Chapter Summaries

Jiang Hao confronted Sheriff Kevin when Kevin tried to drive away the Chinese workers arriving for Hall Manor. The workers were allowed to stay, but Kevin plotted to frame them and use the resulting backlash to have Jiang Hao removed as deputy sheriff.

• Jiang Hao returned to his ranch, where Jenny congratulated him on becoming deputy sheriff and the staff continued preparing the farm and factory.
• Peter, Bill, and Roy arrived in Los Angeles with more than two hundred Chinese workers, cigarette-making machines, and seeds.
• Sheriff Kevin ordered the workers to return to San Francisco, but Bill objected and Jiang Hao arrived to defend their right to stay.
• Jiang Hao reminded Kevin that the workers were his legal employees, and Kevin left after threatening to appeal to Mayor Durant.
• Mayor Durant let the workers remain under observation, and they cheered when Bill told them they could stay.
• Kevin agreed to a deputy's plan to frame the Chinese workers for a theft and stir public opposition against Jiang Hao.

Jiang Hao learned Sheriff Kevin planned to frame him, then arranged an explosion that killed Kevin and let Jiang Hao take control of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Office. He was appointed sheriff and put his own men in charge while the office was rebuilt.

• Sheriff Kevin told Jimmy to arrange a scheme against Jiang Hao, and the hunting dog overheard them.
• The dog warned Jiang Hao, who gathered his recruited workers, organized the ranch and factory, and discussed plans to grow tobacco and produce cigarettes.
• Jiang Hao planted firecrackers beneath the Sheriff's Office armory and instructed the dog to trigger them when Kevin returned.
• Jiang Hao confronted Kevin at City Hall and promised to accept punishment if any of his workers caused trouble.
• The explosion destroyed the Sheriff's Office and killed Sheriff Kevin and six others, after which Mayor Durant appointed Jiang Hao sheriff.
• Jiang Hao moved operations into a temporary office, brought his brothers into the department, and rewarded the hunting dog with a female companion.

Jiang Hao launched Hall Tobacco Company’s new cigarette-making line and traveled to Sacramento to register patents for the machine and filter tips. When the Patent Office warned that registration could take months, he sent Bill to seek help from Mrs. Taylor and her senator husband, Jonathan Swift.

• Jiang Hao completed a cigarette-making machine that produced 36,000 filter-tip cigarettes per hour and ordered the mechanics to build ten production lines.
• Jiang Hao assigned Jenny, Chris Adams, Wayne, and Peter to oversee the farm, factory, estate guard, and Sheriff's Office while he prepared to travel.
• Jiang Hao and his team arrived in San Francisco with 120 cases of cigarettes, where he left Cobain, Vaughn, John, Roy, and six supervisors to sell goods, buy supplies, and recruit workers.
• Jiang Hao and Bill traveled to Sacramento with ten cases of cigarettes and submitted patent applications, but a Patent Office employee said they might wait months or years.
• Bill suggested asking Mrs. Taylor for help through her husband, Senator Jonathan Swift, and Jiang Hao sent him to find her.

Bill visited Mrs. Taylor in Sacramento and won her help by rekindling their connection from the train, though their meeting turned intimate. Mrs. Taylor promised to ask her husband for assistance with Jiang Hao and Bill’s plans, leaving the outcome pending.

• Bill left Mrs. Taylor a note at the Swift villa after learning she was out.
• Mrs. Taylor read Bill’s note, remembered their time together on the train, and went to his hotel the next morning.
• Bill told Mrs. Taylor he had come to Sacramento because he missed her, and they grew intimate.
• Jiang Hao recognized Mrs. Taylor outside the hotel and later met her after Bill brought her to his room.
• Mrs. Taylor said she would speak with her husband about Jiang Hao and Bill’s plans, then left with a warm smile for Bill.
• Jiang Hao teased Bill about his efforts for Our Cause and told him to eat steak, eggs, and oysters to regain his strength.

Jiang Hao secured Jonathan Swift’s support for his inventions and arranged a California sales partnership for Hall Brand Cigarettes. As Jiang Hao and Bill left Sacramento, he carried a letter of introduction to the Los Angeles mayor, while Mrs. Taylor bid Bill an affectionate farewell.

• Mrs. Taylor told Councilman Jonathan Swift that Jiang Hao and Bill had saved her life and needed help obtaining patents, so Jonathan invited them to dinner.
• Jiang Hao demonstrated his cigarette-making machine, filter tips, and lighter, and Jonathan agreed to help with the patents and take charge of Hall Brand Cigarettes sales in California.
• Jonathan promised to introduce Jiang Hao to Mayor Durant and possibly help him gain a seat on the Los Angeles city council.
• Jonathan accompanied Jiang Hao to the Patent Office, where Jiang Hao filed four major patents and more than thirty detailed patents, then signed a California sales agreement with Jonathan.
• Mrs. Taylor and the sales manager finalized the business arrangements with Jiang Hao and Bill, and Mrs. Taylor later gave Jiang Hao Jonathan’s letter to the Los Angeles mayor.
• Jiang Hao and Bill departed Sacramento by train after Mrs. Taylor said goodbye to Bill at the station.

