I was the Founding Father of the United States

Chapter 157 The Real Dealer

Chapter 157 The Real Dealer

After Chen Wenbin finished dealing with the guests who had come to attend the ceremony out of courtesy, it was already noon when he returned to Robin Manor.

He planned to finish lunch and then go to the villa to have a chat with Makareva and Vatsediva when his butler, Benjamin, came into the dining room to inform him that three Harvard students had come to visit.

Sitting at the head of the table, Chen Wenbin swallowed a piece of steak, wiped his mouth, looked up at Benjamin, who had brown hair and wore gray overalls, and asked, "—Benjamin, did they tell me why they came to see me?"

Benjamin thought for a moment and replied, "They said they came to discuss Robin Academy joining the New England Board of Education with you. You are the principal of Robin Academy, so they came directly to you."

The New England Board of Education—could it be the predecessor of the Ivy League?

Hmm, probably not. The Ivy League was created because of the American football league. Right now, in North America, there's mostly English football, and American football doesn't even exist!

Chen Wenbin thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "—Then let them in!"

"OK."

Benjamin agreed and was about to leave when Chen Wenbin called him back, pointed to his gray overalls, and reminded him, "Benjamin, you're the manor's butler; you'd better wear presentable clothes normally—"

To everyone's surprise, Benjamin interrupted earnestly, "Sir! You designed these work clothes yourself, and Andrew, David, and Chris were among the first to wear them—"

Benjamin's face showed a look of nostalgia, then he said firmly, "Back then you said that everyone is equal before God!"

The bloodlines of kings and nobles are no more noble than those of commoners. The true purpose of clothing is to keep warm and facilitate labor, not to distinguish social classes!

I've always remembered those words—have you forgotten them?

Chen Wenbin paused for a moment, then nodded helplessly and said, "You're right, clothes are just clothes—from now on, wear whatever you like!"

Benjamin smiled slightly upon hearing this, then turned and left.

Watching his retreating figure, Chen Wenbin couldn't help but sigh.

Back on the ship, in order to convince these young sailors to listen to him, he did a lot of work instilling in them ideas such as "the world shouldn't be like this," "everyone can control their own destiny," and "the state is a tool for the ruling class to maintain its rule." He even told them some of the theoretical concepts of Marxism and the Manifesto.

His idea at the time was simple: if he were to die at sea, these young sailors could spread these ideas, and his journey would not have been in vain.

As it turned out, he didn't even need to use his backup plan!

After landing, he quickly became a renowned doctor and a wealthy man with the endorsement of Reverend Johnson and Governor Hopkins. He also married Diana, a beautiful and wealthy woman, and reached the pinnacle of his life. Naturally, these theories and ideas that guided his rebellion were rarely mentioned again.

Andrew, David, Anthony, and Chris were all busy with their own work and had neither the time nor the desire to think about these things anymore.

Only Benjamin Langley, because of his stubborn nature, kept asking about these ideas and theories. Chen Wenbin got annoyed by his questions and arranged for him to work as David's assistant at the hospital.

When they went to England, there was really no one else available, so they left Benjamin to look after Robin Estate.

After he returned to North America, he didn't really trust many people, and they all had their own jobs.

Although Benjamin was stubborn, Chen Wenbin knew that his loyalty to him was higher than that of most people. So even though the boy had objections to him having a maid and was sometimes disobedient, Chen Wenbin still kept him as a butler in the manor.

Now it seems that this kid has probably really taken those ideas to heart, and may even have formed some kind of belief in them!

This gave him a bit of a headache —

As he was pondering this, Benjamin brought three college students into the living room: Timothy Pickering, Ricardo Durant, and Caleb Strong.

After the three introduced themselves, Timothy Pickering, with his composed demeanor, took the initiative to explain the purpose of their visit to Chen Wenbin.

"—Your Excellency, in addition to inviting Robin College to become a member of the New England Board of Education, we have brought with us an invitation from Principal Edward Hawkeoli, who hopes that you will have the opportunity to visit our campus in Cambridge."

As he spoke, he took out a gold-embossed invitation from his handbag and handed it to Chen Wenbin across from him with both hands.

Chen Wenbin took it, opened it, and saw that it was indeed a handwritten invitation from the Harvard president, written in Latin—a language and script that even Italians themselves don't use in their daily lives, but which is now essential for the upper echelons of Europe and North America. As for its actual use, apart from serving as the common written language of the European elite, it is almost non-existent!

Learning Latin may simply be a way to demonstrate the cultural connection between these European countries and ancient Rome.

