Reborn in 1878: America's Number One Bandit

Chapter 4 The Residential Land Law and the New Layout
Marlene prepared a small room for Lawson, located just below the attic, with a wooden bed covered with a straw mat, a small table, and a small window offering a view of the starry sky.

The sheets carried a faint scent of sunshine and soap.

Lawson lay on the bed, the soft hay cushion supporting his tired body, and he couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

Finally, we've settled down for now.

His consciousness sank into the core of the green jade fragment in his mind.

His view shifted instantly, and he saw Er Gou leaning against the trunk of the silent oak tree outside the farm, cautiously observing the surrounding movement.

He is a defensive line on the perimeter of Lawson, prepared to deal with any unforeseen circumstances.

Consciousness shifted again.

Three Dogs was leading Johnny and five other Irish assassins, wielding shovels.

On the core panel, the number for [Earthwork Reserves] is steadily increasing, and has now reached 9.

well.

Lawson silently made his calculations.

Earth is the basic resource for creating assassins; it can be said to be the foundation of their survival.

The digging must not stop.

Given the current poor conditions, Er Gou and his companions have no choice but to camp out in the wild for the time being.

In a couple of days, when I have some extra money, I'll go to town to buy some sturdy canvas, a few secondhand horse-drawn carriages, and some pots, pans, and tools to build a mobile campsite.

This way, their basic living needs can be guaranteed, and they can also move around more easily.

He gave San Gou a new command through his consciousness.

Before dawn, lead those Irish assassins to the material storage area at the railway construction site and get enough steel for the upgrade.

Those two hunting dogs were considered an extra meal for them.

After assigning the tasks, Lawson's consciousness returned to his body.

A warm current was slowly spreading from his abdomen to his limbs and bones.

That was the large amount of food he had just eaten, which was being efficiently digested and absorbed, transformed into the purest energy, nourishing his long-parched body.

The feeling of fullness after eating too much quickly disappeared, replaced by a warmth and sense of strength rising from within.

The first changes to be seen in physical fitness are actually in these basic physiological functions.

That's for the best. This body has been severely depleted due to long-term malnutrition and overwork.

Lawson gazed through the small window at the deep night sky, his thoughts beginning to plan for the future.

The short-term goal is singular: survival.

It's not just about his own survival, but also about making thorough preparations for the malice and exclusion he might face from society as a whole in the future.

To gain a foothold in this land, simply recruiting Asian assassins won't be enough.

Chinese laborers lacked legal status and faced numerous restrictions.

Although Irish people were white, they also had a bad reputation and were considered part of the lower class who faced discrimination in American society at the time.

The next wave of assassins will be predominantly of British or white descent.

He needs to go through them as soon as possible to obtain legal American citizenship so that he can rightfully enjoy all the rights that citizens of this country have.

To take advantage of the legal rules of this era to maximize one's own interests.

A huge map of California appeared in Lawson's mind.

California has an area of ​​43 square kilometers.

His hometown, Shandong Province, covers an area of ​​only 15.7 square kilometers.

California is almost 2.7 times the size of Rutgers.

A striking contrast is that before he traveled there, the population of hospitable Shandong province had already exceeded 1 million.

At this moment, the entire vast state of California has a total population of less than 800,000!
The population density is shockingly low, and most of the area is undeveloped virgin land.

For him, who possesses the assassin system, this place holds great potential!

A crucial bill became crystal clear in his mind—the Homestead Act.

This is a law enacted in 1862 by the federal government to encourage the development of the west.

According to this bill, any U.S. citizen, or law-abiding immigrant intending to become a citizen, who is 21 years of age or older and has never taken up arms against the United States, can apply for 160 acres (approximately 971 mu) of unclaimed land after paying a low processing fee of about $14 to $18.

The only condition is that the applicant must live on the land for five years and make improvements to it, such as building houses or cultivating farmland.

Once these conditions are met, the permanent ownership of the land will legally belong to the applicant.

160 acres!

This was an enormous temptation for immigrants who might never own a piece of land in the Old World in their entire lives.

For Lawson, this was a loophole in the rules that was tailor-made for him.

He could easily use the British white assassins to carve out his own kingdom in this vast land.

As my thoughts raced, the darkness before dawn quietly faded, and a pale white light appeared on the horizon.

Around five o'clock, a slight vibration came from the core of my mind, and the system notification sounded at the right time.

[Sufficient carbon steel energy detected, absorbed.]

[Upgrade requirements met; core has automatically upgraded to level 5.]

Lawson immediately checked the panel.

[Core Level: 5] (11 assassin slots can be automatically refreshed daily; their stamina is 1.1-1.5 times that of a normal adult male, and they are randomly generated.)

[Next upgrade requirement: Absorb 1 cubic meter of zinc]

[Host Constitution: 7] (Potential Limit 15)

Earthwork energy reserves: 35

[Current number of assassins: 7] As expected, it's 11.