Jiang Hao promoted Hall Cigarettes in San Francisco with a free tasting event that sold out his stock and gave Roy a sales manual. After returning to Los Angeles, he reunited with his men and went to report to Mayor Durant.

• Cobain, John, and Vaughn reported that they had recruited workers and secured machinery and raw materials, while Roy said retailers rejected the cigarettes as too expensive.
• Jiang Hao ordered Roy to hold a free cigarette tasting event, and the crowds that gathered sampled the cigarettes and learned about the Filter Tip.
• The event drew more customers over several days, and the original stock of cigarettes sold out, forcing retailers to seek supplies from Roy.
• Jiang Hao gave Roy a manuscript of sales strategies, and Roy praised its potential while reading it on the train back to Los Angeles.
• Jiang Hao's men reported that work in Los Angeles was progressing normally, and the group drank together after his return.
• The next day, Jiang Hao rode to City Hall and reported to Mayor Durant.

Jiang Hao used his wealth and political connections to become Los Angeles’s vice mayor and secure control over the city’s public security. He left the chapter with a contract giving Hall Company the right to take over the public facilities it financed if the city failed to repay its loan.

• Jiang Hao gave Mayor Durant a gold pocket watch and delivered a letter from Senator Jonathan Swift, then Durant arranged for him to become a city councilman.
• Jiang Hao offered to finance Los Angeles’s roads and sewers, and he gave Durant two thousand Pacific Railroad shares in exchange for the vice mayor position and support for Peter’s appointment as sheriff.
• Durant appointed Jiang Hao vice mayor and Peter sheriff, and Peter promoted Elmer and Charles to deputy sheriffs.
• Jiang Hao proposed that Hall Company lend the city money interest-free to build public facilities, with the facilities transferring to the company if Los Angeles could not repay the loan within three years.
• The city council approved the contract, giving Hall Company control of the public facilities if the city defaulted.

Jiang Hao pushed Los Angeles’s expansion forward by buying more land, launching major construction projects, and proposing a deep-water harbor. The harbor plan remained undecided, but he sought control of the Long Beach area and discussed the risks privately with Mayor Durant.

• Jiang Hao agreed to buy the remaining urban land from the city, paying 30 percent upfront and using the rest as construction funds over three years.
• Jiang Hao ordered a Taoist temple, school, and training center built on a hill near the Hall Cigarette Factory.
• Jiang Hao expanded Los Angeles construction plans to include roads, sewers, and a grid of streets, and the council approved four major roads extending from the city center.
• Jiang Hao proposed building a harbor for giant ships and offered to finance it in exchange for the Long Beach area as collateral.
• City council members discussed selling additional coastal land, but Mayor Durant adjourned the meeting before any decision was made.
• Mayor Durant warned Jiang Hao that the harbor investment could crush him, and Jiang Hao said it was still only a proposal.

Jiang Hao helped Durant secure support for his State Senate campaign while pursuing his own appointment as Mayor of Los Angeles. After registering several new firearm patents in Sacramento, Jiang Hao learned that Governor Arnold would appoint him acting mayor and make him mayor after the election, provided Durant’s campaign succeeded.

• Jiang Hao pledged $100,000 and help from Councilman Jonathan toward Durant’s State Senate campaign, and the city council approved Jiang Hao’s Santa Monica Pier project.
• Jiang Hao traveled to Sacramento with Durant and Bill, then met Councilman Jonathan and offered him cigarette sales rights in exchange for political support.
• Jiang Hao registered patents for Smokeless Powder, modern rifle ammunition, and two rifles at the Patent Office.
• Jiang Hao and Jonathan met Governor Arnold, who approved of Jiang Hao’s work and agreed to appoint him acting mayor while Durant campaigned.
• Jonathan told Jiang Hao that he would become Mayor of Los Angeles after the election if Durant won, while Durant would lose his chance at the position if he failed.

As Los Angeles mayor, Jiang Hao proposed declaring the city Chinese-Friendly to address its severe labor shortage, and used his businesses’ economic influence to win enough council votes. After the policy passed, he identified the nine councilors who opposed it and planned to replace them in the next election with his allies.

