The lattice behind Chen Jianqiu has all kinds of things on it, including ceramics, knives, and even animal skulls, all of which are famous products.

But most of them are still empty.

These empty lattices look like a row of teeth with a gap in the middle, and they look really ugly.

"Mr. Chen, why are those grids behind you empty?" Hannah looked at the lattices and couldn't help but ask.

"Those slots will be filled with a batch of things from my hometown in the near future." Chen Jianqiu said calmly while scalding the tea cup, "Some robbers will take them away from their original places. ”

"I don't want them to wander like children without a home, these lattices are their homes. They will stay here for many years before returning to their homeland one day. ”

Hannah and McKinley seemed to understand.

This Chinese man speaks like a prophet?

Chen Jianqiu poured a cup of tea for each of the two guests in front of him.

And he himself turned around, took out a delicate little box from a lattice behind him, lifted the lid, and took out two sticks of incense.

He took out the match, lit the two sticks of incense, and gently placed them in the box in front of him, and closed the lid again.

A wisp of green smoke floated out of the open air on the lid.

The whole room was filled with a refreshing aroma at once.

Hannah sniffled:

"What kind of aroma is this? Mr. Chen? ”

"This is a kind of handmade incense, in my hometown, people grind the fragrant leaves into powder, add some traditional Chinese medicine, and reshape them into this finished product after more than a dozen processes, which can refresh the mind."

Chen Jianqiu took a sip of tea and said slowly.

"These two incense sticks only take one or twenty minutes to burn, but it may take years to make."

McKinley sighed:

"The wisdom of the working people of the East is truly incomparable."

His gaze was taken back from the delicate incense box.

"Mr. Morgan has mentioned you to us and has praised you; Mr. Roosevelt was the same, but he said to us, to see you, we need a little, well, 'fate'? ”

McKinley pondered the words.

He chose to use the word "luck".

However, Chen Jianqiu still had an unfathomable smile on his face, and shook his head slightly:

"No, Mr. McKinley, what we Orientals call 'fate' is not the same as what you call 'luck.'"

He placed the teacup in his hand on the tea table.

"'Luck' is luck and chance, but 'fate' is the necessity of chance." Chen Jianqiu said with a smile.

"We Oriental people talk about 'karma', karma becomes the world, karma destroys the world, and there must be a cause if there is a fate."

"You and I can sit here and drink tea, it is fate, Mr. Morgan is the cause, Mr. Roosevelt is the cause, but the two of you can become the leaders of the Republican Party this year with your own efforts, it is also the cause, everything is the cause, everything is the cause."

Chen Jianqiu said leisurely.

Hannah's head exploded when he heard this.

This man looked too much like a soothsayer from the East, not a prince as Morgan had said.

But McKinley on the side was thoughtful.

"What about 'destiny'? Destiny? He thought about it for a moment and changed the word.

"It's a little close, but it's not exactly the same, 'fate' is accidental and inevitable at the same time, and it is the unity of the two." Chen Jianqiu said.

He continued to pour a cup of tea into the empty teacup of the three men, and then said without raising his head:

"There are several states in the West that have just joined the Union."

"Utah, under the influence of California, is the territory of the BJ; The Republicans in Dakota and Montana themselves have not yet figured out where they stand; Wyoming is the grass on the wall, Colorado is the anti-bone boy, and as for New Mexico, it is a Chinese state, and the Democratic Party and the Republican Party take turns to come to power, and the two are not sure at all. ”

Chen Jianqiu's tone was calm, but in the ears of the two, it sounded like thunder.

Is this man really not interested in politics at all, as Morgan and Roosevelt claimed?

Chen Jianqiu put down the teapot, but the words continued:

Even within the Republican Party, the two have not yet reached a consensus with most people; In addition to the two back-of-the-back guys in New York and Pennsylvania, there is also a bunch of proponents of the silver standard in the western states who talk about the gold standard. ”

He paused, looked up, and glanced at McKinley.

"Your Excellency's election campaign has been full of difficulties."

