As a family of Soviet traitors, they lived a very glorious life back then, but who could have thought... that after just a few hundred years, the family... would become like this.
The castle sells tickets for people to visit.
Alan followed Earl Robin in the honor room of his house, looking at the statue of their ancestor. The man in the statue had very sparse hair, but the armor on his body was carved very majestically. This was the first Earl Su Jian.
If this person knew that hundreds of years later, his descendants would use their castle to sell tickets to make money, I wonder if he would jump out of his coffin and be hacked to death by Earl Robin.
…
After a quick tour of the Boyle family's Hall of Fame, Alan discovered that what their family had done in Scotland over the years was very similar to what his own family had done, both of which were to stabilize the place, or to suppress the place.
No wonder the old earl came to visit their house before, it turns out they are colleagues.
But the Boyle family, because they are Scottish themselves, they can sell out the Scots and make dirty money. Although in theory their family is also a "military family", but... their roots are still those of literati politicians and they can't be tough.
They can't be as cruel and ruthless as the Hill family.
So... the result is what it is now. Their previous territory was Glasgow, but what about now?
He could only retreat to Ayrshire, a small rural county next to Glasgow and become a small rich man.
In comparison, the city next to the Hill family, Carmarthen, has a population of over 30,000.
The city next to the Boyle family, Glasgow - has a population of nearly 600,000.
This is the serious consequence of the nobility losing their prestige.
Both of them were in charge of suppressing local areas and both were earls, but there was such a huge gap between them and the Hill family that the Boyle family even lost their family fiefdom.
This...is not much better than the prodigal family of the Duke of Angus.
If a nobleman loses even the land where he was given his title, what else can he say...
It seems that the Earl of Glasgow in their family is a little unstable now.
…
Thinking of this, Allen narrowed his eyes, put his arm around Robin's neck and said, "The glory of your ancestors is truly respectable, but in recent years... the Boyle family doesn't seem to have any respectable achievements."
“…”
After hearing these words, Count Robin's face, which had just been smiling, suddenly became stiff.
He knew what Alan was talking about, but... if his family really dared to learn from the Hill family and be so powerful in Wales, then... their family would probably not even survive to his generation and would have been destroyed by the fierce Scots long ago.
Wales is a place with many turtles in shallow waters, and the Hill family is indeed brave and daring, which has led to the current situation, but they are not like Scotland...
Scotland is not the largest country for the Boyle family. There is also the Duke family above them. Besides, their military force is really not good enough. They can only develop the economy to strengthen themselves. But then it got out of control.
Who wants to be like a park guard, opening the door every day to let ordinary people buy tickets to come in and visit? Isn’t it... because of the pressure of life?
"Oh..." Robin sighed and patted Alan's shoulder without saying anything.
Seeing this guy's resigned look, Alan frowned and prepared to flirt with Robin.
"Do you want me to help you? Although I came here to learn about the manor experience, I also have experience in developing the power of the family. We can learn from each other. I heard that you were in the navy before?"
Although the two seem to be close, they have just met after all. Alan plans to chat about family matters first and seduce Robin to see if he can open his takeaway company to Scotland. Since the Boyle family is a traditional Scottish traitor family, your family was able to serve as a guide for the masters in London in the past, so can't you lead the way for Master Alan now?
snort……
"Hey... Let's go to my study. It's almost tea time. Let's eat and talk."
Earl Robin nodded, and was not in a hurry to respond to Alan's words. Instead, he turned around and took Alan with him, preparing to go to the study to chat while drinking afternoon tea.
…
As we walked, we observed the interior decoration of Kelburn Castle.
To be honest...some of the decorations inside the entire castle always gave Alan a weird feeling, but he just couldn't figure out what was weird for a while.
"How is it? I did all this myself."
Count Robin, who was walking in front and leading the way, pointed at the decorations on the stair railings and proudly introduced them to Alan. At this time, Count Robin gave people the feeling of a professional tour guide.
"???"
Looking at the sign hanging on the stairs that read "Precious items, do not touch", and then looking at the things on the stairs, Alan was speechless. He finally realized what was wrong here.
