Jenkins struggled thinking about "the lie that makes up for the lie", and opened the other letters to read it. Because the specially selected mailing addresses are all shopping streets or high-end residential areas, so the recipients have a certain degree of culture and can write, and the replies received are all carefully filled out questionnaires.
"Do you really want to reply to the letter? If you reply to the letter, you can't just reply to one letter..."
The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this matter was extremely troublesome, but he had to deal with it.
After thinking about it, he still wrote a reply letter. He was worried that fabricating the progress of his graduation thesis would be seen as a flaw, because he had never written a sociology graduation thesis. So in order to avoid such things from happening, he still made a new questionnaire himself. This questionnaire is still investigating customs and living habits, but it is more detailed.
To appear authentic, Jenkins wrote the same letter to all 37 respondents. In order to prevent the gentleman at No. 12 Luyin Avenue from writing back again, Jenkins made up the predicament he is currently encountering at the end of the letter in the tone of a poor female student, and asked the people who received the letter to reply , mail two shillings, or the currency equivalent, to tide yourself over. He, no, she will thank you later.
"That'll be fine."
There were not many letters, and I used reading and writing again, and it was completed in half an hour. But Jenkins thought about it again and thought it should be more authentic, so he printed another 100 letters of the first letter, but this time only 1 shilling notes were attached to 50 of them, and then all the letters were printed. In the back of the letter, I told about the difficulties I faced, and hoped that the other party could help.
"That way no one will reply! Who would trust a stranger?"
He thought happily, prepared fake envelopes and fake stamps for each letter, and went to the post office after disguising.
After the letter was mailed, Jenkins put the matter behind him and concentrated on getting ready for the dance the next day.
Early the next morning, after Jenkins got up, he worked and studied at his father's place as usual during the day, and was ready to go to the dance in the evening. This time he couldn't take the chocolate with him, so he could only leave it at home. Dad also asked Jenkins to make more friends and not sit in the corner all the time.
Originally, Jenkins thought it was a bit weird that the ball was held in a hospital banquet hall. But after arriving in a carriage, seeing the carriages carrying various family crests scattered all over the woods, and the well-dressed men and women walking hand in hand on the red carpet outside the main building of the hospital, he suddenly had the idea that this is a nobleman somewhere. The illusion of a manor.
The waiters at the door accurately called Jenkins' surname and title, and then led him into the hospital.
It was completely unexpected that the entire first floor, except for the load-bearing walls and the load-bearing pillars, was completely opened up and turned into a huge banquet hall. Professional decorators decorated the load-bearing walls that got in the way, and hung huge oil paintings and elegant gold decorations, which is actually unique.
"Am I so big on face?"
Jenkins stood at the entrance with some doubts, but no one came to greet him. Looking left and right, there were no acquaintances. In fact, there were only two acquaintances, so he picked up a goblet filled with red wine on the table, and sat down casually in the corner rest area.
About half of the men and women who attended the banquet were young people, and many of the others Jenkins had seen in the newspapers. An orchestra sat on the high platform in the center of the banquet hall, playing elegant music under the command of an old man with gray hair and wearing a black formal suit.
The guests talked, laughed and greeted each other. The gentlemen were discussing the current hot political topics. From time to time, some people would puff out their chests and greet their acquaintances with the honorific word "Sir".
On the east and west walls, there is a string of newly installed copper gas lamps. The pipes are not installed inside the walls, but are bent into mechanical patterns on the outside to decorate the walls. On the top of everyone's heads, there are bright candles on the crystal chandelier. The faint fragrance diffuses in the air with the burning of the candles, making the atmosphere of the scene even more noble.
A group of young people sat beside them, seeming to be talking about something. Jenkins turned sideways, unaccustomed to taking off the pair of white gloves on his hands, and put his hat and cane aside. Originally, the servant wanted to take these things away with the outermost windbreaker, but Jenkins said that the hat and cane are carry-on items, so just take them with you.
"...every night that strange sound of bang bang bang will sound on time..."
The young people sitting around seemed to be telling stories, and they were horror stories, and the beautiful ladies exclaimed from time to time. A young man in a tan jacket who was closest to Jenkins took the opportunity to grab the hand of his female companion, who made no objection despite being panicked.
"... The evil spirit can only maintain the posture before death, and that poor..."
Another sentence floated into Jenkins' ears, and the more he listened, the more familiar the story became.
"Wait, isn't that the horror story I told that night?"
He couldn't help chuckling, moved on the sofa, and blended into the crowd listening to the story.
The story was not long, and the young man who told the story quickly noticed Jenkins in the crowd. He was also a member of the reading salon invited by Little Wellington that night. Jenkins vaguely remembered that his father was a Viscount, but compared to the down-and-out Viscount Augustus, this Viscount's family was very wealthy. Mr. Viscount was not only a member of the Kingdom's House of Lords, but also owned a large tobacco company.
"What's his last name? By the way, Abbott."
Jenkins tried to remember, then nodded to Mr Abbott Jr.
Abbott's face, who was stealing other people's stories, immediately turned pale.
It just so happened that the story had reached the most critical point, coupled with the pale complexion of the storyteller, several timid girls screamed.
Not all the ladies were like this, the lady who was dressed the most serious, and even the blue dress could be described as "simple" didn't respond at all. Jenkins thought this was the most distinguished person among all the people present, not only because of the attitude of others, but also because of the pair of purple earrings.
He has been studying with his father for a while, and he has some experience in appraising this kind of item, at least he can't buy it with his wealth.
Without interrupting Mr. Abbott's storytelling, Jenkins got up to get something to eat. For today's party, he came without dinner.
He was looking at the dying tropical fish on the table when someone patted him from behind.