America 1881: Legend of the West

The steel tycoon made an appointment with Chen Jianqiu to meet at a Scottish restaurant on Pier 16.

He drove his Ford car along the coastal road, attracting a lot of attention and turning heads.

Chen Jianqiu gave some small suggestions on Ford's design.

Since he was both a major shareholder and a customer, Henry Ford had no choice but to adopt his opinion.

Ford's product directly skipped the awkward early stages and directly produced the Model T car.

"Chen, why don't we keep a low profile?" Roosevelt asked, sitting in the passenger seat.

"Strength does not allow it." Chen Jianqiu replied concisely and concisely, "Besides, I bought it with my own money and drove it myself. What's the problem?"

When their car arrived at the pier, Chen Jianqiu was surprised to find an identical car parked in front of the restaurant.

There was a young man lying half on the driver's seat of the car.

Seeing the arrival of Chen Jianqiu and the others, the young man immediately got out of the car and walked to Chen Jianqiu and Roosevelt who had just parked the car.

"Hello, Mr. Chen, I am Mr. Carnegie's driver. He is already waiting for you in the box."

Roosevelt glanced at Chen Jianqiu:

"Look, these people are called tycoons and they have full-time drivers. How can there be someone like you who drives by yourself every day?"

Chen Jianqiu bent down in front of the car and glanced at his front wheel.

"Can't I be your driver? Mr. Vice President?" He straightened up and said to Roosevelt.

Two people entered the restaurant.

Chen Jianqiu placed the fish tank on the table, ordered the waiter to carry the fish to the kitchen for processing, and then walked into the box with Roosevelt.

Carnegie sat in his seat, looking at the tablecloth in trance.

This was the first time Chen Jianqiu met Carnegie.

The old man had a thick beard.

This makes his face look a bit square and his expression quite serious.

Among the big shots Chen Jianqiu met in the United States, most of them still liked to grow beards.

There are not many people like Anderson and McKinley who shave their faces like peeled eggs at every turn.

"Mr. Carnegie! This is the first time we meet, please take care of me." Chen Jianqiu walked quickly to Carnegie.

Carnegie stood up.

He glanced at Roosevelt beside Chen Jianqiu.

It is well known that Mr. Carnegie defected in the election and supported Bryan, the Democratic candidate, on the grounds that he could not stand the expansionist tendencies that had intensified during the McKinley administration.

In terms of taking the United States to the world, Roosevelt was more radical than McKinley, so he could not be supported by Carnegie.

But the old man still shook Roosevelt's hand:

"Mr. Vice President, although we have different political opinions, I still admire your courage on the battlefield."

Roosevelt greeted Carnegie politely.

In his eyes, American tycoons are basically all the same, except for Chen Jianqiu, an outlier.

This man has neither a bodyguard nor a driver, and even the servants were provided when little Astor sold the house to him. It is really too shabby.

The three people sat down around the table.

Carnegie waved to the waiter outside the door. The waiter nodded and closed the door of the box.

"Can the steel provided by our company meet your helmet requirements?" Carnegie asked while sorting the tableware in front of him.

"Let's make do with it, anything is better than iron." Chen Jianqiu seemed to have no idea what "emotional intelligence" was, and did not give the steel tycoon any face. "My own smelter will also try to produce some special steel, but the output has not been able to increase. Come."

"Special steel?" Carnegie narrowed his eyes, which made his originally small eyes look more like they were gone.

"Well, I asked the laboratory to try to mix in some other metals, and the effect may be better." Chen Jianqiu seemed to be thinking about something.

"Mr. Chen's large investment in scientific research is also worthy of respect." Carnegie praised again.

The steel tycoon was different from the domineering Rockefeller.

He lost his father when he was young and came from a poor family. He relied on his own efforts to work his way up from the bottom step by step.

So Carnegie was much better at interpersonal relationships.

He never holds back his compliments, nor does he make others feel that he is being polite.

"Boom, boom"

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Carnegie said loudly.

The door to the private room was opened, and the waiter came in carrying a plate.

There was an oval-shaped object on the plate, which was still steaming.

Chen Jianqiu has never seen this thing before.

He observed it carefully and felt that this thing was similar to the way "belly meat" was made.

At this time, another waiter came in.

He divided the three plates in front of three people.

The plate contained mashed potatoes and kohlrabi, which seemed to be a side dish that looked like "belly meat".

Whiskey was also poured into three empty glasses.

Until now, Chen Jianqiu thought the whole situation looked okay.

Then he couldn't hold it any longer.

The first waiter picked up a knife and gently broke open a layer of light yellow-like stuff like sheep's belly on the surface of the ellipsoid.

A pile of something with an indescribable shape like minced meat squeezed out of the opening.

However, what comes out of the mutton belly is not just minced meat, but also aroma.

This dish is really fragrant.

"Try our most famous dish in Scotland, 'Haggis.'" Carnegie pointed to the brown minced meat and said, "There are sheep stomach, sheep heart, sheep lungs, sheep liver, etc., mixed with some spices."

The waiter put the brown minced meat on everyone's plate.

But Chen Jianqiu still couldn't take the spoon for a while.

It's really, really like something.

How did these Scots make a good thing look so disgusting? This is almost the same as the finished product of India's third brother.

Roosevelt on the side also looked troubled, probably having the same trouble as Chen Jianqiu.

Carnegie seemed to have anticipated the reaction of the two people, laughed loudly, and then began to taste the "Scottish national dish".

"Mr. Carnegie, what do you want with me?"

Chen Jianqiu did some mental construction and finally took a spoonful of it into his mouth.

There is nothing in my heart, even if I look like it again, I will not feel sick.

It actually tastes really good.

Carnegie did not rush to answer.

After taking a few bites, he put down his spoon, picked up the wine glass next to him, and took a sip of the whiskey in the glass.

"Mr. Chen, I heard that you have established a complete pension and mutual aid system for your workers, but that may not be a good thing for the development of the company."

Carnegie put down his cup and spoke slowly.

"Oh? Why?" Chen Jianqiu asked while eating.

"You have solved their worries for them, but there are many lazy workers, and you don't think this will make many of them get something for nothing," Carnegie said.

"With all due respect, I think your worries are unnecessary," Chen Jianqiu disagreed. "These are two different things. This is never a charity, but what the workers deserve."

"I don't know what your workers are like over there, but lazy people will not appear in my factory,"

Carnegie nodded thoughtfully, but then asked:

"If this is the case, wouldn't it cost you a lot? This is not good for your personal wealth accumulation."

"Why do I need so much money?" Chen Jianqiu said as usual without surprising.

This time, Carnegie fell silent.

After a long time, he began to continue speaking:

"Mr. Chen, if I were willing to sell my company to someone else, such as you, would you be interested?

"I don't have the funds to acquire your assets, and I can't give you a high price. I'm afraid I will disappoint you." Chen Jianqiu answered simply.

"But, Mr. Carnegie, how did you come up with the idea of ​​selling off your shares in the steel company?" Roosevelt asked with some confusion.

"Because I'm old."

Carnegie laughed again.

"Besides, I plan to get some money back."