Chapter 10 Part Two Chapter One

We stayed in Paris for a short time, just to buy things and visit a few people. We arrived at the Molinier estate in early June. The Château de Molinier, as I have said, lies between Lysieux and the Pont de Bishop, in the most shady and moistest place I have ever seen.Many narrow and gentle hills terminate in the very wide Ori Valley not far away; the Ori Valley flattens out to the sea.The sky is blocked, only mysterious bushes, a few fields, especially large grasslands, pastures on gentle slopes.On the pasture, cattle and sheep graze freely; the water and grass are lush and harvested twice a year; there are many apple trees, and when the sun goes down, the shadows of the trees are connected; every gully has water, or it becomes a pond, or It becomes a pond, or a stream; the sound of gurgling water is endless.

what!I totally recognize this house!The blue roof, the masonry walls, the gutter, the reflection in the still water... This ancient house can accommodate twelve people; now Marceline, the three servants, and sometimes I help, and we Only a part can be activated.Our old nursing home is called Bojari, and he has tried his best to prepare a few rooms.The old furniture, which had been dormant for twenty years, awoke; everything was still as I remembered it: the baseboards were undamaged, and the room would be habitable with a little tidying up.Bojari put flowers in all the vases he had found to welcome us.According to his arrangement, the nearest tree-lined roads in the big yard and garden have also been cleared of weeds and leveled.When we arrived, the house was receiving the last rays of the setting sun; from the valley opposite the house there was already a still hail of hail, and the stream was visible now and then in the mist.Before I arrived, I recognized the fragrance of the grass in the cemetery; I heard again the sharp cry of the swallows circling the house, and the whole past suddenly jumped up, as if it was waiting for me, recognized me, and waited for me. I hugged each other again before I approached.

After a few days the house was tidied up quite comfortably.I could have started work, but I still put it off, still listening to my past recounted to me; it was soon interrupted by a pleasant surprise: a week after our arrival, Marceline whispered to me that she was pregnant. up. I immediately felt that I should take care of her more and love her more.At least in the days after she told me this secret, I stayed by her side almost all day long.We came near the woods, and sat in the same chairs that my mother and I had sat in;If there is no clear memory that emerges from my life at that time, it is definitely not because the impression it left on me is not clear enough, but because all explorations, all blends, and the ease of becoming one, in ease Morning and evening are intertwined, and the day is connected.

Slowly I resumed my studies; I felt serene, full of energy, confident in my mind, looking to the future with confidence but not fanaticism, as if my will had calmed down, as if I had listened to the advice of this gentle land. There is no doubt, I thought, that this land of abundance and fruitfulness had a kind of influence upon me as a model.On the pastures with rich water and grass, the strong cattle and the herds of dairy cows herald the year of living and working in peace and contentment, which I admire.The neat apple trees planted along the slope are in sight of a bumper harvest in summer; I imagine the gratifying scene of soon the fruit will be crushed and the branches will hang down.This well-ordered abundance, the joyfully tame, smiling crop, presents a harmony that is purposeful rather than random, presenting a rhythm, an artificial beauty; The ingenious kung fu has been blended in perfect harmony, and it is hard to say which aspect should be appreciated.I can't help but think, what would human kung fu be like without this kind of controlled wild strength?And what would be this savage force if it had not been thwarted and led with a smile to the luxuriant witty artificiality? —My mind flies to a land where all forces are perfectly coordinated, any dissipation is compensated, and all exchanges are exact, so that there is no room for loss of faith.I then applied this spectacle to my life, establishing an ethics that would become the science of using myself wisely.

Where did my previous impulse sink, where did it hide?I was so calm, as if there was no impulse at all.The tide of love has completely covered that impulse. But old Bojari circled around us and showed great hospitality.He has a lot of inside and out, inspects everything, and has a lot of ideas. It makes people feel that he has done too much in order to show that he is an indispensable role.Had to check his accounts and listen to his endless explanations so as not to spoil his enjoyment.But he was still not satisfied, and asked me to accompany him to see the fields.His exemplary integrity, his eloquence, his smug pride, his flamboyant honesty, soon irritated me; An easy life, any kind of spiritual method is advisable——just at this time, an unexpected event changed my relationship with him.Bogage told me one evening that his son Charles was coming here the next day.

