America: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 13 Camp Feast

Then, the two chatted about the interesting things that had happened to them during the day.

Zhang Ailun then mentioned his new friend Simone, but didn't go into too much detail, only saying that he met her while jogging in the morning.

"I didn't expect you to get to know other people so quickly." Dominic was somewhat surprised.

He added, "Simone and I get along very well. She's helpful and hardworking, but her boyfriend doesn't give a good impression. He's lazy, has a bad temper, and is a drug addict. You'd better stay away from him."

Dominic has no liking for guys who are addicted to drugs.

"Don't worry, Simone has already broken off all contact with her ex. If that guy dares to come back and cause trouble, I'll help resolve the matter and teach him a lesson he'll never forget."

Zhang Ailun answered casually.

As it was getting late, Zhang Ailun decided to go to Simone's place to return the money.

Just then, the black girl also sent her a message.

Simone: I'm off work and hanging out with my friends. Where are you?

Zhang Ailun: I'll be there soon.

Simone: Okay, remember to call Dominic too.

Zhang Ailun: No problem.

After replying to the other person and putting away his phone, Zhang Ailun stood up and said to Dominic, "Simone needs to see you, and coincidentally, I also need to see her. She seems to be with her friends."

"I knew they'd get together sometime and try to make me get drunk and embarrass myself, so I'm not going."

Dominic's face suddenly flushed, and he became somewhat uneasy. He hesitated and said, "Allen, you go by yourself. I'll explain to Simone myself that I'm not feeling well today."

"All right."

It's just a meeting, why are you blushing?

Zhang Ailun sensed that the other person was hiding something, but he didn't press the matter further. He greeted them and then turned and left the comfort zone under the bridge.

They arrived at the place where the black girl lived with ease. It was brightly lit, and a campfire had been lit.

Six or seven people were gathered together. Apart from Simone, they were all unfamiliar faces.

"Hey! Allen! You're here!"

Simone didn't mention asking for money, but instead warmly got up and invited him to sit down.

He then introduced him to those around him: "This is our new friend at the camp. You can call him Alun. He was brought by that white kid, Dominic."

"Hey guys, how are you?"

Zhang Ailun greeted the group warmly and, as if they were old friends, sat down in an empty spot around the campfire.

"Hey, Allen!"

Those who attended the campfire party at the campsite greeted each other warmly in Chinese, and had basically already learned about him from Simone.

After Zhang Ailun sat down, he noticed that the people around him were all handsome men and beautiful women, and Simone had also changed into a cool short-sleeved shirt.

Of course, there was also a middle-aged white man in his forties wearing glasses, with broad shoulders and a thick waist, who looked like a supermarket owner, and a white woman next to him who was also about forty years old and had wrinkles around her eyes.

There was also a taciturn dark figure sitting in the corner, somewhat out of place, silently chugging beer. He was so dark that Zhang Ailun almost missed him if he didn't look closely!

Little Lori.

He's 2.1 meters tall, no doubt about it; his arms are almost as thick as Zhang Ailun's thighs!

Noticing Zhang Ailun looking at him, Lao Hei nodded at him, grinned, revealing his big white teeth, and then continued to drink silently without expression.

Why does this old black man seem so shy?

He seems a bit withdrawn.

The people around him pulled glass bottles out of the suitcase, handed Zhang Ailun a bottle of Budweiser, and said with an arm around his shoulder, "Hey buddy, welcome to our party. Welcome to the West Coast! Hope you have a bright future!"

Zhang Ailun took it, glanced at the blond, blue-eyed white man named Dave, and said, "Thanks, buddy, you guys really made me feel welcome!! I definitely won't miss home at all here!"

"Welcome to the new team."

"Cheers!!"

Zhang Ailun raised his beer, took a swig from the bottle, and sat in front of the campfire, feeling the restless flames and feeling refreshed all over.

What's even more surprising is that there were pizzas, fried chicken, roti, and Mexican chicken wraps on the side.

Simone greeted him, "Don't be shy, Allen. You probably haven't eaten yet, have you? Don't worry, these are all clean meals we brought back after get off work! You don't need to split the bill this time. Next time you want to have a get-together, bring some food with you."

