Chapter 178 Manifest Destiny
"Happy New Year!" The two smiled at each other and expressed their good wishes for the future at the same time.
"William, I'm an adult now, hold me tight." Anne rubbed against Sheffield's arms and looked up, "Take me in. I'm the same as I was when I was born. Are you willing to have me?"
"Who would be unwilling? I just want to thank... myself." Sheffield wanted to say something to thank God, but then he thought it would be more practical to thank himself for his hard work. Although he also played a small role in inheriting the property.
Sheffield picked up Anne by the waist and walked into the bedroom with firm steps. Happy New Year. According to the saying in the previous life, red represents joy. The ancients were not deceiving me.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly. Anne had been in the United States for three years, although only half of the first year and only one day of the third year had passed. After such a long time, she had already gotten used to life in Texas, which was reflected in the words her grandmother said.
Although this kind of life is a bit like the bad habit of child brides, it does provide a foundation for the two of them to have feelings for each other. Besides, it is a bad habit for ordinary people. Sheffield will firmly oppose it. This is just a way to cultivate feelings. What's wrong with it? Ordinary people hide beautiful girls one by one, so my chances are much less.
At dawn, Anne cleaned the house with messy hair, not at all calm and composed as at midnight. Sheffield had to interrupt his first lazy sleep of the new year and asked with a grin, "What are you hiding?"
Anne was stunned. Yes, what was there to hide? It was only a matter of time. But when her eyes fell on the bed sheet, she said shyly, "We can't let the servants come in to clean up."
"Stop it. We've lived in the manor for three years." Sheffield got up while putting on his clothes, pulled off the bed sheet and walked out of the room with the blushing girl. "I have a gift for you. It will probably arrive in two days."
Considering the punctuality of railways in this era, Sheffield also added an estimated premise. Since it is New Year, in a country where gifts are given on any festival in the past life, the dog-licking behavior still subconsciously affects the contemporary slave owners.
A gift? Anne couldn't help but look forward to Sheffield's gift. Maybe a diamond ring? Anne's IQ dropped significantly when it came to gifts. How could a small thing like a diamond ring last more than two days? He could just bring it over.
If Anne likes the diamond ring, Sheffield will definitely get it, although he always thinks it is a prime example of teaching IQ tax. But since it is a very cheap thing, it is okay to make the girl happy. Everything depends on whether you can afford it. If you can't afford it, it is a prime example of IQ tax. If you can afford it and it is very cheap, that is another set of rhetoric, "You poor bastards may not be able to afford it, but you really do a lot of research."
When his gift arrived at Arlington, Anne knew it was not the diamond ring she had imagined. Her IQ also rose again. She stared at the object covered with canvas, hesitated for a moment and said, "Is it a car?" She knew that in the past two years, Sheffield United Machinery Company, in addition to focusing on agricultural machinery, had been researching automobiles and had received support from German professionals.
"You don't make me feel any sense of accomplishment." Sheffield shook his head and smiled bitterly. It would be better to be a little silly and cute to make himself feel a little accomplished. He walked forward and lifted the canvas under the gaze of McHale, Gail and others, which immediately caused a burst of exclamations.
Sheffield had to give a zero to this artificial exclamation. Glancing at the others, he walked up to Anne and said, "This is my gift to you."
"This silver plating craftsmanship is really good, just like the real thing." Anne's eyes fell on the car's shell, and she praised it repeatedly, then said to Sheffield, "William, I like it very much."
"What do you mean by the silver-plating process is really good? This is originally made of silver. In addition to the engine, the shell, interior, and wheel hubs are all made of silver." Sheffield didn't say anything. Gale was dissatisfied first. "I work hard in mining in New Mexico, but I have to suffer unfair treatment. I feel wronged!"
McHale nodded repeatedly, expressing his grievance, saying that they had all provided the raw materials for this car. It was obvious that a car that he had invested heavily in was said to be fake.
"You went down to the mine yourself? I don't look down on you, you just don't dare!" Sheffield waved his hand to stop the two from complaining. "I designed this car. Look at the streamline and the interior, which are all made of African crocodile skin. The steering wheel is made of ivory from adult African elephants, and the seat cushions are made of Persian handmade blankets."
"Okay!" Anne tugged at Sheffield's clothes, looking very touched and said, "I like it very much, but I just can't open it."
