America: A Prodigy of Stereotypes

It's a single apartment, a single room. There's a sofa, a bed, a wardrobe, a TV and a VCR player, and a small balcony.

The kitchen, toilet, and bathroom are shared, so you can imagine the hectic scene of apartment residents dealing with personal hygiene early in the morning.

Please sit wherever you like.

Gwen and Peter sat on the bed, while Li Qun sat cross-legged on the floor.

Li Qun opened the wooden crate, and Steve squatted down, frowning as he looked at the contents of the crate.

"The person in this photo looks a lot like you."

Steve stared at the emaciated "father" in the photo, imagining the hardships he had endured in that era.

"Do you remember anything?" Li Qun asked.

"No."

Johnny looked through his father's things and a strange feeling arose in his heart. He felt that these things should be his own, not his father's.

"Johnny, I brought you a few books."

Peter took several books out of his bag, including "How the Steel Was Tempered".

"Thank you."

Steve carefully organized the contents of the wooden crate and stuffed it under the bed.

He was more interested in the books than his "father's" belongings, and reached out to take the books from Peter's hands.

"How did they treat you those days?" Gwen asked.

"Those few days?"

“Those were the days after I put you in the ambulance,” Gwen said.

“I was constantly answering questions, answering several doctors’ questions, and undergoing all sorts of medical tests. The nurses took my hair, blood, and urine for tests,” Steve replied.

Did your doctor tell you you are healthy?

“The doctor said I’m very healthy, the healthiest person he’s ever seen, except for my amnesia,” Steve replied.

Chapter 18 I Have a Dream

"Johnny, what do you usually do after get off work?" Li Qun asked Steve as if practicing his spoken English.

"I watch TV and rented videotapes."

"I don't really understand the news and entertainment programs on TV, but I really like movies."

“On weekends I go to the community school for classes and to the library to read books and broaden my knowledge.”

“After I finish my community school courses, I can go to community college.”

“I’m filling in a blank in my life, starting over,” Steve said.

"Johnny, do you have a dream?" Gwen asked curiously.

"dream?"

Steve thought about it seriously for a while and then replied, "I have a house that's neither too big nor too small, a clean four-seater car with a spacious trunk, a stable job with a decent income that doesn't require me to travel around a lot, a wife I love, a few children, two ordinary hobbies, and one or two months of vacation each year to spend with family and friends."

"This is indeed a dream, and I also have such an ordinary dream," Li Qun said with emotion.

"Keep going, kids. You have a higher starting point than me, so it's easier for you to achieve this dream."

As Steve spoke, Peter nodded vigorously beside him.

"Right now I can only afford to rent this one apartment, and I don't even have a driver's license. My monthly salary is just enough to support myself, but I have a lot of free time."

“If you live alone and pursue your own interests, that’s a perfect life,” Li Qun said to Steve.

“I eat a bit too much, so I’m planning to save up some money to buy a refrigerator. If I have a refrigerator, I can cook for myself and save some money,” Steve said.

"Are you eating out all the time?" Gwen asked.

“That’s right. I also plan to try all the restaurants and street stalls in Bushwick. The Latin food is delicious. Are you hungry? I’ll treat you to dinner later,” Steve invited.

"Thank you, but we have to go home for dinner."

"Correct."

Peter and Li Qun politely declined Steve's offer.

“I could have dinner with Johnny,” Gwen said with a smile.

"Aren't you going home for dinner?" Steve asked.

“My dad has to work overtime, so we’ll each take care of our own meals,” Gwen replied.

“Johnny, you’ve met my dad, the officer who took you to the hospital, not the bald Mr. Blake.”

"Oh! It's Officer George."

"You live with your father. Your parents are divorced?"

“They didn’t get divorced, and my mother passed away,” Gwen replied.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"It's okay, I'm used to it."

“My parents have also passed away,” Steve said.

“...Them too.” Gwen gestured to Steve, who then turned to look at Peter and Li Qun.

“I think we’ve killed the conversation,” Steve said.

"Let's change the subject," Li Qun said.

"Do you want to watch TV? Watching TV costs money, and I feel like I'm missing out if I don't turn it on for a little while every day," Steve said.

“Turn on the TV,” Peter said.

Steve turned on his 24-inch CRT television and tuned it to a news program.

Tony Stark will be holding a major product launch event in Los Angeles on September 1st at 3 PM, where he will unveil new products that he claims will change the world…

“A genius, many people admire him. It’s said that Stark’s home appliances are the best. The refrigerator I want to buy is from Stark Industries…” Steve said, pointing to Tony Stark on the TV.

"It's been brewing for over three months, and still no one has leaked any information about Stark's new product," Gwen said.

"The secret will be revealed in three days."

"It's certain that the new product will be entirely produced on Stark's own production lines, and the output won't be too high," Li Qun speculated.

“What do you mean by bringing about change to the world?” Steve asked.

“It has an impact on our current lifestyle,” Peter replied.

Steve raised an eyebrow and watched Tony Stark intently on the television.

……

……

On September 1st, the product launch event hosted by Tony Stark in Los Angeles began on time and was broadcast live on television.

There is a three-hour time difference between the east and west coasts of the United States; Los Angeles is on the west coast, and New York is on the east coast.

At 3 p.m. in Los Angeles, it's 6 p.m. in New York. It's dinner time, and New Yorkers are having dinner while watching Tony Stark's press conference.

“Every now and then, a revolutionary product appears and changes everything. It’s lucky enough for a person to be involved in one revolutionary product in their lifetime, and I’m probably too lucky.” Tony Stark walked from left to right on the large stage at the press conference, speaking eloquently.

"Do you remember this? I changed the computer industry."

On the large screen behind Tony Stark appeared a computer made by Stark Industries, along with Stark's computer operating system.

The press conference was met with enthusiastic applause.

Computer operating systems in this world can be divided into two systems: one is Stark System, and the other is others, with Microsoft belonging to the latter.

Gwen doubted Tony Stark's talent, but Li Qun did not, simply because Stark's computer operating system was developed by Tony Stark himself, and the user experience was far superior to Microsoft's.

"Today, I'm going to reinvent the mobile phone."

"That's it."

Tony Stark pointed to the large screen behind him, and a smartphone that looked familiar to Li Qun appeared—a smartphone with only a screen and no buttons.

"Let's talk about those things on the market right now called 'smartphones'."

"They said they included phone and email functions, some childlike internet features, all crammed into a device with a small plastic keypad, and that's how it worked."

Tony Stark mimed pressing a button on a phone, then disgustedly tossed the unreal "smartphone" aside.

"It's not smart enough, and it's very difficult to use. Does no one else think the same way as me?" Tony Stark asked.

"It just feels difficult to use, but in reality it is extremely difficult to use."

Tony Stark moved his fingers, and a large screen behind him displayed a dense list of the shortcomings of "smart button phones".

"The phone I need must be smarter than all the smartphones available now."

"This is a UI that allows hardware and software to be perfectly integrated."

"You're probably wondering, how do we operate a phone without buttons?"

No buttons are needed.

"Guess what we'll use to operate it? A mouse? Or a stylus?"

"No!"

“I have hands, I have ten fingers, and I just want to use my fingers to do all the operations on the phone screen.”

Chapter 19 New Cellphone, New School Year, and New Classmates

"Someone once said that people who are extremely meticulous about software should produce their own hardware."

"I think he's right."

"To make mobile phones and computers a unified whole."

"You can look forward to a few years from now, doing computer work on your phone, without having to sit in an office, anywhere with internet access," Tony Stark said at the press conference.