Great time travel

Chapter 604: Becoming an Orphan From Today

Chapter 4. Start being an orphan today

East London, Whitechapel area

The most vivid impression of modern people on the two place names of London's East End and Whitechapel is probably the description in the complete works of Sherlock Holmes and the famous "Jack the Ripper" at the end of the 100th century.But in fact, as early as [-] years before the first murder of "Jack the Ripper", that is, at the end of the eighteenth century, the East End was already the slum with the dirtiest living environment and the highest crime rate in London. There are peddlers doing business, scruffy pedestrians, ragged beggars, villains and tramps with strange eyes.

Walking here, the first thing that catches the eye is the litter and feces everywhere, as well as the stinky ditch flowing with brown liquid.The streets in this block have not been paved, the muddy and dirty ground is full of potholes, and almost all the pits are filled with sewage. All kinds of garbage are randomly thrown on the street, full of rotten stench.Next to many stalls are stinky drains and garbage dumps, which look disgusting and smell even more pungent.

The streets were lined with dilapidated, low brick houses, or even more shabby shacks. All the houses were crowded together, narrow, dirty, and poorly ventilated.Residents spilled dirt everywhere on the street, and no one managed to defecate everywhere.Since the tap water system at this moment is still a toy of the nobles, it is difficult to supply even drinking water, let alone cleaning water, so the discharge of sewage and waste is also a big problem.All kinds of rubbish accumulate in the neighborhood day after day, and gradually rot and ferment. In the hot summer, it will emit a strong and pungent smell. It is said that it can float from one end of the Thames to the other, seriously damaging the environment. people's health.The crowded living environment and poor sanitation also led to the rapid growth of viruses and bacteria, resulting in frequent outbreaks of typhoid, cholera and other plagues here, which made the gentlemen of the upper class regard this place as a purgatory.

Generally speaking, gentlemen and ladies are not seen in such low-class places, but there are exceptions today.

——A certain pair of middle-aged men and women dressed in upper-class clothes suddenly appeared in this messy world belonging to the lower classes of London.

The man among the two was about 50 years old, his gray hair was already a little bald, but his eyes were particularly sharp, and he was not tall but had a conspicuous big belly.It was autumn, and he was wearing a light gray hunting suit and a short cape. The workmanship and material were good. Inside was a slightly tight leather vest. He was wearing a pair of black trousers. The boots that we all admired.

The woman next to him is probably in her early forties, wearing a light yellow high-waisted skirt with white ruffles, a beautifully embroidered ribbon tassel hanging from her waist, and long fluffy gloves on her hands; her figure is so plump She is slightly bloated, but her appearance is still somewhat charming. She wears a bright crimson feather hat on her head. When she walks, her long feather headdress also trembles. striking.

When they found that they walked into the East District without a servant, the villains and tramps wandering around in this area all cast malicious glances at the middle-aged man and woman.But the pistols and daggers that the middle-aged men and women carried and waved from time to time made them afraid to act casually in broad daylight.After all, no matter how self-proclaimed a tough street fighter is, as long as he is shot at close range, he will still be crippled at least, or killed at worst...

——These middle-aged men and women are the Bennet couple from the countryside of Longburn, or the infinite space veterans who have entered this plot world.

Although the surrounding criminals were intimidated by the "couple"'s guns and did not dare to make mistakes for the time being, they still had to endure the dark green moss, low-lying shallow pits, gray-black mud, and rancid sewage everywhere on the narrow streets. , and the unpleasant smell that was almost suffocating, they tried their best to walk on a slightly higher ground, but the hem of the skirt and trousers still inevitably scratched suspicious dirt, which gave them some headaches...

What made the two veterans of infinite space even more troublesome was the severe suppression of various extraordinary powers in their bodies by this world.

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"...I have tried quietly just now, and all kinds of supernatural powers are restricted in this world. Whether it is vampire blood or charm spells, no matter whether it is in the countryside or in the city, they cannot be activated at all. And those magic props, It’s basically gone as well.”

The senior Mrs. Bennet, who had changed her soul, leaned into her "husband" and whispered, "...it really makes people feel bad!"

"...Don't worry too much, even if this world suppresses supernatural power, then our opponent team will be in the same predicament."

