America: A Prodigy of Stereotypes

“But they didn’t seem bothered by how I addressed them, did they?” Li Qun asked Peter.

“Like a family member who suddenly appeared,” Peter replied.

“Sometimes I feel that Li Qun is very reserved, but sometimes he speaks too directly,” Peter complained.

“Sometimes I don’t even understand what Li Qun means when he speaks; his words are full of metaphors.”

Gwen then looked at Li Qun.

Her gaze shifted between Peter and Li Qun, looking at whoever was speaking.

"People mountain people sea, Gwen, guess what that means?"

"..."

"What do you mean?"

"It describes a large number of people, like mountains or the sea," Peter explained to Gwen.

“Okay. I haven’t taken an English class with you guys before, but maybe we’ll have the chance next school year. It would be really fun to take classes and discuss things with Li Qun,” Gwen said with a smile.

“It’s a pity that Zhongcheng High School doesn’t offer Chinese classes, otherwise I could teach you all Chinese together,” Li Qun said.

"Chinese is the most efficient language in the world."

“It’s also the most difficult language to learn,” Peter said.

The aunt brought out the dishes she had prepared in the kitchen, and the three of them immediately shifted their conversation to the classic Chinese dishes in front of them, which looked and smelled delicious.

Sweet and sour pork ribs.

"It's meat with bones, and it tastes sweet and sour. Gwen, you might not be used to gnawing on bones. It's a bit impolite for white people to gnaw on bones."

“This dish looks really spicy,” Gwen said, pointing to the Mapo Tofu.

“My uncle knows you can’t handle spicy food, so this is the spiciest level. But besides the spiciness, you can also taste the aftertaste of the Big Bang,” Li Qun explained.

"What do you mean by the aftereffects of the Big Bang?" Gwen frowned.

“Gwen, when a TV has no signal, it shows static and makes a lot of noise. That’s Liqun’s analogy,” Peter explained to Gwen with a smile.

“This dish is spearmint fried pork ribs. Spearmint is also known as mint,” Li Qun pointed to the next dish for Gwen.

“I know this, it’s fried rice,” Gwen retorted, adding that she also frequently ordered takeout from Panda Express.

“The Golden Mixed Egg Fried Rice is made so that every grain of rice is coated with egg liquid during the frying process. The taste is definitely not like the fried rice from Panda Fast Food,” Li Qun said.

“OK.” Gwen nodded.

"This is a pot of steamed chicken soup, steamed in a special steamer."

"Drink soup before eating."

Li Qun stood up and served soup to Peter and Gwen, who were both immersed in the aroma of the chicken soup.

“This is what a real meal is like,” Gwen said thoughtfully, taking a sip of hot soup with a spoon.

"I agree."

There were three people. The uncle prepared five dishes and a soup. Liqun didn't mention two other dishes: braised pork with potatoes and stir-fried cabbage with hot and sour sauce. Fried rice with egg was considered a staple food and not a side dish.

The three of them ate for an hour, finishing all the food in front of them. The plates were so shiny from eating that they were unable to move.

"I never want to eat a cold sandwich again..."

Gwen spoke weakly, her gaze shifting back and forth between Li Qun and Peter.

After resting for half an hour, his uncle placed the five-layer insulated box in front of Liqun; it was time for him to go find his father.

"Let's go."

"Can't we rest a little longer?" Gwen pleaded.

“It’s only a few hundred meters away. I can rest at my master’s place and even take a nap,” Li Qun said to Gwen.

“Leon, is your teacher very strict?” Gwen asked.

“Is it strict? There’s an old saying in China: ‘A strict teacher produces outstanding students.’”

"Let's go. Don't let your master go hungry."

Gwen struggled to her feet, and the three of them slowly walked toward Old Man's pawn shop.

"Liqun, I'd like to ask a question that might be a bit personal."

"Ask away, Gwen."

"When did your family immigrate to America?" Gwen asked.

“More than a hundred years ago,” Li Qun replied.

