boyutpedia Chapter 12 North District Shelter
Chapter 12 North District Shelter
When Simon Lin returned to the Red Basket Supermarket, he found that the scene in front of the cake counter was even more exaggerated than when he left.
There were five empty cake plates in front of the chubby girl, and she was poking at the sixth matcha mousse with a fork. Max stood behind the counter, his fake smile almost frozen into a mask.
When Max saw him come in, his eyes lit up as if he had seen a savior.
"Honey, this matcha flavor is a bit bitter. Could you get me a chocolate one instead? The kind with almond slices," the chubby girl said, putting down her fork with a matter-of-fact tone.
"My fiancé said the wedding cake can't have even a hint of bitterness, because it will affect the sweetness of our marriage."
Max took a deep breath and turned to get the cake, mouthing to Simon Lin, "How's the order?"
Simon Lin moved closer to Max and caught the faint scent of his perfume again. He whispered, "The order is complete. Time to split the profits. $40 for delivery, 60/40. I should get $24."
Max put his phone away and saw that the order was completed, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
For her, as long as she can earn more, paying rent will be easier.
"I need to earn more money to pay the rent."
Thinking of this, Max suddenly took out a notepad, quickly wrote a string of numbers, and deliberately brushed the stray hairs from his forehead. When he bent down to hand over the note, the curve of his chest swayed with the movement.
"Like this," she said, her voice softening slightly, with a hint of deliberate sweetness.
"This is my phone number on this note. How about I reduce it by $10? You can call me anytime, and we can chat about some interesting things."
Looking at the curves the other person was deliberately displaying, Lin Simon naturally and openly admired them—
Her snow-white, delicate skin, coupled with a size that's hard to grasp in one hand, makes even the slightest movement a little dizzying:
Many Asians lack lactase, making them prone to feeling dizzy from milk.
But thankfully, poverty makes people sober.
Simon Lin took the note Max handed him and couldn't help but laugh: "Unfortunately, I just arrived on the West Coast and don't even have a cell phone yet."
After saying that, Simon Lin rejected Max's offer and insisted on keeping his own $24.
I admit that you, Max, are beautiful, have big breasts, and are very attractive.
But do you think a poor homeless man like me, living under a bridge, would fall for that?
The cold wind from the bridge underpass on the west coast last night has already made my heart as firm as a rock.
Upon hearing Simon Lin's words, Max's face instantly fell, and he glared at him with a hint of resentment.
She was entangled with the fat girl and couldn't get away. If Lin Ximeng hadn't suddenly appeared today, she wouldn't have even gotten the $16.
"Damn it, you're so stubborn!" she gritted her teeth, pulled two $10 bills and four $1 bills from her pocket, slapped them into Simon's hand, and then stuffed the note into his hand.
"Take it! Contact me when you have a phone. Next time this happens, I'll only give you 50% at most."
Lin Ximeng stuffed the money and notepad into his pocket and said, "No problem, contact me again next time you have an order. But next time, remember to change the 'Caroline' profile picture to one with black hair; the dockworkers almost thought I was an imposter."
Max was about to object when the chubby girl exclaimed again, "Honey, I also want to try the strawberry one, with extra sauce."
She could only turn back to deal with it, and before leaving, she glared at Lin Ximeng and mouthed "We'll see."
......
Lin Simon walked out of the Red Basket Supermarket, calculating his earnings as he went—
Yesterday I made $25.5 selling jars, this morning I made $6.2 picking up jars, plus the $24 I just received, for a total of $55.7.
"Great, I've finally passed fifty, and I'm one step closer to my goal of one hundred dollars."
"Oh, right, it's also important that I didn't have to pay for the subway ride."
Thinking back to his experience taking the subway to Long Beach Port, Simon Lin couldn't help but chuckle.
I learned it from a black guy wearing ripped jeans on the platform. The gate barrier was only halfway up when the black guy jumped over it with a perfect hurdle jump.
He followed suit and did a hurdle jump at the ticket gate, which earned him a free ride on the subway.
"Luckily, I saved the cost of a subway ticket, otherwise, achieving this goal would have to be postponed."
I once saw online that one of the American Dreams for West Coasters is to have a million dollars.
So it's perfectly reasonable for him to be squatting on the street as a homeless person, and to consider one hundred dollars as his small goal.
"I'm considered a novice homeless person now. Once I have a hundred dollars, I'll definitely be considered a junior homeless person."
As Lin Ximeng pondered this, he slowly walked along the road to the North District Shelter.
This is a two-story, off-white building; it's not particularly grand, but it's spacious enough.
Three homeless men wrapped in old blankets sat on the lawn in front of the door, sharing hot coffee around a broken thermos.
The bulletin board by the door was covered with yellowed notices, and a string of faded colored lights hung at the top, indicating that it was a medium-sized to large-scale community shelter.
Pushing open the door, a faint smell of disinfectant wafted through the lobby. Behind the reception desk on the left, a staff member in a blue vest was talking into the phone, saying, "The application form for the welfare apartment will have to wait until next week."
On the bench to the right sat several people in line, some catching up on sleep, others filling out forms with their heads down. In the donation area in the corner, there was a pile of old clothes half a person high, with small signs saying "clean and wearable" attached to them. It was much warmer than the bridge hole.
"Hey kid, new here?"
A loud voice came from the doorway. Lin Ximeng turned around and saw a slightly overweight middle-aged white man standing in front of the bulletin board. He looked to be around forty years old and his security guard uniform was a bit wrinkled.
He was holding a nearly empty roll of transparent tape in his hand, tiptoeing as he pasted it onto the bulletin board. The name tag on his chest displayed his name and job: Tom, security guard.
Simon walked over to greet him, and Tom glanced at his dusty coat and worn-out shoes: "Judging from your appearance, you're here to apply for a welfare apartment, right? Go straight to Lucy at the front desk to fill out the form, but let me tell you, don't get your hopes up too high. Last year, the entire shelter only approved 3 spots, which is harder than winning the lottery. Many people have been waiting for half a year without any progress."
"I'm not here to apply for an apartment," Lin Simon said, pointing to the unattached piece of paper in his hand.
"I just passed by and saw your notice, and I thought it might be of some help."
"Oh! You mean this?" Security guard Tom's eyes lit up, and he quickly handed over the notice. The paper had a drawing of a calico cat on it, and next to it, written in marker:
Lost Cat Notice: Looking for the calico stray cat that took Dr. Emily's bracelet. A reward of $50 will be given to anyone who finds and returns the bracelet to Dr. Emily.
The handwriting was crooked and messy, clearly handwritten.
Security guard Tom was the first to put down the tape and come over, his round eyes full of "I know this stuff inside and out" attitude. His voice was low but had a hint of bravado: "Oh, you don't know, this morning when that cat sneaked in, I was helping the kitchen move donated bread."
He pointed towards the side door of the shelter: "It's that little back door over there where they deliver goods. They usually use that to deliver used clothes and food. This morning, Lucy didn't close it properly after she finished moving the boxes, leaving a gap. That calico cat seemed to have timed it perfectly; it 'whoosh'ed in."
"Dr. Emily was sitting at the front desk signing some documents, and the bracelet was on her wrist."
Tom slapped his thigh, his tone full of regret. "That cat was clever. It didn't run to crowded places. It just jumped straight onto the front desk, hooked the chain with its paw, and then darted out the back door faster than a rabbit, heading straight for the parking lot." "I searched the parking lot for a long time afterward, but I couldn't find any trace of the cat."