Jurnalist

A massive truck, laden with sand and earth, headed towards Rhodes.

As the population of Saint Denis grew, the city began to feel somewhat small.

As a port city, Saint Denis could have developed further, but the surrounding swamps and ubiquitous alligators completely cut off any such opportunities.

Valentine's development plan designated it as an industrial city, so a school could not be built within it. Thus, the only option was to construct the school in the plains region of Rhodes.

More specifically, it was at the former site of the Gray Family in Rhodes.

Mr. Van der Linde intended to build this school into a world-class university, encompassing not only various advanced disciplines but also a military academy. Consequently, the former site of the Bruceweit Family was also acquired and designated for the military academy, where future Van der Linde officers would be trained.

Mr. Van der Linde now truly resembled a general, capable of mobilizing the entire West for whatever he desired.

For instance, his current desire to build a school led to the mobilization of over ten thousand workers, from sand excavation to transportation, from lime production to house construction. Countless production chains emerged, and innumerable interests were intertwined. A Van der Linde Lime Production Plant was even established specifically for this purpose.

Internal development still required capital stimulation, so various small-scale production plants or small-scale capital could still survive within his controlled territory. Everyone could still be insatiably greedy and continue to strive for more wealth, thereby lifting development restrictions.

But Mr. Van der Linde also controlled the army and the greatest power, so all capital had to operate under the rules he set, in order to achieve the goal of a planned market economy.

Absolute closure was not advisable, and complete liberalization was not feasible. Therefore, only this constrained freedom could allow for relatively rapid development without reverting to capitalism.

The white horse and Hosea's gray horse trotted slowly around the periphery of the Bruceweit Family estate, observing the construction team at work inside.

In just over a month, the school's foundation had been laid. However, because it was a lime foundation, it required air-drying, which made it more time-consuming than wooden structures.

"So, Hosea, how many teachers have been recruited for the school so far?"

Dutch asked Hosea, showing great concern for the school's construction, or rather, for education itself.

Although society nowadays often jokingly refers to education as a production line for undergraduates, and that current undergraduates are considered inferior, the fundamental meaning of education is still for enlightenment.

Educated individuals and uneducated individuals exhibit entirely different thought processes; the maturity of their thinking belongs to completely different strata. The reason why modern university students appear so unintelligent is largely due to their overly doting family education and the conscious indoctrination of harmful ideas that have caused them to lose their ability for independent thought. But this does not mean that learning is useless; in fact, throughout history, it is truly those with profound thoughts who have changed the world.

Whether for social stability or for future highly skilled professionals, the development of education is of paramount importance.

"Many teachers have already applied for the school, especially those university teachers who learned about the conditions we offered; they have all expressed interest in coming. However, military academy teachers are difficult to find, Dutch. I can only use some veteran resources to send messages to former generals.

But you know, those who reach such positions often have significant backgrounds, and our financial incentives are basically ineffective.

Moreover, I don't think these people necessarily possess any real ability."

Hosea sighed.

He had worked hard during this time, but in this era, high-ranking American generals were all from prominent families and did not lack money.

Furthermore, he did not believe there were any truly high-ranking American generals at present.

Dutch deeply agreed with this. Even Five-Star General MacArthur could become a mere general, indicating that there were indeed few truly capable individuals in this place.

It wasn't that they were too incompetent, but rather that their foundations were insufficient, completely incomparable to the deep heritage of Europe and China.

Dutch nodded and said, "Alright, Hosea, let's put the military academy teacher plan aside for now. We can select some ambitious young people, let them learn some of this knowledge themselves, then practice with each other, study the military laws of various countries, or we could negotiate with Germany to see if they can send us some teachers."

In this era, European teachers were still somewhat skilled, but in terms of advanced and powerful equipment, their Van der Linde Gang was the strongest.

For example, Germany would soon form the Van der Linde Armored Division to serve as the elite of their army.

Hosea and Dutch continued forward. The closer they got to Rhodes, the more people there were and the more prosperous it became, forming a stark contrast to Rhodes when it was occupied by the two major families.

