Chapter 74 Green Vein Operation 7 Miss Academic Master
"Oh." Mary leaned on the railing and sighed for the eighth time.
Reina happened to pass by behind her, handed her a piece of orange pudding, and asked, "Ms. Mary, what's wrong with you? Today was so much fun. The opening ceremony this afternoon was also very interesting, and there are so many people at the party now. Why are you unhappy?"
Mary sighed, "I'm not unhappy, just a little melancholy." She pointed to a corner downstairs and said, "Don't you see it?"
Reina craned her neck to look, completely confused. "Isn't that Madam and Mr. Lancaster? Is there a problem?"
Mary swallowed the pudding in one gulp and looked at Reina seriously. "Of course there's a problem! Don't you think they've become unusually close recently? They're always alone together, and my aunt seems particularly happy. Mr. Lancaster is also acting strangely."
Reina nodded. "Well, about this matter, Miss Mary, calm down. You might be getting a new uncle. How about another piece of pudding?"
Mary broke down: "I don't want pudding, I want a glass of wine!"
Reina stuffed a cup of strawberry pudding into her mouth and said, "Relax, take a deep breath. Believe me, even if Madam gets married, she'll pack us up and take us away. She won't abandon us. We must accept the new member with a supportive attitude, no matter who that person is."
Mary looked at Lena, seeking reassurance: "Of course I support it. But will we really be taken with us?" She no longer wanted to be alone. In the past six months, her heart had been like a greenhouse, and she felt stable and happy in everything she did.
Reina was very confident: "Of course, I have been with the lady for almost ten years, and she has never abandoned me."
Mary was a little envious of her and wanted to continue talking to her, but after she had said a few words, the maids of other ladies at the banquet poked their heads in. Reina told Mary that she would continue to collect information and suggested that the lady just pick any gentleman who invited her to dance and go to the dance floor.
Mary was still feeling melancholy and had no desire to dance. "Oh, well, I'm alone again."
"The new wheat variety has a 20% increase in alcohol yield... uh... that means each pound can produce... uh... 0.48 gallons of alcohol. Yes, that's right. And the cost is 10% higher... hmm..."
Mary couldn't help but roll her eyes. After Reina left, the corner fell silent. From under the railing, the mumbling of someone who, for some reason, insisted on doing math problems at the ball could be clearly heard. He'd been working on this problem for at least half an hour tonight, and it wasn't over yet!
Mary didn't want to endure this torture any longer, but she couldn't find a quieter place, so she could only pray that he would finish quickly.
"Ah! Yes, it's right this time. After changing to the new wheat, the profit per pound of wheat has increased from 3 shillings to 4.1 shillings, an increase... an increase... of 36.7%!" There was a rustling sound, and the man was actually happily admiring his scribble-like verification paper.
Mary couldn't bear it any longer and stuck her head out: "Wrong, sir, with all due respect, it was wrong from the very beginning."
The man was squatting, but when he heard the sudden sound, he was so scared that he fell to the ground and raised his head in confusion.
"Isn't that right?"
Mary was blushing for her own impoliteness when she saw that the other person was a fair-skinned young boy, but when she heard him say that he was not wrong, she forgot everything.
"Wrong! When you started calculating half an hour ago, didn't you say the question you were given was how much the factory's profits would increase after changing the wheat variety? Then you should calculate the increase in profit per gallon of wine, not the increase in profit per pound of wheat."
The man's face was still blank. He picked up the pen and struggled with his brain, but he couldn't write a single word.
Mary leaned forward, her eyes blazing. "A brewery's core assets are its fermentation tanks and storage cellars. Their capacities are fixed. Your boss only mentioned upgrading the wheat, not upgrading everything simultaneously. So, most likely, the prerequisite for this is that the amount of beer that can be produced is fixed, and the sales volume is also relatively fixed. The beer market is highly competitive, and breweries all have their own stable sales channels."
"Oh, yes, yes, you are absolutely right." He lowered his head and began to calculate again: "So, per gallon..."
Mary held out her hand: "Give me the pen and paper."
He was very tall. He stood up, stretched out his hand, and handed it over obediently.
"Assuming 100 gallons of beer, if the original malt is used, it will cost... So the profit increases from 750 shillings to 854.17 shillings, an increase of 13.9%." It took her less than three minutes, and then she threw the notebook back down.
The world was silent as he bit the pen and began to ponder deeply. But the silence didn't last long.
"Wow, that's really the case! You're so awesome! Can you tell me another question?" he asked politely, looking up with bright eyes.
"Well... no, I'm not your tutor, and we don't even know each other." Mary refused, feeling a little guilty. Sure enough, a fool who looks good on the outside can make people tolerate him a lot.
He took out a thick stack of banknotes from his pocket and held them up. "This is the pocket money I saved recently. I'll give it all to you. Can you be my tutor for a while? You speak better than anyone else. By the way, my name is Noah Victor. Now you know me."
