"This..." Brandy wanted to say something, but what she wanted to say seemed to be stuck in her throat. She wanted to spit it out quickly, but couldn't.
Abigail saw Brandi's expression was different and said, "You seem surprised?"
"Of course..." Brandika paused, organized her words slightly, and said, "How did this child get here? I never told her the location of the camp."
"We found her when we were helping the uncle unload the goods," Abigail said. "She took advantage of the opportunity when the uncle entered the grocery store to trade with the boss, secretly hid in the carriage of the carriage, and then followed
Uncle, it’s been a bumpy ride here.”
"By the way, she told Dutch that she listened to you and found a way to find it all by herself." Abigail added.
"This girl..." Brandy slapped her head, feeling helpless. This little girl not only learned how to sneak into Chen Cang, but also learned how to pull a tiger's skin to make a banner.
"No matter what, this child has a lot to do with you, I think you'd better talk to her," Abigail said to Brandi, turned around, knelt down, held Jack, and said to her child, "Let's go
Come on, Jack, it's time to go find Uncle Hosea."
"Mom, haven't you already visited Uncle Hosea once today?" Jack raised his head, his eyes full of reluctance.
"I will learn to read and write with your Uncle Hosea every morning and evening. This is what you promised a long time ago, isn't it? Let's go, don't delay until night." Abigail's tone was very gentle, but there was something in her words.
There is no doubt about the mother's love for her son.
"By the way," after walking a few steps, Abigail turned back to Brandi and said, "Dutch said he wanted to ask about the child."
Brandi sighed softly and said, "I know, I will go find him later."
After Abigail and Jack walked away, Brandy glanced at Mattie, who had been weaving wreaths without any distractions, sighed again, and sat down next to her.
"How come you always come up with something new for me?" Brandy said helplessly, "Explain why you come here and use my name?"
Mattie didn't speak, she just handed the braided wreath to Brandy with both hands, her blue eyes full of innocence.
"Don't pretend to be innocent with me," Brandy said in a very cold tone, but she still accepted the wreath and said, "Tell me, what's going on? Did you encounter any unsolvable difficulties?"
"No." Mattie shook her head.
"Then what are you doing here?" Brandi said slightly sullenly, lowering her voice, "I should have told you who these people are, right?"
"You said that they are all desperadoes and criminals." Mattie nodded.
"Do you remember what I said," Brandy said in a mocking tone that was both sullen and worried, "getting involved with these people will have disastrous consequences. It's very dangerous. Do you understand?"
"I understand what you mean," Mattie said in a tone that was neither condescending nor overbearing, and she had obviously prepared the plan a long time ago, "but these people are not bad people, whether they are little Jack, those sisters and aunts, or even those uncles who look fierce.
, are not bad people.”
"Haha, it certainly looks like this at the moment. At this stage, the only bastard in the gang is still serving jail time in Strawberry Town."
Thinking ironically, Brandi calmed down and said, "You're right, they may not be bad people, but they have done things that bad people can do, and that's why they become criminals."
.”
"They are obviously not bad people, so why do they do what bad people do?" Mattie was a little confused.
"I can't explain this clearly, but I think you will understand it later." Brandi felt briefly melancholy because of Mattie's question, but he soon regained his composure and continued, "But I
The point I want to make is not this. No matter whether they are good or bad, their status as wanted criminals is confirmed. No one has discovered it now, but once they are noticed, they will only have to flee to the end of the world. Do you understand?"
"I understand all of this." Mattie nodded.
"Then what are you doing here while An is living?" Brandi asked.
"Ansheng's birthday?" Mattie asked back, then showed a wry smile that a 10-year-old girl shouldn't have and said nothing.
At this moment, Brandy suddenly recalled the past (or background setting) of several women in the gang that she learned about in her previous life.
Abigail, who is already a mother, became an orphan when she was ten years old and lived in the streets and brothels. Later, she met Dutch and his gang, and she found shelter. However, she didn't have much of a peaceful life after joining a gang.
Needless to say, John Marston’s cuckold memes were quite popular among the players in his previous life.
The quiet Maribeth also lost her parents early before joining the gang. She had no choice but to live on the streets and became a habitual thief. Later, she met Dutch and the Van der Linde gang. Only then did this girl, who was quiet by nature and loved literature, find a decent life.
Here, I felt the warmth from my family for the first time.
Tilly, the only black girl in the gang, had been involved in other gangs before joining the Van der Linde gang. Of course, a gangster like Dutch with great personal charm and high ideological level is rare in the West, so a small gangster
How a girl would be treated in a gang filled with extremely filthy scum from the lowest level of society, and how much suffering there is, is unbearable to think about.
And Karen, Susan, Sadie, every woman who was reduced to running away with a gang full of serious criminals. The hardships and suffering they experienced in this era are unimaginable, even if they are in the same living situation.
It is also difficult for men to fully empathize with them.
Moreover, although all beings are equal in the face of firearms, unlike men, even if women pick up guns like men, they cannot change their nature as a vulnerable group in a society that is still considered feudal, regardless of whether they
No matter what class they are in, no matter what role they play in society.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! Compared to other little girls who had similar experiences to her, Mattie was lucky. Her father, Frank Ross, was a kind and conscientious businessman during his lifetime, and he was popular in Valentine.
Yes, after Mr. Ross's sudden death, the mother and daughter relied on the popularity he had accumulated during his lifetime, and although they lived in poverty, fortunately, no one would bully the orphan and widowed mother.
But now, Mattie has become an orphan, a little girl who has lost the protection of her parents. Even if her father was the President of the United States during his lifetime, the end will not be much better. Of course, if that is the case, the end may be even worse.
