Reborn in 1878: America's Number One Bandit

Chapter 3 The Widow's Farm

The night wind whipped up dust, blowing across the silent hillside.

Lawson sat on the cold stone.

Gazing at the scattered lights of the railway camp in the distance, I fell into thought.

A torrent of memories surged through his mind.

1878 years.

This was a year that was extremely unfriendly to Chinese laborers in the United States.

They were rootless and powerless, and were bullied by everyone.

And this is far from the darkest hour.

Lawson knew it perfectly well.

Four years later, in 1882, a notorious law was about to be passed—the Exclusion Act.

From that time onward, the status of Chinese laborers will plummet to rock bottom.

Even the most basic human rights will be deprived, and they will become second-class citizens in the legal sense.

The ones who stirred up this wave of anti-Chinese sentiment and made the loudest noise were not the British and American whites, but rather the Irish, who, like the Chinese laborers, were also from the lower classes of immigrants.

Their ecological niche highly overlapped with that of the Chinese laborers; both were low-level laborers who fled their famine-stricken and impoverished homelands to seek a living in this new continent.

"Chinese people must get out!"

This slogan, which would later resonate throughout California, was first uttered by Irish-American labor leader Dennis Carney.

They simply and crudely blamed all the hardships and injustices they encountered in the New World on the Chinese laborers.

The Irish were the most active and enthusiastic force in pushing for the passage of the Exclusion Act.

After the bill was enacted, this hatred escalated into bloody violence.

In 1885, in Stone Springs, Wyoming, a group of Irish coal miners, armed with guns and axes, carried out a brutal massacre of unarmed Chinese miners.

Blood stained the Chinese community in America.

Lawson narrowed his eyes.

To fundamentally improve the social status of Chinese laborers in America, change their overall image, and fight for their due rights and influence is by no means an achievement that can be accomplished overnight.

That requires building up a massive force, possessing sufficient wealth and influence, and even watering it with iron and blood, in order to carve out a space for survival for one's compatriots in this land where the law of the jungle prevails.

It takes time.

But before that, there are some things that can be done now.

Everything needs to be compared.

Since they are temporarily unable to elevate the image of their ethnic group.

So, we should trample the image of hostile groups into the mud, making them infamous and utterly reviled.

Doesn't this indirectly improve the image of Chinese laborers?
A cold smile curled at the corner of Lawson's lips.

When it comes to manipulating public opinion, framing others, and creating chaos, these are his specialties.

"Boss, that's enough."

While he was pondering, Er Gou and San Gou had efficiently dug out another cubic meter of earth.

"very good."

Lawson reopened the assassin generation interface.

This time, he did not choose a fellow Shandong native.

[Europe], [Ireland], [Male].

confirm.

A burly Irish man, equally imposing but with distinctive red hair, appeared beside him.

“Boss, please give me your orders.” (Thick Irish accent)

Lawson checked his information.

With a stamina of 13, his skills are [Unarmed Combat (Master)] and [Street Fighting (Expert)], making him a natural fighter.

“Your name is Johnny,” Lawson said, giving him a typical Irish name.

“Yes, Boss.”

"Go dig the soil."

Johnny picked up a spare shovel and joined the digging team.

With the addition of a fresh member, efficiency was improved once again.

After that, Lawson did not summon them one by one.

He waited patiently until he had accumulated four units of earthwork reserves.

"All generated, Irish."

Four tall, burly Irish men appeared before him at the same time.

Too lazy to think of names for each one, Lawson casually said, "Your names are Paddy, Mick, Liam, and Dan."

"Yes, Boss!"

At this point, all seven assassin slots available today have been used up.

Seven tireless strong men wielded shovels together, and the soil disappeared at an astonishing speed.

Lawson instructed, "You guys keep digging and stockpile earth. Er Gou, you come with me and we'll find a place to rest."

He had no intention of ever going back to that dirty and dilapidated railway camp.

He needs a new place to stay.

He took out a handkerchief from his inner pocket.

Inside were all the belongings the original owner had painstakingly saved up, two months' wages, and twenty silver dollars.

Adding the thirteen dollars I got from Liang Kuan today, I have a total of thirty-three dollars.

In those days, these heavy silver coins were far more popular among the public than government-issued, volatile paper US dollars.

One silver dollar was enough to buy ten pounds of good beef, or ninety-six eggs, or thirty pounds of flour at the town's grocery store.

You could also have twenty beers at a pub, or buy a brand new pair of Levi's work pants at a tailor shop.

As Lawson searched through the original owner's memories, a vague location became clear in his mind.

About two miles west of the railway camp, there is a separate farm.

He told Er Gou to hide and wait under an oak tree not far away, while he walked in the direction he remembered.

The outline of the farm soon appeared in the moonlight.

A small wooden house, a barn, and a field enclosed by a fence.

A faint light shone from inside the room.

Lawson stepped forward and knocked on the slightly worn wooden door.

