The Clever Old Joe

After eating his fill, Lin An and Darnell each took a shower. Then Lin An found Mary washing the dishes and told her he was going out... He hadn't forgotten that he'd asked Old Joe to recruit people. Now he needed to go see how things were going.

"Ah, you're going out this late? It's not very safe out there."

Mary looked worried. A good kid like Lin An wouldn't be safe at night in the Jamaica Community.

She wasn't worried when her own son went out. She knew Darnell well. With his appearance, he was the safest person around. As long as he didn't get caught in something unexpected, like a gang shootout, no one would stop him on the street.

Even in alleys, the Black men who tried to rob passersby would run the moment they saw Darnell.

"Don't worry, Aunt Mary. Darnell will come with me."

"All right, then. A man's work is important, after all... Darnell, remember to protect your good friend. Don't let anything happen to him."

"Sure, Mom. No problem, Mom."

The Roadster Bicycle creaked along the streets of Queens. Darnell pedaled at top speed, becoming a human engine and making the bicycle run as fast as a motorcycle. Lin An sat steadily on the back seat while the Bullet Screen scrolled rapidly in front of her.

[Old Joe really brought people back! Two old Black guys, a Mexican guy, a white cripple, and a white lady holding a baby]

[What a complete lineup. Is this the United Nations of the homeless?]

[Those two Black guys look pretty honest. From what they're saying, they used to be Old Joe's apprentices]

[The Mexican guy brought his whole family, his wife and two kids. The hell, is he here to work or flee for his life?]

[The cripple's a veteran. From the way he walks, his leg's in bad shape]

[The white lady's holding a kid, looks about one or two years old. What a tragedy]

Lin An watched with an impassive expression. Soon, Darnell slammed on the brakes, and the Roadster Bicycle wobbled to a stop at the furniture factory entrance. He looked back at Lin An.

"Genius, next time, can we get a cab? I have an Uber account, seriously, I do... What're you laughing at?"

Lin An had already headed for the factory entrance. Without turning around, she waved a hand.

"Darnell."

"Hmm?"

Lin An stopped in front of the door leading to the basement.

"When we go down there, don't say a word."

Darnell froze.

"What?"

"Keep quiet. Not one word, no matter what you hear or see."

"Why?"

Lin An gave him a once-over, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.

"Because if you don't say anything and just stand there, you'll be the coolest Ni Ge in all of New York."

Darnell immediately straightened his back, looking smug.

"Bro, exactly. You're right."

"So shut up."

"Okay."

"Not one word."

"No problem."

"Once we go in, stand beside me with a blank expression. If anyone looks at you, stare right back."

"Got it, Genius. Don't worry, I—"

Lin An raised a finger.

Darnell's mouth snapped shut. He gave her a thumbs-up to show he understood.

[When this Ni Ge doesn't talk, he looks just like a gang boss]

Lin An nodded in satisfaction and pushed open the basement door.

The stench of mildew and sweat, along with the faintest trace of blood, hit them.

The basement's dim yellow light stretched everyone's shadows long across the floor.

Old Joe stood at the front. As soon as he saw Lin An come in, he bent at the waist, his thin face scrunching into an expression of both reverence and nervousness.

"Boss."

Five people stood behind him, their faces illuminated by the emergency lights.

Two middle-aged Black men stood close together, not knowing what to do with their hands. A short, stocky Mexican man stood in front of his wife and children, trying to shield them, but he was trembling uncontrollably.

A white cripple leaned against the wall. One leg of his pants was empty below the knee, and his crutch was made from two pieces of wood he'd apparently scavenged somewhere. At the far end, a white woman held a tightly bundled child. The child wasn't crying, but the woman's eyes were red.

Old Joe cleared his throat, his voice hoarse.

"Line up. The Boss is here."

The five of them straightened up at once, as if they'd been shocked.

Lin An walked up to them and stopped.

He didn't speak right away, first looking around the room. As promised, Darnell stood behind him and to the side, expressionless, arms folded across his chest. His mature-looking face in the dim yellow light really was...

Pretty intimidating.

Lin An began his introduction.

"Hello, everyone. I'm your boss."

His Chinese-accented English echoed through the basement. He spoke each word slowly and clearly, with a curious solemnity.

"Old Joe should have told you that I'm short on staff and need help."

Silence.

