After cleaning up Herman and the obscure business owners in California, Chen spent a few more weeks in San Francisco.

He received an invitation from railroad tycoon Mark Hopkins to stay in one of his castle mansions on Nob Hill.

Reason: Chen Jianqiu attended the meeting of the Anti-Strike Alliance on the top of the bell tower for him.

According to Chen Jianqiu, the Pacific Railroad only needs to go to one person, and Hopkins is too old, so it is better to move less.

This allowed him to escape.

Otherwise, his old bones would have to be dismantled.

Whenever he thinks of this, Hopkins always has palpitations, thinking that Chen Jianqiu saved his life, so he is responsible for Chen Jianqiu's food and lodging in San Francisco.

His mansion in Nob Hill has been empty, and Chen Jianqiu can live there for as long as he wants.

Nob Hill is a high mountain in the city of San Francisco, and you can take a cable car up and down the mountain, which offers a panoramic view of the city of San Francisco.

Chen Jianqiu lived very comfortably here.

He's waiting for someone.

To be precise, the arrival of a group of people.

Sure enough, a few days later, just as Chen Jianqiu was standing on the top of the castle and looking at the scenery, the housekeeper of the castle ran over at a trot.

"Mr. Chen, there are a few Chinese who say they want to see you." The butler said.

Chen Jianqiu is still staring at the street scene of San Francisco.

Not far from the foothills of Nob Hill is Chinatown, where the houses are low and the streets are narrow.

"Tell them I have something to do, let them wait for me in the living room first." Chen Jianqiu said without looking back.

After about an hour, Chen Jianqiu appeared at the door of the living room.

Dressed in a cloth robe, his gaze swept over the guests in the parlor and finally landed on an old man in the middle.

This old man, he knew.

"Mr. Huang, long time no see, long time no see." Chen Jianqiu walked up to the old man with a blow on his face and held his hand, "I'm sorry, there is something to keep you waiting." ”

The old man Chen Jianqiu called "Huang Zongdong" is the current general director of the Chung Hwa Association, Huang Qingyun's brother, Huang Yongren.

Director Huang, who died of his younger brother, looks much older than before.

He stood up with his crutches and saluted Chen Jianqiu in return.

"Boss Chen, let me introduce you to these people, they are all the directors of the conference halls."

Chen Jianqiu looked at Huang Yongren's introduction one by one.

These people were dressed and looked different, some were polite, some were indifferent, but a fat man in a silk horse coat was a little interesting, stood up and smiled at him and made a gesture.

"This is Hu Qinghua, and his son is now working as a manager in a branch of the Pacific Railway Company, called Hu Yueming."

Huang Yongren introduced.

"Your son is in my company?" Chen Jianqiu looked surprised, "Why don't you let him follow you directly?" ”

Hu Qinghua still looked deferential with a smile: "The dog admires your Excellency so much, and you will definitely call your "Rockefeller among the Chinese", I hope that your Excellency can mention one or two, and the dog will benefit from it for life." ”

"Well said, well said." Chen Jianqiu returned the salute and walked back to the largest chair in the middle of the living room.

He took the tea bowl handed by the butler, lifted the lid, blew on the tea leaves floating on it, and then took a sip:

"Everyone, I don't know what to do?"

Huang Yongren pressed his hands on his crutches, glanced at several other directors, and then turned to Chen Jianqiu, who was still drinking tea with his head down:

"Now that the situation in California is treacherous, many Chinese workers are now participating in the strike, but it's hard to guarantee that those white people won't use this as an excuse to start another wave of PAI China."

Chen Jianqiu closed the lid of the tea bowl and put it on the coffee table next to him, crossed his fingers on his stomach, and looked at the various Chinese businessmen opposite.

It seems that these people were frightened by the previous Fanhua behavior, and now they are all kinds of cups and bows.

Huang Yongren's face still had a melancholy color, but the conversation had already changed:

"When Your Excellency first arrived at the Ningyang Guild Hall before, he didn't show his reputation, but judging from Qingyun's attitude towards Your Excellency, it was definitely not a person; Later, Your Excellency was angry at the crown, killed Akta, and returned with the corpse of your brother, which shows your righteousness! ”

At the mention of his younger brother, the old man's voice was a little choked.