"Bang, bang, bang."

The lights inside flickered, followed by the sound of footsteps.

"Who's there?" "Good evening, ma'am."

Lawson, speaking fluent English, said, "I'm just a worker passing by, I mean no harm. I just want to find a place to stay for the night, I can pay."

The door was pulled open a crack.

A gun barrel emerged from the crack in the door, its dark muzzle pointed at Lawson.

A woman appeared in the light behind the door.

She was about thirty years old, with her golden hair styled into a simple bun at the back of her head, and a few stray strands falling around her cheeks.

She had a beautiful face, but her eyes were wary.

"Get out of here, or I'll shoot!"

"Please don't misunderstand, ma'am."

Lawson raised his hands, palms out, to indicate that he had no weapons.

On his left hand, two silver dollars gleamed under the light.

“My name is Lawson. I used to work on the railway construction site in the east, but the foreman kicked me out. It’s too dark now, and I just want to find a place to stay tonight. These two dollars are my lodging fee.”

Marlene O'Dell sized up the man before her.

They were clearly Chinese workers from the construction site not far away.

But his English was far more fluent than any other Chinese laborer she had ever met.

She hesitated.

This young Chinese laborer didn't look like a villain; he looked more like a pitiful person in distress.

"Mom?" A girl of about seventeen years old with a ponytail peeked out and looked curiously at the door.

Marlene turned around and glared at her daughter Lucy, gesturing for her to step back.

She eventually lowered the gun.

"Come in." She stepped aside and muttered, "Anyway, I won't be staying here for more than a few days."

Lawson nodded politely in thanks and went inside.

The house is simply furnished.

A dining table, a few chairs, and a wood-burning stove.

"Can I trouble you for one more thing?"

Lawson pulled another silver dollar from his pocket and handed it over: "I want to take a shower, change into clean clothes, and get something to eat. This money should be enough."

Upon seeing the third eagle dollar, Marlene's expression softened considerably.

She took the money: "Okay. Lucy, go boil some water."

The mother and daughter were very efficient.

Soon, two buckets of steaming hot water were carried to a makeshift shed behind the house.

Then Lucy, the daughter, brought over a clean set of old clothes: "These are my dad's old clothes. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not, thank you very much."

Lawson walked into the shed and stripped naked.

The warm water washed away the dirt and fatigue, and also washed away the bad luck from my past life.

He took a long, hot shower and felt completely refreshed.

I changed into that clean set of clothes, which was a bit short, but much better than my previous outfit.

He looked at his blurry reflection in the bucket, and the long, wavy hair hanging down his back seemed particularly jarring.

He found a small pair of scissors on the windowsill, and with a "snip," cut his braid clean off at the root.

Then, he clumsily tried to fix his hair, resulting in a messy cut.

"Pfft."

A soft laugh came from behind.

Lucy was standing there at some point, and when she saw his new hairstyle, she couldn't help but laugh.

"Do you need my help?"

She blinked her curious big eyes and said, "I used to cut my dad's hair all the time."

Lawson touched his pockmarked head.

"Thank you, Lucy."

Lucy has very skillful hands.

Soon, a clean and neat buzz cut replaced his previous disheveled appearance.

When Lawson walked back into the house, Marlene, who was setting out the food, was immediately struck by his eyes.

Compared to before, he's like a completely different person.

It looks much better now.

Food was already laid out on the table.

Several steaming hot cornbreads, half a loaf of toast, a plate of golden-steamed pumpkin, seven or eight boiled eggs, and a large glass of steaming milk.

Lawson thanked him and then stopped being so polite.

He devoured all the food on the table in a flash, and finally picked up his glass and drank a large glass of milk in one gulp.

Marlene and Lucy watched in stunned silence.

Lawson wiped his mouth and explained, "Sorry, it's hard to get enough to eat on a construction site."

"Those damn capitalists!"

Marlene muttered a curse under her breath.

She turned and went back into the kitchen: "Wait here, I'll go boil some more eggs for you."

Soon, twenty steaming hot boiled eggs were served.

To the astonishment of the mother and daughter, Lawson wiped them all out once again.

"Oh my god, you'll eat yourself to death!"

Marlene finally couldn't help but say, "We're out of eggs at home. I have to go to town tomorrow."

Lawson patted his stomach, which finally felt full, stood up, and took out three silver dollars from his pocket, placing them on the table.

“Mrs. Odell, thank you very much for your hospitality. Please use this three dollars to buy some beef when you go to town tomorrow. Consider the rest as my advance payment for rent.”

Marlene quickly waved her hand in refusal: "No, no, that's too much. The three dollars you gave me are more than enough to cover everything."

Please accept this.

Lawson insisted on pushing the money over: "I am already extremely grateful to have been taken in by you in the middle of the night. You and Miss Lucy are both kind people. In this land, kindness is more precious than gold."

These words stunned Marlene.

In the end, she accepted the money and sighed softly.

(End of this chapter)