America 1881: Legend of the West

More than a week later, Chen Jianqiu arrived in Carbon County with dozens of people.

They did not take the train directly to Shiquan Town.

Because the goal of dozens of people is really too big, in a small town, it will inevitably cause unnecessary trouble.

Chen Jianqiu asked Li Sifu and Feiniao to take the Longxiang group to stay in Carbon County, while he and Sean changed into cowboy clothes and went to Shiquan Town to explore the news.

Compared with four years ago, Shiquan Town is still the same, with almost no changes.

The same mess and mud, the same dust filling the air, shrouding the whole town in a haze.

Chen Jianqiu and Sean walked along the road in the town.

It was daytime and the workers were working in the mines, so the town was deserted.

"Sean, why haven't we returned the saddle you stole?" Chen Jianqiu suddenly asked.

The black man was speechless for a moment.

"Probably, just give it back. Those horses we did should have run back on their own later."

"Oh, I hope so. You'd better keep your hat on. The saddler with the pitchfork must be very impressed with you."

Chen Jianqiu said as he walked forward.

Black people are far more conspicuous than Chinese people in this town.

When the two passed by the police station, they found that there was no one inside.

Chen Jianqiu stopped.

He glanced at the reward bar outside the door and found that there were no reward orders for himself and Sean on it.

It's been four years, maybe the few pictures they have have been covered under other thick bounties.

However, what makes Chen Jianqiu strange is that in addition to the reward order, there are also some strange things posted there.

A gust of wind blew.

One of them was blown down, causing it to roll on the road.

Chen Jianqiu walked up quickly, bent down and picked it up.

It’s a leaflet:

Chinese people, our doom is coming.

This is a threat.

He raised his head and found another one on the wall of the grocery store next to him.

What is written above is even more straightforward:

Yellow dog! Get out of Shiquan Town quickly!

The two of them continued walking forward.

More and more leaflets came into Chen Jianqiu’s eyes:

On the wall of the house, on the trunk of the tree, on the fence

He frowned.

It seemed that his worries had become a reality.

In the West, strikes usually occur at the same time as violence against China, and the former often becomes the trigger for the latter.

"Come on, do you want to take you to see my house?" Chen Jianqiu said to Sean.

He led the black people toward the Chinese residential area in Shiquan Town.

The residential area is located near Mine No. 3.

The first batch of Chinese workers who came to Shiquan Town dug coal here.

In order to be close, they built simple tents and wooden houses beside the Bute River.

Later Chinese workers also settled here.

Over time, this area became a gathering area for Chinese workers in Shiquan Town.

Chen Jianqiu also lived here four years ago.

They crossed the wooden bridge over the Bute River.

On the bridge, Chen Jianqiu saw a familiar figure from a distance.

An old man was squatting by the river washing his face.

"New Jabber!"

When the old man heard someone calling him, he straightened up with difficulty and turned around.

He narrowed his eyes and stared at the two men dressed as cowboys on the bridge.

The distance was a bit far, and he could only roughly see their skin colors.

One Chinese, one black.

Two people quickly came to him.

"Uncle Xin, didn't you go down the well today?" Chen Jianqiu looked at the old man with a smile.

He took off his hat.

The old man looked at Chen Jianqiu's face repeatedly.

His eyes suddenly widened and he slapped his thigh. He was extremely happy but tried his best to suppress his voice:

"It's you! Jianqiu!"

Chen Jianqiu smiled and nodded.

The old man glanced left and right, and after making sure there was no one else, he pulled Chen Jianqiu and Sean into a small wooden house by the river.

"My back problem has come back again." The old man sighed, "Have a rest and I'll be there later."

"By the way, Jianqiu, why are you back again?" He glanced at Chen Jianqiu and then at the black man next to Chen Jianqiu.

"We were going to San Francisco and happened to be passing by. I heard that it had become popular, so I came back to have a look."

Chen Jianqiu originally wanted to find a place to sit down.

But the room was too small, and there was no stool to sit on.

So he and the old man squatted at the door together.

What happened during the four-year period caused quite a stir in Shiquan Town.

But as time went by, people gradually began to forget about it.

After the death of the old mine owner Robert, the Pacific Coal Mine Company took over the mine.

They took another pay cut.

"After the salary reduction, will it be enough to live on?" Chen Jianqiu asked.

"It's enough to tighten your belt. At least it's much more than at home." The old man lit up his dry smoke pot. "The biggest problem is safety."

Ironically, Pacific Coal & Minerals may have been the first company outside of New Mexico to ignore the bill.

Because the bosses of the coal mining companies planned to use Chinese workers to replace the white workers who were unwilling to continue working due to salary cuts.

This made the conflict between the two even deeper.

Chinese workers are harassed from time to time, and no one even dares to leave the settlement alone now.

"I heard that since last month, the road from Livingstone to Stone Spring has been covered with leaflets saying that we will be deported."

The old man said so.

"Since it's so dangerous, haven't you considered changing places?" Chen Jianqiu asked.

"Where are we going? Everyone is spreading rumors that there is a boss named Chen in the south, and his business is very big." The old man knocked on the cigarette pot in his hand, "They also said that there is a big Chinese town there. .”

"How is this possible?" He shook his head, "I heard that many people are now being caught and thrown on the ship returning home."

"If it's true, how capable that boss must be! Anyway, I have never seen such a person in my life."

Sean glanced at Chen Jianqiu and was about to speak, but was stopped by Chen Jianqiu's cough.

"By the way, Jianqiu, where do you work now?" The old man looked at Chen Jianqiu worriedly.

"Oh, we herd cattle for a ranch owner in Kansas." Chen Jianqiu patted the cowboy hat in his hand and said.

The two talked about some past events.

Including how the old man discovered Chen Jianqiu on the train's mine bucket, and also included Chen Jianqiu's astonishing move in the tavern.

"Jianqiu, was it really you who killed the old mine manager?" the old man suddenly asked.

He stared into Chen Jianqiu's eyes, trying to find the answer from the young man's eyes.

"I said no, do you believe it?" Chen Jianqiu said with a half-smile.

The sheriff and other law enforcement officers died under his gun, but the death of the old mine director was really not his fault.

"It's okay if it's not, it's okay if it's not." The old man took another puff of the dry smoke pot and muttered to himself.

"Have people from trade unions approached you recently?" Chen Jianqiu asked.

"What is a union?" The old man looked confused. "What do they want from us?"

"Well, have any white workers come to you to talk about the strike?" Chen Jianqiu said in a simpler way.

"It seems they have, they seem to be coming later." The old man sighed.

"But Jianqiu, after all, why should we strike if we have nothing to do? We have nothing here. What will we eat if we don't work? Why do we come here after all the hard work?"

"You can only become a master by enduring hardships, Jianqiu."

Chen Jianqiu was silent for a while and did not speak.

Suffering has never been worthy of praise, let alone an anesthetic of universal value.

This is completely different from hard work.

But the key to the problem now may not be this anymore.

He said to the old man:

"Next time they come, let me know."