The issue of participating in the election was handed over to the second prince to deal with, and after the negotiations, Ma Wei was not idle, and went to King's Cross Station, intending to take the train to see the situation in the small town of Beckensfield.

Although the ceremony was held in the morning, the church that had decided to assign the town of Beckensfeld to the Manstein family had already been prepared a few days earlier, and after the official document was signed, the town of Beckensfield and the surrounding 20 kilometers of land became Levine's territory.

At noon, the train leaves London and heads northwest, and as soon as it leaves the city, the gray fog that obscures the sky dissipates, and the bright sun shines on both sides of the railway.

Soon the train arrived in the small town of Beckensfield, a small town built in the Middle Ages, with old stone houses and red chimneys, and a few thousand inhabitants.

Woo –

Woo –

Thick steam was billowing up, the train was at the station, and the town had only one platform, located on the southern outskirts of the town, and the only conductor dozed off behind the glass window, snoring from time to time.

Take a deep breath, the fresh air that is very different from London pours into your lungs, and your mind suddenly clears up a lot.

"Let's go, let's go into town."

Without greeting in advance, nor making a big deal about it, disturbing the sleeping conductor, Ma Wei and the others walked out of the platform and walked along the country road towards the town not far away, flanked by the yellow farmland, several farmers were sowing seeds, and noticed the figure of Ma Wei, and one farmer stopped waving his hoe, straightened up, and cast a curious gaze.

Compared to the peasants in the linen coats, the well-dressed Mavi was very unique, especially Levin, who also wore the red earl's dress at the time of the award, and the golden epaulettes with the medallion embellished on the chest, exuding an invisible nobility.

Ma Wei and the others did not have the idea of concealing their identities, and walked into the town naturally. Although there are only a few thousand inhabitants, the town inherited from the Middle Ages exudes an ancient charm, with weeds growing in the crevices of the stone-paved floor, mossy walls of stone houses, and curling smoke wafting from the chimneys.

Crash!

The door on the left side suddenly opened, and a woman in a brown and red flannel dress poured a basin of dirty water on the street, and a few droplets splashed on Ma Wei's shoes and trouser legs.

Looking at the outfits of Ma Wei and the others, and then at the clothes splashed by the dirty water, the middle-aged woman's face changed, and she closed the door with a 'bang' and hid in the house.

When she poked her head out of the window and carefully observed the situation outside, Ma Wei and the others were already far away.

The whole town is paved with pebbles, and this sleek stone is not hard to find, and there are many near the river beach, which is a little awkward to step on, but it looks beautiful.

As she walked, Yunia suddenly pricked up her nose and sniffed around in the air: "Dad, it's so fragrant!" ”

There was a faint smell of milk in the air, like a bakery baking bread, following the fragrance, I saw a bakery at the corner of the street, unlike other stone houses, the bakery was newly built, and the roof was not completely sealed.

"Be careful! I heard that the new lord likes to eat sweets! The bakery must be done! ”

An old man with gray hair and formal clothes pointed at the workers on the roof, followed by several young and strong young men, carrying tools on their shoulders, walking towards the center of the town without looking back.

"Mayor Mare, when is the new lord coming?" A young man asked, "Is it too late for us to go ahead and repair the castle now?" ”

"You know what!" The gray-haired old man's eyes widened: "Our new lord is not short of money at all!" Do you know who he is? The second son of the Manstein family! I heard that the walnut cane in his hand is made of gold! If you're happy, you might just get your tax exempt! ”

Hearing that the new lord was very rich, and that he could be tax-free if he was happy, several young men immediately jumped up and did not complain, and happily followed the mayor towards the center of the town, where there was a medieval castle, which was said to have been left by a knight, and had not been abandoned, and every new lord would repair it, and the church would regularly send people to overhaul it, which was already some kind of 'cultural relic'.

"Mayor Mare, what does the new lord look like?"

