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Chapter 30: Selling Off
The group galloped all the way, reaching the cliff Johnny had mentioned in less than an hour.
Standing at the top of the cliff and looking down, they saw a carriage below that had been smashed to pieces, as if it had undergone a horrific accident.
Beside the broken carriage, a corpse lay quietly, a shocking sight to behold.
The woman stared blankly at the scene before her, her heart filled with despair and disbelief.
How she wished this was all just a hoax, a lie Johnny had fabricated to deceive her!
However, the cruel reality was laid out mercilessly before her; no matter how she tried to escape or deny it, she could not change the established fact.
For a moment, the woman's emotions completely collapsed. She stood there, her body trembling, sometimes letting out heart-wrenching cries and sometimes laughing wildly, evoking pity in those who watched.
This mixture of complex emotions made her look almost insane.
Two hours passed. Under the personal lead of the Town Mayor, the group first placed the body and nearby belongings onto the horses.
Then, they supported the soul-shaken woman as they slowly walked back to his home. The Town Mayor said to her with a look of concern:
"Child, if you have any difficulties in life in the future, feel free to come to me, the Town Mayor."
This Town Mayor had always complained about others slandering him, but at this moment, he showed immense kindness and care, instantly appearing much more noble.
The woman walked silently to Johnny's side and tremblingly pulled a five-dollar bill, a ten-dollar bill, and a pile of loose coins from her pocket.
She gripped the money tightly, held it out to Johnny, and said with a choked voice, "This... this is all the money I have. Please take it."
Looking at the poor woman before him, Johnny couldn't help but feel a flicker of compassion.
Though he usually killed without blinking and his hands were stained with blood, his heart ultimately softened in the face of such a scene.
He gently took the five-dollar bill, then returned the rest of the money to the woman, earnestly advising her:
"Take this money. Don't give up hope on life; you must live well."
At this moment, Johnny suddenly thought of his partner Arthur, the man people called the 'Friend of Widows'.
Before, he never quite understood why Arthur cared for and looked after those women who had lost their husbands so much.
But now, having personally encountered a similar situation, he finally understood that feeling of being unable to stop oneself from sympathizing with others.
Johnny and Mr. and Mrs. Adler left silently; he knew that his words carried little weight right now.
When poor, one can only look after oneself. Perhaps only when he had greater power in the future could he truly help those he wanted to help, rather than leaving with just a light remark to 'live well'.
The journey was silent, and the three finally reached Blackwater Town before nightfall.
Although the Pinkerton Detectives had withdrawn from Blackwater Town at this time, there were still many police officers armed with live ammunition patrolling the streets, as if this could provide the frightened residents with some meager sense of security.
However, seeing the three of them, the police knew they weren't bandits and let them in without questioning.
"Arthur! Sadie! Let's find an inn to stay at for the night. We'll head to the bank tomorrow to sell off that ranch."
Johnny spoke while raising a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
Arthur and Sadie exchanged a glance and both nodded, agreeing with Johnny's suggestion.
Subsequently, they handed the carriage reins to a slightly thin Attendant at the inn's entrance and turned to head upstairs.
At that moment, Johnny inconspicuously pressed a 50-cent coin into the Attendant's hand.
Then, he lowered his voice and instructed the Attendant:
"Brother, there are many important items in this carriage. You must keep a good eye on it for me.
If anything goes wrong and something inside goes missing... Heh heh, then you'll have to taste my wrath!"
As he spoke, Johnny deliberately pulled the lemat revolver from his waist and skillfully spun it a few times to show that he was not someone to be trifled with.
The Attendant was clearly a man of the world and was long accustomed to such scenes.
However, it was his first time seeing someone so generous. One should know that the room rate for one person was only 50 cents, yet this gentleman, despite wearing cheap clothes, handed out a 50-cent tip casually.
He hurriedly bowed and promised with a face full of smiles:
"Rest assured, sir! I will certainly do my utmost to look after your carriage and guarantee nothing goes wrong. You can rest easy!"
However, facts proved that the service quality in Blackwater Town was truly nothing to boast about.
When Johnny woke up from that rock-hard bed the next morning, he felt as if his entire back no longer belonged to him.
He couldn't help but reach out to rub his aching back and mumbled a complaint:
"This broken bed is too hard, isn't it? It's even more uncomfortable than a mattress made of bullet casings!"
When he stepped out and saw the murderous look in Sadie's eyes, he suddenly shut his mouth, afraid that if he added fuel to the fire, she would truly blow up.
The three of them strolled through the dusty streets without much mood for sightseeing and went straight to the bank.
Seeing their appearance, the Bank Manager thought they were there for a loan, only to find out upon inquiry that they were there to sell a ranch.
The Bank Manager instructed his secretary to unhurriedly look for the files, while he personally went over to brew three cups of rich coffee with a kettle.
As he placed the coffee on the table, he gestured for the three of them to sit down and talk slowly.
Johnny had originally intended to handle the negotiations himself to quickly increase his progress in Trade Mastery.
However, after careful consideration, he realized that to maximize their profits, it was a wise move to leave this task to the more experienced Mr. Arthur.
After all, for Johnny, there would be plenty of time and opportunities in the future to hone his negotiation skills and grind his skill progress.
But if he caused too much of a loss this time due to being overly hasty, it would be more trouble than it was worth.
In the fierce clash that unfolded between Arthur and the Bank Manager, both sides went back and forth, refusing to yield, like two armies facing off on a battlefield.
They engaged in a war of words over the various details of the two ranches, fighting for every cent.
However, after a long and arduous negotiation, both finally took a step back, reached a consensus, and determined the transaction price.
Among them, although the Adler Ranch had complete facilities and all necessary furniture, its total value was appraised at $900 due to its remote location.
In contrast, because Beechers Hope was closer to Blackwater Town and the town was undergoing large-scale development and construction, the price of the land had soared.
Even though the ranch's facilities were relatively simple, its final price was still as high as $1,100.
Regarding this pricing result, neither side had any objections. After all, looking at it as a whole, this was undoubtedly a win-win deal that left everyone happy.
The bank not only successfully acquired land resources with greater value potential but also gained a high-quality ranch capable of generating steady positive returns;
Meanwhile, Arthur and Johnny were able to quickly offload their assets without having to wait a long time for a suitable buyer, thereby greatly accelerating the speed of capital recovery.
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