"If we kill a few people, who in Texas dares to do anything to us?" Gail shouted nonchalantly, no longer in the depressed mood he had when he first returned home.
"All the residents of Arlington are family members of United Company employees. Who do you want to kill? Don't listen to him!" Sheffield was unhappy when he heard this and said to Anne, "Don't listen to them. The manor is big enough. Just give it a try. If it doesn't work, let someone else drive. The basic requirements for the driver are female and male hobbies. Other than that, everything is easy to negotiate."
After instructing them to park the car, Sheffield invited a group of guests into the manor. These guests had been cultivating the Great West since the Republican Party came to power. Naturally, there were farmers in the Midwestern states. McHale and his team maintained good relations with these farmers and promoted the United Company's tractors in the Midwest.
In addition, Sheffield also proposed that these confederates enter the mining industry, especially the silver mines in the Great West, after keen observation and combining history. First of all, the timing was right. After William Bryan lost the election, his supporters were inevitably disappointed. A large part of William Bryan's supporters were silver supporters, called the National Silver Party.
After the defeat, many members of the Silver Party became disheartened and chose to cash out. The value of silver itself is far less than that of gold. After William Bryan lost the election, a group of his supporters were harvested.
Sheffield allowed these allies to enter the market at this time, not because changing the holder would make silver more important, but because this was the only condition at present, and the initiative of the gold standard was still in the hands of Morgan and others.
The long-term prospects of silver are definitely not good. In the 21st century, the ratio of silver to gold was almost 1:100. But now? There is another factor that can affect its value, such as war. When a cannon is fired, gold is worth a thousand taels. This truth exists everywhere. Once a long-term war occurs, gold is not enough, and silver is needed to supplement it.
The United States itself does not lack silver mines, but they were all stolen from Mexico. New Mexico, Colorado, and California all have silver mines. It is said that the Spanish Empire occupied the richest place in America, and the other lands occupied by Britain and France were inferior.
However, the best land produces gold and silver, while the second-best land produces coal and iron. In the end, coal and iron defeated gold and silver. Moreover, even if the United States occupied most of Mexico, Mexico still has more silver mines than the United States. This shows that Spain, the first empire on which the sun never sets, is not in vain. If Napoleon had not stolen their homeland, they would never have fallen into the current situation.
On the silver issue, Sheffield did not really get involved in all industries like an octopus, because there are many things worth paying attention to in Venezuela, including gold mines. After pointing out to McHale that they should get involved in the silver field, he did not take a share.
This behavior of helping without asking for anything in return makes one as great as God in the eyes of others.
However, Sheffield is engaged in zinc mining. Although many silvers are marked as primary silver mines, they are actually associated mines. Later, a mine produced 54,000 tons of zinc and 110,000 tons of lead, and the silver output was 6.6 million ounces. According to this ratio, 6.6 million ounces of silver totaled 110 million US dollars, accounting for only 6% of the total revenue.
Sheffield was thinking about the allies for the easier money, so he could only choose the associated mines that were not easy to mine and make some hard-earned money. After Gail and McHale entered the silver field, it was a shot in the arm for the silver mining industry. At the same time, he was not only developing in agriculture and animal husbandry.
A group of slave owners were socializing, and Anne brought the servants to serve the prepared coffee and placed it in front of the guests.
"My dear partners, congratulations on successfully establishing a foothold in the silver industry in the past year. We will continue to move forward in the new year." Sheffield did not transfer the term "moving forward with a heavy burden" to others.
Then Sheffield paused and said, "But I feel that there will be a lot of major events this year. We must make sharp judgments and prepare in advance so that we can maximize our benefits."
"William, do you have any accurate information?" McHale held the table with both hands, pretending to want to find out the news.
"The Republicans are in power now. Even if there is news, they won't tell us first. But we can analyze it from clues. Besides, my relationship with the Yankees is not all bad. Some of our relationships are okay." Sheffield said slowly. "Since the second half of last year, Cuba has been hot in the newspapers for a long time. In addition, under high tariffs, domestic competition is fierce. If you were the president, what would you choose?"
Gail lowered his head in deep thought, while McHale rested his chin on his hand in deep thought. The others all had different expressions, and it was obvious that they were all thinking about this question. After a short silence, everyone had the answer and said in unison, "Manifest Destiny!"
"Don't you think war is a terrible thing?" Sheffield asked with a smile, picking up his coffee and taking a sip.
(End of this chapter)
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