I am a local in North America

Chapter 27 Younger Sister and Junior Schoolmate

Winning the championship earned a prize, but it won't be paid out until next month.

Su Jerry receives a living allowance from home and also earns income from advertising and subscriptions on YouTube, giving him additional opportunities to make extra money.

A glance at his mobile banking app revealed a balance of $12487, which put his mind at ease.

Compared to most of his classmates, Su Jierui had a relatively comfortable school life. At least he didn't have to take out huge student loans and worked part-time every day to earn his living expenses, keeping him very busy.

Life is about to change, but Su Jierui still maintains his frugal habits.

During peak tourist season, airfares are high. After comparing prices on several ticketing websites, he chose the most cost-effective travel option.

Tomorrow he will fly from Yellowknife to Vancouver, then transfer to Anchorage, Alaska, and finally fly from Anchorage to the Aleutian Islands where his parents live.

Despite having an extra connecting flight, the total ticket price was actually more than $300 cheaper, and it also saved time.

If there are no delays, we expect to arrive in the Aleutian Islands around 8 p.m. tomorrow.

Looking at such a complicated itinerary, it's easy to understand why Su Jerry's parents didn't come to celebrate with him when he won the 7th season of "Living in the Wild"—the trip was just too much of a hassle.

I've booked my flight.

Su Jierui dialed the phone number of his younger sister, Su Yarou.

"Arou, could you do me a favor tomorrow and pick up a little rabbit from the airport?"

"Huh? A real rabbit?"

His sister, Su Yarou, asked with a puzzled tone:
"Brother, you've been out for so long, why aren't you coming home after the competition is over?"

“I’m the only one at home right now. My grandparents came over at noon and kept saying they were going to buy some good food to cook you a nice meal to help you recover.”

"We don't know when Mom and Dad will be back, so you probably can't help them if you go there now..."

Su Jerry explained:

"My YouTube channel has gained tens of thousands of subscribers recently, so I need to strike while the iron is hot and make some good content. If I miss this year's king crab season, I'll have to wait until next October."

"Besides, everyone's on holiday, so I'm just sitting at home doing nothing. My bonus hasn't arrived yet, and I can't do anything."

"Ah Rou, you'll be on my side, right? When I want to use this prize money to buy a small ranch, I might have to move out of the house and live on my own. If Mom and Dad object, you have to put in a good word for me..."

Su Yarou's academic performance was much better than her older brother's; she got into MIT on her own merit, and her personality was more rational and decisive. After hearing this, she replied without hesitation:

"Brother, you earned the bonus yourself, so of course you can decide how to use it. Don't let Mom's words get in the way! Have you forgotten how she treated me back then?"

“Before I went to college, she wanted me to become a doctor one minute and a lawyer the next. Later, when she heard that psychologists made the most money, she even took me to a pathology clinic so that I could learn about it in advance.”

"The $200 hour fee really bothered her. She made me talk to the doctor for half an hour, and as soon as the time was up, she knocked on the door and took me home. She even told me that she spent the $100 just to show me how easy it is for psychologists to make money."

After listening, Su Jierui said to his younger sister, Arou:

"It seems that's true. I thought you were under too much pressure before the exam."

"you do not say!"

Even though she knew her parents meant well, Su Yarou still had a headache, adding:

"Yes, my mom was waiting for me outside. I talked to the doctor about our family situation. The doctor didn't tell me what to do specifically, but guided me to clarify my true thoughts."

"That experience taught me that while the advice of elders is important, ultimately, one must choose one's own path in life."

"Life is short, and living happily is the most important thing, so I ultimately chose architecture design as my major, following my own wishes..."

Hear the words.

Su Jierui chuckled and said:

"You're so smart. Back then, my mom gave me a lot of advice, saying she knew the high school principal and could introduce me to a teaching position at the school, which would be comfortable and stable."

"Then they tricked me into going to the University of Seattle’s Department of Education with a cell phone and a used Mustang. During my master’s studies, I chose literature, which I didn’t really like. Looking back now, I’m just not cut out to be a teacher; the students were too difficult to manage."

"Remember to go to the airport tomorrow. I'll let you know your flight's arrival time in advance. It's a snowshoe hare that I found in the wilderness. You'll know where it came from after the show airs. Buy me a cage and take good care of it."

"Once I buy the ranch, I'll need to design some houses, stables, cattle pens, and warehouses. It'll be a good opportunity for you to practice your skills..."

"no problem!"

Su Yarou's voice rose:

"My sister and brother-in-law are enjoying some alone time these days, so they dragged me along to be their temporary babysitter. The kids have so much energy, it's exhausting, I don't even want to get married anymore!"

Hearing his sister's complaints, Su Jierui couldn't help but smile.

He could imagine the scene, because his sister, Su Yaxin, had conscripted him quite a few times before.

That afternoon, Su Jerry scrolled through the top news from around the world and even took some time to go to the cinema to watch "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker".

That evening, he found a bar, listened to an unknown band, and planned to have a few drinks until he was slightly tipsy before going back to his hotel for a good night's sleep. Whether it was his slightly weathered look after traversing the wilderness or his unique charm as an Asian man, two Latina girls were attracted to him and sat down next to him.

They struck up a conversation with him, asking if he had any other friends, and even suggested that they could travel together for the next two days.

From their self-introductions, it seemed they all worked at a clothing store in Philadelphia and had saved up money specifically to come to Yellowknife to see the aurora borealis during their vacation.

