America: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 71 Innate Begging for the Sacred Body

David didn't keep the two of them waiting too long; he drove the garbage truck to the side of the road.

Zhang Ailun took Gates out the door, intending to help him, but David was very capable. The two of them barely lifted a finger, and David loaded all the cans from the bag onto the garbage truck by himself.

David got back into the car and started it, while Gates sat in the passenger seat.

Zhang Ailun didn't choose to go with them. He unloaded his bicycle from the car and instructed them, "You guys drive around looking for Leo and Monica, then clean up the jars on that street near the pawn shop. I'll go check out the street near Sanji's bar; if there are any other homeless people there, I'll talk to them."

"Okay, it's up to you, boss." David and Gates understood that Zhang Ailun's point about reasoning was not just about talking.

It mainly depends on what the homeless people think. If they are tough, Zhang Ailun doesn't mind being tougher than them.

The three parted ways. Zhang Ailun put on his hood and hurried down the street where Sanji's bar was located, braving the light rain. He passed by the bar but made no move to go in and have a drink with Mary.

They went straight to the neighborhood where the homeless man, Lao Hei, had been shot, and to that familiar alley.

Even the damp rain couldn't erase the mottled red stains on the ground.

I took out my phone and glanced at it. The name of this street is Yarral Street, which can be abbreviated as Y1 or Y2 Street. Including Sanji Bar, there are a total of three and a half streets.

Zhang Ailun simply rode his bike around the streets and found that there were basically no homeless people loitering there. Perhaps they were afraid of being bullied by the gangsters, or perhaps there had been a shooting nearby and no one dared to linger in the area anymore.

There were no pedestrians on the road on a rainy day.

Only under the shade of a tree at the corner did I see a homeless man with a cane, carrying a black garbage bag bigger than himself, rummaging through a trash can.

"Hey. Do you need any help, sir?" Zhang Ailun immediately braked and stopped the car on the side of the road, greeting him.

The disheveled homeless man looked up in surprise, food crumbs still clinging to the corners of his scraggly beard. Zhang Ailun glanced at the half-eaten bag of waffles in his hand, clearly retrieved from a trash can.

I parked my bicycle by the roadside and walked over. "Didn't you go to collect your relief meals? What happened to your leg?"

"I'm leaving right away, please don't hurt me! I know the rules." The homeless man mistakenly thought Zhang Ailun was in charge of this street, and immediately picked up the black garbage bag with his cane and limped away.

"You misunderstand. I am not in charge of this street. Although I do have this idea, we don't have enough manpower at the moment."

Zhang Ailun indicated that he had no intention of harming him and introduced himself, "My name is Humbert Juan King. I don't know if you've heard of me? I live near the 19th bridge in the Fifth Street area."

"You're Juankin of Louis XIX, Lorry? I've heard of you!" the homeless man exclaimed, somewhat surprised.

Zhang Ailun is also pleased with his current prestige.

I never expected that a homeless man I randomly picked up on the street would actually have heard of me?

But the homeless man quickly seemed to want to avoid trouble, leaning on his cane and turning to leave. "Oh God! Please let me go! I didn't do anything to offend you!"

If it weren't for his bad legs, he would have loved to pick himself up and roll away.

"..."

Well, it seems my fearsome reputation is a bit too much!

Zhang Ailun turned around, got on his bicycle, and chased after him. Two wheels are definitely faster than one leg, and he easily overtook him. "Hey buddy, what's your name? Do you have a place to stay?"

The homeless man, head down, hurried on his way. He glanced back at the relaxed and carefree Zhang Ailun and said, almost in despair, "Please, stop talking to me! I just wanted to find something to eat here! I only have two dollars on me! You can have it all! Please! Let me go!"

It seems this guy gets bullied quite a bit.

Zhang Ailun realized that he couldn't communicate with him normally using ordinary methods, so he immediately said, "I don't want your money. On the contrary, I was specially sent by God to save you!! Do you believe in God's existence?"

