East Bank of the Mississippi River, outskirts of Fulton Town.
Michael Dain wiped his nose hard and instinctively touched his holster with his snot-covered hand.
The western region was warmer than Peachtree City, which helped his cold improve a bit. Otherwise, he wasn’t sure he could handle those Gold Seekers.
Peachtree City was in the Central United States, and the gold rush hadn’t spread there yet. But lately, he often heard people talking about how crazy the Gold Seekers were in the West.
Many would sell all their properties, even leaving their wives and children behind, trekking hundreds of miles to Louisiana, all in pursuit of that dream of getting rich overnight.
Because so many people were liquidating assets, the property prices in states like Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky had dropped by over 30% in just a few months.
Dain smacked his lips. To be honest, if not for his job as Sheriff, which provided a stable income, and his reluctance to leave his two lovely children at home, even he was somewhat tempted to venture to the West Coast. Maybe he could also come back with a few tens of thousands of US Dollars.
"Sir, the ’flat riverside’ you mentioned is right here." The driver’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
Dain jumped off the ox cart, tossed the man three coins, muttering to himself: The City Council would probably not include this in the travel expenses, and the army was even less likely to cover it.
Yes, he was sent by the Peachtree City Council to assist the military in intercepting the "Spanish spies." The whole city had only three sheriffs, and two of them had come to the Mississippi River.
In fact, the city councils of the Central United States were also very worried about the large-scale exodus of residents due to the gold rush, so they actively responded to the military’s request for help.
Relying on his experience as a sheriff, Dain quickly found his two partners near the beach—members of the smuggling team from Hendersonville.
The three of them were responsible for two miles of nearby riverside. Over 800 kilometers of the Mississippi River needed to be watched, and in Wilkinson, only about 3,000 people were assembled, making the patrol pressure quite large.
"We’ve already checked around here." The slightly plump Newman pointed to several spots by the river, "Those boats will stop there, there, and at the two places south."
Dain nodded, "So we just need to watch these places?"
"No, old buddy," Yadley shook his head, "you’re underestimating those Gold Seekers. They’ll wade across any shallow water to board a boat, so we have to patrol every spot."
Dain frowned and sighed, "God, this is even more tiring than when a murder case occurs in the city."
Newman grinned, "For the shiny silver coins, it is a bit tiring. But with the three of us taking turns resting, we should be able to manage."
Dain was startled, "Silver coins? Is the military giving us an allowance?"
Newman looked at him in surprise, about to answer, when Yadley suddenly drew his gun, saying in a deep voice, "Did you hear that? Near that patch of trees."
Dain also gripped his gun, jogging to follow.
Indeed, the smuggling team’s hearing was extraordinary. They quickly caught two young men with backpacks on the north side of the grove.
Yadley looked at them and said coldly, "Trying to slip across the river?"
"No, no, we just..." a freckle-faced young man stammered, "wanted to go fishing."
Dain flatly said, "Go home immediately, or we’ll arrest you as Spanish spies!"
"Yes, yes, sir..."
Just as the two young men were about to turn away, Newman grabbed them and whispered, "Cough, you’re going to prospect for gold, right?"
"No, we’re not."
Newman seemed not to hear, speaking to himself, "Five US dollars each, and I’ll pretend I didn’t see you."
"Ah? What?"
Newman gestured to the distance, "Let me tell you, the Mississippi River is already blocked by the military. Except here, you won’t be able to cross elsewhere."
The freckle-faced guy stared at him in shock for a moment, shook his head, "We don’t have that much money."
Dain was even more shocked, "Wait, this is a serious violation of the embargo!"
Newman nodded vigorously, telling the two Gold Seekers, "Did you hear that? We’re taking a big risk here."
"We really don’t have 10 dollars."
"Alright, 4 dollars each."
"We’re only trying our luck in California because we owe too much..."
"3 dollars 50 cents. Pay up or turn back."
The Gold Seekers exchanged a glance, gritted their teeth, and handed over 7 silver coins, reluctantly placing it into Newman’s hands.
He gestured to the riverbank, "Wait there for an hour, and a boat will pass by."
Dain watched the two young men’s silhouettes fade, then grabbed Newman, "What are you doing? If the military finds out, we’ll..."
Three cold silver coins were pressed into his hand.
"Your performance just now was excellent." Newman mimicked him, "’This is a serious violation of the embargo.’ Haha, look how scared they were. Usually, someone wouldn’t pay more than 3 dollars."
Yadley nodded, "The bottom line is two dollars, no less."
Dain got anxious, "No, I mean, how can you let them cross?"
Newman and Yadley exchanged glances, bursting into laughter, "What else can we do?"
"Really send them back? Oh, don’t be naive, they’ll just keep searching along the river for opportunities. Some patrol team, or the next one, will be willing to take some cash to let them cross."
"Right, rather than letting others earn this money, we should earn it ourselves."
Dain paused for a moment, then shook his head, "But..."
Not expecting such an obstinate teammate, Newman leaned over and said, "Do you know how many people are crossing every day?"
Dain instinctively shook his head.
"The day before yesterday was the least, with 4 people. The busiest day had 7." Newman continued asking, "What’s your salary?"
"9 dollars 70 cents."
He had solved a big case last year, and his salary wasn’t considered low in the Central City.
Newman smiled, "And you’ll make at least 4 dollars a day here. If the situation lasts for three months, you’ll return with 360 dollars."
Yadley continued, "Surely not that amount. As people from the Central City start moving to the West Coast, more people will cross."
Dain stood dumbfounded, his mind flashing with his wife’s long-discussed new dress, his son’s Latin tuition, and the long-broken fireplace at home.
After a moment, he looked at his two partners, seriously saying, "We need to form an ’alliance’ with the surrounding patrol teams; otherwise, someone will deliberately lower prices to steal business soon."
"Oh, you truly are a clever person!"
What Dain didn’t expect was that his "price alliance" swept through the East Bank of the Mississippi River in less than half a month, with almost all patrol teams joining in.
However, their days of making easy money only lasted less than 40 days before a sudden change occurred.