Chapter 20 Chapter Twenty

On Friday morning, Bolai accidentally found a lot of presents next to his dinner plate, and he suddenly remembered that this day should be his birthday, but he was not prepared at all.He hadn't thought about birthdays at all. "All the celebrations have to wait until Uncle Charlie comes back," Mr. Sandow had told him in London, until Beatrice had told him the other day that he would be twenty on that day.While bar mitzvahs can't be celebrated just yet, it's still inevitable to do one important thing on this day.He has never had a birthday, so he thought that since the celebration was moved to a later date, there would be no congratulatory ceremony other than a congratulation from the family.He was petrified when he saw the pile of presents on the table.The thought of having to open these presents in full view made his hands go limp.

Simon's gaze made him even more frightened, and it also made him suspect: Simon was sitting at the dining table early this morning, just waiting to see him make a fool of himself. "Happy birthday, Bolai!" When the family came in, they congratulated him one by one, like a goddess scattering flowers, and many blessings were scattered around him. He wished he didn't feel so embarrassed.He really hoped that these people were really his family, and that today was really his birthday, and these presents were really for him.What a wonderful thing to celebrate a birthday with the family! "Do you prefer to open presents before meals, or after meals?" Elaine asked him.

"Let's open it after dinner," he replied quickly, so that at least he could catch his breath first. After a few cups of espresso, perhaps he had the courage to face the fact. In addition to receiving a lot of gifts like him, Simon also received congratulatory telegrams from some friends.These people probably haven't heard that his twin brother is back.While eating, he opened these congratulatory messages, read them aloud, and added some lighthearted comments. Finally, the time came when Bolai had to open the gift.Fortunately, the gift he received was roughly the same as Simon's, and Simon had already opened his first.Mr. Sandow sent a sugar sifter, Beetui a silver bottle, Eileen a whip, and the twin sister a wallet, all of which were the same as Simon had received.Only what the pastor sent was different.What he got was a tiny music box.He liked this music box so much that he almost lost himself in admiring it.

"This is from Carlisle." Bitui's words reminded him of Lodin, and brought him back to reality. He turned off the beautiful music wafting from the music box. Just today, he was going to sign his deed of sale. The signing ceremony of the inheritance of property rights was also a surprise to him.He had naively thought that he would just put a few pieces of paper in front of him, and he would only need to sign one by one, which would take twenty minutes at most.Unexpectedly, this ceremony will take several hours.He and Mr. Sandu sat side by side at the desk in the study, and the economic history of the whole family was arranged in detail before his eyes, and Mr. Sandu explained the ins and outs for him one by one.

On the one hand, Bolai was surprised, but on the other hand, he was also very interested.Follow Mr. Sandu to examine the family's financial situation over the past few years.I am quite impressed by the calculation ability of this little old man. "Lingtang's inheritance is not as good as it was when she first inherited the most prosperous days, but it can still allow you to live without worries. You see, things were not very good when you were young, but your aunt insisted not to Foreign loans, she insists that when you inherit, it must be given to you in its entirety." He continued to explain to Bolai.For the first time, Bolai discovered that the seemingly stable and self-sufficient Reichett family was actually struggling.

"What happened to that year?" he asked, pointing to a particularly bad year. Mr. Sandow turned over a few pages and said, "Yes, I remember. It was a really bad year. One horse died, and the other two were unborn, and there was a very good horse. Broken leg, that was a sad year. The business of raising horses is not on its own. For example," he said, pointing to another year with his bony finger, "the birth of horses in this year Things are good, but no one is buying. Fortunately, the previous few years were not bad, so it can make up for the losses of that year."

Having finished the accounts of the stables, we move on to the projects of the farm.The conditions of the lease, the situation of the improvement, the situation of the tenant, the situation of the production, etc. Finally enter the personal income. "Your father worked as a mechanical consultant with a good income. At that time, he naturally thought that he could have such a good income all his life. He spent a lot of money on his hobby horse, and he bought a lot of value. Good horse Gao, when he died he didn't invest very extensively and the estate tax was pretty high, so there wasn't much left."

He turned to another piece of paper and told him how he had paid the inheritance tax without having to mortgage Reichett. "Your aunt, Ms. Ashby, had her own income, and she never asked Reichett for money except for household expenses. You see, the two eldest children increased their allowances as they grew older. Except for their respective Except for your own horses, the rest of the horses are part of the family property. The horses that the children bought at the farm fair were bought with the money your aunt gave them, and the subsequent value-added is considered part of the family property. But as far as I know, In recent years Simon has bought a horse or two with his own money, and Elaine has bought a horse or two with her teaching money--Ms. Asuber will tell you which horses, of course. That some of the Shetland ponies are Lady Ashby's own, I think that should be quite clear."

