Chapter 13 Country Life 7 “Please ask Lizzie to take Mary with you…
Elizabeth looked at her mother in shock, embarrassed that she had so shamelessly brought up the words "future family."
Jane lowered her head in embarrassment, obviously wanting to find a hole in the ground to hide in.
Kitty and Lydia joined in the booing, loudly cheering for Mrs. Bennet, while Mary looked blankly from one to another.
Mr. Bingley was a little overwhelmed for a moment. He had to politely answer Mrs. Bennett: "Well, I do happen to own about a thousand acres of land, but it is still much less than what my friend owns."
After he said that, he looked at Darcy for help.
Darcy just looked at Hazel in silence.
Just like that, the business conversation that Hessel had imagined would be full of swordplay and hidden secrets turned into a farce.
She could only say that the matter was not urgent for the time being and that it needed further discussion within their family, so she asked Mr. Darcy to go back and wait for news.
When they left, Heather asked Lena to rush to see Mr. Darcy off, hinting that he would make another appointment to discuss things with him in the next two days.
After Darcy and Bingley left, the Bennett family's brunch ended early and everyone moved to the living room to start a family meeting.
Mrs. Bennett's attention had been diverted. She took Jane's hand and said excitedly, "Did you hear that, my dear daughter? Mr. Bingley has a thousand acres of land, which is much more than I had imagined before. Once your aunt introduces that business to him, he will soon become even richer! Just in case, he must get engaged to you first!"
Jane stopped her helplessly: "We shouldn't interfere with my aunt's decision, Mom."
"That's my own sister," cried Mrs. Bennet, "my dearest sister! She will consider the happiness of her niece!"
She turned back to her sister, demanding a positive answer from Hazel.
By the time everyone was seated in the living room and the servants had moved out, Heather had finally had enough of the buzzing in her ears.
"Sister!" Heather didn't yell loudly, but just stared at Mrs. Bennet calmly and expressionlessly until the whole room was quiet.
"Can you please listen to my thoughts first?"
Mrs. Bennet was so frightened that she shut her mouth. She suddenly felt that her little sister had returned.
Although she is the eldest daughter of the Gardner family, she has always been a little afraid of her smarter sister since she was a child.
Normally, she could act however she wanted, and Heather would sometimes join in, or sometimes retort to her with a half-smile.
But when it comes to critical moments, it is always the younger sister Hazel who makes the decisions, because once she gets serious, she looks even more stubborn and terrifying than their father.
Mrs. Bennet suddenly remembered that when she was unmarried, she had thought about being with a woman in red uniform. Her sister, who was not yet an adult at the time, looked at her straight and asked her if she wanted to pursue freedom at the cost of her sister's life, which made her give up the idea immediately.
Mrs. Bennet murmured, "I just thought Mr. Bingley would be closer to our family."
Heather looked at her sister with a headache. "I understand, sister. I will explain next, but can you let Kitty and Lydia go out to play first? They are still too young to listen to what I am going to say next."
Mrs. Bennett immediately agreed: "Everyone else should go out. Mr. Bennett and I are enough here. Jane can also stay."
Elizabeth looked at her dissatisfiedly: "Mom, my aunt didn't say I can't listen."
Heather nodded: "Lizzie and Mary can stay. Lizzie is not a child anymore, and Mary has read the relevant books. They will be needed later."
In the end, only Kitty and Lydia went out reluctantly.
Heather then began to explain: “Sister, I understand that you are doing this for Jane’s own good. If this is just to raise money to open a store or even build a factory, then it doesn’t matter whether you choose Mr. Bingley or Mr. Darcy.
But this investment is not just about taking money, Mr. Darcy is more suitable than Mr. Bingley."
Mrs. Bennet looked bewildered, but Elizabeth seemed thoughtful.
Hessel continued, "This investment involves dealing with some of the wealthiest and most powerful people in the British Empire. Once I'm eligible to subscribe, I'll have to bid for more shares at the auction. The more I buy, the more I earn, and perhaps even elevate my family's status. This requires strong personal ability to truly leverage my subscription rights."
In fact, Heather didn't have any big ambitions. She always thought that she would earn as much as she could. She didn't even think about asking Mr. Lancaster if there were any candidates with higher bids. Instead, she decided to choose a ready-made candidate nearby.
But obviously, if we have to choose between the two, Darcy has more capital than Bentley and is also better at management.
So she never thought about Mr. Bingley.
More importantly, Darcy has a family mission that he is eager to fulfill, and he will definitely seize the opportunity as much as possible.
