American Scenery

Chen Meiling was an excellent cook. For Lin An, who possessed a distinctly Chinese palate, her tomato scrambled eggs, garlic broccoli, stir-fried shredded pork with green peppers, and steamed egg custard were incredibly authentic.

The best part was that none of the aforementioned dishes contained any chili peppers.

It was clear that Chen Meiling had learned her culinary skills from her father. If not for her mixed-race appearance, Lin An wouldn't have even been able to tell that these dishes were cooked by an American just by eating them.

At the dinner table, Chen Meiling took the initiative to chat with Lin An, and through their conversation, Lin An gained a better understanding of Darnell's family.

Chen Meiling's biological father was named Chen Guoping. He was a responsible father who not only loved Mary Washington and Chen Meiling but also treated Darnell, that negro, as his own son without any distinction.

Because of his influence, the Mary family had a very favorable impression of Chinese people, and Darnell, that negro, had not fallen into the path of joining a gang.

Perhaps some might think, isn't it normal for a negro not to join a gang?

No, that is not normal. In this community primarily populated by Jamaican immigrants, for an eighteen-year-old Black boy not to join a gang is as difficult as a Chinese-American kid in Chinatown not attending Chinese school.

Because often, even if you don't want to, the gangs entrenched in the community won't respect your wishes.

Especially for a negro like Darnell, who possessed great strength and looked like a natural-born gang leader, gangs generally wouldn't let such a promising recruit slip away... unless you moved out of the community, many things were a one-way street.

Lin An didn't know what efforts Chen Guoping had made, but so far, Darnell was a good negro. Even though he had participated in "zero-dollar shopping" activities, in a hellish country like the United States, zero-dollar shopping really didn't count as much of a crime.

After eating and drinking his fill, it was time to sleep.

Although Chen Meiling was very excited after returning home tonight because of Lin An's presence, the mental joy could not overcome her physical fatigue. She was the first to take a shower and then went into her room to sleep.

Darnell followed suit, and Lin An was the last.

Judging by the fact that they showered before bed, Darnell and his sister had very Chinese-like habits.

As for clothes and such, since the Live Stream Store did indeed have redeemable items, many viewers in the live stream were very willing to tip Lin An for the things he needed, so a brand-new set of clothes certainly wasn't a big deal.

Therefore, he declined the set of clean, old clothes from Darnell's teenage years that Chen Meiling had left on the sofa.

While Lin An was in the bathroom showering, outside the bathroom, the viewers were chatting via the bullet screen.

[Who the hell redeemed that AR-15?]

[What's up?]

[I've had my eye on that gun for a long time. I tipped a lot of stuff and just gathered enough points. I was ready to redeem it a minute ago, and then—whoosh—it disappeared from my list.]

[Fast hands get it, slow hands miss out, brother.]

[No, man, the redemption points for this gun aren't low. What did the brother who redeemed it tip?]

[A crate of medicine.]

[Holy crap, rich guy.]

[I'm going to report you for illegal possession of firearms in the country.]

[What a joke. Let me ask you, what is your current timeline and who is the US president in 2009?]

[I'm in 2026, and the 2009 US president is Bush.]

[My timeline is 2028, and the 2009 US president is Old Brown.]

[Damn, what's going on?]

[Parallel worlds, kid. So, even if you go to report me, you can't do anything to me, because we aren't in the same world.]

[I don't believe it.]

[I believe it, because my timeline is 2021, and the 2009 US president is a woman.]

[The streamer is out! Streamer, streamer, can you lower the redemption price of the guns in the Live Stream Store? I don't have enough points to redeem a handgun.]

Lin An, who was wiping his hair with a towel, pulled open the bathroom door. He glanced at the dense bullet screen with a strange look and squinted his eyes.

It seemed like there were more bullet comments. Was the number of viewers increasing?

Forget it, this wasn't a bad thing, just ignore it.

"Don't even think about it. Whether it's the points you tip or the redemption prices, I can't control any of it."

Feeling somewhat sleepy, Lin An couldn't be bothered to think about the impact of the increasing number of viewers. He walked to the sofa, casually found a thick blanket from the tipping list, took it out, covered himself with it, and fell asleep.

The next day, Lin An was awakened by the clatter of kitchenware. He opened his eyes, and while his vision was still blurry, he knew Chen Meiling was cooking.

