I was the Founding Father of the United States

Chapter 3 Crowdfunding Factory

Soon, witnessed by Pastor Jason, Chen Wenbin and Captain George signed the formal investment documents.

The two did not hide it from others, so after noticing the curious looks of the sailors around them, Chen Wenbin had a flash of inspiration and immediately had Andrew announce that his new factory, which was being prepared, could also accept investment from the sailors on board. Then he asked Reverend Jason to formally draft the bylaws and share arrangements for the Jenna Spinning Mill.

The spinning mill has a total of 3,500 shares, each currently valued at one pound. Each sailor can invest in a maximum of 20 shares, with payment due within one month of the Chenna's arrival at sea; otherwise, the shares will be forfeited.

By the mid-18th century, the corporate system in Western Europe had become quite sophisticated. In addition to large colonial companies such as the East India Company and the Hudson's Bay Company, the North American colonies also had many small and medium-sized trading and manufacturing companies.

For example, the Lopez Trading Company, which commissioned the Jenna to conduct trade, is a private company, so the people on board were not surprised by the establishment of such a company.

However, due to the Bubble Act passed in Britain in 1720, which restricted the establishment of unincorporated joint-stock companies, companies in the North American colonies were also unable to establish public joint-stock companies.

However, flexibility is always possible. A "partnership company" structure can circumvent this restriction. Therefore, the company Chen Wenbin established on the ship is not strictly a joint-stock company, but a partnership company...

Hearing that Chen Wenbin was going to set up a new company for his new invention and raise funds to build a factory, all the idle sailors on the ship gathered around to ask him questions.

Chen Wenbin hired Pastor Jason and Andrew David, among others, to explain in detail the efficiency improvements brought about by the new spinning machine.

However, he did not boast that the spinning mill would definitely make a lot of money. Instead, he emphasized the various risks that the new spinning mill might face, such as the possibility of resistance from the colonial spinning guilds, and reminded them to invest cautiously.

This deterred some sailors, who preferred to spend their money in taverns, but many others chose to take a gamble; the sailors of this era who were willing to board ships were not lacking in adventurous spirit.

Having fulfilled his obligation to inform people of the risks, Chen Wenbin asked Pastor Jensen to help register and record each person's investment amount.

The next morning, the last sailor willing to invest signed the investment documents that Chen Wenbin had specially prepared.

Unsurprisingly, the five sailors whom Chen Wenbin had saved with precious antibiotics—Andrew, David, Chris, Anthony, and Benjamin—along with three other people he had treated—Jackson, Martin, and Black—all registered to buy twenty shares.

On the one hand, this is out of gratitude for Chen Wenbin's treatment; on the other hand, it is because Pastor Jason and Captain George, representing the church, invested a large sum of money, which gave them great confidence.

For this reason, most of the rest of the crew also put a few pounds into Chen Wenbin’s Jenna Spinning Mill. Even a few sailors who were not optimistic, such as old Jason, followed the crowd and signed a one-pound share purchase commitment... At worst, they could hide ashore for a month until the commitment expired!

After all, one pound was a considerable sum for many old sailors who were used to spending money on land, and there was no need to spend it on a spinning mill where they didn't know when they would break even.

Thus, Chen Wenbin's Jenna Spinning Mill successfully raised an investment of up to £1521 (including £281 in cash that had already been received) before going ashore.

If all goes well, this money will be enough for him to have a good start in his colony in the New World.

……

Three days later, in the afternoon, the Jenna slowly docked at Newport Harbor in southern Rhode Island... Yes, that's how slow sailing ships are!

Chen Wenbin finally saw a North American colonial city of this era for the first time, and to be honest, it was quite disappointing.

Although the Georgian-style buildings around the port looked alright from a distance, more pleasing to the eye than the colonial outposts he had seen on the African slave coast or the tropical ports of Cuba.

But in essence, this is just a small fishing village port, with at most a few more sailboats. It's nothing compared to the super port cities of the Celestial Empire in later generations, and even the small fishing port on the coast of his hometown, Shandong, is ten times better.

Of course, he also knew that the two were 260 years apart and were not comparable.

"...Robin, what's wrong? Don't you like Newport?"

On the deck, Reverend Jason noticed that Chen Wenbin had frowned and looked up in confusion to ask—Chen Wenbin was 1.84 meters tall, which, converted to imperial units, was over six feet, a head taller than Reverend Jason, who was just over 1.7 meters tall.

Upon hearing this, Chen Wenbin shook his head, made up a lie, and said, "No! I like it here, I just... thought of my hometown!"

"oh!"

Pastor Jason stroked his mustache and suddenly realized, "Robin, are you missing the Qing Dynasty? Do you still have family there?"

"...Qingguo?"

Chen Wenbin was taken aback, then slowly but firmly shook his head. "No! I don't miss the Qing Dynasty, and I'm not a Qing citizen!"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged pastor looked at the back of Chen Wenbin's head and asked with even greater confusion, "Robin... I'm sorry, I haven't been presumptuous in asking you, but since you say you're from China, why don't you have a braid?"

Of course, you can refuse to answer me if you don't want to.

braid?

What normal Chinese person would wear a queue?!

Oh, almost everyone in this era wore a queue...

Chen Wenbin let out a frustrated sigh, looking at the approaching port of the New World in North America, unsure of how to respond.

At this time, the Qing Dynasty was still under the reign of Emperor Qianlong. Chen Wenbin had previously calculated that Emperor Qianlong died in 1799, which seemed to be the same year that George Washington resigned as President of the United States. Including the three years that Qianlong served as the Retired Emperor, the total reign was 63 years. Therefore, 1763 should be the 28th year of Qianlong's reign.

In the era of short videos, the Qing Dynasty's true colors have long been exposed, and Chen Wenbin knows exactly what the so-called Kangxi and Qianlong golden age was all about.

To put it another way, if Chen Wenbin hadn't had any special advantages when he transmigrated to the Qing Dynasty, just the fact that he didn't have a queue (braid) at the back of his head, which symbolized his obedience to the Qing Dynasty, would have made him a rebel and subjected him to the Ten Great Tortures. In the end, beheading would have been a quick death, and he might even have been subjected to the death by a thousand cuts...

Therefore, he had no goodwill towards the Qing Dynasty. Of course, he also had no goodwill towards the slave traders and bandits in the British North American colonies. However, objectively speaking, the latter were indeed easier to survive in, so he could only make the best of a situation and try to establish himself before thinking about anything else.

As for his own identity...

"I am Chinese, but not from the Qing Dynasty! Pastor, can you understand?"

Chen Wenbin looked at Pastor Jensen and explained, "...More than a hundred years ago, before the Qing Dynasty conquered the East, the people there did not wear queues. My ancestors were unwilling to submit to the Qing Dynasty, so I do not have a queue, nor will I ever wear one!"

Chen Wenbin's firm tone, complex gaze, and resolute rejection of the Qing Empire caught Pastor Jensen's eye.

This mysterious young man from the East, with his aristocratic air, indeed had an extraordinary past, just as he had guessed…