"I don't know." The mayor shook his head: "I have only seen pictures of the new lord's eldest brother in the newspaper, he looks like he is in his twenties, he is not from Windsor, his ancestral home is the Kingdom of Frederick, and he has a soft spot for sauerkraut and pork knuckle. The two fat pigs I chose two days ago are going to be kept, and as soon as the lord arrives, he will immediately slaughter the meat! ”

Hearing the mayor's description, a young man who found Ma Wei's figure swallowed and whispered, "Mayor of the town. Mayor! ”

The mayor said impatiently, "What are you doing! Pressed for time! The new lord may come to our town at any time, don't grind, hurry up and fix the leaky roof of the castle! ”

"No, Mayor Mare."

The young man was a little anxious, and was about to hold the mayor, when he suddenly saw Mavi put his index finger against his lips, and made a silent gesture to himself, and then followed, and Levin, who was wearing an earl's dress, ran into the bakery with Unia, and after a while came out with a bag of freshly baked cookies, and followed behind him while eating.

There were also other residents who realized that the situation was wrong, and the Mavi and the others were dressed out of place with the town, and they could be recognized at a glance, but the mayor of the town was in a hurry to repair the castle and never looked back, and the Mavi and the others followed silently, while signaling the people around them to be silent.

"I tell you, my eyes have been wide open these days, and I will report to me immediately when I see a stranger with an extraordinary temperament, although our town is close to London, it has not been able to develop, this time the new lord has money and connections, it is an opportunity for our town! When the opportunity comes, you must seize it, and you can turn over if you seize it! ”

The mayor of the town walked at the front and talked eloquently, constantly instructing the younger generations of the town, but no one responded to him.

"Did you hear that?"

"I hear you." A weak answer sounded behind him.

In the mayor's thoughts, everyone came to the center of the town, a magnificent castle came into view, the castle was surrounded by a moat, there was a drawbridge in front and back to pass, the mayor took out a long set of keys, opened the iron gate, and was the first to enter the castle.

As soon as I entered the castle, the temperature around me was instantly much colder, and my bare skin was covered with goosebumps, as if I had fallen into an ice cellar, and the cold air came from all directions.

"This is a place to live!"

The mayor scolded in a low voice, "You have to be sick if you live here!" Let's hope our new lord isn't a vain guy! ”

"Mayor Mare."

"What's wrong? Am I wrong? The castle is not habitable at all! It's cold and wet, and the yin is too heavy! The people who live here are short-lived."

As he spoke, the mayor heard the sound of his upper and lower teeth chattering, and he glanced at his nephew, who was pale and trembling beside him, and saw that he had been staring behind him, and suddenly understood something.

"He's behind my back, isn't he?"

The young man, who saw that the mayor had finally come to his senses, nodded heavily, almost not crying.

"It's actually pretty good here."

The mayor of the town changed his words: "You see, this hard stone, this green moss, this Renaissance layout of doors and windows is simply tailor-made for the new lord!" ”

"No need to make it up, we don't live here." Ma Wei said.

"Who's talking?"

The mayor looked back blankly, and his eyes lit up after seeing Ma Wei's appearance clearly: "Mr. Nicholas! Why are you here? ”

Ma Wei smiled, without exposing the mayor's lame acting skills, and did not dwell too much on the issue of the castle, and asked bluntly, "How many permanent residents does the town currently have?" ”

"There were 3,522 people in total." The mayor replied: "Among them, there are 517 elderly people, 811 young and middle-aged men, and the rest are women and children. ”

"Is there a school?"

"The children in the town go to Father Fran's Sunday school, two days a week."

"Not enough." Ma Wei shook his head and said: "Two days a week is too little time to study, the children in the town should get a better education, since Father Fran is usually busy with church affairs, in my own name, I will open a day school for the town, and invite teachers from London to teach here." ”

"Really?!"

The mayor said excitedly, "Mr. Nicholas, do you really want to pay out of your own pocket to build a school for the town?!" ”

"It was a joint decision of the Manstein family." Ma Wei said calmly: "Felix is the lord of the small town of Beaconsfield, you are all residents living in his territory, and improving the lives of the residents is what the lord should do. ”

"But Mayor Mayor, are the girls going to school too?"

