Huayu: I'm reborn, but you still force me to be a scumbag?

Chapter 557 A Big Pot

"...Did he really say that?"

"Yes, I've heard at least three people tell me that he praised the movie in front of others, so I think he must really like it."

"Okay, I'll send him a text message later to express my gratitude."

"Besides him, there are actually many other people, including ourselves, who can say it's bad? So, those opinions may only be temporary."

"Michael, you mean the 7.2 rating on IMDb, the 54% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and the 55 rating on Metacritic are all just temporary?"

"Yes, it's only been three days since it was released. We can wait a bit longer. There's no rush, Tom. I think everything will be alright."

"Phew, I hope so. But it's not just about the reviews, I mean the box office. 941 million in three days, that's not exactly impressive. Actually, November really isn't a good month. Not only is Argo still showing, but Steven's Lincoln is coming out in two weeks, and then there's Silver Linings Playbook at the end of the month. I mean, we should have just moved it to December."

"Tom, stop talking nonsense. The last Twilight movie this year is on November 28th, have you forgotten? If we schedule it for early December, we'll only be in a worse situation."

The person on the other end of the phone paused for a moment, then realized what was happening, let out a long sigh, and said, "This year has been a damn year."

The person on the other end of the phone sighed and said, "Without a doubt, that's true."

After chatting for a while, the call ended. The kind-looking man closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, then lowered his head and began composing a text message…

……

“Chen, Rita would like to invite you to our home. Give me a call when you’re back in Los Angeles. —Tom Hanks”

After reading the text message he suddenly received on his phone, Chen Nuo did not reply immediately. Instead, he shoved the phone into his pocket, squeezed his legs together, and gave the reins a shake.

With a neigh, the horse beneath him trotted off and galloped off again.

In November, Montana's sky is crystal clear, and the wind blows from the depths of the snow-capped mountains, carrying the chill and the dry scent of withered grass.

In late autumn, the dark golden meadows droop in the wind, like a huge old blanket.

Chen Nuo ran to a gentle slope and stopped.

Several foreigners wearing cowboy hats who were following behind him also stopped on the hillside with him.

One of the bearded men laughed and said, "Chen, aren't you the best rider among Asians?"

Chen Nuo didn't turn around, looking at the icy blue lake not far away, and said, "Thank you for the compliment, Wayne. Is this the lake you were talking about?"

"Yes, I call it Dorothy, which is my youngest daughter's name. Of course, if you buy this place, you can give it any name you like. Look at it, how beautiful it is."

It is very beautiful.

The lake nestled in this valley and meadow reflects the sky, making it almost impossible to distinguish the boundary between heaven and earth.

"Come on, let's take a closer look. Giddy up, giddy up!"

Clearly, the American horse can also understand the language of the Chinese rider.

The horsemanship skills Chen Nuo honed on the set of The Return of the Condor Heroes, in the deep forests of Jiuzhaigou, can still be put to good use at Bozeman's ranch in Montana.

He charged ahead, while several foreign cowboys followed behind, howling and screaming.

We're getting closer.

The lake looks even more beautiful now.

The low, gently sloping mountains in the distance are already covered with the first snow, shimmering faintly in the sunlight, and the lake reflects the shadows of these mountains and their snow-capped peaks.

Chen Nuo dismounted, went to the lakeside, squatted down, scooped up a handful of water, and splashed it on his face.

The icy, frigid lake water instantly invigorated him.

The cowboys laughed as they watched him do this, and they all dismounted and imitated him, splashing water on their faces.

Then, Wayne DeLore, the current owner of this ranch and one of Montana's most renowned ranchers, said with deep emotion, "My great-great-grandfather rode north on horseback more than a hundred years ago. He led a dozen or so cattle from Texas, through Kansas, through Wyoming, and finally set up camp in this valley."

“Back then, there was nothing here except wolves and Native Americans. With just a hunting rifle and a bullwhip, he grew his herd to over a thousand head. In winter, many cattle froze to death in the snow, and he would drag the carcasses out one by one, split them open, smoke the beef, and sell them to town in the spring.”

"Later, when the railway was built here, our family really became rich. We bought up the land piece by piece and gradually grew to the size we are today."

