The son-in-law of Mr. Hachishaku

Chapter 240 Robbery

The west side of New Hanover is a vast plain. It is known as the heart of the earth by the Indians because of its rich natural resources, pleasant climate, and suitable for human settlement.

The Emerald Ranch is located in the center of the Heart of the Earth.

The size of the ranch can only be considered medium, but it raises a very complete range of livestock, including horses, cattle, sheep and other common livestock.

Not far away, there is a small train station and a horse-drawn carriage station.

In addition, several roads intersect here and transportation is convenient, so the ranch's business is very good. The ranch owner Eugene Wegner has a wealthy family and hires many farmers to help.

In time, it is very likely that this place will develop into a town like Valentine.

But Archina prefers the way the ranch looks now, it looks much cleaner than Valentine.

After getting off the carriage, she looked around: "The place is good, suitable for the new residence of the Dimitrescu family. I will stay here tonight, and you are responsible for finding a way."

The 'head of the family' has spoken, and Li Ang, as the son-in-law, naturally does not dare to disobey: "Okay, okay, I'll find a way."

Having said that, a mere ranch was not worth his own efforts.

So Li Ang came up with an idea that could not only satisfy the madam's request, but also allow the three ladies to have fun.

"Come on, girls, come to my place and play a little game with you."

The three sisters immediately gathered around curiously, their eyes filled with anticipation.

"What kind of game are you playing?" Bella hugged her lover's arm and acted coquettishly, almost writing the words "I'm very curious" on her face.

Li Ang took out a pipe from somewhere and held it in his mouth, and said seriously:

"I am a detective from the Old World. During my travels to the New World, I discovered that a place called Emerald Ranch seems to hide many secrets. However, since the detective has many things to do, he needs three assistants to assist in the investigation. Look for clues hidden in the shadows.”

"I wonder if the three ladies are willing?"

After a quick swipe, three white hands immediately rose up, and the answer was self-evident.

Li Ang nodded with satisfaction: "To ensure the fairness of the game, you must abide by some rules: first, you are not allowed to leave the ranch too far, second, you are not allowed to have any form of communication with the rancher and his daughter, third Three, time limit is two hours.”

"The rules have been read out, you can start."

The simple and rudimentary script-killing game successfully aroused the interest of the three sisters, and they couldn't wait to enter the ranch to look for useful clues.

The appearance of these strangers also attracted the attention of the ranch workers.

Soon, rancher Eugene came to the door.

This is a middle-aged man with a fierce face, a bad temper, and a bit arrogant.

If he had encountered this kind of situation before, he would have kicked out the intruder without hesitation, but this time he was facing three delicate girls, and judging from their clothes, they were either rich or noble, not to mention that they were surrounded by With gunner protection.

After weighing the situation, Eugene finally decided to convince others with virtue.

"This is private land, not a place for ladies to play. Please leave as soon as possible."

The three sisters abided by the rules and never said a word to him.

In order to prevent the rancher from disturbing their interest, the ghost dog brought him to Li Ang.

At this time, by the small river at the entrance of the ranch.

An awning was set up next to the carriage and seats were arranged. Li Ang and his wife were sitting in the shed drinking tea and chatting while Bayek was feeding the two draft horses.

As soon as Eugene arrived, he was struck by the lady's unique figure.

And the leisurely state between her and Li Ang also made the rancher feel like they were not easy to mess with.

"Dear Sir, Madam, I am the owner of this place, I don't know who you are."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Ang stretched out his hand to invite: "Mr. Eugene, right? Come on, please sit down."

"Oh, okay, thank you." Eugene said incoherently, sitting across from the two of them solemnly, and in the end he did not forget to take off the straw hat on his head as a sign of courtesy.

He didn't understand why he was so scared.

Bayek came over and poured a cup of tea for the cowering rancher.

The brown-red tea reflected Eugene's restless expression. Seeing this, he couldn't help but secretly curse himself for not living up to expectations.

At this moment, Li Ang suddenly said: "Mr. Eugene, do you know Detective Pinkerton?"

Pinkerton Detective, full name Pinkerton National Detective Agency, is a private detective company.

But it is inextricably linked to the U.S. government, and can even be regarded as the predecessor of the CIA and FBI from a certain perspective.

The founder, Alan Pinkerton, is a legendary figure. The most well-known among them is that he had a close relationship with Abraham Lincoln, the 15th President of the United States. The two had already known each other when Lincoln was still a lawyer for the railroad company.

During the Civil War, Alan served as the head of Lincoln's intelligence agency, and the Pinkerton detectives grew from there.

When the war ended, the westward movement was booming, and many emerging towns along the railroad lacked adequate police protection. Pinkerton detectives, who had rich experience, financial resources, and connections, became the main law enforcement force in these areas.