The entire castle doesn’t look like an ordinary home at all, but more like a tourist attraction.
All the decorations in the corridors were locked with tiny chains.
Don't think that all foreigners are well-educated. Tall and domineering... Since they have chosen to sell tickets for visitors and open the door of their house, they have to be on guard against ordinary people. If these things are not properly protected, Alan can guarantee that within three days... everything in their castle will be stolen.
He had just looked at them for a long time, but since Alan didn't think much of these things, he didn't have time to take a closer look. Now that he saw what Count Robin pointed to, he finally reacted.
On the handrail of the stairs, there was a piece of crocodile skin hanging, about two meters long. As for what kind of species it was...
Alan couldn't recognize it anymore, all because... the crocodile skin had been rubbed to a patina, shiny black, and even the protruding bone spurs on the back had been smoothed out. Look at the warning sign hanging next to it that said "Do not touch". It was so damn ironic.
The crocodile's belly was lying on the stair handrail, with its mouth to its tail resting straight on the handrail. Both of the crocodile's feet were firmly fixed to the fence of the stair handrail with tiny iron wires. It was estimated that all the valuables in their castle were locked up.
It seems... Earl Robin has probably suffered losses in these matters, otherwise... he wouldn't be so cautious.
"Very beautiful... Robin, you also like hunting. When you are free next year, we can make an appointment and go hunting together then."
"Hahaha...Okay, then I'll wait for your invitation!"
…
It’s called afternoon tea, but afternoon tea in the study is not that formal. There’s no three-tier pastry stand or anything fancy.
Count Robin looked at Allen. He knew that Allen had a rough temper, so he deliberately created a wild and uninhibited attitude to cater to Allen and to narrow the distance between them.
"You were not here a few days ago. Last week at the House of Lords meeting, the Duke of Angus expressed his concerns about the law and order situation in the Manchester area and brought out another draft. There was a heated argument at the meeting."
Earl Robin first threw out a piece of news that he thought Allen would be interested in.
"Oh? It was a heated argument? Who was arguing with whom?"
Alan was indeed somewhat interested in this news, but he was interested in the quarrel. Faced with such a very "serious" concern, he couldn't understand who would stand up and object.
"Heh... those few people, the ones who have shady businesses. The Duke of Angus doesn't usually talk about this kind of topic, but now he suddenly brings up the issue of public security. Some people think he has something in mind. This kind of issue..."
Count Robin shrugged and gave Alan a look that said you know what I mean.
"???"
Alan blinked and forgot about it. In his plan, he would first let Angus complain about Manchester's public security in Parliament, and then... he would slowly intervene.
But after Robin reported the news, it turned out that someone had misunderstood.
I guess in the eyes of these people, the Duke of Angus's mention of public security issues was not just referring to the Manchester area, but was meant to be directed at those families involved in organized crime. This is very hateful. They were doing well in business, but were implicated by others. Anyone would have to stand up and argue for their rights.
For example, those aristocratic families that are neither high nor low are very influential in the local area. They follow the path of forming alliances and making friends. They have gangs at home and make some dirty money behind the scenes. They hide behind and act as umbrellas for these gangs. Although they may not make a lot of money, they can still make enough to feed and clothe themselves.
Now that Angus has messed with them, these people have become a little sensitive.
"Heh..." Alan sneered when he thought of those more jumpy people. Let them quarrel, just think of it as finding something for the Duke of Angus to do. As long as they don't block his way, Alan doesn't want to touch them, but if they really block his way... just wait and see.
…
"What you just said about increasing the family's strength, is it related to what the Duke of Angus is doing now?"
Lord Robin asked with a smile.
“…”
Damn... These families that started out as civil servants are just smart. Although he couldn't guess the process, after Alan leaked the information, he was able to guess that the two things were related based on the limited information. They are worthy of being a traditional Soviet traitor family, their brains are really sharp!
…
"Yes... I just don't know if you dare to play."
Seeing that Earl Robin seemed gentle but was actually giving Allen a slight warning, Allen didn't care and instead started to provoke him with a smile.
