Ask the Chinese version of Uncle Tom's Cabin for the full text!

The first chapter introduces a good-hearted person to readers.

One day in February, it was still cold. At dusk, in an elegantly decorated reception room in city P, two gentlemen sat opposite each other and drank wine. They don't want servants to wait on them. They sat next to each other as if discussing something very important.

For the convenience of readers, we will call them "sir" for the time being. In fact, if we look at it critically, it seems that one of them doesn't deserve to be called a "gentleman". He is short and has no unique appearance, but he is complacent. At first glance, I knew that he was a snob who hung out in the society and climbed high desperately. His clothes are very indecent, tacky variegated vest, eye-catching macula scarf with blue background, and colored tie around his neck. His clothes seem to match his style. He has several rings on his stout fingers, and a string of strangely shaped and colorful stamps on his heavy watch chain. When the conversation goes smoothly, he likes to jingle his watch chain, just like a smug look. His words don't conform to Murray's grammatical rules at all, and some obscene and vulgar words often come out of his mouth. Although the author tries to make his narrative more vivid, it is still difficult to convey his meaning correctly.

On the contrary, Mr. Hilby, who is talking to him, is a gentleman. The interior decoration and emotional appeal prove to us that this family's life is very practical and comfortable. Now these two people are discussing something seriously.

"I think that's it." Mr. Hilby said.

"Mr. Hilby, I really can't agree to such a deal." The other party replied, raised his glass and looked at the lamp in the living room.

"Hey, Hurley, Tom is not an ordinary slave. Wherever he is, he is worth such a high price. He is steady, honest and capable, and manages my farm in good order. "

"Tom's honesty is black honesty, right?" Hurley asked as he poured himself a glass of brandy.

"What I call honesty is true honesty. Tom is kind, steady and flexible, and he also believes in God. He was sworn in in a camping sermon four years ago. I believe that he is pious to God. Since he joined the church, I have left everything in his charge, including money, house and horses. I think everything is fine with him. "

"But people don't believe that slaves are really religious to God, Mr. Hilby!" Hurley waved unscrupulously and said, "But I believe. This year, one of the last slaves I sent to Orleans was a devout slave. Don't tell me, listening to this nigger's prayer is really like he's really preaching. He is gentle and doesn't talk much, but because the seller was eager to sell him, I got a bargain and made a net profit of 600 yuan from him, which is a lot of money. Yes, those slaves who believe in God can make us more money. Of course, false believers will not bring us a lot of profits. "

"Tom is a true Christian. He believes in God as devoutly as other Christians." Mr. Hilby said, "Last autumn, I sent him to Cincinnati alone to get back a huge sum worth 500 dollars." I said to him,' Tom, because I know you believe in God, I don't think you will take the opportunity to run away. "I trust you," Tom really didn't break his promise. I know he will come back on time. Later, I heard some despicable people say to him,' Tom, why don't you take the opportunity to escape to Canada? I can't break my promise to my master. I heard it from others afterwards. I must make you understand that I really can't bear to part with Tom. You should ask him to pay off all my debts, if you have any kindness. "

"I have the minimum conscience of buyers and sellers. That's enough to make me swear, "said the slaver jokingly. "However, I will do my best for my friends. But you have to know that business is not good now! " The slaver sighed helplessly and poured some more wine into the cup.

"Hurley, how can you promise to make a deal?" After an unbearable silence, Mr. Hilby asked.

"Can't you add another boy or girl?"

"well! If it is not forced by the situation, I really can't think of anything I don't want to sell to any slave. "

Just then, the door opened and a handsome and likable little boy of about four or five years old came in. A pair of shallow dimples are embedded in his round face, and a silky black hair is curled on his head; Under thick eyelashes, a pair of big eyes looked at the room curiously; He is wearing a bright red and yellow plaid coat, which highlights his deep and pure beauty, a little self-confidence and a little shyness, all of which show people his master's love and familiarity with it.

"Hello, Jim Crowe," Mr. Hilby whistled and threw a handful of raisins to the child. "Pick them up!"

The child ran around to pick up the master's reward, and his appearance made the master laugh.

"Come here, Jim." Cried Mr. Hilby. Jim walked over and Mr. Hilby patted his curly hair and stroked his chin.

"Jim, let this gentleman appreciate your skills. Come, sing a song and dance. " As a result, the child sang a very popular song among blacks, and the style was warm and cheerful. His voice is crisp and mellow, his hands, feet and body are twisting, his movements are perfectly combined with the rhythm of the song, and he makes some funny gestures from time to time.

"Great!" Hurley threw some oranges at the child.

"Jim, learn from the way Uncle Cujo walked when he was suffering from rheumatism," Mr. Hilby told the child.

