Chapter 65: Money Lending and Other Sins
"Hey! Arthur! What are you guys doing here?"
Just as the four of them reached the side of the tracks and were waiting for the train to start, a very familiar voice suddenly called out from the direction of the Post Office.
They all looked toward the source of the voice at the same time, only to realize that the newcomer was Mr. Strauss.
He was walking toward them with steady steps and a smile on his face.
Seeing this acquaintance, everyone immediately broke into warm smiles and greeted him one after another.
"Leopold? I didn't expect to run into you here! Why are you here? Did you just get back from collecting debts?"
It was Pearson speaking, his face full of excitement and his eyes shining with eagerness.
For non-combatants in the Gang like him, the funds for their daily activities depended entirely on Strauss.
Thus, in Pearson's eyes, Strauss was practically the God of Wealth himself.
(The names used here follow the standard conventions for players of the game, otherwise many people wouldn't know who Josiah or Leopold are.)
Strauss nodded in response, saying he had just returned from collecting debts in Rhodes.
As he spoke, he climbed onto the wagon, pulled four IOUs from his satchel, and said:
"People are always happy to borrow money from someone like me, but they only get eager about paying it back when they run into someone like you, Arthur!"
"Arthur, could you help recover the debts from these four people? They're overdue."
Strauss was truly dedicated; he didn't even forget about work on the way back to camp.
But Arthur's face was written all over with reluctance.
Since coming down from the snowy mountains, Arthur had been run ragged by Dutch, sent here and there like a spinning top, while everyone else in the camp mostly just did chores or hunted.
It could be said that Arthur's hard work allowed everyone else in the camp to live the lives they wanted, which made him feel quite resentful.
"Mr. Strauss! There's a man right next to you who's taller and stronger than me. Do you really have the heart to assign this task to me?"
Johnny didn't expect to get caught in the crossfire even though he had stayed quiet and kept his head down, so he said to Arthur:
"God damn it, Arthur, I just gave you a priceless pistol! Is this how you repay your benefactor? Don't you plan on returning the favor?"
Thick-skinned as ever, Arthur stated that if Johnny didn't do it, he wouldn't either.
Left with no choice under everyone's expectant gazes, Johnny gave in and agreed to share half the workload.
With that, Strauss began to introduce the four debtors:
"One is named Chick Matthews; he works at Guthrie Farm, looks like a farmhand."
"Mr. Robel! He's a small landowner in Rainbow Skies, but he's been managing it poorly."
"Miss Lilly Millet is a ranch maid at Emerald Ranch."
"The last one is Thomas Downes. We lent him quite a bit of money, and it seems he has no intention of paying us back!"
"Restrain yourself and don't kill them; it's bad for business!"
After a moment's thought, Johnny took the IOUs for Robel and Downes and said to Arthur:
"Arthur, I'll go to these two places to collect. The other two are both near Emerald Ranch; you can sell the horse someone gave us today while you're at it."
Arthur nodded and suggested bringing John along for the debt collection, saying the man would go to waste if he kept lying around.
Johnny understood the brotherhood between them, so he didn't say much, only replying:
"Then take that young lad Kieran with you. He knows a lot about horses; maybe you can make a bit more money."
Nothing more was said on the way back.
...After returning to camp, Johnny didn't bother resting and immediately threw himself into his work.
Before long, he had come up with two plans.
One was the details of the debt collection, and the other was about his long-delayed project involving the junk guns.
So, he decided to focus first on dealing with the pile of old, worn-out firearms he had accumulated.
These junk guns were numerous and in varying conditions; some were missing parts, while others were completely broken.
But for Johnny, who possessed the massive amount of firearm knowledge granted by the [Gunsmith] perk, they weren't worthless scrap.
On the contrary, every junk gun was like a treasure waiting to be awakened, and he was the treasure hunter capable of unearthing its potential.
In the time that followed, Johnny immersed himself completely in the repair and modification of these junk guns.
Relying on his exquisite skills and deep professional knowledge, he cleverly disassembled, reassembled, repaired, and improved every single component.
After two and a half days of working day and night, the mountain of junk was finally transformed.
They were transformed into 10 brand-new, shiny 'near-mint' Cowboy revolvers for ladies' use, and 6 carbine repeating rifles heavily modified in the style of forum enthusiasts.
While these weapons couldn't yet rival the top-tier new firearms on the market, they were at least comparable to some high-quality second-hand goods.
However, the headache-inducing part was that after completing this large-scale modification, the remaining parts could only be described as a sorry sight.
They were either incomplete or had peculiar specifications, making anyone who saw them shake their head.
Faced with such a pile of troublesome parts, Johnny had no choice but to carefully collect them, intending to head to the Gun Shop owner in Valentine to try his luck.
To see if he could find suitable replacements or other solutions.
*Creak*
As the wooden door opened, the owner looked at the visitor carrying a large crate with confusion:
"Sir! I don't believe I've ordered any firearms recently. Have you come to the wrong place?"
Johnny replied with a chuckle:
"Take a look at the condition of these firearms, boss. Do you buy?"
Hearing this, the owner stepped out from behind the counter to inspect them seriously.
An expert can tell at a glance. Although the materials weren't the best, the craftsmanship was clearly the work of a Master Gunsmith.