In the rose garden, Sean likes to entertain guests under the big banyan tree.
Its crown is like an umbrella, its branches are lush and leafy, and it is very beautiful.
As usual, tea was served, and as usual, there was a lot of compliments. Whether it was sincere or polite, the guests praised the new drink uniformly.
Compared with the territory of the original Connelly family in West Poitou, the Robinson family also performed very well in this relief operation for the victims. They did not have many means, but they had enough food to prevent the victims from going hungry.
die.
When the nobles lose control over the people, they also lose their obligation to protect and provide relief to the people. At this time, the nobles who extend a helping hand to the victims can claim to be benevolent and generous.
But Sean knew that in the disaster area beyond the control of himself and the Robinson family, various horrific incidents were reported one after another.
The nobles and the bourgeoisie in the city took the opportunity to seize the land of the peasants and make the peasants their tenants. Once the peasants lost their land, they would become real proletarians when the next disaster struck.
The Governor is very worried about this. Sean suspects that he is not a natural sympathizer of farmers, but is worried about the tax revenue under his rule. The reduction of homesteaders will undoubtedly seriously affect tax revenue.
As far as Sean knows, when the disaster struck, half of the patrol team in the governor's hands followed the tax collectors in the countryside to collect taxes, and the other quarter was busy tracking down the so-called rebels with the secret police. This led to the disaster when the disaster broke out.
, the governor temporarily did not have enough manpower to suppress the riot, and many people died.
No one cares how many people died, as long as they don't threaten themselves. If he wasn't worried that the victims would eat him, Sean wouldn't come forward.
But there is a price to pay for stepping forward. In order to provide relief to these 25,000 victims, which actually later exceeded 40,000 victims, Sean paid all real money. He had to maintain these victims at least until March and April of 1831.
.
Why has it increased so much? Don’t think that all these victims are in extreme poverty. Quite a few of them still have a few gold coins in their pockets. When they hear that they can eat free food in a place, they certainly won’t do it when food prices soar.
, spend your last assets.
This is a huge expense, and it would be strange if Sean had no desire for it.
What the Governor lacks is real money. Especially when the Holy City decides to exempt all Genoa farmers from military service tax, poll tax, road tax, and land tax for two years, the province's tax revenue will be greatly reduced.
So in the Rose Garden, witnessed by Percy Robinson, Sean made his request openly and openly:
All rights and interests in the town of Vichy and the port of Vichy for 30 years in the future, the government will not tax all cargo ships docked in the port of Vichy, only 1/2 of the general transaction tax, and all the land and output of the Connelly family for 10 years
duty free.
Governor Byrne had no choice but to agree to Sean's conditions. He even wondered if Sean was not very good at mathematics. In his opinion, Sean had to take care of tens of thousands of disaster victims and it would be difficult to recover the cost.
Of course, by agreeing to Sean's conditions, Byrne could at least avoid the immediate troubles. He couldn't care about too much anymore. Sean could have driven the victims to the city or elsewhere like other nobles.
Governor Byrne left in a hurry, but Percy Robinson stayed.
Sean put on a gesture that he was willing to share with the Robinson family:
"If the Robinson family can provide me with 1,000 tons of grain at the price before September 1830, I am willing to give up part of the port's profits."
"This is not a small number. Please allow me to go back and discuss it." Percy quickly calculated the reasons for this number and replied seriously.
After sending Percy away, Sean had to face complicated daily affairs again. In order to cope with these affairs, Sean had to discover and promote talents.
For example, Paul Fitch, an unemployed former government tax office accountant, has now become Sean's financial director. This is a guy who is extremely sensitive to numbers, especially when Sean promised to hire him as the family's financial director in the future.
.
There is also a guy named Tommy Wesley, who now serves as Sean's clerk and handles all Sean's paperwork. Since this Mr. Wesley used to be a third-rate writer and owed a lot of debt because of his romantic affairs, Sean gave him
One of Wesley's most important duties was to give him an outline and story outline and ask him to write a novel.
In addition, there is a militia group of 200 people formed by security director Nelson, who patrols day and night to maintain public order. Coupled with the cooperation of the mayor Pierre and others, Sean's disaster relief work is carried out in an orderly manner, except that food is still in short supply.
The Robinson family rejected Sean's proposal. They were only satisfied with the income from the shops on the ground in Vichy Port. This was what Sean expected. Southerners were always satisfied with what they got in front of them and tended to be conservative.
At this moment, Sean's ambition is just to follow the trend and become a local rich man.