Hearing Wayne DeLore's words, Chen Nuo had a sense of déjà vu, as if in his memory there was a super popular American TV series in his previous life that told a similar story.

But immediately, his attention was drawn to a word in Wayne's words.

"railway?"

Wayne nodded and said, "Yes, the railroad."

"Is it the Pacific Railroad that runs from Omaha to Sacramento?"

"No, it's the railroad from Minnesota to Washington. They set up a small station a dozen miles to the west, which is convenient for us to drive the cattle there and transport them to the eastern market. Would you like to see it?"

Chen Nuo looked back and saw that at this moment, Alison, Gulnazar, and Linghu, surrounded by several other cowboys, slowly rode over here.

"Let's go together when they arrive."

I don't know if it's because I read Quentin Tarantino's Notebook, but I'm experiencing a kind of frequency illusion. Lately, Chen Nuo feels like wherever he goes, he finds traces related to South China University of Technology.

As the group rode their horses slowly to the small train station, he looked up and saw the tracks of the Northern Pacific Railway, like a long silver serpent stretching from the valley to the horizon.

At that moment, a strange feeling suddenly welled up in his heart—just like when he visited the Chinese Laborers Memorial Hall in Chicago last month and faced that history paved with blood and sweat.

In that instant, he finally made up his mind.

This is it.

……

……

Although he had made up his mind, a deal worth tens of millions of dollars couldn't be done like buying cabbage at the market without haggling. People wouldn't praise his generosity; they'd just secretly laugh at his foolishness.

However, Allison and her legal team will handle the bargaining.

He simply took Gulnazar and Linghu on horseback rides every day, exploring the mountains and rivers, watching the cattle herds, and learning some cattle-handling techniques from the local cowboys. Even so, after three days of this, he still hadn't managed to see even a tenth of the ranch.

However, to his delight, almost half of the cowboys here had no idea who he was. Of the remaining few, although they had vaguely heard of his name, they had only heard of it; none of them could connect the person with the name.

The only reason everyone was so attentive to him was because everyone knew that the Delo family, which had been operating here for over a hundred years, had finally succumbed to the pressure of management and years of losses with the passing of the previous generation. They decided to sell their ancestral land and cattle herds and seek a new path. Their future new boss was very likely to be this young and handsome black-haired Chinese man in front of them.

A few days later, Chen Nuo heard from Alison that the negotiations had reached the final stage, with both sides stuck on the issue of water rights ownership.

They stubbornly refused to budge, insisting that the water rights to the lakes and streams should either be valued at an additional few million or remain under the Delow family's name, with a ninety-nine-year usage right transferred to them.

Of course, they couldn't agree to that either—after all, without water, the ranch was just a wasteland, utterly worthless. Water rights, a crucial element in ranch transactions, became the final obstacle.

On this day, Chen Nuo received an invitation from Wayne DeLore to have a drink at a bar in the small town where DeLore lived after dinner.

Chen Nuo originally didn't want to show his face in public that day.

The reason he's been holed up in this remote, desolate countryside for so long is largely due to what happened at this particular time.

However, after thinking it over, he decided to take Linghu with him to the appointment.

Livingston is a small town of fewer than ten thousand people. Nearly half of its inhabitants rely on ranch-related industries for their livelihood. DeLore Ranch, while not the largest of all the ranches in the area, is the oldest. Therefore, it is estimated that more than a third of the families in this town are directly or indirectly employed by the DeLore family.

So when Chen Nuo pushed open the door of the bar called Horsewhip and walked in, Wayne DeLore, wearing a cowboy hat and a full cowboy outfit, was sitting at the long table by the central fireplace, surrounded by a group of cowboys like a king of cowboys.

The TV on the bar wall was playing CNN. On the screen, a map of the United States was displayed in red and blue, and a bespectacled announcer was speaking rapidly.

Everyone was staring at the TV, discussing animatedly, but as he pushed open the bar door, the room fell silent, and everyone's eyes turned to him.

If it were anyone else, facing the gaze of these dozens of burly, fierce-looking cowboys, they might tremble with fear and run away.