Mr. Bennet replied as calmly as possible, "... But... the blood of vampires? We don't seem to be using our own bodies now, do we?"

"...I'm afraid it's different from what we originally imagined. I can feel now that my vampire bloodline is obviously still there, but it's just suppressed. The main god probably didn't change our bodies, but took our original bodies It was directly transformed into the appearance of the Bennet couple."

Mrs. Bennet explained in a low voice, with a worried look on her face, "...What should I do now? Originally, I wanted to use the talent of the vampire blood and the assistance of magic props to try to contract a few mob leaders to be my subordinates, but now It seems that everything is in vain! According to the practice of team battles, the stronger the team enters the stage later. Since we entered the plot nearly a year earlier than the enemy, the strength of the opponent team must be much stronger than ours!"

"...Of course I know this kind of common sense. However, in the plot world of classical love novels like "Pride and Prejudice", even if you enter the stage nearly a year earlier, what is the way to improve your strength? Even if Joining the army is only a few short months, and I can't climb to a high position, and at my current age, I guess the army may not be willing to accept it. Although British officers can be bought with money these days, But even if I become a small officer, those soldiers are not my personal armed forces, and they may not be able to command them in team battles."

Mr. Bennet scratched his disheveled hair in distress, "...it seems that there is no supernatural power in this world. In order to deal with team battles, the only thing we can do is to purchase a large number of arms and There's work going on at the Longbourne house."

"...Arms of this era?" Mrs. Bennet frowned in disgust, "...the kind that has no rifling, can't hit people at most 50 meters away, and requires a cleaning rod to remove the bullet from the muzzle of the gun. A muzzle-loading musket that goes in? What use is that crap against other teams?"

"...Although, as you said, they are like toys in front of modern firearms, but at least they are better than nothing!"

Mr. Bennet smiled wryly, "...Before, we spent too many reward points on exchanging supernatural bloodlines and magic items. The only conventional weapon we can use now is a Mauser pistol. There is no function of exchanging unlimited bullets... At present, there are less than [-] bullets left, which cannot withstand any war of attrition. How can we get modern copper-cased bullets in Britain at the end of the [-]th century? What else can we do with more ammunition? Death or hand-to-hand combat? Even a buckshot musket is better than a knife?

Fortunately, there is no gun ban in Britain these days. Squires and nobles regard hunting as a fashionable entertainment, and it is common sense to buy guns for self-defense.All pistols, rifles and even small artillery are openly and legally sold (piracy is rampant on the oceans in this era, so most merchant ships are armed merchant ships, and at least a few guns need to be equipped).As long as you have money, even arming a private guard is not a problem.And luckily we still have some money.

If we use the savings from the Bennet family to buy dozens of guns, get some gunpowder back, use this time to train the newcomers on their marksmanship, and transform the house into a street fighting bunker, digging in the yard Trench fortifications, maybe we can barely fight the enemy at that time..."

"...It still feels too forced. Let those rookies hold the muskets of the [-]th century, I'm afraid it will be difficult for them to protect themselves." Mrs. Bennet frowned, "...If all the newcomers die, the negative score will be too great. If there are too many, even if we win the team battle, we are in danger of being wiped out."

"...If it really doesn't work, use weapons of mass destruction." Mr. Bennet hesitated for a while, then said suddenly.

"...Weapons of mass destruction?" Mrs. Bennet blinked in surprise, "...do you still have gas bombs?"

"...much more dangerous than gas bombs...well, even more dangerous than nuclear bombs." Mr. Bennet sighed, and took out a test tube with a shining blue light from his pocket, "...here, This is it! The loot I brought back from the world of Resident Evil."

——This is a test tube with a very complicated structure. There are silver-white metal hoops at both ends, and a transparent glass cylinder in the middle. The sapphire blue liquid is flashing fluorescent light in the spiral tube.

Although it looked exquisite and gorgeous, like a piece of industrial glass, it frightened Mrs. Bennet out of her wits for a moment.

"...T virus?! Damn! How did you think of using this thing? It's too scary! Aren't you afraid that this thing will kill us first?"

