Iron Powder and Spellcasters

   Chapter 231 Gully

   In the living room of Mitchell's house, Winters put on his tattered lumberjack attire and asked earnestly, "How is it? Does it look like a refugee fleeing the famine?"

  Anna smiled and shook her head.

   "How long has it been since you washed this outfit?" Catherine reclined on the reclining chair, wrinkling her nose and commenting.

   Mrs. Mitchell came to the living room with a set of crystal clear tea cups.

   Catherine saw Mrs. Mitchell coming, she immediately put away her sloppy posture, sat upright and politely took the teacup - like a mouse seeing a big cat.

   Lieutenant Juan as well.

  Huan took the teacup with both hands, and sneered at his younger brother: "Come on! If the refugees who escaped from the famine could have your body, then I would quickly pack up and flee the famine."

  Senior Juan's mouth was poisonous and tricky, Anna and Catherine both covered their lips and chuckled, and even Mrs. Mitchell couldn't help showing a smile.

   Winters is neither fat nor thin. Long-term physical labor has made his body well-proportioned and strong, and he does not look like a hungry and full refugee.

   "Then I pretend to be a mercenary? Guard? Bodyguard?" Winters frowned slightly: "Kaman said that Revodan's interrogation is very strict. Except for soldiers who are disaster victims, other identities are easily suspected."

   "You are who you are." Anna reminded softly.

   Winters thoughtfully.

   "Yeah, what else do you want?" Senior Hu An hated the iron and taught him a lesson: "You are an officer, what kind of refugee do you pretend to be? Just wear a uniform, ride a high-headed horse, and enter the city generously. Who would dare to doubt you?"

   This method is not useless for Winters. He once walked into the castles from the main gate in uniform.

   But it is a bit dangerous to use this trick in Gervoudan. There are many officers coming and going in and out of the castles, and Gervoudan has only a few genuine officers, all of whom are familiar faces.

   "However, let's adapt accordingly when the time comes." Winters thought of this, and his frowned eyebrows stretched out: "Then I will bring my uniform."

   The Gervoudan garrison would not be unaware of where their gendarmerie was going.

   From the moment the wolf town militia intercepted the military police reconnaissance cavalry, it was a matter of time before it was exposed to Gervodin's eyes.

   So he must make a trip to Gervodin as soon as possible.

  The time together is always short, Winters only sees Anna in the morning and leaves in the afternoon.

   When seeing off, Juan sighed and asked, "Do you want me to accompany you?"

   "Don't worry, I brought a guard." Winters smiled and shook his head.

   "Yes." Juan hummed softly: "You are so powerful, why do you need me?"

   Winters was struggling: "Senior...I didn't mean that."

Juan patted Winters' riding horse, and said with a rare seriousness: "Listen well, be careful with everything. Don't capsize in the gutter and die in Gervodin. It took me a lot of effort to find you, a living man, and I don't want to take it with me. A corpse returns to Ocean Blue."

"Do not worry."

   "Go away, don't waste time."

   Winters looked at Anna, Pierre, Mrs Mitchell and all the others who came to see them off... Scarlett came too, her eyes were red and swollen.

   He nodded in greeting, then beat the mount lightly, and drove the horse away.

   His figure became smaller and smaller, and finally disappeared over a hillside.

  …

   For the Navarre sisters, within three days, the freshness of coming to Wolftown had completely dissipated—this was similar to Winters.

  The vast and magnificent vistas quickly become tiresome, leaving only endless horizons and the monotony of day-to-day life.

  The rural life is hard and hectic. The women of the peasant households have to work like men, and the underage girls have to collect firewood, fetch water, pull grass, and do whatever they can.

  The life of the manor family is also boring and boring, because the hired workers are scattered, and the women of the Mitchell family have to work in the fields like the men.

   So now there are only two entertainment activities at Mitchell Manor: one is called housework and the other is called female red.

   Even in the "good times" of the past, life in the newly cultivated plantation was a thousand miles away from the colorful sea blue.

   For the manor owners of Wolf Town, the only adjustment to daily life is the banquet.

  In the past, each manor would take turns to hold parties, eating, drinking, exchanging gossip, and indulging in dancing.

   This is also the only chance for the ladies to leave the manor besides going to church.

   At other times, the wife and daughter of the manor owner should stay out of the gate, and stay out of the second gate.

