The Shadow of Great Britain-Chapter 562 - 289: Gladstone’s Family Ethical Drama

Liverpool Old Dock, Gladstone Import and Export Trade Company.

From afar, the thundering sound of horse hooves crescendoed as Gladstone sped on horseback, skillfully slowing his pace as he drew near his destination.

The servant responsible for parking the guests’ vehicles in front of the door recognized the approaching figure and hurriedly stepped forward to take the reins from Gladstone as he dismounted.

"Young Master, what brings you here?"

Without much explanation, Gladstone, having removed his leather gloves, asked, "Is my father in?"

"He’s inside, but he mentioned he has to visit the port authority later."

"The port authority? Is the morning meeting over?"

"It just ended not too long ago. You can see the fresh wheel tracks left by the departing guests; those are still fresh."

"Don’t hurry with the carriage, I’ll go have a chat with him first."

Having said that, Gladstone stuffed his gloves into the servant’s hand and then rushed up the steps toward the third floor.

However, before he could reach the third floor, he encountered his father on the second-floor landing, laughing and chatting with someone else.

The gentleman with speckled gray hair held a cane in one hand and pointed with the other toward the sky outside the window: "John, take a look at today’s weather. A rare, fine sun in winter, accompanied by a slight chill, with a sea breeze carrying the tang of sardines, reminiscent of the day we first met. Right there on the east end of the Old Dock, you bought a pocket watch from me, who was then a street vendor."

Old Gladstone responded with a slight turn of the mouth and a slight shake of the head, "Robert, you truly swindled me that time. That watch stopped working after just two weeks, and when I brought it back to you, you told me that repairs were part of after-sales service, requiring an additional half shilling. Mind you, at that time, I was just an apprentice at the trading company and hardly earned a few coins. How could you be so heartless."

The gentleman known as Robert burst into hearty laughter and said, "My old pal, but didn’t you end up not paying a penny? Not only that, you grabbed me by the collar and gave me a beating. Yet, it was through these blows that we became acquainted. Who would have thought back then that a trading company’s junior clerk and a watchmaking apprentice with poor skills could have come this far."

Old Gladstone, resting his hands on his cane, joked with his old friend, "There’s nothing surprising about that; I’ve always believed that young people are full of endless possibilities. Besides, I think the main reason for your success is that your pocket watches are now mainly used for export. Customers can’t exactly swim across the Atlantic to settle accounts with you, can they?"

The elderly gentleman was not offended and replied with wit, "That’s not a big deal, John. Don’t you have ships? You bring the customers over, and we split the after-sales service fee. Rest assured, I might sell tens of thousands of watches in North and South America every year, but the quality rate is no longer as low as it used to be. If you could bring me a couple of ships’ worth of customers each year, that should do the trick.

By the way, isn’t William idle right now? You could totally let him organize this. Frankly, every time I see William, it’s like seeing a young version of you. Whether it’s in business or something else, that youngest son of yours is bound to be promising."

Gladstone had been preparing to walk over, but when he heard his own name mentioned in the conversation, his advancing steps involuntarily paused, and he froze in place.

"On the company’s side, his brothers are there to support it, which is enough. As for him, I don’t have many expectations for him; having a decent career should suffice."

"Ha-ha-ha, John, you and I are of the same mind. When children grow up, for boys, we should arrange a decent career, and for girls, we should choose a husband with a decent career for them."

"Heh, you’re not wrong. The newspapers are always promoting some perverse and evil doctrines of free love. The rhetoric of those journalists and authors is practically as vile as heretics. Britain is now deeply poisoned by Byron and Shelley."

"Well... Getting back to the point, John, unlike you, I’m not blessed with such good fortune. I don’t have a son to inherit the business, only daughters. Anna married off to Scotland, Alice to Sussex, and both sons-in-law are first-rate. But as they are eldest sons, they each have their own family businesses to inherit.

So now I can only pin all my hopes on Catherine, the youngest. I thought with Catherine’s beauty, her marriage wouldn’t require much worry on my part. But who would have thought, she turned out to be an odd one, not liking any of the outstanding young men I approved of..."

Old Gladstone became instantly alert upon hearing this.

He thought to himself, no wonder that remorseless old watchmaker was suddenly so enthusiastic about socializing with him after the meeting ended.

It turned out he was waiting here all along.

Seeing that the other party remained silent, the elderly gentleman hinted further, "John, I think it’s not suitable for a girl’s marriage to drag on too long. According to British tradition, girls come of age at sixteen and attend social gatherings, usually marrying before the age of eighteen. If it’s past twenty, that’s considered an old maid."

Old Gladstone was adamant and merely stared out the window, saying, "Hmm... Indeed, that’s how it is for girls, but a boy can afford to wait a bit longer."

The elderly gentleman, upon hearing this, was choked up to the point of nearly gasping for breath.