America 1881: They Call Me Legend

Chapter 546

Dignity, or survival.

This is a problem.

As a glorious colonel of the U.S. Federal Army and a white supremacist racist, Wiltord is at war with man and nature at this time, and is very entangled.

Going to Roswell to buy food from the Chinese is tantamount to slapping yourself in the face.

From now on, every time I eat, when I see the bread in my hand, I will think that I bought it from the Chinese who I look down upon.

Wiltord wondered if he would still be able to eat in the future.

At least on the border, he might not have the face to argue with Chen Jianqiu again.

But if he didn't buy it, he couldn't be more clear about what his soldiers would do after the grain stocks were exhausted.

I'm afraid that even the barracks will be demolished by that time.

Not to mention pressing myself, I am afraid that I will be lifted up and hit a tree with a split fork.

The colonel was very tangled, his brows were twisted into twists.

The quartermaster at the side saw the officer like this, and came up:
"Sir, I have a solution."

Those who can become quartermasters in the army are either the commander's cronies, or they are all good people. How can they not see what their leaders are thinking?

"If you really can't save your face, I'll lead someone to pretend to be a caravan, and just say that they are grain merchants in Texas." The quartermaster said.

"Is there any difference?" The colonel glanced at the quartermaster, "Isn't it still going to be bought from those Chinese in the end? Besides, didn't the military salary not arrive this month? Where did we get the money?"

The colonel is not very clear about how much money is in the army's account, but he knows that many soldiers are still owed last month's salary.

The quartermaster smiled:
"If you don't give money, it's not considered a purchase."

Wiltord's eyes lit up, but then he shook his head:
"No, no, we have conducted investigations in Roswell. The defense there is too solid. In addition to the militia stationed there, there are also heavy weapons. Otherwise, I would have blown them up."

Wiltord shook his head.

The quartermaster's idea was quite to his liking, but it still seemed flawed.

"We don't need to go to the town of Roswell." The quartermaster said in a low voice, although there was no one in the warehouse, "There is a farm five kilometers south of the town, where they usually trade grain."

"I have dealt with the Chinese. The Chinese are very polite in doing business. They will look at you with a smile. Most of the time, they will uphold the principles of 'sufficiency is a blessing' and 'peace things with peace'." The quartermaster added.

Wiltord nodded, but then felt something was wrong.

He glanced at the quartermaster:
"How do you know so clearly?"

"Ah, well, sir, when do you think we should start?" the quartermaster faltered and talked about him.

Wiltord did not continue to dwell on this matter:
"Let's go as soon as possible. If you are later, I'm afraid the food in the barracks will run out."

Early the next morning, a convoy disguised as a caravan drove out of the barracks.

The soldiers in the convoy changed into peasants' civilian clothes, while the head quartermaster wore a cowboy hat and brown overalls, just like a grain merchant.

"Sir, is it still the destination from last time? Roswell Farm?" the quartermaster asked in a low voice behind the quartermaster.

"Well, ah, shut up, when have we been to the farm?" The quartermaster gave his confidant a sideways look.

The soldier understood and immediately shut his mouth.

It was not far from the frontier barracks to Roswell. After five or six hours of advancing, the team saw a touch of green on the horizon in the distance.

Thanks to the efforts of agronomists from the Roswell Society of Scientists and engineers from fertilizer plants, a large swath of land south of Roswell has been turned into a farmstead.

Drought-tolerant plants such as peanuts, potatoes, and corn are grown here.

The water of the Grande River flows into the ravines of the farmland along the constructed canals, irrigating the once barren land.

The quartermaster led the team along the road through a beautiful field of sunflowers.

"Sir, what do you think that is?" A soldier pointed to a huge steel monster in the field not far away.

This thing looks like an oversized carriage, or a smaller locomotive, with big and wide wheels, moving slowly forward, and the iron chimney standing next to it is smoking, floating in the air.

Behind this behemoth is dragged an equally huge harvester, harvesting the wheat in the field.

The quartermaster was dumbfounded.

"Maybe, maybe a steam engine, or..."

He had never seen this thing before, so he couldn't tell why.

"It's a tractor, gasoline powered."

A Chinese farmer who was sitting on the ridge and smoking a cigarette suddenly stood up, patted the ashes on his butt, and said in standard English,

"Mr. Ford's invention is still in the experimental stage. It's worth a dozen or so cows."

The surprise on the quartermaster's face remained the same.