   But now, no one is holding a banquet anymore because everyone is having a hard time.

  The owner of the manor who has a relationship in Gervodin has already fled Wolf Town to go to his relatives and friends.

  The mansions of several manor houses are empty and occupied by wild foxes and birds.

  The manor owner who remains in Wolf Town is either because he has nowhere to go, or because he has a deep attachment to the land and is unwilling to leave his hometown.

   In comparison, the average homesteader's family may have an easier time than the estate owner - but only in comparison.

   Nevertheless, Ellen did not hesitate to bring out the best things in the house to entertain the two Navarre ladies.

   But still too rough for two pampered ladies.

"How do you get these things in?" Catherine complained to her sister every night in bed: "I can't swallow it anyway. I know I'm not at home, and there is no special cook. But I have to sift the flour anyway. of grass husks?"

   Compared to Scarlett, who scraped her plate clean every day, Katherine had a lot of food left over from each meal.

   It can be said that Miss Catherine Navarre now lives entirely on the toffee and biscuits brought from Seablue.

Although Anna also ate very little, she always hugged her sister tenderly and tried to comfort her: "Mrs. Mitchell is already very good and generous. They have a hard time now, you are a cultivated lady, You should be more considerate."

   In fact, Miss Navarre is also very uncomfortable, but she is naturally reluctant to complain and always bears silently.

   Coupled with the fact that Katherine has already shown her immaturity first, Anna naturally enters the role of "more mature sister".

Catherine grabbed her sister's hand and said coquettishly, "I'm not complaining about Mrs. Mitchell, Mrs. Mitchell is very good, and Hailan can't find a few more charming ladies than her. But... you know, there is no such thing as Just swallow."

   "Be patient."

"By the way, and the little girl from the Mitchell family." Catherine changed her words at the last minute, because Anna now strictly forbids her sister to say the words [little hooves] and [little bitch]: "Every meal is worse. Eating the plate too, doesn't understand lady etiquette at all. How can an unmarried lady eat all the food on the plate? That's the prerogative of a married lady!"

  Anna's cheek rested on her sister's shoulder: "I think Ms. Mitchell is very casual, very real and unpretentious, very good."

   Hearing this, Catherine angrily pushed her sister away: "Go away, don't hold me, go and find that little hoot to be your sister!"

   "Okay! Don't say the word small." Anna had to take out her sister's air: "And you're not much older than others?"

  Although Catherine always puts [little] on Scarlett's head, she is actually only one year older than Scarlett.

   Katherine was sixteen, Scarlett was fifteen, and Anna was four months away from turning nineteen.

  In Hailan, ladies become hostess at the age of sixteen, but Miss Navarre is about to step into the ranks of old girls.

   Gossip was spreading quietly in the living room, banquet hall, and small garden, and Madame Navarre's old rivals—and ladies—was gleefully waiting to see the joke.

   This is also the reason why Mrs. Navarre sighed every day for two years, sleepless nights, and hated Winters so much that her teeth itch.

   "Mr. M walked happily. He rode to the city and left the two of us here." Catherine pointed the finger at the man again.

She bit her sister's finger and said, "It doesn't matter if you don't eat well. The bed is as hard as a rock, and the bones hurt when you sleep, but I can hold on. But it's so boring here, even more boring than the monastery, it's going to make me bored. Die. I count the leaves on that big tree outside today, and I count one day."

   Even Anna had nothing to say, she sighed softly, because she was like that too.

   Spiritual emptiness is more unbearable than material deprivation.

   Mrs. Mitchell certainly would not let the two "Ladies Hailan" go to the fields to do farm work, nor would she arrange for guests to do housework.

   In this case, Anna and Catherine stayed at Mitchell Manor with little to do, while everyone else was very busy.

  Scarlett goes out to herd cattle and sheep every day, and also goes to cut grass for the horses.

   Now there is no fine food for the horses, so they can only be given less exercise, and try to feed only boiled hay - because they are not fully used to coarse food.

  Catherine was curious but refused to admit defeat, and went with Scarlett for a day.

When    came back that night, little Ms. Navarre collapsed on the bed and refused to get out of bed the next day.

  Anna tried to learn embroidery from Mrs. Mitchell in order to pass the time.

   After a day, Anna's fingers were covered with blood spots. Even Ellen couldn't bear to let her continue to study, but she persisted.

   As for Katherine? From childhood to adulthood, Catherine wanted what her sister had, and naturally she also learned to embroider.