I just said "Oh" with little reaction; until then I hadn't cared how many children Bogaz had; then I could see that he was expecting expressions of interest and surprise from me, and my indifference made him wonder. He felt uncomfortable, so he asked, "Where is he now?" "On a model farm, not far from Alençon," replied Bogari. "He's about the age of..." I went on; I didn't know he had a son at all, and now I had to estimate his age, but I spoke slowly so that he wouldn't interrupt me. "It's past seventeen," Bogari went on. "When Lingtang passed away, he was only four years old. Hey! Now he has grown into a big boy; soon, he will be taller than his father." Once Bojari opened the chatterbox, he couldn't stop it. No matter how obvious my boredom is.

The next day I had long put the matter out of my mind; and in the evening Charles came to greet me and Maceline as soon as he arrived.He was a handsome fellow, so strong, so nimble, and so well-proportioned, that even in the poor clothes he had put on to see us, he did not look terribly ridiculous;His eyes still retain the childish color, as if he was only fifteen years old; he speaks quite clearly, without coyness, contrary to his father, he does not talk nonsense.I forgot what we talked about that night when we first met; I just looked at him and had nothing to say, so I let Maceline talk to him.The next day, for the first time, without waiting for old Bogage to pick me up, I ran to the farm on the hillside, where I knew a work had begun.

A pond to mend.This pond is as big as his swamp, and now it keeps running out, the leak has been found, and it has to be plugged with cement, so the water has to be drained first, which has not happened in fifteen years.There are so many carp and winter cave fish in the pond, they all lurk to the bottom of the water.I really wanted to jump into the pond and catch some fish for the workers. Moreover, this time the farm was extremely lively, catching fish and working at the same time.A few children came nearby to help the workers.After a while, Marceline will come too. When I arrived, the water level had already dropped.Sometimes the water in the pond is turbulent, and the water surface ripples suddenly, revealing the brown backs of the panicked fish.The child was filling muddy water by the puddle, caught a small shiny fish, and threw it into a wooden bucket filled with clear water.The fish were swimming around, making the pond water more and more cloudy and turning it gray.Unexpectedly, there were so many fish, and the four workers on the farm reached into the water and grabbed them casually, and they were able to catch them.It's a pity that Marceline was late. I was about to run to find her when I heard someone screaming that an eel had been found.However, the carp slipped from between the fingers and couldn't catch it for a while.Charles, who had been standing on the bank with his father all this time, couldn't stand it any longer. He suddenly took off his shoes and socks, his coat and waistcoat, rolled up his trousers and shirt sleeves, and resolutely went down into the pond. .I followed immediately.

"Hullo! Charles!" I cried. "Did you catch up with me yesterday?" He didn't answer, just smiled at me, and his mind was already on catching fish.I immediately asked him to help me block a big eel; we grabbed it with our hands together, and then caught another; the muddy water splashed on our faces, and sometimes it sank suddenly, and the water didn't reach the thighs, and the whole body quickly disappeared. drenched.We played very vigorously, and had no conversation but a few cheers; but in the evening I called you to Charles, without remembering when.We learned more about each other in this joint operation than in one long conversation.Maceline has not arrived, and I am afraid she will not; but I no longer regret it, thinking that her presence would be a hindrance to our cheerfulness.

The next morning, I went to the farm and found Charles.The two of us walked towards the woods. I was very little acquainted with my lands, and had no great desire to know; yet I was amazed at how well Charles knew both land and rent.He told me that I had six side households, and I could have collected 18,000 francs in rent, but I could barely get half of it, and the wasted part was mainly various repair costs and broker's fees; Not much more.His smile as he inspected the crops soon made me suspect that my land was not being managed as well as I thought it would be, nor as Bogage had told me; end.This kind of practical knowledge, which annoyed me with Bojari's expression, delighted me with this young man's expression.We wandered around for several days; the ground was vast, and after we had explored every corner, we began more methodically from the beginning.Charles made no effort to conceal his indignation from me at the sight of some of the poorly cultivated fields, and the heaping of some fields with genista, thistles, and sour-smelling forage.He made me hate this way of abandoning the land at will with him, and yearn for more reasonable cultivation with him.

