America: A Prodigy of Stereotypes

To ensure the freshness of ingredients, most restaurants will throw away all the leftover ingredients after closing time and will not keep them for the next day.

Restaurants and delicatessens have somehow become accustomed to this kind of waste.

"Which hand is holding the knife? Which hand is holding the fork?" Li Qun asked George Stacy.

"Why be particular? Use it however you like."

George answered Li Qun absentmindedly, his knife making a "crunching" sound as he cut the steak on the plate.

Eating steak at an affordable family-run steakhouse, nobody cares about Western dining etiquette. Guests at every table are talking, and children are screaming and crying from time to time, making it extremely lively.

The taste of steak isn't what restaurant patrons care about most; the portion size is.

Peter forcefully cut his medium-rare steak. The steak, as thick as a coin, required all his strength to cut into small pieces and eat.

He regretted it a little; the steak wasn't of very good quality. He should have cooked a more tender steak.

Peter pushed up his glasses and glanced at Li Qun.

Li Qun didn't wear his glasses today and was much quieter, but neither he nor Gwen asked him about the glasses.

Not wearing his glasses allowed Peter to see Li Qun's true appearance, which took him a while to adjust to.

Peter was certain that Li Qun still needed to wear glasses because he noticed that Li Qun often held onto his shoulder as a walking stick when he walked today.

While Peter was pondering the fact that Li Qun wasn't wearing his glasses, Li Qun was also thinking, wondering why neither Peter nor Gwen had asked him about it.

Since no one is asking, he doesn't intend to bring it up himself.

Li Qun then thought of something else.

Peter plans to borrow money from Gwen, but given the current situation, it seems unlikely that he will be able to find an opportunity.

Li Qun knows Peter very well.

Peter would definitely avoid lending money to George, and if he couldn't find an opportunity, Peter might abandon the whole plan.

Isn't this a good thing?

Peter's pursuit of love is always fraught with difficulties; there are never any smooth sailing moments.

"Are you all full? Would you like anything else?" George asked.

“I’m full,” Gwen said, leaning back in her chair.

"You still have juice left in your glasses."

"Let's pay tribute to Uncle George."

Li Qun raised his glass, and Peter and Gwen also raised their glasses.

"Celebrating passing my exam."

George also raised his glass, and the four of them gently clinked glasses and finished their juice.

They were drinking freshly squeezed juice, which contained no alcohol, since they still needed to drive home.

After paying the bill and leaving the restaurant, George remained absent-minded on the way home with Peter and Liqun.

Officer George was pondering something.

After being promoted to police inspector, his work will focus more on his fellow officers. He holds a pivotal position in the police department, responsible for translating instructions and policies from above into concrete actions that are then assigned to officers for execution.

That homeless man...

The United Nations Millennium Summit will be held in New York in early September, and in order to showcase the civilized image of New York City to the world, the homeless will undoubtedly be an important group to be addressed.

Whether it's the mayor of New York City or the president of the United States, they will make relevant requests; they also care about saving face.

New York City needs to clean up all sorts of "garbage".

It's unclear how the mayor will handle the homeless population scattered throughout New York City.

George was worried about violent clashes, as the homeless were already pitiful enough, and now the police were going to "drive them away."

Since the current mayor took office, the New York Police Department has been under close scrutiny by major media outlets in New York City. Every so often, news reports about NYPD officers using excessive force and abusing their power can be seen in the newspapers. Several large-scale protests involving thousands of people have occurred, fueled by the New York news media.

The newspapers reported that police officers were abusing their power, even arresting people on the spot for fare evasion on the subway.

That's true, but they are implementing it in accordance with the "zero tolerance policy" issued by higher authorities. They resolutely crack down on minor crimes that disrupt public order, and subway fare evasion is one such minor crime.

The New York Police Department transformed the "crime capital" of New York into a "civilized city," yet no New York City residents thanked them.

However, George is used to being seen this way about his profession.

After dropping Peter off at home, George didn't get out of the car. He saw Ben Parker standing at the door to greet Peter.

George said he knew Ben Parker, but he knew him more for the articles Ben Parker wrote in the Daily Bugle.

