For an entire day, Dutch, Hosea, Arthur, and David were out and about, not only observing Valentine's clothing industry but also inspecting the wool and leather markets of the livestock town of Valentine.
These two were among Valentine's main sources of income; as a livestock town, wool and leather were their key sales points, and these two items happened to align with the clothing business Dutch was preparing to start.
One could say Valentine and the clothing store were a perfect match.
But Dutch didn't just want to open a clothing store; he now wanted to establish a garment factory to become a boss in the clothing industry, thereby accumulating the first capital to purchase firearms and equipment, and at the same time, provide job opportunities for veterans and female workers through the factory, thus fully joining the ranks of women's rights.
As night fell, Valentine was still bustling with activity, especially the Valentine Tavern. Bosses from all over the West who came to buy goods would typically stay in the tavern, as there were many service ladies there.
However, extending further out, the environment quickly became desolate and remote.
The uneven dirt slopes were covered with weeds and wild horses, which, as Dutch and the three others rode by, startled the surrounding animals, causing them to howl and quickly flee.
"Oh, damn Micah, he went to the tavern to find prostitutes and didn't even call me! Just wait until I get back and deal with him!" David rode behind Dutch, saying to Arthur beside him.
If it weren't for Dutch's orders, he might have already engaged in some in-depth discussions with those poor women by now.
The night was dark, but the path ahead on this vast plain was not too dim. The moon here was extremely bright; heavy industrial pollution had not yet reached the Western territories.
"Hahaha, David, be careful you don't get gonorrhea, I won't help you with the medicine then... Oh sh*t!!!"
Arthur's words abruptly stopped, followed by a curse.
"Oh, Arthur, David, our old friends from the O'Driscoll Gang are here. You two give them a good welcome!"
Dutch looked at the few people on horseback with oil lamps on the hillside beside them and chuckled, then drew his pistol and shot the leading person directly dead.
"Kids, Hosea and I will head back first. He's old, and old guys need good rest; they can't participate in such intense gunfights.
Please you two clean up the battlefield properly later. I don't want our arrival to create a terrifying atmosphere in Valentine."
Dutch waved to Arthur and David, then shot and killed another O'Driscoll Gang member who had ridden over, before signaling Hosea to gallop towards the camp.
"Alright, Dutch!" Arthur and David responded, and then gunshots continuously rang out in this desolate Gobi Desert.
In the West of this era, a super gunman could truly fire six shots in one second, with every shot a headshot.
However, such people were extremely rare; only in the elite-focused Van der Linde Gang were there rare instances of multiple such sharpshooters.
Just think, even an idiot like Bill could become a gang leader, which goes to show how explosive the true combat power of the Van der Linde Gang must be.
Another name for the Blackwater Town battle is the Blackwater Town Massacre! It directly set back Blackwater Town's development by more than twenty years and even led to a direct ban on firearms. This was achieved under the scheme of numerous official police officers and Pinkerton Detectives, which shows how impressive true sharpshooters were in those years.
These dozen or so O'Driscoll Gang members were swiftly and flawlessly dealt with by Arthur and David. They dragged the bodies to the Gobi, found a remote spot to dispose of them, and then rode back to the gang's location.
Dutch still had some tasks to assign, and everyone had to gather by 8 AM tomorrow at the latest, so neither of them thought about going back to the Valentine Tavern to enjoy themselves.
Although Micah and the others had gone, they had to return in the middle of the night.
Might as well not go.
Meanwhile, Dutch and Hosea had already returned to the camp.
"Oh, Dutch, you're back!" Jenny happily ran to Dutch's horse, leading it for him, chattering about what good things they had bought today.
She liked Dutch very much because he had saved her twice. The first time was taking her in after she fled her home, saving her from a miserable fate of wandering or becoming a nun. The second time was when he stood up to shield her from a bullet while half-dead.
So she liked Dutch very much, like a father.
"Oh, Jenny, my child, seeing you, I feel like seeing a fresh flower covered in morning dew."
Dutch smiled, letting Jenny kiss his cheek.
Hosea smiled as he dismounted, then hung up the rope and walked into the camp behind Dutch.
"Dutch, have you decided what we should do? Should we buy a farm, or..."
"Oh, Hosea, I think we can buy a farm, but there's no rush for that. We need to wait until Mr. Trelawny comes and have him handle it. After all, he always knows so many people, so he should have the channels we want."
Dutch and Hosea walked and talked. Although the gang's decision to enter the clothing industry hadn't been formally announced to everyone, being in the same camp, even without an announcement, they knew what Dutch and the others had been up to recently, so everyone was still discussing this topic.
Especially the ladies, who were happily chattering.
A clothing store! This was not only a clothing store, which women loved most, but it also represented the news that they were finally going to settle down.
Settle down! These four words were incredibly exciting for the Van der Linde Gang members.
Because apart from Dutch and Micah, everyone else either wanted to settle down long ago or was indifferent.
But overall, stability was something they could only dream of!
They were too excited!
Dutch and Hosea passed by the ladies' tent and overheard their conversation.
"Oh, Mary-Beth. Guess what I heard today at the Valentine Tavern?" Karen happily hugged Mary-Beth's waist, excitedly saying to her.
"What?" Mary-Beth was still so gentle, with a soft smile on her face.
"Oh ho ho, it's a story about a Valentine curse! Didn't expect that, did you? I actually heard them talking in the tavern about a terrifying curse in Valentine..."
Dutch's good mood was now somewhat ruined. He said goodbye to Hosea and then walked back into his tent.
"Oh, dear, tonight..." Miss O'Shea looked at Dutch with a flushed face as he entered, her expression expectant.
Dutch, since his transmigration, felt like he had infinite stamina, full of vigor.
And the phrase "always in peak condition" was an unimaginably huge temptation for women.
Anyway, Miss O'Shea couldn't forget it after just one experience.
"Oh, Molly, can it wait? I think I need a little time to think about some things." Dutch apologetically picked up Miss O'Shea, placed her on the inner side, and then sat on the edge of the bed himself.
"Okay, dear! But don't make me wait too long!" Miss O'Shea was overjoyed. Even though Dutch was a forty-one-year-old middle-aged man, in her eyes, Dutch's charm was still incomparable.
Now he was completely like a superman with infinite stamina, naturally making him even more charming in Miss O'Shea's eyes.
Especially at night, even if Dutch asked Miss O'Shea to die at that moment, Miss O'Shea probably wouldn't bear to refuse.
However, Dutch truly had no such thoughts right now; his mind was captivated by the curse Karen had just mentioned.
As is well known, Red Dead Redemption is full of easter eggs, especially various supernatural and horror ones, which are countless.
And the Valentine curse is one of them.
But if the Valentine curse easter egg exists, then the other easter eggs will obviously exist too.
For example, the Vampire of Saint Denis, the female ghost in the swamp, the giant anaconda in the trees, and other UFOs, robots, the ghost town, the water monster...
"sh*t!, how did this turn into a fantasy world?" Dutch cursed under his breath, taking out a cigarette and lighting it.