Charles returned to Philadelphia shortly after.
On his way to the State House to submit his mission report, Charles noticed a significant change in Philadelphia's streets compared to a few days prior. The most typical change was the bustling streets filled with various construction workers and numerous horse-drawn carriages transporting materials.
The Canal Company was officially established, and the Pennsylvania Grand Canal, connecting Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, was about to begin construction.
Fortunately, this project was historically very easy to complete, so much so that after its completion, people only remembered the benefits it brought, without mentioning any difficulties or casualties during its construction. Unfortunately, it was soon overshadowed by the glory of another canal, and it almost fell into oblivion itself.
Originally, due to the absence of 19th-century explosives (which were also unavailable during its historical construction) and relatively advanced steam pumps, many conditions would have delayed the construction period. However, after actually surveying the optimal construction route, the engineers still easily concluded that it could definitely be completed within fifteen months. This was only three months longer than the actual historical construction time.
Charles knew his own capabilities. Discussing the feasibility of canal construction was fine, but actively participating in its design and construction was clearly impossible. Therefore, although some departments in Pennsylvania still wanted him to be responsible for certain matters, he very rationally chose not to interfere blindly.
As soon as he returned near the Biddle family's inn, Charles found Jekill of the Pittsburgh Militia Self-Defense Force idly sitting at the entrance of the inn, with several old militiamen standing behind him, gesturing and commenting on the pedestrians and scenery on the street.
"Mr. Godfrey! You're finally back!" Jekill, who had been sitting idly, saw Charles at the same time Charles noticed him and his group.
"Jekill, what are you doing sitting here?" Charles walked over quickly.
He saw the old militiamen pointing at the people around them, and those people were actually watching them as if it were a show. Charles, who still had a bit of a small-town mentality, suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.
"You called us to Philadelphia! After we arrived here, Biddle told us that you hadn't returned from Boston yet, so he arranged for us to stay at the inn. We sat in the room for two days, and today we specifically came to the entrance for some fresh air. Who would have thought you'd be back! Hehe!" The tall and sturdy Jekill said with a simple and honest smile.
"Oh, then hurry inside." Charles felt a bit embarrassed.
He had forgotten to leave someone to arrange matters for Jekill after his return to Philadelphia. Fortunately, Biddle hadn't kicked them out of the inn. However, this time Jekill had brought several militiamen, and the number was quite large, so staying at the inn was no longer suitable. He should also look for a house for himself.
After everyone entered the room, Charles immediately called James over and asked:
"James, do you know where in Philadelphia there's a suitable house for us to live in? It's not appropriate for so many of us to keep staying at the inn. It's best to buy a house."
"Sir, I also think buying a house would be more suitable. It's just that there are many houses for sale here in Philadelphia, but whether they're suitable or not still needs to be found and discussed. I'm not very clear about the situation of those houses." James shook his head.
He was originally a poor student; how could he possibly spend too much effort caring about the situation of houses for sale?
Just as Charles was about to go out with James to look at houses, Biddle, who had received the news of Charles' return, had already rushed to the inn.
"Welcome back! My friend, I rushed over as soon as I received the news of your return!" Biddle opened his arms to Charles as soon as he entered the door.
"Hello, Biddle!" Charles quickly stepped forward and hugged Biddle briefly, then pulled away.
He was not accustomed to this French-style etiquette, and most Americans also disliked it; they were all accustomed to the British-style handshake. However, in American high society, especially among the Francophiles, such hugs, and even kisses, were very popular.
"Charles, have you heard? Our Canal Company has been officially established, and I am now one of the directors of the Canal Company. Speaking of which, I have to thank you for your idea."
"Haha! Congratulations! I also haven't thanked you for arranging accommodation for my people yet."
"Haha! Everyone at our inn knows Mr. Jekill and knows he's with you, so of course, they'd help arrange it." Then, noticing that Charles, James, and the others were all wearing hats, he asked, "What, are you going out right after you've just returned?"
