Albuquerque, residential area.

From last night until early this morning, there was a fire here.

The cause was that a German who lived in a house forgot to extinguish the stove before going to bed, and then the fire on the stove lit the curtains, which directly caused his house to be burned to charcoals.

And next to it happened to be several apartments, where some workers and civilians lived.

The fire engulfed more than a dozen surrounding buildings, including the apartment, adding to the hardships of those who were not wealthy in the first place.

Those who had not yet been burned to death stood at the corner of the street, staring at the ruins in front of them.

They are now homeless.

There are several horse-drawn fire trucks parked near the ruins.

Volunteers from several fire brigades are weaving through the rubble, checking for undetected fires to make sure they don't recur.

In addition to them, a group of people appeared at the scene.

A gentleman in a top hat is talking to the homeless one by one.

Standing next to him was a reporter from the Albuquerque Morning Post.

The gentleman took off his hat, tucked it between his elbows, and took the hand of an old white man with a dark face and a blank look:

"I'm really sorry for what happened to you."

The old man looked up at him and said nothing.

"You should know me, my name is Davis, I'm a Republican Albuquerque City Councilman, and I hope to help you."

Seeing that the old man ignored him, the gentleman began to be speechless, "Eh, do you still have a place to live now?" ”

When the old man heard this, he looked at the ruins behind him again, and he didn't even have the strength to be angry.

His hand hung down in Congressman Davis's hand, and he looked like he had nothing to love.

The topic came to an abrupt end, and the atmosphere became even more awkward.

Davis was a little helpless, and looked at an old man standing not far away.

"What a piece of shit, what do you see me doing?" Scott looked displeased and muttered in a low voice, so small that only Chen Jianqiu beside him could hear it.

"This is the next mayor you intend to train?" Chen Jianqiu suddenly wanted to laugh.

He had just arrived in Albuquerque early this morning.

First, to find out how his kerosene was sold, and second, to see how the railroad from Albuquerque to Roswell was being built.

As a result, as soon as he entered the city, he bumped into Councilor Scott, who was dusty and didn't even have his hair tidied up, and City Councilor Davis, whom he had high hopes for.

As soon as they heard the news of the fire, they rushed to the scene.

Are these people philanthropists? No, apparently not.

These "city politicians" are almost as closely watched by firefighters as closely as firefighters in their constituencies.

In their experience, fires are a great time to win votes.

So, whenever there is a fire, these people come over like flies smell blood.

But it seems that the young city councillor, Davis, is not as familiar with such operations as his predecessor, Scott.

Scott was a little angry, and he waved at one of his attendants not far behind him.

The attendant trotted up and stuck to the councillor's side.

"Go and tell Almons to vacate the inn room and let these people move in." Scott leaned into his attendant's ear and whispered.

The retinue also ran into the street behind him.

"Where's the bread? What about water? Scott shouted at his back, "Let Almons get some bread and water first!" ”

After a while, a merchant-like man came with a carriage carrying large boxes of bread and buckets of water.

Councillor Davis finally reacted by taking bread out of the cart, scooping water from a cup, and distributing it to the affected residents.

Chen Jianqiu also followed behind to join in the fun.

Scott, who walked in front of Chen Jianqiu, took the bread from the hands of his entourage and handed it to those who were waiting by the ruins.

"Are you comfortable being robbed by the Indians in Roswell?" He handed the bread in his hand, and a cold sentence came out of his mouth.

Chen Jianqiu realized that Scott was talking to him, and immediately looked like a bitter melon: "I just robbed two truckloads of goods before I came." ”

Of course Scott knew, because there was a cartload of goods in it that was said to be for him,

The councillor straightened up and smiled and waved at a child who had received bread in the distance, but his tone was unkind:

"How are you acting like this bunch of shit now? Just let those Indians rob you? ”

Chen Jianqiu bent down and scooped up a glass of water, put it in front of a victim, and said, "Then what else can I do?" Those Indians are haunted, what can I do. ”

"I'm a Chinese, it's not easy to work hard to make some money, if I get some arms or something, will I still be alive? Can those councillors let me go? Chen Jianqiu sighed.

"I'm disappointed that you're like this." Scott picked up another piece of bread and handed it to a woman with a black ash on her face and hands.

"Thank you! Mr. Councillor! The woman was agitated and grabbed Scott's hand.

The councilor's hands suddenly turned black.

With a smile on his face, Scott pulled his hand out, turned his head to Chen Jianqiu and gave him a look, motioning for him to follow, and then walked out of the team.

He took Chen Jianqiu to a street corner.

Scott turned his back, took out a handkerchief, and began to wipe the black ash on his hands, while wiping, he said to Chen Jianqiu:

"I've discussed it with the governor, and the governor will sign the governor's order and give you a certain amount of establishment." Scott glanced at Chen Jianqiu, "You organized some militia in Roswell and incorporated it into the state National Guard." ”

"Does the state finance grant funds?" Chen Jianqiu asked earnestly.

"There's no money in the state, you can figure it out yourself." Scott frowned and looked at Chen Jianqiu, "Why don't you understand what I mean?" ”

"You Chinese, pay attention to harmony and make money, but this point is not applicable in the United States, especially in the west!" Scott earnestly taught, "If you're not armed, your money isn't yours, you know?" ”

In his opinion, if Chen Jianqiu can keep the money bag, he will keep the money bag for Scott himself.

Chen Jianqiu's face was "suddenly enlightened".

"And! Let your militia patrol the border, and the border towns will be attacked by the Indians, and our votes will be gone! ”

Scott finally wiped his hands clean and threw the black handkerchief straight to the ground.

"I have also chosen the candidate for the militia captain." Scott said, "Just Abiot, he's more straightforward!" ”

"Can you get another one?" Chen Jianqiu seemed to be very dissatisfied with this candidate.

"No, you can't!" Scott's gaze stared at Chen Jianqiu, revealing a hint of coldness.

The two returned to the scene of the fire again.

The bread and water have been almost distributed.

There was also news from the hotel that the room was almost vacated, and it was possible to arrange for the victims to be picked up.

The young Davis City Councilman, having regained his courtesy, smiled and waved at the departing victims.

"Going back and asking the reporter to write more vividly, mainly describing the plot of Davis providing free food and lodging to the victims." Scott called his retinue aside and commanded,

"Mr. Councillor, is it possible for my hotel in Santa Fe to reopen?" Merchant Almons walked up to Scott and asked cautiously.

He had a hotel in Santa Fe and was shut down by Scott for provoking people he shouldn't have provoked.

Almons didn't say a word about the cost of room and board, just and in the future.

"When you go back to Santa Fe, come to me." Scott put on his own gloves.

One more, two more later

(End of chapter)