Zhu Wencong slowly opened his eyes, the sunlight somewhat dazzling, and the sounds around him somewhat noisy.
A group of people held pans, half-submerged in the river, carefully sifting through the mud for gold sand.
Even though the gold rush had passed quite some time ago, there were still many tirelessly pursuing the dream of striking it rich.
While Gold Mountain had not been found, Silver Mountain indeed existed; near the small town of Virginia, the Comstock Lode boasted the largest silver mine in America.
The so-called dream of gold mining was nothing more than an immigrant slogan, like a common trick to lull a child to sleep, often used by every immigrant nation.
As time passed and the initial enthusiasm waned, a large influx of outsiders settled down and started their lives locally.
A large population meant cheap labor, and an obscure small city rapidly rose from the ground.
"What are you daydreaming about? It's not easy to get a day off. You can't miss this precious time!" Luo Chu called out to Zhu Wencong.
"A few days ago, someone fished out a nugget weighing over three jin from this river!" Zhao Da smacked his lips.
"If I could find a nugget like that, I'd open a store in town and never have to work at that damned mint again!" Sun Ji said, looking up and fantasizing.
Zhu Wencong couldn't help but smile at their idle talk, thinking that the so-called dream of gold mining had turned out to be a tale of laborers.
If everyone went gold mining, how could San Francisco have been built? It didn't match the original intention of the immigrants.
"What are you laughing at?" Sun Ji asked.
"This is a wonderful era!" Zhu Wencong said with a mysterious expression.
"That poor scholar is showing off his literary prowess again!" Luo Chu curled his lip.
Zhu Wencong walked to the riverbank, set down his tools, and looked eye to eye with the people in the river.
A large group of free laborers engaged in almost zero-profit activities, this seemed like such a waste.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Do you want to get rich? Do you want to become wealthy overnight? Do you want to say goodbye to labor forever?
You might not believe what I'm about to say next, but the smart ones will listen to what I have to say, and they will embrace wealth." Zhu Wencong saw that everyone was quiet, pretending to be smart without speaking.
The dregs of society mixing in a foreign land were undoubtedly the dregs of society; as long as they could get money, they didn't care about decency or shame.
Everyone's path to wealth was ominous and mysterious, after all, everyone's money came from dubious sources, and it was an unspoken understanding between them all.
"I have a friend, and he has a friend who is a big boss. It just so happens that the boss wants to buy a gold mine.
He has given some shares to my friend, so now I have some shares of this Gold Mountain. I wonder if you are interested in owning some?
As my friend described, with the current rising price of gold, these shares are equivalent to a hen that lays golden eggs.
If calculated on a weekly basis, you could make a profit equal to one layer of your invested amount; 10 shillings become 11 shillings, or 14 shillings in a month," Zhu Wencong explained in detail.
The listeners were very serious, each calculating how much money they had in hand, considering putting it all in, and calculating how much interest they could eat in a month.
Zhu Wencong saw their expressions and knew there was hope. In the magical land of America, people had a huge craving for investments.
The American Dream, or rather the bankrupt dream, had given birth to countless tycoons on this miraculous land, and just as many penniless beggars.
Everyone believed in the prospect of getting rich overnight, and no one considered their future days because they always lived in the present.
"Almost half of your capital returned in a month's profits, are you not already satisfied?
I think it's far from enough. We are friends! And friends should earn big money together!
If you bring others into this, you earn 2 shillings per person, so for 10 people, you get a bonus of 1 British Pound!
Of course! The more they invest, the bigger the returns, and your rewards will similarly be increased!" Zhu Wencong raised a finger.
"Are the returns really that high?" Luo Chu couldn't believe it.
"Are you stupid? Those are shares of a gold mine, basically like we're holding nuggets of gold in our hands!" Sun Ji depicted.
Zhu Wencong didn't explain too much; his own people tended to have conservative thoughts and were afraid to take too many risks.
If this were explained to the American public, they wouldn't even think twice before paying up and simply waiting for the interest.
The descendants of immigrants possess a nature that is adventurous and greedy; otherwise, their ancestors would not have settled here.
"Tomorrow, you can find me, pay whatever you like for however many shares you want—you guys should know how shares work.
At the same time, I will show all sorts of certificates to everyone. This is a real and effective event, with rich profits available for just one month.
After one month, the shares will be forcefully redeemed. As for whether there will be any in the future, I can't say for certain.
Everything depends on those above. I am absolutely on your side; if there's any news, I'll definitely inform you," Zhu Wencong added.
"Only one month? Why so short?"
"Yeah! Can't the time be extended for a year? I could gather more capital that way."
"Are you guys silly? You could take back half the principal in just one month. This kind of investment is definitely short-term."
In a capitalist society, people are all too familiar with investment and capital operation; they naturally love taking risks.
Zhu Wencong watched Luo Chu quietly approach, his face filled with worry—obviously sensing something was off.
"Do you really have such a connection?" As Zhu Wencong's close friend, Luo Chu was well aware of his actual capabilities.
"If there's money on the ground, do you pick it up or not?" Zhu Wencong retorted.
"Of course I pick it up! Only a fool wouldn't! But where did you get these shares from?" Luo Chu didn't believe Zhu Wencong could just conjure up shares of a gold mine out of thin air.
Zhu Wencong pulled Luo Chu aside: "Come to my room tonight with the brothers, and we'll work through the night to make them.
Don't look so deceived, you're just suffering from a lack of education, not understanding at all.
I'll ask you one question, those owners of gold mines, silver mines, and copper mines, can they go bankrupt?"
"Yes, they can! The mine boss we followed before went bankrupt..." Luo Chu scratched his head.
"Exactly! Investing has its risks, one must be careful when entering the market.
We just need to pay the early interest, and later we can simply announce mismanagement, a break in the capital chain, and the boss jumping off a building," Zhu Wencong waved his hand dismissively.
Luo Chu's eyes widened in surprise, not expecting this twist—it was just like the life of their previous mine boss.
The mine boss acquired a copper mine through a series of dishonest acts, reaping the market's early profits before being played by the market into bankruptcy.
Luo Chu and his people were then sold off cheaply to work in the mint; the mine boss faced with insurmountable debt elected to go see God.
"Can this really work?" Luo Chu was still doubtful.
"What's that saying? 'To not make money when you can is to be a fool.' I can give you the interest; do you believe in me or not?" Zhu Wencong continued to question.
Luo Chu suddenly had an epiphany and couldn't help but give a thumbs-up; there's no limit to people's greed.
The dregs of society don't know how much they've lost at the gambling table, and losing one more time is nothing to them.
"In short, everyone believes they won't be the bagholder and that they can cash out at the peak.
We will reap the harvest at the peak, so working for a living is out of the question—reaping the harvest is the true path," Zhu Wencong patted Luo Chu on the shoulder.