  But after getting her finger stabbed twice, Catherine played a trick. She was still circling around her sister with a sewing basket in her arms.

Watching the performance of the Navarre sisters, in the mouth of the only remaining maid in the Mitchell family, the meaning of the word [Ms. Hailan] is rapidly changing from "beautiful eldest lady from a prestigious family" to "a person who can't do anything." ".

   Female red is a compulsory course for all ladies, no matter how respected their status is, even the princes and nobles have to learn.

   But Madame Navarre never forced her daughter to learn needlework because she had higher expectations for her daughters.

When    arrived at Mrs. Mitchell's place, Anna started to "make up lessons" again.

   Compared to the Navarre sisters who couldn't even get out of the manor, Don Juan's life was quite comfortable.

   He is a man after all, and it is convenient to go anywhere.

   So Lieutenant Juan stayed at the barracks most of the time. When he was really busy, he went out hunting with his men.

  The newly reclaimed land has vast forests and abundant natural resources. Don Juan has only a handful of opportunities to hunt every year in Veneta, and he had a great time in the new reclaimed land.

  Rabbit, deer, yellow sheep, horned deer... Lieutenant Juan's prey is getting bigger and bigger, and he has only started to think about hunting bears just a few days after he came to Wolf Town.

   Seeing the bones of the giant bear and giant lion in the basement of Mitchell Manor, Don Juan was also aroused to win or lose.

   Lieutenant Juan is obsessed with hunting, but it saves Pierre a lot of things.

   Lieutenant Juan brought twelve light cavalry, people and horses, to add a heavier burden to the militia's already poor food reserves.

   Now, Don Juan goes out hunting every day before dawn, and only comes back at night. It is a disguised participation in the production, which makes Pierre less sweaty on his forehead.

   Until August 11th, the second Sunday of August.

   Sister Navarre can finally leave Mitchell Manor to relax.

  Because the church in Wolftown has been repaired, Father Kaman will resume the weekly mass service, and attending the service is one of the only two reasons why the ladies should leave the manor.

  Early in the morning, Ellen led the crowd to the town center in a carriage.

   As soon as she left Mitchell Manor, Catherine felt that her breathing became easier. She was like a cheerful bird, chatting and laughing with Mrs. Mitchell and her sister on their arms.

The old believers from   Wolf Town have all come, and people from Dusa Village, Hedong Village and Hexi Village come to watch Mass.

   It was the first time that so many people had gathered in the town center since the church was destroyed.

   Everyone greeted each other happily, and the two streets that were usually deserted were very lively.

  The church just erected four wooden walls and a wooden shed, which was much simpler than the old Wolftown church.

   But the people who come here are proud because they also contributed to the rebuilding of the church.

  Father Kaman visited every old believer in Wolf Town and persuaded them to provide some food to help rebuild the church.

   That's what Kaman means to Winters when he says "won't let you labor in vain."

The    process of persuasion is very similar to the process of selling "indulgences", in which the benefits after death are used to persuade believers to pay while they are still alive.

   No one wants to be forced to take food, but in order to rebuild the church, the old believers happily dug out the food buried in the cellar.

  The food raised by Father Kaman greatly relieved the urgent needs of the militia.

   What Gervoudan did not do, what Winters did not do, Kaman did.

  Fortunately, Winters is not in Wolf Town, otherwise I really don't know what kind of snarky comments he will make.

  Wolf Town Church has changed a lot, Father Anthony is gone, and the gold and silver sacrificial vessels are gone, but Father Kaman is still there.

  Under the auspices of Father Kaman, the ceremony was carried out step by step.

   In the past, Father Anthony preached. This time, Father Kaman stood in front of the pulpit.

   Kaman's sermon is quite simple. He encourages everyone not to give up hope or belief in difficult days, "persist, and you will be saved."

   Catherine, who was sitting in the front row of the church, was a little disappointed. She asked Anna quietly, "Is that so?"

  Anna listened carefully, prayed silently, and ignored her sister.

  Catherine looked around, her disappointment growing stronger.

  Compared to the majestic cathedral of sea blue, the splendid temple, the exquisite stained glass windows and frescoes, the clergy in exquisite dress, the choir and the organ, the grand and solemn mass ceremony.

  This little church in Wolf Town is really shabby, pitifully shabby.

