ryethenovel Chapter 43 Want to have some fun together?
Chapter 43 Want to have some fun together?
Lin Ximeng stepped forward, greeted them, and asked, "Why is it so lively? Are you preparing for departure?"
Following Lin Ximeng's gaze, five pickup trucks were parked outside the shelter, and several staff members in blue overalls were efficiently loading supplies into the back of the trucks. The cardboard boxes were labeled with clothing and food.
Emily sighed, her voice tinged with anxiety: "Yes, we need to go to the homeless community near Long Beach to distribute these supplies."
Lin Ximeng noticed her furrowed brows and said bluntly, "You don't look well, you seem very anxious."
"Is it that obvious?"
Emily was a little embarrassed, showing some of the awkwardness of a newcomer to the workplace.
Then he sighed, "It's Uncle Tom. He suddenly got diarrhea at home, and I'm afraid he won't make it in time. If he doesn't make it, he'll get his wages docked, and Auntie will complain about him again."
Lin Ximeng understood Emily's unspoken meaning.
On the West Coast, when employees take leave from work, their wages are deducted, but this is not calculated using the average daily wage.
Usually, missing one day of work results in a deduction that is roughly equivalent to three or four days' average wages.
If you take three or four days off in a month, then you've essentially worked for free for at least half a month.
Of course, the more likely scenario is that you'll be fired by your boss.
Emily clearly shared the same thought. She suddenly stepped forward, her eyes pleading, "Could you please take his place? I'll have a friend handle the paperwork, and I'll make up for your uncle's wages for the day later."
Lin Simon did a quick mental calculation: security guard Tom's salary was at least $3000 a month, and if he covered Tom's shift for a day, he would earn at least $100.
Let's celebrate, I finally have a job!
"No problem, I'll help you with this."
Emily breathed a sigh of relief, a look of gratitude on her face.
Emily then sent a message on her phone and led Simon Lin towards the office building, taking him directly to her uncle, the security guard Tom's, office.
"You can wear my uncle's security guard uniform first."
As she spoke, she opened the metal cabinet against the wall and took out a dark blue security guard uniform.
Lin Ximeng is 1.85 meters tall, and his uncle Emily is about the same height, except that he is a bit fatter.
This was the first time Lin Ximeng had ever worn this kind of uniform. He looked at it over and over for a long time and found that the buckle on the belt was a bit complicated.
"I'll help you."
Seeing this, Emily stepped forward to help.
She first grasped Lin Ximeng's belt, unfastened the misaligned buckle, adjusted it, and prepared to tie the belt back on.
The two were very close at that moment, and Lin Ximeng could smell the faint scent of disinfectant mixed with a pleasant fragrance in her hair.
Just then, the office door creaked open, and a female staff member with long, flaxen braided hair and freckles on her cheeks poked her head in.
Seeing the two of them so close together, her eyes widened suddenly, and her mouth formed an "O".
Emily was startled and quickly straightened up to explain, "Martha, it's not what you see."
Martha snapped out of her daze, suppressed a laugh, and waved her hand: "Of course, definitely, I know."
After saying that, he quickly closed the door and left, closing it as fast as if he was afraid of disturbing something.
Lin Ximeng looked at the closed door, then at Emily, whose cheeks were slightly flushed, and couldn't help but say, "Why don't you go and explain things to her? I can figure out how to wear this dress myself."
Emily shook her head, her tone tinged with helplessness: "It's okay, Martha is my best friend, she won't say anything out of line."
She sighed softly after speaking, adding, "But the problem is, she's quick-witted, and she's probably already starting to imagine a whole bunch of random things."
......
Without further hesitation, Simon Lin, along with Emily and the other staff, got into a pickup truck loaded with supplies and headed towards 3 Harbor West Street near Long Beach Port.
It was a bit windy inside the carriage, and the passengers occasionally chatted to relieve the boredom of the journey.
Upon arriving at No. 3 Harbour West Street, everyone immediately got to work, quickly unloading seven or eight portable folding tables from the car and lining them up in a row on the street.
Each table had a box of sorted supplies, including clothing, canned food, bottled water, and other food items.
Meanwhile, a staff member stood behind each table, with Martha and Emily each guarding a workstation, waiting for the homeless to come and collect their items.
