America 1881: They Call Me Legend

"Long time no see, Chen." Roosevelt looked at Chen Jianqiu with a smile.

"Long time no see, Teddy (author's note: Old Roosevelt's nickname, pay attention to the relationship with Teddy Bear)." Chen Jianqiu shook Roosevelt's hand.

He glanced at the two Italians who were pinned to the ground, and looked at the sheriff slightly apologetically: "It seems that every time I see you, I'm beating someone."

"Isn't that right?" Roosevelt laughed heartily, "But these people just need to clean up."

He glanced at the passengers on the platform who were still stretching their necks and staring at this side, and said with emotion: "New York just lacks people with a sense of justice like you."

"Maybe they just don't have such ability." Chen Jianqiu shook his head, "It's human nature to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. This is understandable. Of course, if they are willing to stand up, that is courage."

Roosevelt was stunned for a few seconds, but he soon came back to his senses.

"Take them back to the police station, and I'll deal with them when I go back." He ordered his subordinates to take the two Italians out of the station, and he accompanied Chen Jianqiu and Little Astor on foot to the carriage stop.

"By the way, you said in your letter that you needed my help, but you didn't make it too clear. Is there something very important?"

Chen Jianqiu asked while walking side by side with Roosevelt.

"It's a bit of a long story." Roosevelt was not in a hurry to tell Chen Jianqiu his plan, "Go to rest with Astor first, and I will send someone to pick you up tomorrow."

Chen Jianqiu nodded.

They got into the gorgeous carriage that little Astor had prepared for them.

The snow in New York City is still falling, and the pedestrians on the road are in a hurry.

Pedestrians gathered up their clothes, for fear that the cold wind and snow would pour in.

This winter is not ordinary cold, whether it is physically or mentally.

The carriage deliberately avoided lower Manhattan.

It is a place where all kinds of poor people live together. According to the coachman, it is also the most chaotic place in New York now.

However, Chen Jianqiu still saw some homeless men in thin clothes freezing to death at the intersection, and across the street was the bustling rich Manhattan area.

"Dad, what is that gorgeous building?" Xiao Pengkun pointed out the window of the carriage.

At the junction of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street, next to the former little Astor's house, a magnificent hotel emerged from the heavy snow.

The facade of this hotel is full of a Gothic style, and the bell tower-like spire makes the whole building look like a boxy castle.

Chen Jianqiu simply counted, this hotel has 13 floors, among all the buildings in Manhattan, New York at that time, it was already considered a skyscraper.

Next to it, the original house of Little Astor's family was also demolished, and replaced by a building under construction.

Because of the heavy snow, the construction site has been suspended, but the scaffolding still cannot conceal its domineering prototype, faintly surpassing the neighbors next door.

The carriage did not stop.Instead, he drove straight forward, and finally stopped in front of another private house of Astor Jr. on the Upper East Side.

Chen Jianqiu and his family got out of the carriage.

Seven or eight servants ran out of the house, planning to move their luggage into the house.

But when they saw that there were only two small boxes, they were still surprised.

"My elder brother doesn't pay attention to this, hurry up and prepare the room!" Little Astor shouted at the servants.

"The room is ready, sir." The servant replied respectfully.

Little Astor and Eva accompanied Chen Jianqiu's family and walked towards the house.

"What happened to the hotel next to your house?" Chen Jianqiu asked as he walked.

It's okay not to mention this, but when this topic is brought up, little Astor seems to be suffocating.

"It was built by my cousin William Astor and it's called the Waldorf."

"This guy has been against me since I was a child, so he built a so-called 'the most luxurious hotel in the United States' next door to our house. His hotel blocked the sunlight from our garden. My mother couldn't help but directly Moved to live in the suburbs."

Little Astor said indignantly.

"So you demolished your original mansion and built a bigger one?" Chen Jianqiu sighed a little at the waywardness of these top rich men in New York.

"Yeah, I plan to build 16 floors, bigger and more luxurious than his!" Little Astor pouted and replied, "My hotel is going to be named Astoria, which means Starry Night Goddess, my hotel will shine like her."

"Okay." Chen Jianqiu stepped into the gate of the house.

The house was in keeping with his usual perception of young Astor's family tastes.

Whether it is from the decoration of the house or the furniture, including the famous paintings on the walls and the antiques on display, it is emphasized that one does not seek the best, but the most expensive.

"You guys should stay here." Little Astor took off his coat, and sat down on the luxurious sofa in the middle of the main room.

Although the whole house was heated, a fire was still burning in the fireplace, which made the hall of the house very warm and in stark contrast to the cold outside.

Chen Jianqiu sat down on another sofa next to Little Astor.

He found a stack of comic strips on the table at hand, probably based on Astor Jr.'s new novel.

Chen Jianqiu took one of them and started browsing.

"Chen, are you really not going to buy property in New York? The land here is getting more and more valuable." Little Astor asked, half lying on the sofa.

"Let's talk about it." Chen Jianqiu flipped through the comics and said casually, "The economic situation is not very good now."

Little Astor smiled;
"Hey, you don't know this. In the United States, the way to make the really rich poor is never the financial crisis, but another group of rich people!"

"Because we control everything."

"Are you talking about Freemasonry?" Chen Jianqiu raised his head and stared at Little Astor.

"Yeah, but I never go to those old guys' meetings. Ever since my father died, they have been asking me to fill in the vacancy." Little Astor said disapprovingly, "I just need to run my business in New York honestly. The industry is fine, and what Morgan and the others are researching is not very attractive to me. However."

Little Astor paused, his expression became a little serious:
"I heard that John Rockefeller has been trying to kill you. You have to be careful."

"This is not new news." Chen Jianqiu continued to look at the comics. "It's not the first day he wanted to deal with me. It's hard to say that Hawke and Walter Hope didn't have their handwriting behind the gold."

"You'd better be careful, this old guy is not a good stubble, his wealth and power are beyond Dugan's comparison. Moreover, he has done a lot of shameful things." Little Astor reminded kindly road.

Chen Jianqiu laughed it off.

He very much welcomes Rockefeller to show his talents on the dark track in front of him, and he also very much hopes to see which one is more shameful compared with the little luck in the East and the wildness in the West.

After visiting the whole house with Camilla and Xiaopeng Kun, Emma also came to the living room:
"Aster, Chen and his family are probably tired from the long journey, or else let's let them have a good rest after we leave," Emma said.

Little Astor nodded, stood up, bid farewell to Chen Jianqiu, and left the house with Emma.

The next morning, the snow stopped and the sun came out.

When Chen Jianqiu put on his clothes and went downstairs, he found that the first floor had already warmed up.

The fireplace in the living room seemed to never go out, and it was burning again.

"Mr. Chen, breakfast is ready for you." The servant saw Chen Jianqiu coming down the stairs, bowed deeply, and brought Chen Jianqiu to the dining room.

Milk, chicken pudding, stewed oysters, fried eggs and steak.

The rest of Chen Jianqiu could understand, but this was the first time he had seen oysters this early in the morning.

After breakfast, someone knocked on the door of the house.

The servant ran to open the door, and after a while came to report:
"Mr. Chen, the person sent by Sheriff Roosevelt to pick you up is already waiting for you outside the door."