America 1881: They Call Me Legend

Chapter 519 Charity dinner.
The hotel where the charity dinner was held is also located on Ninth Street in Manhattan.

It's not as imposing as little Astor's cousin's Waldorf Astoria, but it's more than adequate for dinner parties.

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

The first person to greet him turned out to be Mr. Chinedu Parsons, the owner of the hotel and Astor's friend.

Chen Jianqiu originally thought that he was here to welcome little Astor, but unexpectedly, the rich man went directly to him,

"This is Mr. Chen! It's an honor!" With a smile on his face, Mr. Parsons extended his arms to welcome him in.

"Ah hello."

Qin Qin came unexpectedly, Chen Jianqiu could only smile and nod at him.

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

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

"Um, 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 leaned 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 those lights and introduced them to Chen Jianqiu.

Chen Jianqiu was really surprised.

Because there were too many things at hand, he handed over all the business of Roswell Electric Company to Tesla and Ford.

But Tesla basically doesn't care about business matters, and Ford basically handles them.

After the expo, Roswell Electric made persistent efforts and won the bid for the Nicaragua Falls Hydropower Station.

Tesla designed state-of-the-art alternator units for hydropower plants and laid high-voltage transmission lines all the way to New York.

Chen Jianqiu knew about it, but he didn't expect the business of these guys to expand so quickly.

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

The banquet hasn't started yet, but people have already arrived one after another.

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

In front of each chair, plates, knives and forks have been placed, waiting for the guests to be seated.

However, many guests didn't seem to be in a hurry, and they were still taking this opportunity to communicate with each other.

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

But Mr. Rockefeller gave him a little strange feeling.

As for what was wrong, Chen Jianqiu couldn't tell for a while.

Camilla took Chen Jianqiu's arm.

The Caribbean beauty changed into a long red dress today, and wore a platinum necklace with a huge sapphire on her chest.

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

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

Because her beauty and figure are too amazing.

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

"Honey, you are very eye-catching." Chen Jianqiu said with a smile in a low voice.

However, Camilla reminded him softly:

"These people seem to be not only looking at me, but mainly paying attention 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 looked over, and their expressions were a little bit respectful?

Chen Jianqiu didn't want to understand.

The name "Mr. Chen" can be said to be very popular in the west, but in a place like New York, even when Chen Jianqiu was in the limelight, he was not very popular.

After all, in the eyes of most people, he is just a Chinese nouveau riche who used the Astor family to sneak into the top circle of New York.

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

In addition, after Chen Jianqiu sold the shares of the railway company, he has been very low-key.

Therefore, the "respect" of these people is the same as the hospitality of Mr. Parsons before, which is somewhat inexplicable.

Under everyone's attention, Chen Jianqiu found his place with Camilla.

A card with their names written 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, this is Congressman Cartman I often mention to you, a well-known figure in New York City." Little Astor stood beside Chen Jianqiu and introduced him.

He turned to the old man again, pointing at Chen Jianqiu:
"Then this one is Mr. Chen Jianqiu, he"

Astor Jr. was just about to gush about his introduction.

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

But the old man had already stood up, and extended his hand to Chen Jianqiu with a smile: "Hello, Mr. Chen, I've heard of you for a long time."

This made Chen Jianqiu confused again.

Have you heard of your name for a long time?What's the meaning?
"Senator Cartman, you're flattering me, I'm just doing a small business." Chen Jianqiu was modest in accordance with the oriental practice. "

"You expelled the Japanese in the Hawaiian Islands and defended the interests of the American diaspora. It has spread throughout New York. Everyone admires your patriotism and passion."

Senator Cartman points to the people at the table who are craning their necks to look this way.

"Not only me, but many people think so."

Chen Jianqiu was a little confused.

Where does this follow?What happened to me in Hawaii, the deportation of the Japanese is true, but what the hell is patriotism?

"Don't thank me." Little Astor moved closer to Chen Jianqiu's ear.

Chen Jianqiu turned his head and curled his lips: "Have you been writing novels recently?"

Little Astor spread his hands and looked innocent: "Haven't you read the newspaper recently? I just told Pulitzer and his reporters about this, and they seem to be very interested in this."

Chen Jianqiu felt helpless.

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

Because little Astor's mother showed up.

This lady is the focus of attention wherever she goes.

She was wearing a luxurious skirt inlaid with precious stones, and the full bustle made the hem of the skirt into a tent, which could fit a person inside.

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

The noble lady stepped onto the stage and waved to the audience.

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

The appetizers and wine before the meal were also brought up one after another by the waiters.

"Champagne or wine?" asked the waiter.

"Red wine, thank you." Chen Jianqiu replied casually.

His attention was not on the wine, but on the old congressman.

The old man sat alone next to him, quietly watching the band playing on the stage, not knowing what he was thinking.

Chen Jianqiu always felt a sense of déjà vu when looking at him.

The song on the stage ended, and the guests basically sat in their seats.

A middle-aged man in a suit stepped onto the stage.

"It's the mayor of New York City, Democrat Yassini Murray." Little Astor leaned over again and whispered to Chen Jianqiu, "You're an idiot!"

"How about I change places with you?" Camilla, who was in the middle, "kindly" reminded.