One of the residents who came to the castle after following Mavi said, "There's no need for girls to go to school, right?" All they have to do is learn the trades of tailoring and cooking! Sewn clothes can also subsidize the family! ”

"Yes, yes!" One resident chimed in: "Children over the age of seven are already able to help the family earn money, but if they are allowed to go to school, what will happen to the family?" ”

The mayor rubbed his hands together, looking embarrassed.

Hearing the residents' complaints, Daniel frowned, he felt that these residents did not know the importance of education, even if they did not know, let the children give up the opportunity to receive education, and waste the most precious time of learning to subsidize the family, is it not a foolishness?

Maybe this is a helpless move, but they proposed it in front of Ma Wei, I am afraid that they are not saying that it is wrong to build a school, but they want Ma Wei to give more benefits.

From a human point of view, this is a very possible thing.

"Quiet!"

There was a loud shout from the back of the crowd, and everyone got out of the way, and a middle-aged man in a priest's robe walked up and said apologetically to Mavi, "Mr. Nicholas, I'm very sorry, please forgive them, they don't know what a great thing you did."

The residents looked at each other and kept their mouths shut.

Father Fran has lived in the town for more than twenty years, and many of them have grown up under his watch, and his prestige is very high, second only to the mayor of the town, and even surpasses it.

"You're Father Fran, I've heard Archbishop Brandon mention you." "Building a school for the town was something we thought about before we came, and I had a solution to the problems that the children would have when they went to school," says Mavi. ”

"What's your solution?" Father Fran was a little curious.

"In the next two days, the church will open the collection, planting, and breeding of potions raw materials, establish a potions exchange, and open the potions market."

Ma Wei shouted to the crowd, "This is the town's chance!" It's your chance too! ”

The open potions market meant that civilians could also participate in the potions trade, and until the market reached equilibrium, everyone who entered the market would earn dividends, and Ma Wei wanted to use this to increase his support in Lambeth, South London.

It's not enough to just shout slogans, the town of Beckensfield is the best pilot, as long as it is successful here, there will inevitably be a lot of people rushing to get involved.

Are you still afraid that you don't have a high enough approval rating?

"You mean, let the inhabitants remove the previous crops and grow potions?" Fr. Fran asked.

"That's right."

"But everyone doesn't know about potions at all, and they don't have relevant planting experience, so they plant rashly."

"Don't worry about that, the staff of the Manstein Potions Company will teach you how to grow potions, and I will also invite the relevant personnel of the church to come and inspect it." "For the next three years," replied, "all farmers who grow potions will not have to pay taxes, and the first seeds will be distributed free of charge by the Manstein Potions Company!" ”

For others, perhaps the inhabitants would not have dared to believe such generous conditions, but it was Mavi who spoke, and the townspeople had more or less known about the Manstein Potions Company, and knew that there was no need for the huge Manstein Company to deceive them in such a matter.

"Good!" The mayor of the town immediately made a decision and agreed: "Mr. Nicholas, we listen to you!" You say what to do, we will do it! ”

"In the next two days, relevant personnel will come to investigate and conduct preliminary training, so you don't need to worry."

After speaking, Ma Wei looked up at the ancient castle: "This castle can be repaired simply, we won't live here." ”

"Yes, Mr. Nicholas, Lord Count."

"Go ahead, we'll walk around town by ourselves, and do whatever you have to do."

While the mayor dispersed the onlookers, Mavi took Levine and the others around the town, discovering that the fields around Beckensfield were fertile and easily accessible, making them ideal for growing potions.

"Big brother, are you going to be a member of the Liberal Party?" Daniel suddenly asked: "I remember you said before that you wanted to form a Labour Party."

"MPs can change the party they support at any time, and now that I am clearly a member of the Second Prince's camp, how can I form a Labor Party?"

Standing on the ridge of the field, Ma Wei looked at the farmland in the distance: "It should be the fourth prince who founded the Labor Party, and what I want to do is to dismantle the Liberal Party from within, and subtly reverse the parliamentary pattern!" ”

Push a friend's book

(End of chapter)