9: Chapter 9 In California, even white police officers have to bow their heads.

William pushed the door open and led the people inside.

At this moment, Lin Tian was sitting at his desk, helping to verify the account books and raw material lists from the past few days.

In his previous life, he was a proper university student.

Looking at this kind of simple, old-fashioned bookkeeping, he could see through it at a glance.

However, he knew in his heart that if he really wanted to grow the business, he would have to learn professional finance and commercial law in the future.

After all, coming from a chemistry background, he knew nothing about double-entry bookkeeping or banking operations.

To become a top-tier entrepreneur, relying on luck alone wouldn't cut it.

Take Rockefeller, for example; he was constantly studying hard on his path to success.

While he was pondering this, the door opened.

Upon seeing who it was, Lin Tian and Lin Shi were both stunned.

The factory was built in the suburbs, several miles away from the city center.

"Zhao Gang? Why did you run all the way here?" Lin Shi stood up and asked.

Zhao Gang was a kitchen helper at Fu Man Lou Restaurant. It was impossible for him to come here normally.

Who would have thought that as soon as Zhao Gang saw Lin Shi, he couldn't hold back his tears.

"Boss, something happened! Our Fu Man Lou Restaurant has been smashed up!"

Lin Shi's expression suddenly darkened, and he shouted, "Who did it? What exactly happened!"

"It was a few white men, a bunch of unfamiliar cowboys!"

Wiping away his tears, Zhao Gang poured out the events of the morning like spilling beans.

It was around 8:30 in the morning.

The father and son of the Lin family had just left by carriage.

Several Chinese laborers were eating breakfast at the restaurant as usual.

Not long after, a few white cowboys burst in from outside.

The restaurant usually only served Chinese food, and unless it was an acquaintance like Old Smith, white people rarely patronized it.

The restaurant staff, fearing trouble, served them carefully.

As it turned out, once these guys had eaten and drunk their fill, they spat their leftovers directly onto the floor and cursed, "Pah! This is just pig slop!"

The Chinese laborers present gritted their teeth in anger, but being in a foreign land, they dared not stand up for themselves just to make a living.

After all, the foreign devil police were even more unreasonable than bandits.

In the early years, the number of Chinese people who were lynched on the streets of San Francisco due to conflicts was by no means small.

Everyone had learned their lesson at the cost of their lives, so they could only endure the insults to their faces.

Seeing that everyone in the shop had become cowards, these white men grew even more rampant, pounding on the tables and demanding compensation from the restaurant.

There were no telephones installed at that time, so Jiang Meier had to bite the bullet and deal with it.

But as soon as this group of foreign devils saw how pretty Jiang Meier was, they immediately had crooked thoughts.

They leered and demanded that Jiang Meier go with them to discuss the compensation elsewhere.

Having struggled at the bottom of society since she was a child, how could Jiang Meier not see through the ulterior motives of this group?

She adamantly refused and took out five dollars, hoping to pay to avoid disaster.

The other party didn't even look at the money, threatening that they must take her away today, otherwise they would come to cause trouble every day and make the restaurant shut down for good.

The surrounding Chinese workers looked numb, their eyes filled with helplessness and pity, and as usual, no one dared to make a sound.

Just at this critical moment, A-Fei, the fifteen-year-old boy who did odd jobs in the shop, couldn't take it anymore and pointed at the group, cursing, "White pigs!"

This sentence directly stirred up a hornet's nest.

The enraged cowboys immediately started smashing the shop, and the room instantly descended into chaos.

A few guys took advantage of the chaos to grab Jiang Meier.

Thanks to A-Fei and a few staff members who desperately blocked them, they didn't succeed.

By the time Zhao Gang rushed out from the kitchen with a kitchen knife, the restaurant was already unrecognizable.

Several staff members were seriously injured.

Especially A-Fei, who was beaten until his face was covered in blood and he collapsed directly to the ground.

Hearing this, Lin Tian jumped off his desk, his eyes red with anxiety: "Zhao Gang, what about Sister Meier? Is she hurt?!"

The shop can be reopened if it's smashed, as long as Sister Meier is fine.

If she lost even a single hair, Lin Tian swore he would absolutely make these foreign devils pay in blood!

"Sister Meier is fine, it's all thanks to A-Fei blocking in front, otherwise I dare not think of the consequences." Zhao Gang said, his face full of lingering fear.

"Bang!"

Lin Shi slammed his hand heavily on the table, making a loud noise.

"This is too much bullying! Do they really think we Chinese are made of mud?!"

After hearing Zhao Gang's report, Lin Tian's expression was equally grim.

The most important thing right now is to rush back and check the situation.

The Lin father and son took Zhao Gang, got into their carriage, had the driver crack the whip, and sped toward downtown San Francisco.

For the few miles of distance, the carriage galloped for a full half hour before arriving.

Just as they arrived at the entrance of Fu Man Lou Restaurant, they found a large crowd gathered outside watching the commotion.

Fellow countrymen on the street looked at the broken glass all over the floor with eyes full of sympathy.

Most of the white people nearby were gloating.

As for the Black people passing by, they were completely in the manner of bystanders who had nothing to do with it.