"But," I said to him at the beginning, "who suffers when the business is not good? Isn't it the tenants themselves? The crops on the farm can be good or bad, but that doesn't change the rent." Charles became a little anxious: "You don't know anything," he replied without hesitation, which made me smile. "You're only thinking about income, and you don't want to open your eyes to see your property go to ruin. Your land is not well cultivated, and it will slowly lose value." "If we can farm better and harvest more, I don't think our family will be willing to work hard; I know they value profits, of course the more the better." "Your calculation doesn't take into account the additional labor force," Charles continued. "This kind of field is often far away from the farmhouse, and there will be no profit if you plant it, but at least it will not be deserted." The conversation continues.Sometimes we walked for an hour in the fields, as if thinking the same thing over and over; but the more I listened, the more I understood. "At the end of the day, it's your father's business," I said impatiently to him one day.Charles blushed slightly. "My father is getting old," he said. "Watching the leases, repairing the house, collecting rent, that's all he has to worry about. His mission here is not to reform." "What about you, any suggestions?" I asked again.However, he was evasive, saying that he didn't know how to do it; I urged him repeatedly to force him to express his views. "Take back the recreational land from the side tenants," he finally suggested. "The tenants let part of the land fallow, which means that they have a good harvest and can pay you rent; if they want to keep the land, they will increase the rent.--People in this place are lazy." He added. Of the six farms that belong to me, the one I would most like to visit is that of Valtteri; it is situated on the hills overlooking the Molinieres, and Bernonne is not distasteful; I enjoy talking to him.The farm closer to Molinier is called "Castle Farm", which is rented out on a half-sharing basis.And due to the absence of the owner, some of the animals belonged to Bojari.Now that I was on my guard, I began to doubt the honesty of the Boga Japanese: if he didn't deceive me, at least he allowed several people to deceive me.It is true that horses and cows were kept for me, but I soon discovered that this was a lie, and that my oats and hay were to be fed to the tenants' cattle and horses.In the past, Bojari often told me about situations full of loopholes, such as animal deaths, deformities, diseases, etc., and I listened with a tolerant attitude and agreed to them all.As long as one of Bohu's cows falls ill, it will be counted in my name; as long as one of my cows is fat and healthy, it will belong to the tenant; I did not expect such a thing at first.However, Charles inadvertently mentioned a few words and expressed a few personal opinions, and I began to understand; once the mind is alert, it is particularly sharp. On my reminder, Marceline carefully reviewed all the accounts, but found no faults, which is the safe haven of Bogari's honesty. -- "What to do?" -- "Leave it alone." -- But, I hold my breath, I can at least keep an eye on the animals, if not too obvious. I have four horses and ten cows, and that's enough for my troubles.One of them is called "Majuzi" even though it is more than three years old.Now I am taming it; I became interested, but one day, the horse trainer came to me and said that it is not good at taming it at all, so I just let it go.As if I couldn't quite believe it, the man deliberately let the horse smash the front of a small cart, and the horse's leg was bloody. I tried to keep calm that day, but I could only hold back when I saw Bojari's embarrassment, thinking that in the final analysis, he was mainly cowardly, not sinister; it was all the fault of the servants, who didn't control themselves at all. I went out to the yard to see the foal.The servant was beating it, and as soon as he heard me approaching, he stroked it; and I pretended not to see anything.I don't know much about horses, but I think the foal is beautiful.It was a half-blooded horse with bright red fur, a slender waist, bright eyes, and an almost golden-yellow mane and tail.After checking that the horse was not moving, I ordered the servant to bandage its wound, and left without saying anything. I saw Charles again that evening, and asked him at once what he thought of the foal. "I think he's quite tame," he said to me, "but they don't know how to do it, and they've got to get the horse mad." "What should I do if I change you?" "Will sir give it to me for a week? I'll bet it." "How do you tame it?" "We'll see then." The next day, Charles took the foal to a corner of the meadow, shaded by a tall walnut tree, with a stream running beside it.I took Marceline to see it and was very impressed.Charles tied the foal to a solid stake with a bridle several meters long.The foal was very irritable. It seemed to be jumping wildly