Time passed slowly, and in the blink of an eye, two days had passed since returning from Saint Denis.
During these two days, Sean was rescued, and the camp was directly moved to Hope Happiness Ranch, located between Strawberry and Valentine.
These two days felt like a dream to the gang members, almost unbelievable.
No one could have imagined that the Van der Linde Gang could transform from a constantly migrating gang life to settled, normal people in just two days.
Or rather, they couldn't imagine that the stable life they had always pursued was truly within their grasp.
The entire Hope Happiness Ranch occupies a vast area, four hundred acres, which is roughly the size of a typical university; at the very least, it's entirely sufficient for establishing an industrial zone.
At the center of these four hundred acres stood a large ranch house. Although it looked a bit old, its immense size was enough to accommodate all members of the Van der Linde Gang.
"Creak!" The wooden door was pushed open, and Arthur emerged from his room.
As the gang's third-in-command, a child raised by Dutch and Hosea since childhood, and the gang's top combatant, Arthur's room was in an excellent location: right next to the main entrance, in the center of the hall, with a double-door design allowing direct exit from the house or direct access to the hall.
"Oh, unbelievable." Arthur rubbed his hazy, just-woken eyes, looking around the hall and still expressing his astonishment.
It was unbelievable that he would wake up one day not in a camp, without the annoying noise, but instead to a tidy hall.
This truly made him a bit unaccustomed.
"Hey, Arthur, good morning." John walked out of his room in his pajamas, his long hair disheveled, and raised a hand to greet Arthur.
"Unbelievable, we actually moved into a house. Oh, Abigail was happy all night, it's truly unbelievable how much energy that woman has."
John yawned with emotion. He was a bit more straightforward; although he also felt emotional, he didn't have Arthur's delicate sensibilities.
After a sigh, he walked to the dining table in the hall, picked up a cigarette from the table, and lit it.
"Yes, John, unbelievable." Arthur was filled with emotion, and at the same time, he was exceptionally excited.
With such a vast ranch, he was formally decoupling from the outlaw life, and he could write to Mary with sufficient confidence.
"Hey, Arthur." Mary-Beth walked out of her room in her pajamas, yawning as she greeted Arthur.
"Mary-Beth." Arthur nodded.
As the door to the best-located room on the other side of the hall opened, Dutch, fully dressed, also emerged.
"Hey, Arthur, how is it? Doesn't it feel wonderful to open your eyes and not see a tent?" Dutch took the cigarette John handed him, a wide smile on his face.
"No smell of horse manure, no mosquito bites, no noisy sounds, Arthur, John, our lives are getting better step by step, aren't they?"
Arthur nodded: "Yes, Dutch, and no Micah's disgusting voice, I really feel our lives have returned to quiet."
"Heh heh heh, alright, boys, go wake everyone else up. Our progress cannot stop because of changes in our lives."
Dutch sat on the living room sofa, smoking and crossing his legs. Arthur and John got up to wake the others.
Before long, the living room was crowded with people.
"Oh my goodness, this house is so comfortable to live in. The temperature here is just right, and the house doesn't feel damp. This is so much better than Horseshoe Overlook!" Karen exclaimed about the house's wonder, leisurely circling the living room.
"You're right, Karen, living in this house makes me feel so much better." Reverend Swanson said with emotion; he had just spent the only night that wasn't so intoxicated.
"Dutch, oh, Dutch! I don't believe it, I can't imagine, I was only captured for a little over a month, and you've already bought a house, oh, this is truly wonderful, ha ha ha ha, oh, I really love it here, right, Karen...?" Sean, who had been rescued and stayed for one night, had already started shouting with his big mouth, causing laughter from the surrounding crowd.
David looked at him and scoffed: "Oh, Sean, yesterday I heard your voice only lasted for about three minutes, boy, if you're sick, you should go see a doctor, don't drag it out!"
"Ha ha ha ha, Sean, my pinky finger is stronger than you!" Mac laughed heartily, making Sean angry and ashamed.
"Alright, gentlemen, let's not mock our Mr. Sean anymore, he has grown up, hasn't he, Karen?"
Dutch, as a gang leader, was exceptionally fair, but Sean wished he could run back now and let the bounty hunters take him to Saint Denis to be hanged.
Seeing everyone's spirits lifted, Dutch waved his hand and said loudly: "Alright, gentlemen, gather around. We are about to begin the next phase of our plan. I consider all of you officially part of the gang, so please concentrate and listen to me."
With Dutch's instructions, Mr. Trelawny also followed the group to the camp and stayed there last night; Dutch specifically cleared a room for him.
Mr. Trelawny was a scoundrel, skilled in all sorts of trickery and deceit, and exceptionally well-informed. Such a person was very useful, at least much better than the incommunicative lunkheads in the gang.
Therefore, Mr. Trelawny was a crucial part of Dutch's development plan, and his loyalty had already been demonstrated in the story.
As for the more loyal Strauss, Dutch planned to put him in charge of the gang's finances.
Watching everyone gather, either sitting or standing, and fall silent, Dutch stood up.
"Gentlemen, ladies. The past month has been extremely difficult for us, but that is all behind us now. I promised all of you a bright future, and that future, we must fight for together.
The tide of civilization has arrived, and outlaws have reached their end. If we continue our previous ways of burning, killing, and looting without change, what awaits us will inevitably be bullets from so-called justice.
So, gentlemen, we are going to change professions! Currently, my plan is to establish a clothing factory, then use the money and connections gained from the clothing factory to secure the usage rights to Guarma, and finally establish our arms base on Guarma, extensively recruit fighters, and sell weapons overseas. This will ensure our safety is fully guaranteed by the barrel of a gun, so that even if we go into cities with the charge of being wanted criminals, those so-called Pinkerton Detectives, so-called capitalists, and even congressmen will have to treat us with utmost respect!
Gentlemen, ladies, America is a capitalist society. Here, countless sums of money represent immense capital, but similarly, a colossal fist capable of smashing America with one punch is also immense capital. Therefore, we must become this fist, seizing countless sums of money! So, from now on, our enemies will shift from overt to covert, from mere police and Pinkerton Detectives to high-and-mighty rich men, politicians, and even congressmen. But crisis and hope coexist, and I believe that under my leadership, we will surely become the most enormous capital!"