Chapter Twenty-Five Overseas Chinese Laborers

  The foreman apologized and immediately lost his usefulness, then was kicked away by Boss Yang. The man politely took off his hat, bowed and said in Chinese: "I'm really sorry, I didn't teach them well, my subordinates were too rude, please don't mind, miss."

  After finishing speaking, he lifted his head up.

  "Huh?" He only then discovered that the beautiful girl was gone, replaced by a middle-aged uncle with a stubble.

  "Sir, you're being too polite. We workers should be punished for our mistakes, it's only right," said the middle-aged man calmly, and then pulled the little girl hiding behind him and left.

  Yang Da boss shrugged indifferently, flashing a brilliant smile at the little girl who was secretly looking back at him, and the little girl quickly turned her head back with a shy expression.

  "Mr. Yang, the man is the leader of this batch of Chinese laborers, and the girl is his daughter. They were all driven from California and are now living in that shed because they have no place to live." Robert, a British employee in charge of the construction site, came over and said in a low voice.

  "How can people live in such a shabby condition? We are not those ruthless businessmen, as a conscientious employer, we should always care about the workers' lives!" Mr. Yang said with an air of righteousness, as if he had just seen that dilapidated shed for the first time.

  "Understood, I'll settle their accommodation issue right away." Robert said with a nod.

  "Also prepare some gifts, in this foreign land to meet their own compatriots, how can not go visit, I have not been back for many years." Mr. Yang said with a sigh.

  It was easy to do this small thing, and after work that afternoon, he followed a town committee member who visited lonely elderly people, with a high and mighty smile on his face, into the dormitory where Hua workers lived. His identity doesn't need to be said, now basically all Chinese in Texas know this noble compatriot, such a big shot coming to the door naturally couldn't lack a commotion.

  This guy isn't doing this for the first time, it was him who started the practice of visiting voters and canvassing votes as a member of the Pingjin Special Zone Council. Now that he's back in the old routine, he's naturally skilled at it. He brings some oil, some flour, gives the kids some candy, and then shows concern by asking about their well-being, which already makes the humiliated Chinese workers grateful to tears. Even the little girl's father has let his guard down and slowly starts talking with Yang Feng about their past.

  According to him, these Chinese workers had come to America more than twenty years ago.

  As soon as he heard this time, Yang Feng immediately understood their identities, and they were a group of remnants of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

  They originally came to the United States as coolies, first in San Francisco, building railroads, mining, logging, and even panning for gold. They did all sorts of hard labor because they asked for low wages and worked diligently, so factory owners liked to use Chinese workers. As a result, it led to the resentment of white workers. Unable to stay any longer, they wandered around in the United States, going wherever there was work to be done, leaving when they couldn't make ends meet. They struggled to get by for over 20 years.

  Yang Da Boss was naturally indignant about their experiences. In fact, the main force of anti-Chinese sentiment in this era were the working class, while capitalists welcomed cheap Chinese labor. After the passage of the Exclusion Act, it even faced resistance from factory owners, but ultimately could not withstand the votes of politicians. He had no interest in improving the treatment of Chinese workers in America; if he were to replace them, he would not have any good feelings towards these low-wage workers who were taking his rice bowl either. What he cared about was how to utilize these people, especially after hearing that many of them had experience with gold mining.

  "Master Han, it's not a big deal for you to be drifting around in the US like this now. I'm preparing to make an investment in Western Australia and need a large number of workers. Do you have any interest in working for me?" Yang Feng said to Han Fang, the little girl's father.

  "Mr. Yang, look at us now, we all have families to support, and if we go all the way to Western Australia, I'm afraid we can't take such a risk." Han Fang isn't stupid either, he's luring us to Western Australia, what if his investment fails and he abandons us there, how will our old and young survive?

  "On this point, you can be completely at ease. Firstly, I will sign a contract with you for a certain period of time when you work for me. You are willing to sign for how many years is up to you. Secondly, the contract will specify the salary amount and payment method, as well as compensation in case of breach of contract. Thirdly, all those who are willing to go will receive a settlement fee. If you agree, your family members can follow me to Europe. I still have a large part of my business in Europe, and it's easy to arrange for dozens of female workers. Of course, if you don't want to go to Europe, you can also work at my company in the United States." Yang Feng said.

  Looking at their astonished eyes, he continued to say: "Of course, after arriving in Western Australia, you must completely obey my arrangement. You have to do whatever I ask you to do, even if it's killing or arson. It's very chaotic there, and close to the aborigines. I think this kind of thing will definitely need you to do."

