America 1881: They Call Me Legend

Chapter 246 Standard Oil Get Out!

Kerosene, also called kerosene, is a finished light oil refined from petroleum through a distillation device.

Before the invention of the internal combustion engine, kerosene, as the main product of petroleum refining, entered thousands of households and was mainly used as fuel for kerosene lamps and kerosene stoves.

The Standard Oil Company, which had just established the oil trust, now controlled most of the U.S. refineries.

At the same time, they also control the pricing power of kerosene.

However, recently, a batch of kerosene sold at a price far lower than the market price has appeared in Albuquerque and surrounding areas.

Therefore, residents of Albuquerque who originally chose to light candles and burn firewood began to switch to kerosene lamps and kerosene stoves.

As one of these retailers of cheap kerosene, grocery store owner Forbes has also made a lot of money this month.

At this moment, he was wiping his kerosene lamp and happily preparing to start a new day of business.

However, a group of people in suits suddenly walked into his grocery store.

"Hey, what do you do? It's not officially opened yet. If you need kerosene, can you wait outside?" Forbes was a little dissatisfied.

He has made a lot of money recently, and his back has become much stronger.

The man in the suit, who was leading the charge, looked up and down at the furnishings in the grocery store. When he heard Forbes' words, he immediately turned to him:

"My name is Meyer, and I am the general manager of the Roswell branch of the Standard Oil Company."

Forbes rolled his eyes briefly and put a smile on his face: "Excuse me, what can I do?"

"I heard that you sell kerosene here, right?" Meyer's tone did not become polite because of Forbes' change in attitude.

Forbes wanted to slap himself in the mouth, but he knew that it was useless to lie.

It was written clearly on the wooden board hanging outside the door.

"Yes, sir."

"But I checked and found that you are not one of our dealers, and you have never sold kerosene here before this month!" Meyer's eyes were aggressive, "So, where did your goods come from?"

"I can't tell you this, it's a business secret! My husband." Forbes simply acted rogue.

"Our oil truck has been robbed and stolen several times this month! I have already called the police!" Meyer began to threaten.

"I'm informing you of two things now. The first is to stop selling kerosene products. We suspect that your source of supply is incorrect. The second is that I hope you can tell me who provided you with the supply."

He pointed to the men in suits behind him: "They are Pinkerton detectives, with law enforcement authority in New Mexico!"

However, Meyer's threats did not scare the grocery store owner.

He dismissed such remarks: "I won't tell you. Now please get out of my grocery store."

Meyer's face was ashen. He didn't expect that Detective Pinkerton, who was holding a weapon behind him, could not intimidate a small grocery store owner.

What kind of education do these people in the West have?

"Just wait to be prosecuted!" He said harshly and left the grocery store.

In one morning, he traveled throughout Albuquerque and visited every grocery store that sold kerosene.

However, no one gave him a good look, even if he brought a heavily armed Pinkerton detective with him.

The shop is still open, the kerosene is still sold, and no one knows who stole his oil.

The next day, he went to the Albuquerque police station.

The police chief received him very politely.

Meyer also told the director what happened and told him that if the problem could not be solved, he would take legal action.

"You can rest assured to investigate. We should prosecute. But before that, I still have no right to help you stop everyone from selling kerosene." The director spread his hands and said, "There is no evidence."

Meyer had a little chest tightness.

It seems I can only rely on myself.

He decided to personally keep an eye on these stores for a week. These grocery stores would definitely need to stock up on goods again. By then, he would be able to catch everyone and get the loot.

However, this week, I got nothing.

He took Pinkerton's detectives around Albuquerque for a week, but he didn't see anyone delivering kerosene.

Those oil thieves seemed to have disappeared.

On the contrary, the grocery store owners became more and more irritable towards them.

"Get out! You bastard in a suit!"

Blocking someone's way of making money is like killing your parents.

If they hadn't looked at the Pinkerton detectives behind Meyer, the grocery store owners would have picked up the shotguns under the counter and shot this annoying guy in front of them.

As supplies become tighter, the price of kerosene has also risen.

The dissatisfaction of Albuquerque residents is also growing day by day.

If we had known this, why would we have spent an additional amount of money to purchase a kerosene stove?

It's another early morning.

Meyer woke up and climbed out of bed.

The spring sunshine shines in through the window, illuminating the whole room and making people feel happy.

Meyer picked up a cup of coffee and came to the window.

He was going to take a look into the distance to change his bad mood.

However, when he walked half a meter away from the window and was about to open the curtains.

"Crack!"

The glass of the window was shattered.

A stone as big as a fist broke the glass, flew in from outside the window, and hit the coffee cup in Meyer's hand.

Coffee spilled all over Meyer and the coffee cup fell to the floor.

"Standard Oil Get Out of Albuquerque!"

"Oil thief!"

…

Meyer was stunned. He was just about to run to the window to see what was going on, but was pulled back by the Pinkerton detective captain who rushed in from the door and pressed him to the ground.

"Don't go near the window! People here really dare to shoot!"

Meyer was so dizzy that he had no idea why these people had so much hatred for him.

The captain handed him the newspaper in his hand.

This is the Albuquerque Morning News, which was published freshly this morning. The headline on the front page reads:

Standard Oil’s Shamelessness and Greed—Behind the Skyrocketing Price of Kerosene

Meyer quickly glanced at the news, which described him and Rockefeller behind him as shameless bastards who plundered the resources and wealth of the people of New Mexico.

They have made huge profits through monopoly and asked the grocery stores selling cheap kerosene to close down!

The next plan of these people is to continue to raise the retail price of kerosene and let the people of Albuquerque go back to burning firewood!

There are even interviews with grocery stores and even the police chief included below.

Meyer's eyes darkened.

"No, I want to sue them for defamation! Defamation!" He struggled to stand up.

However, Captain Pinkerton, who had been in the West for many years, knew what New Mexico was like, and his mind was much clearer than Meyer's now.

Combined with what happened last time, Standard Oil and Meyer are considered a stinker in Albuquerque. Maybe they themselves will also become stinky.

A few more stones were thrown up.

"Otherwise, we should set up a trap. You transport oil again, and my brothers and I will ambush you behind and lure them out!" the captain advised.

In this situation, it's better to run away first, because maybe more and more people will surround you later.

In Albuquerque, he couldn't shoot at the crowd like he was killing Indians.

"The fees are calculated according to the place where the case is handled, and the escort fee cannot be included again." Meyer still did not forget the abacus, "This week's accommodation expenses, food expenses, and the budget have exceeded the standard."

"Okay, okay, I ask you to stop talking now and go out with me first, okay?" The captain dodged a stone thrown up.

About ten minutes later, a group of Pinkerton detectives escorted Meyer out of the back of the hotel.

They carefully mounted their horses and prepared to run away.

But it was still discovered by some "enthusiastic people".

They did not surround these people, but sent them the most simple "greetings" in English or Spanish, which involved their parents and family members.

Meyer and his escort fled.

And sitting at a window seat in a restaurant not far from the hotel, a young man with yellow skin dressed as a cowboy was sitting, holding a coffee cup in his hand, looking at the embarrassed figure of Detective Meyer and Pinkerton.

The long-haired beauty opposite him was holding a copy of the "Albuquerque Morning News" and reading it carefully.

"I never thought you would write something like this." Camilla blinked at Chen Jianqiu while reading.

Chen Jianqiu smiled and said nothing.

He did not tell Camilla that the last report was also written by him.

Since Scott shared the media's resources with him, he didn't see any problem using them.

What's more, every word he wrote is true.

Second update

(End of chapter)