Hannah and McKinley were already frozen.

Chen Jianqiu's words can be described as hitting the nail on the head, and every sentence is to the point.

These are the main problems they face outside of this time.

However, these problems did not arise at the same time, but gradually emerged during more than a year of campaign preparations.

The Chinese in front of him was able to speak clearly in extremely short language.

It's wicked.

It's incredible, but it's quite shocking.

McKinley's brain was racing.

The mouth and nose still have the lingering aroma of tea.

He looked at Chen Jianqiu, but found that the unfathomable Chinese on the other side closed his eyes and stopped speaking after he finished speaking.

Is it really like what this person said, his meeting with him is the so-called "fate", the "effect" in the front, and the "cause" in the back.

Is Chen Jianqiu's appearance an indispensable condition for him to ascend to the presidency?

McKinley finally made up his mind.

He followed the example of the Chinese he had seen in Chinatown before, and said with his fists clenched:

"Please teach me, sir."

His words and actions startled Hannah beside him.

The old man is old, his reaction is relatively slow, and his brain is still dizzy for the time being.

He put his hand under the tea case and subconsciously ripped the corner of McKinley's clothes.

But McKinley turned a blind eye and still maintained a posture of arching his hands:

"Please sir teach me!"

Chen Jianqiu still looked settled.

Wisps of green smoke floated out of the incense box and rose in front of him, adding to the mystery.

After a long while, Chen Jianqiu opened his eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I entered a meditative state just now, I don't know what you two commanded?"

Without hesitation, McKinley arched his hand again:

"Mr. Chen, what you said is right, what is the solution?"

Chen Jianqiu waved his hand:

"I'm just a Chinese, I came to the United States across the ocean, I was lucky, I made a fortune, how dare I talk about things within the Republican Party."

With that, his eyelids drooped again, and he looked like he was about to resettle.

McKinley was in a hurry.

If the person in front of him resettles, he doesn't know when he will open his eyes again.

"Mr. Chen, you are wrong, the United States of America is a free country, and every legitimate citizen has the right to express his or her opinion, regardless of skin color." He said eagerly.

"I have no ill feelings towards the Chinese, especially after meeting you! I think they are hardworking, rustic, and most of them are kind. ”

As a politician, McKinley has long mastered the skills of talking to people and talking to hell.

He is very proficient in this set of rhetoric, and the "Chinese" in it can be replaced by other people holding ballots according to his own needs.

"Oh, is that really what you think?" Chen Jianqiu asked.

"Yes, that's what I really think." McKinley said "sincerely".

Chen Jianqiu turned to Hanna:

"That's what you think, right?"

The old man was actually still in a state of blindfolding, and when he saw Chen Jianqiu asking, he hurriedly followed behind and nodded repeatedly.

Chen Jianqiu stood up.

He took the teacup and teapot from the tea table, including the kettle with boiling water.

Chen Jianqiu turned around again, took a crumpled piece of folded paper from the lattice, and then turned around and walked back to his seat, while unfolding the paper on the tea table.

It's a map of the West, but it's not your average map.

It describes in detail the current political ecology of the western states.

The author of this map is none other than Wang Qingfu, chairman of the "Chinese Political Participation Alliance."

Over the years, he did not stay in New York or Washington, D.C., but traveled between the East and the West.

Educated Chinese began to appear in the government departments of the western states, and some even appeared in the state legislatures, as in the quasi-states of New Mexico.

These Chinese were carefully selected by Chen Jianqiu and Wang Qingfu and had entered colleges and universities.

They used Chen Jianqiu's influence to enter the political arena of the states, representing the will of Chen Jianqiu and the Chinese living in those states.

"First of all, gentlemen, you need a lot, a lot, a lot of money." Chen Jianqiu used his hand to compare the position in the west on the map in a large circle.

"I understand that Morgan has already made a $200,000 political donation, and there will be more donations in the future, and based on past experience, I estimate that $6 or 700,000 should be enough." Hannah preemptively said.

