On February 12, 1907, Tang Ning, who was already 16 years old, boarded the train heading west.
The rumbling car body kept making a non-stop sound. The train had been traveling westward along the railway for four days and five nights. The road ahead was still endless. Tang Ning really doubted whether this road had an end.
Charlotte, who was born in the small country of Luxembourg, had never taken a train for such a long time and was completely shocked by the huge map of the United States!
"Master, when will California arrive!?"
Tangning, who was accustomed to stroking Charlotte's head, answered the questions of the cute little loli maid sitting on her lap.
"The train keeps going and going. It should take another five days to get to California."
"Wow! The United States is so big, wouldn't it be the largest country in the world?!"
"My little maid, you need to study more. The largest country in the world is in Europe."
"Is it the Austro-Hungarian Empire?"
In Charlotte's impression, Austria-Hungary has always been a big country. Although it lost German control, its territory was still larger than Germany. In her opinion, it should be the largest country in Europe.
"It's Russia!"
"The largest country, why are there those barbarians!?"
"Of course it's them, because these barbarians can fight and are greedy!" Tangning replied with a complicated mood.
The country that Tangning hates the most in the world is Russia, which he hates even more than the United States.
Russia is a magical country in itself. He probably can't tell whether it is a European country or an Asian country.
In fact, this was Tangning's first time working on a train for such a long time?
In my previous life, I was always busy, and all I took was airplanes, which were convenient, fast and comfortable. Occasionally, I took the railway or the high-speed train, and then I took this crappy steam train.
After riding the train for several days and nights, Tang Ning felt a pain in her buttocks.
Although Tang Ning bought a first-class ticket and had a private room with a bed, the long journey was still boring.
I stretched my head and looked out the window. Outside was a vast wilderness. In this inaccessible place, I could even see herds of cattle and horses.
They galloped carelessly in the wilderness, and their primitive wildness was reflected in them, which made Tangning, a person who had rarely been exposed to the wild, very curious.
After the train gradually left the city in the east, it passed through the vast wilderness, through the hot and dry desert, through the dark jungle, across the rushing river, and through the high mountains.
Tang Ning had never seen such a magnificent landscape in her life. It was vast and desolate, and the primitive impulse of the West rushed towards her face. Tang Ning was deeply shocked.
Along the railway, the vast west was full of vitality. Tangning discovered that many big cities a hundred years later were now just towns that could not be found on the map, or even just a logging field, coal station or something.
Decades have passed since the westward expansion movement of the United States in the last century. The primitive west has finally gained some popularity, and towns and villages are slowly becoming lively.
However, at this time, big cities were still in their infancy, or were gradually emerging, and everything was full of vitality and business opportunities.
Sitting in the train restaurant, Tang Ning listened to a neatly dressed "gentleman" across from her proudly say.
“After the news of the discovery of gold deposits in California was confirmed, the United States was boiling and the world was shocked.
Close by, San Francisco was the first to feel the impact of the gold rush, and almost all businesses closed.
The sailors abandoned their ships in San Francisco Bay, and the army soldiers left their barracks.
Servants left their masters and flocked to where the gold was discovered.
Farmers mortgaged their fields and homes, pioneers abandoned their fields, workers threw down their tools, and civil servants left their desks.
Even missionaries abandoned their missions and headed for California. "
Perhaps because of the loneliness of the journey, he found that Tangning, a young man, was listening to his bragging. The middle-aged man with some hair loss continued.
"In June of 1848.
Half the houses in San Francisco were empty, and two newspapers had to close because of the departure of their compositors and the scattering of subscribers.
There were deserters even in the U.S. Navy, with only six sailors left on one of the most serious warships.
The craze then spread to Oregon, north of San Francisco, and as far south as Mexico.
In Oregon, in the summer of 1848 alone, half of the adult male population, some 3,000 people, abandoned their harvest of grain in Baja California.
At the same time, about 5,000 Mexicans crossed the border and headed north to California.
Gold is so crazy! No one can resist the temptation of gold. "
The man swallowed his throat, as if he had picked up a lot of gold from the ground, and he was beaming.
"It's all great, I love gold, I love America! You know what?
At that time, my grandfather Rouse was an Army officer. When he heard that gold was discovered in California, he immediately retired and then led others to go gold mining.
