America 1881: They Call Me Legend

Chen Jianqiu stayed in San Francisco for a few more weeks after cleaning up Heilman and California's blind business owners.

He received an invitation from railroad tycoon Mark Hopkins to live in the latter's castle mansion on Nob Hill.

The reason is that Chen Jianqiu attended the meeting of the Anti-Strike League at the top of the clock tower for him.

According to Chen Jianqiu, the Pacific Railway Company only needs to go to one person. Hopkins is too old, so it is better to move less.

It dodged a bullet for him.

Otherwise, his old bones would have to be torn apart.

Whenever he thinks of this, Hopkins always has lingering fears, thinking that Chen Jianqiu has saved his life, so he should be responsible for Chen Jianqiu's board and lodging in San Francisco.

His mansion on Nob Hill has been vacant, and Chen Jianqiu can live there as long as he wants.

Nob Hill is a high mountain in San Francisco. You can take a cable car up and down the mountain, and you can overlook the panoramic view of San Francisco from here.

Chen Jianqiu lives here very comfortably.

He is waiting for someone.

To be precise, it was the arrival of a group of people.

Sure enough, a few days later, when Chen Jianqiu was standing on the top of the castle watching the scenery, the butler of the castle trotted over.

"Mr. Chen, there are a few Chinese who want to see you," said the butler.

Chen Jianqiu was still staring at the street scene in San Francisco.

Not far from the foot of Nob Hill is Chinatown, with low houses and narrow streets.

"Tell them, I have something to do, let them wait for me in the living room first." Chen Jianqiu said without looking back.

After about an hour, Chen Jianqiu appeared at the gate of the living room.

Wearing a cloth robe, he glanced over the guests in the living room, and finally landed on an old man in the middle.

He knew this old man.

"President Huang, long time no see, long time no see." Chen Jianqiu walked up to the old man with a blustery face, and held his hand, "I'm sorry, I have something to keep everyone waiting."

The old man Chen Jianqiu called "Boss Huang" is the current president of the Zhonghua Guild, Huang Qingyun's brother, Huang Yongren.

Director Huang, whose younger brother died, looked much older than before.

He stood up with his crutches on his back, and saluted Chen Jianqiu.

"Boss Chen, let me introduce you, these people are all the general directors of the major guild halls."

Chen Jianqiu followed Huang Yongren's introduction and looked at them one by one.

These several people had different outfits and looks, some were polite, some were indifferent, but a fat man in a silk mandarin jacket was a little interesting, stood up and made a bow to him with a smile.

"This is Hu Qinghua, and his son is now working as an assistant in a branch of the Pacific Railway Company. His name is Hu Yueming."

Huang Yongren introduced.

"Your son is in my company?" Chen Jianqiu looked surprised, "Why don't you let him follow you directly?"

Hu Qinghua still had a smiling and respectful look: "The dog admires you very much, and he must call you the "Rockefeller among Chinese people". I hope you can raise one or two points, and the dog will benefit forever."

"It's easy to say, easy to say." Chen Jianqiu returned a salute, and walked back to the biggest chair in the middle of the living room.

He took the teacup from the butler, lifted the lid, blew on the tea leaves floating on it, and took a sip:
"Everyone come to visit, I don't know what you can do?"

Huang Yongren pressed his hands on the crutches, glanced at the other chief executives, and then turned to Chen Jianqiu who was still drinking tea with his head bowed:

"California is now in a strange situation, and many Chinese workers are now participating in the strike, but it is difficult to guarantee that those white people will not use this as an excuse to set off a wave of PAI Chinese again."

Chen Jianqiu covered the tea bowl and placed it on the coffee table beside him, crossed his hands and fingers on his stomach, and looked at the various Chinese merchants opposite.

It seems that this group of people were frightened by the previous fanatical behavior, and now they are all kinds of ghosts.

Huang Yongren still had a look of worry on his face, but the conversation had already changed:

"Your Excellency did not reveal his name when he first came to Ningyang Guild Hall, but judging from Qing Yun's attitude towards you, he was absolutely extraordinary; later, your Excellency was furious, ran to Akta, and returned with the corpse of his younger brother, which shows that your Excellency Righteousness!"