None of the five spoke. It looked like the blood and shell casings left in the furniture factory today had scared them all, serving as an effective warning.

"Old Joe."

Lin An turned to him.

"Have them introduce themselves, starting with you."

Old Joe nodded and stood straight, like he used to when reporting to the boss at the furniture factory.

"Boss, my name is Joe Thompson. You can call me Old Joe. I'm a carpenter. I've been doing it for thirty years. After the furniture factory went under, I... Well, you already know. These two here..."

He turned and pointed at the two middle-aged Black men.

"Danny and Michael. They used to be my apprentices. Danny worked with me for five years, and Michael for three. They're good kids. They don't do drugs or cause trouble, and they work hard."

Danny, the taller one on the left, nodded nervously.

"Hello, Boss."

Michael nodded along, his forehead covered in sweat.

"Hello, Boss."

Lin An nodded for him to continue.

Old Joe pointed at the Mexican man.

"This is..."

"I-I'll introduce myself."

The Mexican man spoke English with a heavy accent, biting down on each consonant.

"My name is Hector Gonzalez. I'm from Mexico. I've been in New York... eight months. This is my wife, Maria, my son, Miguel, and my daughter, Sofia."

As he spoke, his wife nudged the children forward. The boy was about seven or eight, and the girl about five or six. Both children were so thin they looked like skin and bones, but their eyes were large as they watched Lin An timidly.

"I..."

Hector swallowed.

"I can fix cars, weld, repair appliances. I can do anything, really. Anything."

Lin An looked at the cripple.

The cripple didn't wait for Old Joe to introduce him. He stepped forward, leaning on his sticks. He was unsteady on his feet, but his back was straight.

"Alan Cohen."

His voice was low and even, like he was reading from a report.

"Former U.S. Army. 3rd Infantry Division, 2nd Brigade. I stepped on an IED while patrolling in Ramadi in 2006. Lost my left leg below the knee. Still have two pieces of shrapnel in my right leg."

He looked down at his amputated leg, his expression unchanged.

"Discharged due to injury. Got a severance package, spent it all on treatment, couldn't find a job, ended up sleeping on the street. That's it."

When he finished, he looked up and stared straight at Lin An.

His eyes were very blue, but there was nothing in them, like ashes after a fire had burned itself out.

Lin An looked at him for two seconds, then turned to the last person.

The white woman holding the child took half a step forward. Before she could speak, her eyes were already turning red.

"My name is Catherine Miller, and this is my daughter, Emily. She's a year and a half old."

Her chin trembled as she spoke, but she enunciated every word clearly.

"My husband... ex-husband left after losing his job last year. The bank took our house, and my car's nearly out of gas. I have nowhere to go. I..."

Her voice caught, and she held the child tighter.

"I can do anything. Please, just give me a job. My daughter hasn't had a proper meal in two days. I..."

"Catherine."

Lin An's voice wasn't loud, but she stopped at once, tears falling from her eyes.

"You don't have to cry."

Lin An still wore a smile, speaking as if comforting a classmate who'd failed a test.

"I told you, I'm short on staff."

Catherine froze. Tears still clung to her face, but her chin stopped trembling.

Lin An turned to face all six of them: Old Joe, Danny, Michael, Hector, Alan, and Catherine.

Six pairs of eyes watched him.

Fear, hope, confusion, humility, emptiness, despair.

The economic crisis in the United States had had too great an impact. It had reached too far.

"Everyone."

Lin An spoke.

"I don't care what you did before. I don't care why you came here, either. I only care about one thing..."

He raised a finger.

"Starting today, I'll give you food, a place to stay, work, and the most basic dignity. In return, you'll work for me. Whatever I tell you to do, you'll do.

"You can voice your opinions, but I have the final say."

Silence.

The only sounds in the basement were the emergency light's hum and the faint breathing of the child in Catherine's arms.

"Any questions?"

Silence.

Old Joe was the first to speak.

"No, Boss."

Danny and Michael nodded along. "No."

Hector glanced back at his wife. She gave him a gentle nudge, and he turned around.

"No."

Alan said nothing. He simply switched his crutch to the other hand and stood a little straighter.

Catherine held the child and shook her head, tears falling again.

Lin An clapped her hands, as casually as a teacher announcing the end of class.

"All right, you can rest. Starting tomorrow, I'll have things for you to do. Old Joe, come out for a moment."