The limbs of the child who was flexible just now immediately showed signs of illness and disability. He bent down, holding his master's cane, and walked around the room with clumsy steps. He stretched his face, imitated the appearance of an old man, wrinkled his childish little face, looked sad, and spat at random from time to time.

The two gentlemen could not help laughing loudly.

"Jim, let's see how old Robbins sings hymns again." Cried Mr. Hilby. So the child pulled his little face longer to show awe, and then sang a hymn with a calm and low nasal voice.

"I think so," Hurley said suddenly patting Hilby on the shoulder. "Plus this elf ghost, your debt will be paid off. I keep my promise. Isn't this unfair? "

Just then, the door was gently pushed open and a second-generation mixed-race woman of about twenty-five years old came in.

This woman is the mother of the child at first sight. Her black eyes are equally soft, and her long eyelashes and slender curly hair fluctuate like waves. Her brown face turned red when she found a stranger staring at her with admiration so boldly and unabashedly. Her neat clothes set off her slim background, and her slender hands and beautiful rounded ankles made her look more dignified. The slave trader greedily watched with keen eyes, and the main part of the beautiful body of the female slave was clearly visible, which failed to escape the slave trader's eyes.

"Alicia, can I help you?" Looking at her embarrassment, Mr. Hilby asked.

"Excuse me, sir, I'm looking for Harry." When the child saw his mother, he ran to her alive and showed off the spoils in his pocket.

"Then you can take him away." Mr. Hilby said. The slave girl picked up the child and hurried out.

"Oh, my God! This is really good stuff, "the slaver praised Hilby. "As long as you send this woman to Orleans, you will make a lot of money. I have seen a man spend more than 1000 yuan to buy a female slave, but the beauty of that female slave is not comparable to that of this woman. "

"I don't want to get rich on her." Hilby answered coldly. He opened another bottle of wine, changed the subject and asked the other person's evaluation of the wine.

"It's delicious, Mr Hill than. The wine is great! " The slaver praised him, then turned and patted Hilby on the shoulder like an acquaintance and said, "Hey, can you sell me that slave girl?" What price can I give you? How much do you charge? "

"Mr Hurley, I won't sell her," said Mr Hilby. "Even if you give her the same weight of gold, my wife will not agree to let her go."

"Ah, women are always so petty because they can't afford to pay the bills. If you tell them how many clocks and trinkets you can buy with a lot of money, they will change their minds and stop saying so. "

"Hurley, when I say no, I mean no, don't mention it again." Mr. Hilby said firmly.

"All right, but you have to give me that boy. You know, even with that child, I have made great concessions. "

"What do you want with that child?" Mr. hilby asked.

"Oh, a friend of mine is doing this business this year. He wants to buy a group of handsome boys with good goods, raise them and send them to the market to sell them as waiters for those gentlemen who are willing to pay a lot of money. These families can add great glory by opening doors and running errands with beautiful teenagers. Such a beautiful boy can fetch a good price. Your elf knows music and can play, which is a rare material in this respect! "

"I'd rather not sell him. I am soft-hearted. I don't want to break up their mother and son. " Mr. hilby thought for a moment and said.

"Is that right? Your heart is really soft, and I understand how you feel. Dealing with women sometimes does have a lot of trouble. I also hate the sad scene when I cry. But please rest assured, sir, I always avoid such sad scenes when I do business. I think that's it! Send this woman away for a day, or a week, and other things will be done without anyone knowing. We will finish everything before she comes back. what do you think? As for that woman, don't you just ask your wife to buy an earring, or a new dress, or something else as compensation? "

"I'm afraid it won't succeed."

"God bless you, we will succeed. Black slaves are not like white people. As long as you handle it properly, they will give up as soon as it is over. " Speaking of this, Hurley pretended to be honest and said, "As the saying goes, it is necessary to be black-hearted in the slave trade. But I don't think this is necessarily the case. I do business in a different way from others. I once witnessed a colleague take a slave girl's child from her arms and forcibly sell it to others. Since then, that woman has been crazy, crying and making noise. This way of doing business is the next choice, and the goods are destroyed, so that some female slaves can't sell at all. Once in Orleans, I witnessed this inferior method destroying a particularly beautiful young woman. The buyer only wants her, not her children, which makes her very angry. I'm telling you, she clung to the child and kept making noise. It's terrible. In retrospect, I still have a lingering fear. Her child was robbed and she was locked up. Finally, she was driven crazy, talked nonsense all day, and died a week later. That 1000 yuan is equivalent to hitting Shui Piao. Mr. hilby, the reason for this tragic result is improper methods. According to my experience, a kind method is easier to work. " With these words, he leaned back, folded his hands on his chest and looked charitable, as if he were the second wilberforce.