He looked at the Chinese farmers:

"Can you understand me? Do you understand this modern agricultural technology?"

The Chinese peasant glanced at him like a bumpkin:
"I just went to Stanford University's Adult College to study agricultural technology and science for half a year in the first half of the year. Now I am studying soil improvement here. May I ask what school you graduated from?"

The quartermaster immediately shut up.

Strictly speaking, he is half illiterate.

The team continued along the road in the direction of Roswell Farm.

Soon, they saw the gate of the farm.

There is a trading market in the open space to the south of the farm, which is very lively.

Because it is not far from Roswell's train station, many Texas farmers also come here to trade grain.

The quartermaster led the convoy through the gate.

He parked the convoy outside the warehouse.

He walked into the warehouse with ease.

"Move the potatoes out, Mr. Derek needs some potatoes, he came yesterday, we can't keep him waiting too long!"

A middle-aged Chinese man turned his back to the quartermaster, directing the busy people in the warehouse.

His name is Xu Youcai, and he is the person in charge here. He wears a white sleeveless gown and hangs a towel around his neck to wipe sweat vigorously.

The quartermaster walked up and patted him on the shoulder:

"Hey, are you busy, Xu?"

This is a very Chinese way of saying hello.

The man surnamed Xu turned his head, seeing that he was a quartermaster, he laughed too:
"Ah, hello, Mr. Jefferson, long time no see. Why, are you here to sell grain again today?"

The quartermaster looked a little unnatural.

"Jefferson" was, of course, the pseudonym he used.

As for this name, none of the Chinese folks at Roswell Farm didn't know it.

Because the quartermaster would sneak here every once in a while to resell the military rations.

And this is why he is so familiar with this place.

"Uh, this time I'm not here to sell food, I'm here to buy food." The quartermaster gestured.

He pointed to his carriage outside the warehouse.

"I need to get some potatoes and flour, and carrots and some vegetables."

Xu Youcai looked at the quartermaster with doubts on his face:
"I have the impression that you don't lack these things. Every time you tell us that the supply is sufficient."

"This year is relatively dry, and the follow-up harvest may not be so good. I will collect some, and I plan to collect more." The quartermaster hurriedly explained.

"We don't have any flour for the time being. If you need it, we can ask the flour mill in the town to process it," Xu Youcai said.

"Uh, then I don't need flour, just potatoes." The quartermaster said quickly, "I'm still very tight on time."

Xu Youcai wiped the sweat on his forehead with a towel:

"But as you said, the weather is hot this year, and the prices of vegetables and carrots are not cheap."

"No problem, the price is easy to negotiate." The quartermaster readily agreed.

Xu Youcai looked at the quartermaster suspiciously.

The product in front of me came here to sell grain before, and the price alone would have to go up for a long time. Why is it so easy to buy today?
Seeing this, the quartermaster took out a stack of banknotes from his pocket and began to count them.

These are all his private money, and they will not be seen easily, and now they are fighting for the implementation of the plan.

"We plan to stay here overnight and leave tomorrow morning." The quartermaster said to Xu Youcai while counting the money.

"Okay, park your car here, and I'll arrange someone to load the goods for you."

Xu Youcai walked into the warehouse.

A few strong guys were resting with their hips crossed.

There was a large standing fan beside them, blowing wind on them.

This is also one of Chen Jianqiu's masterpieces.

In fact, this thing was tried in the United States as early as 1880, but it was not popularized due to various problems.

The reason why Chen Jianqiu wanted to get an electric fan was mainly because the weather in Roswell was too hot.

In his busy schedule, he drew a schematic diagram of an electric fan, and then told the engineers of the Roswell Electric Company that it was enough to install this thing on the motor.

It has to be said that these engineers in the electrical company are the top talents in the United States.

They learned about the boss's creativity from Chen Jianqiu's "abnormally abstract" painting art, and quickly turned it into drawings.

It took only three months from the design to the launch of the first electric fan.

Xu Youcai greeted those guys:

"You guys are going to load Jefferson's carriage. He wants three large carts of potatoes, and some carrots and vegetables."

The guys agreed and walked towards the place where the potatoes were placed.

But Xu Youcai suddenly grabbed the last buddy.

He glanced back at the quartermaster who was still looking around behind him, then leaned into the ear of the man and whispered:
"Rush to the town and report to Mr. Chen that the 'Jefferson' who always came to sell grain in the past has come again, but this time he is here to buy grain."

The guy nodded and walked out of the warehouse quickly.