So what if you guessed it? Do you dare to play it?
There is a difference between being able to guess and daring to do something.
"this……"
Count Robin looked at the smiling Allen and hesitated.
The two of them were now quite close, and Count Robin thought that this was a bit hasty, so they could wait a little longer.
"Ahahahaha... Earl Allen, let's not talk about this for now. Let's talk about your schedule for the next few days. Where do you want to go this afternoon? I have specially arranged a dinner for you. We don't have much time for sightseeing in the afternoon, so we can't go far."
"Hahaha, I'm a guest. I'm here as a guest, so of course I'll follow your arrangements."
Alan didn't have much expectation for the so-called banquet, it was just a family dinner.
"Okay then... let's go visit my attractions and farms first?"
"good!"
…
Although the Boyle family lost the city of Glasgow, they still had large tracts of land in Ayrshire.
In the past, their family had a forest farm, which was equivalent to his family's private hunting ground. At its peak, this hunting ground had hundreds of servants responsible for looking after and patrolling it. The hunting ground, which covered hundreds of acres, has now also followed the trend and undergone corresponding modifications.
The area where wild animals used to live has been fenced off and turned into a wildlife park, similar to a half-protected area. Visitors can buy souvenirs here, but they are not allowed to hunt or go in.
As for the remaining places, a so-called dense forest style project was developed.
The name sounds grand, but in person...
What a fucking rip-off, they just built a winding path in the woods that is only wide enough for one car to pass through. It was obviously because they were poor and couldn't afford to build a road, but they had to flatter it by calling it a dense forest path, and even made it sound poetic.
There is a small station similar to a service area on the way, which provides tourists with a place to rest and sells drinks, food, and some local specialties such as forest specialties such as nuts.
These are common items on the street, but as long as they are printed with the Boyle family crest, they can be sold at a high price!
After looking at Earl Robin's experience model, Alan was very inspired. Isn't this just a scam?
I can too!
…
"Who are those people? Young people nowadays are doing this so early?"
Alan stood beside the car with a telescope and pointed at a group of young people working on a farm in the distance and asked.
The main problem is that these young people are dressed in fancy clothes. Although they wear the same style of aprons on the outside, it can't hide the appearance of the clothes they wear inside.
These people don't look like people who can work in the countryside, and now they appear in groups on this farm, giving people a... very disconnected feeling.
"Hahaha... Allen, you really have lived a good life for too long and don't know the suffering of the people."
Earl Robin pointed proudly at the young people working on the farm in the distance and explained, "I heard that all the servants in your house are full-time?"
"Hmm? Isn't that your home?"
Allen was a little confused by this question.
"I have full-time servants at home, but there are only six of them. The others are hired. Do you think everyone else is as rich as you? How much does it cost to have hundreds of full-time servants? Their monthly salaries add up to a lot, right?"
"Ah? A part-time servant?"
Regarding this...Alan couldn't quite accept it.
Most of the servants in his house were lifelong employees. They entered the castle when they were young and worked there until they were old and could no longer work. Then they could retire and stay in the castle to do other jobs, such as guarding the gate or passing on their experience to younger servants.
Of course, some servants want to go home when they get old, and at that time they will be given a sum of money to allow them to go home and live in their old age. If they have any problems or if younger generations in their family want to be servants, the castle will give them priority in hiring them because of this relationship.
But...if she were to become a part-time servant, her loyalty and enthusiasm for work would be greatly reduced.
…
"Look... these people are all students from the University of Glasgow. During their vacation, I will assign them some small tasks and ask them to complete them as social practice. At that time, I will stamp my earl seal on their recommendation letters. In this way... they don't have to pay for their work, and they can complete the practical tasks and gain recognition from the nobles. It's like killing two birds with one stone."
"???"
Alan looked at Count Robin, then at the college students shoveling cow dung in the distance. What the hell...
It is indeed the traitorous Su family, they are so cunning, they not only make college students work but don't pay them, but even say it is a social practice task for them under the pretext of high-sounding. They are so fucking evil-minded, Allen has been in the business for so long, and he has never treated Black Duck badly!