her childhood friend Xiaoju from her natal village.

Xiaoju's husband died in the flood last year.Her husband's family wanted her to marry a foolish brother-in-law, but Xiaoju refused until death, and tried to commit suicide twice, but failed.

Now that I heard about this, I was moved.Hearing that Widow Qian was going to Beihai, she came to inquire and see what was going on.

"Did they really give money?"

Xiaoju has always been dubious about such a good thing.

"Of course they gave it. Not only did they go out for food, drink, and money, but they also gave each person a tael of pocket money on the way. You can buy shoes, rouge, gouache, etc."

"Is it true that I took a carriage all the way?"

"They hire cars along the way, and we don't need to pay for them. One person has two sets of clothes, one set of plain and one set of cotton, and they will be handed out when they go on the road."

"When you get there, do you really give me a dowry?"

"Here, 10 taels of cash per person, 30 acres of land, if the man does not have a homestead, a piece of house land will be returned. If there is no money to build a house, you can lend money to build it. You can borrow seeds, farm tools, and cattle. The food will be returned later."

"It's good, but I'm afraid that the men there are not good. If you can't find a good man, even if you have money, you won't be able to live a good life."

"Most of the men there are soldiers. They can read and write. They are all subordinates of Jia Tanhua, the descendant of Rong Guogong. They fought in Wendula before. There is one of the biggest benefits when we go there. , that is, you can choose what you like by yourself, and there is no matchmaker's words from your parents, you can make your own decisions. If you don't like it, no one can force it."

"If you don't choose well for a while, even if you get married in the future, you can regret the marriage, and the man has to agree. You can regret the marriage twice in total."

"This is new, isn't it that we women make our own decisions?"

"Not only do you decide on this matter, but when you get married in the future, each person will have half of the family property. If a man wants to divorce his wife in the future, he will have to give us half of the family's property."

"There will be such a good thing? I can't believe it?"

"At that time, the contract will be finalized, and there will be someone here to guarantee it. Anyway, I'm going to settle it this time. You should think about it yourself."

"Such a good thing, when we get there, is there nothing else to pay attention to?"

"Of course there are. Even when you get there, you have to go on a blind date. After the blind date, you get married. There is no matchmaker. You just find it yourself. If you live well, you can live your life. If you live badly, you can regret the marriage twice and find a suitable one by yourself." of."

"Oh, if you regret the marriage twice and still can't find a suitable one, what should you do?"

"Xiaoju, we've all been married once, and we've regretted our marriage twice, and we'll have three men. If we've found three men but still can't find a suitable one, don't blame others, we deserve to be out of luck. "

"You're right. The first time it was the elders who made the decisions. We have nothing to say. These two times we made the decisions ourselves, so we can't blame others."

"Have you made up your mind? After you've made up your mind, go over there and sign a deed. Gu Xiucai pretends to be a guarantee. If it's not true when you get there, he will pay for it. Is your husband's family willing?"

"Hmph, they've disliked me for a long time, wishing I could leave sooner."

"That's the best."

Therefore, Widow Qian led Xiaoju to Fenghua and Xueyue, signed the contract, and Gu Xiucai drew a pledge on it, which was regarded as a guarantee.

"Okay, if you get there and find that the promise here has not been fulfilled, come back to me and I will guarantee compensation for you."

With Gu Xiucai's promise, Xiaoju left happily.

"Brother Gu, how many people are there today?"

Fang Xiucai came over and sat next to Gu Xiucai.

"Today, there are 23 people. There are more than 80 people in the past few days. Most of them are asking for news. They go home to check. After two or three days, they will be able to reply. I think, there will be about one One hundred and fifty or sixty people."

"So I was overjoyed. I originally planned to have 100 people, and I was satisfied."

"Brother Fang gave me enough benefits. Where can I find such a thing. Although I have left my hometown, it is not easy to live at home now. Especially if there are many girls in the family, those widows can be regarded as giving them. A way out."

"When they get to Beihai, they will know that they are going to the right place. Most of those men are Jia Tanhua's subordinates, they were the heroes who put down Wendula back then, and most of them are from Zhili. When they were training soldiers in the imperial capital, I I often go to their barracks. They are all very nice men."

"I heard from Ning'er that they are all literate, which is quite unusual."

"Brother Gu, I'm going to blame you for being ignorant. Jia Tanhua's subordinates are all literate, and they were forced to learn at the beginning. Ning'er learned to read and write together, and now it's yours. Son-in-law, you still don't believe him?"

"It's not that I don't believe it, it's just that Jia Tanhua's behavior is unheard of. However, it's a pity that Jia Tanhua's talents are not used by the court."

"Jia Tanhua was less than 20 years old when he took up the post of Bukui Guerrilla. Later, the emperor called him to be the deputy head of the clan's mansion. Jia Tanhua never returned to the court. A few days ago, the emperor called him to be the right servant of the Ministry of War. Unfortunately, some people don't want him. return."

"Oh, the government is in chaos now, from now on, the world will probably not be peaceful."

"Well, it is precisely because of this that I decided to move my family to Beihai after Jia Tanhua said this time. Although it is hard to leave my homeland, I would rather be a dog of peace than a person in troubled times. After all, I will live a peaceful life there , if you are still at home, your future is uncertain."

Jia Min's current plan for recruiting women is actually inspired by the French "King's Daughter" plan.

As early as two hundred years ago, the French established the Quebec colony in North America.

However, for more than 100 years, this colony has not developed much.

The reason is that there are few people there.

During the time of King Louis XIV, the "King's Daughter" program was implemented to recruit women to the Quebec colony.

The recruitment conditions, including blind date, accompanying dowry, travel expenses, clothes, providing land and property protection, determining the woman's economic status, and even allowing the woman to regret the marriage twice, are all arrangements of the "King's Daughter" plan.

Because this activity was carried out in the name of the French king, the women recruited through this plan were called "the king's daughters".

Seven days later, under the leadership of Liu Fushan, ten soldiers from the Yuanfu Corps sent by Jia Qiang came to Zhili to make peace with Fang Xiucai.They will escort these recruited women to the North Sea.

The route of this trip is to go to Tianjin Wei to board the ship first, land in Niuzhuang in southern Liaoning, and then go to Beihai.

Fang Xiucai has done many times to organize people to go to Bukui and even Beihai, and has accumulated rich experience long ago.

One day later, Fang Xiucai, Ning'er, Fenghua, Xueyue, Liu Tieshan, Wu Hongmei and others set off for Beihai with 208 recruited women.

These women, based on their trust in Gu Xiucai, and with a beautiful longing for a new life, resolutely embarked on a journey to a strange place thousands of miles away.

Looking at more than 30 carriages ahead, Fang Xiucai said to the escort and Ning Er and others.

"At the beginning, when Chief Min escorted 500 people to Bukui for the first time, no one was killed or injured. Now we are taking them to Beihai, and we will send them safely."

"We are all the first to follow Chief Min. If something goes wrong, we will have no face to see Chief Min. Do you understand?"

"Don't worry, Fang Xiucai, I will definitely not embarrass Chief Min."

(End of this chapter)