But he quickly adjusted his mood and continued:

"It wasn't until recently that we learned that Your Excellency was a well-known figure on the southern border."

"Your Excellency is fighting for my generation in a foreign land, and I am afraid that Wang Xuance is only like this when he is alive."

"Don't dare to be, don't dare to be." Chen Jianqiu hurriedly waved his hand.

No matter how thick-skinned he is, he is a little embarrassed.

This old man can really blow.

He didn't let America change its dynasty.

But then again,

Who is Wang Xuance facing? It's Ah San! Who are you facing? The America of the Gilded Age!

Who is behind Wang Xuance? That's Datang! Who is behind me now? he～tui！

Huang Yongren didn't know what Chen Jianqiu was thinking, he glanced at the people behind him again, and seemed to have reached a certain consensus.

He said to Chen Jianqiu slowly:

"After discussion, we have unanimously decided to nominate you as the new general director of the Chinese Association to protect the well-being of the American people."

Chen Jianqiu understood it.

Now there is a mixture of white workers and Chinese workers, and a large part of the Chinese workers are members of the association.

The people of the guild hall are afraid that in case they settle accounts in the future.

Those white workers are not necessarily easy to mess with, and in the end, these rich and powerful business owners will definitely take advantage of Chinese workers.

So who are the rich and powerful business owners in California right now?

Chen Jianqiu is definitely one of them.

Since Chen Jianqiu is the chief director of the Chinese Association, he will naturally take care of it for the sake of the descendants of Yan and Huang.

"I can't do it, I can't do it." Chen Jianqiu smiled and waved his hand again, "I'm not from your guild hall, and I'm not a member of the clan, how can I be qualified to be the chief director of the Chinese guild hall?" ”

Huang Yongren and the others looked at each other.

They never expected Chen Jianqiu to refuse.

Indeed, the current Eight Great Halls are mainly divided by region, basically in the coastal areas of Guangdong.

The relationship within the clan is also mainly linked by clan relatives.

It can't be helped, the dialect and culture determine this way of holding together.

"Boss Chen! You've done so much for the Chinese in New Mexico, you can't ignore your fellow citizens in California. The chief director of the Sanyi Guild Hall looked a little anxious.

Eight years ago, in the PAI Hua operation, he, Shunde and a group of fellow villagers in the South China Sea bore the brunt, and the shops were smashed and looted, so he has a deep understanding.

"Boss Chen! If you are poor, you will be good alone, and if you are good, you will help the world, and I hope you can help everyone more. The fat man Hu Qinghua is the chief director of the Zhaoqing Guild Hall, and he stood up and gave up.

"Then do you want me to be the chief director of this Chinese Association?"

Chen Jianqiu picked up the tea bowl on the coffee table again, and asked with a smile while drinking tea.

"Boss Chen, please don't shirk it, this chief director belongs to you." Huang Yongren's wooden cane tapped on the floor.

He said to Chen Jianqiu earnestly, "We are all old, and in the future, we will still rely on young people like you to support this piece of heaven for the Chinese!" ”

The directors present were deeply touched.

The youngest of them is also in their fifties, and most of them have gray temples.

Chen Jianqiu raised his head and glanced at everyone, the smile on his face suddenly disappeared, and his eyes became fierce:

"It's okay for me to be the chief director, but you need to promise me a few conditions."

"First, I don't care what happens to your respective museums, the Chinese General Pavilion will also recruit members, and there is no limit to membership, so you don't have to worry about funding or anything."

"Second, I won't fight when dealing with the Qing court, and I ask you to do it for you."

Chen Jianqiu said a few conditions, but none of them sounded harsh.

The main reason is to expand the scope of the clan hall and no longer limit it to the nationality and region.

The directors didn't even discuss, so Huang Yongren agreed.

Chen Jianqiu's words made them feel very reasonable:

As long as they are outside, they should no longer be divided into Cantonese and Hunanese, but should be unified Chinese.

After saying this, Chen Jianqiu stood up:

"Then I will go to the Ningyang Hall in three days to discuss the next matter with you, but before that, please ask Mr. Huang to make an appointment with the leaders of the various associations in Chinatown for me."