North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 16 The Man Who Cut Off His Braids
The United States, which has only been established for a few decades, is the world's largest makeshift team in this era.

Especially for a territory like California that was just snatched from Mexico, the U.S. government’s ability to govern here cannot be said to be quite weak, it can only be said to be better than nothing!

Even California isn't even a state yet! There's no state government, and cities rely on self-government to maintain basic order.

The weaker the government's governance, the stronger other forces become.

In this era when almost everyone is religious, the influence of the church is particularly strong in western frontier places like California.

Education, medical care, relief, etc., these essential social institutions are almost all controlled by the church, not to mention that the spiritual world is also controlled by the church.

Evan Connor, the Archbishop of the Bay Area, was one of the most powerful figures in the entire Bay Area, including San Francisco. Even the mayor of San Francisco had to respectfully take off his hat when meeting the Archbishop.

When Ross saw Bishop Evan rarely leave the church and appear at the door of the small "Barbara" tailor shop, his clever Jewish mind had a bad premonition.

By the time Bishop Evan understood the whole story, Ross was undoubtedly even more uneasy.

"Forgiveness and mercy are virtues, greed and violence are original sins!"

Bishop Evan's voice was filled with divine majesty. His tall figure stood in the middle of the tailor shop, with the radiant Vivian standing on his right and a young priest on his left. All the others surrounded him respectfully, listening to his teachings.

"Mr. Ross, although your faith doctrine is different, do you think I am right?"

Under Bishop Evan's stern gaze, Ross's forehead was covered in sweat. He nervously rubbed the small round hat in his hand and nodded hurriedly, "Of course! Your Excellency, your word is my will!"

Ross knew his own limitations and knew that Archbishop Evan in front of him was not someone he could afford to offend!
Bishop Evan continued in a steady voice, "Captain Vic's survival from the shipwreck is undoubtedly due to the mercy of our Lord! Moreover, my dearest niece, Vivian, was also rescued by God's will."

"As the executor of God's will, Mr. Vic saved my niece. Therefore, I owe Mr. Vic a favor!"

Evan stared at Ross with a stern look: "Mr. Ross, do you understand?"

Ross was sweating profusely and nodded quickly: "Of course, of course! Your Excellency, I completely understand!"

Archbishop Evan waved his hand, and Ross and the Irish gang disappeared in the blink of an eye as if they had been pardoned.

After Ross and others walked away, Archbishop Evan's eyes gradually became calm. He turned his head and looked at everyone, and his eyes finally fell on Azu.

"Are you Li? I heard from Vivian that her survival was actually more due to you?"

"Hello! Respected Bishop, I am Li Zunian!"

"Miss Vivian rescued me, and I was also fortunate enough to help Miss Vivian. We were just in the same boat. I dare not claim any credit for it!"

Even though he was an atheist, A Zu had just felt the powerful aura and pressure from Bishop Evan.

Being able to say these words without being humble or arrogant, A Zu couldn't help but admire his own psychological endurance.

Bishop Evan also sensed the dignity in A-Zu's words, and a strange look flashed in his eyes. He looked him up and down carefully, and finally nodded and said, "A very good young man. You are not an ordinary Chinese. You have truly cut off your braids!"

Last night, A-Zu took it upon himself to cut off his ugly, tacky, and greasy rat-tail braids, leaving behind a neat and tidy crew cut.

In the eyes of white people, the strange braid worn by Chinese people is one of the main symbols of ignorance, cowardice and dirtiness.

Bishop Evan keenly sensed the difference in Azu's words. In his eyes, Azu not only cut off her braids, but also, to a certain extent, cut off the discriminatory and negative labels attached to the Chinese people!

"Although my poor sister has returned to the arms of my Lord, I am very happy that Vivian is alive, so I came to see who saved my lovely little niece!" Bishop Evan looked at A Zu with a calm gaze: "I have repaid Mr. Vic's favor. Young man, no matter what, I still owe you a favor. You are welcome to visit Dolores Church at an appropriate time!"

Bishop Evan scanned the environment of the tailor shop with a scrutinizing gaze: "This is a nice place, and Mr. Vick is an upright gentleman."

His gaze finally fell lovingly on Vivian: "My lovely and pitiful little niece, you can stay here temporarily until I arrange school matters for you."

Bishop Evan walked out the door and suddenly turned back. "Seven days later, I will hold a farewell service at Dolores Church for my poor sister and all the unfortunate people who died in this shipwreck. I hope you can all attend!"

"Of course, we will definitely attend!"

Everyone sent the bishop to the carriage and only breathed a sigh of relief after watching him disappear around the corner of the street.

Under the powerful aura of the archbishop, almost everyone dared not breathe, and only felt relieved when he walked away.

Not only them, but also several businessmen waiting at the door of the tailor shop, and many people gathered around to watch the fun.

The merchants Anna invited happened to witness this scene, so they dared not step into the tailor shop and could only gather outside.

After the Archbishop's carriage disappeared, a merchant who was familiar with Anna came up and said, "Ms. Anna, I didn't expect your family is related to Archbishop Evan. I have never seen the Bishop personally visit any of our shops!"

Anna opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say, so she could only smile.

After experiencing many sudden twists and turns, the tailor shop finally calmed down.

Jason, Harley, and Vic all sustained some injuries, but nothing serious. Vivian, the nurse, took care of them, and they were fine after a short rest.

After inviting several businessmen to the second floor, A Zu went straight to the point and lifted the cloth covering the foot-operated sewing machine!

"Gentlemen, please see, I have asked you to come here today to sell the patent for this foot-operated sewing machine..."

"A pedal sewing machine?"

"Selling patents?"

Several businessmen gathered around and carefully examined this machine, which seemed familiar but was very different.

The improvement was not complicated, and the businessmen present were all experts in the industry, so they could see it at a glance.

They were amazed by the foot-operated creativity!
After trying it out themselves, they were amazed!

“Such a simple improvement completely frees my hands and greatly improves the efficiency of the sewing machine!”

"Indeed! After trying it out, I roughly estimated that with this sewing machine, a tailor can easily do the work of at least one and a half people!"

"Equally important, this improvement does not make the machine more complicated, and the cost is only slightly increased, which is completely acceptable!"

After confirming that this foot-operated sewing machine was a very important and practical invention and improvement, the interest of several businessmen immediately increased.

"So, may I ask, how much does this sewing machine, or this patent, cost?"

(End of this chapter)