America 1881: Legend of the West

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 an oil trust, now controlled most of the U.S. refineries.

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

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

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

As one of these cheap kerosene retailers, 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 leading man in a suit 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 there was no use in cheating.

It was clearly written 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 many times this month! Stolen! 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 supply of goods comes from incorrect sources. 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 the Pinkerton detective holding a weapon behind him could not deter 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 walked all over Albuquerque, visiting every grocery store that sold kerosene.

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

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

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

The chief of police received him with great courtesy.

Meyer also told the director what happened and told him that if the problem was not resolved, 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, "There is no evidence."

Meyer felt a little tight in his chest.

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, nothing was found.

He led Pinkerton's detectives around Albuquerque for a week, but saw no one 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 of here! You bastard in a suit!"

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

If it weren't for 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 residents of Albuquerque were increasingly dissatisfied.

If we had known this, why would we have to spend additional money on 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 long look to change the bad mood he had been feeling for a while.

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

"Snapped!"

The glass of the window was shattered.

A stone as big as a fist broke the glass, flew in from 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 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 clearly 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.

Through their monopoly, they made huge profits and demanded that grocery stores selling cheap kerosene 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 he had a much clearer mind than Meyer now.

Based on 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, let's 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, "The accommodation and food expenses for this week have exceeded the budget."

"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, involving their parents and family members.

Meyer and his escort fled.

Sitting on a window seat in a restaurant not far from the hotel was a young man with yellow skin dressed as a cowboy, holding a coffee cup in his hand and looking at the embarrassed figures 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.

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