America 1881: They Call Me Legend

Chapter 278 Board of Directors

Santa Fe Railroad's original headquarters in Santa Fe.

However, not long ago, Chen Jianqiu bought part of Blake's shares and was elected as the chairman of the board of directors at the same time.

The election was dull and tasteless, because the directors learned that only if this mysterious Boss Chen was elected chairman, the construction of the Albuquerque-Roswell railroad could continue.

No one has a hard time with money.

The only thing that made them feel uncomfortable was that Chen Jianqiu did not attend that meeting.

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

The man stood beside the chair.

On the seat that should belong to Chen Jianqiu, there was a cowboy hat.

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

It was the same building as Blake's before.

This board meeting is the first time they have met the new chairman.

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

These directors of the railway company came from different places, some in the state, some out of the state, some in the east, some in the west, and the farthest one even came from Pennsylvania.

They came all the way here just to see how divine this Chinese businessman, Boss Chen, is.

Blake sat silently beside the chairman's seat, smoking his pipe one after another.

He always felt that he had been tricked, but he couldn't produce any real evidence.

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

Now the time has come to 29:1, and there is still one minute before the formally agreed meeting start time.

The other shareholders are still whispering and discussing.

The meeting room smelled of all kinds of tobacco.

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

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

While everyone in the conference room was still communicating, there were sudden bursts of footsteps outside the door of the conference room.

Not one, two, or three footsteps, but the sound of many on the wooden stair-slabs.

Everyone in the conference room was stunned.

what is happening?
They even took a look around themselves.

In the conference room, there was indeed only one seat vacant.

Footsteps approached.

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.

Two people pushed open the door and stood at the door, one on the left and one on the right, and then two rows of people in black suits entered.

They walked in along the two 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 the directors who came from the east were even more at a loss.

They had never heard of a board meeting like this.

But soon, their attention was attracted.

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

He has a Chinese face, but it is different from those Chinese businessmen they know. He does not have a shiny, bald forehead, long braids, or a satin jacket.

He was only wearing a commoner garment, but this commoner garment was not as loose and bulky as the Chinese style. Instead, it was extremely slim, which made the young man's figure even more upright.

It was custom-made by the tailor of Roswell at the suggestion of Chen Jianqiu.

Chen Jianqiu didn't tell her that the clothes were actually called Chinese tunic suits, but they had fewer pockets than the Chinese tunic suits.

Chen Jianqiu walked straight to his seat, his steps were steady, his face was still like water, followed by Abiot, Xiao En and Li Sifu.

He walked past the various directors without a word.

A sense of oppression came over me.

Chinese, Mexicans, and blacks made some directors a little upset, but they kept their mouths shut when they glanced at the expressionless Longxiang group standing around them.

The directors all fell silent, either staring at the young man, or lowering their heads and picking their fingers.

Chen Jianqiu walked up to his chair, and Xiao En pulled the chair away for him.

The chairman of the board sat down, leaning back in his chair, and pulled a cigar out of his clothes.

Li Sifu ordered it for him.

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

His sharp eyes swept over the various director representatives in their seats.

All the people who were swept away felt the hairs on their backs standing on end, and lowered their heads involuntarily.

"Let's start." Chen Jianqiu said briefly.

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

As the chairman, Chen Jianqiu's expression didn't change much.

He has long been familiar with these data.

And those directors, most of them listened very seriously.

There was only one Jewish businessman named Odo sitting on Chen Jianqiu's right hand, who seemed to be uninterested and kept looking at the ceiling.

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

After the brief description of the business situation is completed, it enters the link of various special events.

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 a matter." He seemed to come alive from another world suddenly, 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 item and sent it to Chen Jianqiu.

"Dear Chairman, Hello, everyone." Otto leaned forward slightly, greeting everyone present.

"Recently, the company's new railway projects are increasing, and the number of workers we employ is also increasing."

"A large part of the workers we employ are Chinese workers."

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

Otto spoke eloquently, praising Huagong's merits in a leisurely tone, which caused some directors attending the meeting to privately discuss whether the second shareholder was flattering the chairman and setting up relationships.

However, he changed the subject.

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

The atmosphere on the board of directors suddenly froze.

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

Many directors secretly aimed at Chen Jianqiu who was sitting in the chair.

They were afraid that the well-known boss Chen would directly overturn the table.

However, they found the Chairman resting his chin on one hand, listening to Otto with interest.

"I didn't target you, Chairman." Odo looked at Chen Jianqiu with a smile on his face, "You are a generous and prestigious American citizen."

"I'm talking about those Chinese workers who don't have citizenship. We have recruited a lot during this period. Even if they don't directly sign a contract with us, there is a very big risk."

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

"It's illegal for us to hire them. As far as I know, the union is already planning to sue us." He clenched his hand into a fist and tapped the table lightly, "Everyone should know that those unions are not easy to mess with, and the government supports them." them."

The more Otto talked, the more complacent he was. His attack this time was well-prepared.

He didn't believe that Chen Jianqiu dared to brazenly do anything in Albuquerque.

"Is the chairman of the union called Murphy?" Chen Jianqiu suddenly interrupted Odo, "An Irishman?"

Otto nodded.

"He changed his mind, just two hours ago." Chen Jianqiu remained expressionless, "He told me that he likes Chinese workers and is 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 laborers.

Chen Jianqiu stood up slowly. He 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 shutdown."

The directors nodded.

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

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

Chen Jianqiu put his fingertips on the table, he looked at Otto, his voice suddenly became cold:
"But before that, if the company's assets are damaged in the slightest, or those Chinese workers are not able to receive the full wages, which leads to the shutdown of the railway."

Chen Jianqiu paused for a moment: "I don't mind talking to some people about changing my views."

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

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

(End of this chapter)