Chapter 363 The Old Man Returns

"That's it, go, why not?" Edith Rockefeller said sarcastically after listening to her, "How can I not attend the wedding of my child's father? It won't have a good influence, right?"

"Edith, don't say that!" Sheffield said with a wry smile, "I already have a son and a daughter. I'm not an irresponsible person, but you have to give me some time to operate."

"How much time do you have? Like Carnegie's wife, wait until he is 60 years old before getting married?" Edith Rockefeller said bluntly, "I am really looking forward to it. It seems that you have two women at Oak Manor. What do they think?"

"You may not believe it, but they are helping Anne choose a wedding date. They asked me to let you know!" Although Edith Rockefeller couldn't see, Sheffield still reached out and flipped her hair from her forehead, looking very pretentious. "These women are all very smart people, and we can communicate with them."

If Sheffield hadn't heard the voice, he would have thought the other party had hung up. It took a long time before Edith Rockefeller's voice came, "I'm smart too. Just tell me the date."

"I can tell you right now that May 1st is a very good day." Sheffield had an idea. "That's the Labor Day set by the Europeans. It's a perfect day for the workers of the United Company to have a holiday."

May Day originated from the workers' strike in Chicago, USA. More than 216,000 workers in Chicago went on strike to fight for the implementation of an eight-hour work system. After a hard and bloody struggle, they finally won. To commemorate this great workers' movement, the European Socialist Party announced the following year that May 1st of each year would be designated as International Labor Day.

This decision was immediately responded to by workers around the world. In the following year, the working class in Europe and the United States took to the streets to hold grand demonstrations and rallies to fight for their legitimate rights and interests. From then on, every day on this day, working people around the world would hold rallies and parades to celebrate.

After what the slave owners saw and heard about the real environment of the United States at that time, it was certain that the strike in Chicago had basically no effect, and this so-called Labor Day mainly gained influence in Europe.

It seems that a hundred years later, Labor Day in the United States also deliberately avoided this day and chose another month.

"Edith has agreed to come, and I have already set the wedding date, which is May 1st." Sheffield returned to the living room and informed the three women of the decision he had made on the spur of the moment. Whether it was appropriate or not, it was set.

"Okay!" Anne nodded obediently with a smile on her face. She had smiled more during this period than she had ever done in her life. The owner agreed, so Evelyn and Natalia naturally wouldn't say anything and supported any decision made by the great slave owner.

Oak Manor was in a happy atmosphere, and no one cared about the unexpected events. The news that the boss of the United Company was getting married spread in the birthplace of the Sheffield family.

"William is getting married? It seems a bit hasty. With whom, Natalia?" Gail was very reluctant to come out with his pants pulled up when McHale came to visit. He seemed to be blaming his good friend for disturbing his daily morning exercise.

"Who? Who else but Anne? What are you thinking?" McHale glanced at Gail who was holding up the tent and said tauntingly, "You are not bad, no worse than William, but you didn't make such a big fuss. Okay, the date is May 1st, and the wedding will be held at Arlington Manor. Almost everyone is receiving invitations now. I estimate that there will be a lot of guests on that day, so we two should prepare early."

"Do we have to make it a good one? What's the point of spending so much on the wedding?" Gale sighed with a wry smile, "But who says I was born to be a hard worker? William once said that people have to bow their heads under the eaves, which may be what I am like now!"

Gail's self-pity made McHale very dissatisfied and said, "Your current status should be envied by 99% of the citizens. Why don't you consider learning from the steel king and doing charity?"

"How can that be? I earned all my money through hard work! Every penny is hard-earned." Gail shook his head like a rattle, as if recalling the hard days when his father started his business.

The news of Sheffield's upcoming wedding spread at an alarming speed, and soon became known to farmers in the southern states. The invitations were considered to be a symbol of the true upper class in the South. These farmers were obviously overthinking this, and Sheffield directly ordered a thousand invitations.

If someone who was not invited wanted to go to Arlington to attend the wedding, they would not be stopped, as long as they did not bring a gun. In the New Orleans Morning Post, it was announced that workers in all industries under the United Company would have a three-day holiday on May 1st.