Of course, my grandfather is one of the best. Now our family has not only gold mines but also ranches, real estate and many other industries in the west. "
He said this with respect on his face and was extremely grateful to his grandfather, Old Laws. He raised his head slightly, feeling extremely proud.
"Oh, it's great to hear such wonderful stories for my first time out west."
This was a turbulent era, with countless people from the east and west pouring into California. Unexpectedly, she would meet the descendants of these miracle members, which aroused Tang Ning's desire to socialize.
"Let me meet you. My name is Tangning Feng. I am the second son of a Viscount of Luxembourg. I came to the United States to seek wealth and want to engage in mining development."
Tangning used her pseudonym and introduced herself while extending her hand.
"Geralt Rouse.
Young man, maybe I can give you some advice. Our old Rouse family are experts in mining in California. "
Facing the son of a nobleman, even though he was not the heir, Geralt was still very polite, introduced himself somewhat reservedly, and tried to build a relationship.
"Oh. That's really great." Tangning seemed excited.
Tangning didn't think that this man named Geralt could be of much help to her when they met by chance, but she still had to pretend to be grateful.
"Can you tell us about the oil exploration situation in California? I heard that someone has opened a lot of wells?" Tangning asked.
"Oh, you said oil, that's a good thing, although it's not as practical as gold.
Many oil wells were discovered in California, and a number of adventurers were engaged in the industry, but few were successful.
Who knows if there is oil in the ground they drilled so deep, but due to bad luck, they lost all their investments and have nothing left. Now many adventurers are bankrupt.
Tangning, you are the son of a nobleman. Please don't get involved. Be careful of falling into trouble. If you are willing, you can invest in coal mines and iron mines.
Oil, the water in this industry is very deep and you cannot control it.
I did something stupid like this last year and lost a lot of money. Now that crappy drilling rig cost me a lot of money. I really want to throw it away.
If you have money, it's better to open coal and iron mines, that's how you can actually get by. "
Geralt shook his head disapprovingly and kindly advised the nobleman not to participate. The risk of diamond oil was too great.
Seeing Geralt shaking his head, Tangning secretly smiled. Under the current technical conditions, diamond oil is sometimes a matter of luck.
But I am the chosen one, can I give up such an opportunity?
"Mr. Rouse, may I have a suggestion?
Since you gave up the oil business, can I buy it? "
Now that Geralt had given up his oil business, Tangning had to seize it and buy it at a low price to save some money.
"Oh? Are you serious?" Geralt looked at the young man in front of him carefully, as if he wanted to distinguish the truth from falsehood in his words.
"Of course my family has an adventurous bloodline. I am not short of money and want to try my luck."
Listening to the reply, seeing the calm look on this young nobleman's face and the gentle smile on his face made people feel good.
"Hey, today's young people become wild when they see others getting rich. They always want to get rich overnight. I remember that I worked in the family mine for more than ten years."
Geralt thought to himself that he was not unaware of the wealth contained in oil, and he had also been excited about the oil he produced.
However, those wells did not produce much oil and the oil quality was not good enough to cover the cost.
This made Geralt feel discouraged. After his investment in diamond oil failed, Geralt gave up and threw the remaining equipment aside. He was about to go back and get rid of these machines this time, so he was a little moved by Tangning's words.
"Okay! In a few days, the train will arrive in Los Angeles. Let's talk about it then!" Geralt said.
They talked for more than two hours during this meal. The journey was lonely, and Geralt and Tangning learned a lot about the customs and customs of the west.
In return, Tangning told many stories about European nobles, fully satisfying Geralt's curiosity.
Although there is a slight age difference, it does not prevent Tangning from becoming friends with this cheerful western mine owner.
Geralt had already planned to sell the drilling machine to Tangning at a cheap price.
Of course, he didn't think Tangning could succeed. In his mind, drilling for oil was a matter of luck and it depended on God's will.
When the train passed through the Rocky Mountains, there were tunnels dug into the mountains and railway bridges built over steep and dangerous canyons.
Seeing this majestic situation made Tangning feel a little depressed, because he knew that this railway had too much blood and tears from the East.
In the last century, it was unimaginable how difficult it was to build such a railway project, how much manpower and material resources were spent, and how many people had to be sacrificed.
When the technical conditions were not as developed as in later generations, many projects on cliffs were excavated by manpower. If you were not careful, you would die.