But Chen Nuo was, after all, in the Tokyo Gymnasium, a place where he could wave his hat in front of a sea of ​​people. This small occasion in front of him didn't even qualify as a "spectacle" for him.

He smiled, glanced around, and then walked over.

The cowboys in front of him were staring at him with different expressions.

As he approached, everyone's expression gradually changed.

An old cowboy with gray hair took off his hat first, and the rest of the men followed suit, moving aside to make way for him and vying to greet him in hushed tones.

"Hello, Mr. Chen." "Good evening, Mr. Chen."

"Hi, Chen."

Chen Nuo hadn't been wasting his time these past few days; among these cowboys reeking of cow dung, he'd gotten to know a few. As he walked over, he nodded to each of them, calling out their names:

“Rip”.

"Jimmy."

Lloyd.

"Colby."

Everyone whose name was called, regardless of age, had a smile on their face.

As Chen Nuo approached, Wayne DeLore had already stood up, beaming with smiles as he opened his arms to him.

Chen Nuo hugged him and said, "Judging from your smile, you seem to be doing well right now?"

Wayne DeLore laughed, "We've already opened up five states, and we've taken them all. Come, have a seat. What would you like to drink?"

"Beer is fine."

"OK, Mike, give Chen a beer!"

"Good boss!"

A voice came from the bar area.

A moment later, an old man with a limp came over carrying a tray with a glass of beer on it. He placed it on the table between Chen Nuo and Wayne, smiled at him, and revealed a tooth missing from his front tooth. "Young man, everyone in Livingston knows that Old Mike's beer is the best."

Chen Nuo smiled and said, "Then I'll give it a try."

After saying that, he picked up the glass and took a sip.

It was really good; there was no bitterness at all, only a malty aroma and a sweet aftertaste. So I couldn't help but take another sip and then gave the old man a thumbs up.

The old man smiled happily, picked up the wine tray, and went back.

As Chen Nuo sat down next to Wayne, the bar returned to its lively atmosphere.

"Hurry up! Hurry up and announce it!"

"Yeah, what is that damn guy still hesitating for! The votes are already in."

Amidst the clamor, the CNN anchor on television finally announced, "Okay, we now confirm that Romney has now won Indiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and West Virginia, and he's now in the lead!"

A cheer erupted in the bar, and the cowboys raised their glasses, shouting, "See! Romney will definitely win!"

"Haha, that black guy's ass is going to be swollen from being kicked."

"Keep going, keep going! Throw all those environmentalists and sissies into the latrine!"

Chen Nuo looked at the screen and took another sip of beer.

He could sense that Wayne DeLore had been observing him, and then suddenly asked, "Chen, I'd like to know, which side do you support?"

Chen Nuo put down his wine glass and said, "I don't support either side, it has nothing to do with me. Wayne, I don't care about politics."

"But you're in America now. If you really buy the ranch, you can't avoid these things. You know, Montana has a lot more environmental fanatics and vegetarians now, and politicians have made some tax policies and environmental regulations for them, which will give you a lot of headaches. You'll have to get involved."

Chen Nuo knew that this person was right.

But, how to say it?

Unlike the other person, he doesn't make a living by raising cattle.

He bought this place to find a secluded spot. Even if he didn't raise cattle, just using it as an undisturbed resort would make the tens of millions worthwhile.

But there's no need to say that aloud, lest it upset the old cowboy in front of me.

He said, "Wayne, I respect the law. Whoever is president, I think he will rely on the law."

A flicker of disappointment crossed Wayne DeLore's eyes. He picked up his glass, took a sip, and shook his head. "You're too naive," he said. "Sometimes, you have to fight for your interests. Especially in Montana. We've been fighting the state's environmentalists for decades to defend our interests."

Chen Nuo shook his head and smiled, "I have no interest in fighting with anyone."

At this point, not only Wayne DeLorean, but also the dirty cowboys around them who were listening to their conversation, all looked at each other with indifference. A few of the younger cowboys even sneered and started whispering among themselves.

Ignoring his surroundings, Chen Nuo stated the purpose of his visit: "Wien, let's talk about water rights. My people say you've been fixated on this."

Wayne DeLo said, "Regarding this, Chen, my idea is very simple. I just want to leave something for the DeLo family."