The homeless man immediately looked at him suspiciously.

"If you were to ask around on the street, you'd realize I'm not someone who likes to bully others; I enjoy helping people! Many people have seen their lives improve with my help! If you also want to improve yours, just come find me!"

Zhang Ailun realized that his reputation had been damaged and that he needed to correct it.

"Can you give me money?" the homeless man asked.

"I can give you a job that pays. If you're just looking for something for nothing, then it's really hard for me to help you. But if you want to work hard and earn your own money, I guarantee you'll be better off than you are now!"

Perhaps it was Zhang Ailun's confident words that moved him, and the homeless man's emotions became much more rational, and he stopped moving.

"Okay, looks like we can communicate normally now, buddy. Let's get back to the same question: what's your name? And how did you end up like this?" Zhang Ailun asked.

"My name is Eddie," the homeless man said helplessly. "The reason I'm homeless on the streets is because it's God's punishment for me!"

"God would never punish someone without a reason," Zhang Ailun said.

"You're right. I used to be a pastor in a church and had a wonderful family, but because I was drunk driving, I had a car accident that caused me to lose my family, my job, and a leg."

Eddie said, "I was homeless and couldn't find a job. I spent more than a year on the streets, not having enough to eat or sleep, and I was discriminated against. It was all my own fault."

"Okay, Eddie, I just saw you rummaging through the trash cans? You don't seem to be doing well. If you want to get back on your feet, maybe you could consider working for me. My guys will be coming down this street to collect cans in a bit. If you know any other homeless people, you can let them know. I don't object to people coming down this street to make money, but they at least have to follow the rules."

Zhang Ailun immediately began recruiting the other party to join the Beggars' Sect and explained the Beggars' Sect's operating strategy.

Eddie was immediately moved upon hearing this; he never expected there to be such a kind-hearted person in this day and age.

"But I'm just a cripple."

"So what if he's lame? We have a lame guy in our camp too; he used to be a star rugby player."

Zhang Ailun said without any hesitation, "The infamous 'Crippled Gang' in Los Angeles got its name because many of its veteran members were crippled in the past. Don't be discouraged. No one will discriminate against you because of this, at least not our team."

"Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity!" Eddie said, deeply moved. "I happen to know a few friends who are also people with disabilities like me. We were planning to move to a camp for people with disabilities. I heard that everyone there is disabled and that we wouldn't be bullied at night."

"You mean the campsite at the abandoned construction site?" Zhang Ailun asked hesitantly.

"You know where there?" Eddie asked in surprise.

"Of course, two of my team members live there, so you might have something in common," Zhang Ailun said. "You can have your friends come over now to discuss whether they want to join our team."

"Okay! Please wait a moment, I'll go and inform my friends right now!" Eddie, leaning on his cane, went off to call for help.

After waiting for about ten minutes, he arrived with several blind, hunchbacked, and missing limbs prospective disciples of the Beggars' Sect to report for duty.

Good heavens, isn't this definitely a naturally born beggar's body?

Zhang Ailun decides to start another begging project on the street. The clean clothes faction collects cans, while the dirty clothes faction begs.

Collecting cans in the morning and begging in the afternoon—how can this not be an extra source of income?

When the homeless men heard about the benefits offered by the Beggars' Guild, they were initially skeptical, wondering if it was some kind of pyramid scheme. However, after Eddie's repeated assurances, they decided to come and take a look.

Just then, David arrived in his garbage truck. Leo and Monica got out and learned the whole story from Zhang Ailun.

They immediately extended a warm invitation to the other party to move into the abandoned construction site shelter of the Beggars' Gang branch and join the big family of the can recycling and begging team.

Excellent! The Beggars' Sect has grown to more than ten members, an unprecedented number!

We believe that through word-of-mouth in the future, we will definitely attract more people to join the team.

(End of this chapter)