34: Chapter 34 Permanent License for Smokeless Gunpowder: The Germans Make the First Offer

"There's no 'but' about it! Trust me, I'm someone who has traveled all over the USA with my mother!"

Anna puffed out her chest and patted it proudly.

"But I heard that Mr. Edison really hates Mr. Bruce. Is that true? What if he finds out about our plan!" Elizabeth said, her face full of worry.

"Hmph! I'm so sick of him right now. Every time the newspaper praises Bruce, he jumps up and down!"

Anna mimicked her father Edison's tone, deliberately stiffening her face and lowering her voice:

" 'Look at this Chinese kid, always up to some crooked tricks! Why do these trash reporters always say he can surpass me? I'm going to sue them for libel!' "

Watching Anna's vivid and comical impression, Elizabeth couldn't help but giggle and burst into laughter.

"Hehe, my father actually told me that Mr. Bruce is someone worth befriending!"

A thought suddenly flashed through Anna's mind regarding Elizabeth's family motto: "Make friends with people who are better than yourself."

She compared that to her own father, Edison.

That old man was obsessed with face and never admitted that anyone was better than him.

Last time she heard from her mother that Bruce had saved them on the train, the old man wasn't grateful at all; instead, he complained that her mother was meddling by donating fifty thousand dollars.

He even gave a strict order forbidding Anna from writing to the Chinese kid again.

Comparing the two, Anna finally understood why Elizabeth's father had no respect for the great inventor Edison at all.

"Elizabeth, let's write back to Bruce right now! Tell him that when the national shooting competition opens, we'll go to Chicago together to find him!"

Anna turned her head, grabbed Elizabeth's shoulders, and looked very serious.

Elizabeth, who was the same age as Anna, pondered for a moment and nodded vigorously.

"We must prepare in advance. My father often says that as long as you plan ahead, even if things go wrong in the end, it's better than just stumbling around blindly; at the very least, you gain experience. So, I plan to save up fifty dollars for travel expenses before we leave!"

"Good idea!"

Anna rubbed her chin and thought, "Okay, I'll go back and prepare too!"

"Great, let's work hard together!"

The two little girls made up their minds and huddled together to discuss how to write back to Lin Tian.

After writing the letter, the two were full of anticipation, drinking black tea and reading in the study.

They stayed until the afternoon, when Anna finally boarded the carriage sent by her family and waved goodbye.

From this day on, the two girls shared a common secret in their hearts.

"Daddy, I swept the hall clean and earned twenty cents!" Elizabeth shouted to her father as he returned home from work.

"Daddy, I'll massage your back for fifteen cents!"

...

"Alright, good job." Her father didn't think anything was wrong at first.

He had set a rule at home that doing chores earned money, mainly to cultivate the children's independence.

But after a few days, he realized things had changed.

His little daughter had practically taken over all the chores in the house.

Even the housekeeper and the maid came to complain, grumbling that the young miss had stolen all their work and they were bored to death.

Her father immediately sent someone to investigate secretly.

Not long after, the housekeeper ran to the study to report, revealing the whole plan of the two girls secretly saving money to go to Chicago.

If it were an ordinary parent, hearing that their daughter under ten wanted to go out of town would certainly stop them immediately.

But Elizabeth's father just smiled:

"Since she intends to go out with Edison's daughter, don't stop her; this is an excellent opportunity for her to gain experience. Just send a few more people to protect her in secret!"

"Understood, sir!"

The housekeeper accepted the order and exited the study.

Her father walked to a row of custom-made bookshelves.

On them were neatly arranged newspapers from all over the country.

The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times...

As long as it was an influential newspaper, he had the housekeeper collect it, specifically for analyzing various intelligence.

He casually pulled out a copy of The New York Times, with a half-length photo of Lin Tian printed on the page.

"Alright, let my precious daughter go and inspect you for me first. Chinese kid, don't let me down."

At this moment, Lin Tian, far away in California, had no idea that he had already been targeted by one of the top big shots in the USA.

He was sitting in the reception room, receiving a guest from Germany.

Baden von Askania, a genuine German Junker aristocrat.

This person crossed the ocean to represent Paul Mauser, the boss of the Mauser Company, specifically to discuss the licensing deal for Smokeless Powder.

However, Lin Tian knew clearly in his heart that sending a Junker aristocrat to run errands, without the instruction of the German high-level authorities, was something he wouldn't believe even if he died.

The current German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm I, was a thorough iron-blooded warrior.

During his reign, he fought three hard battles in a row, unified Germany, and rubbed France, who claimed to have the number one army in the world, into the ground.

Such a ruthless person would definitely be able to see the weight of Smokeless Powder on the battlefield.

And indeed, that was the case.

Ever since Lin Tian registered the patent for Smokeless Powder in various countries, the secret that this thing could multiply the range and muzzle velocity of rifles had long since spread.

Countries all over the world were drooling over it.

But the arrogant The British and the French were very shameless in their dealings.

Both had obtained some of the public patent information and were closing their doors to do their own research, intending to copy the cat and draw a tiger to come up with their own formula.

Until now, neither of them had sent anyone to even say hello, clearly intending to get it for free.

Lin Tian also felt helpless.

The great lawyer Paul had long ago revealed the bottom line: fighting international patent lawsuits against these bandit countries was a complete waste of effort and could drag you to death.

In comparison, the Germans were quite decent in their dealings, becoming the first great power to honestly sit down and discuss business.

Because of this, Lin Tian had a pretty good impression of the German aristocrat in front of him.

"Good afternoon, sir!" Lin Tian greeted him politely.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Bruce!"

Baden handed his top hat and cane to the maid, shook hands with Lin Tian, and turned to sit on the sofa.

"Would you like Chinese tea or Assam black tea?" Lin Tian asked after sitting down comfortably.

"Assam black tea, thank you."

The head maid, Helen, turned and left, and before long, she walked in carrying a set of exquisite porcelain.

After pouring the black tea, she quietly retreated and closed the heavy door of the private room tightly.

Only Lin Tian and this German aristocrat who had come from afar were left in the room.

Baden picked up the teacup, took a sip, and got straight to the point:

"Mr. Bruce, you must have received the telegram sent by the Mauser Company. I came here today to finalize the details of the patent exchange."

"Additionally, the German Empire hopes to obtain permanent production authorization for Smokeless Powder!"