Chapter 1540 Black Gold (Second update, please subscribe)

"A free Ireland."

Richard Brest's answer did not surprise Sun Chenglin.

This is perfectly normal. After experiencing the Great Irish Famine, all Irish people long for independence.

“It’s not easy to gain independence from Britain!”

"It's not easy, but I believe that one day Ireland will gain independence. If we can get the support of the Empire, then this day will come soon."

Richard Brest thought for a moment and then continued.

"And I believe that the Empire will certainly support Irish independence. After all, we all have a common enemy."

Brest, who had been engaged in foreign affairs for many years, knew very well that for the empire, supporting Irish independence would have only benefits and no harm. After all, they had a common enemy.

It was definitely in the interests of the Empire to create unrest in the British rear, and it was certainly in the interests of Ireland, because only with the support of a powerful country could Ireland gain independence.

"Maybe one day, your dream will come true! But first, we must use our own efforts to ensure that the Empire wins this war! You still need to go to Los Angeles again."

With a smile on his face, Sun Chenglin completely gave up the idea of ​​persuading Brest to naturalize. For an employee who has worked for the company for more than ten years, if he has not yet naturalized, then he must be a person of faith.

In fact, to some extent, Brest was indeed a man of faith. What was his faith? Ireland, a free Ireland. He was even a member of the Irish Brotherhood. With a clean background, he once studied at a university in London and mingled in the business circles of London. He was a hypocritical gentleman like the English, and behind his appearance that was no different from that of the English was a desire for independence.

Fifteen years ago, he came to Mexico with a suitcase, joined the Mexican Railway Company and began to serve the company. He worked his way to the top and strived to join the ranks of golden employees - this is the goal that many foreign employees strive for.

In all Ming-funded overseas companies, there are gold and silver levels. The former are mostly Ming-Americans, who are mainly managers. The latter are mostly foreigners and locals, who are mainly ordinary employees. Even for employees of the same level, the average salary of the silver level is only about 30% of that of the gold level.

Is this fair?

No one thinks about these issues, but what is certain is that everyone wants to enter the gold zone and become rich. Gold-level employees will eventually become rich because the empire's lifetime employment system can guarantee them a considerable income throughout their lives.

The "lifetime employment system" is a management method advocated by the Empire Enterprises. When an individual completes school education and starts working, once he enters an organization, he will work until retirement, and the organization cannot dismiss him for improper reasons. It first appeared in the Nanhua Company. "Nanhua employees do not have to worry about unemployment before reaching the scheduled retirement age. The company will never dismiss any "Nanhua people". In this way, the company can ensure excellent employees and employees can also get fixed protection. The business model pioneered by Nanhua was imitated by other companies in the Empire, and this lifetime employment system also made a huge contribution to the economic take-off of the Empire.

This is what many Europeans dream of, and Brest is no exception. The reason why he left London and came to Mexico was that people like him who studied law had no chance to immigrate to the Ming Dynasty, so he chose to save the country by a roundabout way and came to Mexico, which not only opened its doors to European immigrants, but also had many Ming-funded enterprises, which also promoted the lifetime employment system. The difference is that only employees at the gold zone level have it.

Brest's wit enabled him to climb the manager's throne and leap into the golden zone level, and he worked hard for fifteen years to achieve this goal.

Unlike many people, Brest has no ambition to become a millionaire. He thinks it would be good enough to be a golden employee of a company, and this is also the goal he has been working hard for. However, after achieving this goal, he has higher aspirations.

The war between the United States and Mexico did not affect the operation of the Mexican-American International Railway. In fact, compared with the period before the war, the international railway is now busier. Every day, a large number of Americans flock to Mexico to escape the war, or take the train from Mexico to Texas, which belongs to the Confederate States of America and has always maintained neutrality. Once there, they will naturally not be affected by the war.

Two days later, Brest arrived in Los Angeles again on an international train. However, he did not go to see Stanford, but went directly to the city. Although there was no Hollywood in Los Angeles in 1996, more than a decade ago, this small town with a population of only 50,000 people discovered high-yield oil reserves, and drilling companies swarmed in like gold diggers. For a time, derricks were everywhere in the city, adjacent to schools, hospitals, beaches and even cemeteries. At a glance, it was like a dense forest, which was breathtaking.

On one side of Huntington Beach are rows of oil derricks, and on the other side the beach is crowded with tourists. This is Los Angeles - the oil capital of North America.

"10% of the world's oil is produced in Los Angeles... and that's just Los Angeles."

The reason why Brest came to Los Angeles again was for the oil in Los Angeles and the entire California. The crude oil production here accounts for almost one-fifth of the world's total!

Until now, restricted by Imperial Oil's investment in Mexico and its monopoly on exploration and production rights, the railroad company has never had the opportunity to get involved in the oil industry. But now... California is the opportunity for the railroad company to enter the oil industry. As long as it seizes this opportunity, the Mexican Railway Company will become the fifth largest oil company in the empire.

"There are always countless opportunities hidden in war."

Lamenting the opportunities brought by the war, Brest walked to a two-story wooden building near the beach. Although this wooden building is inconspicuous, it is the location of the Hunt Brothers Oil Company. This company owns dozens of oil wells and produces more than 100,000 tons of oil each year. It is one of the largest oil companies in Los Angeles.

"What!"

Ten minutes later, in the office filled with the smell of oil, Charlie Hunter shouted excitedly.

"What did you say? Damn it, this is simply robbery!"

"Damn it, do you think this is Mexico? Damn Mexican bastard! Take your check and go back to Mexico, or else..."

Although Brest had a standard Anglo-Saxon appearance, Reed Hunt still called him a "Mexican bastard". Discrimination against Mexicans was normal in California. He was so angry that he even took out a pistol. In the oil business, it was normal to shoot at the slightest disagreement. In order to compete for oil wells, countless people were buried in the desert or thrown into the sea.

Black gold…first of all, it’s black. What’s black is not the oil, but the human heart.

"Mr. Brest, I think you should leave!"

With a cigar in his mouth, Charlie Hunter took a deep breath, seemed to calm down a little, and then he said.

"Otherwise, I can't guarantee that you can leave here alive!"

(End of this chapter)