America 1881: Legend of the West

After Scott intervened, the Albuquerque incident began to plunge into endless investigations.

Time is one of the best ways to downplay an incident.

Major issues to minor ones out.

People's memories are time-limited, and their focus is quickly diverted by new things.

Led by New Mexico's few print media, no one quickly paid attention to the relationship between the "Albuquerque Knights" and Scott.

But someone was unlucky.

As one of the parties involved and the subject of the investigation, Blake and his Santa Fe Railroad Company were miserable.

There are many things that can be investigated, such as:

Did your security forces shoot first?

Have your security forces prepared a battle plan in advance? Otherwise, why would there be reinforcements?

Some of the Chinese workers who died at the scene were not identified. Are the workers you hired legal?

……

The points of attention are getting more and more outrageous.

The "Grange Farmers' Cooperative Organization", which had been dormant for a few days, once again brought up the issue of railway freight due to someone's instigation.

This time, their speeches were not only held in Albuquerque, but also spread to other cities in New Mexico such as Santa Fe.

The public was furious and vowed to demand an explanation from the Santa Fe Railroad Company, which meant "taking advantage of your illness to kill you."

Blake couldn't get a good night's sleep for a month or two. He traveled from all walks of life and was exhausted both mentally and physically.

Soon after, the Santa Fe Railway Company officially announced to the outside world that construction of the railway from Albuquerque to Lincoln County was suspended indefinitely.

And when this news reached Lincolnshire through newspapers.

Leonard had already climbed out of bed and was looking forward to the future on the terrace on the second floor of his mansion.

In the early morning, the sun was shining brightly. Looking out from the terrace, Leonard was in a very beautiful mood.

During this time he used borrowed funds to acquire large amounts of land around Lincolnshire. During this period, Chen Jianqiu also replenished funds for him several times, so that he did not have to worry about funding problems at all.

Now, the farms he can see from the window are basically his.

Although the prices were not cheap, the interest rate Chen Jianqiu gave him was not low either.

But once the railway comes, the price of the land that seems inconspicuous now will at least double.

And his attitude towards Chen Jianqiu changed from envy and sigh at the beginning to disdain later.

"He's just a loan shark." Leonard muttered secretly, even though he himself was a money lender.

Now he understands that the grandson is the one who lends money, and the uncle is the one who lends money.

Borrowing money feels good for a while, and borrowing money keeps feeling good. This is the essence of American economics.

It won't be long before he becomes the richest man in New Mexico.

Leonard couldn't help laughing happily when he thought of this.

He stretched and came to his dining table, ready to enjoy his breakfast.

Today's breakfast is grilled sausage and tortillas.

Leonard sat down, picked up the fork on the table, and began to poke at the shiny sausage on the plate.

But for some reason, the sausage kept rolling on the plate, making it impossible for him to reach it.

Leonard was a little annoyed. He threw away his knife and fork, grabbed the sausage with his hand, and bit into it.

However, at this moment, the door opened with a bang, and lawyer Mines hurriedly rushed in, holding a newspaper in his hand.

He threw the newspaper on the table.

Leonard had already taken a bite, and the oil and water from the sausage reached the newspaper, soaking it.

"Well, what's wrong? You're in a panic." He asked slowly while chewing the sausage in his mouth.

The lawyer remained silent and motioned for him to see for himself.

Leonard picked up the newspaper on the table with a puzzled look, and rubbed his oily hand on the area without ink.

When he actually opened the newspaper, he saw the news about the Santa Fe Railroad Company at a glance.

"Indefinitely, suspended, construction?" Leonard could hardly believe his eyes.

He blinked a few times and read the sausage-fat-soaked report a few times.

He raised his head and looked at Mines in disbelief: "Indefinitely? Suspension of construction? What do you mean?"

"The literal meaning is that they are in trouble and don't plan to build this railway for the time being!" The lawyer tried to sound calm.

Leonard was struck by thunder and sat there blankly. He knew what this meant to him.

But soon, he had a reaction. He picked up the newspaper again and read it over and over. While reading, he muttered:

"Impossible, they have no reason to stop building this railway! Impossible, impossible. Their funds should have been raised by issuing bonds. They cannot accept this loss."

"This must be fake news, right? Isn't it?" Leonard raised his head and looked at the lawyer for help like a drowning man.

The lawyer shook his head: "I just asked a few people who came back from Albuquerque yesterday, and they all said it was true."

In fact, he and Leonard had already learned about the accident at the railway construction site in Albuquerque.

However, due to Scott's ability, the news that was released was that there were some small fights with local farmers at the railway laying site, and several people were injured, but there were no deaths.

According to his and Leonard's judgment, this will not affect the continued laying of the railway at all, for the same reason as Leonard said.

"Then quickly find a way to get rid of those farms we collected before! We can get as much as we can!" Leonard stood up and was about to get dressed.

He was not in the mood to eat anymore. The land he had collected before was now a hot potato in his hands.

"When we purchased it before, we paid more or less a premium, but it's impossible to sell it at this price now." The lawyer said dejectedly, "The news has spread to the entire county."

"Then I will continue to hold it! Anyway, the price has been raised by me, and I don't believe there is no fool to take over!" Leonard slammed the table fiercely.

However, at this time, footsteps came from outside the door again.

"Um, Mr. Leonard, what made you so angry?"

A well-dressed man walked in, carrying a box in his hand.

They have all met this person before. He is Chen Jianqiu's lawyer, Dylan, but now he has a different name, Brent.

What is he doing at this time?

Leonard stared at him and asked angrily: "Mr. Brent, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, it's nothing, I'll leave soon."

Dylan came to Leonard, opened the suitcase, and took out a piece of paper.

He handed the piece of paper to Leonard: "This is a notification letter. Mr. Leonard, the three-month short-term loan you owe Mr. Chen is about to expire, so I want to tell you in advance. I'm afraid If you don’t have time to prepare, you risk defaulting.”

After Dylan finished speaking, he closed the suitcase neatly, turned around and left.

Behind him, Leonard's hysterical roar and the sound of plates breaking came:

"Maisen! That yellow-skinned bastard must have done it on purpose! He must have known the news a long time ago! Fucking bastard!"

Everything on the table was thrown to the floor by the angry Leonard, and the teacups and plates were broken all over the floor.

Three months of loan sharking! Profits are compounded! There were also several intermittent transactions later. If the land price did not double, he would not be able to afford it.

The contract previously modified by Dylan eliminated any possibility of defaulting on his debt.

Lawyer Maxine sat across from Leonard and looked at him, as if he saw his last employer, the one-eared Fred, with the same hysteria and the same madness.

"We're screwed, Leonard," he said to his employer.

Leonard was still venting his anger in the house, and the servants and chefs in the house did not dare to say anything, for fear that their master would instantly be angry with him.

And the guards at the door didn't dare to break in for a while.

But there are always warriors.

The door was opened again, and Bob, the captain of Leonard's private army, walked in. He looked at the mess on the ground, hesitated, and then asked:

"Boss, do we still need to collect today's two accounts?"

Leonard, who was furious, saw someone breaking in again and was about to get angry, but when he saw it was Bob, he suddenly calmed down.

The expression on his face became unpredictable.

He thought of a way.

Since the debt owed to the creditor cannot be repaid, then it would be better to just kill the creditor.

This is also another unwritten rule in American economics.

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