Carroll's negotiations with Lawrence Knight also did not go well, and in response to Carroll's accusation that the British were smuggling arms into North America, Lawrence said that they did not export anything to the South that was prohibited from being exported to North America in the agreement, and as for some smugglers, this was not something they could control. Because it's impossible for them to vet every customer who comes to buy these things.

Carroll said-for-tat that if it was a small batch of smuggling, Lawrence's statement could be understood, but if it was a large amount of smuggling, the British said that they did not know about it, and it was unreasonable anyway. If the British could not reasonably compensate for the losses caused to the MacDonald Infantry Weapons Company and the Macdonald Chemical and Pharmaceutical Company, he could not guarantee that there would be no smuggling into the British possessions in the future.

Britain has the most powerful navy in the world, and this navy is enough to ensure that any large-scale smuggling into the British mainland is a death story. However, Britain still has vast possessions, which are not airtight.

But the threat didn't frighten Lawrence, who knew it was just a lie. If he really wanted to do this, it would mean a break between the two sides, and he knew that Scrooge would definitely not really break with Britain for such a thing. Carol said this purely out of jealousy that he couldn't make money for himself.

"Ah, Carol." Now that they were acquainted with each other, Lawrence was accustomed to calling him by his first name, "I understand your psychology, but, let me be honest with you, you know, as a businessman, well, if Mr. MacDonald were in the position of His Majesty, his approach would make no difference. ”

Carroll, of course, knew who the Mr. MacDonald Lawrence was referring to, and it was not himself, nor his father, but his younger brother Scrooge.

"I don't think Mr. MacDonald really cares about taking advantage of us now. But he has to ask you to show your attitude. We also know that this is somewhat detrimental to your interests, but your losses are limited. Even, because you can't and won't export these things to the South right now. And if we don't sell anything, you get a fair share, don't you? Well, why don't I compensate you like that? Carol, I know, you're not married, are you? It's time for you to think about these questions as well. Why don't I introduce you to a few ladies who combine beauty and virtue? ”

This kind of joking taste is really a little exciting for Carol. In fact, when he went to England, Scrooge once half-jokingly and half-seriously expressed the hope that he could bring a famous lady back from England. The MacDonald's business expanded too quickly, but there were too few MacDonalds. Scrooge had only one brother, Carroll, which forced him to wear many hats in key positions. And days like this are really exhausting. Sometimes Scrooge really felt like he needed a little bit of a pill as well.

Joseph Sr. had three brothers, but one of them died very young. There is also two sons, but both of them are not very successful, one is an alcoholic, and the other, well, is actually an opium smoker. Not to mention Scrooge, even Carol couldn't trust these two guys at all.

As a result, the importance of the wife family is highlighted, and it is very common for a full nouveau riche family like the MacDonald family to find a famous wife and use such means as guò marriage to improve the level of the family.

"I don't care too much if it's a famous family or not." "It's important to be sensible and well-educated," Carroll said. Plus, there's a little more. Mr. Lawrence, you should know something about our family, too. If it weren't for Scrooge, our family would just be a leather shoe maker. So, Scrooge and I, a lot of things are self-taught. So some of our living habits in our family are still quite low-level. I'm worried, I don't know if the ladies you mentioned can fit in a family like ours. ”

"Ah, don't worry, we British women are the most adaptable." Lawrence said with a smile.

……

When Carol left, Lawrence returned home, where his wife and another young girl in a white dress were drinking tea in the small living room where they had just talked.

"Emma, what does Catherine think of this lad?" Lawrence asked.

"Catherine, tell your uncle yourself." Mrs. Lawrence reached out and patted the girl's hand gently.

The girl looked up, and she had a relatively thin face typical of an English woman, and because the face was narrower, the eyes were more striking.

"Uncle Lawrence, this man seems to be a little simple." Miss Catherine replied with a look of smirking rather than a smile.

Lawrence, of course, understood what Catherine meant by "simplicity", not to praise Carroll, but to euphemistically indicate that he was a dirt bun.

"Compared to the British, the Yankees, who have never had any aristocratic traditions, would have been less refined in the first place." "But even in England, the traditional aristocracy is in decline. For the present day and age, the nouveau riche are actually more valued by society than the aristocracy that has been passed down for many years. And the MacDonald family is currently the most prominent nouveau riche family in the entire world. By my estimates, their family fortune is already over five million pounds, and it is rising at an alarming rate. I dare say it won't be long before their fortune will exceed ten million pounds! And even more! Catherine, do you remember the blueprint of the castle you saw with me? That's the family home they're building. If you don't like this young man, I'll introduce him to the other girls. ”

"Uncle!" Catherine exclaimed coquettishly, and then she asked, "But, as far as I know, it is his brother who holds the power of the family, right?" And I don't think I see anything outstanding in him. ”

"Catherine, you don't know much about the Macdonalds. Yes, in fact the man in charge of the family's wealth was his younger brother Scrooge.61 MacDonald. But the MacDonald family was founded, and you can't look at it the same way that you look at the big families. There are only a few people in the entire MacDonald family, and among them, the only one who can really assist Mr. Scrooge 61 MacDonald is his brother Carroll. Although Carol is not a very talented person like you said, his position in the family is definitely extremely solid. Also, do you know what is most needed for a family in the MacDonalds? Lawrence closed his mouth and smiled into Catherine's eyes.

Catherine seemed to be a little distracted by her uncle, so she turned her face toward the window, and said, "How do I know this, that I disdain to know this!" ”

Lawrence knew that his niece's statement was just playing with pride, not that he didn't really want to know. So he smiled and continued: "A family in such a state is expanding rapidly, and the lack of reliable management talents will become a major obstacle to its development. Therefore, the most urgent hope of such a family is to be replenished with new noble blood. Catherine, if you marry an English nobleman, your life will be very ordinary, and if you marry him, you will be able to achieve far more status in the family than if you marry an ordinary nobleman. What's more, although I have the title of royal knight, I am a little better than Falstaff (the broken aristocratic knight in Shakespeare's plays), but I am far from being able to compare with the real nobles. Therefore, with my identity and influence, I can only find you some small nobles who are well-matched, but in England, the good times of small nobles have long passed, maybe after getting married, your family can only live on an annuity of only a few dozen pounds a month, which will even make it a problem to maintain the dignity of the nobles, isn't this the situation of our family ten years ago? But as long as Scrooge 61 MacDonald does not change, the MacDonald family can definitely grow into a big family no less than the Duke's family. ”

With that, Lawrence looked at his niece again. He saw Catherine looking out the window, playing with her fingers around her hair.

"Well, I still have something to go out for." Lawrence said, "If you've thought about it, you can talk to Emma." Then he took the hat that was placed on the table, put it on his head, then stood up, kissed his wife gently, then looked at Catherine again, and walked out.

Watching her husband walk out of the room, Mrs. Lawrence turned to Catherine and said, "What's the matter, our always decisive little Catherine also has times when she can't make up her mind?" As far as I can say, what's the point of hesitation. That kid is a little rustic, but these can be modified. For a woman, as long as you are careful and patient enough, these can be corrected. And isn't a rustic and honest man more worry-free? Besides, your uncle is right, an important member of a family like this who is on the rise is not something that can be met casually. Besides, that guy isn't actually bad-looking, is he? ”

……

A week later, at Lawrence's invitation, Carol went fox hunting with them. During this outing, he met Lawrence's niece, Catherine.