North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 126 I Don't Want To...! (5,000 words)

On the list of Chinese laborers that Vivian sent, Azu saw a name that was extremely unexpected!

"Fu Shanxiang...!!!"

Azu murmured the name, then pointed at it and asked Vivian, "Shouldn't this be a female worker? Why is it on the list of male workers?"

Vivian looked at the name that Azu was pointing to: "Fu Shanxiang, um, let me think... I remember now, he's a male worker, how could he be a female worker?"

"I remember it very clearly. This male worker was very young, very handsome, not very tall, but well-read. That's why I interviewed him personally and planned to train him for a management position."

"Fu Shanxiang...a male worker, haha!"

Azu thought for a moment and said, "Vivian, bring him to see me. A talent like him who has read many books cannot be wasted. I want to interview him personally."

"Okay, bring him over tomorrow."

At Huamei Industrial, male workers make up at least 80% of the workforce, but there are also quite a few female workers in the textile and garment factories.

These female workers included both white and Chinese women, but most of them were family members of the male workers, either wives or sisters.

Very few Chinese women travel alone to the other side of the ocean; they are usually those who have nowhere else to turn in their hometowns and thus choose to go to sea.

As Azu continued to flip through the roster, the study door creaked open again.

Daisy also came in carrying a stack of ledgers.

"Hi, BOSS!"

Daisy placed the ledger on the desk, flipping through it without looking up, and reported, "Our gold for this month has been transported back from the Giant Elephant Mountain mining base!"

"Uh, how much gold was produced this month?"

"A total of 217,711 ounces of gold were produced this month, worth $4.5 million!"

Ah Zu and the women remained expressionless, as if they were all used to such enormous wealth being continuously poured into Huamei Industrial's treasury.

The vault, formerly a wine cellar converted from the shipyard's office building, is no longer sufficient.

So, the former headquarters vault of the Bay Area Bank was slightly modified and put to use.

With a large amount of gold as credit reserves, Azu is already preparing to open his own East West Bank. The problem he faces now is a lack of professional talent.

Wu Qingfeng might be able to manage the bank, but Azu has already appointed him to the more crucial position of Director of the State Taxation Bureau.

Daisy continued, "Besides gold, we've already shipped 100,000 vials of penicillin from our stockpile to Bishop Evan. Each vial cost $70 at the factory, and we've received half of that payment, $3.5 million. The church still owes us $3.5 million!"

"Hehe, let them owe us for now!" Azu smiled and said, "Even if the church uses penicillin to treat patients for a hundred dollars, they will definitely make a killing!"

“So, don’t worry about them not paying!” Azu continued, “The more they owe, the faster Bishop Evan will be promoted!”

"In addition to jeans, prefabricated houses, various types of machinery, and the profits from various trading companies and shipping companies, the total profit for this month is $177,000."

Daisy continued her report: "Currently, the company has a total of $28.78 million in gold and cash in its books and vault!"

"The various kinds of food and supplies we have stockpiled in warehouses in San Francisco and California are worth more than 20 million US dollars, even if calculated according to the current soaring market prices."

At this point, Daisy looked up, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Azu: "BOSS, the food and supplies in all the warehouses are almost overflowing!"

"Moreover, the price of food has now skyrocketed, and the prices of other supplies have almost doubled. A gold panning shovel that used to cost a few cents now sells for four or five dollars. Could we sell some of our stock?"

Azu asked, "How much grain do we have stored in total now?"

"We have a total of over 13,000 tons of grains, including wheat, rice, and corn! Moreover, our fleet is continuously transporting rice from Japan and Vietnam, as well as wheat, corn, potatoes, and other crops from Canada and Mexico to our warehouses."

Azu nodded: "Then start shipping, but don't ship too much at once! Based on grain prices, as long as the price of flour is above two dollars, we will ship gradually. If the price falls below two dollars, we will stop shipping."

"Understood, Boss!"

Daisy put away the ledger, winked at Azu, and said, "Boss, do you remember I have a younger brother?"