Inside the restaurant, two white policemen in black uniforms and wide-brimmed hats were taking statements.

Jiang Meier's pretty little face had a noticeable bruise, and she was deathly pale.

She was answering questions while trying desperately to explain.

"We really didn't provoke them, it was them who started causing trouble the moment they entered..."

Before she could finish her sentence, one of the policemen interrupted her directly:

"But the other party reported that you were the ones who started hurling insults, and they only acted in self-defense!"

"They are talking nonsense! Officer, it was clearly them who started it; so many people in the shop can testify!" Jiang Meier argued hurriedly.

"Ha, Chinese testimony is useless; the judge won't believe it at all!" the other policeman said with a mocking face.

"On what grounds?"

Jiang Meier couldn't believe her ears.

"Just because this is California! Here, except for white people, everyone else's words are just farts!"

The policeman holding the notebook looked up, his face full of white supremacist arrogance.

"Is that so?"

A voice full of vigor suddenly rang out.

Hearing this voice, Jiang Meier felt a surge of joy, and the two policemen also turned their heads in surprise.

They saw Lin Shi, dressed neatly in a red suit, walking in with big strides.

He glanced at the two policemen, then turned to Jiang Meier and instructed:

"Leave this matter to me."

"Understood, Boss." Jiang Meier felt like she had found her backbone and finally calmed down.

Lin Tian also hurried over, looking at the injury on her face and asking:

"Sister Meier, is your face okay?"

"I'm fine, I just bumped into the corner of a table. Thanks to A-Fei protecting me, but A-Fei he..." Jiang Meier looked worried.

Lin Tian knew that A-Fei was just a fifteen-year-old boy doing odd jobs.

He had been working in the shop for a year and was diligent.

His father had planned to promote him to the kitchen to learn cooking in a while, so he could have a trade to make a living abroad.

Who would have thought that such a disaster would happen today.

Hearing that Jiang Meier had already arranged for someone to send A-Fei to Dr. Lawrence's clinic, Lin Tian breathed a sigh of relief.

"With the Vet there, A-Fei won't die." Lin Tian said to comfort her.

There was a reason he called this person the Vet.

This person was indeed a graduate of a prestigious medical school, but when he first came to San Francisco to open a clinic, he specialized in treating livestock.

Later, after he became famous, he started treating people, and his fees were ridiculously high.

He was too greedy for money, and since his original profession was treating livestock, everyone simply gave him the nickname "Beast Doctor."

While Lin Tian was comforting Jiang Meier, Lin Shi on the other side was already arguing with the police.

"Make me pay? In your dreams!"

"The other party has already filed a report. If you don't pay today, we will arrest you immediately!"

"Arrest me? Try touching me and see what happens!"

Lin Shi glared.

He was a tough guy who had fought for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom back in the day, and the bloodlust of someone who had killed exploded out of him instantly.

The two policemen frowned and looked at each other.

The policeman with the notebook signaled, and his partner immediately pulled out a pair of silver handcuffs from behind his waist.

It was clear that they didn't take Lin Shi's warning seriously at all.

Just at this moment, a roar came from outside.

"I'd like to see which son of a bitch dares to touch my brother!"

As soon as the words fell, the crowd watching the commotion outside quickly cleared a path.

Old Smith strode in.

He was holding a pitch-black Martini-Henry rifle in his right hand, a revolver tucked into his belt, his belt was full of ammunition, and he had a thick cigar in his mouth.

He stared down at the two policemen.

Behind him followed more than a dozen burly men, also wearing cowboy hats and holding long guns, looking at the cops in the room with a playful expression.

The policeman holding the handcuffs was instantly dumbfounded.

He knew very well that they were in big trouble today.

The "Rednecks" in California were a bunch of unreasonable roughnecks who never cared about the consequences of their actions.

Even if you were a policeman, if you pissed them off, they would dare to challenge you to a duel on the street.

Not accepting a duel in this era meant you were a coward, and no one in the police station would look up to you if you went back.

But if you really nodded and agreed, your life would likely end on the dueling ground.

The deadliest part was that the judge would not convict them of murder, because dueling was voluntary on both sides.

Lin Shi looked at Old Smith and nodded, saying:

"John, you've finally arrived."

"I called a few old buddies to come along, so it took a little time."

Old Smith's gaze turned cold as he stared intently at the two policemen.

"Two officers, I just heard you say you wanted to arrest who?"

The policeman holding the handcuffs instinctively wanted to reach for his gun, but was held down by his partner.

The policeman taking statements hurriedly put on a smiling face:

"Mr. Smith, right? It's a misunderstanding. We just came to coordinate the compensation matter; we didn't say we were going to arrest anyone, but Boss Lin doesn't seem very cooperative."

"Is that so?"

Old Smith blew a mouthful of thick smoke at him, his tone becoming extremely fierce:

"How come I heard that a few punks smashed my brother's rice bowl? Officer, logically speaking, you should be making these bastards pay. Brothers, tell me, isn't that the logic!"

"Haha, no problem, make these bastards pay!"

"Let them roll over here and eat my lead!"

"Beat these scumbags to death!"

A group of ranchers raised their rifles, spouting profanities, and howling to create momentum.