America 1881: They Call Me Legend

Chapter 278 Board of Directors

The original headquarters of the Santa Fe Railroad Company, in Santa Fe.

However, not long ago, Chen Jianqiu purchased part of Blake's shares and was elected chairman of the board of directors.

The election was boring and boring, because the directors learned that only if this mysterious boss Chen was elected as chairman could the Albuquerque-Roswell railway continue to be built.

No one has trouble with money.

The only thing that made them unhappy was that Chen Jianqiu did not attend the meeting.

A tall white man named Danny showed up in Santa Fe for him.

The man stood next to the chair.

And on the seat that should have belonged to Chen Jianqiu, there was a cowboy hat.

Chen Jianqiu moved the headquarters of the Santa Fe Railroad Company to a three-story building next to the Albuquerque train station.

That's the building where Blake lived before.

This board meeting was the first time they met the new chairman.

At ten o'clock in the morning, the conference room on the second floor was already packed.

The directors of the railroad company came from all over the country, some from within the state, some from out of state, some from the east, some from the west, and one even came from as far away as Pennsylvania.

They came all the way here just to see who this Chinese businessman Boss Chen was.

Blake sat silently next to the chairman's seat, smoking his pipe.

He always felt that he was being tricked, but he couldn't produce any concrete evidence.

The former chairman of the board of directors became more and more depressed as he thought about it, and took out his pocket watch from his arms.

Now the time has come to 10:29, and there is still one minute left before the officially agreed start time of the meeting.

The other shareholders were still whispering and discussing.

The conference room was filled with the smell of all kinds of tobacco.

Blake looked at the only vacant chair seat in the entire conference room and frowned.

This guy won't send his hat to attend again, will he?

While everyone in the conference room was still communicating, bursts of footsteps suddenly came from outside the door of the conference room.

It wasn't the footsteps of one, two, or three people, but the sound of many people stepping on the wooden stairs.

Everyone in the conference room was stunned.

What exactly is going on?

They even looked around themselves.

There is indeed only one empty seat in the conference room.

The sound of footsteps is approaching.

A director who was closest to the door wanted to stand up and open the door to see what was going on outside.

However, less than two seconds after he stood up, he sat down again.

The door was opened.

The two people pushed open the door and stood at the door, one on the left and the other on the right. Then two rows of people in black suits filed in.

They walked along both sides of the conference room and finally connected behind the chairman's position, surrounding the conference table.

The members of the board of directors looked around nervously, and those directors who came from the east were even more at a loss.

They have never heard of a board of directors operating like this.

However, their attention was soon attracted.

A young man wearing navy blue cloth walked in from outside the door.

He had a Chinese face, but he was different from the Chinese businessmen they knew. He did not have a shiny, bald forehead, long braids, or a satin mandarin jacket.

He only wore a cloth coat, but this cloth cloth was not as loose and baggy as the Chinese style. Instead, it was extremely slim, making the young man's figure appear more upright.

This was custom-made by the seamstress in Roswell at the suggestion of Chen Jianqiu.

Chen Jianqiu didn't tell her that this dress was actually called a Mao suit, but it had fewer pockets than the Mao suit.

Chen Jianqiu walked straight to his seat with steady steps and a calm face. Behind him were Abiot, Sean and Li Sifu.

He walked past the directors without saying a word.

A sense of oppression came over me.

Chinese, Mexican, and black, this made some directors a little unhappy, but after looking at the expressionless Long Xiang team standing around them, they still kept their mouths shut.

The directors kept silent, either looking at the young man or picking their fingers with their heads down.

Chen Jianqiu walked to his chair, and Sean pulled out the chair for him.

The chairman of the board of directors sat down, leaned back in his chair, and then took out a cigar from his clothes.

Li Sifu lit it for him.

Chen Jianqiu took out another exquisite pocket watch and placed it on the table.

His sharp eyes scanned the various board representatives sitting in the seats.

Everyone who was swept away felt the hairs on their backs stand up and lowered their heads involuntarily.