At this time, the slave owner had already taken the three mistresses to the Union Firearms Company. Ever since the Boer War, the fighting spirit of the Boers had left a very strong impression on countries around the world. The gun business, which had been in vain since the Civil War, was reborn, and even the number of members of the National Rifle Association increased.

This provided impetus for the innovation of guns. Sheffield had always been looking forward to the emergence of submachine guns, so he gave orders to the engineers of United Firearms Company, saying that no matter what method was used, he needed a rifle that could fire continuously and could be carried by one person.

The main innovations of this era still took place in Europe. The innovation of firearms was based on war. As we all know, the United States had not fought a war for many years, even if the humiliation of Spain could be counted.

The world's first submachine gun appeared in Italy during World War I. Italian soldier Levi designed a double-barreled automatic gun that could fire 9mm pistol bullets based on the semi-free bolt automatic principle. This was the earliest submachine gun. Due to its heavy weight, it was difficult for a single soldier to use. Although the rate of fire was high, reaching 3,000 rounds per minute, the accuracy was poor, so it failed to develop.

Later, at the end of World War I, the German Smeiser produced the 9mm MP18 handheld machine gun in the last year of World War I. Although the gun was not very accurate and had a short range, it had a large magazine, could fire continuously, had strong firepower, and was short and light, making it very suitable for individual operation in charges, counterattacks, street fighting and jungles.

Needless to say, the Germans were talented in military equipment, but they often took out the so-called black technology when defeat was already certain, but by that time it was too late.

Sheffield naturally would not overestimate the research and development of United Firearms, but when he came here and saw this thing called a submachine gun, he still failed to connect this strange-looking thing in front of him with the submachine gun in his impression. One person certainly could not use it, and the shape was too strange.

Only the function of continuous firing meets the requirements. The firing rate is really high, but the accuracy is obviously close to that of a flintlock rifle, and the hit rate depends on God.

Although I was thinking, "You are just kidding me!" But Sheffield still lied and praised the engineer, "As a weapon tested under closed conditions, it is already amazing. At least the largest function, continuous firing, is up to standard. But it is best if one person can operate it without any obstacles. It can be considered a finished product. Everyone still needs to work hard. We have suffered a great loss in weapons. I believe many people can still remember this and don't need me to remind them."

During the Civil War, due to the weak industry in the South, although there was no problem of lack of ammunition, it did not have the ability to innovate weapons. The industrial scale of the North far exceeded that of the South. At the end of the Civil War, the Allied Forces suffered the consequences of weak industry, just like Germany encountered the Soviet steel torrent.

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"Finally, the news about the development of the submachine gun must not be leaked. You understand." Sheffield put his hands in his pockets to emphasize the seriousness of the matter. This matter must be kept secret.

"Each part is manufactured by a different production line. The workers themselves don't know the use of what they make. Please rest assured, boss!" The engineer from United Arms Company assured.

"That's good!" Sheffield nodded, took out his pocket watch to check the time, and left the ordnance company. Unfortunately, he was not a genius and had no knowledge of ordnance. He just drew a rough diagram before leaving, so that the guns made by these engineers would have a rough shape. The diagram he left behind was similar to the carbine that the United States later made, and he had no idea whether he could make something similar.

At the Port of Houston, a ship from Europe docked. Passengers on board walked off the ship in twos and threes. A man in a sun hat and shorts walked down the ship with dignity. He seemed familiar with the city and said lazily, "Houston has changed so much. It looks a bit like Marseilles."

The noble lady following the man said unhappily, "You haven't been back for many years. Do you still remember what this place looks like?"

"William, it looks like Dad!" Anne pulled Sheffield's clothes and whispered, "Do you want someone to bring them over?"

"I see, he's so old, but still wearing such fancy clothes!" Sheffield forced a wry smile. There were four or five middle-aged women behind the two men, and they were obviously walking in the same group. This made the slave owner very disgusted. If Anne hadn't wanted her mother to attend the wedding, he would never have remembered the old man who had lost contact for many years.

"Why didn't you go to greet your father when he came back?" Harry Sheffield complained righteously after finally finding a newlywed couple.

(End of this chapter)