America 1881: Legend of the West

The hotel where the charity dinner is held is also located on 59th Street in Manhattan.

It wasn't as majestic as the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Little Astor's cousin, but it was adequate for holding dinner parties.

That night, when the lights were on, Chen Jianqiu and Camilla stepped out of the carriage and walked into the lobby of the hotel with little Astor and his wife Eva.

The first person to greet him was Mr. Chinedu Parsons, the owner of the hotel and a friend of little Astor.

Chen Jianqiu originally thought he was here to greet little Astor, but unexpectedly, the rich man walked directly towards him.

"This must be Mr. Chen! What an honor!" Mr. Parsons had a smile on his face and stretched out his arm to welcome him in.

"Ah hello."

The courtesy came so unexpectedly that Chen Jianqiu could only smile at him and nodded.

"Mr. Chen, is my hotel okay?" Parsons asked as he led them inside and pointed to the decoration in his lobby.

The lobby is splendid and full of European-style golden luxury, and even the ceiling is dotted with various lights.

"Well, you should ask Mr. Astor about this, he is an expert." Chen Jianqiu turned his head and glanced at the smiling little Astor behind him, and greeted him, "Hey, real estate tycoon, what about you?"

Little Astor came forward.

"All the lights here are from Roswell Electric Company. The electricity used in this building is also provided by your company." He pointed to the lights and introduced them to Chen Jianqiu.

Chen Jianqiu was really surprised.

Because there were too many things on his hands, he handed over all the Roswell Electric Company's business to Tesla and Ford.

However, Tesla basically doesn’t care about business matters, and Ford is basically handling them.

After the expo, Roswell Electric Company continued its efforts and won the bid for the Niagara Falls Hydropower Station.

Tesla designed the most advanced alternator sets for hydropower stations and laid high-voltage transmission lines all the way to New York.

Chen Jianqiu knew about this, but he didn't expect that these guys' business would be promoted so quickly.

Under Parsons' guidance, Chen Jianqiu and the others went up to the second floor and entered the banquet hall.

The banquet hasn't started yet, but people are already arriving one after another.

There are three rows of long tables in the hall, with chairs facing each other on both sides of the tables.

In front of each chair, plates, cutlery and forks have been placed, waiting for guests to take their seats.

However, many guests did not seem to be in a hurry and were still taking this opportunity to communicate with each other.

Among these people, Chen Jianqiu saw the familiar Mr. Morgan, Rockefeller, and Sheriff Roosevelt.

But Mr. Rockefeller gave him a strange feeling.

As for what the strange thing was, Chen Jianqiu couldn't tell for a while.

Camilla took Chen Jianqiu's arm.

The Caribbean beauty put on a long red dress today and wore a platinum necklace set with a huge sapphire on her chest.

This was prepared for Camilla by little Astor's wife Eva.

But she insists that these are just the icing on the cake, because no matter what clothes Camilla wears or what jewelry she wears, she will be the center of attention at the party.

Because her beauty and figure are so amazing.

Sure enough, when the two appeared at the door, many people's eyes turned around and fell on them.

"My dear, you are very eye-catching." Chen Jianqiu whispered with a smile.

However, Camilla reminded him softly:

"These people seem to be paying attention not only to me, but mainly to you."

Only then did Chen Jianqiu realize that what Camilla said seemed to make sense.

Because there were not only men but also women who came over, and their expressions were a bit...respectful?

Chen Jianqiu didn't understand.

The name "Mr. Chen" is well-known in the West, but in places like New York, even when Chen Jianqiu was at his peak, he was not very popular.

After all, in the eyes of most people, he is just a Chinese upstart who got into the top circles of New York through the Astor family.

The Chinese are not welcome here; the nouveau riche are also not very welcome, although these so-called "nobles" who go back one or two generations are also nouveau riche.

In addition, Chen Jianqiu has been keeping a very low profile since he sold his shares in the railway company.

Therefore, the "respect" of these people is a bit inexplicable, just like Mr. Parsons' previous courtesy.

Under the attention of everyone, Chen Jianqiu found his and Camilla's place.

The card with their names on it was folded into a triangle and placed next to their plates.

Sitting next to them was an old man with a white beard.

"Please allow me to introduce you. This is Councilor Cartman, whom I often tell you, a well-known figure in New York City." Little Astor stood next to Chen Jianqiu and introduced him.

He turned to the old man again and pointed at Chen Jianqiu:

"Then this is Mr. Chen Jianqiu Chen, he"

Little Aster was just about to start his introduction in a voluble manner.

He could go on and on all day and all night about these.

But the old man had already stood up, smiled and stretched out his hand to Chen Jianqiu: "Hello, Mr. Chen, I have long admired your name."

This statement made Chen Jianqiu confused again.

Have you admired the name for a long time? What's the meaning?

"Congressman Cartman, you're very grateful. I'm just doing a small business." Chen Jianqiu showed modesty in accordance with Oriental custom. "

"Your story of expelling the Japanese from the Hawaiian Islands and safeguarding the interests of American expatriates has spread throughout New York. Everyone admires your patriotism and passion."

Councilor Cartman pointed to the people at the table who were craning their necks to look over.

"It's not just me, a lot of people think so."

Chen Jianqiu was a little confused.

Where is this going? Regarding my own affairs in Hawaii, expelling the Japanese was indeed a matter of course, but what the hell is patriotic sentiment?

"Don't thank me." Little Astor leaned into Chen Jianqiu's ear.

Chen Jianqiu turned his head and curled his lips: "Have you written another novel recently?"

Little Astor spread his hands and looked innocent: "Have you not read the newspaper recently? I just told Pulitzer and his reporters this, and they seemed to be very interested in it."

Chen Jianqiu felt helpless.

While they were still biting their ears and chatting, the guests began to take their seats one after another.

Because little Astor's mother appeared.

This lady is the center of attention wherever she goes.

She wore a luxurious skirt inlaid with gems. The full skirt turned the hem of the skirt into a tent, and anyone could fit inside.

"Please take your seats quickly, the charity dinner is about to begin."

The lady walked onto the stage and waved to the people in the audience.

A traditional classical band appeared on the stage and began to play soothing music.