"That makes perfect sense!"

Zhang Ailun nodded; he had indeed come in a hurry and was completely unprepared.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony."

After saying that, Zhang Ailun picked up a piece of fried chicken and took a bite.

It tastes pretty good, at least much better than the zombie fiber chicken from the shelter and Wallace!

Through conversation, I learned that most of the people present had part-time jobs.

They don't usually get together all the time, but this time they had some free time. There are more than just these few people living in the camp; there are others who haven't come yet.

The bespectacled, greasy, overweight man was a middle-aged programmer named Blitz, 46 years old. Two years ago, he lost his job due to the economic downturn and was diagnosed with diabetes. He spent all his life savings on hospital treatment and was forced to live on the streets. Now he works at a 24-hour convenience store. The beer he drinks is also near its expiration date, which he brings back from the convenience store.

The white woman, named Sarah, wasn't actually homeless. She had been married three times in her life, but all three marriages ended in failure. She was kicked out by her husband the third time and became homeless, but luckily she still had a car.

By chance, she drove to the Bridge Cave Camp to spend the night, but was discovered by Little Lori and chased away. The two-meter-tall black man blocked the car door and almost scared her to death. Fortunately, the girls in the camp appeared in time, cleared up the misunderstanding, and she was able to stay there.

Sarah met some people at the campsite and got used to wilderness life, so she sold her car and bought a food truck to sell fast food fried chicken on the nearby streets. She basically lived in the food truck most of the time.

There's also Dave, an unemployed lawyer from France with blond hair and blue eyes.

Jason, a redneck who graduated from a prestigious Texas university.

Fitz, a black woman with a head full of dreadlocks, is a hot girl on the street.

And the female benefactor Simone.

After introducing themselves, the group resumed their previous discussion, mostly about whimsical topics and interesting things they encountered in life.

Jason acted silly, trying to liven things up, which made everyone burst into laughter.

Sitting here, feeling the lively atmosphere, Zhang Ailun felt that things were indeed a bit different.

Just as Dominic said, this place is full of people who haven't lost their passion for life.

People of different ages, skin colors, and races all sit here, but they all share one thing in common: they are all homeless, poor people!

But precisely because of this, they are not brainwashed by politicians, there is no hostile rhetoric from any country, and there is no racial conflict. None of these things affect their communication and conversations. On the contrary, they can talk about anything, without restraint, and enjoy freedom of speech, saying whatever they want.

Zhang Ailun also had some of the feelings he had when staying in hostels abroad. It was a bit chaotic, and he was really poor, but spiritual richness outweighed everything, and he was able to make many friends.

"Do you know what funny things happened to me when I was in school, Allen?"

Jason brought up the topic of Asian Americans, and Allen listened attentively.

The other person continued, "I'm actually quite surprised that an Asian like you would be homeless, because in my mind, homelessness is usually caused by white or black people. You know, when we were in school, we were most envious of international students from Asia; those people were a huge blow to us."

"Tell me about it," Zhang Ailun asked with interest.

"As you all know, I was admitted to Oxford University and was a top student there. Although I messed it all up in the end, lost my job, my house, and ended up on the streets... but that has nothing to do with the story I'm about to tell you," Jason said casually.

"A few white college students worked hard for two months during the summer break, scraped together $3200 to buy a used car, and were bursting with confidence, planning to each date ten white girls when school started! They were thinking, 'I'm the best!'"

"And guess what? Right after school started, a few new Chinese international students joined our class. They couldn't speak a word of English, they couldn't even communicate properly, but the first thing they did was buy an AMG! An AMG!! Good heavens! They're so rich."

"You think this is the end? No!!"

"A few international students from the next class drove into the campus parking lot in their Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and Aston Martins, flooring the gas pedal and drifting away. When they got out, they were covered in Balenciaga jewelry! It was blinding!"

The other person's body language and facial expressions were very rich; they held their head in their hands and looked incredulous.

"At that moment, I was thinking, 'Screw it, how are we supposed to snatch pretty girls from those rich Chinese international students? With my 18 centimeters? I'm such a loser!!'"

(End of this chapter)