George's house was two blocks away from Zhang Lisheng's new house in New York. It was not a bungalow with a garden but an apartment with a manager.
Looking at the surrounding environment, it could be considered as one of the business districts in New York. It was far more prosperous than the street that Zhang Lisheng lived in. Even in the middle of the day, he could see prostitutes standing at the entrance of the alley seductively, soliciting customers.
Zhang Lisheng asked a muscular black hunk who was a waiter and bodyguard at the front desk politely in the lobby of the apartment that had a dark red carpet, "Good morning, my name's Zhang Lisheng. I'm George's classmate who lives on the 9th floor, apartment 3. I'm looking for him."
"Hold on, young man," The muscular black hunk pressed the phone in apartment 3 on the 9th floor with a straight face.
He said as soon as the phone was picked up, "Hello, is this Mr. Dolby?"
"My father's still asleep, I'm Harvey."
"Sorry to disturb you so early, Mr. Harvey.
There's a young man called Zhang Lisheng in the lobby, he's looking for your brother George, he's his classmate. "
"Is that so? Let him in then."
"Alright, Mr. Harvey, goodbye." The muscular black hunk turned off the phone and said to Zhang Lisheng while lifting his head, "Young man, you can go in now."
"Thank you." Zhang Lisheng walked into the old elevator that had been running for god knows how many years and went to the 9th floor after thanking him.
To his surprise, George was already waiting outside when the elevator door opened. He clenched his fist and greeted Zhang Lisheng when he saw him, "Buddy, it's a rest day today. Why are you looking for me?"
"The expired raw meat at Dan Souza Butcher Shop is not enough for me. I need your help to get me enough dead cats and dogs." Without hiding anything, Zhang Lisheng told her his intention of coming here directly.
"Hey Lisheng, didn't I return your favor last night?"
"Last night was a surprise, I'm here to fulfill my promise today."
George was stunned for a moment. He stared at Zhang Lisheng's calm face and said helplessly, "Damn it, I shouldn't have taken the initiative to get to know a weirdo like you.
Being spat at at school is much better than being shot. "
"Are you exaggerating?"
"You'll have to go to Queens to get the 'thing' you want. Some lunatics there would shoot people in the head just for a new pair of running shoes."
"But didn't you grow up there?"
"It's precisely because I grew up there that I know how dangerous it is.
If you really want to go your own way, I'll say the ugly words first. The only thing I can help you with is getting in touch with the seller. The rest is up to you. "
"Alright, you can leave at any time after introducing me to the seller.
But George, I just want to buy some stale raw meat. Why do you have to make it sound like it's drug trafficking? "
George said with a gloomy face, "Buddy, don't you know that food crimes and drug trafficking are both federal felonies in America? Of course, another similarity between them is that they're not easy to catch.
Forget it, wait for me, we'll set off immediately. "He turned around and ran back home.
When he came out of the house again, he had already changed into a slightly old black jacket, and his shoes were also old.
When he went downstairs with George, he realized that buying enough blood food for the wizard gu was not something that could be done easily after he found the channel. He asked cautiously, "Do I need to change into old clothes too?"
"Lisheng, you'll have to pay when you buy something. It's useless for you if you don't wear new shoes."
Zhang Lisheng touched the backpack on his back by instinct and said while smiling calmly, "You're right, George."
Queens was the only area in the five districts of New York that was made up of all kinds of minorities and races. It was named as the new symbol of the world's second largest metropolis, New York, in the travel guide.
The official statement was that if Manhattan represented the past glory of New York, then Queens represented the new future of the new New York that was full of acceptance, integration, and vitality.
New immigrants from all over the world with the American dream would definitely settle in Queens when they came to New York.
People could taste local delicacies from all over the world and appreciate the wonderful works of the cutting-edge artists with the most unique style.
People who had lived in New York for more than a year would look at Queens from another perspective. For example, there was basically no business district or large supermarket in this New York area with a population of more than two million people.
One-third of the communities here would hardly have any pedestrians after 8 pm. Even if there were, most of them would be carrying guns and drugs. However, these dangerous communities were like blind spots in the eyes of the New York police. Very few patrol cars would appear there.
Apart from selling their physical strength to earn a meager reward, the new immigrants who lived here through various legal or illegal methods would roam the streets with guns, stealing and robbing as their profession.
Most of the cutting-edge artists living here would perform all kinds of weird performance art on the streets or subway stations to beg for money. A small number of them would do simple manual labor in cafes and restaurants. Moreover, the first thing they would do would be to move as soon as their works were recognized and sold for a price.
