Chapter 71 Operation Green Vein 4 Trip to Birmingham
A frenzy of discussion about industrial pollution soon swept across London, initially limited to those who attended the sharing session that day, but then spread.
Two days later, an article titled "The Impact of Factory Wastewater Discharge on London's Water Source" was published in a mid-range newspaper. Because the author of the article had no name or background, the article attracted more attention. Many people criticized this author, who was nowhere to be found in the upper class and academic circles, for deliberately confusing right and wrong and causing controversy because the impact of industrial wastewater he described was too terrible.
As of today, a whole week has passed. More and more people have begun to discuss whether industrial pollution will affect their lives, but very few people have focused on the role of plants in resolving industrial pollution. Heather estimates that after they argue like this for another week, they may be able to change their target slightly. Before that, it is not the time to take the next step.
She decided to take this opportunity to go out for a walk.
The choice of destination was prompted by an invitation from the canal company, inviting all original shareholders to attend the groundbreaking ceremony. Meanwhile, Miss White, back in Birmingham, wrote to invite Hazel to her engagement ceremony, shocking Mary and Raina, as they both assumed Miss White had fallen in love with Mr. Darcy at first sight and would marry him.
"Birmingham happens to have a developed industry and abundant coal resources, so the pollution situation must be very serious. I can take this opportunity to carefully investigate this industrial city and provide effective data support for my conclusions and future plans." Hessel explained to Lancaster who came after hearing the news.
Lancaster had no intention of interfering with her itinerary, but he regretted very much why he happened to assign Major Brown to the army in Birmingham. Although that man was not a favorable competitor, he did not like any potential risks and did not dare to bet even with a 1% probability.
"How many days do you plan to be gone?" Lancaster asked casually.
Heather counted on her fingers. "Four or five days at most. By then, the discussions in London will be over, and I'll need to rush back to complete my next plan. But the exact time depends on the journey. I'm still deciding what route to take and how to get there."
Lancaster: "Why not take a boat first? I happen to have a nice luxury barge. The scenery from London to Warwick is beautiful, the river is wide, and although the speed is slow, it's smooth and comfortable. After a night in Warwick, we can switch to a carriage. There, the road is the best gravel and paved in England, and the journey to Birmingham will only take four hours."
Heather found that he had completely stopped hiding his strong financial resources. "We should take your boat? How can we do that..."
Lancaster: "That's fine. I can go with you." He added: "Is that okay?"
Heather found this difficult to answer, after all, it was someone else's boat, and she was not sure whether they were in a relationship where they could travel together.
"Ah... I don't know either. You decide for yourself." She has difficulty making choices.
"I want to go." Lancaster expressed his thoughts honestly. "The barge is quite large, with two floors. You can stay on the upper floor, and I'll stay on the lower floor. Unless we're on the deck during the day, we don't have to run into each other."
This sounds good. You can imagine it as passengers taking the same public transportation without having to face each other for more than ten hours.
But it still seemed a little awkward. Heather wanted to be an ostrich and struggled, "But aren't you busy now?"
Lancaster was glad that the reform of the two houses had officially started under his strong push. Although there were many obstacles and problems, the Chief Justice was temporarily freed from half of the daily affairs. His short absence might also cool down the boiling situation.
He insisted: "I don't have any more important clients to meet recently."
Heather put aside her worries and said, "Okay, okay, I'll see you the day after tomorrow."
In fact, she also wanted to travel with him a little bit, just a little bit.
Before leaving, Heather went to Gracechurch Street and asked Mrs. Gardner if she wanted to take one or two children with her on the excursion.
"I like this idea very much, dear." Mrs. Gardner sat at the coffee table on the balcony and put the flowers that Heather brought into the vase. "But I'm afraid it won't work this time. Your brother is too busy. I have to stay home to make sure everything runs smoothly."
"Brother, have you taken on a new business?" Heather thought he was relatively free recently.
"Oh, yes. Ever since you broke into Chelsea's social circle, many businessmen there are willing to work with you first. Even though the market is not good this year, this month's revenue has doubled. It's all thanks to you," Mrs. Gardner said with emotion.
Heather was also happy for them: "It's good to be busy. My brother is still so young. In the end, he has his own abilities. I'm just indirectly pulling the strings."
Mrs. Gardner leaned close to her ear and said, "You have no idea, but your salon is famous throughout our neighborhood. Last week, the two ladies next door made an appointment to go there together. They didn't want to buy membership, but they praised it highly. I didn't dare say it was my sister who opened it. I've been there several times, so I could only vaguely agree with everyone else."
Heather was also proud: "Our work is well-received by word of mouth. Everyone who has used it speaks highly of it." But she also worriedly said: "You haven't been there in the past week, have you? Are you too busy with family matters? You look much worse."
Mrs. Gardner was also worried about this. "With more income, it would be convenient to add a few servants, but the children are at the age where they love to play, and they always need someone to mediate and accompany them. Jane has gone home, and your brother is away all day, so I can only talk to them alone."
Heather suggested, "Why not hire a governess? My sister recently wrote to say that the governess we hired from London gets along well with Lydia and the others. She's a serious but knowledgeable person, and the girls love listening to her stories."