• Jiang Hao returned to Los Angeles, became mayor, and convened the council to discuss the shortage of at least ten thousand workers.
• Jiang Hao proposed making Los Angeles a Chinese-Friendly City to attract Chinese workers, and Connersen and Thomas supported him because their businesses depended on Hall Company.
• Phillips and other business-owning councilors also backed the proposal, while some councilors opposed or abstained.
• The council voted twenty-one to nine, with two abstentions, and Jiang Hao declared Los Angeles a Chinese-Friendly City.
• Jiang Hao used developing solution to reveal the names of the nine opposing councilors and resolved to replace them with allies in the next election.

Jiang Hao publicized Los Angeles’s declaration as a Chinese-Friendly City, drawing Chinese migrants to the city and strengthening its reputation. Sheriff Peter told Jiang Hao he wanted to marry Chen Xiang Lan, and Jiang Hao supported him and urged him to build the strength to protect his family.

• Jiang Hao publicized Los Angeles’s Chinese-Friendly City resolution in newspapers across the United States, provoking both opposition and attention.
• Chinese people flocked to Los Angeles, where they received food, job registration, and mandatory training in literacy, laws, and discipline.
• Jiang Hao expanded the factory guard to two hundred men under Sheriff Peter and captain Wayne, who maintained order in the city.
• Peter told Jiang Hao he had fallen in love with a Chinese woman after rescuing her from a drunk customer and wanted to marry her.
• Jiang Hao encouraged Peter to marry the woman and told him that building wealth and power would help protect those he loved.
• Peter brought Chen Xiang Lan to Jiang Hao’s home that evening, where Jiang Hao met her.

Jiang Hao learned that Beinong Tobacco Company had copied Hall Company's filter-tip patent and used its influence to stall Roy's lawsuit. After Roy investigated the Baynon family, Jiang Hao led the Brotherhood toward Kansas to confront them by force.

• Roy warned Travers Baynon to stop infringing on Hall Company's patent, but Travers mocked him and offered to buy the patent for $50,000.
• Roy filed an infringement lawsuit, but the Kansas court refused to halt Beinong's production and said the case could take years.
• Jiang Hao ordered Roy to investigate the Baynon family and Beinong Tobacco Company, and learned to send and receive telegrams while waiting for the reports.
• After nearly a month of investigation, Jiang Hao gathered the brothers and explained how Beinong had stolen their filter-tip technology.
• Jiang Hao led the Brotherhood, including Bill, Peter, and Wayne, onto a train bound for Kansas.

Jiang Hao and his men ambushed Travers Baynon’s convoy outside Wichita and kidnapped him, introducing themselves as the Poker Bandit Group. Baynon was left bound and terrified as Jiang Hao demanded his cooperation.

• Jiang Hao arrived in Wichita and ordered his men to acquire horses, guns, ammunition, and carriages while Roy investigated Travers Baynon.
• Roy told Jiang Hao that Baynon was a wealthy tobacco factory owner who kept a private estate for his mistresses.
• Travers Baynon traveled to his manor with armed bodyguards, but Jiang Hao’s men attacked the convoy with Gatling guns and killed the guards.
• Bill ordered Baynon out of his carriage, tied him up, and gagged him after Baynon offered money and threatened the robbers.
• Jiang Hao approached wearing a King mask, identified the group as the Poker Bandit Group, and told Baynon to cooperate.

Jiang Hao forced Travers Baynon to reveal where his family’s jewels were kept, then disguised himself and stole the jewels and gold from a Wichita bank. After arranging for his men to bury Baynon, Jiang Hao left him to die in the wilderness.

• Jiang Hao’s men cleaned up the roadside ambush and took Baynon to a remote wilderness, where Jiang Hao threatened him into revealing the location of his family’s jewels.
• Baynon gave Jiang Hao the key and combination to safe deposit box 36 at Murray City Bank, and Jiang Hao took a disguised crew there.
• Jiang Hao persuaded the bank manager to load the gold bars and jewelry onto his carriage, then transferred the valuables elsewhere and ordered Peter to deal with the Young Master.
• Jiang Hao’s men buried Baynon alive, and Baynon realized they might be connected to Roy and Hall Tobacco Company.
• Wayne stuck a daisy into Baynon’s exposed buttock to fulfill Jiang Hao’s instruction before the men finished burying him.

Jiang Hao’s crew burned the Bellon Tobacco Factory, escaped Wichita with the Baynon family’s loot, and returned to Los Angeles, where he celebrated with Jenny before returning to the modern era. He claimed his mission rewards—a Golden Space and a World Key—and discovered the storage space was only about 0.43 cubic meters.