Chen Nuo smiled and said, "So that we can make a comeback someday in the future?"

Wayne DeLore chuckled and said, "No, I didn't think that way."

It would be strange not to.

Chen Nuo was 100% certain that this was what the person was thinking.

Although they had to sell the ranch due to debt problems, they still preserved the hope of their descendants returning to their homeland.

This isn't wrong, but it's something he simply can't tolerate.

If Wayne DeLore persists, then he will have no choice but to give up. Even if he is indeed tempted by this land, he cannot be a fool to take the fall and will have to look for another place.

That's what I think, but no matter what, encountering something like this at the last minute naturally makes me feel bad.

And because the beer at this pub was so delicious, I unknowingly drank a little more than I should have.

During this process, the atmosphere in the bar gradually changed.

The cowboys, who had been talking loudly, gradually fell silent, and the smile on Wayne DeLore's face almost disappeared.

Only the excited voice of the TV host kept coming:

"Obama won 20 votes in Pennsylvania! This is a crucial victory, and he is gradually closing the gap!"

"Meanwhile, the vote count results from Wisconsin have also come in, with the president successfully retaining all 10 electoral votes by a margin of 52% to 47%!"

“西海岸开票结果出炉——加利福尼亚的55票、华盛顿的12票、夏威夷的4票全部进入奥巴玛的阵营！再加上新墨西哥州的5票，他的总票数已经超过240张，距离胜利仅差一步之遥！”

Finally, just as Chen Nuo took the last sip of his third beer,
The CNN host's voice suddenly rose in volume on television:

"We can now confirm that Barack Obama has won Ohio! This means he has crossed the 270 electoral vote threshold and secured re-election. The results are in: Barack Obama has been re-elected!!"

With those words, the Horsewhip Bar fell into a deathly silence.

After a while,
The iPhone 5 in Chen Nuo's pocket rang out abruptly under these circumstances, attracting everyone's attention.

But at this point he was a little drunk and didn't pay attention to anything else. He took out his phone, looked at the name, and answered the call.

"Hi, Donald, good evening."

The man's hoarse voice was incredibly loud, and the sound coming through the broken earphones of his iPhone made Chen Nuo's ears ring, prompting him to immediately move the earphones away from him.

“Chen, I’m not okay at all! Not okay at all! Did you watch TV? You know what? This is a disaster, a complete disaster! America is finished, finished! That guy—yes, that foreign-born guy—is going to control our great America for another four years, four years! Unbelievable! This is terrible for us, so unfair. I’m telling you, my heart is breaking. Chen, don’t you have anything to say? Nothing?”

Chen Nuo said irritably, "Me? What does this have to do with me?"

"How could it not be related to you? Impossible! Chen, don't play dumb. If you hadn't gone to the White House, would he be where he is today? Absolutely not! Everyone knows that his approval rating plummeted back then. Until you went, chatted with him, and took photos with him, what happened? The next day, he abandoned the TPP agreement and started talking about your stuff, all that talk about family and the global village, it was all yours! Pollsters have said that, Chen, your endorsement of him that time did him a huge favor, at least saving him millions of votes. That's millions!"

At this moment, Chen Nuo felt as if a huge black pot was being thrown at him. If he dared to accept this pot, Chen Nuo felt he wouldn't live past noon the next day.

At this moment, he really reacted instinctively, shouting, "Donald, you motherfucker's bullshit! Obama's re-election has nothing to do with me!"

"I only chatted with him for a while, that's all! I deliberately avoided him when he was speaking, are your people blind? Didn't you see? I wasn't even there during that time! I didn't recite any of his books for him! Shut up and stop trying to pin the blame for your loss on me!"

He became more and more agitated as he spoke, slamming his wine glass onto the table with a bang: "Obama talks about family and the global village, using that to win over minorities and young people, so why doesn't that idiot Romney talk about that? He's still going on and on about his tax cuts, motherfucker, who the hell cares about that? If you ask me, all of you Republican campaign experts are a bunch of pigs!"

"Let me tell you, he deserved to lose, and don't you dare try to drag me into this! Do you even understand?!"

With this pacifist's anything but peaceful words, you could hear a pin drop in the entire bar.

(End of this chapter)