"...First of all, you are a vampire now, the T virus should not be able to infect the undead. Secondly, I have exchanged the perfect transformation of the biochemical virus with the main god, and the T virus is also ineffective for me. Finally, there is no way Under such circumstances, the ultimate means of dragging the enemy to die together..."

Mr. Bennet explained calmly, and at the same time inserted the T-virus test tube back into the inner pocket of the hunting jacket, "...if I didn't end up in a desperate situation, I would definitely Don't dare to casually use such a big killer that doesn't distinguish between the enemy and the enemy..."

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Just as the two visitors from another world were whispering, a large group of plainly dressed housewives walked up to them, holding some worn-out baskets, which contained the fresh fish and shrimp they had just bought from the Thames River pier.Although the smell of these things is generally unbearable, they are very cheap, and at least they can supplement some protein, which can be regarded as a nutritious food for the poor.Just take the fish and shrimp back and boil it into a thick sauce, add chopped cabbage, and you can make a home-cooked soup that London working-class people like to eat in this era.

At this time, a large group of poor housewives crowded the street facing them, and there were a few dirty children running around in the middle... After passing by this group of people, Mr. Bennet suddenly realized that Something is missing from myself.

"...Damn it! I was pickedpocketed!" He cursed in a low voice, and at the same time reached out to touch his empty waist - there should have been a money bag tied there.Then he looked around vigilantly, and soon found a suspicious figure at the corner of the street behind him.

After a tacit exchange of glances, Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Bennet turned around together and chased after the thief.Relying on hard work and hard work in the plot worlds of infinite space, this seemingly obese middle-aged couple showed incredible speed and agility, chasing after them in the winding alleys, always biting Hold on to the target and don't let go... Next, after a short chase, the battle-tested Bennets quickly stopped the panicked pickpocket in a dead-end alley.

Seeing this shivering little guy curled up in a ball, the hard-hearted Mr. Bennet sneered, pulled out his dagger and walked up.However, just as he was about to teach the little pickpocket a tough lesson, such as cutting off a few of his fingers, everything stopped abruptly without warning.

——Whether it was the five Bennet sisters at Uncle Gardiner's house on Tianen Temple Street, or the Bennet couple who were catching thieves in the alleys of the East District, a mechanical and monotonous voice suddenly sounded in everyone's ears : "...The main god shuts down the phone, the scene ends, and all reincarnations are forced to eject!"

The next moment, the desperate little pickpocket was dumbfounded to see that the two rich men and rich ladies who had been chasing him just now disappeared without a trace in an instant!Only their clothes, jewelry and all kinds of gadgets fell to the ground.

Did I meet the devil?The young thief rubbed his eyes in disbelief, but there were still only two messy clothes in front of him.

——That is what the veterans left behind when they left this world.

It is conceivable that such a strange incident obviously exceeded the thinking ability of this thief, and made him tremble violently in fear, his body instantly became stiff, and his teeth and bones were like rusty gears lacking lubricating oil. There was a tooth-piercing clucking sound.

But after a while, the life of hunger and cold and great greed still defeated the fear in his heart.After scouting the alley and finding no one else nearby, the young thief immediately turned around and rushed over, collecting the clothes and trinkets left by the Bennet couple as quickly as possible. Mrs. Tate's skirt was packed into a big package, and then she tiptoed back to her den...

——And the T-virus test tube that Mr. Bennet inserted in his pocket also became the harvest of this small pickpocket in the East End of London today...

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On this day, the Bennets did not come back after going out, making Uncle Gardiner and Aunt Gardiner worried all night.

The next day, the Bennets were still missing. Uncle Gardiner and Aunt Gardiner mobilized their connections in London to look for them everywhere, but found nothing.

On the third day, Uncle Gardiner went to the judge to report the case, but there was still no news, and in fact there was no news.

A week later, under the sad and pitying eyes of Uncle Gardiner and Aunt Gardiner, the five Bennet sisters returned to Longbourn Village...

——London in this era is far less peaceful than later generations. The crime rate in the East End of London is terribly high, and various kidnappings, murders, abductions, and robberies are common occurrences, much worse than the era of Sherlock Holmes.If it happened in a low-class neighborhood, the officials didn't even bother to pay attention.

