Reborn in 1878: America's Number One Bandit

Chapter 62 Lawson Uses His Charm Again

Land near water sources is often the most fertile.

These areas had long been occupied by the earliest settlers who came to California.

In Sonoma County, the most valuable piece of land along the Russian River with the best water rights is in the hands of a man named Silas Redding.

The Reading family were among the earliest settlers in California. Their ancestors were among the first to arrive during the Gold Rush and made their fortune by massacring Native Americans.

It is said that thousands of Native American skulls were piled up outside the Reading family's estate.

Brutal, intimidating.

Through two generations of management, the Reading family ranch has become a legend in Northern California.

Silas Redding himself was an extremely influential figure.

He was domineering and powerful, and it was said that he had close ties with the powerful silver tycoons of San Francisco.

Want to buy land from him? Absolutely not.

Unless you can fill in San Francisco Bay.

“Yes, Silas Redding.”

Without acquiring this land, Losen's plan to control the Russian River will remain just empty talk.

The two broken red lines cannot form a complete large net at all.

Ten thousand acres—that's a true super ranch.

The family is powerful and has been operating in Sonoma County for two generations, making them deeply entrenched.

It is said that Reading ranch housed an armed cowboy team of more than sixty men, while the entire police force of San Francisco was only seventy-five men.

Ordinary bandits, let alone robbing him, would have to think twice about how many lives they have before they could even steal a cow from the edge of his ranch.

But this time, it was Lawson who had his eye on him.

With the overwhelming power of his four gangs, wiping out the Silas Redding family would be nothing more than a matter of using a few more boxes of bullets.

Reading seized the Indians' land, and Lawson seized his land—that's reasonable.

The difficulty lies not in the killing, but in the inheritance.

Do we have to wait for the court to auction it off like last time?
The Reading family's business empire is valued at an astronomical figure.

Even if I forge another IOU, there's no guarantee that other financial giants won't be drawn in by the smell of blood.

In the end, I might have to spend a lot of cash in an auction.

That would be too low in terms of cost-effectiveness.

A thought flashed through his mind, and Lawson gave a cold smile.

The "extermination strategy" we used in the apple orchard before, although old-fashioned, is a good strategy as long as it works.

Soon, detailed intelligence about the Silas Redding family appeared in Lawson's consciousness network.

Silas Redding, 55 years old, ruthless and domineering.

His three sons, each skilled in riding and archery, are assisting him in managing his vast family business.

And a nineteen-year-old daughter, Abigail Redding.

Intelligence indicates that the girl is beautiful and lively, and grew up under the heavy protection of her family, making her a true princess in an ivory tower.

Interestingly, she is also hopelessly "love-obsessed".

A year ago, she fell madly in love with a young and handsome gardener on the ranch, and even planned to pack her valuables and elope with him on a moonlit night.

As a result, the truth came out.

Silas Redding was furious; the poor gardener had disappeared on a rainy night.

Rumors circulated that he was buried in a newly cleared alfalfa field on the ranch and became fertilizer.

Abigail went on a three-day hunger strike and was locked in her room for a whole month.

"Love brain?"

Lawson grinned.

This is really great.

A simple soul that has been suppressed for a long time, yearning for romance and rebellion.

This was not a weakness, but a door that opened for him to the Reading family's vault.

Lawson snapped his fingers.

It's time to bring out his other trump card.

Ethan. He is a highly specialized, four-kidney assassin, similar to Jack Anderson, and extremely rare.

The moment he was refreshed, Lawson knew that his face alone was a weapon of mass destruction.

He looks remarkably like the 19-year-old Leonardo DiCaprio who will one day charm countless young girls.

He not only possesses a superior appearance and four strong kidneys, but the system also endows him with top-notch emotional intelligence, including being eloquent, proficient in musical instruments, skilled in painting, and knowledgeable of all the romantic techniques of this era.

These assassins have an extremely low spawn rate.

So far, Lawson only has Jack and Ethan at his disposal.

As it turns out, this tool can play a more significant role than a hundred ruthless bandits in critical moments.

For example, Jack.

Isabel had long been completely won over by him, utterly devoted to him.

The three thousand acres of fertile land left by Parker, along with cattle, horses, and cash, have long been under Lawson's control, both in legal documents and in actual operation.

Now, it's Ethan's turn to step in.

……

A newly opened pottery shop in Sonoma County.

In this era where barbarism and civilization intertwine, pottery, as a fashionable hobby that originated in the East, is highly sought after by wealthy and leisurely young women.

Abigail Redding is clearly one of them.

She was pouting, and there were a few specks of gray mud on her pretty little face.

The potter's wheel in front of her hummed, but the lump of clay on it twisted and turned in her hands, unable to take shape.

"Oh, damn it!"

She muttered something in frustration, then gave up and stopped using the potter's wheel.

Just then, the wooden door of the pottery shop, with its wind chimes hanging from it, was gently pushed open.

Amidst the crisp ringing of the bell, a figure walked in against the light.

Abigail instinctively looked up.

With just one glance, the girl's heart was stirred once more.

He was an extremely handsome young man.

He was wearing a slightly worn denim outfit, but it was spotless.

Although he had a gun hanging from his waist, his posture didn't resemble that of a rough cowboy; rather, he looked like a poet from the East.

Sunlight shone on his golden-brown curly hair, enveloping him in a dreamlike halo.

Ethan enters the scene.

His gaze didn't deliberately seek out Abigail, but rather swept over the pottery in the shop with a polite yet distant appreciation, looking like that of a customer who happened to be passing by.

But Abigail's starry eyes could never leave him.

Ethan walked casually to her potter's wheel and looked at the failed lump of clay.

The girl was a little embarrassed, but he just smiled gently.

"Wheels are sometimes harder to tame than horses, aren't they?"

A refreshing scent swept past her nose, and Abigail's cheeks instantly turned as red as an apple.

She was embarrassed and wanted to hide the lump of mud.

"It...it was supposed to be a vase," she whispered in defense.

"A very unique vase."

Ethan nodded slightly, then casually picked up a finished cup that had been fired and weighed it in his hand.

"However, painting with clay is a remarkable thing in itself."

“I heard that in Cincinnati, ladies have started painting on wet clay with different colored clay. That’s real art, isn’t it?”

Cincinnati Art Ceramics.

This word immediately stirred Abigail's spirit.

Good heavens! This handsome cowboy actually knows about the Cincinnati Art Ceramics movement!
That was the latest trendy avant-garde art she had only recently learned about from an Eastern magazine.

He! He's definitely not an ordinary cowboy!

Abigail's heart, which had been suppressed for a year and yearned for romance, suddenly burst into flames like dry tinder thrown into a spark!
The world instantly became blurry.

(End of this chapter)