Charles was still engrossed in his newspaper after breakfast, when Tom, now dressed in a proper footman's uniform, respectfully re-entered to report to him:
"Sir, someone outside is requesting an audience with you."
"An audience? Who is it?" Charles put down his newspaper.
He shouldn't have any duties to perform yet. The residents of Pennsylvania couldn't possibly know him and trust him immediately, so they shouldn't be coming to discuss anything. And it had already been agreed with the Pennsylvania Assembly yesterday that he would receive an education on Franklin's rules and systems today, so it was unlikely anyone would visit him right away.
"He should be the owner of the hotel. I heard people call him Mr. Biddle."
"Oh, then please invite him in quickly." Charles hurriedly put down his newspaper.
So it was the big Boss of the hotel.
The Biddle family was a true prominent family in Philadelphia, with a legacy spanning several generations. Although they were providing their family's hotel this time, the family's main business was finance. And finance, no matter the era, was a very lucrative and influential industry.
"Welcome, Mr. Biddle!"
"Good morning, Councilor Godfrey, sir. I am Charles Biddle, the manager of the hotel. You can just call me Charles." The person who entered was a young gentleman dressed very appropriately, who didn't seem much older than Charles.
With his appropriate attire and respectful yet unpretentious demeanor, Charles felt that this was a truly well-bred young man, rare in North America at the time. He sighed, thinking, 'As expected of someone from a prominent family, he looks extraordinary.'
His gentle and natural greeting not only prevented Charles from feeling like he was talking to a stranger, but it even quietly dispelled the slight official-meeting-commoner mentality he had initially held, making him feel that their interaction could only be on a very equal footing.
"Alright, Charles. Please have a seat. I haven't even thanked your family for your hospitality yet; this hotel is truly luxurious." Charles smiled and nodded.
"It's wonderful that you're satisfied. I actually just came to ask if you have any other needs, and I can have the hotel staff prepare them for you as much as possible," Charles Biddle said with a smile. "Of course, if you need help with any other matters, you can also tell me directly. My father told me long ago that you are the most outstanding young man in our Pennsylvania and that I should learn from you."
"Your father is too complimentary. Someone like you, taking on a manager's role at such a young age, is the truly outstanding young man." Charles' traditional Chinese modesty made Charles feel a little proud.
Looking at the scion of this prominent family in front of him, who indeed seemed eager to make his acquaintance, Charles suddenly wondered if he could use this local, who was familiar with Philadelphia, to help him find the personnel he needed. So he spoke again:
"Charles, I actually do have something that requires the help of someone familiar with Philadelphia."
"Oh, what is it? I grew up in Philadelphia and am very familiar with it."
"It's like this: I have a cast iron foundry in Pittsburgh, and also a hundred thousand acres of barren land. So I want to find a few skilled workers who can cast iron, make coke, and manufacture glass. Philadelphia is the largest city in North America, so there should be such people, right?"
"Yes! Of course there are!" Charles smiled and nodded. "Philadelphia is an industrial and commercial city, with all kinds of workers. Even ordinary merchants can easily hire people. I'll go out and help you look for them; I can definitely find the best workers. Do you need any other workers? Developing a piece of barren land isn't enough with just a few workers."
"If you can find steam engine manufacturing workers, please help me find them too. Also, other skilled workers like miners, textile workers, and the like, who can be used in land reclamation and production, I need some of all of them. Find them as soon as possible if you can, otherwise, it's fine." Charles immediately brought up other personnel needs, adding, "Oh, by the way, do you know any chemists? I think we'll need at least one chemist there."
Charles had long-term plans in this area. During wartime, the most lucrative businesses were firearms and medicine. He had already been trying to make antibacterial and anti-inflammatory medicine, but unfortunately, the technical difficulty was too great, and he knew it was not very realistic.
However, this did not shake his determination to manufacture medicine. If Western medicine wasn't feasible, he would make traditional Chinese medicine. At least he knew that things like honeysuckle, Scutellaria baicalensis, and Coptis chinensis, even if simply crushed and applied, had antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects. It was just that in the past, besides often using honeysuckle to make tea and seeing the actual plant, he had only seen pictures of the others.