All in all, to New Yorkers from the other four boroughs, the words poor, dirty, and sinful were the true portrayal of Queens.
Riding the subway from Brooklyn to Queens was like riding a time machine from the new era to the 60s and 70s of the last century. One could witness the retrogression of civilization with one's own eyes.
When the subway arrived at its destination, George looked at the dirty graffiti on the wall of the station and reminded Zhang Lisheng next to him for the umpteenth time while frowning, "Be careful …"
Zhang Lisheng walked out of the subway and finally said impatiently as he looked at the endless crowd around him, "George, there are many self-traveling backpackers around us. I really don't see where we need to be careful."
"The same people come to the zoo. Some people stay outside the cage to throw peanuts to the monkeys, while some people open the cage to make a deal with the lions. Their goals are different, and their attitudes are different.
Zhang Lisheng once again felt the uniqueness of his only friend in America that was hidden under his usual strange behavior. He nodded and said nothing more. He followed George cautiously and walked out of the subway station.
He wondered why George would be so conservative and bully in Lowbige Junior High. However, he had forgotten that a big fish could only die of thirst when it was on land even though it had hundreds and thousands of pounds of strength in the water. Humans were the same in a certain sense.
Outside the subway station were low houses and happy crowds. There was not a single skyscraper as far as the eye could see, and there was not a single pedestrian in a suit who was walking confidently.
Everyone who looked like a tourist who walked out of the subway station would be embraced by a bunch of clowns in colorful clothes who were pulling balloons.
Kids would even get an extra hydrogen balloon that flew up.
Of course, almost all of the travelers would throw one or two dollar bills on the top hat that the clowns were holding in their hands as a reward.
Zhang Lisheng who was carrying a backpack was clearly classified as a tourist. However, when a clown approached him, George said in his Queens accent, "Hey buddy, we're not foreigners." He then chased the clown away.
"The security in Sarson is the best among the few communities around. It's just that there are quite a lot of pickpockets.
Alright, the place we're going to is quite far from here. We'll have to walk for at least one to two hours. Let's go. "
Zhang Lisheng asked in doubt hearing that they would have to walk for such a long time, "George, isn't there any subway, bus or taxis there?"
"It's the safest to walk. Put your hand into your pocket and act like you're holding something. Follow me."
"This is your territory. You call the shots here," Zhang Lisheng said and followed behind George to blend into the cheerful crowd.
The duo passed through narrow alleys and wide streets as they walked. Zhang Lisheng could feel that the people around him were getting lesser and lesser. The people's faces were getting stiffer and colder.
After walking for over an hour, George who was walking quickly with his head down spoke all of a sudden, "Buddy, I actually don't know where to sell the 'thing' that you need.
But I heard Rocky mention when I was working at Dan Souza Butcher Shop that there's a lot of illegal meat trade at the Queens port. The person I'm bringing you to meet has a way to get everything illegal in Queens … "
"Broker?"
"He's the most trustworthy and law-abiding broker that I know.
Although that's the case, you have to be careful later. If anything happens, it's best not to anger anyone. Just do as they say, "George said in all seriousness.
"George, I can't believe you know someone like that. Seems like you're not simple."
"The only specialty of the community I was born in was gangsters and gangsters. It's natural for me to know them.
Remember what I told you just now, I really don't want anything to happen to you. Otherwise, it'll be hard for me to get away. "
"Okay, I'll remember that," Zhang Lisheng said casually while panting while walking.
At the moment, four to five young black men in dark gray jumpers were walking towards him. One of them, a fat man who was over 180 centimeters tall, stopped walking all of a sudden when they were about to pass each other. He said while pouting while staring at George with a grim expression, "Hey, hey, guess who I saw? George, George, George.
My old friend who's gone far away. Why are you back in this dirty, broken, sinful Queens? "
"Sh * t," George who could not dodge in time cursed softly and said while looking embarrassed, "Listen Rabbi, I don't want any trouble.
I'm here to bring this friend to Boss Kuiwen for a deal. "
"To look for Boss Kuiwen, hehehe … George, you've been away for too long.
George, you've been away for too long, it seems like you're out of touch with the news, "the fat Raby walked up and held George's shoulder hard and said softly," It's been a few months since Kuiwen's head exploded in front of the Black Cat Bar.
My brother, Rabo, is in charge here now. You can look for me directly if you have any deals. "
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