Red Dead Redemption: The Great Philanthropist of the West

Henry and Megan walked down the street. Ever since he rescued the little girl from Beaver Rock Cave, she had been studying very hard, especially recently as his assistant to the old butler. The old butler praised her for being very talented and quick to learn, saying that with more experience she would soon be able to work independently.

Henry brought her out this time to give her some experience and let her go to the building materials market to learn about the market. Henry needs to find someone to design the estate in Quaker Bay and build it up as soon as possible.

As for Henry, he planned to first find Oswald Dunbar, the police chief of Blackwater, to discuss Deputy Sheriff Grant's case and the bootlegging business. To this end, he spent a considerable amount of time searching through his two remaining boxes of jewelry, finally finding an expensive watch—a Swiss-made Reutlinger pocket watch, worth at least $155, and still unavailable. He had originally intended to buy one on the black market in Saint Denis. However, he was short on time, so he remembered his two boxes of jewelry and started searching, unexpectedly finding a pleasant surprise.

Henry, dressed in a suit and carrying a top hat, arrived at the police station in the center of town. After explaining his purpose to the officers, they led him to the chief's office.

“Director Dunbar, hello. I’m Henry Allen, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Mr. Allen, there’s no need for introductions. I’ve heard quite a bit about you lately. Not only did you buy Old Capo’s tavern, but a couple of days ago you also spent a fortune to buy Beecher’s Wish and Quaker Bay. You’re quite accomplished for your age. I know your father, and I have some connections with old Allen. So, what brings you here today?”

Seeing that Chief Dunbar still remembered his father's old friendship, Henry relaxed considerably. He pushed the prepared Reutlinger pocket watch onto the table in front of him. Sure enough, Chief Dunbar's eyes lit up. He had the urge to pick it up, but he controlled himself well. He was all alone here, without a family, and his greatest hobby in life was collecting fine watches. He had already collected all the fine watches in the surrounding area, and now it was difficult to find a fine watch nearby. But this one in front of him was a masterpiece he had never seen before.

"Chief Dunbar, I'm thinking of starting a bootlegging business. What do you think, Chief?" Hearing Henry's request, Chief Dunbar felt relieved and picked up his pocket watch to examine it closely. Bootlegging wasn't a big deal for the police department; as long as there was no trouble and no one died, it was fine. They were only responsible for maintaining order. Selling bootlegging, while illegal, was the business of the bootlegging detectives, not their department. The Howling Wolf Gang had been selling bootlegging in Blackwater before, but the bribes they received were too small for them to do so openly.

"Oh, how big of a bootlegging business are you planning to get into? I remember the Howling Wolf Gang is doing it too. Aren't you afraid of getting into a conflict with them?"

The police department had always known that the Howling Wolf Gang was making bootleggings in Thieves Territory, but Thieves Territory belonged to New Austin and was not under West Elizabeth's jurisdiction, so they couldn't be bothered to do anything about it.

Hearing this, Henry knew that his plan had basically succeeded.

"To be honest, I wiped out the bandits in Thieves' Territory last night, and it's now mine. So there won't be any more bootlegging by the Howling Wolf Gang here. I've also sent someone to New Austin to buy it out, so Thieves' Territory is now my legal territory."

"You destroyed the Howling Wolf Gang's stronghold in the thieves' territory. According to my intelligence, there were at least 20 armed bandits there."

"Looks like I underestimated you. If you want to run a bootlegging business, that's not impossible. I wonder how much of a kickback you're planning to give to our police station." Dunbar was surprised by Henry's capabilities, even stopping his observation of his pocket watch.

"In reality, there were 30 bandits, none of whom escaped, including Wajin Arroyo, one of the leaders of the Howling Wolf Gang." A necessary demonstration of strength is still necessary; business negotiations are only successful when both sides are of equal status.

"I can donate $500 to the police department every month. How it's distributed is up to you, Chief. I can also provide drinks; each officer can have two free drinks a day at my pub, and sergeants can have two bottles. As for you, Chief, drink as much as you want, just don't take it out of the pub. What do you think, Chief?" After demonstrating his strength, Henry then displayed his considerable wealth. Keep in mind, the Howling Wolf Gang only contributed less than $100 a month. Of course, the money wasn't free; Henry needed the police department's protection. He didn't intend to sell it secretly.

If the entire police department is implicated, what can the bootlegging detectives do even if they arrive? The local police department can even ban them from entering, stripping them of their local law enforcement authority. (In the United States, local governments are autonomous. The president has no jurisdiction over governors, and governors have no jurisdiction over mayors or town mayors. Each state makes its own laws and regulations. They are only responsible to their constituents, not to the president or governors. Even if they oppose the president, the president can do nothing about it. For example, a few years ago, the mayor of Washington, D.C., directly criticized Trump and personally participated in protests, giving a hard-hitting radio interview and threatening him: "Don't forget whose territory you're on!" Besides this, many other governors have also criticized him. The autonomy of American states is very large; it's not an exaggeration to say they are semi-independent.)

Dunbar was delighted to hear Henry's generosity; after all, who wouldn't want to earn more? Leaving aside the $500 monthly commission, the daily free drinks alone were a fatal temptation for the officers. Given their salaries, it was difficult to afford alcohol every day. Ordinary dockworkers sometimes had to save up for five days to buy a single bottle.

"In principle, I agree, and I will also have the police take care of the security in your area. However, you need to ensure that your alcohol is safe and that no one dies from drinking it. In addition, if the quality of your alcohol is poor or you don't sell it well, you can't reduce your monthly share. After all, I also need to share the profits with others; it's not up to me to make the decisions."

"Don't worry about that, Director. The quality of the wine will definitely be good, and the monthly quota we give you will only increase, not decrease."

“Then there’s no problem. We’ve had a good working relationship. Remember what you said.” Hearing that there could be more, Chief Dunbar felt he should tell the officers to give Henry’s business extra attention later, so as not to upset this money-making machine.

"It's been a pleasure working with you, Chief Dunbar. This is this month's quota (it was now January 1899). Also, I'd like to recommend someone for the position of deputy sheriff. I wonder if you can arrange it? Of course, this person's background is clean. He was previously the sheriff of Annesburg, but came to join me for some reason." With that, Henry took out five hundred-dollar bills and placed them on the table, then pulled out two more and placed them beside him.

Dunbar looked at the money in front of him. "No problem, as long as he really is as you say, and you want to arrange for him to go to that district, the East End where your tavern is located?"

“No, I want him to go to the South District, where there are the poorest people and the most chaos. It’s easier to achieve results there. What do you say, Chief?” Henry had done his research beforehand. The South District sheriff was no good. He took bribes from the local gangs and tacitly allowed them to oppress the poor. Once Grant had established himself, he could find a way to get rid of him and make it easier for Grant to take over.

“No problem. If it’s the more affluent East District, I’ll have to find a way to transfer some personnel. If it’s the South District, I can just assign them there. There’s not much to gain there, and no police officers want to go. Just have someone come and report to me tomorrow.”

"Alright, I won't disturb the chief's work any longer. I hope our business grows bigger and bigger." Henry gave the chief a knowing look and walked out of the police station.