• Jiang Hao and his men set fire to the Bellon Tobacco Factory, and the blaze destroyed it as the Baynon family vanished and Travers Baynon was presumed murdered.
• Jiang Hao received 31,095 Robbery Value points on the train to Los Angeles, bringing his mission total to 66,588 points.
• Jiang Hao divided the stolen loot with his men, celebrated with Jenny, and took her on an outing to his land and the seaside.
• Jiang Hao said goodbye to Jenny in his thoughts, returned to the modern era, and claimed the Golden Space ability and a World Key.
• Jiang Hao learned the Golden Space could store items and grow by absorbing gold, then calculated that it was only about 0.43 cubic meters.

Jiang Hao tested his new Golden Space, unlocked access to Tie Yuxiang’s world, and decided to remain in Dallas for a cowboy gathering and gun fair before returning home. At the fair, he could not buy firearms as a foreigner, but he purchased several knives and stored them in his space.

• Jiang Hao tested storing and retrieving objects in the Golden Space, then converted three hundred yuan into a small increase in its size.
• Jiang Hao used the World Key to unlock Tie Yuxiang’s world and chose to wait before visiting her.
• Jiang Hao told Paul he planned to return home, but agreed to stay for Dallas’s cowboy gathering and heard about a local gun fair.
• Jiang Hao visited the gun fair, where he admired the firearms but could not buy any because he lacked a gun license.
• Jiang Hao bought several knives for more than three thousand US dollars and stored them in the Golden Space.

Jiang Hao entered the Dallas Revolver Fast Gun Competition and won the championship after setting a new speed record. After celebrating at the Cowboy Competition and a bar with Paul and his friends, he returned to the hotel without taking up the women’s advances.

• Paul introduced Jiang Hao to his girlfriend Gianna, and they went with Gianna’s friends to the competition.
• Jiang Hao dominated the qualifying rounds and advanced through the competition to the championship match.
• In the final, Jiang Hao repeatedly shot faster than 0.02 seconds and set a new record of 0.0172 seconds, surpassing Bob Munden’s record.
• Jiang Hao won the championship, received the prize money and a bronze medal, and credited his skill to talent.
• Jiang Hao celebrated with Paul, Gianna, and Gianna’s friends at the Cowboy Competition and a bar, then declined the two women’s advances and returned to the hotel.

After returning from America, Jiang Hao reunited with Zhou Xinyan in Magic City and they became a couple. The next morning, Zhou Xinyan decided to leave her promotion opportunity and return to Binhai so they could build a quieter life together.

• Zhou Xinyan congratulated Jiang Hao on winning the revolver championship, and he told her he would fly back to Magic City the next day.
• Jiang Hao arrived at Magic City Airport, where Zhou Xinyan picked him up and took him to dinner.
• Zhou Xinyan asked whether she should stay in Magic City to lead the branch, and Jiang Hao asked if she was willing to be his girlfriend before kissing her.
• Jiang Hao and Zhou Xinyan returned to her apartment, confessed their feelings, and spent the night together.
• Jiang Hao made breakfast the next morning, and Zhou Xinyan decided to return to Binhai and imagined a comfortable life with him and Little Lark.

Jiang Hao spent the day enjoying a quiet life with Zhou Xinyan, who decided she wanted to return to Binhai to be with him. While shopping together, they ran into Jiang Hao’s former girlfriend Xia Fang, and Zhou Xinyan learned they had once dated.

• Jiang Hao called home, congratulated Jiang He on his estimated college entrance exam score, and agreed with Dad Jiang to celebrate the housewarming when he returned.
• Jiang Hao and Zhou Xinyan exchanged affectionate messages, and Zhou Xinyan told Manager Yang she planned to return to the Binhai headquarters once the Shanghai team was established.
• Zhou Xinyan hurried home to reunite with Jiang Hao, then took him out for dinner and shopping.
• At a clothing store, Jiang Hao ran into his former girlfriend Xia Fang, who was shopping with her current boyfriend, and introduced Zhou Xinyan as his girlfriend.
• After Xia Fang left, Jiang Hao explained that he and Xia Fang had dated in college and separated peacefully, while Zhou Xinyan insisted that Jiang Hao was hers.

Jiang Hao invited Zhou Xinyan to return to his hometown with him, and she met his family as his girlfriend. His parents welcomed her warmly, and Jiang He called her “Sister-in-law.”

• Jiang Hao told Zhou Xinyan about his family and invited her to visit his hometown, and she happily agreed.
• Zhou Xinyan arranged to finish her work early, then showed Jiang Hao that her video of his quick-draw competition had gone viral.
• After ten days, Jiang Hao and Zhou Xinyan drove to his hometown and arrived at his family’s home with gifts.
• Jiang Hao introduced Zhou Xinyan as his girlfriend, and Dad Jiang and Mom Jiang welcomed her warmly.
• Jiang Hao introduced Zhou Xinyan to Jiang He, who called her “Sister-in-law.”