Dutch waved his hand, issuing a complete ban on firearms.
Dutch's orders were to be followed by everyone, as could be seen in Rhodes in Chapter 3; when he banned guns, even the player found it difficult to draw a gun in Rhodes.
Now his prestige was even greater, so everyone was particularly obedient.
As soon as he finished speaking, the ladies present cheered with delight.
"Oh yeah! Dutch, I love you!" Karen yelled excitedly, hugging Jenny.
Mary-Beth was also very happy, as this meant she could buy a few more books to read.
The ladies of the gang usually received some money, but it was very little, far less than the share distributed to those who went on missions. So they would save their money, and it might take a very long time to save up to a hundred dollars.
Watching everyone cheer, Dutch nodded, put on his hat, and then looked at the three people beside him, saying, "Let's go."
"Giddy up!"
Accompanied by the sound of hooves, a group of four riders emerged from the dense forest of Horseshoe Overlook and then galloped towards Valentine not far away.
Hosea rode his horse beside Dutch; with him there, even Arthur consciously lagged behind David, allowing Hosea and Dutch space to converse.
This point often reflected the gang's status when galloping on horseback in the game. For example, in early gang missions, Arthur was always by Dutch's side, and even if he fell behind, he could easily catch up. In the later stages, Micah became the one by Dutch's side, while Arthur became a small, transparent figure riding at the very corner, unable to squeeze in.
Looking at Hosea riding his horse, Dutch smiled and said, "Oh, old friend, I hope that more than a month of rest hasn't completely atrophied your body."
Hosea laughed, "Oh Dutch, at least until the gang is stable, my body will definitely be fine. But do you really think the clothing store business can support our gang? Can these people, the rich people in these places, tolerate our clothing store? You know, we're taking food out of their mouths!"
Dutch shook his head and comforted him, "Hosea, that's why I want to link the clothing store with women's rights. With the endorsement of those ladies, our clothing store won't be easily plundered to a certain extent.
Of course, if they really take a hard stance, our gang is certainly not to be trifled with. I think if we unite, even the entire East will be shaken!
Of course, it's best to resolve it without bloodshed, because Pinkerton Detectives are worried about their enforcement powers. If there's a large-scale bloody conflict, we'll undoubtedly be handing them a knife.
Hosea, since we are entering civilized society, we still need to use civilized methods to solve problems before we have the strength to overturn civilized society."
The group of four rode their horses towards Valentine, inconspicuous in the large town.
The game's expressive ability is limited; in reality, as a famous livestock town, Valentine's size and population are much larger than in the game.
Not to mention, the land area of just a few farms around Valentine is ridiculously large.
Most places in the American West currently remain undeveloped, so the price of wasteland is absurdly cheap. In some places without government, one can even claim land by simply enclosing it.
Therefore, the entire area of Valentine is also extraordinarily large; the size of just a few livestock farms alone is comparable to the entire Saint Denis in the game.
To see a true city, one needs to leave Ambarino, as this is still the Western region.
The so-called Saint Denis here is merely at the forefront of the West, embracing the civilized style.
But overall, it still inherited the foundation left by the city of New Orleans, which was established by the French.
After riding for a full hour, Dutch and the others finally entered Valentine.
The flow of people in this livestock town was actually very high, with houses densely packed, but most people looked sallow, indicating that their daily lives were not very good.
While fellow citizens in the East were already living lives of working in skyscrapers, this place remained like an uncivilized barbarian land, with stench everywhere and mud pervasive.
Slaughter and greed enveloped the entire Western land, unable to truly find peace for a long time.
Even though Dutch's notorious gang, which engaged in burning, killing, and plundering, slowly disappeared with the passage of time, the American Mafia followed closely behind.
Where capital governs, there is always a tangle of interests.
However, at this time, the Van der Linde Gang could still be considered a well-deserved T0-tier gang. In fact, if Dutch had been a bit more careful and transitioned from a nomadic gang of bandits to a settled type like the Mafia, he might have continued to grow and strengthen.
But unfortunately, he liked to wander.
Valentine was densely populated, mostly concentrated around several farms, which was its only attraction as a livestock town.
The rest of the areas were filled with laborers, farm workers, odd-jobbers who survived by transporting goods, and various small trades.
Making a living in this place was not difficult, but it was merely making a living.
As for women, it was even harder; they either worked as prostitutes in saloons or did low-paying jobs that men were unwilling to do, such as helping people bathe or washing dishes in saloons.
At this time, all they could do was wash dishes in the back kitchen; almost all other public-facing jobs would not be recognized.
The real improvement in status came from the increasing demand for productivity and the lack of labor, which brought job opportunities to women, enabling them to gradually increase their proportion in social consumption and production, thus slowly raising their status.
As for women's rights, from their inception to the present, they have merely been tools pushed by someone behind the scenes.
And the appearance of this place brought a satisfied smile to Dutch's face.
Holding his riding crop, he pointed at the prostitutes standing in the saloon and sadly said to Hosea beside him, "Hosea, look, how pitiful they are now. As normal women, they can only do these undignified jobs to barely survive for their children. If we gave them a respectable job, a job that allows them to live without selling their bodies, what position do you think they would elevate us to?"
Listening to Dutch's words, Hosea's face was filled with conviction.
"Dutch, oh Dutch, you're right. I think if your plan truly starts to be implemented, these women will go crazy! I think in their hearts, you will be their God!"