There's always something even more astonishing, and behind these shocking asset certificates lies something even more surprising—
Lin Jicheng unfolded the certificates one by one:
"The three deepest private ports in the Great Lakes region? They generate billions of dollars in revenue annually just from port leases and shipping fees..."
"An oil and gas pipeline stretching from Canada to the United States? Whether oil prices rise or fall, it guarantees a steady income, leaving no room for panic..."
"There's even... holy crap, a gold mine!"
Lin Jicheng's eyes were almost blinded by the light:
"If I'm not mistaken, this is a gold mine in the mountainous region of the western United States, right? There's even a silver mine in the northern United States?"
"This is a genuine precious metal mine! It can still produce large quantities of gold and silver, and once it's mined, it can be sold for a high price..."
Lin Jicheng's brain was about to shut down—
Following these asset certificates were attached photos of the assets themselves—vast farmland, precious metal mines, lush forests, expansive lakes and ports… and at the end of each document was a prominently displayed name—
"Lin Jicheng"!
These properties are no longer just words from a distant land, but have truly become a series of tangible assets under Lin Jicheng's name!
Looking at the asset certificates in front of her, almost all of which claimed an annual income of over five billion US dollars, Lin Jicheng was almost numb. But at this point, she hadn't even looked at half of these asset certificates...
Lin Jicheng's trembling fingers continued to flip through the pages. The content that followed was even more complex, mainly concerning flagship funds and trust assets. In addition to some large villas and estates in the United States, there were also assets managed by professional trustees, all of which had been exchanged for partial shares in top companies such as Microsoft and Apple, generating endless income every year through various financial means...
Lin Jicheng took a deep breath, leaned back in his chair, and tried to calm his pounding heart.
Wow, they're so rich... so rich!
Lin Jicheng thought he had long been used to being a super-rich person, but he never expected that compared to someone who was truly "rich enough to rival a country," he was nothing more than a small fry compared to a big fish...
These assets bring not only cash, but also a continuous flow of wealth like a river. More importantly, in a sense, these mineral resources mean that she has, to some extent, controlled the economic and resource lifeline of the North American continent. If Lin Jicheng wanted, she could even directly manipulate the prices of international commodities, affecting the employment and livelihoods of millions of people!
The dizziness caused by this direct energy is far more unsettling than money...
Lin Jicheng patted her chest, overwhelmed by a torrent of chaotic and complex emotions that left her unable to calm down for a long time…
At the very end of these asset documentation documents was a large, conspicuous package wrapped in thick layers of kraft paper. Lin Jicheng was very curious and immediately began to unpack it.
"Splash—"
Unlike the previous proper asset certificates bearing her name, the moment the package was opened, a pile of yellowed photos and old notebooks fell out. Lin Jicheng's mind raced, and she quickly picked them up and examined them carefully—
Judging from the dates recorded next to these photos, they are at least a century old. All are black and white, with a yellowed patina from age. The photos show a middle-aged couple dressed in late Qing Dynasty attire standing beside a desolate mine pit. Lin Jicheng continued scrolling down and quickly discovered that the majority of the photos featured this couple. Sometimes they wore traditional Chinese long gowns, sometimes Western-style vests and suits with ties. Sometimes they were seen toiling through dense forests, their faces weathered and worn; sometimes they stood serenely beside shimmering lakes; and sometimes they were atop mountain peaks, overlooking the scenery…
Between the yellowed photos, decades have passed in the blink of an eye. As Lin Jicheng flipped through the photos, it seemed as if he had traveled through a hundred years and become a witness to history, watching the couple grow from youth to old age, from black hair to white hair, from living alone to raising children, and finally forming a large and prosperous family. They even took a lively family photo in front of the family's main hall.
However, judging from the clothes they wore, their economic conditions seemed to be getting better and better—from their initially tattered clothes to their later neat suits and ties and good mental state, as well as the obviously better living conditions of their descendants, all seem to prove this point.
Looking at the two Chinese faces in the photo, Lin Jicheng felt a strange sense of familiarity and warmth, as if he had seen these two people somewhere before...
However, these two people clearly lived more than a hundred years ago, so it seems impossible that they had ever met Lin Jicheng.
Lin Jicheng pondered for a while, her mind a jumble of thoughts, yet she couldn't find a way out. She casually picked up the only notebook in the package and carefully read the words inside—
Inside were traditional Chinese characters and classical Chinese texts, some of which were difficult to understand and showed signs of wear and tear over time. Lin Jicheng opened the first page and read it with a frown:
"When we first arrived at 'Gold Mountain,' we were treated worse than dogs... The white mine owners drove us like livestock, and tens of thousands of us toiled in the mines, where we were frequently whipped..."
"The weather in Jinshan is hot and harsh, and most of my companions are suffering from various illnesses... My fellow villager, Ada, came here with me half a year ago. Yesterday, the mine collapsed, and his body was never found. The mine owner refuses to compensate us and is even trying to shift the blame..."
“A massive explosion occurred in the mine yesterday. Among the Chinese who worked here with me, there was nowhere to escape. Not one in ten survived. Alas!”
Lin Jicheng squinted as he read the line of text, and suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him, reminding him of some records and passages in history books—
"Gold mines", "mining", "Chinese laborers"...
These keywords all point to one place and one period of history—
"Gold Mountain," its current name should be "San Francisco," right?
This is where many Chinese people gathered back then. At that time, many Chinese left their homes and came here to work hard in the mines to pan for gold, enduring extremely harsh conditions and severe racial discrimination, and creating huge wealth!
It seems that this notebook is a diary, which records the blood and tears of a Chinese man who came to San Francisco to pan for gold and suffered physical and mental pain!
And this content...
Lin Jicheng picked up the photo she had just looked at—
The contents of these diaries describing the mine pit perfectly match this first photograph!
It seems that the owner of the diary is the man in the photo, who was also the Chinese man who came to San Francisco to pan for gold at the end of the Qing Dynasty!
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