America: A Prodigy of Stereotypes

The school cafeteria roasted a giant turkey, and the entire school, including the mayor, shared it in the gymnasium.

Li Qun thought he wouldn't have the chance to taste Thanksgiving turkey, but the school had already considered that some people wouldn't be able to eat turkey on Thanksgiving.

The giant roasted turkey was only served with two thin slices of meat per person. Li Qun not only got to eat turkey meat, but also got to eat turkey sandwiches.

When eaten with lettuce, tomato slices, mayonnaise, cheese slices, and toast, even dry turkey meat has a unique flavor, at least it's not unpalatable.

The mayor stood on a makeshift stage and delivered a long speech to the students. His speech manuscript was also placed on the lectern where the microphone was located. The students, who had already eaten turkey sandwiches, were sitting below the stage and were almost falling asleep while listening to the mayor's speech.

"Did you hear? No classes this afternoon, we're having an early holiday," Harry said to Peter.

"Does anyone want to go see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade tomorrow?" Li Qun asked Gwen and Peter on either side of him.

“It’s too cold. Wouldn’t it be better to watch the live stream at home?” Peter asked Li Qun.

“I’ll call and ask you about the situation on the ground,” Gwen said.

“I’ll go,” Harry said to Liqun across Peter.

"I'm bringing my cousin along, Harry, do you mind?"

“It’s a good opportunity to get to know each other,” Harry said.

Chapter 89 Hi, Miles

"Dad, why don't you sleep in on Friday morning? There will be too many people, what if you get squeezed?"

"I can still discipline you when I try, so why are you afraid I'll go on a shopping spree at the supermarket?" Dad criticized.

"I think the Black Friday scenes on TV in previous years were exaggerated. As soon as the supermarket doors opened, people rushed in like pigs, it was terrifying."

“Dad, you’re not a young man anymore. It takes a long time for you to recover from an injury,” Li Qun said worriedly.

"Give me your shopping list so I can go buy it."

"If you want it, come and get it yourself." The old man gave Liqun a look, and the two started fighting in the pawnshop.

On his father's turf, Liqun and his father fought fiercely, neither gaining the upper hand. After all, Liqun was trained by his father, and whatever moves his father was good at, Liqun was good at as well.

"I got it."

Before he knew it, Li Qun had stolen his father's Black Friday shopping list. Helpless, his father sat down and realized that Li Qun was the only one who could handle the Black Friday shopping spree.

"Let me see what you want to buy, Dad."

Li Qun studied his father's shopping list, which consisted of daily necessities that were rarely discounted and were only cheaper on Black Friday.

He looked at the quantity; his father planned to buy a year's worth at once.

There was no food on the list, and it's better to buy fresh food. My dad is convinced that anything with an extremely long shelf life like this must have been mixed with something unusual.

One of my dad's hobbies is going to the Jackson Heights Farmers Market every Sunday, where he can buy a lot of fresh produce.

Aside from the wealthy, Black Friday shopping is an event that most families participate in. Peter was with Aunt May and Uncle Ben, and Gwen and her father George were together.

Upon returning from his father's pawnshop, Liqun was immediately summoned by his aunt.

Auntie placed discount coupons and vouchers on the table in front of Liqun, giving him a training session on additional discounts.

Because the family had to split up on Black Friday morning, and the aunt was worried about the uncle, she entrusted the important task of settling the bill to Liqun.

My uncle is a very proud person.

My uncle would feel embarrassed handing the cashier a bunch of discount coupons and vouchers cut from packaging boxes and flyers. Black Friday discounts are already substantial; there's no need to try and get a bargain with various coupons.

This matter can only be left to Liqun; let Liqun handle the scuffle with the cashier.

Aunt and Liqun confirmed the validity period of each coupon and confirmed that they were all within the validity period.

“Aunt, Dad also wants to buy some things. This is his list. The things he wants to buy overlap with what we have. Can we use these coupons together?” Liqun asked.

"Of course! There's no limit to the number of discount coupons we can get, and they also increase our membership points. We're the ones who benefit," my aunt said.

……

On Thanksgiving Day, Harry and his butler Bernard arrived in Chinatown early in the morning. Li Qun invited Harry and Bernard to eat two bowls of wontons before taking his cousin Shuangxi in Harry's car to the Thanksgiving parade.

At the Thanksgiving parade, Li Qun and his group stood behind railings, with temporary barriers separating them from the parade participants.

"It was really cold this morning. The weather forecast said the temperature would be around zero degrees Celsius," Li Qun said.