Ben was a close friend of Jameson, the editor of The Bugle, so one can imagine how sharp and sarcastic his words were when writing about the NYPD in the newspaper.

George Stacy and Ben Parker are rivals in their profession, not friends.

“Alright, now it’s time to take you home, Leon,” George said.

“Liqun, you’re very quiet today,” Gwen said.

“Because I am at peace inside,” Li Qun replied.

“It must be because you weren’t wearing your glasses,” Gwen said.

"I thought you wouldn't bring this up again."

"Because you can't see clearly, you've become less talkative?" Gwen smiled.

"Maybe."

"Can't Lyon see clearly?" George paused, sensing something was wrong.

“Yes,” Gwen replied.

Officer George became puzzled. When he made eye contact with Li Qun earlier that day, he felt that Li Qun's eyesight was perfect, bright and clear, without any guile.

Was my daughter scammed?

Is this kid using his poor eyesight as an excuse to take advantage of others?

Putting work aside for now, he had to turn his attention back to his daughter, Gwen.

George viewed anyone who came into contact with his daughter as a criminal, and Li Qun was the person he was most wary of; he never let his guard down.

"Gwen, would you like to see a play?"

Looking at the text message Peter had sent him on his phone, Li Qun asked Gwen a question.

"Did Liz ask you to come?" Gwen turned to look at Li Qun.

“Actually, Peter wanted to invite me, but it didn’t feel right for just the two of us to go to the theater.” Li Qun smiled at Gwen.

"Is Peter trying to ask you out? It seems like he's trying to ask Mary Jane out, isn't he?" Gwen said.

George drove with his eyes fixed on the road ahead, while attentively listening to Gwen and Li Qun's conversation.

Going to see a play on Broadway? Wang Defa?

He and his wife Helen used to go to theatrical performances quite often.

“Peter wants to go see it on Friday. Check the text message Peter sent you later,” Li Qun said.

"Mind if I come along? I'm a Shakespeare fan," George asked Gwen with a smile.

“I mind. I think we probably won’t watch Shakespeare. We’ll choose something more modern to watch,” Gwen said, turning to George.

"Alright, I guess I'll have to be your driver."

"The driver is alright."

Liqun kept smiling.

Peter, Peter...

Without his help, how would Peter find an opportunity?

“Peter will buy the tickets. We’ll go see the play whenever Peter gets the tickets,” Li Qun said.

"I'll leave it to Peter."

The Ford Pathfinder stopped in front of Old Man's Pawnshop. Li Qun got out of the car, waved goodbye to Gwen and George.

When Gwen returned home, she looked at the text message Peter had sent her after she went into her bedroom, and was somewhat speechless.

So that's what happened.

“Peter, Peter, Peter…” Gwen muttered softly.

Gwen found her secret stash, took out a stack of $20 bills, counted them, took out enough money to buy Peter's ticket, put it aside, and put the stash back and hid it.

Gwen's gaze fell on "How the Steel Was Tempered" on the bookshelf. She took the book down and slipped banknotes between its pages.

Giving the money to Peter was a real hassle.

Gwen used the excuse of returning the book to hand over the book and the money tucked inside to Li Qun. Peter then went to Li Qun to get the money, and Peter's IOU was given to Li Qun for safekeeping, to be handed over to Gwen at some point.

……

……

On Thursday, Peter rode his bicycle to Uncle Li Qun's Chinese restaurant. Li Qun was sitting at a table by the door waiting for Peter. Li Qun had hidden the money Gwen had lent Peter inside a copy of "Animal Farm," using the book as a disguise.

They were all wary of the adults.

Peter looked nervous, somewhat nervous because of Li Qun and Gwen's attitude.

“Don’t worry too much about the result, the process is what matters,” Li Qun said to Peter.

“What do you mean?” Peter asked.

Gwen thinks Mary Jane would think you're stupid.

“And I think you’ll make a foolish mistake several times,” Li Qun replied.

"I still don't understand."

“Okay, Gwen said she was very grateful that you lent her money to take her to the play, and so was I,” Li Qun said.

"Liqun, why aren't you wearing your glasses?"

Peter knew he had made a fool of himself, but he chose to change the subject.