North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 23 What do you want?
Bishop Evan frowned slightly as he looked at his little niece in jeans, standing on the high pulpit, telling the story of the ship "Barbara", her mother, and the servants who had perished!
In his eyes, girls who don't wear skirts but openly wear pants are an act of rebellion that cannot be tolerated.

Especially on such a sacred occasion!
But whenever the bishop found this blatant rebellion unbearable, he would look at Vivian's tearful eyes, and all his dissatisfaction would instantly disappear!

My little niece looks so much like my younger sister when she was young!
"My little niece doesn't seem to have received a good education in the far East. She needs to be sent to a church school as soon as possible to learn proper etiquette!"

When Bishop Evan made up his mind, the two or three hundred leading figures in San Francisco below the stage were also deeply impressed by Vivian's jeans.

This stunningly beautiful girl may be the first in history to be able to attend such a sacred occasion wearing pants and standing on the pulpit!
They didn't have much feeling about the shipwreck.

In this era, every year, there are not a few ships sinking to the bottom of the sea.

If Bishop Evan's sister had not also died in the shipwreck, most of them would not have attended such a farewell service.

In fact, such a farewell service will not be held at all!

So, their attention was all on Vivian, jeans, and the "Eden Hut" that suddenly appeared in the square.

After finally waiting for the long service to end, she walked out of the church gate and was surrounded by another large group of people, asking questions.

Seizing this rare publicity opportunity, Vivian accepted all the questions and answered them one by one.

At the same time, dozens of people wearing jeans stood at various intersections throughout San Francisco, handing out flyers to promote jeans and mobile homes.

They directly scratched the jeans with a knife to prove in the most direct way that jeans made of canvas are strong enough and it is difficult to completely damage them even with a knife.

As soon as A Zu walked out of the church door, a sturdy black man immediately came to meet him.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Li...Mr. Li?"

A Zu was puzzled: "Who are you? What do you want to talk to me about?"

"Yes, my master wants to see you!"

"Your master? Who is he?"

"My master is Mr. Cameron!"

"Mr. Cameron?" A Zu thought about it and confirmed that he had never heard of this name!
Zu turned and looked at Jason and Vic with a questioning look.

Jason shrugged and pointed to the top floor of the municipal building across the street.

A-Zu understood.

"Let's go, lead the way, and go meet this Mr. Cameron!"

Led by the black man, the group came to the fifth floor, the highest floor of the municipal building.

Outside the heavy office door, the black man stopped Vic, Jason, and the others: "Sorry! My master only wants to see Mr. Li!"

"That won't work. We...!"

Jason was about to refuse, but A-Zu waved his hand and said, "It's okay. Are you still afraid that Mr. Cameron will eat me?"

Vic whispered in Zu's ear, "Then you better be careful! This Mr. Cameron has a bad reputation."

A-Zu nodded, followed the black man who pushed open the heavy door, and walked into the spacious and luxuriously decorated office.

The heavy door slowly closed behind him silently.

A-Zu looked over and saw a high chair back behind the huge desk.

Through the back of the chair, I could only see a pair of hands resting on the armrests.

The person with his back to him was looking down through the colorful glazed windows at the bustling city square. Inside the quiet office, there was a deathly silence, and neither of them spoke!
Put pressure in advance?
Very clumsy way!

A-Zu curled the corner of his mouth, found a single sofa and sat down comfortably.

After a while, the high back of the chair turned half a circle silently.

In A-Zu's sight, a well-maintained face with slightly pale skin and a neatly trimmed beard gradually became clear under the mottled sunlight.

The person opposite was also looking at A-Zu!

"Li? A Chinese man so young?"

After seeing A-Zu's appearance clearly, Mr. Cameron was obviously a little surprised!

"Mr. Cameron? It's an honor to meet you!"

A-Zu said he was honored, but his expression did not look honored at all.

"Are you the Lee who created the Eden Cabin? Do you know who I am?"

"Mr. Cameron, the mayor of San Francisco! Right?"

The mayor nodded slightly and said, "As a Chinese, you speak fluent English. I really appreciate that!"

"But I appreciate your idea of ​​the Eden Cabin even more! This kind of wooden house, which is easy to produce, transport, assemble, and disassemble, is exactly what San Francisco urgently needs right now!"

A Zu smiled and said, "It is my honor to be appreciated by the mayor!"

"Lee, you've seen it too. Gold prospectors and adventurers from all over the world are flocking here because of the gold. My San Francisco can't accommodate so many people."

"We simply don't have enough housing for everyone. Too many people are crammed into tents. They've made my city crowded, dirty, and chaotic, filled with garbage, sewage, and crime!"

"I have to clean this up as soon as possible! But not having enough houses has always been a problem for me and my city. Your Eden Cottage is the perfect solution to the problem that has plagued me and my city."

After hearing such praise, A Zu was a little unsure what the mayor was trying to do.

Cameron continued, "For the sake of my city, I can support your Eden Cottages and have beautiful cottages spread all over my city as soon as possible."

A Zu raised his eyebrows and said, "Mr. Mayor, how are you going to support me?"

"Ding!" Cameron lit a cigar, took a deep breath, and the smoke he exhaled was like a dream, covering his face.

“I will promote a city cleanup program!”

"City cleanup plan?" Azuchi asked.

"Yes! I will completely clear out all the tents and force those who can afford an Eden Hut to spend all their money to buy one! And those poor souls who can't afford an Eden Hut at all will be driven out of my city."

"Mr. Mayor!" A Zu's eyebrows jumped. "Once they are driven out of the city, they will face the Indians and gangs directly!"

Cameron smiled triumphantly: "Haha! You're right. To save their own lives and those of their families, they will do anything to buy your Eden Cottage!"

A-Zu slowly leaned back on the sofa, hiding his face in the shadows.

After a long silence, he finally asked.

"So, Mr. Mayor, what do you want from me?"

(End of this chapter)