A young man wandered through Rhodes with a camera, finding everything in Rhodes astonishing. He constantly used his camera to capture photos of things he found novel.

On Rhodes's main street, just like in Saint Denis, a huge banner was stretched across.

It still displayed Mr. Van der Linde's slogan.

'Mr. Van der Linde's Quote: The highest-ranking masters and the lowest-ranking bandits in America are utterly useless to society as a whole; they are all bandits, merely one sets the rules to rob, and the other breaks them to rob.'

Toby stood dumbfounded before the banner, holding his camera, feeling a profound shock to his spirit.

He was a small-time newspaper reporter from the East, whose agency specialized in collecting sensational information.

His newspaper had no competitiveness in the East, and recently, with the establishment of new tabloid newspapers, their agency had fallen into a desperate crisis.

To ensure the survival of the newspaper, the owner had to devise a more niche survival strategy: broadcasting news from the West in the East.

And Toby, for the sake of his livelihood, had to agree with his boss's opinion and took a train to the West.

He had originally imagined the West to be poor, with harsh terrain and rampant gangs. However, upon his arrival, he discovered that the West was completely different from what he had imagined.

The prosperity and flourishing of Rhodes shocked him immensely, and the clean and tidy streets astonished him. What he found most incredible was that there wasn't even a single beggar there.

Even disabled people could find work—selling newspapers and cleaning in Rhodes.

And the current statement on the banner gave him an even deeper, soulful shock.

It also made him incredibly excited.

If he were to photograph this revolutionary slogan and turn it into a newspaper to sell in the East, their newspaper would definitely become a hit and cause a huge stir in the East!

Thinking of this, Toby couldn't help but press the shutter, taking a comprehensive photo of the slogan.

"Of course, this isn't enough. Perhaps I can learn more about this Mr. Van der Linde; at the very least, he can give my newspaper more content."

Toby's body trembled with excitement, and he quickly walked towards a nearby saloon.

The tavern in Rhodes was no longer the chaotic mess it once was; it was now clean and tidy, the prostitutes had disappeared, and the smell of marijuana had completely vanished into the history of Rhodes. Even the Lemoyne Raiders, who used to frequent the tavern every few days, were nowhere to be seen.

Mr. Van der Linde had virtues everywhere, except when it came to gambling, prostitution, and drugs, where he was full of flaws.

He actually forbade these three types of businesses in his territory, which made countless old addicts lose their desire to live. Many even drowned their sorrows in alcohol daily, then cursed Mr. Dutch Van der Linde when drunk.

It also left those who enjoyed seeking pleasure in taverns quite dissatisfied.

Of course, their dissatisfaction was useless. Even if Mr. Van der Linde didn't forbid these things, not many people would be operating them now.

Most prostitutes in this era fell into the trade because they couldn't make a living, not like modern ones who do it to make money easily or to achieve a higher quality of life.

Originally, they sold themselves because they had no work and couldn't support their families. Now that Mr. Van der Linde had given them jobs, naturally, not many were willing to do such a lowly job anymore.

Of course, one shouldn't speak in such absolutes, after all, Mrs. Downs seemed to quite enjoy it.

But no matter what, the Rhodes tavern was now completely clean and tidy.

Toby stepped into the tavern, and it was completely different from the dirty tavern he had imagined. Although the interior of the tavern was lively and bustling, the environment was very clean.

The tavern was abuzz with voices, people discussing all sorts of things, but most of the conversations seemed to include a familiar name.

Mr. Dutch Van der Linde.

The one-armed cleaner stood smiling in a corner, holding a cigarette with his remaining arm and smoking. Beside him were a trash can and a rag.

Whenever he saw any trash, he would pick up the trash can and go forward to clean it up, showing exceptional dedication to his work.

"What would you like to drink, young man?" Seeing Toby walk in, the bartender, who had lost both his legs, asked with a chuckle.

