American homeless people, surviving in the city

"Thanks to Brother Raul for bringing us here, we were able to find a secluded place."

"Otherwise, there are very few camps like yours that are willing to accept outsiders, and we would probably have nowhere to go..."

Gleeson, wearing a red shirt, ended his long rant with this sentence.

Lin Qi could only chuckle awkwardly and reply, "Yeah... buddies, you guys are really having a tough time."

"In that case, take a good rest here. I hope you can find jobs and reintegrate into society as soon as possible."

Gleason nodded gratefully: "Thank you for your hospitality!"

After dealing with the trio of Red, Yellow, and Blue programmers, Lin Qi turned to look at the stunningly dressed woman standing to the side.

She looked to be about 25 or 6 years old, with dark brown hair braided into a ponytail hanging down her back. She had wheat-colored skin that looked slightly rough but extremely healthy.

A little girl, whose height only reached her waist, was clinging tightly to her.

Upon closer inspection, aside from her physique—daring to wear only a vest and a windbreaker in early winter Seattle—what attracted Lynch's attention most was her figure.

The light gray cotton vest clung tightly to her body, straining to contain her alluring curves.

It's so tall and big... so big...

Lin Qi's gaze wandered, and suddenly his eyes met those of the little girl, who glared at him fiercely.

He quickly forced himself to look into the tall woman's eyes, while giving her a friendly smile:

"And...who are you?"

Before the tall woman could speak, Raul stood beside her and began to introduce them:

"Ah, brother, you really don't know her. Let me introduce her. Her name is Charlotte. She's a construction worker. She used to work and live on Cherry Street."

"But her work just finished these past two days, so I persuaded her to come and live with us here."

"After all, there are three girls in their family living in a camp with other people whose backgrounds are unclear...and problems often arise."

Construction workers? Women are very rare in this industry...

However, judging from his physique, he does seem capable of handling such a physically demanding job.

As Lin Qi pondered, the tall woman spoke up, her tone friendly, but her words carried a hint of wariness:

"Mr. Lynch, is that right? Hello, I'm Charlotte West, you can just call me Charlotte. I live with my two sisters in that little campervan over there."

"As Raul said, I tried to join many homeless camps, but there were always unfriendly people among them, or they always had ulterior motives towards us because the three of us sisters were women."

"To be honest, I'm almost used to those lewd stares at my body. But what I can't accept is that some perverts even stare at my sisters and even try to assault them!"

"So let's get this straight first: if you're willing to get along with us, I naturally hope we can help each other; but if any of you have bad intentions, you'd better tell me beforehand, or I'll turn around and leave now."

"Otherwise..." Charlotte clenched her fist, her knuckles cracking.

"I'll show him what it takes to survive on the streets for three years and still support my two younger sisters!"

Seeing Charlotte's blunt words, Raul, who was acting as the middleman, was momentarily embarrassed.

But Lin Qi didn't seem to care at all, and with a smile on his face, he extended his hand to her:

"I understand your concerns, and I can assure you that Raul and I would never have any ill intentions. We are just a small group living on the fringes of the community, hoping for peace and quiet."

"In any case, we hope to have neighbors with whom we can live in peace and help each other. As long as you share this sentiment, I believe we can get along well."

"I, I think so too!" Raul quickly chimed in.

After saying that, he turned his head and used his gaze to put pressure on Gleeson.

Of everyone present, apart from LeBron James, who was an outsider, only the Red and Blue brothers had not yet expressed their opinions.

Seeing several pairs of eyes staring intently at him, Gleason shuddered and quickly spoke:

"We three would never do such a beastly thing! After all, we're already exhausted from looking for work and getting medical treatment; we simply don't have the time or inclination for that..."

Seeing that everyone had expressed their opinions, Charlotte nodded with relief, her tone softening:

"That's good. I hope we can get along well from now on."

"My statement 'I hope to help everyone' wasn't just empty talk. I'm good at sewing, know some carpentry, and my cooking is passable. Besides, if you need any strength training, feel free to come to me anytime!"

Seeing Charlotte demonstrate her talent first, Gleeson wasn't about to be outdone and quickly spoke up:

"If there's anything we can help with, feel free to contact us anytime! We're all very good at programming and configuring computers, and, well, Erwin knows a little modeling too..."

"Tang En...he...is also very good at making coffee..."

As he spoke, Gleason himself began to stammer, unsure of what to say next.

Clearly, he himself knew that programming, modeling, and making coffee weren't exactly useful skills on the street.

But Charlotte looked delighted, and raised her voice a few decibels:

"You're all programmers, right? So you must be really good at math, right?"

"Uh, it's alright." The topic suddenly veered in an unexpected direction. Gleason scratched his head. "Although I haven't studied it in great depth, I'm pretty good at calculus and discrete mathematics... Why are you asking about this?"

"If you have some free time, could you please tutor my sister in math?"

As she spoke, she pushed the little girl who had been clinging to her waist in front of her:

"This is my sister, Emily West. She really needs someone to teach her math!"

"Her teacher followed a 'happy education' philosophy and didn't teach properly, which resulted in her being unable to outperform those Asian students who were good at math!"

"Well, although I've never thought about how to teach kids math, I can still explain problems and mathematical formulas." Gleason scratched his head, surprised that his expertise could actually come in handy at a homeless camp, and his tone became much lighter.

He bent down and looked at little Emily: "Little girl, how old are you? Are you in middle school?"

It's perfectly normal for him to make that judgment. Emily's height only reaches above Charlotte's waist. Although Charlotte is quite tall, Emily's height is estimated to be only about 1.3 or 1.4 meters.

Unexpectedly, Emily West glared fiercely at the tactless programmer in the red plaid shirt, bared her little fangs, and yelled at him, "I'm 16 years old! I'm in high school!"

"Are you looking down on my height?!"

"Emily!" Charlotte quickly patted Emily's cheek gently, stopping her from speaking too excitedly, then looked somewhat embarrassed at Gleason.

"...I'm sorry, Emily...is indeed a bit short, and she's always been very self-conscious about it."

"It's all my fault. I made her a little malnourished during the time when she needed the most nutrition to grow."

"...I see." Gleason was a little embarrassed, looked at the sulking Emily, and said softly:

"Little sister, if you encounter any difficulties in math or any other subject in high school, you can come to me for help, and I'll try my best to answer them, okay?"

Seeing that Gleason didn't seem to be mocking her intentionally, Emily slowly calmed down and nodded.

Seeing that the two had reached an agreement, Lynch was pleased to see such a friendly atmosphere among the people in the camp. He then turned to Charlotte:

"From what you said before, you have a younger sister? Is she asleep already?"

"...No, she's in the RV. It's just that she's even more afraid of people than Emily."

Charlotte's smile was somewhat forced, but she still tried hard to find the right words.

"My little sister, Anne West, she...is deaf. This birth defect has made her quite...introverted and afraid of strangers."

"She usually lives and studies at the charity school for the deaf and mute, 'Gherlos' Academy, in the suburbs. She doesn't often live with us or participate in activities at the camp. Therefore, I didn't force her to come out."