Dutch, along with Arthur, left Valentine content and returned to his ranch.
The reason Valentine required his personal attention was because it would be his base of operations before heading to Guarma, and also a crucial location for his foray into the arms industry.
At the very least, he had to ensure that the entire Valentine was under his absolute control.
The year 1899 was perfect; World War I had not yet broken out, and the world's wealth was still accumulating, especially with not too much Jewish capital within the United States. At least Little Mustache had not yet entered the fray, and Europe was still their comfort zone, so there was still potential for rise during this period.
Of course, Dutch's idea was not to destroy them; there was no meaning in that, because if one was destroyed, another would emerge. As long as humanity was not extinct, capitalists could not be eradicated.
His personal idea was to center around Dutch Van der Linde, to gather a new consortium with Dutch Van der Linde as the supreme mastermind, to replace the so-called Anglo-Saxon consortiums or Jewish consortiums.
Or rather, to become them.
And the arms industry in 1899 was also just starting. At this point, the leading firearms companies in the United States were Winchester and Colt.
Winchester was a bit more impressive, producing millions of light weapons for the United States Government and individuals, making it the current company operating through official channels.
Colt was more inclined towards civilian use.
As for the major American arms companies of today, none had yet been established. The only one that had been founded was General Dynamics, coincidentally in 1899.
Therefore, Dutch's actions were not late at all.
Dutch and Arthur returned to Hope and Happiness Ranch, just in time to see a carriage pulling lumber heading their way.
"Hey, Dutch!" John, sitting on the carriage, greeted Dutch, then jumped down from the carriage.
He wasn't the only one on the carriage; there were also employees from the lumber mill who had come with the vehicle.
"Hello, sir." The employees followed John and bowed to Dutch and Arthur.
Dutch waved his hand, then looked at John as he approached.
"Oh, Marston, why are there only two of you? Where's Hosea?" Arthur asked, casually tying his horse's reins to the hitching post.
"Hosea went to find workers. You know, we ordered quite a few houses this time, and greenhouses. We can't assemble them quickly on our own."
John greeted Arthur in response.
Then he pointed to the carriage behind him and said, "This is just the first batch of lumber. Subsequent lumber will be delivered by this gentleman. He just came along with me this time to learn the route."
"Oh, well, sir, thank you for your help. Now you can go back and transport new lumber." Dutch smiled, stepped forward, and pulled five dollars in tip from his pocket, handing it to the young man transporting the lumber, which instantly energized the young man.
"Oh, sir, esteemed sir, please rest assured, I will definitely select the newest and strongest lumber for you! This cart of lumber isn't too good, don't worry, I'll take it back right now and exchange it for a fresh cart for you!"
The young man was overjoyed; five dollars in tip was equivalent to ten days of his wages! It could even allow him to have a nice drink at the tavern, then hire a girl, stay a few nights in a fragrant hotel, and even get a free, fragrant bath with someone to scrub him!
He immediately rode his carriage back.
John watched this scene dumbfounded. He scratched his head and said awkwardly, "Dutch, I... I didn't know it would be like this. I don't understand lumber, and I'm not very good at communicating, you know."
"Oh, of course I know, Marston. Not only do you not understand lumber, you can't swim, and your horsemanship isn't that great either. I once had a little donkey that couldn't talk either. Oh, Marston? Did I break your heart?" Before Dutch could speak, Arthur spoke up, cheerfully mocking John a few times.
The sarcasm of the Arthur was as powerful as ever, and John's face turned red from Arthur's taunts.
"Fuck! Arthur." Tongue-tied John could only endure the slight loss.
Dutch smiled, listening to their bickering, then strode towards the wooden cabin in the ranch.
"Ms. Grimshaw, oh, you've kept the camp very beautiful. I think we could perhaps plant some vegetables in front of our door as embellishment, what do you think?"
----
Life at the camp had fully settled into a routine.
Led by Hosea, with the assistance of other personnel, the wooden cabins in the ranch were built exceptionally quickly.
In fact, the American Homestead Act of 1899 had not changed much. In order to seize Indian land, the Homestead Act at that time was exceptionally lenient.
That is, as long as you paid the state a ten-dollar registration fee or reported it, you could privately choose an unclaimed area to build your house, and after the house was built, the 160 acres of land around your house would all become your legal property.
The land around the estates Dutch purchased was actually unclaimed, so he could freely expand the scope of his ranch.
But there was no need for that now.
Under the onslaught of money, wooden houses and sheds were built exceptionally quickly. A labor force of nearly a hundred people took only three days to build ten large wooden cabins that could house twenty people each, along with five large wooden sheds.
These wooden sheds were all based on livestock sheds, just lacking fences and troughs.
Although using wooden sheds as factory buildings was a bit rudimentary, it was quick and cheap.
Dutch was now racing against time; everything had to be fast, fast, and faster.
The so-called wooden cabins that could accommodate twenty people also adopted a partitioned form; one wooden cabin had twenty rooms, so it could accommodate twenty people.
And the size of each room was a full six square meters, which not only allowed a woman to put down a bed and sleep but also provided them with extra space to store personal belongings or use as a private relaxation area.
Do not underestimate these so-called six-square-meter rooms; in this era, having your own room when working for others was simply unimaginable.
In late 19th century Britain, various rope beds, sitting beds, and even coffin beds were famous.
They would hang a rope for drying clothes and charge you a penny to sleep on it. They would give you a spot where you could sit and sleep for two pence, and giving you a small coffin-like board where you couldn't even lie flat to sleep was even more expensive, four pence.
So, this six-square-meter cabin could be considered a paradise. Even renting such a room would cost five to ten dollars a month.
Male laborers in Valentine either slept in the cattle pens or found an empty spot to lie down for the night; those ranch owners would never give you a so-called personal room.
It was only because John's ability was recognized back then; otherwise, his family of three would have had to sleep in the cattle pen.
Therefore, just this accommodation environment and provided meals alone would likely have countless women scrambling to come work, even if there was no salary.
And if you add a monthly salary of twenty-five dollars, then this Hope and Happiness Ranch will truly become a happy paradise.