"A bottle of beer... oh, sh*t!, you..." As the bartender turned to grab the beer, Toby saw the wheeled, high-stool-like device he used to support his lower body and his missing legs, and couldn't help but exclaim.

"Hahahaha, don't be afraid, young man, I'm a retired veteran, these are the scars I got on the battlefield."

"You must be from the East, right? Young men around here don't have your kind of demeanor," the bartender said with a hearty laugh, then handed Toby the beer.

"Yes, sir. But why aren't you recuperating at home? Wouldn't working here be..." Toby frowned, looking at his missing legs.

However, before he could finish, the bartender interrupted him.

"Recuperate? With what? After I retired, I was flat broke. The United States Government doesn't give out subsidies, not even retirement pay. How am I supposed to recuperate?

If Mr. Van der Linde hadn't given me a job and a place to live, I'd probably still be begging for food in an eastern city!"

The bartender's words had just finished when the one-armed cleaner standing nearby interrupted him with a laugh.

"Begging for food? I'm the one who can beg for food, you can only wait to die, Tony. If Mr. Van der Linde's Veterans Mutual Aid Association hadn't received your letter and sent two people to pick you up, you'd probably be rotting by now!"

"Hahaha, you're right, William, oh, damn it, can't you give me some face?" the bartender Tony laughed heartily.

The two of them burst into laughter, while Toby, standing nearby, had keenly caught the scent of a news story.

He exclaimed, "Oh, Mr. Dutch Van der Linde? Gentlemen, I wonder if you could tell me about this Mr. Van der Linde. I just saw Mr. Van der Linde's quotes on the street, and I feel that what Mr. Van der Linde says is absolutely right. I long to know everything about him, gentlemen, he fascinates me!"

"Hey, Mr. Van der Linde? Now there's a story to tell..."

The noise in the tavern grew louder. At first, it was just the bartender, the cleaner, and Toby talking, but then more and more people gathered, praising Mr. Van der Linde to no end.

As the saying goes, 'flowers planted with care may not bloom, but willows planted by chance may grow into shade.'

Perhaps even Mr. Dutch Van der Linde could hardly have imagined that the changes in the West would be recorded and reported by a journalist from the East.

----

The sun rose in the east and set in the west, and each day passed better than the last.

A small newspaper quietly spread throughout New York State.

The 'New York Small Newspaper' didn't have much content. In the past, it mostly depicted who from the east side had an affair with whom from the west side, and how they had a dramatic fight in a certain hotel. Or it might contain advertisements for small factories, or short stories by unknown writers.

The owner of the New York Small Newspaper had no power or influence. The newspaper was founded solely on the accumulation of his ancestors, passed down through generations, and was now only days away from bankruptcy.

After all, such small newspapers had no people or power. Government news was out of the question; reporters couldn't even get into the venues. Mid-level news was also not to be asked about, as they dared not offend anyone who could truly ruin them.

So they could only focus on gossip.

However, as the United States developed more rapidly, competitive pressure across all industries continued to increase, and various medium-sized and even large newspapers began to publish gossip to seize more market share, which completely left them unable to continue.

To keep his newspaper going, the owner had no choice but to find a way to open up a new avenue.

Reporting news from the West in the East provided a channel for Easterners curious about the West to get information, while also opening up a new market.

However, people were busy in those days; the United States was in a phase of frantic development, and everyone was very busy. Not many people liked to follow news from the West, but because it was novel, it still managed to capture a certain share.

"Give me a small newspaper."

Tony, a young man wearing a flat cap, handed one cent to the newsboy, then took a newspaper from him.

Tony was a bicycle repairman, and his usual wages weren't much, so he couldn't afford more expensive newspapers.

But he loved reading books, newspapers, and all kinds of literary works. He had no choice but to occasionally buy the cheapest small newspaper to read the literary works in it, to satisfy his craving.

The 'New York Small Newspaper' was one of his choices.

Remembering that he hadn't read the New York Small Newspaper in a long time, he chose it this time, hoping to find some different literary creations within it.