Not only do they have the power to issue bounties, but they can also capture fugitives across the country.

By 1899, Pinkerton had more employees than the U.S. Army.

The term Private Eye comes from Pinkerton’s trademark image.

Of course Eugene knew about such a famous and infamous institution.

"I know, I know, but why are you asking this all of a sudden?" The rancher laughed a few times and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Aqina couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth when she saw this.

It was obvious that the rancher in front of him was very guilty, and things were about to get interesting.

Li Ang smiled and said: "Don't be nervous, Mr. Eugene, I'm just asking casually. By the way, do you have any intention of selling the horses in your ranch?"

When Eugene heard this, he was relieved. It turned out that he was here to buy a horse.

Then he thought again: Could it be that by deliberately mentioning Pinkerton, he wanted to hint to himself that they were related to Pinkerton? Can you lower the price later?

Yes, it must be so!

The rancher, who had consciously figured everything out, looked completely different from before. He leaned back in his chair, picked up the tea cup in front of him and took a long sip, and finally said something.

"The taste is okay. I'll buy some tomorrow too!"

"As for those horses, the family keeps them for sale. If the price is right, they will naturally sell them."

Li Ang and Aqina looked at each other, and then said: "The price is not an issue, but we have to wait until my wife and her two sisters have chosen one before we can talk."

Eugene's state became more and more relaxed: "Of course, there are several docile mares in the stable, which are very suitable for several elegant ladies. Do you want me to recommend them?"

Li Ang said calmly: "For a family like ours, it doesn't matter whether it's suitable or not. The most important thing is that they like it."

Eugene understood again. This was obviously a rich man. It seemed that he could make a lot of money today!

"Then let the three ladies pick hard and take as long as you want!"

Li Ang smiled and turned to chat with the rancher about the past of Jade Ranch.

Eugene started talking, and talked endlessly about his difficult entrepreneurial experience, how his beloved wife died young, and how he and his daughter depended on each other. He also claimed that sooner or later, he would develop the Emerald Ranch into the number one ranch in the West.

Li Ang pretended to listen attentively and praised him from time to time.

For this reason, Aqina next to her rolled her eyes several times.

But as time passed, Eugene noticed something strange. There were more than a dozen horses in the stable. Did it take almost two hours to select them?

"Sir, there are still many things to deal with in the ranch, so I'll excuse you for a moment."

As a result, as soon as he put on his hat and prepared to stand up, Bayek behind him held down his shoulders.

Li Ang said with a smile: "Oh, don't worry, look, aren't they back?"

The worried Eugene looked back, and sure enough he saw three sisters walking towards this side, looking as if they were discussing something happily.

The rancher was relieved, it seemed that he had finally made his choice.

As soon as Bella arrived, she sat directly on Li Ang's lap, picked up his teacup and drank. The other two sisters also quickly poured themselves a cup of tea.

Walking non-stop for two hours made them exhausted.

Li Ang hugged the eldest lady and asked, "How are you looking?"

Daniela took the lead and said, "We three sisters are taking action. We can't find any clues!"

"Clue?" Eugene was a little uneasy.

Li Ang ignored it and continued to say to the three sisters: "Let's talk about it, Bella will come first."

The eldest lady took a fan from Bayek and fanned her while telling her what she had discovered.

Next to the pasture road, she found a women's clothing store that had been abandoned for a long time.

Opposite the shop is the tavern that the injured woman mentioned. It is also in a dilapidated state, and the interior is in a mess. In addition to blood stains, there are scattered bullet casings.

Behind the tavern, there is a tombstone. The owner’s name is [Joshua Burgess], who died just last year.

In a pasture that mainly raises livestock and grows wheat, there is actually a women's clothing store that can only be found in big cities. It is simply more eye-catching than standing out from the crowd.

Bella judged that in the entire ranch, only the rancher's mysterious daughter had the money and leisure to do this kind of thing.

After hearing this, Li Ang praised the eldest lady.

Then, it was the turn of the second young lady, Cassandra.

She focused her search around the ranch and found the clues she wanted.

It was a mail carriage abandoned on the roadside, and inside it was a letter written by [Annabel] to [Miriam]. Coincidentally, both of them, like Eugene, had the same surname as Wegener.

(The location of the mail carriage is near Valentine, which has been modified here)

The letter mentioned that this was the sixth letter written by Annabell, but she never received a reply. At the same time, she advised her cousin Annabell not to be too sad because of the death of her boyfriend Joshua. Finally, she hoped that her cousin Eugene would not be too sad. Then keep her letters privately.

After Li Ang listened, he praised him as usual.

In fact, at this point, a clichéd and bloody story can be roughly pieced together.