Su Jierui didn't have any other thoughts. In this unfamiliar place, chatting with strangers from afar felt quite nice.

Several hormone-fueled, enthusiastic young men who introduced themselves as members of a university ice hockey team quickly began looking for opportunities to attract the attention of the two Latina girls.

This saved Su Jerry some trouble. After finishing two cocktails, he was considering what excuse to leave early when he saw this. He put down his glass, left a $3 tip under the coaster, stood up, nodded to the girls, and calmly walked out of the bar.

The two Latina girls opened their mouths, but didn't know how to persuade them to stay. They looked at each other, their eyes showing a slight regret that they hadn't had enough.

Compared to the impetuous members of the college ice hockey team, Su Jierui's calm, easygoing, and story-filled unique temperament was clearly more appealing to them.

Pushing open the heavy wooden door of the bar, Su Jierui was greeted by a bustling and brightly lit street. The cool air rushed into his lungs, instantly invigorating him.

Just then, the phone in my pants pocket vibrated slightly a few times.

He took out his phone and saw that it was a message from his junior schoolmate, Qian Shuyao, replying to him with the following words:

"How much time has passed? Senior, you haven't been holding on all this time, have you? (⊙_☉)"

"A lot of people at school are talking about you, and there are even posts on the forum about your participation in the show. You're really amazing! o(╥﹏╥)o"

"I specifically went to watch 'Living Alone in the Wilderness' and found I quite liked it. It's perfect as an electronic pickled vegetable while eating. Can you secretly tell me, senior, did you win in the end? q(￣(oo)￣)p"

"..."

After seeing these, Su Jierui burst into laughter. The emoticons were childish, but very endearing.

He switched his input method and replied in Chinese:
"I signed a confidentiality agreement, so it's not convenient to say, but your senior brother will always be your senior brother."

"For a while, I really enjoyed reading online novels from China, and I was very curious about how those emoticons were typed?"

"By the way, it's winter break now, have you gone home?"

After reading these words, junior student Qian Shuyao quickly replied:
"It's a time of year when we miss our loved ones even more! It's so hard to buy plane tickets this year that many international students couldn't go back. A few of us got together for a hot pot meal, which made things a bit more lively."

"Actually, I also follow your YouTube channel. Your videos have been reposted to China by someone else, and many people in the comments section are praising you for catching such a big Dungeness crab. (﹃)"

"I heard from a senior that you live in Seattle, right next door? That must be so convenient for you to get home from school, I'm so envious. There's a popular Chinese movie called 'Finding Mr. Right,' I'd really like to go there for a trip..."

Qian Shuyao typed very fast, sending one long paragraph after another.

Sensing the loneliness in his words, perhaps stemming from not being able to return home for the holidays, Su Jierui smiled and shook his head, his fingers lightly tapping on the screen:

"When I get back to Seattle in a while, I can treat you to dinner. I'm also going on a long trip soon to help my parents catch king crabs; it's much more interesting than Dungeness crabs..."

----------

at the same time.

The Dutch docks in the Aleutian Islands.

Su Zhenhai, Su Jierui's father, sighed as he drank his beer and said:

"I see from the cloud map that the cold wave is about to pass. If we're lucky, we should be able to set up crab traps in a couple of days and try our luck."

"However, the cold wave has passed, the holiday is coming to an end, and the peak season for king crab sales is over. The prices at the dockside buyers have dropped significantly, from $12 per pound to $9.5 per pound."

"If you ask me, it would be better to just dismiss the crew and let them go home. If we can't find the migration path of the crab tide, the money we make from catching king crabs might not even be enough to pay their wages."

One pound is approximately equivalent to 0.9 jin (a traditional Chinese unit of weight, approximately 1 catties).

His wife, Zhuang Xialan, glared at him and said:
"Isn't it all your fault? You even wrote the wrong ship number during registration, otherwise we would have finished salvaging it by November!"

During the winter in the Bering Sea, fishing conditions are extremely harsh, and the number of days available for fishing is limited.

Good weather windows are very precious, and boat owners will race against time to complete the fishing. This is why, after the accident, their "Junlin" crab fishing boat was unable to go to sea for a long time.

Su's father shifted the blame, saying:
“You checked it back then too, and you didn’t notice anything either? Anyway, the children are all grown up now, and household expenses aren’t as high as they were a few years ago. We can come back in April to catch snow crabs, and making up for this year’s loan payments shouldn’t be a problem.”

Grandma Zhuang was speechless for a moment, then paused and said:
“Based on our current catch, it only adds up to a little over 2 tons, which is a huge loss. I think we should try for a few more days. The sea has been rough this year, with one storm after another. We haven’t used up the total allowable catch quota set by the authorities yet, so we might be able to catch for another week or two.”

"Okay, if you said you'd give it a try, then let's give it another try."

Mr. Su, drinking his beer, was in a great mood and said cheerfully:
"Anyway, Arui won a lot of money in the competition, so we shouldn't have to support him anymore."

“We don’t need to worry about Arou. She’s an architect who graduated from MIT. Surely she can find a job.”

"After so many years of hard work, I finally see hope of retiring before 50. If I had known, I wouldn't have taken out a loan to buy a crab fishing boat. It would have been so much more comfortable to just rent out our Bristol Bay red king crab IFQ share and keep collecting money directly."

(End of this chapter)