"Not enough, not enough, far from enough." Chen Jianqiu shook his head repeatedly, "As I told you just now, there are several states in the west that have just joined the federation. ”

"For the first time, the citizens of these states are really fulfilling their powers and duties in the presidential election!"

"Most of these people in the west who are holding the ballot are not as well-informed as the people in the old states in the east, so you need more money to do the propaganda."

"For example, traveling around the country to give speeches, or using the media to publicize Mr. McKinley so that citizens know exactly who they are voting for."

"You also need to hire a lot of people, at least thousands, with leaflets, to infiltrate every constituency."

"How much money do you think is enough?" Hannah frowned.

"More than $1.5 million." Chen Jianqiu said calmly, "I will also donate $200,000." ”

"Plus, speaking all over the country means you need to move quickly from one city to another." He gestured to the map, "The west is not the same as the east, it's huge, a lot of places are deserted, and if you need to get from one city to another, it can be very hard. ”

Hannah couldn't agree more, and it suddenly occurred to him what Morgan had said to him.

In the rush of the financial crisis, Chen Jianqiu and Morgan took the opportunity to buy the bottom and carried out a series of complex operations such as restructuring, and took control of almost all railway companies on the continent.

"The Pacific Railroad and the Santa Fe Railroad will provide special trains to move Mr. McKinley from one city to the next."

Hannah and McKinley's hearts instantly sank halfway.

The Chinese in front of him looked very reliable, he not only came up with ideas, but also ended up in person.

Chen Jianqiu pointed his finger at the map on the desktop:

"Next, I'm going to talk about the specific problems of each state."

"Although Utah has a large number of Plebeian people, because the influence of Mormonism in the state is relatively large, if it is handled well, it will not be a big problem to win."

"Due to the influence of the local silver association in Colorado, the 'silver coin faction' led by state congressman Kohler in the Republican Party will not rest on its laurels."

To this point, Hannah nodded repeatedly:

"Yes, the kid named Kohler clamored that if we used the 'gold standard' system, we would take all our own people out of the party. It's a headache for us. ”

Chen Jianqiu smiled slightly:

"You don't have to worry about this, the split between the 'gold coin faction' and the 'silver coin faction', the Republican Party has it, and the Democratic Party also faces this problem, which has nothing to do with the party itself, so don't worry, the big deal is a wave of personnel replacement."

"The 'gold standard' is the foundation of this election for the Republican Party, don't hesitate to write it into the platform, it will win you the support of many people, including me."

"Wyoming and Kansas, it may seem dangerous, but you don't have to worry too much, I know the situation there better than you, and I will take some measures when necessary."

"As for New Mexico and Arizona, I personally think you don't have to worry about the situation there."

After Chen Jianqiu finished speaking, he turned the map on the tea case upside down and handed it to the two of them.

McKinley and Hannah were already stunned, and when they saw the map turned, they hurried up and checked the information on the map bit by bit.

Chen Jianqiu's analysis seemed to open another door for them.

Combined with the information they had, they verified what he said in their hearts one by one, and couldn't help but look at the Chinese in front of them even more.

Hannah is now increasingly skeptical of the previous Morgan and Roosevelt claims.

A businessman who cares nothing about politics?

The king of the west is real, all right.

After reading the map, McKinley, who was a little excited in his heart, raised his head and looked at Chen Jianqiu:

"Mr. Chen, please join my campaign, we can't do without you in the western elections."

However, Chen Jianqiu smiled and shook his head.

"I'll help you with your favor, who made us fated, but I won't go to the front of the stage."

McKinley didn't figure it out for a while, but he knew that Chen Jianqiu must have his own considerations.

But then he said:

"Mr. Chen, after the election is successful, please join my cabinet and take up a position, I hope you can become the first Chinese government official in the history of the United States!"

However, Chen Jianqiu shook his head again:

"We'll talk about it then."

Now McKinley was stunned.

Don't do this, don't want that, so what exactly do you want?

Chen Jianqiu said slowly:

"I hope that if you really succeed in getting into the White House, that bill can be repealed in your hands."

(End of chapter)