After the    ceremony, the crowd gradually dispersed.

   In the past, every Sunday was a small gathering in Wolf Town, and men had to line up to practice bow and arrow.

   But no one is talking about this now, and Montagne's resident magistrate isn't there either.

  Everyone took the sacrament, chatted outside the church for a while, and then went home.

   "Let's go, Kate." Anna took her sister's hand.

  Catherine sighed: "I thought it would be fun to go to town, but it doesn't mean anything."

   "I thought of a fun game that is also suitable for ladies." Ellen smiled and took Catherine's arm: "Miss Navarre, can you play cards?"

  Anna and Catherine looked at each other and shook their heads vigorously: "Mom said that dice and cards are the most rude soldiers to play, and my mother won't let us gamble."

There was a look of nostalgia in Ellen's eyes, and she smiled and said, "Not really. My husband taught me some poker rules suitable for ladies, do you want to try it? And we don't put chips, naturally it doesn't count. gamble."

   "Okay, please teach us." Catherine immediately released her sister's hand and stuck it to Mrs. Mitchell's arm. The intimacy made Scarlett faintly jealous.

  The ladies of Mitchell Manor returned to the carriage and set out on the way back.

   Not far from Wolf Town, the surroundings turned into an uninhabited wilderness.

  Only at this time can one truly feel the desolation and loneliness of the newly cultivated land.

  People live in settlements far apart and nothing else.

  Catherine was still pestering Mrs. Mitchell about the rules of cards, and Anna listened carefully.

  Suddenly, everyone heard a bang from the bottom of the carriage.

   followed by a few "booms", and the carriage shook violently and quickly tilted to a corner.

  The ladies in the carriage were terrified, and Catherine and Scarlett screamed.

   Mrs. Mitchell calmly comforted the two who were screaming, while Anna pursed her lips and held her sister's hand tightly, her face was pale, but she didn't say a word.

   Panviche—the old servant Ellen brought from her family—jumped out of the coachman's seat and hurriedly helped the ladies out of the carriage.

  Old Pan Weiqie lay on the ground and looked at it for a while, then got up and explained to Mrs. Mitchell: "Miss, the shaft should be broken."

   "Uncle, you untie the horse." Ellen has only one solution now: "Ride home first, and then drive a carriage."

  Although it is a master-servant relationship, Ellen always calls Pan Weiqie "little uncle", and Pan Weiqie rarely calls her Mrs. Ellen calls her "Miss" as she did when she was a child.

   "Then what if you stay here? Miss."

   "Don't worry, it's safe around here." Ellen replied with a smile: "Don't worry about us."

  Pan Weiqie nodded. Although he was still a little worried, he rode away.

  After the old Pan Weiqie left, there were only four women Ellen, Scarlett, Anna and Catherine left by the roadside.

   Staying alone in the uninhabited wilderness, looking around at the vast horizon, Catherine suddenly felt a trace of fear.

   "Here...isn't it dangerous?" Catherine grabbed her sister's arm and asked timidly, "Will there be wolves? Or robbers?"

   "Wolf? No, wolves rarely appear here, and Mr. Montagne led a clean fight." Ellen comforted Catherine softly.

  Scarlett was not afraid at all. With a sense of victory, she proudly told Catherine: "There are no bandits and robbers, because the bandits and robbers were also wiped out by Mr. Montagne."

   "That means there are wolves, and there were bad guys before, right?" Catherine was even more frightened.

   "Yes, but it was cleaned by Mr. Montagne." Scarlett replied as a matter of course.

   "I don't want to stay here, sister." Catherine hugged her sister and cried: "Let's go back to Hailan, it's so dangerous here."

  Anna hugged her sister helplessly, smiled apologetically at Mrs. Mitchell and Ms. Mitchell, and looked at the sky thoughtfully.

   "What are you afraid of?" Scarlett felt incredible. She pointed to the hillside not far away and said, "Look, isn't there someone there?"

"where?"

   "It's there."

   Following the direction indicated by Scarlett, Anna and Catherine saw a strange scene.

   Five shirtless men and a thin cow moved slowly on the sunny side of the hillside.

   "God!" Catherine turned her head sharply: "Why don't they wear clothes?"

   Ellen sighed and replied softly: "The clothes are worn and need to be repaired, and the flesh and blood can grow back."

   "What are they doing?" Anna looked at the five people, puzzled.

   "In the wasteland, ploughing."

