I was the Founding Father of the United States

Chapter 25 The Basic Base Attempt

After the welcoming ceremony at the cemetery's underground grounds concluded, the group did not linger. After welcoming Chen Wenbin, they all left on horseback or in carriages.

These people were mostly shareholders of Providence United Industries, and they had plenty of opportunities to deal with Chen Wenbin; they didn't have to hide in the basement of the tomb.

As for Reverend Johnson, Chen Wenbin, and Benjamin Franklin, who had changed into Chen Wenbin's spare clothes, they all rode back to the city in Governor Hopkins' carriage.

The atmosphere inside the carriage was quite strange. Old Fu was sullen and didn't say a word, while the governor sitting next to him simply closed his eyes. Only Reverend Jensen's gaze swept across the two men's faces, and finally he gestured to Chen Wenbin with his eyes to say something.

Faced with his old friend's urging, Chen Wenbin had no choice but to apologize to the old man, saying, "...Dear Benjamin! I really didn't mean to! You know, my eyes were covered, and I couldn't see anything..."

However, this statement was hardly convincing, and even Reverend Jason couldn't help but chuckle, saying, "Robin, lying to a friend is not a gentleman's thing to do..."

"All right!"

Chen Wenbin shrugged and readily admitted, "Who told Benjamin to want to embarrass me? I can't just let him have his way just because he's thirty years older than me, can I?"

He's not my dad!

"...I'm old enough to be your grandfather! Young man!"

Old Fu was successfully provoked, and he almost spat in Chen Wenbin's face!

"I've never made such a fool of myself in my entire life! And it happened during the new member recruitment ceremony!"

"God! Coming to Providence was a mistake! Knowing you was a mistake too!!"

Chen Wenbin knew that the old man wasn't really angry, otherwise he definitely wouldn't have ridden in the same carriage as him, so he pursed his lips and said:

"...Is the knowledge of electromagnetism also wrong? Dear Benjamin, then don't come to observe my electromagnetism experiment tomorrow!"

Sure enough, the old man's anger instantly plummeted. He pointed at Chen Wenbin, trembling, and said, "You're threatening me! You bastard! You're taking advantage of my curiosity about knowledge!"

"Say what you want!"

Chen Wenbin picked at his fingernails and said casually, "I happen to have an idea for using electricity to move objects. I was originally planning to publish it first in the Pennsylvania Gazette, but since you don't want that, I'll put it in the Boston Gazette instead!"

The Pennsylvania Gazette was a business founded by Franklin and his partners, and it remains one of his two main sources of income (the other being his real estate rental business in Philadelphia). It is said to generate thousands of pounds in dividends annually, and Franklin is willing to do anything that can enhance the influence of The Pennsylvania Gazette.

"snort!"

The old man snorted, "Where you choose to publish your paper is your own business!"

She's quite arrogant!

Chen Wenbin smiled and said no more. The old fat man had been like this the previous two times. The first day, he insisted that Chen Wenbin's understanding of electricity was incorrect and slammed the door and left. Then the next day, he acted as if nothing had happened and shamelessly came back to continue the discussion.

This guy's shamelessness completely shattered Chen Wenbin's perception of scientists, so he didn't tolerate him at all.

If you are smarter, more knowledgeable, or even have a higher status than him, this guy will definitely be a sycophant.

Of course, if he drains you of your knowledge or completely manipulates you, then you'll understand what Benjamin Franklin-style arrogance and perfunctory attitude really means...

For example, this guy usually doesn't care about his wife and is very stingy with her, but he has many mistresses. He spends most of his money on investments and his mistresses. When his wife writes to him begging for money to help with household expenses, his reaction is to reply with sweet words and not give a penny... This is no secret in the upper circles of New England.

Therefore, being a scientist and having good character are not necessarily the same thing, and we should never deify anyone.

……

That afternoon, Chen Wenbin summoned two guards named Coleman and Shelby, and with three Pennsylvania flintlock muskets and sabers, rode to the spinning machine factory on the banks of the Providence River.

As the three approached the wooden fence surrounding the factory, a team of four mounted security guards came to meet them. The young rider in the lead, wearing a cavalry hat, was none other than Anthony Rodri, the security captain appointed by Chen Wenbin.

Unsurprisingly, Anthony was also a former sailor from the USS Jenna.

He, along with David, Benjamin, Andrew (the manager of the textile machinery factory), and Chris (who oversees Robin Estate), form the five managers of his current business.

Compared to strangers, these five young sailors whose lives were saved by Chen Wenbin may be somewhat inexperienced in terms of ability, but their loyalty and reliability far surpass others.

The families of these five young sailors, along with the adult sailors Martin Walter, Blake Watson, and Jackson Henry whom he had treated, formed a middle management team. They were relatively trustworthy, but not capable of wielding power alone.

As for the most basic workers in the spinning machine manufacturing plant, employees of Robin Farm, and members of the security team, Chen Wenbin personally interviewed and recruited them.

Apart from a number of technical positions that required English, German, and French workers, the remaining non-technical positions were filled half by local Baptist parishioners and the other half by indentured laborers from Ireland.

Chen Wenbin spent some extra pounds to buy their contracts, then built dormitories for them to live in at the factory and farm, and promised to give them at least one hundred acres of land and two-story houses of their own in the future...

This isn't just empty talk; Chen Wenbin genuinely intends to build a new city near Potakite on the upper reaches of the Providence River to house employees of Providence United Industries.

These Irish people were not well-regarded by the British lords in England because of their Catholic faith and other factors. They were treated like expendable resources and beasts of burden. The situation was no better in the New World. They were also forced to work for the lords according to contracts. Ironically, these white Irish indentured laborers in New England lived in worse conditions than black slaves!

This is not hard to understand. In theory, black slaves were the property and tools of their masters. If they died due to poor care, the masters would lose money. But the Irish were different. First, they were easy to run away and quit. Second, they were free when their contracts expired. So the masters in the New World simply did not invest too much in the Irish to avoid losing money.

However, in the southern colonies such as Virginia, the Irish overseers on the plantations certainly had a higher status than the black slaves. Therefore, Irish indentured laborers in New England would often try to escape south to the southern colonies such as Virginia to make a living.

Chen Wenbin needs his own base of support to maintain his social influence. In addition to binding the upper echelons of the colonies with interests, he also needs support from the grassroots.

Irish indentured laborers were ostracized by the British elite, yet they needed stable jobs and a future. Therefore, Chen Wenbin chose to try to gather these people together to prepare for the future.

After all, many of the things he will do in the future are not in Britain's interest.