“Of course I remember. How’s that kid Jones doing now?” Azu smiled.

“He just graduated from a church school, and the school is going to recommend him to Harvard University in the East!” Daisy said with a hint of pride.

"Tsk tsk, Harvard University! ...Your Moore family really has produced a genius!" Azu said, "I remember that Jones kid, just like you Daisy, was extremely talented in mathematics?"

“Yes! My brother is better than me. He’s more educated and more capable than me!” As she spoke, Daisy’s pretty face darkened. “However, that boy Jones came home and said he doesn’t want to go to college!”

"Don't you want to go to university? Why?" Azu asked curiously.

“Because he felt that going to university wasn’t as promising as working with the boss!” Daisy replied.

"Haha, he wants to follow me?" Azu laughed.

“Yes!” Daisy nodded. “He’s eighteen years old, has read so many books, and is good at math. Perhaps he does have a better future working for the boss.”

After thinking for a moment, Azu agreed: "Alright, have that kid Jones come see me tomorrow. I'll give him something very important to do!"

"Hehe!" Daisy immediately beamed with joy: "Thank you, boss!"

"Don't thank me yet. If Jones doesn't do a good job with what I gave him, I'll spank him!"

Daisy chuckled, "Okay, no problem! I haven't punched him in years!"

Azu turned to Vivian and asked, "Little Vivian, after the Bay Area Bank went bankrupt, do you know where all those bank employees went?"

Vivian shook her head: "I'm too busy recruiting and training our own employees to have time to pay attention to an employee of a bankrupt bank."

"Tsk tsk, that's not how a good headhunter should act!"

Vivian tilted her head curiously and asked, "What is a headhunter?"

"They're just poaching people!"

“Oh…!” Vivian, having grown up in China, was quite familiar with the term “stealing someone’s partner.”

"Little Vivian, spread the word that we are preparing to establish East West Bank and need a large number of banking professionals!"

"Yes, my ancestor!"

"Huh...?" Vivian realized, "Are we really going to open a bank?"

Azu nodded and said, "Of course! Without our own bank, it's inconvenient to do many things! Besides, we have a lot of cash and gold, which would just sit in the vault and get moldy. We might as well learn from the Jews and make money by lending money!"

Daisy wholeheartedly agreed: "The boss is right! We desperately need our own bank to make money from money!"

"Open a bank? We don't know anything about that!"

"That's why we need you to hire people, specifically banking professionals!"

Vivian replied, "I understand now, no problem."

"Beep beep beep...!"

At that moment, the knocking sounded again.

"Come in!"

The study door opened silently, revealing Youma's stunningly beautiful face!
"Ah...!" Yuma peeked out and saw the room full of people, her pretty face immediately turning red. She shrank back, saying, "There are so many people, I'll come back later!"

"Youma, don't go, come in!" Azu beckoned to her, "We're all family here, what are you shy about?"

"oh……!"

Yuma walked in shyly, stood behind Vivian, and kept her head down without saying a word.

Looking at the room full of women, Ah Zu couldn't help but smile knowingly!

Well, today is a good day, everything that was supposed to come has come!

"Youma, what do you need me for?" Seeing that Youma didn't speak, Azu had no choice but to ask.

"I...I want to ask for leave!" Youma said timidly.

"Are you taking leave? Why?" Azu asked curiously.

"I...I want to go to the model village and teach my people to speak English and Cantonese!"

For the past six months or so, Youma has been Vivian's assistant, learning a lot of Chinese from her, and at least he can communicate normally without any problems.

"Huh...?" Ah Zu asked with great curiosity, "You're going to personally teach them Cantonese and English? Why?"

Yuma said softly, "My people, although they have formed families with Chinese people, they don't understand Cantonese, and the Chinese don't speak Blackfoot. I wonder, if they can't communicate, how can they be happy?"

"So, I want to teach them, at least the most basic communication skills!"