Upon seeing this number, Lawson confirmed his guess.

The daily refresh of the number of assassins follows the Lucas sequence (1, 3, 4, 7, 11, 18, 29...).

This means that, given enough time, his legion of assassins will expand at an astonishing rate.

The next level allows you to recruit 18 assassins every day.

However, the "1 cubic meter of zinc" required to upgrade to level 6 made him frown slightly.

A rough estimate suggests it's about 7.2 tons, which would cost nearly two thousand US dollars.

It seems that the plan to make money must be put on the agenda as soon as possible.

I don't want to think that far ahead.

Today, there are still 11 brand new spots waiting to be used.

Lawson immediately refreshed the page.

Ethnicity: [European], [English].

Deployment location: [Anchored at the three assassin dogs].

The order is issued.

The air rippled, and eleven tall, strong, blond, blue-eyed British white men appeared out of thin air beside Three Dogs.

Lawson's consciousness descended upon Three Dogs and took over his body.

"Boss."

Lawson (Three Dogs) began issuing instructions: "Your task is simple. After dawn, the six of you..."

He pointed to six of the strongest-looking men: “Go to the railroad construction site on the east side and find a day job. You’re just migrant workers who have just arrived in California, and your goal is to make money. The work on the construction site is paid daily, and the wages will be lower, but making two dollars a day shouldn’t be a problem.”

"Yes, Boss!"

"The remaining five people,"

He then turned to the other five: “Go to Strawberry Town and find a stable job—a lumberyard, a stable, a general store, anywhere will do. Get to know the town as quickly as possible and find out any useful information.”

"Yes, Boss!"

"First dig the soil, then wait for dawn."

After arranging everything properly, Lawson's consciousness returned to his body, and he fell into a deep sleep.

I slept soundly until dawn.

Lawson was awakened by the sound of a carriage and the conversation between Marlene and her daughter coming from the courtyard.

He got dressed and went out of the room, where he saw Marlene unloading things from a small flatbed cart.

She returned from town with a very fruitful trip.

The truck contained not only a large piece of fresh beef wrapped in oil paper, but also a full basket of eggs, a bag of flour, and some vegetables and daily necessities.

Lucy, the daughter, chattered around the carriage like a happy little bird; clearly, their family hadn't had such a pleasant shopping experience in a long time.

"Lorson, you're awake," Marlene greeted him with a smile.

“Good morning, Mrs. Odell.” Lawson stepped forward and naturally helped unload the groceries from the car. “It seems you’ve bought quite a few good things.”

"Yes, thanks to you." Marlene's tone was filled with genuine gratitude.

"Let's have beef stew with potatoes."

"I suggest," Lawson suggested, lifting the heavy piece of beef and feeling the body's revitalizing power.

……

Railway construction site, Chinese laborers' dormitories.

A thin Chinese laborer approached the foreman, Liang Kuan: "Manager Liang, that kid Lawson hasn't come back all night. I hope something happened to him."

Liang Kuan was washing his face with a ladle of cold water and spitting the mouthwash from his mouth onto the ground.

"If you don't come back, then don't come back!"

He wiped his face with a dirty towel: "I don't want disobedient troublemakers here! Let that good-for-nothing fend for himself out there. He might have already been dragged away by a grizzly bear in the mountains and made into a snack!"

He raised his voice and warned the other Chinese laborers in the shed who were preparing to start work: "Listen up, all of you! Here, you have to follow the rules! Do what you're told, and don't cause any trouble! Otherwise, you'll end up like Lawson!"

The workers kept their heads down and dared not utter a sound.

After warning everyone, Liang Kuan told them to hurry up and get to work.

He grabbed one of his trusted men, Ah Si, and whispered, "Ah Si, go take a look outside the camp. That kid, Lawson, still has a few dozen silver dollars on him. If he's really dead, remember to get the money back for me! We can't let those wolves get it!"

"Understood, Brother Kuan," Ah Si replied, bowing and scraping.

Liang Kuan straightened his collar and swaggered out of the work shed.

As soon as he stepped out the door, several white laborers who had just arrived at the construction site walked towards him.

Liang Kuan instinctively tried to dodge, but it was too late.

One of the burly white men crashed heavily into Liang Kuan.

"Ouch!"

Liang Kuan was knocked off balance and nearly fell to the ground.

He immediately forced a fawning smile, bowing and scraping as he said, "It's alright, it's alright, sir. I was blind and blocked your way."

The burly white man who bumped into him gave him a meaningful look, then led his companions straight into the construction site to find the foreman in charge of recruitment.

Liang Kuan stood there, rubbing his aching shoulder, looking completely bewildered.

"Have these white mad dogs taken the wrong medicine?"

He didn't think much of it, just assuming it was bad luck, and turned to supervise the Chinese laborers going to work.

(End of this chapter)