Lin An sat up, yawning, and saw a bullet comment.

[Chen Meiling is truly a candidate for a good wife.]

"How so?"

Lin An asked subconsciously.

[She's in the kitchen actually boiling porridge, frying dough sticks, and frying eggs.]

[There's also pickled mustard greens; she has homemade pickled mustard greens in the kitchen.]

[Damn it, as a Chinese person, I'm ashamed. I've actually been outdone in culinary skills by a sixteen-year-old Black girl. The eggs she fried are too perfect.]

"Give me a set of toothbrush and toothpaste... hmm, a towel would be best."

As soon as Lin An spoke, the chat stream responded.

[It's here!]

[Brothers, is it true that if we tip in response to the streamer's request, we get more points?]

[After my rigorous tipping experiment, it is indeed true. For the same item, tipping after the streamer asks results in double the points compared to tipping without a request.]

[Those fast-handed guys really deserve to die.]

A complete set of toiletries appeared out of thin air in Lin An's hand, and this scene was witnessed by Darnell.

"Oh, magician, can you get me a set too... a toothbrush, toothpaste, and another cup of hot coffee, sugar but no milk, thanks."

Lin An glanced at him. Darnell's expression was very serious, so serious that it was as if he were actually ordering at Starbucks.

"Only coffee."

"That works too."

Lin An reached out, and a warm cup of Mixue Ice Cream & Tea coffee appeared in his hand. Darnell took the coffee cup without a second thought and gulped it down.

"There's no sugar in this."

Just then, Chen Meiling walked out carrying some porridge and happened to see this scene.

"What is this?"

Her voice was very calm.

"Coffee."

Darnell replied, then realized what had happened a moment too late.

"Lin An gave it to me!"

"Brother, drinking coffee on an empty stomach in the morning isn't healthy... Also, don't frame Brother Lin for the bad things you do, that's not right!"

After Chen Meiling said this indignantly, she set the clay pot on the dining table and turned back to the kitchen, leaving Darnell with his hand outstretched in a dramatic "Erkang" pose.

"Damn it, bro, help me explain."

"What's there to explain?"

Lin An shrugged and turned to walk toward the bathroom; he needed to brush his teeth and wash his face.

"Oh no, bro, you can't be this cruel..."

The breakfast Chen Meiling prepared was still very Chinese and suited Lin An's palate perfectly. His praise made her eyes crinkle into slits, while Darnell, sitting on the other side, wanted to say something but hesitated, looking incredibly conflicted.

After breakfast, Chen Meiling picked up her schoolbag and left the house; she had to ride her bicycle to a public high school located within the Jamaica Community.

Theoretically, eighteen-year-old Darnell was also a high school student, so...

"Why aren't you going to school?"

After Chen Meiling left, Lin An couldn't help but ask Darnell, who was sitting on the sofa watching TV.

"Bro, my grades aren't good. Instead of wasting time at school, I'd rather leave and do something to earn money to support the family."

Darnell answered very casually, but the underlying weight of it still caused the chat stream to flood the screen in front of Lin An.

[It's a money issue, but also not just a money issue.]

[What do you mean?]

[It's probably very complicated; it's hard to explain in a few words.]

"Uh-huh, alright."

Lin An changed the subject, not intending to keep twisting the knife in Darnell's heart. He planned to think of some ways to find some entertainment.

"Your sister seems to know Chinese. When I was chatting with the audience in Chinese last night, she watched me for quite a while."

"She does know Chinese; our stepfather taught her."

"Then why don't you?"

Lin An asked.

"I lived with my Ni Ge father until I was ten, and only moved in with my mom after that..."

[Don't ask, streamer, don't ask.]

[The following topic feels like it won't be good.]

Lin An felt the same way, so he immediately changed the subject once again.

"Where is your mom? Hasn't she finished her shift yet?"

"She finished her shift last night. She should be asleep at the nursing home."

Darnell explained.

"The nursing home she works at doesn't have much money and can't afford many caregivers, so she just sleeps there. That way, if something happens, she can get up and help at any time."

[Darnell's mom really is a good person, working overtime for free.]

Well, that was another sensitive topic.

Although Darnell himself didn't really care, Lin An felt uncomfortable just hearing about it.

"Let's go, let's head out and look around to see if there are any ways to make money."

"Why not keep doing the zero-dollar shopping?"

