The novel "The General Manager" has also been translated as "The Manor" in some translations.
The novel mainly depicts two characters, one is the author's old acquaintance Elkaj, and the other is Elkaj's manor chief Sophron.
This man was a young landowner, a retired Guard officer.
El Cardy's estate is luxurious and chic, and is said to have been specially designed by a French architect.
This person pays attention to appearance, clothes are bright and fashionable, speaks softly, is not anxious, and is deeply loved by ladies.
Elkaj is outwardly reasonable, decent, and loving and protective of his subordinates, even if he punishes them, he is also known as his own good.
In fact, he is hypocritical and cunning, inconsistent in appearance, saying one set and doing one set, and is very strict with the next person, without any kindness.
He demanded that the grooms must wash the carriage and harness every day, wash their clothes, keep them tidy, and not be sloppy.
The servants of his family always had a sad face, sullen and unhappy, and a thin body.
Once, when he was drinking, he found that the wine was not warm, and he was unusually rude and sharp to ask the servant what was going on?
The servant was pale with fright, trembling and unable to speak.
So he rang the bell and summoned a tall, black, fat man, and commanded him, "Fidore's fault..., you deal with it."
Despite Elkaj's whispered orders, the slave named Fidore trembled with fear.
When Elkaj heard that the author was going hunting somewhere, he had to go with him, and said that it was close to his territory, just so that the author could see his shrewd and capable, well-organized and talented steward of the territory, Sophron.
The author was forced to agree to him.
1. The general manager who is extremely dedicated
After the group arrived at the territory, Sophron was extremely flattering to Elkaj, and at the beginning of each sentence, he always tirelessly called the master "You are our food and clothing parents, our great benefactors, our lord, you bring us a lifetime of inexhaustible blessings, God bless you."
"Lord, your coming makes our little village flourish, my food and clothing parents, my great benefactor, why don't you send someone to tell me you are coming sooner?" You're killing me, my lord. ”
Sophron had a flattered expression when he said these words, and his eyes were filled with tears of gratitude.
However, Elkaj enjoyed the fierce praise of the governor, and his face was filled with joy, like drinking honey.
When the chief steward led them to the village, the people had said and laughed, and when they saw the chief manager, they immediately stopped talking and hid in the house, and the naughty little boy was so frightened that he stopped crying and ran into the house, and even the hen panicked and slipped into the door, not daring to come out again.
2. The general manager skillfully disposes of the corpses in the field
At dinner, Sophron reported to his master a strange thing that had happened in the field.
There was a corpse in Elkaj's field, and the general manager, taking advantage of the fact that no one had found it, immediately asked someone to get the body into someone else's field, and sent someone to guard it there, and did not allow it to be heard.
He immediately ran to the police station to report the matter, invited the police to drink tea, and gave an objective honorarium, and finally, the matter of the corpse was successfully blamed on others, and the matter was resolved satisfactorily.
When Elkaj heard this, he always praised Sophron for his shrewdness and resourcefulness.
Sophron was indeed qualified to take on the post of governor, and since he had become governor, no one in the territory had ever been in arrears in a single cent of rent.
3. The general manager beat the father and son who knelt on the ground to petition
When the group toured the territory, they knelt next to the puddle of water, barefoot, with ropes tied around their waists, and worn-out sackcloth shirts.
They knelt there and demanded that Elkaj do justice for them, and the old man said they were about to be tortured to death by Sophron.
It turned out that this old man had already owed Sophron five years of rent, and in order to force them to pay the rent, the general manager had already pulled his two sons, who were not yet old, to become soldiers, and now he was forcing his third son to become a soldier, and yesterday he had robbed the last cow of his family and beaten his wife hard.
The little son, who was on his knees, said that they were not the only ones in the village in such a situation.
The manager explained that the old man was an alcoholic.
When Elkady heard the governor's words, he scolded the old man for being greedy, lazy, cruel, and unsatisfied.
The group walked away, leaving the father and son still kneeling in the cold wind.
Later, while hunting, the author talked to the local farmer, who told him that Sophron treated the local farmer like a slave and tried to squeeze them.
Sophron was fierce, scolding the sharecroppers with open mouths, beating them with his hands, forcing them to do anything for him, a true beast, he was not a human at all, everyone said he was a dog, a mad dog who bit people when he saw people.
The sharecropper also said that Sophron would beat the poor father and son.
Elkaj did not care at all about the lives of the peasants in his territory, as long as the annual rent was a lot, and other things were left to the governor's way.
The author concludes by saying that it seems that the master and servant are all the way to the goods.
