Red Dead Redemption: The Great Philanthropist of the West

East, Charlotte, North Carolina.

This metropolis, which would later develop into the economic center of southeastern America, was at that time just a small town that had evolved from a trading post.

With the development of western China and the construction of railways, this area has gradually become an important transportation hub connecting the east and west, and a major trading center for agricultural products such as cotton and tobacco.

The bustling town of Charlotte, with its influx of visitors, has attracted many businessmen to invest in pubs and hotels, much like a magnet draws iron. Its convenient transportation has also brought its service industry in line with the bustling metropolises of the East, and even allowed visitors to find all sorts of trendy European innovations, such as the recently emerging cocktail culture.

As Arthur and Charles rode their beloved horses, with Little Finger driving the carriage, through this bustling town, intending to find an inn for the night, they suddenly heard a familiar song coming from a somewhat dilapidated tavern by the roadside.

"The young ladies from the dance school are dancing..."

"The minuet they learned..."

"Come on, let's get wild, drink as much as we want..."

"Let's revel to our hearts' content... The glasses are full, let's drink it all..."

......

Arthur and Charles exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of surprise and delight in each other's eyes. They hadn't expected to run into an old acquaintance they hadn't had time to say goodbye to before, in a foreign land.

The two men exchanged a gesture with their little fingers, preparing to pull over in front of the tavern.

After failing in his assassination attempt at the cruise ship poker tournament, Littlefinger was captivated by Henry's charm and resolutely decided to fake his death, leave his assassin organization, and join Henry's ranks under a new identity.

Henry naturally welcomed this. To ensure Littlefinger's loyalty and the safety of his family, on the day after the tournament ended, he sent the West's top marksman and top melee fighter to form a powerful duo. They followed Littlefinger and, before the Brotherhood could react, quietly returned to Littlefinger's home in New Jersey in the East, taking his family with them and preparing to escort them back to Blackwater to live and study.

To avoid leaking information and arousing suspicion from the Brotherhood's spies, they dared not travel by train and could only travel by horse-drawn carriage, a primitive method. The journey was arduous and exhausting. The men were used to it, but Little Finger's wife and daughters were not. The days of travel had left them very tired and in dire need of rest.

"Hey, old parasite, what are you doing here?"

Sure enough, when Arthur and Charles stepped into the bustling tavern, they saw the Western King of Backaches holding his beloved banjo, swallowing hard, 'enthusiastically' playing 'charming' little dirty tunes for the tavern patrons, trying to entice them to drink. Beside him, the bartender and waiters kept glancing at him, seemingly to prevent him from escaping.

Although Arthur was happy to see his long-lost uncle, his foul mouth remained as sharp as ever.

"Oh, Arthur! You can't do this."

“You’re a pitiful man, Arthur Morgan. But I know you love me.”

Meeting an old friend in a foreign land, the uncle was naturally overjoyed. Ignoring the bartender's glare and attempts to stop him, he immediately put down his banjo and rushed over, pulling Arthur and Charles to the bar. He hadn't had a proper drink in days and was really craving it.

Due to some unforeseen circumstances, he and Karen lost all their money. A few days ago, when they wandered into this tavern, they pretended to be rich and ate and dashed. If it weren't for the tavern owner finding his jokes and singing quite good and able to liven up the tavern's atmosphere, and letting him stay and perform as repayment for the drinks he owed the tavern, he would have been beaten up and thrown out onto the streets long ago.

"What are you looking at? Bring me the drinks! Quickly, bring me a bottle of whiskey and three mint liqueurs."

Seeing Arthur beside him, the middle-aged man felt emboldened and generously ordered the mint liqueur he had been longing for. He then grumbled at the displeased bartender. He figured Arthur would pay for it anyway; he knew Arthur wouldn't abandon him.

The bartender remained unmoved by the man's words: "Pay back the money for the drinks from the past few days first."

"How much money does this old bastard owe you?"

Arthur was helpless against this lazy, food-obsessed guy with a terrible backache; his heart was soft after all. It was a rare encounter here, and he didn't want to argue about it; he was already used to it.

"Including the whiskey and three glasses of mint liqueur I just mentioned, rounded down, the total is $152. Thank you for your patronage!"

"Wow! You're so funny."

Arthur was somewhat surprised by the price and looked speechlessly at the man. In this day and age, most workers toiled all day for a mere dollar. Good heavens, that would wipe out half a year's living expenses for an average family. If it weren't for the fact that they hadn't seen each other for so long and that Arthur had recently made a considerable amount of money with Henry, Arthur would have simply walked away.

"Sir, we are honest business partners."

"This mint liqueur is made with high-quality ingredients and has a refreshing and sweet taste. Even the Governor of New York State and the Vice Presidential candidate, Mr. Roosevelt, loved it. In major cities in the East, it often sells for tens of dollars a glass, but here it's only $15 a glass, which is a super affordable price."

"Well, it's only a few dozen dollars, isn't it?" Arthur, having tried the sidecar cocktail in Rhodes, knew that the price was indeed reasonable. He didn't care about what big shots liked or anything like that.

When the bartender heard Arthur's words, he didn't refute them, but looked at the uncle and let him explain it himself.

"Ahem, Arthur. Karen and I got a bit tipsy that day, we drank too much, and...we even...ordered some...special services..."

Arthur: "......."

Arthur looked at the uncle's stubble-covered face, the color of which was hard to discern whether he was blushing or not, and shook his head helplessly. He reluctantly paid the bartender. Luckily, Henry had given him a considerable amount of 'travel expenses' for this trip; otherwise, with his secret stash of money already managed by Mary, he wouldn't have been able to afford this sum.

“You have to pay me back when you get back; this is Henry’s money.”

"Oh no, you've changed, Arthur. You never used to care about these things..." The uncle didn't care that Arthur was actually asking him to pay back the money; he just made a few empty groans on the surface. As a long-time freeloader in the gang, he was experienced enough that no one could get a single penny from him.

"Stop howling, where's Karen? Isn't she with you?"