  The Chinese workers then understood that, of course, pies wouldn't fall from the sky. Since they were asked to do life-risking work, this treatment was quite normal.

  "Mr. Yang, how much are you willing to pay for the relocation fee?" Han asked, he was indeed a leftover of the Long Hairs, had done rebellious acts before, and naturally wouldn't mind killing people or setting fires, but it depends on the price.

  "I'll let the financial personnel discuss this with you in detail, but it also depends on the level. The price for arranging work for family members is one thing, and for those who don't need to arrange work, it's another price. Arranging work in Europe has one price, and arranging work in America has another price," said Yang Feng. He wasn't a philanthropist, so he couldn't give these Chinese workers and white people the same price, but he wouldn't give more than that either.

  "Mr. Yang, we will consider it." Han nodded his head, this was normal, a big boss like him would naturally not bother to haggle with laborers like themselves.

  "In addition, I will also build a school in Europe, where all the children of people who work for me can study for free, and those with good grades can even be sent to university." Yang Feng continued.

  "What?" At this moment, all the Chinese workers couldn't sit still. They worked hard for their next generation to escape the sea of suffering, didn't they? In America, they were discriminated against, and there wasn't even a school willing to accept Chinese children. Now, something like this was happening, and it felt unreal for a moment.

  "But after they graduate, they must repay my investment in them by working for me." Boss Yang said calmly and then got up to leave. This plan had been brewing for a long time, but he hadn't found the right target to invest in until now. In the Republic of China era, his American flight school had sent him thousands of excellent pilots.

  The remaining Chinese workers will definitely have a sleepless night tonight.

  After leaving the workshop, Yang Feng almost bumped into a little girl hiding outside to eavesdrop. Looking at her shy eyes, he tried hard to suppress that foolishly excited heart of his and put on what he thought was his most charming smile, just about to go over and flirt with her. Suddenly, the little girl's eyes widened in terror as if she had seen a venomous snake, and she let out a sharp cry while pointing at something behind him.

  Yang Da Boss, who had also been through countless battlefields, reacted with unparalleled speed and agility. Almost at the same moment the gun fired behind him, he dived down, wrapping his arms around the beautiful girl's slender waist, pulling her down to the ground with him. The bullet whizzed past his head.

  On the construction site, he had dozens of bodyguards. As soon as a gunshot rang out, they immediately pulled out their pistols and ran over to surround him, with dense bullets causing the leaves of the trees where the attackers were hiding to fly everywhere. Soon, mournful cries could be heard. Yang Feng tightly held the beautiful girl in his arms until the bodyguards rushed over and dragged away the attackers who had been shot full of holes, only then reluctantly releasing the warm body from his embrace.

  The identity of the attacker was soon cleared up, a son of a rebel who was killed by the National Guard during the Longview riot. Who is the mastermind behind this incident? Anyone with a bit of brains can guess it out. If they don't take revenge on him, whom will they take revenge on?

  "It's too terrifying, I really dare not believe that in this civilized country, such a daylight murder would occur." In the office of the Governor of Texas, Mr. Yang was in a state of extreme distress, pounding on the governor's desk in a rage.

  The governor looked at him with an awkward face, and to be honest, he was also very annoyed. This guy is now his big gold master, just the land business has earned him $100,000, not to mention a series of investment plans that are being implemented. If Yang Feng died, all this would be ruined.

  "Mr. Yang, rest assured, I guarantee that such a thing will not happen again." The governor hastily said.

  "Guarantee? Ha! I'd rather rely on myself than your police!" Yang Da Boss sneered and said: "It's clear that the number of security guards at Ambrella Corporation is still too small, far from enough to guarantee my safety, let alone protect my industries in Texas. I've decided to expand it by another fold, and increase the number of employees to at least 500."

  He said this mainly because the Texas State Legislature had recently made some unfavorable comments about a Chinese person owning a private army in Texas, so to avoid suspicion, Umbrella Corporation only hired over 200 employees, and now they are taking advantage of the opportunity to expand.

  The governor didn't say much, anyway the law doesn't restrict the number of private security company employees, since he's willing to hire more then that's his business. As for ensuring Mr Yang's safety, it's not actually difficult to solve, just monitor the families of those who were killed in the Langveiyu rebellion and that would be enough. The governor was also worried, after all, the next one to get shot might be himself.