Mary's eyes widened. Brewery, Victor, it couldn't be such a coincidence. "Is the owner of the brewery your father? Your family doesn't live in Chelsea, does it?"
Noah nodded: "Yes, how do you even know this?"
Mary didn't want to answer. Mrs. Victor had put so much thought into finding a daughter-in-law for her eldest son that she had even dragged Mary along to promote the idea at the Chelsea dinner. Mary had even gone dancing to avoid being dragged away to meet her eldest son. Unexpectedly, by chance, they met each other thousands of miles away in Birmingham.
Seeing that she didn't answer, Noah continued, "My father is very dissatisfied with me. He told me to study hard in Birmingham. If he comes to check in two months and I don't meet the requirements, I will have to stay in Birmingham. My mother wanted to stop me, but she couldn't. But I don't have any reason to go back to London. By the way, miss, what's your name? Do you live in Birmingham?"
“…No, I live in London.” Mary didn’t want to say her name.
Noah looked a little lost, but soon regained his fighting spirit.
The above was what Mary couldn't help but tell Heather secretly while waiting for the newlyweds to enter at Miss White's engagement ceremony the next day.
Heather was surprised. "So you didn't tell him a name in the end? I thought you would make one up, like Katie."
"No," Mary whispered. The ceremony hadn't officially begun yet, and there were many whispers in the church, but she was still very careful: "I don't want to tell him his name in case he gets noticed by the anxious Mrs. Victor. But I don't want to lie to him either. He's a sincere and lovely person."
Heather didn't quite understand: "If you think he's a good person, it wouldn't be a bad idea to get in touch with him. Besides, Mrs. Victor can only bring you together, she won't and doesn't have the ability to force you."
Mary is torn about this: "I still have a lot of books to read and things I want to do. I've never considered marriage in my plans. But to be honest, I don't really know what my future goals are. I'm worried that the pressure from my elders will make me even more undecided and lead me to make the wrong choice."
Heather held her hand and looked at her youthful and beautiful face. She felt deeply that her child had grown up. "Mary, you are still very young. You are not even 20 years old yet. You still have countless choices, experiences, and opportunities for trial and error. You can try anything you want and then choose the one you like best."
Mary's fingertips curled lightly in Heather's palm, as if burned by these words. She lowered her eyes, her eyelashes trembling, blinking back the heat that welled up in her eyes, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up. "Because I have someone to back me up, right?"
Heather was also laughing, and she had unknowingly gained more confidence: "Of course."
Because she had hoped countless times that someone would say such words to her.
The music started and the bride entered.
Everyone looked over at the same time. The sunlight shone through the colorful glass windows of the church onto Miss White, and she smiled so brightly.
The ceremony went smoothly, and it was more than half an hour later before Heather came to the bride.
"Miss White, it's nice to see you again. You look really beautiful today."
Miss White was still as familiar as ever. She hugged each of them warmly, and then asked Heather: "What do you think of my husband? Is he handsome too?"
Heather couldn't comment on this "also", but she looked at the groom not far away: "He is indeed tall and handsome, and he matches you very well when standing next to him." No wonder Miss White, who is obsessed with looks, was very satisfied.
Miss White smiled happily. "Isn't he? He's the most handsome of all the gentlemen in the final selection range." She leaned in and whispered, "Although he's a little inferior to Mr. Darcy and Mr. Laurent, it's really fun to chat with him. Miss Elizabeth is right. It's important to have the right personality!"
Heather was a little curious about why Darcy and Laurent didn't make the final shortlist, but before she could ask, Miss White explained herself.
"Mr. Darcy and Mr. Laurent both have someone they like," Miss White stated objectively, without a hint of regret. "Fortunately, James is also very pleasant to the eye, and he's the son of a coal tycoon, so he should be even richer."
Heather found her very interesting. She was always so frank and enthusiastic. Although she was not a smart person, she always followed her heart and pleased herself to the greatest extent. That was why she was always so happy.
"Miss White must have parents who dote on her very much." Hazel sighed as she got into the departing carriage.
Mary agreed. "But I'm really curious how Mr. Darcy could have someone he liked. And how did Miss White know about it? Mr. Darcy doesn't seem like the type to explain himself."
Hazel thought, Oh, I almost forgot. I wonder if Mr. Darcy has confessed his feelings.
Mary assumed that Heather didn't know the answer either, and asked, "Oh, by the way, are we going to the Birmingham newspaper office now?"
"Yes, Lancaster helped contact the person in charge of the newspaper. I heard that an editor there was the one who discovered the painter and must know the painter's address. Mr. Lancaster will join us later."
Heather opened the carriage window, and sunlight and breeze came in at the same time. The streets in Birmingham were not as wide and neat as those in central London, but there was no obvious disorder in the wealthy areas. Overall, the economic situation was not bad.
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