Red Dead Redemption: The Great Philanthropist of the West

As soon as Henry left the tavern, he ran into Zhang Wei, who had just returned from the post office. However, Zhang Wei and Kieran were not the only ones with him; Paul, who had just come from Blackwater, and his entourage were also there.

“Paul, you’ve come at the right time. There’s something here that I need you to do.”

Henry was pleased to see Paul arrive so quickly. He led them to a large private room on the second floor of the tavern, had food brought over, and then told him about Valentine's situation and the cooperation with the police. He also handed over the acquisition of Valentine's Tavern, the establishment of an intelligence agency, and the bootlegging channels to him, and then became a hands-off manager again.

"Boss, you can't exploit your employees like this. I haven't even arrived yet, and you've already planned so many things for me."

Upon hearing Henry's arrangements, Paul's expression, which had been happily devouring meat, froze instantly, replaced by a look of utter despair. He had originally thought that his trip would simply involve assisting Henry and having some sightseeing along the way.

"Work hard, and you won't be treated unfairly. After these busy months are over, I'll give you a break and let you travel to a big city in the East at public expense for a while to broaden your horizons." Henry skillfully painted a rosy picture for Paul.

"By the way, why are you the only one here? Where's Ashley?"

“We split up. I brought some people here to assist you, boss, while Ashley took some people to Emerald Ranch to help Li Yi and the others.”

"Boss, we just received a message from Li Yi at the post office. He said that the acquisition of Emerald Ranch is not going smoothly. The rancher of Emerald Ranch has joined forces with several nearby farmers to resist the entry of outside capital."

Zhang Wei joined the conversation at the right time, telling Henry about the information he had received from the post office.

Henry thought for a moment and decided to go to Emerald Ranch himself. He'd just finished handling things with Paul and had nothing to do for the time being, so he figured he might as well go and see the vast plains of the Heart of the Earth.

So, in the afternoon, Henry brought Paul to the Valentine Police Station, introduced him to Inspector Malloy, and told Paul that he was his representative in Valentine and that Paul would be in full charge of the tavern from now on.

After sending Paul off to do his work, Henry and Malloy chatted in his office about Eugene, the rancher of Emerald Ranch.

“Eugene Rancher is actually a member of the Valentine Community Council, but his relationship with the other council members is just so-so. The Emerald Ranch area has multiple ranches and farms. Although it is nominally under the jurisdiction of Valentine, it is actually about to break away from Valentine and develop into an independent town.

Eugene, as the largest rancher in the area, wielded considerable influence. Other ranchers and farm owners respected him and rarely dared to offend him.

However, I've heard that he has a bad reputation and has done a lot of bad things. He's not only domineering but also vulgar. I just don't have any evidence, otherwise I would have arrested him long ago.

Henry, why are you asking him? If you're going over there on business, you'd better not offend him, or things will get very difficult.

Henry didn't immediately answer Malloy's question. He slowly picked up his coffee, blew away the foam, and took a small sip.

"If, I mean if, I find evidence of his crime and accidentally kill him, what would you do?"

Malloy was startled by Henry's words. He never expected that this seemingly refined young man would actually be so ruthless.

“No need, no need, Henry. If you have evidence of his crimes, give it to me, and I will personally lead the men to arrest him. I guarantee he will receive a fair trial and I will not let him escape.”

"What if he resisted during my arrest and was accidentally shot and injured?"

Henry placed two $50 bills and his bounty hunter license on the table and pushed them toward Sheriff Malloy.

Sheriff Malloy picked up Henry's bounty hunter license and examined it closely, surprised that Henry was indeed a high-ranking bounty hunter. After placing the license back in front of Henry, he quietly pocketed the $100 on the table.

“If that’s the case, then there’s no problem at all. But Henry, you need to make sure the evidence is solid. I’ll give you a blank arrest warrant to sign in a bit; you might need it, just in case.”

"Thank you so much, Sheriff. I'll bring you a bottle of this rare gem when I get back so you can have a good taste."

.......

The following morning, Henry met up with Zhang Wei, Kieran, and Arthur at the Valentine Post Office.

Henry found the uncle who had finished his hot coffee at the Saints Hotel last night and asked him to go back and inform him that there was a $200 commission and to see if Arthur was interested.

The result was obvious. Arthur arrived very early in the morning.

As for threats and murders, Henry felt it was safer to let his older cousin handle it; after all, he already had enough lives on his hands, so one more wouldn't make a difference.

The group rode their horses and soon arrived at Emerald Ranch, where they met Li Yi and the Adler couple in a run-down inn. They exchanged warm greetings.

After a simple lunch, Henry inquired about Li Yi's situation.

“We had almost reached an agreement with the owner of the Gasri Farm. We offered a price that was 20% higher than the market price, and the Gasri Farm owner was very satisfied with the price and was also willing to sell the farm.”

However, when we went back the next day to sign the contract and complete the formalities, he changed his mind and decisively refused us.

We asked him why, but he wouldn't say. It wasn't until we made inquiries from various sources and finally bribed a farmer that we learned that, besides us, Eugene, the rancher of Emerald Ranch, had also approached Gasri that night. We don't know what they talked about.

When we went to other farms/ranches later, we were all refused meetings, and the enthusiasm of the first time was gone.

Henry tapped the table, pondering why Eugene had interfered. Logically, his purchase of the farm shouldn't have affected his ranch business; in fact, expanding the farm business could attract more customers, bringing him additional benefits.

"Have you found out why Eugene is blocking us? And what about Ashley? Where is he?"

"We are still investigating the cause, but the residents are very afraid of Eugene and dare not tell us the news, which puts us in a passive position and slows down the progress."

Ashley learned about the situation last night and said he would figure something out. Then, early this morning, he rushed out with a group of people. He didn't say what they were going to do, and they haven't returned yet.

“Zhang Wei, you and Kieran stay here with Sadie and wait for Ashley. When he returns, have him wait for me here. Li Yi, Arthur, and I will go out for a walk and gather some information.”

"Okay, boss." x2