German

Friedrich excitedly emerged from his small tavern, holding a broom and a trash can for cleaning the establishment. He enthusiastically swept the litter on the cement road outside the tavern.

The newly laid cement road in Valentine cost Mr. Van der Linde a considerable sum, but it clearly brought great convenience to the hygiene and traffic of the entire Valentine.

Friedrich looked at the cement-paved road in front of him, his heart burning with passion. Even though it was only five in the morning, he still felt full of strength, without the slightest hint of fatigue.

His friend Joseph really didn't lie to him!

It was only after Friedrich arrived in Valentine that he truly understood what a real paradise was! What a place where real people should live!

Although this Valentine was just a small town, it brought him far more hope than even America's most luxurious metropolises.

The living environment here was perfect, the social system was perfect, and the leaders were perfect. Friedrich swore he had never seen such perfect living conditions anywhere else.

Here, he could do whatever he wanted, and everything he did would succeed!

Whether it was working for others, opening his own shop, or even serving in the military or sweeping the streets, his life would flourish, with no risks whatsoever!

And life was unimaginably good!

He couldn't even dream of such a fantastical social condition. Especially seeing it appear in the backward American West, it made him even more incredulous.

To describe it in one sentence: this place was constantly helping everyone live better and better!

Friedrich swept the streets very diligently. Not only in front of his door, he even swept along the road.

It wasn't for any other reason, but simply because he was especially grateful for this place.

All of the policies of the esteemed Mr. Van der Linde had been strongly pushing him forward from behind, and what was even more astonishing was that this pushing force felt exceptionally obvious to him.

Just as Friedrich was enthusiastically sweeping the surrounding roads, a voice of deterrence rang out from nearby.

"Hey, sir, no need to sweep! We'll clean the outside roads!" Friedrich looked up and saw two one-armed veterans in sanitation worker uniforms, holding cleaning tools, shouting at him.

They were all sanitation workers recruited by Mr. Van der Linde. Their arm disabilities did not affect their walking, so they could become glorious sanitation workers, serving the entire Valentine.

Seeing them, Friedrich's faith in his heart became even more exalted. Although he had lived here for three months and had witnessed Valentine becoming more prosperous step by step, every time he saw those disabled workers recruited by Mr. Van der Linde, it always made his heart extraordinarily moved!

"It's alright, sir, I have nothing to do right now, I'll help you out too!" Friedrich responded enthusiastically. He now felt as if his heart was filled with a red power. After he came to Valentine three months ago, every day was nobler and brighter than the day before.

"No, dear sir, this is our job, sir. Mr. Van der Linde has already given us such a good opportunity, so of course we have to prove that we can do it! Thank you for your help, but I think we should prove ourselves, that we are not useless people! Hahaha…" The two one-armed sanitation workers, one holding a broom and the other a trash can, had kind smiles on their faces, and their words moved Friedrich even more.

This was the tone!

What Friedrich liked most about this place was that everyone had such high moral character. Everyone was striving to prove their worth, yet they were full of kindness towards those around them.

Living in such a city was simply a pleasure!

"Friedrich, oh, buddy, I'll have a bottle of brandy!" Just as Friedrich was feeling moved, a familiar voice rang out from the entrance of the tavern behind him.

He had attracted a group of customers over these three months, and this person was one of them.

"Grab it yourself, buddy!" Friedrich shouted carelessly, completely unaware that such a scene would be impossible elsewhere.

Indeed, now he could completely trust people to grab their own drinks in the tavern. This progress in morality and character was far more astonishing than simply exchanging friendly greetings.

Friedrich picked up his broom, preparing to return to his tavern, but just then, his gaze suddenly caught sight of two familiar figures. They walked to the entrance of the gold shop next to his tavern and then knocked on the door.

It was five in the morning, so the gold shop naturally wouldn't open its doors so early.

And the owner of the gold shop was his friend, Joseph. Of course, that wasn't important. What was important was that among the three people who came, two of them were very familiar to him, even making his body excited.

"Oh~~ Oh~~ Morgan, Mr. Morgan! Mr. Marston!"

Respectful greetings followed one after another, annoying Arthur and the others immensely. But because of Dutch's restrictions, they had to respond with smiles on their faces.

"Oh, dear lady!"

"Hello, sir."

Arthur rubbed his face, which was stiff from smiling, and let out a long sigh: "Sh*t! I'd rather these people didn't know me right now!"

"Good heavens! I feel like returning to Valentine now is more terrifying than being hanged! I'd rather be met with a policeman's bullet!" John, beside him, was even more distraught.

Heaven knew how agonizing it was for him, a wooden block, to force out a smile and greet everyone along the way.

"Strauss, it's up to you, buddy. We two don't speak German. Just ask him if he knows any German officers."

Strauss, dressed in pajamas, had been dragged out of bed by them early in the morning, and now his face was filled with a miserable expression.

Arthur and John stood at the entrance of the gold shop, lighting their cigarettes and greeting passersby.

"Damn it, this good-guy life in the West is simply torture."

"This is why Bill would rather stay in Jon City, Mexico, than come back."

Looking at the two burly men standing like door gods on either side of the gold shop entrance, Strauss sighed deeply, then straightened the collar of his pajamas and knocked on the gold shop's door.

"Thump, thump, thump…"

"Sir, oh, Mr. Morgan, Mr. Marston, and this gentleman! Oh, my dear gentlemen, it's truly a pleasure to see you!"