And the well-dressed and well-to-do upper-class gentlemen and wives like the Bennets are obviously the favorite targets of those villains and gangsters.Even if Mr. Bennet carried a gun, if he was unlucky and vigilant enough, he might still fall into the hands of thieves.

According to Uncle Gardiner's experience living in London for many years, the Bennets have been missing for so long, but they haven't even sent back a blackmail letter from the gangsters, which means that they were probably killed on the spot by the mobs. Looted and sunk in the Thames...

Of course, Elizabeth and Jane, who are time travelers, knew what was actually going on in their hearts, so the mood at this time was not only a relief and joy of relief, but also a kind of confusion and confusion of not knowing where to go. Puzzled.

——The life-stimulating infinite flow main god system, and the team battles that kill people like chickens, it is indeed saying goodbye to them forever.

But the problem is, on the other hand, the convenient life in the bustling cities of the modern world also bid farewell to them forever.

From now on, they have to stay in this strange [-]th-century English countryside, and be the ladies described by Jane Austen... They don't know what kind of fate they will face in the future, and they don't know what kind of life they will live in the future , and what purpose should we live for...

Regarding this question, Mary, Kitty and Lydia, the three old ladies dressed in girlish skins, seemed to lack sufficient rational understanding. When they returned to the country manor in Longbourn, they made up some nonsense at will to appease the panic-stricken people. After the servant, he went to bed and rested by himself.But Elizabeth couldn't fall asleep tossing and turning, and finally climbed onto Jane's bed with her pillow in her arms, and told her her worries and worries about the future.

——As the heads of the family, the Bennet couple has evaporated from the world, and the people like themselves have been replaced by souls. The development of the following events may not be completely in line with the plot of the novel "Pride and Prejudice": Soul The 79-year-old "little sister" Lydia, of course, will probably not be abducted by that scum officer Wickham again; but she and Jane may not be able to catch Darcy, who earns [-] pounds a year, as in the original book. Mr. Bennet and Mr. Bingley, whose annual income is five thousand pounds, are the two "national husbands"... What's more terrible is that due to the cheating "limited heir inheritance rights", the Bennet family's house and land in Longbourne are destined to Taken away by the Reverend Collins, who is nowhere at the moment!

Obviously, even their current life cannot last for a long time, and they are really at a loss as to how to take the next life journey.

However, although Elizabeth thinks that people like herself may have a dark future and a gloomy fate, Jane's view is far less pessimistic than her.

"...Indeed, everything you say is very reasonable. If we can't find a rich husband, we will be kicked out and moved to a house worse than here, and then we will probably be among the gentlemen. I couldn't find my ideal good husband in my life, and finally became an old girl..."

Jane said calmly, "... But, what if we think about it in a better direction? Anyway, at least we don't need to dig radishes and potatoes from the vegetable field by ourselves, and we don't need to wash and prepare the horses. Feed, you don’t need to wash a large pot of clothes, petticoats, sheets and blankets by hand every day, you don’t need to cook the meals yourself, you don’t need to clean the house, you don’t need to worry about starvation and cold, and you don’t need to worry about the sudden fire of war... Even if you have There are many unsatisfactory things, and our hands don't need to work like a maid at home to make ends meet.

In the village of Longbourn there were only twenty-four houses of country gentlemen and middle classes with whom Mrs. Bennet had dealings.But the population actually living on this land must be much more than that.In our house alone, there are more than ten people including housekeepers, servants, gardeners and grooms.In fact, people of our class are themselves a small minority in the whole country.

Even if the house at Longbourne is finally taken by the Vicar of Collins, we still have a dowry of £[-] prepared by our 'mother', which will last us a long time.As long as you are careful and don't be cheated of money and sex, you won't end up living on the streets.If we had not traveled to England, to the Squire Bennett's family, but to some other place, our life might not be as good as it is now! "

"...Uh... I didn't expect you to be so proficient in the dialectical way of thinking of realism, which is 'more than the top, more than the bottom'..."