for a while, but now it was tired and calm. It just trotted in circles, with a more steady pace, surprisingly light, and its posture was very beautiful, as charming as dancing.Charles stood in the center of the circle, and every time the horse made a lap, he leaped away from the reins; he yelled, now telling the horse to gallop, now to slow down; he held a long whip in his hand, but I Haven't seen him use it.He was young and cheerful, and his air and demeanor gave the job a lively air.Before I could see what was going on, he suddenly stepped onto the horse.The horse slowed down and finally stopped.He stroked the horse gently, and then, I suddenly saw him smiling on the horse, looking so confident, just grabbing a bit of the mane, leaning over to stroke it in the distance.The pony only lost two kicks, and ran smoothly again, really heroic.I envied Charles very much, and told him this thought. "After a few more days of training, the horse will get used to the saddle; after half a month, it will become as docile as a lamb, and even the lady dares to ride it." He was right, and after a few days, the colt was stroked, saddled, and walked without a doubt; and Maceline could ride it if her body could hold it. "Monsieur should try it out," said Charles to me. If I were alone, I wouldn't do anything; but Charles also proposed that he ride another horse on the farm; so I became interested and wanted to ride with him. I am so grateful to my mother!She took me to the horse riding range when I was a kid.The distant memory of learning to ride a horse also helped me.I mounted my horse and was not particularly surprised.It didn't take much time, I was not afraid at all, and my posture was relaxed.The horse Charles rode was not a thoroughbred, it was bulkier, but not ugly.We rode out for a walk every day, and it gradually became a habit.We like to start out early in the morning and gallop across the dewy meadows to the edge of the woods.The hazelnuts were wet and shook us as we passed by.The field of vision suddenly became clear, and we had already reached the wide Ori Valley; as far as the eye could see, the sea was faint, and we could only see the rising sun dyed red and dispelling the morning fog.We didn't leave the saddle, stayed for a while, then turned the horse's head, galloped back, and lingered for a long time to the old castle farm.The workers had just started to work; we rode ahead and looked down at them with a kind of proud joy; then we left abruptly.I went back to Molinieres just in time for Marceline to get up. I came back from a full breath of fresh air, a little tired and numb in my limbs, drunk and bewildered, but full of joy, full of energy, and eager to work.Marceline approves and encourages this occasional interest.I came back to see her without changing my clothes, and brought with me the smell of damp grass leaves; she stayed up because she was waiting for me, saying she liked the smell very much.So I told her how we galloped, when the earth awoke, and when the work resumed.She took a real pleasure in seeing my life as if it were her own; and I soon miscalculated this pleasure.Our races gradually lengthened, and I often did not return until nearly noon. However, in the afternoon and evening, I try to prepare lessons.The work is progressing smoothly, and I am quite satisfied. I feel that it may not be in vain to collect the lecture notes into a book in the future.However, due to the effect of rebellious psychology, on the one hand, my life has gradually become organized and rhythmic, and I am also willing to arrange everything around me in an orderly manner; On the one hand, during my lectures, I tried my best to promote and praise this ignorant state of lack of culture. It is not completely excluded, but it is also controlled in every possible way.Isn't my kind of wisdom, or this kind of absurdity, out of control? Two tenants, whose leases expired at Christmas, wished to renew, and came to me; as was customary, all they had to do was sign a so-called "land lease."Because I talked with Charles every day, I had a solid foundation in my heart, and I waited resolutely for the tenant to come to the door; and the tenant, also relying on the fact that it was not easy to change another tenant, first asked for a lower rent, but unexpectedly heard the lease I read, and was shocked. stunned.In the lease that I had written, I not only refused to lower the rent, but I also wanted to take back the few fields that I saw them not working.At first they pretended to be joking, saying that I was joking; why would I keep a few pieces of land in my hands?They're worthless; they don't use them because they're useless... Then they saw I was serious, and they insisted, and so did I.They threatened to leave, thinking they would scare me off.But I just waited for their words: "Oh! Go if you want! I didn't stop you." I said to them.I grabbed the lease and snapped it in two. In this way, more than 100 hectares of land will be nested in my hands.For a while, I had already planned