America 1881: Legend of the West

New York winters are cold.

When the snow falls, the poor huddle in their cramped houses, burning firewood and charcoal, which are precious to them.

However, when it snows, it may not be the hardest thing to endure.

When the snow passes and the sky clears, it is freezing to the bone.

"Mom, I'm cold."

In an apartment in Xiacheng District, a little girl looked out the window and shivered with cold.

"Go and bask in the sun. In another hour, the sun will be gone."

The girl's mother was folding clothes while pointing to the ray of winter sunlight that squeezed in through the window.

The buildings in Xiacheng District are next to each other, and there is no concept of building spacing. Therefore, it is difficult to meet the sunshine conditions.

They and the "ants" who live in them live in the shadow of the high-rise buildings in Manhattan opposite. The only advantage is that the rent is cheap.

In New York, there is no money, and even winter sunshine is available for a limited time.

"Why don't we use heating?" The girl stared blankly at the white steam coming out of the pipes of the building opposite.

"We can't pay the heating bill, kid." The woman said calmly, "Your father's salary has been reduced. The railway company he used to work for was merged, and the current company is unwilling to pay more."

"Then why doesn't dad change his job to a higher-paying job?" The girl looked at her mother innocently.

"Because he has no choice." The woman sighed, "There are no other companies outside. If he is willing to accept a salary cut, he may be able to work here for a few more years. If he does not accept, I am afraid he will be unemployed immediately."

Although there are still labor unions that are still fighting tirelessly against the monopoly capitalists, their struggle has become increasingly difficult as the Populist movement has reached a low ebb and as McKinley defended monopoly capital during his administration.

"Then why don't we burn some firewood or charcoal?" The girl turned her head and looked at the dark fireplace.

“The price of firewood and charcoal has also increased and we can’t afford as much.”

The woman walked up to the girl and touched her head.

"We have to leave some to burn at night, otherwise we will freeze to death in the middle of the night."

The girl didn't speak, she just blinked her big, watery eyes and looked at the iron-like building opposite.

The window she was looking at was already filled with fog.

Harriman hurried into his office.

The person who entered before him was his secretary Eva.

He pushed the door back with his short legs, and then rushed impatiently to Eva, who was unhooking her scarf and hanging it on a clothes rack by the window.

It was very warm in the room, and Eva quickly took off her fur coat, revealing the slim skirt underneath.

Harriman grabbed his lover from behind.

He began to nibble on Eva's earlobe like a pig, and then her neck.

"Mr. Harriman, it's still daytime!" Eva held Harriman's restless hand, "You are too impatient."

"It doesn't matter whether it's day or night!" Harriman gasped, "I was already impatient in that old Morgan's office just now!"

"What did that old guy say?" Eva asked.

"He is again describing a wonderful utopia to his investors, as if Northern Securities Company is the most investment-worthy company in history."

Harriman began to unbuckle his belt.

"Isn't it?" Eva asked, "I'm also going to buy some of our stocks."

"That's bullshit! Don't others know, don't I know? Northern Securities Company claims a market value of US$700 million, but there is too much water in it."

"The old man deliberately overestimated the value of assets, and at the same time, he also created a bunch of fictitious investors and bought a bunch of watered-down shares."

“At least 30% of Northern Securities’ shares are short shares.”

Harriman began to lift Eva's skirt.

"I told you in advance, don't mess around with the little money you have, and don't complain if you pay compensation."

"Then there is still you." Eva smiled sweetly.

Two people have come to the window.

"I'll pull down the curtains!" Eva wanted to grab the curtain rope, but missed.

"No, it's more fun this way." Harriman's breathing became heavier.

Then, a pair of snow-white palms suddenly appeared on the glass of the window.

This time it was less than five minutes.

Two minutes later, the palm disappeared, and there were two more palm prints, which were blurred by the water droplets that gathered together.

And in another part of Manhattan, in Chen Jianqiu's office.

Attorney General Knox came to visit again.

"Hiss~ Are the people in your cabinet so idle? They run from Washington to New York every day if they have nothing to do."

Chen Jianqiu wore a white cloth robe and was practicing calligraphy on his big table.

A piece of snow-white rice paper was placed flat on the table, with two red sandalwood weights weighing down the ends.

The ink has been ground inside the inkstone, and a wisp of green smoke floats out from the incense burner next to the inkstone.

Refreshing.

But Minister Knox standing opposite had no intention of caring about this.

"The Douglas prosecutors in Minnesota came to me and they were going to make the first move."

“He has taken Northern Securities to state court on behalf of the state government, claiming they are a monopoly.”

"Do you support him?" Chen Jianqiu picked up his pen and wrote the first word "many".

"Yes!" Secretary Knox said decisively, "I said to him, 'If your prosecution under Minnesota law fails, you give me any evidence that can show that Northern Securities violated federal law, and I will prosecute it personally. '!"

"Well, a good start." Chen Jianqiu wrote the second word "OK".

"But we have made no progress at all." Knox frowned and looked at Chen Jianqiu, who kept his head down.

Unexpectedly, Chen Jianqiu did not pick up on him, but continued to talk about Minnesota.

"But I'm not optimistic that they can win the case, just like the Knight case eight years ago." Chen Jianqiu's third word, "no," has been completed.

The Knight case he was talking about was the first time the government had launched a lawsuit against a monopoly since the passage of the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890.

However, among the nine justices of the U.S. Federal Court at that time, only Justice Harlan believed that the monopoly was established, and that lawsuit ended in a disastrous defeat for the government.

"In the Knight case, the federal government lost its ability to control industrial monopolies and joint ventures," Knox lamented.

When the Knight case occurred, he was still a practicing attorney and deeply regretted the outcome.

After a while of emotion, Knox suddenly realized that he seemed to be attracted by Chen Jianqiu.

This guy seems to be trying to change the subject.

"So, what progress have we made here?" he asked relentlessly.

"That's it? Just say no on the phone. Why do you have to take the train and come in person?"

Chen Jianqiu is still writing, and the fourth character "righteousness" is about to come out.

"The president was very anxious. He asked me to come in person to make progress." Knox said frankly.

I came to New York to collect debts. The president asked me to come here. You can do whatever you want.

Chen Jianqiu said nothing.

He quickly completed his work on the table:

Unjust is doomed to destruction.

The brushwork is simple and the strokes are powerful.

"Mr. Knox, please be patient. You need to calm down." Chen Jianqiu said, "Why don't you stay with me for a few more days and I'll drink tea with you or something."

Knox was just about to refuse, but when he thought that he had nothing else to do except this matter recently, he reluctantly agreed.

However, Chen Jianqiu did not keep him waiting too long.

The next morning, Chen Jianqiu received a pink letter with lace decoration.

He opened it and was happy.

"Look, isn't the evidence here?"