Mrs. Gardner's eyes lit up. "That's what I thought, too. I met Mrs. Victor from the winery while doing aromatherapy. I heard her eldest son was sent to another factory to study. If he doesn't make progress, she'll have to consider training a new heir. I figured George would be old enough to learn business knowledge when he gets older, so we could hire a transitional tutor so he can spend time with Lily and the others."
Heather supported it, thinking that maybe she could ask Madeline for another recommendation.
Mrs. Gardner already had someone in mind. "Look," she gestured to Hazel to look at the woman coming out of the next building. "Ms. Field's become quite famous around here lately. Several ladies have asked her to come give lessons to their children. She might even go to three families a day. She teaches them things like writing, basic arithmetic, science, geography, and the like. I hear the kids are very popular."
Heather looked down and saw the lady wearing a beige long dress and a hat of the same color. She was very sensitive to gazes and looked up when she realized she was being observed.
"Oh, it's her." Heather was surprised. London is still small after all.
Mrs. Gardner had no idea that she also knew the governess.
Heather explained, "I don't know her. I just happened to meet her before. I heard that she's short of money and has to pay off her ex-husband's debts. I guess that's why she takes on so many jobs."
Ms. Field recognized Heather and nodded slightly to both of them. She seemed to want to say something, but she couldn't say it in the end because of the inappropriate distance.
Mrs. Gardner said with sympathy, "That's so unfortunate. Fortunately, the unfaithful Mr. Lawrence left behind property instead of debt."
Heather's heart skipped a beat. This Ms. Field was in a similar situation to hers at the beginning. If she had traveled through time and space and found herself in a bungalow in a factory area, with an unlucky ex-husband and a basket of debts, she would really want to close her eyes and start over again. It seemed that God was kind to her after all.
Mrs. Gardner looked at Ms. Field's back and made up her mind: "Next time I see her, I will ask her if she has any free time to arrange lessons. If we can get along well in the future, it would be nice to hire her as a full-time tutor for Lily and her friends."
Mrs. Gardner couldn't go to Birmingham, but she made an appointment with Heather to take the whole family on a trip to the farther Lake District in the summer. Heather had never been to a real tourist attraction in this era, so she was looking forward to it when she heard it.
However, the trip to Birmingham is attractive enough.
In the early morning, before the sun had completely dispelled the grayish-white mist lingering over the Thames, the dock was already a bustling scene.
The dock is where the gap between the rich and the poor is most obvious. The water on the west side is relatively clear, and several distinctive luxury ships are docked here. The teak decks are polished to a bright shine, and various flags with intricate patterns are flying at the stern.
To the east lay another world. Narrow cargo ships crammed together, their hulls caked with coal dust and river mud. Shirtless dockworkers carried heavy sacks on swaying gangplanks. The air was thick with the stench of sweat, cheap tobacco, damp wood, and the fumes of sulfur wafting from the nearby factories.
Heather's carriage was led to the open space on the west side. He got out of the carriage and stepped directly onto the carpet, stepping onto the deck without even touching the real ground.
"Good day, ladies." Lancaster was waiting for them on deck.
"Good day, Mr. Lawyer." Hazel pretended to be unfamiliar in public, and secretly sighed for the ten thousandth time that Mr. Lancaster was really a pleasure to watch.
Mary hadn't looked directly at Mr. Lancaster for a long time. She was inexplicably afraid of this mysterious lawyer. Occasionally, when he came to visit, she would almost always hide in her room until he left. So seeing him now felt even more strange.
Lancaster didn't say much. He extended his hand and invited them to come in and took them to visit the entire ship.
This was Hessel's first time riding on this kind of horse-drawn barge. Steamships had just appeared at that time and were mostly used for freight. The canals with locks were mostly filled with these slender barges pulled by horses on the shore.
It sounds very primitive, but when you actually walk in you will still be shocked by its luxury and exquisiteness.
The cabin was filled with the delicate scent of wood wax, and the windows were inlaid with clear glass and hung with thick burgundy velvet curtains with golden tassels at the edges.
All the furniture was small and delicate, fixed to the walls or the floor to prevent it from being moved. Trained servants placed Wedgwood bone china breakfast cups and saucers on trays covered with lace drapes, and the carpet was a thick Oriental pattern that absorbed the sound of footsteps.
Through the spotless glass windows, you can clearly see the busy scene on the dock, but you can't hear much noise, as if you are watching a silent drama.
With a deep command, the bow rope was untied. A sturdy horseman on the shore tied the tow rope to the tall Shire horse. Pulled by the tow rope, the barge smoothly passed the cargo ship that had been stopped and lined up to be released. Heather only felt a slight jolt during the entire process.
Lancaster politely left, leaving the restaurant to the ladies who hadn't dined. Heather sniffed the mingled aroma of bread and flowers, gazed at the receding landscape of London's industrial expansion on both sides, and leaned back against the cashmere cushions with a sense of emotion.
"This is the real life of a lady!"
How can ordinary people who have just become rich imitate the privilege and luxury displayed so vividly?
I kind of want to bring all my relatives and friends to experience it, just once.
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