On the last day of 1830, Sean was awakened from his sleep by Nelson.
Nelson looked a little nervous: "Sir, something happened!"
"What's going on?" Sean was still a little confused.
"Bloodthirsty!" Nelson's words suddenly made Sean wake up.
"What's going on?" Sean asked, "How many people are there? Hurry up and gather people and send out all the guns."
Nelson said: "Sir, it's not what you think. It's a little girl in the camp. She was found to be showing the fangs of a bloodthirsty person, which caused panic among the people around her."
Sean let go of his nervousness and followed Nelson to the area where the victims gathered.
According to Sean's original intention, this matter should have been handled quietly, but by the time the news reached Nelson, many people among the victims already knew about it.
Among the rows of wooden houses, there was a small square, which was usually the place where food was distributed and orders were announced. At this time, the small square was filled with people, and on one of the wooden frames, there was a little girl hanging by her hands.
With her hair disheveled, she dodged everything the crowd threw at her: rocks, mud and rotten fruit cores.
But her hands being tied and hung made her exhausted.
By the light of the torch, Sean didn't notice anything unusual about her face. It was just a poor creature wrapped in fear.
"Burn her to death!"
"Burn this devil!"
The victims were shouting, and when Sean appeared, the shouts became even stronger.
There is no judge here, and if there is, it is only Sean who makes the judgement.
This little girl didn't hurt anyone, and to Sean's surprise, no one came forward to accuse her of being a bloodthirsty person. Everyone said they heard what others said.
For a moment, Sean had a very ridiculous feeling. He was not sure if there was some kind of force directing it.
There were only two types of people in the crowd, either those who were excited and clamoring to burn the little girl to death, or those who were numb and devoid of any personal feelings.
Sean ordered someone to put the little girl down from the wooden frame, and promised to keep a close watch on her. If she was found to be a bloodthirsty, she would be burned to death.
Sean used his identity and prestige among the victims to forcibly pacify the victims.
After dealing with all this, Sean felt a little uneasy. He always thought of the waitress he met in Northern Xinjiang.
But he couldn't kill a little girl casually, even though he had executed many disaster victims who disobeyed orders, and he had done so in various ways.
For example, let a guy who grabs other people's food choke to death on the food in public; for example, let a guy who grabs other people's water drown in a manure pit in public.
Sean handed the little girl to Emma, the cook, and she stayed with thirty orphans who had lost their parents, mostly girls. Before anyone could take over these orphans, Sean decided to raise them himself.
"Sir, I have to ask you. I'm really too busy. You have to send me some more helpers." Emma complained. This is a big, strong woman who has lost a lot of weight now.
"You choose your own people." Sean nodded, "These poor children need not only food, but also love. Emma, I need you to choose people who are truly caring, rather than trying to become
My servant’s people.”
Sean is very arrogant.
"My kind lord, please rest assured." Emma promised, "I have taken a fancy to a girl. She is like an apostle of the Statue of Liberty in the world. She is very caring. She will definitely take care of all the orphans."
"Okay, you decide for yourself."
Then Sean met the girl Emma was interested in. This girl's name was Rose Cody. As Emma said, she was really the messenger of the goddess in the world.
Especially her clothes are more in line with Sean's aesthetics:
She is wearing a light blue dress embroidered with light-colored flowers. There are no complicated bows, pleats, satins, ribbons, or artificial flowers. There are no exaggerated puff sleeves, and there are no hip pads. There are just some at the neckline.
Lace is used as decoration, and a small jacket is worn on the upper body, which is simple and convenient for movement.
She wore a sun hat with only a fake rose as decoration on the top of the hat. Under the hat was a head of chestnut curly hair and a delicate and young face.
But there was still a touch of sadness on her face, because she moved to Poitou from the north with her parents. Unfortunately, she encountered a big earthquake. Both her parents died in the earthquake, leaving her alone.
This kind of faint sadness makes others feel pity for me.
"Sir, I need a job. I heard Aunt Emma say that you need someone who can take care of orphans. I think I can do it." Rose Cody requested.
"Taking care of children is not an easy task. It requires not only love, but also..."
"Patience, right? I will be very patient. You can hire me to work for a month first," Rose Cody said.
Sean was slightly surprised by her answer. She was obviously a very smart girl.
It has to be said that her beauty and dressing up have won Sean's favor. Sean didn't even realize that this was the instinct of male hormones, and her sincere and smart attitude will also add a lot of points.
"Okay, then you can work for a month first." Sean nodded in agreement.