to let Bogari take full control of the management, thinking that this would be indirectly managed by Charles; Makes me want to try.Occasional households won't be able to move out until Christmas time; until then, we'll have some wiggle room.I prepared Charles to prepare; I was at once displeased to see him beaming.He still couldn't hide his joy, which made me realize that he was too young.Time is running out, and this is the season when the first crops are harvested and the land is freed for plowing.According to the old rules, the work of the new and old uncle households is staggered; when the lease expires, the tenant will hand over a piece of land after receiving a piece of land.I feared that the dismissed tenants would be retaliating and hostile; on the contrary, they preferred to put on a smile on my face (which, I later learned, was profitable for them).I took this opportunity to go out from morning to night to inspect the land which was soon to be recovered.It's time for Meng Qiu, and more people must be hired to speed up the plowing and sowing.We have purchased spike harrows, packers, plowshares.I rode rounds, supervising and directing people's work, addicted to giving orders. During this period, Bohu was harvesting apples in the adjacent pasture.The apple harvest was unprecedented this year, and they rolled down on the thick grass; there was not enough manpower, and some came from the neighboring villages, and hired them for a week; Charles and I often helped them with itchy hands.Some people beat the branches with long poles to shake off the late-ripening apples; the overripe fruits fell alone, and they fell in the tall grass, causing many injuries and cracks.There are apples everywhere, and you can step on them as soon as you take a step.A sour, sweet smell mixed with the smell of plowed earth. Autumn is getting stronger.The last few sunny mornings were the coolest and clearest.Sometimes, the humidity is the atmosphere that turns the sky blue and delays it further; a walk is like a journey, and the radius seems to expand.Sometimes, on the contrary, the atmosphere is unusually transparent, and the sky appears to be close at hand, and you can reach it with a flap of wings.I cannot tell which of the two weathers is more affectionate.I'm basically done preparing for the lesson, at least that's how I said it, so that I can leave it more confidently.When I wasn't on the farm, I was by Marceline's side.We went to the garden together and walked slowly, while she leaned heavily and wearily on my arm; when we were tired from walking, I sat on a chair and looked down at the small valley illuminated by the sunset.The way she leaned against my shoulder was tender; we remained motionless and silent until dusk, savoring the day's passing into our bodies. Like a breeze that now and then wrinkles the surface of the most still water; the slightest fluctuation of her heart can also be displayed on the brow; she listens mysteriously to the vibration of a new life in her body; No matter how deep you look underwater, you can only see love.well!If the pursuit is still happiness, I believe that I will hold it up immediately, just like holding flowing water with both hands in vain; however, beside the happiness I already feel, there is something different from happiness, which dyes my love spot colorfully , but like dyed autumn. Autumn is getting stronger.The green grass gets wetter every day with the dew, and what grows in the shade of the trees is no longer dry, and turns white in the faint morning light.The wild mallards in the pond flapped their wings wildly, and sometimes flew up in groups, chattering loudly, and circled over Molinieres for a circle.One morning, they disappeared, having been locked up by Bojari.Shire told me that they are locked up every autumn when they migrate.A few days later, the weather changed suddenly.One night, a strong wind suddenly blew up, which was the breath of the sea, concentrated and violent, bringing the north and rain, and blowing away the migratory birds.Marceline's pregnancy, the arrangement of the new house and the consideration of class preparation all urged us to return to the city.The bad weather season came early and drove us away. Later, in November, I went back once because of the work on the farm.I heard that Bogari was not happy about the winter arrangement.He offered to send Shire back to Model Farm, where there was still much to learn.I talked with him for a long time, finding out all kinds of reasons, but I didn't move him.At most, he promised to let Charles shorten his study time and come back a little earlier.Bogari didn't hide his thoughts from me: it would be quite laborious to run these two farms; however, he had taken a fancy to two very reliable farmers and planned to hire them as helpers; The tenants are counted as servants; this has never happened in the place, and it is not a good omen; but he said, I will do it. — This conversation took place at the end of October.We returned to Paris in early November.