   But the two Navarre ladies didn't even understand what "ploughing" meant, so Scarlett had to explain it carefully.

  Ellen briefly explained to Anna and Catherine the ins and outs of "Montagne's resident officer distributes wasteland to the refugees".

   "But today is Sunday." Catherine asked in confusion: "Shouldn't work on Sunday, and they don't rest on Sunday?"

  Ellen and Scarlett fell silent.

   "They." Anna said softly, "There should be reasons that you and I don't know or understand."

  Like I don't understand why he's staying here, Anna thought.

   Among the five men ploughing, one is an old man, one is a middle schooler, and the third is a young man.

   The middle-aged man gasped heavily and said to the old man in front, "Father, shall we rest for a while?"

   The gray-haired old man stopped, turned his head to look carefully at the thin and thin ox that dripped water from his nose, and said, "Take a break, let the animals take a break."

   This old man was the one who answered Winters in the town square.

  Ploughing should be done with animals in front of the plow and people behind it.

   But four adults out of the five men stood in front of the animals, leaving only a young child behind to help the plow.

   Not because they were stupid, but because they didn't have enough big animals to pull the plow.

  The soil of the newly cultivated land is sticky and heavy. The wasteland that has not been cultivated for thousands of years has long been compacted into one piece, as hard as a stone.

   Must use large horses and heavy ploughs to move.

   Winters didn't have many big animals in his hands. He gave everything that could be given to refugees, but it was still not enough.

  There are not enough animals, so people have to be animals.

   "Look! Grandpa." The young man pointed at the ladies by the roadside: "There are girls watching us!"

  The old man slapped the young man off his arm: "Don't point at them! Don't stare at them either."

   The young man turned around shyly.

  The four men pulling the plow were all sweaty, sitting on the ground panting desperately.

  The old man took the trouble to warn his son and grandchildren: "Be careful, don't fall. The coulter can cut off the ankle. If you fall, you should also fall to the side, and don't fall on the coulter."

   "How many times have you said that..." The young man who was beaten just now was a little impatient.

   Before he finished speaking, he was slapped by his father again.

The middle-aged man nodded to the old man: "Don't worry, Dad."

   Another young man asked: "Today is Sunday, let's not go to church, is that okay?"

"The Lord will not blame us." The old man swallowed: "If we delay the farming season, we will all starve to death next year. At that time, it is useless to be religious. The Lord will not blame us. If he blames us... we You don't have to trust him anymore."

  It is now August 11th, and winter wheat will be planted in late September and early October. If you miss the farming season, you will have to wait until next year.

Although   Wolf Town has a large area of ​​wasteland, the most flat and high-quality land that can be irrigated has been purchased and cultivated.

   The rest is gentle slopes, distant waters, and stone-filled fields—just like the old man and his children and grandchildren are cultivating.

   If the **** of this land is bigger, it will not even be possible to grow crops.

  They had to work hard to remove the stones before they could turn the soil with a plow, otherwise the stones in the soil could easily break the coulters.

   But to have such a piece of land, the old man is already satisfied.

   On the dirt road in the distance, a new carriage came.

   "Enough to rest, let's continue working." The old man supported his knees and got up with difficulty: "Be careful of the coulter!"

  The carriage picked up the ladies by the roadside and drove off into the distance.

The    slender rope was once again tied on the old man's sunken shoulders and bony back.

  He moved forward slowly and firmly.

  …

   Meanwhile, the barracks of Gervodin.

  Lieutenant Cellini has a guest.

   "Who are you talking about?" Lieutenant Andrea Cellini's eyes widened.

   "Sir." The soldier who came over to inform the soldier repeated: "It's a lieutenant-commander named Don Juan who wants to see you."

   [About the history of playing cards: In 1392 King Charles VI of France ordered Jacquemin Greene to hand-paint a deck of playing cards. The Royal Treasurer of the time, who was responsible for the payment of the accounts in silver, spoke of three decks of cards, printed "in gold and in various colours, and with many decorations, for the entertainment of our Majesty the King." 17 of them Zhang Pai is on display at the National Library of France.

   But this does not mean that playing cards originated in France, it just proves that at least on the 14th, playing cards have appeared]

   [Today is also a big chapter, with 6587 words]

   [Thanks to book lovers for their collection, reading, subscription, recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, rewards and comments, thank you all]

   (end of this chapter)