"Let's get started." Chen Jianqiu said briefly.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Santa Fe Railway Company's financial staff briefly reported on the company's operating conditions during this period, the progress of the construction of the Albuquerque to Roswell railway section, etc.

As the chairman, Chen Jianqiu's expression did not change much.

He was already familiar with these data.

And most of the directors listened very carefully.

There was only one Jewish businessman named Otto sitting on Chen Jianqiu's right. He seemed to have no interest and kept looking at the ceiling.

Before Chen Jianqiu became chairman, he was the second largest shareholder after Blake, and he is still the second largest shareholder now.

After the brief description of the business situation, we entered the link of each special event.

It is proposed by each director and then voted on by a show of hands, such as issuing bonds.

Soon, it was Otto's turn.

"I have something to do." He seemed to suddenly come to life from another world. He took out a stack of documents from his bag and handed it to Li Sifu. "Please pass it on to Chairman Chen."

Li Sifu took the thing and sent it to Chen Jianqiu.

"Dear Chairman, fellow directors, hello everyone." Otto leaned forward slightly and greeted everyone present.

"Recently, the company is building more and more new railway projects, and we are employing more and more workers."

"And among the workers we employ, a large part are Chinese workers."

"It is undeniable that they are hard-working, simple, cheap and able to endure hardships. They are also the best candidates to hire for railway construction in the past ten years."

Otto spoke eloquently, praising the merits of Hua Gong in a leisurely tone, which caused some of the directors attending the meeting to discuss privately whether the second shareholder was trying to flatter the chairman and gain a relationship.

However, he changed the subject.

"But they are not anymore. A few months ago, the federal government just enacted a bill that no longer grants legal citizenship to Chinese workers. Therefore, this country no longer welcomes them."

The atmosphere on the board of directors suddenly became tense.

Otto's words were aggressive. As a Chinese, Chen Jianqiu was sitting on a chair.

Many directors secretly glanced at Chen Jianqiu, who was sitting in the chairman's seat.

They were afraid that the famous boss Chen would overturn the table.

However, they found that the chairman was holding his chin in one hand and listening to Odo with great interest.

"I am not targeting you, Chairman." Otto looked at Chen Jianqiu with a smile on his face, "You are a generous and famous American citizen."

"I'm talking about those Chinese workers who don't have citizenship. We have recruited a lot of them during this period. Even if they don't sign contracts with us directly, they are still very risky."

"The government believes that their outcome should be to go back on their own or be deported."

"It is illegal for us to hire them. As far as I know, the union is already planning to sue us." He clenched his hands into fists and tapped the table slightly. "You should know that those unions are not easy to mess with. The government supports

them."

The more Otto talked, the more proud he became. His attack was well prepared.

He didn't believe that Chen Jianqiu dared to act so openly in Albuquerque.

"Is the chairman of the union named Murphy?" Chen Jianqiu suddenly interrupted Odo, "Is he an Irishman?"

Otto nodded.

"He changed his mind just two hours ago." Chen Jianqiu was still expressionless. "He told me that he liked Chinese workers and was willing to let them join the union. If you want to see him, I can have someone call him up now.

.”

Otto looked puzzled.

He simply could not believe that an Irish labor leader would like Chinese workers.

Chen Jianqiu stood up slowly and took a puff of his cigar. "You must have heard about the business situation just now. Our debt is very high. Our railway needs to continue to be built. Everyone here, no one wants to see the railway

Stop work."

The directors nodded.

"I am a person who respects other people's opinions. In this world, everyone has a different understanding of each other."

"These Chinese workers will have legal status, Mr. Otto. They are the company's assets."

Chen Jianqiu put his fingertips on the table, looked at Otto, and his voice suddenly turned cold:

"But before that, if the company's assets are damaged in the slightest, or if the Chinese workers fail to receive full wages, the railway will be suspended."

Chen Jianqiu paused: "I don't mind discussing things with some people to change my views."

"Okay, let's vote." He put down the cigar in his hand.

Only then did Otto feel that his entire back was wet.

(End of chapter)