After listening, Azu nodded vigorously: "Youma, you are so thoughtful and considerate! But, do you really have to go in person?"

“Little Carnegie also speaks quite a bit of Cantonese and Blackfoot, so I can send him.”

Youma shook his head: "I know my people best, so they learn faster when I teach them! Besides, Carnegie is white, and many of my people's husbands died at the hands of white people. They all hate white people!"

Ah Zu thought about it and realized that it made sense.

However, he was a little reluctant to let Yuma leave his side!

Ever since that magical and wonderful night with the Blackfoot tribe, Azu has been secretly meeting with Youma from time to time.

Azu experienced a completely different kind of joy with Youma, a girl who was both incredibly beautiful and extremely shy!
But what Youma said makes sense!

"Alright then! I'll send an armed merchant ship tomorrow to escort you to Model Village!" After a moment's thought, Azu had no choice but to nod: "Hmm, how long will it take to teach your people basic communication?"

Yuma thought for a moment, "I think a month should be enough!" "Alright!" Azu stood up, gently pulled Yuma into his arms, and gave her a deep kiss on the forehead: "Go and come back soon!"

Under the intense gazes of the other four women, Youma's face immediately turned red with embarrassment!
But she still mustered her courage, stood on tiptoe, and kissed Ah Zu on the cheek: "Okay, Ah Zu!"

"Wow...! Yuma's gotten so bold...?"

Amidst the laughter of the other four women, Youma, blushing with embarrassment, ran out of the study with her head down.

"Is there anything else?" Azu asked the four women.

"It's alright!" Monica walked up, put her arms around Azu's neck, and gave him a French kiss!

"Goodbye, my master!" After a passionate kiss, Monica walked out of the study, swaying her plump hips contentedly.

"I'm fine now!"

Victoria swayed her slender waist, wrapped her arms around Ah Zu's head, and gave him a deep kiss!
Goodnight, my boss!

With that, Victoria gracefully left the study.

Only Vivian and Daisy remained in the study!
The two girls looked at each other.
No one dared to make any rash moves!

Goodbye, Boss!

Daisy couldn't stand it any longer, so she grabbed the ledger and hurriedly prepared to leave.

"etc……!"

Ah Zu grabbed her and lifted her pretty face with his hand.

“Hmm…!”

Ah Zu gently kissed him!
In that instant, Daisy's legs stiffened!
After the kiss, Daisy's pretty face turned bright red, and her eyes became glazed over!
Goodbye, my little Daisy!

"Goodbye... BOSS!"

Watching Daisy leave, her steps unsteady and her mind elsewhere, Vivian stepped forward and gave a cold snort.

"Hmph...!" Vivian's pretty face was full of disdain: "Hmph, Chinese men...!"

Azu reached out and pulled Vivian into his arms, grinning mischievously, "What's wrong with us Chinese men?"

"Lovely!"

"You know Chinese men are fickle, so why do you still like me?"

"Pah!" Vivian spat lightly. "Who likes you? Shameless!"

Ah Zu didn't care about anything else and leaned down to kiss him.

"No...!" Vivian covered her mouth, "You just kissed them, drank their saliva, and now you want to kiss me...!"

"So what?" Azu said, "Why should women despise other women?"

"No...no...I don't want to...waaaah!"

As the old saying goes, when a woman says no, she means yes!

This time, Vivian became exceptionally proactive and domineering, fighting for dozens of rounds before finally defeating Azu.

……

After the passion subsided, Vivian nudged the lazy Azu: "Hey, aren't you going to find your Youma sister?"

“I’m not going anywhere! I’ll stay with you tonight!” Azu turned over and hugged her slender waist tightly.

"Go quickly! Youma is leaving tomorrow. You won't see her for a month. Can you honestly say you won't miss her?"

Azu opened his eyes and exclaimed in surprise, "Huh! How come you've suddenly become so sensible?"

"Pah!" Vivian spat again. "Aren't you secretly overjoyed?"

"No way! All I want to do right now is stay with you!"

