Thanks to Mr. Nellie's help, Jenkins finally showed up on Privet Drive on time. Although today is Saturday, Robert Williams is still working, and John is preparing for the exam intensely. According to Mary, he and his classmates organized a study group.
It's ridiculous to say that the original owner Jenkins used such an excuse to avoid studying when he was studying. So even though John's reputation in the family is much higher than that of Jenkins half a year ago, Mary still remains skeptical about this matter.
But recent exams have shown that John's extracurricular study group is still very effective, so Mary let him go out with his schoolbag on weekends.
As for the eldest son of the William family, Newman William, he went out to study with the professor again.
Conversely, a well-known author and mathematics lover with only a meager secondary college diploma.
Anyway, when Jenkins came home, Mary was alone in the house, apart from the cooking maid. He has adapted to being with his current family members after such a long time, but he still feels a little awkward occasionally when speaking.
There is no big news about the Williams family. The family has no relatives, and the five members of the family have their own relatively fixed lives. But Mary's topic was still entangled in Jenkins' private life. He had already prepared for this, and he could barely answer it.
The home does not have a fireplace, but a steam company heating duct. So the temperature inside is much higher than in Jenkins' house. He's been nibbling chocolates, and the mistress of the house is very upset about the pet's presence.
Above the sealed fireplace, there are some family photos. Due to the high cost of photography, most of the photos were taken in recent years. Near the center, Jenkins from two years ago is wearing an ugly hat and grinning goofily.
He suddenly felt a sense of strangeness, even though the face in the photo can be seen in the bathroom every day when he washes up.
Eyes subconsciously moved aside, in another photo frame, a very healthy-looking old man is embracing a young man, the background is a three-storey earthen house in the countryside, a clothesline passes over their heads, and an old hen and a yellow dog appear at the edge of the photo.
The appearance of the old man is very similar to the current Robert, while the appearance of the young man is more or less like Jenkins. But he had no memory of the photo.
"This is your grandfather and your father."
Seeing Jenkins looking there inquiringly, Mary explained softly:
"When the workers cleaned up the basement last week, they found a pile of rotten clothes that Robert brought with him when he came to Nolan. We found this photo in the pocket of a coat. Robert thought it was lost on the smuggling boat. .”
"grandfather?"
The old man died before the plague broke out 20 years ago. When he was repairing the warehouse one day, he was hit in the head by falling debris. Robert Williams was a teenager when this happened, and three children of his generation would never know him.
"The appearance of my grandfather is really similar to that of my father."
He stood up and picked up the frame, walked back to the sofa and sat down again.
"Yes."
Mary put her arms around Jenkins' neck naturally:
"You are also very similar to your father, that's why Robert loves and indulges you the most. Thanks to the sage, you can get back on the right track."
Jenkins was a little uncomfortable with this kind of intimacy, but he knew it was the appropriate interaction, so he just nodded to show that he understood what she said.
"Father has no particular preference for me either, and his love for John and Newman is the same."
"you are right."
Mary shook her head and said, looking at her little fool, she missed the time when the three brothers were young.
She herself is a girl from the slums of Nolan City, the same background as the former flower girl Fini Fishford that Jenkins met. But she accepted the help from the Church of the Sages not because of the help of the nobles, but because of her own luck.
Mary Williams' real name was Mary Hunter, and the Hunters had no real relatives. The grandfather and grandmother of John, Jenkins and Newman died in a severe winter, but Mary seldom talked about it at home, but took the whole family to put a bouquet on the grave every December at the end of the year. flower.
"Actually, I have always been curious, why is my middle name Redand Putt? In the common language, it seems to have the meaning of savior. John's middle name comes from his grandfather's name, and Newman's middle name comes from a man whom Robert admires. writer, and what about Ridhan Putt?"
He asked, wondering about this question for a long time.
The cat, which was caught by the hand and could only close its eyes to rest its mind, opened one eye very interested, and eavesdropped on the conversation between the two with its ears shaking.
"There's no reason, Jenkins. It's a request left by your grandfather. He asked that your father's second son have a middle name of Redand Putt."
"Then why did grandfather leave such a request?"
Jenkins asked again. He had guessed whether it was because Robert had a strange dream or encountered a strange fortune-teller.
"I don't know, it was a long time ago. Robert had already forgotten it, but miraculously remembered it on the day you were born. Heh, he always thought that it was his dead father's gift to him." Supervising~”
As she spoke, Mary chuckled lightly, recalling the distant past.
Still puzzled, Jenkins felt compelled to investigate the history of the Williamettes.
Robert and John soon returned home. John was carrying a shriveled black leather bag. Although Jenkins doubted how many books could be contained in it, since Mary trusted him, Jenkins couldn't say much.
It was the perfect family dinner with all the smiles on the faces of the whole family. Robert repeatedly asked Jenkins to give a detailed account of his meeting with the Queen, and to compare his dinner at Cold Spring Palace with tonight's meal.
But Jenkins believes that he just wanted to take advantage of Mary's distraction and add some drinks to his wine glass. The family's wine configuration is completely controlled by the hostess, and she strongly opposes the excessive intake of men under her jurisdiction Those dangerous ****.
Robert was promoted last week after securing a big deal for his Smith Consolidated mining company this fall. He is now a high-level executive of the mining company's Nolan branch. After hearing that Jenkins had some cash on hand, he suggested that he try to invest in the mining business.
PS: In Europe, it is very common for family members to call each other by their first names. I don’t need to emphasize this.