Whether it was Chinese or Western medicine, processing it with chemical instruments would do no harm. Moreover, he remembered that the quick-acting heart-saving pills of Chinese medicine were once compared to the effects of nitroglycerin. From nitroglycerin, one would naturally think of a well-known substance, nitroglycerine. When this explosive was first invented, its greatest use was not to blow things up, but to treat angina.
Charles was very conflicted. As a tour guide who often flew back and forth in his previous life, he naturally knew many ways to make simple liquid explosives in modern times. There was no other way; terrorists kept using planes for their attacks, so after leading a few international tours, he quickly became familiar with what could be used to make simple bombs.
Unfortunately, he knew many of the chemical names for these things, but he didn't know how they were made. And one very important thing that drove the development of wartime methods was explosives. The only explosive Charles knew the general manufacturing process for was nitroglycerine, but as soon as he thought of this long-famous explosive, he dared not act.
Unlike the huge economic benefits nitroglycerine brought to Nobel, Charles had read several introductions to Nobel, and what impressed him most was not Nobel's inventions, but how nitroglycerine kept exploding here and there, killing this relative of Nobel, and that relative of Nobel.
Therefore, based on the principle of safety first, Charles would absolutely not touch nitroglycerine easily. He also remembered that Nobel invented safety explosives, detonators, smokeless powder, and so on, and even knew that his explosives contained diatoms, but unfortunately, he didn't know the specific formula.
However, even if he knew, he wouldn't dare to do it himself, because all of this would require first manufacturing nitroglycerine, and that stuff, in Charles' mind, having never witnessed it firsthand, was simply too dangerous.
Inviting a chemist was mainly to have him manufacture medicine. As for nitroglycerine, if he could synthesize it, then he would build a laboratory for him far away and let him tinker with it himself. He would absolutely not dare to approach that stuff within a thousand meters.
"There are many workers in Philadelphia, so finding the ones you need shouldn't be a problem. As for a familiar chemist, yes, there are some, but it might take a little time. Can I give you an answer tomorrow?" Charles hesitated for a moment, then immediately gave a positive reply.
"Of course you can. Actually, just giving me an answer within a few days is fine." Charles replied with a smile.
"Alright, I'll go look for them right away." Charles stood up. "Also, when I came in earlier, there were a few wealthy Philadelphians who wanted to meet you, the new prominent figure in Philadelphia, to express their respect for you. I wonder if you would be willing..."
"Hahahaha! Even if I weren't willing, for your sake, Charles, I would meet them, especially since they are coming to express their respect." Charles laughed heartily, understanding the implication.
He knew that in North American society at this time, it was very common for merchants to bribe political figures. Of course, their titles were still very proper; it was just sending a small Meeting gift to make an acquaintance and become friends. As for the reciprocity between friends, that was not something outsiders could interfere with.
Soon after Charles left, two plump, middle-aged white men walked in.
"Good morning, honorable Junior Councilor Godfrey!"
"Good morning, sirs!"
"It's truly an honor to meet you, Junior Councilor Godfrey, sir. We are old friends and used to meet often. This time you came to Philadelphia without informing us, leaving us unprepared. Hearing that you were already staying at the hotel, we simply brought a few things from home for you, hoping you like them." After speaking, the two men smiled and each took out a pouch, handing them to a somewhat puzzled Charles.
Was this naked bribery?
Calling him a friend, and then they could give gifts to a friend?
Charles clearly heard the metallic clinking sound when the two bags were placed on the table; inside were either gold or silver coins. At this time, the popular currency in North America was Spanish gold and silver coins; British pounds and US dollars were used very infrequently. Judging from their actions and smiles, it should be a bag of gold coins.
"What is this...?" Charles pondered for a moment.
It was his first time receiving a bribe, and with no one there to guide him, this novice was a bit unsure of what to do.
Fortunately, these two bribers were indeed very familiar with Godfrey and, seeing his reaction, understood his predicament.
"Godfrey, you don't have to be troubled. Both the Pennsylvania Assembly members and the Continental Congress representatives tacitly allow councilors to receive political donations. You've just become a councilor, so you might not be used to it yet, but it will get better with time. We two have coal and iron mines near Pittsburgh, and we'll need your care in the future.
We are very willing to make such political contributions. Before you became the representative for Pittsburgh, we were constantly worried that those two mines would be taken over by the government or given away by the Assembly."
So these two were the patrons behind the iron and coal mines near Pittsburgh.