The old man's voice choked up when he mentioned his younger brother.

But he quickly adjusted his mood and continued:
"It wasn't until recently that I learned that your Excellency is a well-known figure on the southern border."

"Your Excellency has fought for our generation in a foreign land, even if Wang Xuance is still alive, it will be nothing more than that."

"Don't dare to do it, don't dare to do it." Chen Jianqiu waved his hands hastily.

No matter how thick-skinned he was, he was a little embarrassed.

This old man can really blow.

He didn't change America's regime.

But then again,
Who is Wang Xuance facing?It's Ah San!Who are you facing?Gilded Age America!
Who is behind Wang Xuance?That's Datang!Who is behind me now? he~tui!

Huang Yongren didn't know what Chen Jianqiu was thinking, he glanced at the people behind him again, it seemed that he had reached a certain consensus.

He then slowly said to Chen Jianqiu:
"After discussion among the eight guild halls, we unanimously decided to elect you as the new president of the Zhonghua guild hall to protect the American people."

Chen Jianqiu finally understood.

Now white workers are mixed with Chinese workers, and a large part of the Chinese workers are members of the Guild Hall.

The people in the guild hall are afraid that if they settle accounts in the future.

Those white workers are not necessarily easy to mess with. In the end, these wealthy, powerful and powerful business owners will definitely use Chinese workers.

So who are the rich and powerful business owners in California right now?
Chen Jianqiu must be one of them.

Now that Chen Jianqiu has become the general director of the Zhonghua Guild, since he is also a descendant of Yan and Huang, he will naturally take care of it.

"I can't be, I can't be." Chen Jianqiu smiled and waved his hands again, "I am not from your guild hall, nor a member of the clan. How can I be the general director of the Zhonghua guild hall?"

Huang Yongren and everyone looked at each other in blank dismay.

They never expected that Chen Jianqiu would refuse like this.

Indeed, the current eight major halls are mainly divided by region, basically the coastal areas of Guangdong.

The relationship in the guild hall is also mainly based on the clan as the link.

No way, dialect and culture determine their way of grouping together.

"Boss Chen! You have done so many things for the Chinese in New Mexico, you can't ignore the compatriots in California." The general manager of Sanyi Guild Hall seemed a little anxious.

Eight years ago, he, Shunde and a group of fellow villagers in Nanhai were the first to bear the brunt of the paihua operation. The shops were smashed and looted, so he has a deep understanding.

"Boss Chen! If you are poor, you will be alone, and if you are rich, you will benefit the world. I hope you can help everyone." Fatty Hu Qinghua, the general manager of Zhaoqing Guild Hall, stood up and said with hands clasped.

"Then you all insist that I be the general director of this Chinese Guild Hall?"

Chen Jianqiu picked up the tea bowl on the coffee table again, and asked with a smile while drinking tea.

"Boss Chen, please don't refuse, the chief executive is none other than you." Huang Yongren's wooden crutch tapped on the floor.

He said to Chen Jianqiu earnestly, "We are all old, and in the future we will still have to rely on young people like you to support the Chinese people!"

The general directors present were deeply touched.

The youngest of them is already in their fifties, and most of them have gray temples.

Chen Jianqiu raised his head and glanced at the crowd, the smile on his face suddenly disappeared, and his eyes became sharper:
"I can be the general manager, but you need to promise me a few conditions."

"First, I don't care what happens to your respective museums. The Chinese headquarters will also recruit members. There are no restrictions on their origins, and you don't have to worry about funding."

"Second, I won't fight with the Qing court, so I ask you to do it for me."

Chen Jianqiu mentioned a few conditions, but none of them sounded harsh.

The main reason is to expand the scope of the guild hall, which is no longer limited to the native place and area.

The major directors didn't even discuss it, so Huang Yongren agreed on his behalf.

Chen Jianqiu's words made them feel very reasonable:

As long as they are outside, there should be no distinction between Cantonese and Hunanese, but a unified Chinese.

After saying this, Chen Jianqiu stood up:
"Then I will go to the Ningyang Guild Hall to discuss the next thing with you in three days. However, before that, please trouble Mr. Huang to make appointments with the leaders of various clubs in Chinatown."