——In this regard, Elizabeth also had to nod to admit that what Jane said earlier made sense.After all, there have been countless facts that prove that no matter how difficult you think your situation is, there are still many people who can live happily in a situation far more difficult than you: to be honest, compared with online The Qing wear, Ming wear, Tang wear, Republic of China wear, Red Mansion wear, overhead wear, etc. that are common in women's time travel novels, I can wear them to the British countryside in the [-]th century, and they are still in the home of a squire with an annual income of [-] pounds. , is actually a very good choice.

Here, at least in the well-fed country gentry's home, the life of unmarried girls is to read books, sew clothes, attend various tea parties, banquets and dances, and then gossip and correspond with their friends, like rice Like a worm, she eats, drinks, sleeps and sleeps all day long, and finally finds a man to marry... except that she is a little too free.It is basically the most ideal life of a rice bug. Compared with being a boudoir lady in a traditional Chinese family, it is really much happier: no need to bind feet, no need to greet you sooner or later, no need to lock the door at home and leave the second door. Instead, you can go shopping, outing, and dance parties more freely.In the UK, there is no need to worry about the threat of war, and you don't even have to bear the traditional torture of Western women-the waist.

——During the Napoleonic Wars, because of the strong anti-French sentiment in the society, the ladies and ladies in the UK resisted the custom of corseting from France, and instead wore loose skirts that were more similar to modern women’s clothing, in order to flaunt their patriotism .It wasn't until Britain won the Napoleonic Wars that British high-society women began to corset their waists like women in continental Europe, using whalebone and other materials to turn skirts into torture tools that could strangle themselves...

Even in terms of marriage and communication, British country gentry ladies are more free than their counterparts in the East. Although family-arranged marriages are still the mainstream, ladies can also establish friendship with the same sex or the opposite sex if they meet social standards. , Well, if it can develop into a relationship and then get married, it is also a beautiful thing.At least there will be basically no embarrassing incidents where the couple meet for the first time during the wedding night in the bridal chamber.

Western upper-class couples generally sleep in separate rooms after marriage in order to respect each other's privacy.Although divorce is currently difficult to be accepted by society, it is not new for those couples in the upper class who lack affection to play their own way after marriage-although this is not a good thing, it at least symbolizes some kind of equality of meaning.And there is no need to worry about the husband constantly marrying concubines. Men can find mistresses, and women can also find lovers. Just watch American dramas such as "House of Cards" and you will know that many upper-class couples in modern times live like this day?

Next, Jane pointed out the most absurd part of Elizabeth's self-pity just now.

"...Besides, do you really think that the Bennet family, with an annual income of two thousand pounds, are considered poor?"

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——Although in the plot of the novel "Pride and Prejudice", because of the ridicule and contempt of the man's relatives towards the Bennet family, there is always a story of a poor woman adoring the rich and noble, and "the domineering president falls in love with the poor working girl" illusion.But in fact, the Bennet family owns more than 25 acres of vast land (considering that this land is only [-] miles away from London, the land price is even more exaggerated), with their own manor, forests, rivers and small lakes, It is by no means a poor country gentry with poor economic conditions as some readers mistakenly think, but a real family of local tyrants of the exploiting class.

It is no exaggeration to say that the five Bennet sisters in this family are also the real Miss Bai Fumei, not some Cinderella.It's just that the man on the other side is even taller, richer and handsome, and his net worth is even more exaggerated-Mr. Bingley, who married Jane, has assets of [-] pounds.Mr. Darcy, who married Elizabeth, owns half a county of land, and a lot of powerful relatives. The manor at home is as luxurious as a palace... Therefore, it is indeed a bit high for Elizabeth to marry Mr. Darcy , but it is only a little bit, it is far from shocking the world!

So, what was the concept of the Bennet family's annual income of [-] pounds in British society at that time?

First of all, it needs to be clear that the modern British pound is a large currency unit, and in the minting era, the British pound was a gold coin made of precious metals. The long-term price measured by it is basically stable. Although there are fluctuations in market prices, it is generally There will be no constant inflation.Therefore, in that era, as long as they had an annual income of 1000 to 2000 pounds, the family could basically live comfortably.It can be seen that the purchasing power of a British pound at that time was at least equivalent to the current RMB [-] to [-]. This is definitely not an exaggerated estimate.