A poor boy fell in love with a rich girl, but the latter's father disapproved of the marriage, so the poor boy lost his life inexplicably, and the rich girl was imprisoned at home and not allowed to go out.

There is a saying in the letter that says, never confuse love with perverted possessiveness.

Rancher Eugene made this mistake.

However, Li Ang was not in a hurry to do anything, but wanted to hear what the third lady discovered.

Unexpectedly, Daniela, who had been so confident just now, was now a little embarrassed.

"I found that tombstone. I also saw the girl under house arrest on the second floor of Wegener's house."

As soon as these words came out, before Li Ang said anything, Aqina's expression turned cold.

"That means you didn't find anything, right?"

Although it is just a small game, the wife still hopes that all three daughters will be outstanding. Daniella was a little afraid of seeing her mother’s disappointed eyes, so she quickly hid behind her brother-in-law.

Bella helped: "You misunderstood, mother, if it weren't for my sister's help, it would be impossible for me, a fool, to find any clues. Moreover, she actually found something, that is."

Aqina's sharp eyes glanced at the third daughter behind Li Ang: "Say!"

Daniela had to hesitate to tell her findings.

In a barn not far from the pasture, she found a dead man and a dead sheep.

The sheep were wearing pretty bows and the men were wearing no trousers.

Wedding gold rings can be found on both people and sheep.

After the third lady finished speaking, everyone's expressions were a little strange, as if they had heard an extremely absurd joke.

A man chose to marry a sheep, and in the end he killed himself.

No wonder Daniela looked so embarrassed just now.

Even the rancher Eugene showed an incredulous expression. This was the first time for him to hear this.

"I brought the ring back, do you want to see it?" Daniela said with a low eyebrow.

"Throw it away, throw it away quickly!" Archina felt goosebumps all over her body: "Don't you feel dirty?"

"Oh." Daniela pouted and threw the ring into the river behind her.

After all, these were her trophies, so it would be a pity to throw them away like this.

Eugene silently memorized the location of the rings and prepared to find time to pick them back up. They were all money, what's so disgusting about money!

Just as he made up his mind, he looked up and saw Li Ang looking at him meaningfully.

Only then did Eugene realize that his work was not over yet.

"I'm protecting my daughter, I don't need outsiders like you to meddle in my own business! Get out of here, or I'll call someone if you don't let me!"

Aqina, who is also a parent, said disdainfully: "You still have the nerve to talk about protection?"

In the past, because her three daughters were afraid of the cold, the lady thought of many ways, hoping that they could see the world outside the castle like normal people.

The rancher did exactly the opposite.

Bella felt the same way. She thought of the scene when she wanted to be with Li Ang and her mother strongly opposed it.

Fortunately, all this is in the past.

"You are the one who should get out, let Miriam go, and then get out as far as you want!"

Eugene rubbed his neck, slapped the table, and disgusting saliva splashed everywhere: "Wishful thinking! This is my place. If you don't leave, don't blame me for being rude."

As soon as he finished speaking, Bayek rounded his arms and slapped him.

The poor rancher flew straight out of his chair and was dragged back to it like a dead dog.

Li Ang tapped the table with his finger and said slowly: "Why don't we talk about your plan to murder the tavern owner Joshua?"

Eugene, half of his body unconscious, was still arrogant: "Joshua was clearly affected by a stray bullet because of drunken and riotous guests in the tavern, but I paid for the tombstone he erected!"

In the distance, several strong ranch workers saw their boss being beaten and rushed over with guns drawn.

The folk customs in the west are tough, and playing with guns and riding horses is a basic skill. Some people even work as workers during the day and as gangsters at night.

However, before several gunmen reached the river, they were stopped by ghost dogs riding tall horses.

"Pinkerton investigates the case, don't be blind!"

Upon hearing that it was Pinkerton, the gunmen immediately hesitated on the spot and did not dare to move forward.

Two of them even turned around and ran away, obviously having committed crimes.

The Nether Dog didn't waste any time and directly shot the two of them down.

Now no one dared to move.

Returning to Li Ang, he asked Bayek to bring a list.

Eugene looked at it carefully and saw that it was a land transfer agreement. The ink on it was not even dry, so it looked like it had been written freshly.

Furious, he grabbed the agreement and tore it into pieces.

"It turns out you are trying to get my ranch. You are a bunch of thugs. Even if I die, there is no way I can sign on it!"

Li Ang curled his lips: "The murderer is still justified. Since you want to die, then I will send you to death."

"When you get down there, don't forget to apologize to the tavern owner."

Afterwards, Bayek dragged Eugene by his collar to the river, and then pushed his head into the biting river water in early spring.

In less than half a minute, the rancher realized that he was afraid of death.

"He agreed to the transfer!"

"Very good, bring it back."

