“What’s your name?”
“Chahong.”
“I am Colin, Sheriff of the mines. Any casualties?”
Cha Hong looked back and asked in Chinese.
As everyone shook their heads, Cha Hong opened his mouth again.
“There are no injuries other than the two bodies.”
“But who is the leader here?”
“Ah, if you are a leader.”
Cha Hong’s gaze turned to the man behind him.
The man with sharp eyes seemed to be falling behind because he couldn’t speak English.
“What is the author’s name?”
“It’s Houpang.”
When his name was mentioned, Hu Fang’s eyes narrowed even further.
“It will not be easy to find a place to stay since it is winter, so I will guide you.”
Cha Hong told Hu Fang what Colin said.
After tilting his head for a moment, Houpang gave his group some brief instructions, and the people sighed in relief as they boarded the carriage.
As Colin watched them finish preparing, he noticed a woman who looked unwell.
He was pale and his lips were quivering, as if he would stop breathing at any moment.
“You seem to be in a lot of pain?”
“If you warm up your body a little, you’ll be fine.”
“Well, it’s not that far from here, so hold on tight.”
Colin led the way, followed by a procession of carriages.
The troops escorted the Chinese on the left and right and led them into battle.
*
Bang! Bang!
Knock knock, knock knock.
“Hold the pillar straight! The angle is wrong!”
“That’s because the floor is packed weirdly! Dig a little more there!”
The carriage procession cut through the construction site and headed toward the heart of Juntu. The women who had been looking out of the cargo hold to see the scenery quickly put their heads back when they made eye contact with the white men.
“Fuck, those are Asians?”
“What, the coolie kids are here already?”
30,000 Chinese people flock to California.
It’s no wonder white people are wary.
“Because of those things, our share will be reduced again.”
“Anyway, when winter ends, everyone will gather here and there. So what?”
It seems that they are not aware that they are among those idiots. They think that they are different even though they are digging in the bare ground instead of digging in the gold mine.
Colin led the Chinese into a large tent.
“It’s not free, so don’t get too excited.”
“Oh, how much do we have to pay? We have prepared a tent, too.”
“Do you think there’s a place to pitch a tent? And it’ll be safer if we stay here.”
“It’s so central, I think it’ll stand out.”
As Cha Hong said, the attention of the white people working on the construction site was focused on the Chinese.
It felt like I was being attacked just by looking at them.
Colin shrugged and asked.
“When did you come to America?”
“It’s been six years.”
“But you still don’t get it? Where you can see is where you’re safe. Be thankful for their consideration.”
‘I don’t know why it has to be like this, but···.’
Only then did Cha Hong take off his hat and bow.
It was a typical Chinese appearance, with a prominent forehead and long hair tied back in a braid.
“If you don’t have enough tents, you can pitch them next to each other. By the way, this area is all owned by a mining company. If there’s anything special going on, come to the sheriff’s office.”
“……”
Colin returned to his office after ordering two of his men to watch.
After hearing the situation from Cha Hong, Hu Fang spoke to his group.
“Everyone, get off the carriage and bring your luggage. We will be staying in this tent for the time being.”
“Can you trust them?”
“What if I don’t trust you? (What if I don’t trust you?) I’ve let you off the hook so far, but if you start spitting on me from now on, I won’t let you off easy.”
The group flinched at Houpang’s words and avoided eye contact as they headed toward the carriage.
While unloading and moving the luggage into the tent, Hu Fang called out to a woman in her late twenties.
“Yang Yan, you take care of yourself. When I die, I will send you away with me. Know this. (You take care of Yang Yan. When I die, I will send you away with me. Know this.)”
The woman made an annoyed face and quickly disappeared into the tent.
Houpang, who had been staring at the back of the head, snorted and turned his head to the west.
Long mountain ridges and towering peaks.
It’s been a full month and twenty days since we arrived at Pikes Peak Mine.
There were about 50 people when they left, but five died on the way back, including a woman.
‘It’s a shame, but it’s a good prevention.’
Hu Fang, who had a bitter smile on his face, soon began to think about how he could establish a connection with the company that controlled the mines and land here.
‘If you give me a tent and a place to live, it means you want something.’