However, at that time, there were very few secondary currencies in Britain. Under the British pound, there were only two kinds of shillings and pence.One pound is equal to twenty shillings, one shilling is equivalent to twelve pence, and the pence is already the smallest common currency in modern Britain, and it cannot be sold if it is less than one penny.The purchasing power of one penny is roughly equivalent to five to ten yuan in modern China... As you can imagine, if in China today, the smallest denomination coin is ten yuan, and the prices of commodities are all in units of ten yuan, there will be no more Smaller tokens, what kind of collapse will the market look like - office workers must buy fried dough sticks for breakfast for several people at a time, and white porridge is enough to feed a person to death, housewives buy vegetables, Cabbage, radishes, sweet potatoes and potatoes had to be packed in baskets or sacks, because at least ten yuan was bought at a time.Coca-Cola can only sell large bottles, or force consumers to buy three cans at a time, because there is no coin with a smaller denomination... But this is more than half a century after the era described in the book Pride and Prejudice.)

In the London market at the end of the eighteenth century, the price of a pound of beef was about two to four pennies, and the price of a pound of sea fish was one to two pennies, similar to the prices in modern China.Due to the serious pollution of the Thames River, river fish are basically as cheap as free gifts.

Compared with the cheapness of food, due to the underdeveloped level of technology, the prices of various industrial products are relatively expensive.There were very few ready-made clothing stores at that time, and most Europeans had to go to tailors to order their suits. Making two new coats a year was considered a rich man.And those middle-class people who are not too wealthy have to go to second-hand or even third-hand clothes shops that the rich don’t want in order to have a decent dress that can support the scene to attend banquets and dances.Because the British government imposes high stamp duties, the price of a legal newspaper is as high as one shilling, but the poor who are greedy for cheap like to read pirated or illegal tabloids, so each newspaper only costs one penny.Since the British Empire does not engage in compulsory education, school tuition is very expensive.For example, at the famous Eton College, tuition fees are collected on a weekly basis, at least one shilling a week, and students have to purchase additional textbooks, paper and pens by themselves.

After talking about prices, let's talk about income.At that time, the wages of a casual worker working twelve hours a day in the city of London were only about two or three pennies, and he only earned one or two shillings a week.As for regular workers who have signed a contract, their daily wages under the 100-hour working system are only four to six pence.Overall, in Jane.During the Napoleonic War era in Austen’s novel, the average annual income of the British working class was only about ten pounds.Until the Victorian era when Holmes lived more than 25 years later, the average annual income of British workers was only [-] pounds.Moreover, there was neither unemployment insurance nor medical insurance at that time. Ordinary working people had to work every day to support themselves and their families. Once they got sick, they might face the end of starvation.

It can be seen from this that the annual income of the Bennet family of 200 pounds is equivalent to 400 million to 500 million RMB in modern China in terms of purchasing power.And Mrs. Bennet's dowry of 1000 pounds for her five daughters is equivalent to RMB [-] million to [-] million... It's really not a small amount.

Therefore, Jane seems to be more optimistic about the future prospects of people like herself living in the English countryside-in Jane's view, even in the worst case, then after the house and the accompanying land are taken by Reverend Collins, the Before they go out, they can also get [-] pounds a year in land rent, and there is at least [-] pounds in savings for dowry, which is more than enough.As long as they don't invest indiscriminately and lose all their capital, even if they don't work all their lives, they can live a careless life just eating interest.

(The pound sterling in this era is all gold coins, and basically it will not depreciate for a lifetime. There are really many people who live on bank interest.)

Even if one day I feel lonely and empty and cold, and I plan to get married and start a family, it is certainly not easy to find a gentleman who is well-matched, but as long as I lower my standards and hook up a few handsome young meats from ordinary people, it is still easy to catch ?

In short, thinking that they still have so many properties that can be inherited, they feel that the future life should not be too bad.

However, both Jane and Elizabeth were thinking too naively. In fact, the suffering of fate has just begun to show its ferocious fangs...

No matter in what era and where, the ideal is very beautiful, but the reality is very cruel.

——In the second month after the Bennet couple disappeared, the five Bennet sisters who had changed their souls were surprised to find that the family seemed to be running out of money!