So far, we are in second place on the list, but the position is not stable. After all, there are still two days left. So if anyone has any votes, please help me. If we can maintain the second place on the list this month, I will definitely release a big update on May 1st to thank everyone. So, if you have votes, please support me! Thank you! * * *
The person who came over to greet them was an elegant middle-aged Chinese man. He was about 1.7 meters tall and was dressed in a suit despite the hot weather. He wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses and carried a briefcase. His tie and shirt were meticulous and he looked like a businessman.
Chen Haonan, who was concentrating on a plate of chili tamale, saw the middle-aged man and smiled. "Oh, it's Brother Ma. I've missed you, missed you so much."
The two hugged. The middle-aged man looked at Li Du curiously and asked, "Xiao Chen, who is this fellow countryman?"
Chen Haonan said vaguely, "He's a supplier. He gave me some wood today."
The middle-aged man extended his hand to Li Du. "Hello, fellow countryman. I'm Ma Zhi-an, a friend of Xiao Chen. Nice to meet you."
Li Du shook hands with him. "I'm Li Du, also a friend of Chen Haonan. Nice to meet you too."
"Chen Haonan?" Ma Zhi-an was surprised to hear the name. "You mean Chen Haonan?"
This time it was Li Du's turn to be confused. What Chen Haonan?
Chen Haonan coughed unwillingly. "Well, Li, I used to be Chen Haonan, but I changed my name."
Ma Zhi-an smiled. "You really changed your name?"
Chen Haonan smiled impatiently. "Yes, I changed my name. I'm going to be Chen Haonan from now on."
Ma Zhi-an pressed his palm down. "Okay, okay. Chen Haonan is a good name. But since you've changed your name, I'll have to change your membership information."
Chen Haonan said, "Okay, then I'll have to trouble Brother Ma."
Ma Zhi-an smiled. "Why are you being so polite? We Chinese have to help each other in a foreign country. Besides, I'm not really helping you this time. "
As the two talked, Li Du watched from the side. He felt that Chen Haonan was not very interested in Ma Zhi-an, and the conversation was mostly perfunctory.
He hadn't known Chen Haonan for long, but he had some understanding of him.
In his heart, Chen Haonan should be a person full of the desire to communicate and communicate. Ever since they met, he had been chattering non-stop.
Ma Zhi-an spoke fluent Mandarin and always had a smile on his face. He looked like a person who was easy to communicate with.
Logically speaking, Chen Haonan should be more enthusiastic when he saw him. Now that his attitude was so cold, it was not that Chen Haonan did not like Ma Zhi-an, but that he hated him.
Therefore, Li Du just smiled and looked at the two of them. He did not take the initiative to interrupt.
However, Ma Zhi-an was also a very talkative person. After chatting with Chen Haonan for a while, he changed the topic and asked, "Xiao Li, are you in Tempe too?"
Li Du said, "No, I'm in Flagstaff."
Ma Zhi-an had a look of realization on his face. "You're in Flagstaff? Oh, Flagstaff. You look so young. If Chen Hao hadn't mentioned that you were his supplier, I would have thought that you were an international student. "
Li Du smiled. "Actually, I came to America as an international student, but I left school early. Now I'm in the storage auction business."
Ma Zhi-an said thoughtfully, "The storage auction business. Oh, oh, there are not many of us Chinese in this industry, but there are many who work in storage companies."
There were many storage companies in America, and they provided a lot of jobs.
Therefore, there were indeed many Chinese immigrants working there. There were also many immigrants from other ethnic groups. After all, many of the jobs in storage were manual labor, and did not require knowledge, education, or skills.
Next, Ma Zhi-an changed the topic to Li Du and chatted with him enthusiastically.
This person was very good at chatting. After a while, he had found out about Li Du's background.
However, when it came to storage auction work, Li Du used ambiguous words to hide his income. He only said that he had just entered the industry to earn his living expenses.
Ma Zhi-an not only chatted with him, but also with Hans.
Unlike Chen Haonan, whose English was terrible, Li Du spoke English fluently. Some of the slang that even Hans did not know, so Big Quinn had to explain it to him.
Chen Haonan said that he was going to buy some food and drinks. Ma Zhi-an took out his wallet and said, "Let me do it. You guys sit down first. Brother Ma has been in Tempe for the longest time, so he can be considered a host. There's no reason for you guys to pay."
Li Du refused, but Chen Haonan held him back. "Let Brother Ma go. Brother Ma is a generous person. If you don't accept his kindness, he'll feel bad."
Ma Zhi-an smiled and pointed at him, then happily went to buy beer and food.
After he left, Chen Haonan's face tensed up. "Old Li, be careful of this guy. His character is very questionable!"
Li Du asked, "What's wrong?"
Chen Haonan snorted. "I can't say for sure. Anyway, this guy has a bad reputation in the Chinese community in Phoenix. This b * stard likes to cheat our fellow countrymen. Be careful!"
Li Du said, "He cheated you before, didn't he?"
Chen Haonan laughed dryly. "Yeah, he cheated me a lot, so I'm very annoyed with him. It's my bad luck to meet him here today. It's really depressing."
Li Du asked, "How did he cheat you? To let me be on guard? "
Chen Haonan said vaguely, "He cheated me so many times, I can't even count them all. Anyway, you better be on guard against him."
Soon, Ma Zhi-an came back with some drinks and food.
Li Du looked at the time and said, "You didn't line up?"
Ma Zhi-an laughed. "There are a few food trucks here that are driven by my old friends. I went to buy from them. Anyway, I'm going to be profited by others. Why not let my friends earn their own money? Don't you think so?"
Li Du nodded. "Yes."
As he spoke, he looked at Chen Haonan. They were both opportunistic people who didn't line up. But looking at Ma Zhi-an's methods, it was clear who was better.
Chen Haonan snorted again, picked up his glass, and gulped down two mouthfuls of beer.
As they drank and chatted, Li Du found out Ma Zhi-an's identity. He was actually a member of the Chinese Mutual Aid Association in Phoenix.
Like the Committee of 100 that Elson had told him about, the Chinese Mutual Aid Association was also a Chinese organization. However, it was a very ordinary organization compared to the Committee of 100.
The Committee of 100 was aimed at the Chinese elites, while the Chinese Mutual Aid Association was aimed at the ordinary Chinese. As long as one was Chinese, one could join. The purpose was for the Chinese to help each other and have a better life in America.
Li Du had long known about the existence of this organization. He had even applied to join it. However, there were very few Chinese in Flagstaff. There were only a few overseas students, so the Chinese Mutual Aid Association had not set up a local branch.
At that time, he had applied to join the Phoenix branch. The branch had asked him to personally verify his identity. In the end, when he was planning to do so, the school was closed down!
Hearing Li Du talk about this, Ma Zhi-an said readily, "Do you want to join the association? That's easy. I'm a member and have the authority to approve applications. And Chen Haonan is a member of the association. He can recommend you to join. "
When Li Du heard this, he was tempted. He had found an organization.
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