Chapter 75: The Meeting
After the hanging concluded, Johnny looked around and saw the crowd dispersing, with only Kieran standing quietly below the platform waiting for him.
A wave of warmth rose in Johnny's heart as he walked quickly to Kieran's side.
"Let's go. Let's check the notice board at the Post Office; we might find some good work there," Johnny said, patting Kieran on the shoulder.
Johnny led his horse and walked side-by-side with him, soon arriving at the Post Office.
Though this small building wasn't large, it was an important hub for people to exchange information and seek job opportunities.
Generally speaking, if someone needed help with a task but didn't want to go through a middleman or didn't know the right person for the job,
they only had to pay a small fee to the Post Office to have their job requirements and contact information posted on the notice board.
This way, many people in dire need of work would actively seek them out; it was undoubtedly a very convenient way to communicate.
However, because workers lacked a middleman's recommendation, their quality could be hit or miss.
For Johnny's Gang, the meager income from debt collection was barely enough to maintain their strained lifestyle.
If they wanted to live a decent life, it was clearly far from enough.
Therefore, to earn more money, they either had to meticulously plan an operation or head to nearby towns to seek other job opportunities.
It was with this in mind that Kieran was eager to find a job like making deliveries in Valentine Town.
He wanted to use it to repay Johnny's kindness.
When they pushed open the Post Office doors and walked in, Johnny immediately spotted Arthur and Hosea standing before a poster, arguing heatedly over something.
Arthur's face was flushed red, his hands gesturing non-stop, while Hosea stood beside him, teasing him relentlessly.
"Arthur, you're saying you want to take this hunting job? Haha! They want intact animal carcasses. Do you plan to pump a rabbit full of buckshot and pretend it's a giant rabbit? Haha!"
Hosea brought up embarrassing stories of Arthur's hunting as a child, continuing his sarcastic onslaught.
Arthur looked furious, but since it was Hosea, he couldn't say much, only looking at him with an expression of utter helplessness.
"Johnny! You're here! Perfect. You tell him—Arthur here wants to take this request from a Mrs. Hobbs in Strawberry."
"To be honest, it's quite difficult. Her requirements are mostly for smaller prey, and she demands the carcasses be perfectly preserved."
Though Johnny wanted to take the chance to grind some progress for his Western Blabbermouth King title, he considered his good brother Arthur's pride and smoothed things over for him instead.
Seeing that Johnny supported him, Hosea didn't say much more.
He then told Johnny and Arthur that he was going to track a giant bear recently and that it might take three to five days, so they shouldn't worry about him.
Then he got up, left the Post Office, and rode away.
"Johnny!" Arthur said, his hands moving nimbly to fold the poster neatly before slowly placing it into his satchel.
He looked up at Johnny and asked, "Do you have any plans for what's next?"
Hearing Arthur's question, Johnny's initial instinct was to blur out that he was planning to go to Downes Ranch to collect a debt.
But just as the words were about to leave his mouth, a flash of inspiration struck him, and a brilliant idea came to mind.
The corners of his mouth curled up slightly into a devious smile, and he said in a deliberately mysterious tone:
"Arthur, I wonder if you remember telling me once that you especially hate that feeling of us bullying the weak?"
Arthur didn't respond immediately, remaining silent.
However, it wasn't hard to tell from his expression and the look in his eyes that he tacitly agreed with what Johnny had said.
Seeing Arthur's reaction, Johnny was secretly pleased, feeling that this move was truly ingenious.
Immediately after, he patted his chest with confidence and announced loudly and boldly:
"In that case, let me show you what I can do today!"
"I'm going to show you how to achieve a win-win for both parties while remaining completely legal and compliant."
As soon as he finished speaking, Johnny turned his head and shouted to Kieran nearby:
"Hey, Kieran, don't dawdle! There's no more work for you to earn money today. Hurry up and let's go!"
Having said that, Johnny skillfully flipped onto his horse, lightly tugging the reins to slowly guide the steed forward.
Kieran didn't dare delay either, quickly mounting his horse and following closely behind Johnny.
At this moment, to satisfy the doubt and curiosity in his heart, Arthur was determined to see it through and find out exactly what method Johnny would use to balance the interests of both sides.
Johnny first went to the Valentine hotel to ask the pretty young lady at the front desk if Mr. and Mrs. Adler were in.
The young lady enthusiastically told them they had just returned from Emerald Ranch and were currently staying in Room 108 on the first floor.
Seeing that they were acquaintances, she let the three of them in to find them.
"Knock! Knock! Knock!"
Johnny stood before the door, raising his hand to knock gently on the somewhat aged wooden door.
He was afraid that if he wasn't careful, he might just push the door open and walk right in.
If they happened to be doing something private, it would be awkward.
Time passed second by second, and before long, the sound of footsteps could be heard approaching from inside. Then, the door was slowly pulled open, and Arthur's familiar face appeared at the doorway.
He first peered out warily, but upon seeing it was Johnny, a slight smile appeared on his face.
Before Johnny could even speak, Sadie's excited voice rang out from inside the room:
"Oh my, it's you, Johnny! I really didn't expect that after not seeing you for just over a week, I'd be hearing your name even over at Emerald Ranch!"
Arthur stepped aside from the doorway. When he saw Arthur Morgan and Kieran following behind Johnny, a flash of pleasant surprise crossed his eyes, and he greeted them warmly:
"Come in, come in! We're all old friends, don't be shy!"
Sadie also walked up quickly. After her gaze lingered on Arthur Morgan for a moment, it moved to the slightly restless Kieran.
She tilted her head, frowning slightly as she tried to think, murmuring to herself:
"This young man looks so familiar. I feel like I've seen him somewhere..."
Hearing this, Kieran's face turned slightly red, and he hurriedly waved his hands to explain:
"Ma'am, you must be mistaken. I'm just an ordinary stablehand. How could someone like me have caught your eye?"
Everyone burst into laughter, and for a moment, the room was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
They exchanged pleasantries about their recent lives, and after chatting for a good while, Johnny finally got to the point, asking:
"How have you two been lately? Is there any new progress with things?"
Arthur cleared his throat and answered seriously:
"We've already done a detailed survey of the surrounding markets."
"After analysis and comparison, we found that Valentine Town is suitable for raising these two breeds: the Chinese Large Pig and the Florida Cracker Cow."
"As for the reason, it's mainly because the sheep and beef cattle markets in the nearby areas are basically saturated."
"If we were to enter those two fields, not only would the competitive pressure be too high, but the profit margins would also be very limited."
"While raising chickens has relatively low costs, the returns are pitifully small and not worth investing too much energy in."
"So, taking everything into consideration, we still feel that raising Chinese Large Pigs and Florida Cracker Cows is more stable."
"Moreover, if the area around the farm is suitable, we can also plant some corn and wheat to produce and sell ourselves."
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