If she is left to make a living alone, then her best outcome will probably be similar to Marybeth's childhood. However, Brandy knows that a smart, independent, and strong-willed girl can't survive in a helpless situation.
In today's society, it is easy to suffer unimaginable inhumane treatment. It is not unreasonable to say that being too strong is easy to break.
Thinking about it carefully, the little girl actually made the best choice she could think of. With a pair of bright eyes and a brain far beyond her peers, she knew very well that she could never survive alone in this world. Compared to
Under this circumstance, it seems that there is nothing wrong with following a gangster who can temporarily protect her. She is still a child anyway. Even if the police really take down the gangster, under the protection of the law, at least her life will not be in danger.
What's more, Brandi is here, and she doesn't believe that this big brother who doesn't look like a criminal at all will ignore her when she comes to the door. This is something Brandi didn't expect at the moment.
"Alas..." Brandy sighed, rubbed her brows, then stood up, stretched out her hand to Mattie, and said, "Let's go, I'll take you to see Uncle Dutch."
Not far away, a scent of food wafted out from Pearson's large stew pot. The rare aroma attracted people's attention. This was specially prepared by Pearson for tonight's party, and he contributed almost all the high-quality ingredients on hand.
Come out and stew it into a pot in his own way - in his words, it is a "peerless delicacy", although he doesn't know what it will be - but no one thinks that Pearson can make food other than stew.
——But one thing to say, the taste is indeed very tempting.
"So that's it." Outside the luxury tent, Dutch was sitting on a chair, looking at the little girl who stood behind Brandi, but her eyes were not evasive, and her face looked calm, and said, "You
You are very brave, little girl."
Mattie didn't speak, but secretly tightened her grip on Brandi's clothes.
"Hahaha, don't be nervous, little guy," Dutch smiled heartily and said, "From now on, just treat this place as your home. I think you should have met all the uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters here at least once, so don't be too formal.
, they will be your family from now on."
Mattie still didn't reply, but the light in her eyes was obviously much brighter than before.
After Dutch finished speaking, he glanced at Brandi. Brandi understood, turned around, knelt down, touched the little girl's head, and said, "Your uncle Dutch and I have something to talk about. You go and talk to everyone here first."
Say hello, okay?"
Mattie nodded, left obediently, ran to Hosea who was nearest to her, and struck up a conversation with this seemingly amiable old man.
After the little girl walked away, Dutch said: "I know you want to ask a question, just ask it."
"It's not really a big problem," Brandi replied, "I'm just curious, boss, why you took her in so happily."
"Taking in a little girl in need of shelter has never been a problem for the Van der Linde gang, no matter what situation we're in," Dutch's voice was as strong and powerful as ever, "And, I can see it.
She possesses courage and wisdom that ordinary women do not have, and I believe she will be a great talent."
Brandi didn't speak, but looked at Dutch with a slightly shocked look.
"What?" Dutch felt Brandi's strange gaze and turned around to ask.
"It's nothing," Brandi shook her head and said, "I'm just surprised that you would treat this child like this."
"I just happen to have some eyes for discovering other people's talents," Dutch pointed to his eyes and said, "Here to me, race, not even gender, is a problem. As long as I have the corresponding talents, I have them."
ability to develop them.”
"This is really...a novel point of view." Brandi hesitated slightly before saying finally.
It is undeniable that Dutch's idea is indeed ahead of the current mainstream thinking in American society, and Brandy is very sure that his idea of equality is even more advanced than that of American society more than a hundred years later.
"Is it novel? I think it's just a natural thing," Daqi said indifferently. "We are all people living in the same world. No matter whether you are male or female, whether your skin is white, black or yellow, as long as you have ability and value,
, we should obtain the dignity and status that matches it in this world."
"So, in your opinion, discrimination and prejudice are stupid, right?" Brandy asked.
"No," Dutch denied, "Discrimination and prejudice are human nature, exist objectively, and are unavoidable emotions for humans. Even if I think this is stupid, I can't guarantee that I will not have such feelings towards others.
an emotion.”
"What's more, existence is reasonable. Discrimination and prejudice arise naturally under certain circumstances, as if it were a matter of course," Dutch continued to explain, "For example, the rich look down on the poor, the nobles look down on the nouveau riche, and the powerful look down on the weak.
These are all natural things for human beings. However, if we simply regard a fellow human being who is not much different from us but has some different characteristics as an inferior human being and enslave, discriminate, slander, and kill indiscriminately,
This so-called mainstream thinking originating from civilized society seems to me to be extremely stupid."
"The same is true for discrimination against women," Dutch continued. "The formation of the current patriarchal society is essentially due to the different social division of labor between men and women. The so-called discrimination either ignores women's abilities or alienates the relationship between the sexes.
The difference, to sum up, is a stupid prejudice."
"Then why are the women in gangs doing logistical support work and not seeing any actually engaging in combat missions?" Brandy asked.
"For our gang, Arthur and the others are enough in terms of combat effectiveness," Dutch smiled slightly and said, "Moreover, when it comes to shooting, the girls really don't have that ability. There are so many girls, but Karen is a little bit better.
She has only a little talent. She can patrol the camp, but I don’t trust her to do the other things. Besides, she has to take care of the self-esteem of the boys in the gang."
"Okay, enough of the unnecessary gossip," Dutch stood up and said, "The banquet is about to start. Although I know you were very drunk yesterday, you must not miss it tonight."
"Yeah, it's a rare opportunity." Brandi nodded in agreement.
When Dutch turned around and left, Brandy looked at his back from a distance and remained silent for a long time.
"I really doubt whether what you just said was an act or what you said from the bottom of your heart." Brandy thought.