A completely different atmosphere from California.
At first, it was difficult to understand why they were so friendly to the Chinese.
It’s the third day since I arrived in Colorado Junction.
Someone came to the tent where the Chinese were staying.
The dirty-looking men at the entrance glared with their mouths wide open.
“Why are you so surprised? Are you guys from Guangdong?”
“You, who are you? (You, who are you?)”
“Me?”
Hu-pang and Cha-hong jumped out of the tent, having heard the noise outside.
‘You came faster than us!?’
An oriental man who suddenly appeared.
The two of them’s eyes sparkled greatly.
At this time, the other person took a step closer and said.
“This is Joseon’s Lee Mak Mountain.”
“Joseon??!!”
Max smiled broadly as he watched the two in shock. With their shabby clothes and faces covered in dirty water, they looked like slaves doing odd jobs.
Cha Hong, who had come to his senses, immediately grabbed Mak San’s arm and spoke to him in Chinese.
“Come here and talk.”
“What’s your name?”
“Chahong.”
‘You say you can speak English.’
Max, who remembered Colin’s words, was led by Chahong’s hand into the tent. However, a man blocked the excited Chahong and said.
“You mind your own business.”
Cha Hong sullenly stepped aside, and Hoo Pang guided Max to a slightly smaller tent hidden behind a large tent.
‘This guy is called Leader Hu Pang.’
“Come in, it’s quiet here.”
The inside of the tent was decorated like an office.
Max’s gaze quickly scanned his surroundings.
Hu Fang, who was sitting down, asked in Chinese.
“How did Koreans get here?”
“Colorado? Or the United States?”
“The name here is Colorado. Anyway, both of them.”
“I came over by boat and came running on horseback.”
“Fuck, you call that talking? Anyway, Joseon Sae-ah… Anyway, what are you doing here?”
Houpang calmed down and asked.
“I work for a mining company.”
“How did you end up working under a white person?”
“We had a bit of a connection.”
“Then, do you know who the real power is here?”
Max answered, scratching the ball.
“Cyrus Holliday, he’s the real deal.”
“This is Cyrus.”
“Usually it’s called Holiday.”
“Fuck, Westerners have such complicated names. They have no basis, no basis.”
Max looked at the angry Houpang calmly.
There are several reasons for approaching with such a disguise. One of them is to organize the Chinese people who come to Colorado.
Max asked casually.
“But why did you come here? There are a lot of women here.”
“What, it’s obvious you brought the girls. By the way, is that Holiday guy old?”
“I’ll be thirty-two this year.”
“At that age, he’s a real power. Since he’s young, he can probably be a bit more outspoken with women. Well, regardless of age, white guys can’t help but feel helpless when they see young Asians.”
Hoofang sneered, looking as if he had already got the holiday.
It may seem like a pretty secret story, but prostitution is a widespread thing in this day and age. It was quite a sight to see the words coming out of Houpang’s mouth, as if he didn’t think it was any secret.
“Can you bring Holiday here?”
“why?”
“Why? It’s for business. If I succeed, I’ll find a good girl for you too.”
“That business is a brothel, right? I saw one in California.”
As Max spoke with a smile, Houpang’s eyes narrowed.
“I’ll try. We meet often.”
“Hmm. How about opium? Do you think it would work here? They make a lot of noise about it in California.”
“Well, no one has ever tried it, so I don’t know.”
‘How dare you sell opium and prostitution here?’
Max’s eyes sank deeply.
It seems that Houpang was sent as an advance party by the Chinese organization to get a feel for the Colorado mines and to build up a living space and connections.
But how many Chinese organizations are there in California?
Max had never paid much attention to the complexities of Chinatown. All he knew was fragmentary information supplemented by Lee Mak-san’s knowledge.
As the Chinese population increased due to the gold rush, a Chinatown naturally formed in San Francisco.
At this time, businessmen from Guangdong Province established the first company called Kong Chow, centered around a unique Chinese assembly hall.
Later, the company split into two and additional companies were created. These six companies are now the organization that leads San Francisco’s Chinatown, collectively known as the “Chinese United Charity Association.”