As Strauss knocked on the gold shop's door, before he could hear any sound from inside, Friedrich jogged over, his face full of reverence, bowing and scraping as he greeted Arthur and the others.

Friedrich trembled with excitement as he looked at the two burly men standing before the door. As someone who had experienced tangible benefits under Mr. Van der Linde's system, he held extremely high loyalty to Mr. Van der Linde.

The most important thing was that Mr. Van der Linde had a magic: he could always make his surroundings feel as warm as a home, giving everyone a sense of belonging.

This was a very powerful talent. At the very least, Friedrich, who had wandered for fourteen years, was immersed in this sense of belonging and couldn't extricate himself.

Even his homeland, Germany, could hardly give him such a genuine sense of belonging.

It was as if everyone here was a child of Mr. Van der Linde!

So, upon seeing Mr. Van der Linde's subordinates, a heartfelt sense of familiarity arose within him.

"Oh, hello, sir, may I ask if you need anything?" Arthur extended his hand to shake Friedrich's, then pulled out a cigarette pack from his pocket, took out a cigarette, and offered it to Friedrich.

Friedrich gratefully took the cigarette with both hands, looking even happier.

"Oh, sir, my name is Friedrich Trump. The owner of this shop is my friend. I see you seem to want to contact them, but they don't live here; they live in the community over there!" Friedrich had been wandering for so many years that he was wary of everyone.

But he had no guard against Mr. Van der Linde and his subordinates.

Because Mr. Van der Linde never cared who could make a lot of money or who could open a gold shop; he only cared whether the people could live good lives! And since his friend Joseph hadn't committed any crimes, there surely wouldn't be any trouble.

This was also why he voluntarily led the way.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Trump. In that case, please lead the way for us." Arthur had a slight fondness for this man who looked like he might be german.

This fellow was enthusiastic enough, and most importantly, his eyes didn't hide his admiration and fanaticism, which made Arthur feel quite pleased.

"Of course, gentlemen!" Friedrich nodded happily, eagerly walking ahead to lead the way for Arthur and the others, constantly expressing his inner admiration for Mr. Van der Linde.

"Mr. Morgan, seeing you truly makes me so happy. I left my home and country at sixteen to seek development in America. To be honest, I was dirt poor back then. To eat, to survive, I did everything. Gold panning, being a porter, barber, running an inn. My life took me through the American West and Canada, dreaming of suddenly getting rich like some big shot!

Fourteen years of wandering, I never felt a sense of belonging like home in America, nor did I ever feel any kindness.

I originally thought my greatest wish in this life was to earn money and return home. To let my fourteen years of wandering finally settle down, to feel the warmth of home at last.

But I never expected that after receiving a letter from my friend Joseph, I came to Valentine and actually felt a strong sense of home and belonging here!

Mr. Morgan, I don't understand what Mr. Van der Linde truly wants, I don't understand what path Mr. Van der Linde is on, but I know that Mr. Van der Linde is the only one in all of America, and even the whole world, who is good to us, good to the people!

I think if I have the chance to have children in the future, I will definitely make them learn from Mr. Van der Linde, because only then will this world become better, and there won't be more pitiful people like me, who have to go abroad to seek a living before they even reach adulthood!"

Friedrich's words were filled with sadness.

He was only sixteen when he ran away, and Germany had mandatory military service requirements. He hadn't returned since, which meant he had already broken German law, and he would likely never be able to return to his country.

And this, all blamed the German Emperor and the German government.

If he could have eaten his fill at home, would he have run to America for a living? If Germany's policies were like Mr. Van der Linde's, would he not have actively joined the army?

He originally thought he was a selfish person, but now, with a comparison, he realized that the problem wasn't himself, but the ruling class of Germany!

Listening to Friedrich's narration, Arthur also felt a bit emotional. He reached out and patted the somewhat thin man's shoulder, sighing, "I think what you said is indeed true, Mr. Trump. If I had been able to live in a town like this when I was young, perhaps my life experience would have been completely different!

Keep it up, I think your idea is excellent. Only by spreading Dutch's ideas can this damned world truly change!"

"Yes! Mr. Morgan, I will definitely strive to learn Mr. Van der Linde's ideology! I've always been reading the Red Book!" Friedrich was extremely excited, even pulling out a crumpled, well-worn Red Book from his pocket.

It was clear that he had truly developed faith in Mr. Van der Linde's philosophy.

This was not strange; the harder life was, the more one agreed with Mr. Van der Linde's philosophy.

Trump's red scarf had, at this moment, been personally placed on him by his grandfather.

The group walked a long way along the concrete road, finally arriving at the newly built community in the northwest corner of Valentine.

Arthur was familiar with this place, as it was where Mary had rented a house when she came to find him.

However, the surrounding ranches had now been moved to the Heartland Oil Fields, and the entire area had been developed into a new community.

That's right, a community. Mr. Van der Linde named the residential area a "community."

This place was full of six-square-meter wooden houses, no bigger than small pigeon coops, built side by side. To ensure the living needs of each household, there was also a six-square-meter fenced small yard behind each small pigeon coop, which could be used to grow vegetables or as a kitchen and clothes-drying balcony.

Even though the rooms were small, barely enough for a family of three, in that era, for those who couldn't afford housing, these conditions could be considered excellent.

The German couple lived here, but because they had money, they rented two rooms: one for themselves and one for their son and daughter.

"Joseph, Joseph! My friend, don't sleep, come out quickly, Mr. Van der Linde needs your help with some questions!"