I was the Founding Father of the United States

Chapter 10 Do you want a wife or not?

In an office at the city hall, Chen Wenbin and Reverend Jason met with Governor Stephen Hopkins of the Rhode Island colony.

This was a gaunt and haggard man. Clearly, the loss of his wife and son had been a great blow to him, and the strong smell of rum in the office proved it.

Hopkins...

Chen Wenbin calmly observed the man behind the desk. Judging from his surname, this governor should be from the Hopkins family, descendants of the Mayflower, so his actual loyalty to the King of England was highly questionable.

"...You're a miraculous Eastern doctor who even saved David and Andrew's children?"

After Reverend Jensen finished recounting Chen Wenbin's deeds, the governor looked at the gentlemanly Chen Wenbin with suspicion.

Although he was dejected, he was not confused. He instinctively disliked the Asian face... It reminded him of the Indians in the interior.

It was over those Native American lands that the French went to war with the British, and he lost two sons in the war!

"...Yes, Your Excellency!"

Following the pastor's instructions, Chen Wenbin removed his top hat and bowed slightly, saying, "I am Chen Wenbin, from China. You can call me Robin. I am a doctor, a mechanic, and an inventor. I hope to obtain your permission to hire workers in Providence and Newport to establish a new type of textile factory..."

"……China?!"

The governor exclaimed in surprise, "Then where's your queue? I've heard from my friends in the East India Company that all Chinese people wear queues!"

Chen Wenbin tried his best to suppress his anger and explained, "Only people from the Qing Dynasty wore queues! My family didn't want to be ruled by those barbarians, so we left... In fact, real Chinese people never wore queues before being ruled by the Qing Dynasty!"

"...Oh, I see!"

The governor suddenly realized and said, "So, you are a descendant of an exiled Chinese nobleman?"

His first reaction was the same as Jason's: someone with Chen Wenbin's temperament could never be an ordinary person!

In the European and North American colonies, a person's social class was immediately apparent from their distinct clothing, demeanor, and speech. These factors made it impossible for a commoner to impersonate a nobleman.

"...Yes!" Chen Wenbin readily admitted. He had already understood the rules of Western society, and of course he couldn't admit that he was a commoner, but he still had to put on the patch.

"But my country has been destroyed by the Qing Dynasty, so I no longer have any noble titles."

"That's not important!"

The governor waved his hand dismissively, sighing somewhat wryly, "Most gentlemen in the North American colonies don't have titles; the king is always very stingy with noble titles..."

As he spoke, he re-examined Chen Wenbin, who was tall and fair-skinned, and nodded inwardly.

A doctor who can truly heal and save lives, an inventor, and, more importantly, an exiled nobleman from the East, would certainly attract the attention of a family on Rhodes Island with an unmarried daughter.

"Since that's the case..."

He finally stood up, walked over to Chen Wenbin, and extended his hand, saying, "...Mr. Robin Chen, welcome to Providence. If you don't mind, could you tell me about your new spinning machine?"

"Of course!" Chen Wenbin breathed a sigh of relief. He had passed the governor's test. He immediately took out the blueprints from his briefcase and began to explain them to the other party.

Governor Hopkins was skilled in politics and law and had no interest in mechanics, but the spinning jenny was not complicated in principle, so he was still able to understand the value of the invention.

"Your Mightiness!"

Seeing his interest, Reverend Jason quickly added, "Robin has invented a spinning machine that can increase spinning speed by more than ten times. It can bring more tax revenue and wealth to the colony. At the same time, Robin is willing to recruit some gentlemen to become shareholders in the factory. The church and I are very optimistic about this new spinning machine and have decided to invest 1000 pounds!"

"What? One thousand pounds?"

The governor looked at Jason in astonishment. "James, are you out of your mind? This money is almost a fifth of your church's wealth!"

The Baptist church where Reverend Johnson belonged did not like to hoard land like the Catholic Church, and the total population of the Rhode Island colony was no more than 50,000, including many Congregationalists and Anglicans, so the church did not have much money.

"I believe in Robin's invention!"

Jason said earnestly, "It is absolutely a great innovation, and since the invention of the flying shuttle, the efficiency of looms has greatly improved, and the domestic demand for cotton yarn has been increasing. Investing in new spinning machines can definitely yield considerable profits!"

Your Excellency Governor, I believe you should not miss this opportunity!

Reverend Jensen's steadfastness swayed the governor. Although he had lost his wife and two sons, he still had several illegitimate children... If it really was as lucrative as Jensen claimed, he certainly wouldn't want to miss out.

……

Before the sun completely set, Chen Wenbin and Jason bid farewell and left the city hall. Governor Hopkins personally saw them off at the gate... This was the city hall, which was also the governor's official residence.

David was already waiting for them in the church carriage.

Seeing this, Chen Wenbin quickly walked up to the young man he had personally rescued and asked with concern, "...David, how long have you been waiting? Have you had dinner?"

David smiled warmly at his freckled face. "Sir, all my family members are waiting for you to come home for dinner!"

My mom said, "We'll start eating whenever you arrive!"

Chen Wenbin paused for a moment, patted David on the shoulder, sincerely thanked him, and then got into the carriage with Jason, while David skillfully drove to the outskirts of the town.

"...Three hundred pounds, ten percent! Robin, we have another three hundred pounds invested! More importantly, with the Governor's investment, we can avoid most of the trouble in the Rhodes Island colony!"

The carriage was dimly lit and without any lights, so Jansen's expression was unclear, but he sounded very happy.

"...This is just the beginning; we also need channels for procuring cotton and selling cotton yarn and fabric."

Chen Wenbin calmly said, "Besides inspecting factory locations and purchasing land, I also want to hold a shareholders' meeting soon so that everyone can discuss how to resolve these issues. James, what do you think?"

Jason, of course, wouldn't object. He nodded and said, "Then let's wait until the factory location is finalized, hold a shareholders' meeting, and then host a social ball for all the gentlemen and ladies of Rhodes Island..."

He paused here, then looked at Chen Wenbin tentatively and asked, "Robin, I remember you said you're not married and don't have a fiancée, right?"

"Yes……"

Chen Wenbin instantly understood what he meant: he was asking if he wanted a wife!

"That makes things easier!"

Reverend Jensen chuckled lightly, “Rhodes Island has many beautiful young ladies of noble birth and good education. I think they would not refuse to be the wife of a successful factory owner, inventor, and doctor!”

"I know a few ladies who would be perfect for you, such as Mr. Bowler, the richest man in Rhode Island, whose third daughter Maria is very beautiful, and the youngest daughter of former Governor Richard Ward..."

As the pastor introduced the daughters of these wealthy men and politicians to him, Chen Wenbin knew in his heart that he could not refuse, nor did he need to refuse. Only by marrying into the local wealthy and political circles could he truly gain a foothold here. However, he had to weigh the pros and cons before deciding which one to marry.

As for feelings... that's the least important thing.

Fortunately, at this time the mask of the Eastern Empire had not yet been completely torn off by the British, and Macartney had not gone to see the old dog Qianlong, otherwise he would have been dead on the Jenna ship, let alone marry the daughter of the local Rhodes Island tyrant.