Mrs. Bennet could not help but interject, "But Mr. Bingley is quite capable. The tenants at Longbourn all speak highly of him, and he manages Netherfield in perfect order."
"That's exactly why he's unsuitable," Elizabeth said to Mrs. Bennet, rising suddenly. "I understand what my aunt means. Mr. Bingley is kind and righteous, but that's precisely why he's unsuited to the business world. He might be a good employer who maintains the status quo, but someone like Mr. Darcy, who holds a grudge, is more like a shrewd strategist."
Jane was surprised that Elizabeth would speak up for Mr. Darcy. She asked in confusion, "Lizzie, don't you hate Mr. Darcy the most?"
Elizabeth sat back down somewhat awkwardly, but she persisted, "I do not have a favorable impression of Mr. Darcy, but if it is simply a matter of making money together, I think Mr. Darcy would be a more suitable choice. Furthermore, I heard from Miss Bingley before that it was Mr. Darcy who made a great contribution to Mr. Bingley's success in renting Netherfield. Clearly, Mr. Darcy is better at bargaining."
"However," Elizabeth thought for a moment and decided to remind Heather, "I can't guarantee Mr. Darcy's character. I heard that he is very stingy and mean to his father's housekeeper's son. If your aunt really wants to cooperate with him, it's better to think about the follow-up arrangements in advance."
Heather was really impressed by Elizabeth now. A twenty-year-old girl who grew up in the countryside and had no formal education could think so carefully.
Even though she was extremely prejudiced against Darcy because of Wickham's lies, she was able to temporarily put aside her prejudice and analyze independently when necessary. She is truly a good seedling to be cultivated.
Hessel said, "I will have my lawyer sign a contract with Mr. Darcy. Whether I am given a proportional share of the profits later or the property is sold to me at a low price when the time is right, the terms agreed upon in advance will be legally binding. As long as Mr. Darcy wants to maintain his dignity, he will not violate the agreement."
Elizabeth said, "That's perfectly fine."
Mrs. Bennett was still a little unwilling: "Is this completely fine?"
She muttered a little aggrievedly: "This damn girl hasn't contacted us for so many years, and my family hasn't gotten any benefit from it at all."
Heather didn't know how to respond after hearing this. She could feel the importance of Mrs. Bennett and Mr. Gardner in the original owner's heart, so she was also very puzzled as to why she had completely lost contact with them in the following years in France.
Unfortunately, she only has fragmentary memories now, and she can never find the answer to this question.
At this time, Mr. Bennett stepped forward to stop his wife.
"Well, you've never made any money in your life, so just listen to your sister on business matters like this. Lizzie's analysis is very clear. Bingley is already rich enough. If he proposes to Jane, the money is enough for them to live a wealthy life. If he doesn't want to marry Jane, then there's no need to choose him. Nothing has been arranged yet."
Mrs. Bennet finally realized that no one was on her side, so she could only agree reluctantly.
Now Heather could talk about the next plan: "In that case, please ask Lizzie to take Mary with him to participate in the follow-up work."
Heather faced everyone's puzzled gazes and spoke to herself, "First, we need to determine the specific plan for our cooperation. I have some data provided by others, and you need to write a draft of the cooperation plan first. For example, if we want Mr. Darcy to resell it to us in the future, we need to calculate the discount that both parties would be willing to pay. We also need to prepare the basis for the negotiation in advance to maximize the benefits. When I meet with Mr. Darcy, you can also come along and listen."
Mrs. Bennet disagreed a little. It was fine that Heather was already married, but how could an unmarried girl do what these men did at such a critical moment when they were talking about marriage?
Heather said slowly, "After this is done, I will give you 10% of the profits I make. Correspondingly, if there is anything that needs to be handled later, the two of you will handle the majority of it. I will only intervene if there is anything inconvenient."
Mr. Bennett asked in surprise, "That's a long-term benefit, it's not a small amount."
Heather said, "That's right. I don't have much money right now. If I can make this investment, it will be considered as my dowry to my nieces. They can decide how to use it."
When Mrs. Bennet heard that there was money to be made, she immediately changed her attitude: "Of course, no problem, my dear sister. Your two nieces are the smartest and can definitely handle your business! If you need it, it's no problem to ask a few more nieces to help."
Heather deliberately asked, "Sister, aren't you worried about them doing men's work?"
Mrs. Bennet said firmly, "What's the big deal? I heard that there are many young ladies from noble families in London who have their own businesses, not to mention some earls who have inherited property!"
For a moment the atmosphere in the living room relaxed.
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