Darnell asked curiously as he stood up.

"Just like you did yesterday, take us to the store's warehouse, and then we grab the stuff and run."

"Doing that occasionally is fine, but doing it too much makes it easy to get targeted by the New York police. Besides, the income from that kind of work isn't high; it's not worth us spending a lot of time on it."

"gogogo."

The morning air on Jamaica Avenue in March was still a bit cold, especially when the person riding the bike was a strong Ni Ge, making the wind hitting one's face feel even colder.

Pedestrians preparing to head to work were lucky enough to see a Western spectacle today... a strong Black man riding a bicycle, carrying an Asian man as they sped down the avenue, moving as fast as a motorcycle, silently whipping up a strong gust of wind.

The community's roads were somewhat dilapidated, filled with uneven potholes everywhere. Almost none of the houses Lin An saw along the way were new, and most were wooden structures or a mix of brick and wood; pure brick houses were rare.

However, that wasn't the point.

The point was that after turning a corner, Lin An saw tents... many tents, lined up along the street, dense and packed, a sea of tents that seemed to have no end.

Some tents were set up neatly with the guy-lines pulled taut, clearly indicating the occupants hadn't been homeless for long and still had the ability and the mood to build themselves a small, dignified home.

Others were half-collapsed, the canvas sagging and puffing up whenever the wind blew, like a diseased lung struggling to breathe... such occupants represented those who had been homeless for a long time; their situation was looking grim, as they no longer had the ability to maintain any decency, and the Grim Reaper was already waiting.

During the brief time he passed by, Lin An also saw things piled up in the aisles between these tents... shopping carts, cardboard boxes, sleeping bags, plastic buckets, and cardboard sheets.

Some people sat at the tent entrances, staring blankly at the intersection, while others squatted on the ground sorting through a black trash bag, their movements very slow.

Some stood there, their bodies leaning back or hunched forward with their heads down, looking filthy and covered in scars, like zombies.

Lin An looked at this scene and scratched his head.

[Capitalism is truly ruthless.]

[A beautiful sight of America.]

[This is a bit hard to watch.]

At this moment, Darnell's speed slowed down. The road ahead was half-blocked, and even Aodebiao had to slow down to avoid hitting people who might suddenly rush out from between the tents.

"bro, when you're free, don't come here alone."

Darnell warned while riding.

"It's dangerous here. Even gang members won't come here alone at night. The people living here are starving to the point of madness. If they have a chance to get a full meal, they'll do anything."

"I remember there are many churches here. Can't the food banks and charity food distribution points they set up alleviate their hunger?"

"It's useless, bro. Christian food banks and direct distribution points have the longest lines of all charities, but they give out the least food, and it's the easiest to spoil."

Darnell explained.

"When I was a kid hanging out with my Ni Ge old man, I was often hungry. To keep from starving, I learned to line up with other little Ni Ges to get food. You can't line up at the Christian ones. Sometimes, even when it was my turn, the food I got was expired, rotting, and stinking; eating it would give you the runs.

The Muslim food distribution points are worth lining up for. They give out flatbread and mutton soup to those in line. As long as you say you're Muslim, you can get some... and a lot of the time, you can get it even without saying anything."

[The Ni Ge has a lot of experience. Can an expert explain if there's a problem with this?]

[No problem. The relief from Christian churches really does have the biggest crowds but the least stuff. You line up for a day and only get a slice of cold bread. This amount won't kill you, but it leaves you with no time to line up anywhere else.]

[Also, they don't provide hot food, saying they're afraid of scalding people.]

[The relief design in capitalist countries is just like this: keep you alive, but make it very uncomfortable, make you grateful, and then leave you no time to think about rebelling. In two years, you'll be dead anyway.]

"The best way is actually to go to the back alleys of bakeries or supermarkets and search the dumpsters."

Darnell, speeding along on his bike, continued to pass on his experience to his good bro.

"The dumpsters there usually have expired food packed up by the staff. Although it's called trash, this kind of food is actually the cleanest.

It's just that these 'treasure chests' aren't easy to get, because there are specialized strong scavengers guarding them, and average Ni Ges can't beat them.

Even if you find food, you can't take it away, because they'll snatch your stuff and beat you up."

"Ah, I've learned something new."

Lin An sighed with deep emotion.

The barrage was also sighing and discussing it in the same way.