Years: Salted fish life since going to the countryside.

Chapter 1600 What I Saw in One Day

It took Han Li a while to calm himself down before he began to appreciate the city of New York and observe the crowds on both sides of the street.

Han Li didn't know which street he was on. Soon he saw a black man wearing a suit, leather shoes, a white shirt and a tie, kneeling on the side of the road, pleading with a white woman wearing a skirt, a round sun hat and carrying a handbag.

Not only were there onlookers gathered around, but two white police officers were also watching the scene with smiles on their faces, showing no sign of coming over to maintain order.

Han Li approached and listened to what had happened. The black man was selling insurance, but he had accidentally stepped on the white woman's foot while he was selling the insurance.

So he was told to kneel down and apologize, or else he would complain to the insurance company and make him lose this job that is usually hard for Black people to get.

Whether it's Black or White, they're both outcasts. Han Li had no interest in this dog-eat-dog behavior and left without looking back after learning the situation.

Han Li walked for a while longer, and the streets and two-story buildings were all the same, all the same kind of modern architecture.

However, the streets and roads here are more dilapidated, but there are still many pedestrians on the streets, and most importantly, there are also many white people. Han Li doesn't need to worry about walking into some black continent or a minority residential area.

Han Li saw two black men sitting on a broken sofa that had been abandoned by someone on the side of the street. Their chests were exposed.

They sat on the sofa, rubbing the mud with their hands while watching the crowds walking by on the street.

Han Li also saw a destitute white man here. The man was filthy and smelly, with only a few key parts of his body wrapped in plastic bags and food bags. Many flies were buzzing around him.

This kind of outfit might be okay in the summer, but even if this foreigner had three inches of hair all over his body, he wouldn't be able to get through the winter.

Han Li guessed that this white man was either bankrupt and unemployed, or had gambled away all his family's wealth, or was a drug addict who would pay any price for a couple of puffs.

However, this also shows that New York City is both extremely rich and extremely poor. Here, whether you are white or black, you can't get by if you don't have money.

Not long after, Han Li saw several teenagers, who seemed to be from middle-class families, on the roadside. They were using crowbars to pry open fire hydrants, letting the water flow onto the ground. The group of them were washing and playing in the water.

Their voices attracted several young men and women dressed in unusual colors. Their heads were dyed in various colors, and they wore T-shirts and jeans with skull prints. They wore chains around their necks that looked like dog leashes with locks, and spiked bracelets on their wrists.

These hippies, whether drunk or high on drugs, were unsteady on their feet and joined the group of teenagers playing in the water.

Whether intentional or not, shortly after these hippies joined in, all the women among them, regardless of age, were soaked through, and certain parts of their bodies became faintly visible.

What they said next, no one knows, but everyone happily followed these hippies into the alleyway next door.

What will happen next is self-evident, but this is the essence of freedom and the spirit of the beacon of freedom in this era, a true reflection of unrestrained reality.

Han Li shook his head and continued walking forward. After a while, he came to a crossroads. Just as he was thinking about which way to go, two crisp gunshots rang out from the street on the left.

Upon hearing the gunshot, Han Li calmly but quickly walked into a roadside shop. Once inside, he discovered it was a small shop selling modern handicrafts, mainly sculptures, ornaments, and other decorative items.

Han Li looked at the goods inside while keeping an eye on the commotion outside. When he heard the siren, he picked up a set of copper wind chimes from the shelf, paid for them, and left.

After leaving the shop, Han Li followed the crowd of onlookers toward the scene of the shooting.

Perhaps because the person who was shot and killed in the street was a Black man, although the police came over, they didn't seem to care much about maintaining order at the scene.

The two policemen stood by, smoking and chatting, occasionally glancing disdainfully at the corpse on the ground. They only spoke up to stop onlookers when they got too close.

When Han Li arrived, there were already quite a few people gathered around.

From the jumbled descriptions of these people, Han Li learned why the black man had been shot dead.

The reason is simple: the black man went to a convenience store next door to buy a pack of cigarettes, but when he went to pay, he found that he didn't have enough money and was short 10 cents.

The black man tried to negotiate a 10-cent discount with the shop owner, but the shop owner refused. He grabbed the pack of cigarettes and ran out, only to be chased down and shot by the shop owner with a gun.

Han Li learned from the people around him that in this situation, even if a Black person dies, it's all for naught.

However, Han Li thought about it and it made sense. Right now, New York, the United States, is a white supremacist country. There is no Black Lives Matter, and there are no free zero-dollar purchases.

The white shop owner was trying to protect his property from harm, so the black man died in vain, even though he had a legal identity. He might not even get to the court stage.

Han Li had no interest in looking at dead people, so after he understood the situation, he turned around and left.

However, it was already close to lunchtime, so Han Li found a restaurant on the street with a sign that read "M Mexican" to solve his problem.

Unfortunately, the food at this Mexican restaurant has been assimilated by the United States, losing much of its original flavor and becoming predominantly sweet and sour.

Han Li quickly dealt with his stomach and continued exploring New York, as some of the scenery here would be hard to find after this era.

In the afternoon, Han Li walked around to many places and saw some barefoot black beggars sitting on the roadside begging, some prostitutes who dared to solicit customers on the street in front of the police, many people who urinated and defecated indiscriminately outside the main street, both black and white, and some people hiding in alleys smoking something.

Han Li walked and observed, thinking about how to incorporate these findings directly into his report.

Around 4 p.m., Han Li felt he should head back.

Because many parts of New York become crazy under the cover of night, including the seemingly peaceful streets he walked through during the day.

However, getting back to the Plaza Hotel is a problem. Should they take a taxi? Or should they choose to take the New York Metro, a mode of transport most characteristic of this era?
(End of this chapter)