She turned and left, and Darnell and Old Joe hurried after her.

In the narrow alley inside the furniture factory, Darnell remembered not to speak and kept quiet. Old Joe watched Lin An, waiting patiently.

"Old Joe, tomorrow, take your two apprentices and get the furniture factory set up. Disguise the place so people outside won't easily find the basement. You should soundproof it, too. Can you do that?"

"I can, Boss."

Old Joe nodded.

"There's still some lumber and tools in the factory. No one took them because they weren't worth much, but we can put them to use."

"Just handle it. If you need anything, come to me..."

Lin An paused to think.

"As for the Mexican, have him and his family clean up the second floor of the furniture factory. They can be responsible for the second floor from now on, but make sure they keep it disguised.

"Also, since Catherine has a car, have her get gas. Then she can drive you all to sell clothes. I'll give you the money for the clothes and gas tomorrow. Tell Catherine."

"Okay."

Old Joe nodded happily. From the sound of the Boss's instructions, he seemed to be the supervisor.

"As for Alan, take these medicines."

Lin An reached into her clothes and took out some Chinese-made Pianzaihuang, Berberine, and Ziyun ointment, handing them to Old Joe.

"This is an antibiotic. It can be taken by mouth or applied externally. This one treats diarrhea, and this one goes on the outside of the wound."

Old Joe accepted them with both hands, handling them as carefully as if they were sacred relics. He opened the box of Pianzaihuang, took a look inside, then closed it again.

"Boss, Alan's leg..."

"I know."

Lin An cut him off.

"Since you brought him back, that means he's trustworthy. Give him the medicine and let him take care of it himself. Tell him once his leg heals, I'll have something for him to do."

Old Joe nodded firmly, tucked the boxes of medicine into the inside pocket of his jacket, and patted them.

"Also."

Lin An took five twenty-dollar bills and a handgun with two magazines from her pocket, then handed them to Old Joe.

"That money's yours to allocate as you see fit. Put gas in Catherine's car. When you think Allen's ready, give him the pistol and have him guard the abandoned factory, so no homeless people or anyone else can attack you."

"That's too much, Boss. I can't use all of it..."

"Take it."

Old Joe's hands trembled a little, but he still took the money.

"Did you see the food, sleeping bags, and clothes in the basement?"

"I did, Boss."

"Hand them out. I'll have Darnell bring more new clothes later. Take a look and distribute them. I promised to keep them fed and clothed, and I won't go back on my word.

"Tomorrow, arrange for them to take a bath and get cleaned up. You'll have work to do soon."

"Understood, understood, Boss."

Old Joe turned and headed back to the basement. Bullet Screen comments refreshed rapidly in front of Lin An.

[Let me get this straight. These five people Old Joe brought back... Lin An, are you starting a company or something?]

[You've already got the whole organization set up. Old Joe handles logistics and construction, Danny Michael works as a laborer, Hector does repairs, Allen's security, and Catherine drives and runs errands.]

[Everyone has a use. Nobody's redundant.]

[Old Joe's pretty clever. That old bastard actually knows a thing or two about people. Not one of the five he found can threaten him, and they're all genuinely reliable. Every one of them has a weakness he can hold over them.]

After reading the comments, Lin An turned to Darnell.

Darnell was leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets, gazing into the distance with a solemn expression. He looked every bit like a mob boss contemplating life.

"Done showing off?"

Darnell's expression crumbled in an instant.

"Bro, was that pose cool? I've been practicing. You know, the whole 'I'm dangerous, don't mess with me' vibe... Did you see it just now? When I stared at those people, that Mexican guy's legs were shaking!"

"I saw."

"Really? Which one was shaking the most? The cripple or the one with the kid..."

"Darnell."

"Yeah?"

"Take these things downstairs in a minute."

Lin An waved his hand, and several large plastic bags of clothes appeared on the ground. Two crutches appeared alongside them, too... The crutches had just been given to him by viewers on Bullet Screen.

Darnell shrugged.

"Okay... Bro, you just made Old Joe the supervisor and gave that cripple a gun... Are you serious?"

"Yeah."

"Aren't you worried Allen will take the gun and run? A Glock's worth at least a few hundred bucks."

"He won't."

"Why not?"

"Because he has nowhere to go... None of them are on drugs, and they're thinking clearly. I'm not worried they'll do anything reckless."