This gentleman seems to be more interested in moral issues, because when Hilby took the opportunity of peeling oranges to think about this issue, he pretended to hesitate, and then brought up the past, as if a force of truth forced him to say more.

"It's not a glorious thing to brag about yourself, but what I said is true. After I sold a batch of black slaves to the market, I thought they were all fine products, at least I heard others say so. And more than once, hundreds of times, it is such an evaluation. It's a first-class good product-strong and decent, but the money I paid for it is the least among my peers. The reason is that I owe it to good management. You can also say that, sir, the core of my business is to be a man. "

Mr. Hilby didn't know what to say, so he replied, "Oh, yes!" "

"But my management has been ridiculed and accused. No one agrees with me, but I won't change my business style because of this. Sir, it is because of my persistence that I finally made a fortune with it. Yes, sir, the darkness has finally passed and the light has arrived. " At this point, the slaver couldn't help laughing at his quip.

These remarks about human nature and charity are so original that Mr. Hilby couldn't help laughing with the slave traders. Readers, when you read this, you may be laughing. In today's world, there are endless high theories about human nature and charity, and there are countless strange theories of philanthropists.

Encouraged by Mr. Hilby's laughter, the slaver continued:

"You say strange not strange, it is difficult for me to accept my point of view. I used to have a partner named Tom Rocco, a Nazizi, who was flexible and good at dealing with blacks, which was in line with the principle of doing business, because it was difficult to make money with a good heart. He always does this. I often persuade him to say,' Hey, Tom, what's the effect on those female slaves who cry because of fear? Doing so can only prove that you are a stupid person. I said,' If they are not allowed to vent by crying, they will find other ways. "Besides, Tom," I said, "if they are not allowed to vent in this way, their faces will become haggard, their mouths will become chapped and even ugly, especially those women with yellow skin. At this time, it is not so easy to get them back. Why not use good words to deal with them?' I said,' Listen to me, giving them a little affection is much more effective than punching and kicking each other, and you can make more money by doing so. If you do as I say, you will succeed. But Tom is still a fool. In this way, many women were destroyed by him. Although he is kind-hearted and fair, I have to do business with him separately. "

"Do you think you are better at running this business than Tom?"

"Well, you can think so. In business, I always try to avoid unpleasant scenes. For example, when I am in the children's career, I will send women away. Women can't see this scene, so unpleasant things won't happen. When raw rice is cooked, they have to accept their fate. The education that white people receive from childhood is that the whole family get together and enjoy family happiness, but black people are not much better than us white people; You should know that educated blacks don't have the luxury of enjoying family happiness, so things will be easy. "

"But my slave didn't receive this kind of education." Mr. Hilby said.

"Can't say that. You Kentucky people spoil those niggers too much. Your kindness is not true charity. In this world, slaves are born wandering around. Sell it to Tom today, to Dick tomorrow and to whom the day after tomorrow. At that time, they will have to resign themselves to fate. It won't help him to have ideas and expectations, or to be kind to him, because there will be more pain and suffering to meet him in the future, you know? I'm sure your slave won't be happy even if he goes to the place where the niggers in the plantation sing and cheer wildly, Mr. Hilby. You know people like to brag. I have been kind enough to those slaves, and I have done my best to be kind to them. "

"People are lucky to feel at ease no matter what they do." Mr hilby shrugged disapprovingly.

The two sides were silent for a while, thinking about their own thoughts. Hurley then asked, "What do you think of this?"

"I'll think it over and discuss it with my wife," Mr. Hilby said. "At the same time, Hurley, if you really want things to go on peacefully as you think, you'd better not tell my neighbors anything, otherwise, it will soon spread to my servants. Let me tell you the truth first. If the servants knew, you wouldn't have taken people away from my house smoothly. "

"Well, it's a deal, I won't leak. However, I want to remind you to give me a batch of letters as soon as possible, because I am busy recently. " After that, Hurley got up and put on his coat.

"Well, I'll give you an answer at six or seven tonight." Hearing what Mr. Hilby said, the slave trader bowed to Mr. Hilby and left.

