African Nationhood

Chapter 47 Submit
  Shi Jintang walked into the port prison with his hands behind his back, followed by Trudeau and Silina.

After Shi Jintang reached behind the table, he took out a cigarette from his pocket and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Pop!" Orange flames lit up in front of him.

Slina ducked close to the boss and carefully helped him light the cigarette.

Shi Jintang took a puff of cigarette, puffed out smoke rings, and glanced at Slina. There were still red and swollen palm prints on her face.

"Is the testimony ready?"

"Okay, boss, please take a look."

Shi Jintang took the manuscript paper from Slina's hand, which was filled with dense English letters.

Shi Jintang looked at it for a while and nodded, "You did a good job. You can go to work at the port from now on and do inspections for the time being."

Inspection is a position with a hard-to-define scope of authority. It can handle everything within the port, but the salary is not high.

Slina has been bullied since she was born. Because of her beauty, she has been dominated by others for a long time.

Before Thomas Spann, she was trapped by a bar owner.

After Thomas left, she regained her freedom, but she had no land or skills to rely on, and she still could not escape the fate of being despised and harassed.

In the end, Trudeau came forward and made her settle down, so she became Trudeau's lover.

Now that Boss Shi has given her a position, she has a foundation for self-reliance, which is even more satisfying than giving her a sum of money.

Silina immediately nodded happily, "Thank you, thank you, Boss Shi."

Shi Jintang waved his hand, "You go out and have someone bring that kid over."

……

After Trudeau and the others left, William Constantine was brought in not long after.

The handsome man with blue eyes looked sluggish at the moment, with blood still remaining on his face, and his nose was still crooked. He looked completely different from the energetic young man he had seen yesterday.

As soon as he saw Shi Jintang, Constantine felt as if he had seen his savior. He shouted excitedly: "I did not do this, Mr. Shi. I was wronged!"

Seeing the clear stupidity in this guy's eyes, Shi Jintang slammed the table angrily, "Shut up!"

"I can't shut up, Mr. Shi, I was wronged..."

"Shut him up!"

The escorting white soldier immediately punched William Constantine in the abdomen as he shouted.

"Ah~poof!"

The punch was so powerful that William Constantine was immediately punched and vomited.

What he spit out was bitter water because he hadn't eaten anything since last night.

After William Constantine vomited a few mouthfuls of bitter water, he stopped shouting.

He closed his mouth wisely and squatted on the ground without moving, but his blue eyes stared at Shi Jintang.

Seeing that this guy was honest, Shi Jintang blew out a smoke ring and started to look through the papers in front of him.

After a long time, he finally said: "According to the regulations of our Nanhua Company, raping a woman will result in a penalty of one year of hard labor and two years of imprisonment, for a total of three years.

Mr. Constantine, why are you doing this? After drinking some wine, you don’t know your last name? "

Upon hearing such a severe punishment, the American immediately panicked, "Mr. Shi, please listen to my explanation. I really didn't do it."

"did not do it?

The witness statements and evidence here are complete, and the traces of bodily fluids on the sheets in the room where you stayed are irrefutable evidence. You have no way to quibble! "

William Constantine panicked. He really couldn't argue, let alone how to prove his innocence.

"I want to see Mr. Thomson. I request to see Mr. Thomson."

"Sorry, you can't see him for the time being. You have violated the laws of Nanhua Company and must accept the punishment of Nanhua Company."

Constantine was desperate when he heard this. The Nanhua Company was a colonial company under the jurisdiction of the British government and was not under the jurisdiction of the US government at all.

Even though the Pennsylvania Railroad Company petitioned the U.S. government to send a note to the British government and used international relations, it ultimately escaped punishment.

But his life was ruined, and no company would hire him after returning to the United States.

what should I do?
  After thinking for a long time, William Constantine raised his head and looked pitifully at Shi Jintang. This silent Easterner controlled his own destiny!
  "I ask for your grace to forgive me. I, I can use money to forgive my sins. Tell me, how much money will it cost to forgive me?"

“Money is fine too.

According to our company's regulations, one year of hard labor is equivalent to 20 pounds.

Of course you are also welcome to use US dollars, 100 million a year, 3 million in 300 years, how about that? "

"Ah, so much?" William Constantine was completely desperate. How could he, a young man who had just entered society, get so much money?
  Am I going to be imprisoned here? I am still young and my life cannot have such a gloomy start.