"Hmph! Men's words are lies!" Vivian lightly kicked Azu: "If you don't go now, then you're never going again!"

"Sigh...!" Azu had no choice but to slowly sit up, putting on her clothes as she said, "It wasn't my idea to go, you forced me to!"

"Get out! You shameless man!"

"hey-hey……!"

A moment later, Azu, like a thief, knocked on Youma's door.

"Dudududu!"

"Who?"

"I!"

"Squeak...!"

The door opened, and a low voice came from inside: "What are you doing here so late?"

"You're leaving for a month tomorrow, shouldn't I come and keep you company?"

"I don't want you to come with me... umm... you smell like Vivi...!"

"No way? How come it smells like Vivian?"

"I'm with Sister Weiwei every day, I know her scent best... You guys, weren't you just now...!"

"How could this be! No...!"

"Don't try to lie to me!"

"oh……!"

"Look at him, he's not listening to anyone!"

"How could I be disobedient...!"

"You're so disobedient! Let me think of something...!"

"Ouch...!"

……

The next morning, with great reluctance, Azu personally saw Youma off onto the boat.

Then, back in the study, a short while later, Vivian led in a short, exceptionally fair-skinned, and strikingly handsome Chinese man.

He was wearing the most common blue long jacket worn by people in the Qing Dynasty, with a long, shiny black braid and a blue felt hat!

"This is our Huamei Industrial's boss, Mr. Li Zunian, the Assistant Governor of California!"

Vivian introduced, "Grandpa, this is Fu Shanxiang!"

"Sit down!" Azu gave him her most amiable smile: "You must be Fu Shanxiang?"

"Yes, boss, I am Fu Shanxiang!"

Even when he deliberately speaks in a rough voice, his voice is still exceptionally clear and pleasant to hear.

"A person from Jinling Shangyuan?"

Azu tried asking.

"How did you know?" Fu Shanxiang was taken aback: "No, no, no... I'm not... I'm from Suzhou!"

In his surprise, he forgot to disguise his voice!
"Hehe, stop pretending, Miss Fu!"

Ah Zu smiled and said, "I can tell at a glance that you're not a man!"

"I...I am...No, I am not...!" Having her disguise seen through at a glance, Fu Shanxiang panicked.

Azu continued, "Fu Shanxiang was from Shangyuan County, Jinling. Born into a scholarly family, he was exceptionally intelligent from a young age and well-versed in the classics and history."

"When you were eight years old, your parents passed away one after another, and your family quickly declined. At the age of 13, your older brother, following your father's wishes, married you off to the Li family, to whom you had been betrothed since childhood."

"Your husband was six years younger than you, just an innocent and ignorant child. At the beginning of this year, your twelve-year-old husband unfortunately died of measles. You were only eighteen years old and had not yet consummated your marriage, and you became a widow overnight."

"After burying her son, your wicked mother-in-law planned to sell you into a brothel for money."

“You couldn’t stay in that Li family’s house for even a day longer! So you ran away overnight.”

"A married woman is like water spilled from a cup! Your brother's family doesn't want you either; there's no place for you in this world!"

"I heard that some foreign ships in Shanghai are recruiting Chinese laborers, regardless of gender! So, you disguised yourself as a man and, relying on your knowledge, boarded our Huamei Company's transoceanic merchant ship in Shanghai!"

"This men's attire will save you a lot of trouble on the ship."

"But now that we've reached the other side, Miss Fu, you no longer need to pretend! Here, regardless of gender, you are safe, and I will treat everyone equally, giving you a job that matches your talents!"

After hearing Ah Zu reveal all his secrets, Fu Shanxiang could no longer keep up the act.

She reached out and took off the melon-shaped hat from her head, revealing her jet-black, shiny hair, which immediately cascaded down like a waterfall!
"Wow!" Vivian couldn't help but exclaim.

"I am Fu Shanxiang. I had no choice but to disguise myself. Please forgive me, sir!"

(End of this chapter)