"It's really cold."

Harry breathed out a cloud of mist.

"Leon, does your cousin know kung fu?"

Harry turned his head to look at the tall and strong Shuangxi. Wearing thick winter clothes, Shuangxi looked even more like a bear.

“My aunt won’t allow it, she’s afraid he might accidentally kill someone if he learns kung fu,” Li Qun replied.

"Cousin, look! It's people from the TV station! We're going to be on TV!"

"The parade is about to begin," Li Qun said.

"Hi, Mom, can you see us?" Shuangxi waved enthusiastically to the NBC TV camera, and Liqun and Harry also raised their hands to wave at the camera, as did everyone around them.

Harry, Liqun, and Shuangxi arrived early and managed to get a good spot near the front; everyone else had to look at the back of their heads.

At nine o'clock in the morning, the Thanksgiving Day Parade started on time. New Yorkers who could not come to the scene turned on their TVs to watch the live broadcast. Harry, Li Qun, and Shuang Xi appeared on the TV screen.

Peter turned on the TV. He had originally planned to help in the kitchen, but Uncle Ben kicked him out. Thanksgiving was a rare day off for Uncle Ben, and he planned to help Aunt May with some chores.

I see you!

Peter sent messages to Li Qun and Harry.

"Gwen, did you see Harry and Lillian on TV?"

Peter sent another message to Gwen.

Gwen and George got out of the car; they had arrived at Jefferson's house.

George rang the doorbell, and Jefferson Morales immediately came out and gave George a big hug.

Gwen's phone vibrated. She took it out, looked at it, and sent a message to Peter.

"I just arrived, I missed it."

"Hey Miles, come out here, your sister Stacy is here!"

Jefferson called out into the house, and after a while, Miles Morales awkwardly came out of the house.

“Miles, hurry up and help me with these things,” Jefferson said to Miles again.

Miles looked a little uncomfortable, glanced at Gwen, and went over to George Stacy's Ford Explorer to help move things.

“Hi, Miles,” Gwen greeted Miles.

Miles didn't say a word, picked up his things, and went into the house.

“What’s wrong with this child?” Jefferson shook his head and smiled at Gwen.

This year, George Stacy got a promotion, and so did his partner Jefferson Morales. Both of them got a raise, and their lives are visibly much better now.

"Miles, this is for you."

George Stacy prepared a gift for Miles Morales: a pair of sneakers. George felt that no Black boy would dislike sneakers as a gift.

"Miles, quickly thank your Uncle George!"

"Thank you, Uncle George."

"Try it on to see if the size fits. If not, take it to exchange it," George said to Miles.

“I also prepared a gift for Gwen.”

Jefferson presented Gwen with a gift, which she thanked him for and opened; it was a book.

The TV was on in the room. Gwen put her book on her lap and turned to watch TV. Miles tried on his shoes; they were the right size. With nothing else to do, Miles also started watching TV.

Gwen desperately wanted to escape, but she couldn't.

Gwen also felt uncomfortable at Miles' house.

This is the same every Thanksgiving.

Perhaps she'll have to wait until she goes to college to change this Thanksgiving situation, so that George adapts to her, instead of her adapting to George.

Gwen glanced toward the kitchen, where George Stacy and Jefferson Morales were chatting and drinking beer.

Chapter 90 Only see each other once a year

Miles Morales is like some relatives you only see once a year. To Gwen, Miles is someone she only sees once a year, and she can't even find topics to talk about.

“Miles, what grade are you in?” Gwen asked.

"10th grade."

"Do you attend Vision High School?"

Miles nodded; he seemed to be asked similar questions every year.

“In the high school football league, Midtown High School beat Vision High School,” Gwen said.

“Your school won.” Miles felt that Gwen was provoking him.

"Do you have any friends at school?" Gwen asked again.

“Yes.” Miles was lying; he didn’t actually have a single friend at school.

Vision School is a private school, and Miles was able to enroll because his mother, Leo, was a teacher there; he got in through connections.

As an African American, he was a minority at Vision Private School. Although he did not encounter overt discrimination or bullying, ignoring his existence was tantamount to discrimination and bullying.

At school, Miles received little attention from anyone except the teachers who paid attention to him because of his mother.

He sits alone in the last row of the classroom during class, has a table all to himself during lunch, and is a group all by himself when there are group assignments.

Miles kept his activities at the school well hidden, so much so that even Leo Morales, who worked there, didn't notice.

“And you?” Miles countered.

“I don’t have many friends, but they are all very good,” Gwen replied.