Not long after Chen Jianqiu returned to Roswell from Juarez, he planned to return to New York after finishing the semi-annual scientific association meeting here.

At this time, he was reading the meeting materials that Holmes had prepared for him in his office in the city hall.

The man's horse stopped at the gate of the city hall, he walked in quickly, and told Chen Jianqiu what happened on the farm.

Chen Jianqiu thought for a while, then picked up the phone on the table.

"White, last time I asked you to look up the grain merchant 'Jefferson' who often comes to Roswell to sell grain, have you checked out the source?"

After connecting the phone, Chen Jianqiu asked on the other end of the phone.

"Pockmarked" White, the director of the Southwest Area of ​​the Frontier Detective Agency, quickly told Chen Jianqiu the information he had investigated.

They had already stripped the man's underpants clean.

This man's original name was Donovan Anthony, a German-American who once served in the Army Department. He was almost fired because of the drawdown. After bribing his superiors with gold bars, he was arranged to serve as a quartermaster in Wiltord's army. .

"Li Sifu! Come in." Chen Jianqiu called out of the office.

"It seems that our colonel is overwhelmed and decided to come to get food." He put down the receiver and said to Li Sifu with a smile.

Chen Jianqiu turned his head and looked at the buddy: "Did they give a deposit?"

The guy shook his head: "Not yet, but Uncle Cai asked us to load the goods first, and their cars are all with us."

"Hey, I think these people don't plan to give money." Li Sifu looked at Chen Jianqiu after listening and said, "Boss, why don't I bring someone to clean them up?"

"Don't worry, just take someone to watch." Chen Jianqiu said slowly, "If they give money, they are our customers, we have to treat them well and let them stay for a few more days; if they don't give money, then You also have to pay attention to whether you get all the stolen goods."

Then, he said to the buddy: "You go back and continue to stock him, and do whatever you want."

As Chen Jianqiu and Li Sifu guessed, the quartermaster did not intend to give money.

After parking the carriage at the gate of the warehouse, he took his subordinates to a camp next to the farm.

It was considered a simple hotel, and many merchants who came from afar and could not return on the same day would stay here for a night.

But the living conditions are not so good.

There is no separate bed, and everyone sleeps on the same bunk, and there is no tavern for entertainment.

The soldiers under the quartermaster had traveled all day, returned to the camp after dinner and fell asleep.

But in the middle of the night, they were woken up one by one by the quartermaster and his deputy.

The room was pitch black, only the voice of the quartermaster came out of the darkness:

"Don't go to sleep, get dressed quickly, go lead the horse, and harness the carriage."

Many soldiers are still awake.

They yawned bewilderedly, dressed, and followed the quartermaster carefully out of the house.

Lights were on in the direction of the farm warehouse.

Under the effect of the reflector, two high-power incandescent lamps look like two groups of burning flames on the grassland in the dark night.

But it was already late at night, and there was no one around the warehouse, not even anyone on duty.

"Boss, what are we going to do?" the soldier under his command asked puzzledly.

"Get ready to run!" The quartermaster led everyone sneakily to the fence outside the warehouse.

Everyone suddenly found that their carriage stopped at the door of the closed warehouse, and the carriage was already full of sacks filled with potatoes and carrots.

"Quickly, go to the stables and lead the horses!" The quartermaster ordered, "We don't have much time, so we have to tow the cart and run before they can react."

The soldiers below him quickly understood what their commander was going to do, and they all became energetic.

The pack horses were led out of the stables.

When the soldiers did this, they were all frightened, for fear that the noise would disturb the owner here.

But it was very peaceful around.

The Chinese farmers and workers on those farms seemed to have disappeared all at once.

The quartermaster simply doesn't care about these.

He asked the soldiers to find a few ropes, and fixed the grain on the cart indiscriminately. When the cart was ready, he couldn't wait to drive the cart to the gate of the farm.

The convoy soon drove into the night.

Everything seems to be going well.

Just when the quartermaster thought he was safe and was complacent about this "brave and ingenious" plan.

Suddenly, he seemed to hear the sound of horseshoes.

The quartermaster looked up sharply.

He noticed that there was a little bit of fire, moving quickly towards them from the oblique front of the convoy.

It was a troop of cavalry carrying torches.

The team of cavalry quickly approached and surrounded the carriage.

The leading Chinese soldier got off his horse and looked at the quartermaster with a smile:
"Sir, it's not a good habit not to pay for things you buy."

(End of this chapter)