I can not be reconciled!

"Please forgive me, I, I can help you."

Oh, this guy is quite good. Shi Jintang slightly curved his mouth, gently spit out the white smoke in his mouth, and threw away the cigarette butt.

"What can you do for me? I already have many people under my command, and there is no shortage of young people like you."

William Constantine's face changed slightly when he heard this. He hesitated for two seconds, exhaled hard, and finally said with difficulty: "I can tell you the base price of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. How about this? Can you pardon me?"

“Pennsylvania Railroad’s floor price, that information is of little value.

There are so many railroad companies in the world. If I don’t cooperate with the Pennsylvania Railroad, I can still cooperate with other companies.

When the money is in my hands, I have the initiative, don’t you think? "

William Constantine was stunned when he heard this. Yes, as a customer, Mr. Shi can choose other companies to cooperate with.

He and Mr. Thomson were also here to promote the services of the Pennsylvania Railroad.

He has nothing to lose if he doesn't elect us, but I have to stay here as a prisoner.

"I, I am willing to do anything, as long as you promise to pardon me, I am willing to do anything."

Shi Jintang nodded, "Seeing how eager you are, I don't believe it. You can really do anything for me?

What do you need to do to convince me so that I can completely believe you? In our country, this is called a petition. "

"Tou Mingzhuang?"

"Well, yes, vote for the certificate.

In ancient my country, if a person wanted to join a bandit group.

In order to win the trust of other bandits, he must first kill a civilian or carry out a robbery before other bandits can believe that he is joining sincerely. "

William Constantine was stunned, and he suddenly reacted.

Boss Shi has been working on this for a long time, but he still wants me to reveal company secrets!
  I originally planned to use this secret in exchange for freedom, but when it came to his mouth, how did it become: If I want to prove that I sincerely surrender to him, the prerequisite is that I have to leak the secret to him first?

If I don't reveal the secret, it means that I don't really want to surrender to him.

There is no reason for him to pardon me.

Although there is a bit of a twist here, the current situation is that I have to leak the secret first in exchange for a chance to prove myself.

Otherwise, I will be kept here as a prisoner, so gloomy that I will die!
  A logical infinite loop made it difficult for William Constantine to break free. He took a deep breath and said to Shi Jintang: "Can you give me a cigarette?"

Shi Jintang put the cigarette case and lighter on the table expressionlessly. The guard next to him stepped forward and took a cigarette and lighter from the cigarette case and handed them to the American.

William Constantine rubbed the fire wheel, and the orange flame ignited. He brought the flame close to the cigarette in his mouth.

"Pfft, cough cough~~~"

“Why is this cigarette so choking?
  I thought this thing was easy to smoke, haha. I always thought I was a genius, but today I discovered that I am a fool. I am so stupid! "

Shi Jintang continued to be silent. At this time, the more hysterical the other party became, the easier it was to break free from the shackles of belief and give up on oneself to the end.

William Constantine smoked more and more, cursed more and more, and finally burst into tears with runny nose and tears. Finally, he threw half of the cigarette and lighter in his mouth on the ground as if he was angry.

Fortunately, he didn't step on him, otherwise the guard next to him would have helped him regain his senses without any courtesy.

After a while, William Constantine wiped away the tears on his face and spoke calmly.

"Thomson asked me to find Trudeau next to you to find out whether you have found quotes from other companies."

Shi Jintang leaned back in his chair and rubbed the soft beard under his chin with his hand, "Well, I did find quotes from other companies, and the quotes were cheaper than yours, but I haven't chosen a company to continue the negotiation."

William Constantine glanced at Shi Jintang in surprise, why did you tell me such a confidential matter?

“Our company’s base price is US$4 per kilometer, and the cost price is US$3.

The cost of supporting the locomotive is US$150 million, and US$20 for other miscellaneous expenses is sufficient. "

After listening to the Americans' revelations, Shi Jintang nodded.

Compare this to the Qing Dynasty's construction of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway (200 kilometers), which cost less than 700 million taels of silver.

Americans earn $1 per kilometer, and two million dollars for 200 kilometers.

Including any deductions from other expenses, the profit is nearly three million US dollars.

"If I want to lower the railway cost to 3.5 per kilometer, can it be achieved?"

　Please continue reading, invest, recommend and collect, thank you!
  　　
  

(End of this chapter)