"That's right, I feel it's not good for so many of us to live here. I'm preparing to buy a house, and simply make it our family's base in Philadelphia for the future." Charles directly stated his purpose.
It just so happened that Biddle was more familiar with high society, and his current status was different. He was not short of money, so he should certainly aim for a more upscale house. If Biddle was willing to help, then buying a house would definitely be much easier for him.
If it had been someone else hearing Charles say he wanted to find his own house, they might have tried to persuade him to continue staying. However, Biddle was very familiar with Charles, and he also felt that someone like him should acquire a property in Philadelphia. So many people staying at his inn had indeed added quite a bit to his expenses.
He immediately expressed with great enthusiasm that he knew many luxury homes for sale and was willing to help make connections.
With Biddle's help, Charles naturally saved a lot of trouble. He took the opportunity to visit Kiel's laboratory, show him some medicines brought from Boston, and ask him to try to produce them. At the same time, he specifically instructed him to have a batch of glass syringes made at the glassware workshop, in preparation for manufacturing needles later for injecting medicines.
Kiel was also a true chemist. In just these few days, he had already completed many experiments that Charles had vaguely mentioned. Although there were no concrete results yet, Charles believed his dream of pharmaceutical production was not far off.
After dealing with the medicine matters, the grand task of buying a house naturally proceeded immediately.
"Charles, how about this house? Its original owner was a British Earl, and now the Earl himself has followed General Howe and left, asking his trustee to help sell the house. This is a stone-built castle, with two internal floors and three floors in the spires, in a Gothic Revival style. It has a total of thirty-nine rooms, with an attached wine cellar, fish pond, stable…"
Charles and Biddle stood in front of a magnificent stone-built castle on a flat lawn.
"Biddle!"
"…Additionally, there are six male servants, twelve female servants, black slaves…" Biddle Biddle continued reading from a list.
"Biddle! Can you wait a moment, please?" Charles had to interrupt Biddle rather loudly.
"Uh, what do you think, Charles, are you very satisfied? Are you already eager to buy it?" Biddle completely ignored the impatience on Charles' face, and instead asked him with a proud smile.
"Cough cough!" Charles was furious internally, "I wanted to ask, how much are they asking for this castle? What's the asking price?"
"How much?" Biddle directly flipped to the end of the list, "Including the immovable artworks in the castle, and some furniture and the like, after rounding down, the total price is fifty thousand pounds."
Charles almost stumbled and fell, but fortunately, after rounding down, it was fifty thousand pounds. If he had rashly bought it without asking for the price clearly, he wouldn't have been able to afford so much money without rounding down.
"Biddle! I currently only have fifty thousand pounds in cash assets, most of which I need to take back to Pittsburgh for land development. Do you think I can spend fifty thousand pounds on a house in Philadelphia?" Charles said directly with a bitter face.
He and Biddle were already very good friends, so there was no need to be polite anymore.
"Uh… then let's go look at other houses."
Biddle cast a Godfreyering glance at the magnificent castle, then reluctantly led Charles away. It was unclear if he himself was interested in the house but couldn't afford it, so he encouraged Charles to buy it.
"Charles, how about this one? A typical American manor-style mansion. Including the warehouse, it also has over thirty rooms…"
"How much?" Charles directly interrupted Biddle to ask the price.
"Hmm, this is also a house sold by a trustee after the aristocrat fled. It's a reduced price sale, only ten thousand pounds."
Charles strolled around the manor, very satisfied with the house itself, but after seeing the scattered buildings and sparse flow of people in the surroundings, he still slowly shook his head.
"This is too far from the center of Philadelphia; it's inconvenient for me to attend meetings. Moreover, the manor is too large; I don't need to buy a house with so many rooms."
He added internally, "Ten thousand pounds is still too expensive. In Pittsburgh, I can build two such manors."