America 1881: They Call Me Legend

Chapter 246 Standard Oil Company Get Out!
Kerosene, also known as kerosene, is a finished light oil refined from petroleum through a distillation unit.

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, controlled most of the US refineries at this time.

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

Recently, however, in and around Albuquerque, there have been shipments of kerosene sold for far below the market price.

As a result, residents of Albuquerque who had previously opted for candles and wood-burning fires switched to kerosene lamps and stoves.

One of these cheap kerosene retailers, grocer Forbes, also made a lot of money this month.

At this moment, he is cleaning his kerosene lamp, 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 guys do? It's not officially open yet. If you want kerosene, can you wait outside!" Forbes was a little dissatisfied.

Recently, he has made a lot of money, and his back has become much stiffer.

The leading man in a suit looked up and down at the furnishings in the grocery store. Hearing what Forbes said, he immediately turned to him:

"My name is Meyer, and I'm the general manager of Standard Oil's Roswell branch."

Forbes rolled his eyes, and a smile appeared on his face: "Excuse me, what's the matter?"

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

Forbes wanted to slap his own mouth, but he knew it was useless to cheat.

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

"Yes, sir."

"But I checked, you are not one of our dealers, and, before this month, you have never sold kerosene here!" Meyer looked aggressively, "So, where did your goods come from?"

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

"Our oil truck has been robbed many times in this month! Stolen! I have already called the police!" Meyer began to threaten.

"I am now notifying you of two things. The first is to stop selling kerosene products. We suspect that your source of supply is not correct. The second is that I hope you can tell me who provided you with the source."

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

Meyer's intimidation, however, did not deter the grocer.

He dismissed this rhetoric: "I won't tell you, please get out of my grocery store now."

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?

"You wait to be sued!" He dropped a harsh sentence 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 was accompanied by the heavily armed Pinkerton detective.

The shop is still open, the kerosene is still sold, and whoever stole his oil is still unknown.

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

The chief of police received him with great civility.

Meyer also told the director what had happened, and told him that if the problem was not resolved, he would take legal action.

"You can investigate at ease, you should sue, 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 that you can only rely on yourself.

He decided to keep an eye here for a week. These grocery stores will definitely restock, and when the time comes, anyone who catches them will get all the stolen goods.

But this week, nothing came of it.

He took the Pinkerton detectives around Albuquerque for a week and saw no one delivering kerosene.

Those oil thieves seemed to have disappeared.

On the contrary, the bosses of the grocery store began to become more and more irritable towards them.

"Get out! You bastard in a suit!"

Blocking people's money is like killing your parents.

If it weren't for the Pinkerton detectives behind Meyer, the owners of these grocery stores would have picked up the shotguns under the counter and shot this annoying guy in front of them.

With the tight supply of goods, the price of kerosene has also risen back.

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

Knowing this, why spend another sum of money to buy a kerosene stove?

Another morning.

Meyer woke up and got out of bed.

The spring sun shines in through the window, making the whole room bright and pleasant.

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

He was going to take a look into the distance to change the bad mood he had been in for a while.

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

"Snapped!"

The glass of the window was smashed.

A fist-sized stone broke the glass, flew in from the window, and hit the coffee cup in Meyer's hand.

Coffee spilled over Meyer, and the mug fell to the floor.

"Standard Oil get out of Albuquerque!"

"Oil thief!"

……

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

"Stay away from the windows! People here really dare to shoot!"

Meyer was dizzy, he couldn't think of why these people hated him so much.

The captain handed him the newspaper in his hand.

This is an "Albuquerque Morning Post", which was freshly released this morning. The headline on the front page reads impressively:

The Shamelessness and Greed of Standard Oil Company——Behind the Skyrocketing Kerosene Price
Meyer glanced quickly 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 grab huge profits through monopoly, and ask those grocery stores that sell cheap kerosene to close!
The next plan of these people is to continue to raise the retail price of kerosene, so that the people of Albuquerque will go back to burning wood!
There are even interviews with grocery stores and even the chief of police attached below.

Meyer's eyes darkened.

"No, I'm going to sue them for defamation! defamation!" He struggled to his feet.

However, Captain Pinkerton, who has been in the west for many years, knows what kind of shitty New Mexico is. His brain is much clearer than Meyer now.

Combined with what happened last time, Standard Oil and Meyer are considered stinky streets in Albuquerque.

A few more stones were thrown up.

"Otherwise, let's play a trick. You transport oil again, and my brothers and I will lie in ambush behind you and lure them out!" the captain persuaded.

In the current situation, it is better to run away first, or there will be more and more people around later.

In Albuquerque, he couldn't shoot the crowd like he killed Indians.

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

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

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

They mounted their horses cautiously and prepared to flee.

But it was discovered by some "enthusiasts".

Instead of besieging these people, they sent them the simplest "greetings" in English or Spanish, involving their parents and family members.

Meyer and his escort fled.

On the window seat of a restaurant not far from the hotel, a yellow-skinned young man dressed in denim sat with 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 Post" and was reading it carefully.

"I didn't expect you to write this thing." Camilla blinked at Chen Jianqiu while watching.

Chen Jianqiu smiled without saying a word.

He didn't tell Camilla that the last report was also from him.

Now that Scott has shared the resources of the media with him, he doesn't see any problem in using them.

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

　two more

　　
　
(End of this chapter)