Little Astor quickly shrank back and waved his hands again and again: "No, sister-in-law, no need."

The mayor stepped up to the microphone.

The microphones at that time were not the same as those of later generations. They looked more like a disc inlaid on a pillar.

But his subsequent behavior made Chen Jianqiu a little suspicious of how this man became the mayor of New York City.

Murray looked nervous.

He took out a piece of paper from his pocket and began to stutter and read the contents of the paper:

".The New York government has been committed to eradicating poverty and building a better municipal environment for everyone"

"...the snow has destroyed the livelihood of many people in the downtown area and crushed the houses of many people. We should help them."

"... New York City will have a better future as long as each of us reaches out and helps those who are still trapped in poverty."

"...I would like to thank the beautiful Mrs. Astor for organizing this charity dinner, and the Tammany Society, a long-established charitable organization that will raise funds."

Murray's eloquence is beyond praise.

Among the politicians Chen Jianqiu has met, not to mention the eloquent Roosevelt, even those half-way monks in New Mexico are much better than Murray.

Voters in the United States actually eat speeches very much.

But according to the mayor's level, I'm afraid he can't even paint a cake, so what kind of medicine did the voters take to vote for him?
Chen Jianqiu looked at Congressman Cartman, and found that the old man was holding his chin with his forehand, and his expression was a little displeased.

Obviously, he was very dissatisfied with Murray's performance on stage.

And the response from the audience was really not that good.

These rich people don't care what happens in the lower city. As long as their own interests are not infringed, they don't care much about the poor.

It's not that they're completely unkind.

It's that many of them simply can't understand why snow brings down roofs, why people lose their jobs, why people don't have water because it's cold, why people freeze to death because they can't start a fire.

This is beyond their cognition.

So they feel apathetic.

"He should have said that if these civilians are extremely hungry, they will find a way to find food in the rich area." Chen Jianqiu seemed to be talking to himself, "Or simply tell those who still support the government, if Don't save the civilians in the lower city, they will vote this government down."

But his words reach Senator Cartman's ears.

A faint smile suddenly appeared on the member's face:

"Trust me, Mr. Chen, that's not going to happen. The reason the Democrats are still in power is because we know it like the back of our hands."

"Are you talking about those gangsters?" Chen Jianqiu suddenly asked.

Senator Cartman is momentarily stunned for a few seconds before looking back and laughing.

The other people cast surprised glances here, but after seeing that it was Mr. Cartman who was laughing, they didn't say anything, and quickly withdrew their gazes.

"No, no, Mr. Chen, you are wrong." Cartman turned his face and shook his head, "The gang has its inevitability to exist, it is an inevitable product of the bottom society, we just hope that they can check and balance each other .”

"If they can fight themselves, they won't be able to deal with people outside the ghetto."

"But we will never use gangsters to control the bottom people, because those so-called gangsters are not worth mentioning in my eyes."

"In addition, this government has always paid close attention to the people in the lower city. They have a huge base and they trust us, after all."

The old man suddenly imitated little Astor and approached Chen Jianqiu's ear:

"After all, they are just envious, looking forward to becoming one of the rich."

Chen Jianqiu gave the old man a thumbs up, and then raised his hand to fetch the wine glass on the table.

"Mr. Chen, I heard that your experience is legendary. Have you ever cooperated with the Democratic Party in New Mexico?" Cartman asked beside Chen Jianqiu.

His words didn't get through.

Because Cartman did learn earlier from his fellow Democrats in New Mexico that Chen joined them to bring down an old Republican alligator named Scott.

"Huh? How do you know? I thought people in New York City wouldn't be interested in the little things on our frontier." Chen Jianqiu took a sip of red wine and replied disapprovingly.

"No, no, no, New Mexico is not a frontier area now. It is a rare western industrial area with a strong economy. I guess it will be a short time to join the Federation." Cartman continued.

His speech was slow and clear.

"So, what do you think of the last time you worked with the Democrats?"

Cartman's tentative wooing language aroused Chen Jianqiu's vigilance:

"I'm just a businessman, sir," he said with a smile.

Cartman laughs again, but instead of talking, he turns his head away.

Chen Jianqiu felt that he had encountered this situation before.

Ten years ago, in New Mexico, the same city owner wanted to make him his dog.

It's just that the gentleman who was also classified as a member of parliament had a very miserable end.

It seems that this Cartman is the same way.

No wonder he always felt that this MP looked so familiar.

But time has passed, and he, Chen Jianqiu, no longer has to do dirty work for others.

From Cartman's words, Chen Jianqiu has gradually separated the relationship between the gangsters in the lower city, the councilors and the Tammany Association.

Cartman's words are half true and half true, the gangs, especially the Five Points, do the dirty work for him.

He said that there is no control, it is very likely that some things are out of control.

The murder of the sheriff, this whole family, cannot escape the responsibility.

All that remains is to look for further evidence.

The following charity gala became boring for Chen Jianqiu.

He followed little Astor to donate some money symbolically.

Because these charitable organizations in the nineteenth century did not have such terms as accountants auditing and accounting disclosure.

It is not clear how much of the money went into the pockets of the Tammany Society and how much went into the pockets of those civilians.

(End of this chapter)