Bo Lai nodded and said yes. "Now for the future. The bank's suggestion: Lingtang's money in the bank should stay there. Do you have any comments?" "I don't want to take a lot of money at once," he recalled, as Lodin once said to him. Will investigate. I don't want you to be investigated immediately after you inherit the family property.All I want is a small amount of money every week for the rest of my life so that I don't have to be pissed off by the theater director, the manager, or my landlord. " "Then how much do I earn myself?" Bolai asked Mr. Sandow.Mr. Sandow had told him.

Not bad, except for the money paid to Lodin, he has enough. "Now about the children's pocket money. Of course, the twin sisters will be going to school soon, and of course that will have an impact on the overall budget." He was surprised that the children had so little pocket money. I made more miles than that when I worked on the farm, he thought.He was also aware that Simon's pocket money was much less than his. "They don't have a lot of pocket money, do they?" he asked Mr. Sandow, who seemed taken aback by his question. "Their pocket money is paid according to the amount of the entire family property." He said sarcastically.

"I just thought, maybe give them a little more." "That's not wrong. But both adults have reached the age where they can make a living by themselves, so naturally they can't always think about relying on family property." "So what do you suggest?" "I propose to add a little to Eileen until she is married." "Has she thought about getting married?" "My young master, how can there be a young girl who doesn't want to get married? Especially a beautiful and lovely girl like Ailian? It's just that so far, it can't be seen that she has a certain object." "Oh. And what about Simon?" "Simon's situation is a bit more complicated. Up until a few weeks ago, he thought of Reichett as his. Now it looks like he won't be here for long. But as long as he stays here, It is possible to add some pocket money to him as you said." "I don't think that's enough," said Beau, surprised that Mr. Sandow would have guessed that Simon might leave here. "I think Simon should be given a part of the property." "You mean it's morally right to do so?" "I think it should be." "You are undoubtedly right. But it is difficult to keep a family whole if it is divided. It is one thing to give a sum of money, if it is paid out of income. But to divide it is very difficult for the whole family." The industry is at a disadvantage." "Well, I suggest: If Simon goes out to fight the world, then we can lend him a venture fund and charge him very low interest. I know that if I say no interest, you will definitely not let me go. " The old man smiled kindly at him and said: "I have no objection. I believe that the Reichett family business will get better and better. I think lending Simon a sum of money will not have any impact on the entire industry. Now it's time Talk about other pocket money." They agreed on the amount of petty cash. "Finally, pensions." "Pension?" "Yes. Those who were previously employed in the family are now too old to work." Bolai was startled again.He glanced at the long list of pension lists and wondered if there was a family in England that wasn't completely exploited.Mr Sandow seems to take pensions for granted.The first one is the nanny, who is ninety-two years old this year.I live in a place called Cinderella in Scotland. There was a groom, eighty-nine, who still lived in the village, and another in Gus.There is also a cook who has been cooking for the Asybe family until he was sixty-eight years old, and now lives in Khesan with his sixty-nine-year-old daughter, and so on. He thought of the girl in floral dress who welcomed him with flowers in his room.Who will give her a pension in the future? Bolai continues to agree with the pension arrangement.Soon, Simon was also called in to sign.When Bolai saw Simon's eyes widen at the sight of his signature, the morning's depression was swept away.Simon hadn't seen Burt's signature in capitals for about ten years, and it was alive and well before his eyes.This discovery was somewhat of a setback to his mockery of Bolai this morning. Then Beatri walked in.Mr. Sandow explained to her the increase in petty allowances and the funding for Simon's business. When Simon heard about these plans, he glanced at Bolai thoughtfully, and Bolai could read from his eyes. Saying what he meant: "Is this a bribe? Tell you, it's useless. I'm going to stay here forever, and you have to obediently pay me a large amount of pocket money." No matter what Simon's plan is, in short, he is Recht will not be spared. Beatrice seemed happy with the arrangement.At lunch she took him to the restaurant again on her arm and squeezed his arm. "Bo Lai, you are so kind." She said. "Although I have already congratulated you two at breakfast and extended my best wishes," Mr. Sandu said during the banquet, picking up his glass: "but now I want to toast you." He raised it to Bo Lai Cup: "Cheers to Bert, he not only inherited the family business, but also shouldered the responsibility." "Here's to Bert!" everyone said in unison. "Here's to Bert!" said Jenny at last. He glanced at Jenny and saw that she was smiling at him.