Lin Ximeng, acting as a security guard, stood aside, mainly responsible for maintaining order at the scene.
Soon, the homeless people gathered around and gradually formed a long queue, taking turns at each table to receive different supplies.
Lin Ximeng observed that these homeless people came from various ethnic groups, including whites, blacks, and Latinos.
Most of them were dressed in rags, their coats covered in oil and dust, some were even barefoot, and their mental state was extremely poor.
Some people had unfocused eyes and muttered to themselves, while others curled up and trembled uncontrollably.
"This looks to be in much worse shape than our Camp 39."
Lin Ximeng made a judgment in his mind: it seems that the situation of homeless people in different regions is also very different, and the living environment around the port is obviously more severe.
At this moment, one figure stood out in the group. It was a homeless man who looked Asian. Although his clothes were tattered, he was in good spirits.
After receiving his supplies at each table, he would straighten his back and loudly say "God bless you" in a clear and sincere voice.
In addition, the homeless man would awkwardly add a comment like "You're handsome" or "You're beautiful."
Although his English pronunciation was terrible and his grammar was all over the place, the staff at the shelter seemed to enjoy listening to him.
Another security guard standing next to Lin Ximeng couldn't help but say, "If every homeless person were like this, the job would be easy."
But before the security guard could finish speaking, a heated argument broke out.
Lin Ximeng looked in the direction of the sound and saw a Latino homeless man in red pants pestering Martha at the table she was guarding, asking her to take a few more boxes of fruit yogurt.
"I've already given you three boxes. It's a limit per person, so I can't give you any more."
Martha frowned and refused firmly.
Upon hearing this, the homeless man in red pants' eyes reddened. He suddenly shoved Martha away, grabbed a whole box of supplies filled with fruit and yogurt from the table, and turned to run into the alleyway on the side of the street.
This sudden turn of events stunned everyone, and the scene briefly descended into chaos.
The next moment, a pulling sound came from Emily's post.
It turned out that another bald homeless man, seeing that someone had succeeded before, wanted to do the same and reached out to grab the remaining supply boxes on the table.
Having witnessed Martha's ordeal, Emily was already on guard, gripping the edge of the box tightly and refusing to let go.
The bald homeless man was incredibly strong. He gripped the box and pulled it backward with all his might. Emily's slender arms trembled as he was pulled, and it looked like she was about to lose her grip.
"Get down."
Lin Ximeng reacted the fastest, leaping up and delivering a swift flying kick to the bald homeless man's lower back.
With a "thud," the bald homeless man lost his balance and fell to the ground, clutching his waist and howling in pain.
Upon landing, Lin Ximeng didn't hesitate and shouted to the security guards nearby, "Quickly maintain order!"
Before he finished speaking, he had already chased after the homeless man in red pants who had fled down the alley.
The security guards immediately snapped out of their daze and quickly surrounded the crowd to separate them. Miguel, the shelter director, also stepped forward and shouted to the homeless people in line, "Please wait a moment, we need to reorganize the supplies. We will temporarily suspend the distribution for 10 minutes."
Meanwhile, Emily rushed to Martha's side, anxiously taking her hand to check: "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
After a careful examination, it was found that Martha only had a slight abrasion on the back of her hand and was otherwise unharmed.
Martha rubbed her arm, then suddenly leaned closer to Emily, lowered her voice, and winked, "Seriously, didn't you think Simon was super cool just now? Do you have his number?"
......
Lin Simon chased after him into the alley, but found no sign of the homeless man in red pants.
On both sides of the alley, a dozen or so dilapidated tents were set up in a relatively even fashion, and the air was filled with the smell of mildew and cheap perfume.
What's even more striking is that there are quite a few homeless women standing outside the tent, dressed in extremely revealing clothing.
"Why are they all lingerie styles?"
Lin Ximeng observed that these homeless women were not dressed in tattered clothes that exposed their skin; on the contrary, most of them wore lace lingerie, sundresses, and other clothing with special connotations, which was obviously a deliberate choice.
At that moment, a woman with long hair and wearing yellow lace noticed Lin Simon, who had wandered into the alley.
Her eyes lit up, and she swayed like a cat towards Lin Simon: "Hi, handsome young man, my name is Silinda. Want to come inside the tent and have some fun?"