Red Dead Redemption: The Great Philanthropist of the West

In the days following the banquet, Henry and Sophia's relationship quickly blossomed, and they spent their days strolling through the streets and alleys, enjoying all sorts of snacks and delicacies.

But happy days are always fleeting. Sophia had to return to Vassar College in eastern New York to continue her studies. Henry also needed to return to Blackwater to deal with the bootlegging and his father's affairs.

After agreeing to write to each other, the two saw Sofia off on the train to the east amidst her reluctant gaze.

Over the course of the past few days, Congressman Fellowes finally secured a deal for the Grand Bar in St. John's City, which Henry purchased for a friendly price of $15,000. He then entrusted it to Josiah Trelawney for management.

After informing Josiah of the reward and punishment system for intelligence gathering and the agreement on intelligence transmission, Henry also boarded the cruise ship back to Blackwater.

On this trip back, in addition to Flying Eagle, Antola, Lorian, and Megan, Henry also recruited two Chinese chefs and a martial arts expert in Chinatown, Saint Denis.

One chef specialized in Northern Chinese cuisine, while the other specialized in Cantonese cuisine. The chef specializing in Northern Chinese dishes was rumored to have a family history of imperial chefs. Henry didn't care about the veracity of their backgrounds, but the food they made was truly delicious; Henry and Sophia went there several times during those days specifically to eat there.

As for the Chinese martial arts expert, his name was Li Yi, whom Henry and Sophia met while they were having fun. He was being chased by the dock gang for some unknown reason, and single-handedly took down more than a dozen of them, even facing over twenty men. If a large number of police hadn't arrived and he hadn't been pointed at with over a dozen pistols, the remaining ten or so men would probably have been killed shortly afterward.

He was eventually arrested and taken to the police station on charges of disturbing the peace, malicious assault, and murder.

Given the authorities' attitude towards Chinese people, he would have been hanged in a few days. However, after Henry used his connections with Sheriff Bailey and paid the hefty $200 reward, he was released without charge.

Then he followed Henry.

Henry was very interested in Li Yi's martial arts and even made a point of learning about him.

According to him, he was a disciple of Li Kuiyuan and a grand-disciple of Guo Yunshen, one of the ten great martial arts masters of the late Qing Dynasty. He mainly studied Xingyi Quan and Banbu Bengquan, and possessed remarkable lightness skills and throwing knife techniques.

About half a year ago, he witnessed the son of a court official robbing a woman in the street, committing a heinous crime. Unable to stand by and watch, he intervened, resulting in the young man's accidental death. He was subsequently wanted by the court. It was only through his master's influence that he was able to get on a smuggling ship to America. After a grueling three-month voyage, he barely made it to the United States. He was then sent to work on the railroads, where he was subjected to excessive labor, lack of food, and poor sleep. Finally, he secretly escaped, bypassing his guards.

Because of the Chinese Exclusion Act, he was unable to obtain a residency permit and was constantly hunted and expelled, eventually arriving in Saint Denis. Prolonged flight and lack of food caused him to faint from hunger by the roadside. He was ultimately saved by a kind grandfather and grandson.

Fearing he would implicate the grandfather and grandson, he left soon after waking up, continuing to wander the dark corners of the city. Until that day he clashed with the dockworkers.

For the past few months, he felt like a walking corpse, unable to eat or drink properly, unable to sleep well, constantly oppressed, and wandering aimlessly every day.

Henry's appearance was a ray of light in his life. He not only provided him with food and comfortable accommodations but also saved him from dire straits. More importantly, Henry saw respect in him; he did not despise Chinese people and even welcomed them. He was willing to risk his life for him.

When Henry sought his martial arts instruction, he shared everything without reservation, teaching Henry all the important points and techniques for generating power. This significantly improved Henry's weaknesses in physical combat. With further practice and integration, given his physical strength, it's believed he could easily take on a dozen or more opponents.

Time passed slowly, and after more than ten hours of sailing, Henry and his party finally arrived at Blackwater Wharf in the evening.

William, the old butler who had received advance notice, was already waiting at the dock.

After the dinner, the old butler arranged for Flying Eagle and the others to check into the tavern and rest.

The next day, Henry inquired with William, the butler, about the current state of the family businesses. He suggested that Megan, who had returned with him the previous day, was a young woman with management talent and perhaps could be made the old butler's assistant to handle some matters. He then asked him to inquire about the land sales in the bandits' territory and the Quaker Bay area. He planned to buy the surrounding land and build a large estate with a dock.

Otherwise, it will be difficult to arrange accommodations as the number of people increases. While the Howling Wolf Gang still occupies the thief territory, and Guy Bay is too close for anyone to live there, it should be relatively easy to take over. Otherwise, once he eliminates the Howling Wolf Gang members from the thief territory, things will be unpredictable. That area has a very good geographical location. There are rivers, grasslands, and a ready-made dock.

Henry then went to the pharmacy's basement to see if the recipe for Lafayette's moonshine had been figured out by now.

When Henry saw Raphael, he almost didn't recognize him. The man in front of him was engrossed in adjusting the yellow liquid in his hands, his hair a mess, like a bird's nest upside down on his head, his clothes wrinkled and stained, and his face covered in stubble. He was completely unlike the neatly groomed apothecary he used to be.

"Rafedik, how long has it been since you had a proper rest? You need to take care of yourself."

Hearing someone call his name, Raphael gently put down the test tube, looked up, and upon seeing Henry, immediately exclaimed with delight:

"Young master, you're back! Come and try my carefully blended wine."

I have currently created two different flavored wines using different sweeteners and spices.

It has a fruity aroma, a smooth taste, an amber color, and a flavor similar to brandy.

Another flavor is a blend of corn and barley, with a sweet taste, golden color, and a whiskey-like flavor.

There are many other tastes in the experimental process, but they are only average compared to these two.

In addition, I also prepared two debittering agents, which were specially made for the two types of wine delivered to my door.

The brandy used to remove bitterness was made primarily from lemon juice blended with flavorings.

The main ingredient in that whiskey's debittering agent is a flavoring blend made from the leaves of a plant called Ophiopogon japonicus.

Henry didn't waste any words. He first rinsed his mouth with water, then picked up a small glass of brandy, a beautiful amber color. Bringing the glass close to his nose, he could smell a faint, vanilla-like aroma. He took a small sip; the taste was rich, full-bodied, and smooth, with a hint of sweetness and spiciness, and an intense fragrance.

I rinsed my mouth with water, then picked up a small glass of golden whiskey. Its color was pure, with no visible impurities. Upon tasting it, I found a sweet, grainy flavor and a rich, smooth texture.

"They both taste good, Lafayette, you did a great job. What was the cost of these two moonshines?"

"Because they are all blended liquors, their costs are very low. A large tank like this, which can dispense about 50 bottles, costs about $20, including $10 for alcohol, and $10 for flavorings, sweeteners, debittering agents, edible glycerin, thickeners, and other materials. So the cost per bottle is about 40 cents. Of course, the cost of the bottles and labor is separate."

"Very good. In that case, you don't need to spend any more time optimizing it. We'll just sell these two products. We'll go into the real business later. You should rest for a few days and then train a few trustworthy people to help you make flavorings, sweeteners, and debittering agents. Once you're free, you can set up your own laboratory. I have more important things for you to do then."

If you succeed, you will go down in history.