On the surface, it is an organization created to protect the human rights, violence, and discrimination of Chinese people, but it is clearly an organization with a dark side connected to the underworld.
Max tried to figure out if it was one of them that sent the interest, or if it was a different organization entirely.
“Do you need more people? We can’t do construction after the sun goes down.”
“So you need to work at night?”
“Isn’t work supposed to be done at night?”
One corner of Hu Fang’s mouth went up at Max’s words.
“You know a lot. But I don’t have much to do right now···.”
“I know this place better than you think. Since you’re here as an advance party, you’ll need information.”
Houpang stared at Max with a hardened expression.
He brought his face close and spoke in a low tone.
“You Korean guy doesn’t know your place among white people. The way you speak, the way you look at things, everything is annoying. How dare you do business with me?”
“So just go?”
There was a brief silence. A laugh escaped Hu Fang’s lips as he rolled his head.
“Instead of money, I’ll give you opium. I’ll also give you a woman once a week. In return, you have to bring me information about this place.”
“How groundbreaking. I guess I’ll hit the mine while I’m at it.”
Max got up from his seat, grumbling.
“Then let’s start working tomorrow night.”
Max, who came out of the tent, met eyes with Chahong, who was standing there hesitantly. He seemed to have a lot of questions, but he just kept his mouth shut and didn’t say anything.
Max approached first and pretended to know her.
“You said you were good at English?”
“Huh? I’m not very good at it. Just something simple.”
“We will be working together from now on, so please take care of me.”
“Day?”
Cha Hong nodded, saying he understood that it was only done at night.
‘I guess I should get information from that guy Chahong rather than Houpang.’
As Max was thinking, a death-dealing cough was heard from inside the tent.
– There’s a woman who’s sick, and I don’t know if she’ll get proper treatment.
Max, recalling Colin’s words, asked Houpang, who was standing behind Chahong.
“Is anyone sick?”
“The girl is a little weak. Hmm. That’s good. Do you know any doctors?”
Max entered the large tent.
Around the dim lamplight, about twenty women were sitting huddled together. They glanced at Max, then paid no further attention to him, perhaps because of his shabby appearance.
“If the hospital bills are expensive, just bring her here. We just need to check the symptoms.”
At Houpang’s direction, a man quickly picked up a woman named Yang Yan who was lying down and handed her over to Max.
He was unconscious and his body was limp.
Since I originally had a thin body, it felt light even when I carried it on my back.
“Leave this woman to me. See you tomorrow.”
The path leading out of the tent and into the fortress.
It was quite a distance to carry a woman.
But then, on the way, I happened to run into Nathan Rohr.
“uh.”
Lore opened his eyes wide and opened his mouth, then ignored him and passed by.
Max stopped walking and whispered, glancing sideways.
– Are you just going?
– They said they’d kill me if I pretended to know.
– So, I have to carry the woman on my back and go to the fortress like this?
– ……A woman?
– Pint isn’t a girl, is she?
In the end, Nathan Lore carried Yang Yan to the fortress instead of Max.
“But are women originally this light?”
“Is this your first time?”
“……”
“It’s true. It’s serious, Lore. Worse than me.”
“It seems similar. Honestly, if it’s not peach, what else is there?”
“……Let’s go quickly.”
There are two doctors in the fort. They are Dr. Bryce and Dudley, who operated on Ryan Hold, as the hospital has not been built yet and is a temporary resident.
Max returned to his dormitory/office after leaving Yang Yan in the care of the two. He sat at his desk, opened up his notebook, and scribbled down some words.
Chinese, Chinatown, railroad workers.
Chinese Immigration Exclusion Act, Six Company.
and.
‘Triadhoe.’
An organization that is not lost in the Chinese immigrant community, also known as the Triad.
California at this time was known more as a gathering place called the “Tong” than a triad, but many of its members were triads.
It is quite difficult to distinguish between Six Company, Tong, and Triad.
That’s why Max ultimately considered them to be one body.
Of course, this is only a guess, and more reliable information was needed.
The Chinese coming to Colorado are trying to do what they did in California.
We will create Chinatowns and pollute the city with brothels and opium.
‘You have to remove the dirty sprouts in advance.’
< Joseon person Lee Mak-san > End
