[SBR] The Right Path from Negative to Zero

What is it like to transmigrate to 19th-century America? Thanks for asking. I worked as a kitchen hand in a restaurant and washed clothes at two in the morning. Later, because I knew English, a railroad company hired me as a "foreman." Right now, the peak of my life is working as a "manservant" at the mayor's mansion. I suppose I'm considered "Chinese" here. Most Chinese men in America can't afford the price of a ship ticket, and usually don't bring their families over. So most Chinese women in America are the result of human trafficking. ...By comparison, my situation is actually pretty good. After all, I appeared here out of thin air. I don't owe anyone for a ship ticket or an agent's fee, and I didn't sign a contract selling myself into servitude... Most of them come from Guangdong. Although plenty have lived in America for a long time, few can speak English. The so-called "American accent" I've worked so hard to learn has made me a rarity here... That's also why no one thinks I'm a woman. And I've decided to take advantage of this "misunderstanding" and survive here. Honestly, for a long time, I thought I had "just" ended up in 19th-century America. So when I heard names like "Funny Valentine," I was genuinely shocked for quite a while. A very long while. Perhaps because this land holds the remains of a saint, the America loved by its president didn't suffer much of an economic crisis. Chinese laborers didn't become scapegoats for economic failure, and the Chinese Exclusion Act never came about. Ah, I suppose that's a blessing in disguise? Come to think of it, the railroad behind the SBR race should be the Transcontinental Railroad. There's a Chinese laborer's corpse beneath every single railroad tie on that track. After all, history's general course and the events that were bound to happen, the Opium War and the American Civil War, still took place in this world, didn't they? I think the best use I ever made of my "transmigrator's" advantage was... betting my pitifully small savings on Johnny. He wasn't a popular pick back then, and I won quite a bit. I thanked Johnny profusely for being my benefactor, then paid off the tab I'd run up at the restaurant. (Please don't follow my example. I knew the outcome.) The next time I had anything to do with the "story" was... when the mayor took an interest in me after I changed into a suit at the railroad company... and then I ran into Johnny Joestar again while working as a manservant at his house. Oh, I was the one who cleaned up after them. Those young men had energy to spare, and they'd made a complete mess of the place. Phew... Honestly, I always thought I had nothing to do with the "story." I just wanted to live a good life and worry about the "story" later. Then news spread like wildfire that Johnny had been shot in front of a theater... I could only take care of my own affairs. So you can imagine how much of a headache it was when I saw that dazed young master at his bedside. Death and suffering are everywhere in this world. If I reached out to help everyone, I would absolutely work myself to death. But just as I was hesitating, I could almost hear coins dropping. So I took him away from that awful place. When Johnny Joestar asked how he could repay me, I honestly asked: "Well, as luck would have it, I just lost my job. Do you need a housekeeper?" -- Note: This is not a soul transmigration story. My actual body transmigrates, and I disguise myself as a man. I'll write about some of the social realities I've learned about. Characters will die, but this is not a bad ending. I had a few reasons for writing this: 1. I watched the documentary The Golden Spike back then. 2. I realized something was off about the scene where Johnny was beaten and stuffed with newspaper. 3. To discuss whether Valentine is righteous. -- Updates stopped in June 2022. In April 2025, the Steel Ball Run anime was officially announced, and I completely rewrote chapters 20-32. I'm still struggling through writer's block, revising and updating as I go. Theme: Those who have the will to seek the truth will surely reach it.