As for Harvard's purpose in inviting him—when he last passed through Boston, he heard that Harvard College had burned down, and since he was in a hurry to return to Providence, he didn't visit it. Now that the president of Harvard has taken the initiative to invite him, the intention is all too obvious.

They just want to take advantage of me!

He closed the invitation, looked at the young Timothy Pickering with a playful expression, and said with a faint smile, "Mr. Pickering, I am honored to receive the invitation from Harvard College and Principal Hawke's Ole. But as you know, I am the Governor of the Western Territory, and I have a lot of preparations to make, so I may not have time to go to Cambridge—"

"No problem, Harvard welcomes you to visit anytime!"

Timothy Pickering quickly added, "Our campus is being rebuilt because of the fire, but the Boston Council has suspended all funding, so we're facing a funding shortage—"

Sure enough, they're here to solicit donations and ask for money!

Chen Wenbin sneered inwardly, but nodded sympathetically on the surface, saying, "I've also heard that Harvard suffered a fire. I'm personally willing to donate 50 pounds to help rebuild Harvard College. In addition, I can write to my friend Mr. John Hancock and ask him for help. Is that alright?"

Only £50

Timothy Pickering could not hide his disappointment. For an ordinary New England gentleman, a donation of 50 pounds would certainly be a lot, even quite generous, since most landed gentlemen's annual income would not exceed 1,000 pounds, and usually no one would criticize them for donating a few pounds.

But Governor Chen was the richest man in North America and a prominent figure in New England, yet he only donated 50 pounds. That's really hard to believe.

Timothy Pickering was able to control his emotions, but Ricardo Durant and Caleb Strong wore their disdain and disappointment on their faces.

Ricardo Durant retorted sarcastically, "Your Excellency! You are the richest man in North America and the pride of New England! Do you really want to see North America's oldest college unable to be rebuilt due to insufficient funds?"

Governor Chen smiled slightly, completely unmoved by his provocation, and shook his head, saying, "Mr. Durant, I am from Rhode Island, and I have already donated funds to establish Robin Academy, and I also plan to build a real university in the West, so my funding is not very sufficient—"

"you----"

"Ricardo! Shut up!"

Timothy Pickering glared at his companion, then turned to Chen Wenbin with an apologetic smile.

"I apologize, Your Excellency Governor, Ricardo was merely concerned about the reconstruction of the academy and had no intention of offending you!"

Chen Wenbin waved his hand magnanimously and said, "It's alright, I like brave young people! Here, I'll add another 30 pounds as encouragement!"

Timothy Pickering forced a smile and thanked him, "Thank you for your generosity! I'm sure Principal Hawke and the Board of Trustees will be delighted to hear this!"

"Okay! It's a deal then!"

Chen Wenbin completely ignored the three men's reactions and made the final decision. He then instructed Benjamin to fetch 80 pounds of gold coins and had Timothy Pickering write a receipt before personally seeing them off.

By the time the three of them realized what was happening, they had already arrived at the gate of Robin Manor.

"Are we just going to leave like this?"

The short Caleb Strong looked at the purse containing £80 in his hand and asked somewhat blankly.

"What else can we do? That stingy guy definitely won't pay any more money!"

Ricardo Durant turned and glared at the wrought-iron gates of Robin Manor, saying angrily, "Am I right? He's a hypocrite!"

"—Alright! Stop talking!"

Timothy Pickering glanced at the two men, took the money bag, weighed it in his hand, then let out a long sigh, shook his head, and said, "Give this eighty pounds to the college board, and our task will be complete. Let them handle the rest!"

Let's go!

After saying that, he walked towards the rented carriage, and the two remaining men looked at each other and had no choice but to follow.

Meanwhile, in the study on the second floor of the main building of Robin Manor, Chen Wenbin stood by the window watching the departing carriage, stroking his chin and shaking his head slightly.

These three college students were too naive; they didn't even promise any basic returns or benefits when asking for money, so of course he only gave them 80.

The basic donation amount in pounds sterling.

But normally, Harvard would never send these three rookies to raise funds from big donors—something is definitely amiss!

That's right! Chen Wenbin suddenly remembered that the Adams brothers were Harvard graduates. The Harvard Board of Trustees sending these three rookies to raise funds was most likely a test of his attitude.

If he had simply kicked the three of them out without paying them a single penny, then Harvard wouldn't have needed to send anyone over to be humiliated.

But if he gives them a little money and sends them away—then there's still room for negotiation!

Chen Wenbin cursed inwardly, then sat back in his office chair and began writing to Adam Winthrop and John Hancock, asking them to support his candidacy for a seat on the Harvard College Board of Trustees—these two were the people he could really do business with.

As for those three college students, they probably didn't realize they were just tools for testing.