Wandering America: My kill threshold is far ahead

"Therefore, the government is closing down more and more recycling centers and replacing them all with these self-service recycling machines. The previously stagnant private recycling stations have become very popular."

After explaining the background, Jimmy finally got to the conclusion: "Now you should understand that scavenging is an environmentally friendly activity and does not require taxation. Only when the money earned from scavenging exceeds the individual tax-free allowance do you need to voluntarily declare taxes."

"In addition, money or valuables found in the trash can are considered unexpected income and also need to be reported for tax purposes."

Finally, if waste recycling becomes a continuing business, it must be taxed as self-employment income or business income, even if you don't have a registered company.

"Hiss... Is it really that shameless?" Ma Jie felt increasingly awkward as he listened. It seemed like he had triggered all of these conditions?

"There's no need to worry too much," Jimmy said with a wicked grin. "As long as everyone doesn't hand over the jars to me and sell them in my name, it won't be considered a large sum of money, and the IRS won't be able to trace it back to us. As for unexpected income, that depends entirely on individual courage. Anyway, I won't report it."

"OK, I understand what you mean."

Ma Jie also decided not to file taxes. As he said before, as long as I don't use online banking or third-party payment software, you can't find out about me no matter how much you brag.

As we walked forward, we arrived at the commercial street in the heart of the poor neighborhood. From a distance, we could hear the sounds of drums and guitar playing.

The homeless are also divided into factions: the clean-clothed faction collects cans, while the dirty-clothed faction begs along the streets.

In addition, there are special groups such as street singers and street magicians.

Since I had nothing better to do, I decided to walk over and watch the excitement.

There was a boy who looked to be about thirteen or fourteen years old, hitting paint buckets of different sizes in front of him with homemade drumsticks.

The girl who was the lead singer was a little older, but no more than sixteen or seventeen.

She was dressed like a butterfly, with long, wavy orange hair adorned with a headband covered in colorful peacock feathers.

Barefoot, holding a wooden guitar, with delicate silver bells tied around her ankles, she played and danced joyfully, giving off an exotic, elfin vibe.

I glanced at the guitar case at my feet, which was used to store money. It was mostly coins and one-dollar bills, but all together it was quite a lot, definitely more than I could earn by collecting cans.

After watching for a while, someone generously took out $10 and threw it in.

The girl was clearly a little surprised, and Jack gave her a sweet smile, putting on an even more energetic performance.

Seeing this, Jimmy's vision went black, and he couldn't help but complain, "If you give me that $10, I'll do a striptease for you."

"Dude, that's art, what you're doing is indecent assault."

Ma Jie rolled his eyes, too lazy to pay attention to the kid. He would consider it a huge loss if he could even spare a cent to tip him.

After the performance came to an end, the two bowed in thanks, and the audience politely applauded before dispersing.

I glanced at the time and realized it was lunchtime, so I decided to find a place to grab a bite to eat.

Just as they reached the street corner, a few shady-looking hooligans happened to pass by.

The leader whistled and suddenly stomped on the guitar case, causing the coins and banknotes inside to scatter all over the floor.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I was just walking and didn't see clearly."

Meanwhile, the remaining street thugs immediately squatted down to pick up the money and brazenly stuffed it into their pockets.

"What are you doing!" Faced with this bizarre behavior, the girl wanted to salvage her losses, so she picked up the hard-earned $10 bill first.

Suddenly, her wrist was grabbed by the other person, who grinned lewdly and said, "Little sister, you have to follow the rules when you're out there. Money that falls on the ground doesn't belong to you anymore. Whoever picks it up keeps it."

"Let me go! You pervert, I'm calling the police!"

"Tsk tsk, you're still quite hot-tempered. Do you want your brother to help you cool down?"

As he spoke, he even tried to touch the girl's pretty little face with his hand.

"You bastard, don't you dare bully my sister!" The boy who had been playing the drums rushed over and dumped the paint bucket on his head.

The latter struggled free and roared angrily, "You little brat, I think you're tired of living, daring to ambush me! Beat him up!"

The thugs swarmed him, and the boy, outnumbered, was quickly knocked to the ground. But he didn't give up and kept kicking his legs.

"Help! Help! A thug is hitting me! Help!"

The girl cried out for help in desperation, but even when passersby walked by, they all kept their distance and stayed away.

No matter which country it is, there aren't that many acts of bravery, especially when the other party is a group of people. Being able to secretly help call the police is already considered chivalrous.

"Jack, listen, someone's calling for help over there. It sounds like that Gypsy girl from earlier."

Jimmy has very sharp ears and immediately heard the cries for help.

"Come on, let's go take a look." Ma Jie didn't think too much about it. This was a poor street, and anything that happened on the street was related to him.

With great power comes great responsibility. If you don't care about anything, over time, who will still acknowledge your status in the industry?

When he got close enough to see what was happening, Ma Jieke yelled, "All of you, stop the fucking attack!"

His shout was so powerful it seemed to shake the mountains and rivers, that everyone was a little intimidated. They all stopped raising their fists and stared at the gang leader with wide eyes.

The thug who had been harassing the girl earlier saw Ma Jieke and said with a forced smile, "Hey bro, I know you. Aren't you that Asian guy who hangs out with Max?"

"So what if it is?" Ma Jie was too lazy to argue with him: "Why should the many bully the few?"

"Haha, this doesn't seem to be your responsibility." The other party laughed arrogantly. "Your blue-haired squad is in charge of collecting scrap. I haven't infringed on your interests. I haven't even touched the trash cans."

"Stop with the nonsense and just answer my question."

"Jack..." Jimmy secretly tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "These guys are not to be trifled with. The leader's nickname is Steel Fist Hall, and he often collects begging taxes in the slums."

"A begging tax?" Ma Jie was completely dumbfounded. You have to pay a tax for begging?

"Oh, it's protection money," Jimmy continued. "The beggars, street musicians, and street artists you see on the street all get a share of the profits, just like we take a share from scavengers. It's a different business area."

Now I understand. Everyone's wielding a ladle in the same big pot, but each has their own way of making money.

"Jimmy, did you make things clear with him?" Seeing the two whispering, Steel Fist Hall smirked smugly. "If you made things clear, then leave. We'll all be working on the same turf in the future, so it's best not to make things too strained. Got it, Asian kid?"

Hearing this conversation, the Gypsy girl's eyes filled with tears of grievance. She had thought she was being rescued by a hero, but instead, she had attracted another wolf.

"I understood you motherfucker, I'm your father!"

Looking at the other party's annoying face, Ma Jie got really angry. "I'm going to share territory with you? Who the hell do you think you are?"

"What...what did you just say? Say it again if you dare!"

Steel Fist Hall was a bit dumbfounded by the barrage of criticism. What kind of lunatic is this? He comes up here and automatically acts like a father, as if he wants to be a father.