"Look at his smug face, I really want to kick him down the steps." Watching the goalkeeper approach, Hilby whispered to himself, "But he knows the trick of hitting people when they are down." If someone had suggested that I sell Tom to a slave trader before, I would have told them,' Can servants be sold everywhere like dogs?' But there's nothing I can do about it now, and neither can Alicia's children. My wife will never stop nagging. She will object to my selling Tom. But the heavy debt got me into this situation, alas! This bastard is a shoo-in. He's closing in on me. "

Kentucky is probably the most moderate state of slavery. The agricultural labor here is relatively easy, unlike some areas in the south where you are so nervous that you can't breathe when you are busy with agriculture, so the labor intensity of black people is still affordable. Human nature is fragile, so when people see that they can make huge profits and have no choice but to sacrifice the interests of the helpless, they will have a vicious heart because of their fragile nature. But farm owners in Kentucky are more accustomed to the gradual management mode, so they can resist this fragility of human nature.

As long as you take a walk and look at some manors in Kentucky, you will personally experience the kindness of male and female masters and the love and support of servants to their masters, just like a poetic picture of family society that often appears in legends. But an ominous cloud law hangs over this ancient social picture. As long as the law regards those who are full of feelings as accessories of their masters, and as long as their masters encounter setbacks in their careers, misfortune or careless death in their lives, they will suffer endless suffering at any time because their lives are not guaranteed. Even in the most perfect place of slavery, black people are extremely sad to live a happy life.

Mr. hilby is an ordinary man. He is kind by nature and treats people kindly. In his manor, slaves lived a comfortable life, and there was never a shortage of needed items. But he used his property for speculation at will and was addicted to it. At this time, most of his promissory notes and IOUs fell into Hurley's hands. The dialogue between Mr. Hilby and Hurley is also based on this situation.

As it happens, Alicia passed by the door of the living room and overheard their conversation. She knew that her master was discussing the sale of slaves with a slave trader.

When she passed by the living room, she really wanted to listen to their conversation for a while. But the phone call from the hostess forced her to leave in a hurry.

Slavers want to pay to support their children, is it wrong? The more she thinks about it, the more nervous she becomes. She subconsciously hugged the child and her heart was pounding. The child looked up at his mother's face in surprise, trying to pry into some secrets.

"Dear Erica, do you think you had a bad day?" Looking at the maid in a panic, the woman asked with concern. Alicia was so nervous that she either knocked over the kettle or the small table. The hostess asked her to take out a silk coat from the wardrobe, but she took a long pajamas by mistake.

"Ah, madam!" Ellie looked up in surprise, tears "wow" to flow out, suddenly sat in a chair and began to cry.

"Alicia, my good boy, what the hell happened?" Asked the hostess.

"Madam, there is a slave trader sitting in the living room talking to his master. I heard him. " Alicia said.

"Oh, what a silly boy. So what?"

"Oh, madam, do you think the master will sell my child Harry?" As she spoke, the poor woman sat down in her chair and began to cry, her body kept ups and downs.

"Sell Harry! Silly boy, you know this won't happen. Your master was born to stay away from slave traders in the south. As long as everyone is obedient, he won't want to sell any of you. Ah, my silly boy, do you really think that someone in the world likes Harry as much as you do, and want to buy him? Don't worry. Come on, help me tie my clothes and comb my hair back. I want that beautiful hairstyle you just learned that day. Don't go to the door to listen to others in the future. "

"The wife will never agree to sell ..."

"Of course I won't agree to sell, son, how can you say that? In that case, I'd rather sell my children. But then again, you spoil that smart guy too much, Erica. As long as someone sticks his head into my house, you will suspect that he is coming to buy your Harry, so who dares to come to my house? "

This self-confidence finally put Alicia's hanging heart down, and she laughed out her sweat and went into battle lightly for the hostess.

Mrs. Hilby is a gentleman both intellectually and morally. She not only has the generous nature, noble morality and religious ethics of Kentucky women, but also integrates these characteristics into practical work. Although her husband doesn't believe in a certain religion, he respects her devotion to religion very much. At the same time, I sometimes have a little awe of her views and ideas. Mr. Hilby always allows his wife to do good things according to her own wishes, for example, trying to make the servants comfortable, educating them and trying to urge them to improve their character. Although he didn't take part in this charity activity done by his wife, he never stopped her. He doesn't fully believe in the effective theory of sage's redundant merits, but in his mind, he has the idea that because of his wife's piety and kindness, the couple can indulge in some unspeakable expectations, and the nobleness of his wife's virtue can guarantee their future trip to heaven, even though her virtue is difficult for her husband to achieve.

After consulting with the slave trader, knowing that his wife would object to his doing so, and would pester him with this matter from time to time, Mr. Hilby always wanted to let his wife know his arrangement because the burden was too heavy.

When Alicia told her what she was worried about, Mrs. Hilby believed that her husband was generous and loving and didn't take it to heart. She knew nothing about her husband's financial difficulties and didn't think about it carefully afterwards. At the same time, because she was busy preparing for the arrival of the visiting guests, she left this little thing behind.