Eugene once again sat back on the chair that he would never forget in his life, with a pen thrust into his hand and an agreement exactly the same as before.

After hesitating for a moment, he said tremblingly: "Where's the money?"

Li Ang nodded, and Bayek fetched a box filled with gold bars.

Eugene said again: "Then my daughter."

Bayek glared, and he immediately lowered his head and signed his name on the agreement.

Aqina saw this and sneered: "It turns out you don't love her that much."

Eugene did not dare to speak and silently held the gold bar box in his arms.

Nether Dog brought a horse without a saddle from the stable: "Get out of here, we'll treat you later!"

Eugene quickly got up and mounted his horse, preparing to escape from this ghost place.

As a result, Nether Dog took back a gold bar from the box: "Nuxie, do you have any objections?"

Eugene dared to be angry but did not dare to speak. He glanced at his home from a distance, then urged his horse to leave.

Li Ang looked at his disappearing figure and winked at the Netherworld Dog.

A fight between desperadoes and the misfortune of innocent bystanders is very reasonable, right? Even more reasonable than Joshua at the time.

Soon after, the ghost dog returned, carrying a box, followed by a saddleless horse.

Bayek scolded: "Go wash the blood off the box, you have no idea at all."

After the box was cleaned, the bionic teardrop carried the box and headed to the Wegener's house behind the ranch.

This is a two-story country villa with a simple small garden in front of the door.

Originally, the rancher hired a gunman to guard the gate, but now he has disappeared and must have run away.

Bayek was about to knock on the door, but found that the door was locked from the outside.

So he broke the door lock, but instead of going in, he stood outside the door and shouted: "Hello, is anyone here?"

The next second, urgent footsteps came from upstairs, and there must have been a fall on the way.

It was already a few minutes later when a girl named Miriam appeared on the first floor.

She had a pretty face but couldn't hide her haggard look. She was panting and looking at the tall and strong man outside the door in disbelief.

"You are. Where is my father?"

Bayek showed a standard and decent smile: "That's it, Miss Wegener, your father Eugene Wegener has transferred the land and part of the ground under his name, that is, the Emerald Ranch, to my owner. Here is the transfer agreement, you can take a look.”

Miriam read the agreement tremblingly, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Bayek continued: "By the way, I still have a message to convey. Your cousin Annabell invites you to develop in New York."

Miriam covered her mouth, tears bursting out of her eyes uncontrollably.

"My father doesn't want me anymore? Where is he now?"

"Well, I don't know about that." Bayek raised the box in his hand: "This is the money to buy the ranch. Please keep it. I suggest you deposit it directly in the bank. If you are worried about safety on the road, I We can send someone to escort you."

Miriam took the box in disbelief, and when she opened it, her jaw was almost dropped by the golden little guy inside.

Her father sold the ranch without her knowledge but left her the money?

Is this something that her ruthless and controlling father can do?

Bayek took out a pocket watch, looked at the time, and said, "It's getting late and the bank is about to close. Please make a decision as soon as possible."

Miriam's mind had stopped and she had no idea what was happening.

Bayek sighed and simply called for the ghost dog to escort her to the nearest bank.

Valentine seems to have one.

"Can I go back to the room and pack my luggage?" Miriam finally accepted the fact that the ranch was no longer her home.

Bayek coldly refused her request.

"I'm sorry, Miss Wegener, but everything on the ranch belongs to my owner, including this house and its contents."

Miriam was just cleansed and left the house. She ignorantly held the gold bar box and boarded the train to Saint-Denis under the escort of the ghost dog.

There she would convert the gold bars into US dollars, leave enough living expenses and deposit them in the bank, and then transfer to New York to join her cousin and start a new life.

Bayek didn't even give her time to worship Joshua.

After doing all this, the bionic teardrop conveyed the fact to the ranch workers that the owner of this place had changed.

If you are willing to stay and continue working, your salary will be doubled. If you don't want to stay, you can pay off your wages for this month and leave on your own.

The vast majority of people chose to stay, including the injured woman, not only because of the double salary, but also because it was a good thing for them that the ranch changed owners.

There is no doubt that Eugene is a villain. He often beats and scolds workers. If it were not for the difficulty of finding stable jobs, the workers would have left long ago.

Although Li Ang's group's behavior style is more fierce, it is inexplicably in line with the taste of the workers.

The separation of grudges and grievances was fair and just, and he dealt with Eugene, but did not embarrass his daughter.

As for the small number of people who want to leave, it's not because of Li Ang, but because they no longer want to work here, so they might as well just take the money and leave.

After settling the matter, Bayek went to find Li Ang to return to his life.

I happened to see the third lady talking to Aqina with excitement: "I finally remembered that I found some clues. There is a black market in this ranch!"

(End of this chapter)