America 1881: They Call Me Legend

Chapter 216: The West Can’t Lose Face

Manager Pete and his evaluation team members sat on the carriage and swayed along with the carriage.

The cool wind in the winter morning blew in the face and penetrated through the holes in these clothes, making the members of the evaluation team, who were mostly dressed without accessories, feel chilled all over.

It wasn't until the sun climbed into the sky that the temperature began to rise, and Peter and the others felt a little warmer.

After walking all morning, he realized that what Chen Jianqiu meant by "almost there" seemed different from what he understood.

Still no sign of Lincolnshire.

"Chen, Mr. Chen, how long until we arrive?" asked Manager Pete on the carriage. He was hungry and sleepy.

They hadn't eaten anything since this morning. They originally thought that the group of people traveling with them would stop for something to eat, but it turned out that Chen Jianqiu and the others had no intention of stopping at all.

"Before sunset." Chen Jianqiu replied without looking back while riding on his horse.

"Then, what, Mr. Chen, is there anything you can give us to fill our bellies?" Before Peter could speak, an old man named Schultz next to him spoke first.

This old man is the oldest in the assessment team. He used to be a chemist and is now a refining engineer for Standard Oil Company.

He was so hungry that his chest was pressed against his back. If he kept going like this, he was afraid that his old bones would fall apart before he reached Roswell.

Chen Jianqiu took out a bag of biscuits from his saddle bag, took two pieces for himself, then tied the mouth of the bag and threw it to them on the carriage.

Schultz caught it and opened the bag with trembling hands. Unexpectedly, Peter's fat hand reached over and took out two biscuits from the bag at lightning speed.

The manager couldn't wait to put the biscuit into his mouth and bite it in one bite.

"Bang bang!"

Peter felt as if he had bitten a rock, but he felt something in his mouth.

The manager quickly took out the biscuits and found that the biscuits themselves were intact, with just a row of tooth marks on them.

He spit out what was in his mouth and put it into his hand. After a closer look, he discovered that the thing that fell out was one of his own teeth.

Peter was grieving for his tooth, while Schulz looked at the cookie in his hand in astonishment.

"Maybe your tooth was about to fall out, and it will leave you sooner or later." Chen Jianqiu "consoled", "At least you didn't feel too much pain."

He put the same biscuit into his mouth, then raised the water bag in his other hand and took a few sips.

"You deserve some water."

Peter's sadness could not be increased. After drinking a few sips of the water that Li Sifu handed him, he fell asleep leaning against the iron bucket.

When he woke up again, he found the carriage parked in front of a hotel.

The sky is not completely dark yet, but the setting sun has already dropped below the horizon, leaving only some afterglow shining on the small town.

"Lincoln County has arrived." Chen Jianqiu got off his horse.

A waiter ran out of the store and took the reins from his hand. At the same time, Li Sifu also moved the valuable things down.

Chen Jianqiu and the others walked into the hotel.

The hotel owner had some impressions of Chen Jianqiu, Camilla and Holmes, and he quickly opened rooms for Chen Jianqiu and the others.

The assessment team also followed.

The boss looked up and down at this group of avant-garde people. Although there were some weird people coming in and out of his hotel all year round, this was the first time he had seen them dressed like this.

"Beggars?" The hotel owner finally made a conclusion about their identities. "Stay at the door. Maybe people passing by will give you some money."

"Boss, we are all decent people, please don't insult us!" Manager Pete and the experts behind him blushed.

They have reason to be angry. In the East, no matter how rude the hotel owner is, he will not treat them like this.

Manager Pete pointed to the logo on his clothes and said emotionally to the hotel owner: "We are managers of Standard Oil Company! Can you help us open a few rooms?"

In Ohio, Pennsylvania and some other eastern states, Standard Oil is known to everyone, and this logo is a symbol of credibility.

However, he still overestimated his company's influence in the west.

"Do you have any cash?" The hotel owner looked at Manager Pete.

"This sign is our credit. After one month, we will send someone to settle the case with you." The manager said solemnly.

"Get out!" the hotel owner gave him a curt reply, and spit foam almost hit his face.

Peter and his experts still wanted to argue, but the hotel owner directly cursed:

"Get away! Don't affect my business! Do you want me to kick the butts of you liars?"

Manager Pete was very disappointed.

These savages of the west are simply incomprehensible.

He was a little desperate.

In this winter, you can't sleep on the street. He had a deep understanding of the temperature difference between day and night in New Mexico last night.

"I suggest you sleep in a stable. If you lie down on the street, you may become food for wild dogs in the middle of the night, hahahaha!"

A sloppy old cowboy sitting at the table next to the bar laughed wildly. There was a scar on his face and his beard was twisted into one piece.

His laughter resonated with a group of "martial arts heroes" around him, who also laughed crazily at the people in front of the bar.

Pete shuddered.

Suddenly, he saw Chen Jianqiu walking out of the room, gritted his teeth, and walked towards him.

Chen Jianqiu had just finished packing his things and was about to go out to see if there was anything to eat, when he happened to bump into Manager Pete.

"Can you lend me some money?" Pete said.

Chen Jianqiu adjusted his sleeves: "How much do you want?"

Peter looked back at the people behind him and calculated: "Thirty dollars."

Their clothes need to be repurchased, their supplies also need to be repurchased, and even their horses need to be repurchased.

The lobby of the hotel suddenly became quiet, and all these people turned their attention here.

"Then you have to write me an IOU." Chen Jianqiu continued to adjust his sleeves.

"How much is the interest?" Peter stared at Chen Jianqiu.

Chen Jianqiu gestured with his fingers.

"Fifteen percent?" Peter felt it was a bit high. He opened his mouth, as if he still wanted to discuss it.

"Yes, on a monthly basis, the interest is compounded." Chen Jianqiu didn't even blink, and turned around to leave, "If you don't want it, I'll go back."

"Okay, fifteen is fifteen." Peter knew he didn't have much choice.

He found a pen and paper from the hotel owner, wrote an IOU and pledged it to Chen Jianqiu.

Chen Jianqiu looked at the IOU, folded it in half and put it away, then took out three dark green bills from his pocket, and then stuffed them into Peter's hand under the watchful eyes of everyone in the hall.

There was still no sound in the hall, and the eyes of a group of "unemployed homeless people" were straight and glowing hotly.

However, the people on the evaluation team did not notice this.

They all thought that they should be able to sleep well tonight.

As it turns out, they did get a good night's sleep.

So good that when they woke up the next morning, they found the window open.

And that thirty dollars, except for the few dozen cents paid to the hotel owner last night, everything else was gone.

So, after this night, Manager Pete found that he still had nothing.

Oh, no, he still owes Chen Jianqiu a loan of thirty dollars.

Second update

(End of chapter)