"Wow!!" Gwen Stacy exclaimed in a small surprise.

Gwen was born in New York, but her father, George Stacy, was not a native New Yorker. He was transferred to New York for work. Gwen's father was no ordinary person to become a police sergeant in the New York Police Department.

"Dad, I brought a friend."

Li Qun pushed open the door of the pawnshop.

"We didn't arrive too late."

The old man glanced at the wall clock, got up from the recliner, and looked at Peter and Gwen with a smile.

"Is she your girlfriend?" the old man asked Li Qun with a smile in Chinese.

"Dating is prohibited at school," Li Qun replied calmly in Chinese.

Neither Peter nor Gwen could understand the encrypted conversation between their father and Li Qun.

Chapter 23 The First Day Experiencing Aurora Culture

What were you talking about just now?

The old man climbed the stairs to the rooftop, Peter followed closely behind, while Liqun was pulled aside by Gwen for questioning and fell behind.

"My dad asked me how old I am."

"How did you answer?"

"I told you you're my classmate."

"Really?" Gwen Stacy didn't believe it at all.

"real."

"Just as some people can't tell the age of us Asians, we can't tell your age either."

"How old does your master think I am?"

“Dad thought you were in your twenties.” Li Qun smiled, but Gwen couldn’t be happy.

"That's normal."

“One year, my uncle and his family went on vacation to the south. My uncle was collecting seashells on the beach, and an old lady with a kind face was also collecting seashells with him. It wasn’t until my cousin ran over and called out ‘Dad’ that the old lady realized that my uncle was not a teenager but a middle-aged man who was already a father,” Li Qun told Gwen.

"Do I really look old?" Gwen looked down at herself.

Why not ask Peter?

“Peter has come several times; my father asked about it a long time ago,” Li Qun replied.

Once Gwen reached the rooftop of her father's three-story house, her eyes grew increasingly blank.

My father put a lot of effort into renovating his rooftop.

The edge of the rooftop was filled with potted green plants;

Next to the green plants is a small vegetable garden, where scallions, ginger, chili peppers, tomatoes, and lettuce are grown.

The training area has a wooden floor, so you can walk barefoot on it.

There was a tea table and chairs nearby, where my father usually sat to drink tea and supervise Liqun's kung fu practice.

Li Qun took off his coat and hung it up, then took off his shoes and began today's training barefoot.

“Peter, you train Li Qun today, I’ll rest for the day.”

The old man handed Peter Parker a basket of ping-pong balls and told him to throw them at Li Qun, who had taken off his glasses.

"so?"

Peter picked up an orange-yellow ping-pong ball and tossed it lightly toward Li Qun, who caught it in his hand.

"He can see?" Peter asked in surprise.

Without his glasses, Li Qun had to squint to see clearly, but even then he still couldn't see clearly.

Peter himself is also moderately to highly myopic, and he knows what his field of vision looks like without his glasses.

“He can’t see clearly, but he can feel it,” the old man said to Peter.

"Throw it boldly and quickly, so quickly that you can't even react to it."

Following his father's instructions, Peter picked up a ping-pong ball in each hand and threw them forcefully at Li Qun.

They weren't worried about the ping-pong ball being thrown off the roof, as there were two-meter-high wire mesh barriers erected on all four sides of the roof.

Peter throws the ball with both hands, and Li Qun catches it with both hands.

Peter threw it quickly, and Li Qun caught it quickly.

Li Qun's vision was blurry; he saw the ping-pong ball in Peter's hand as a blurry orange-yellow block, difficult to distinguish at any distance.

Li Qun caught most of the ping-pong balls Peter threw at him.

“Gwen, do you want to try too? Go ahead.” The old man said to Gwen, and Gwen got up from her chair and came to Peter’s side with great interest.

"Liqun, pick up the stick, the difficulty has increased."

Peter and Gwen throw the ball to Li Qun, who then tries to knock it down with his staff.

There are now two more colors for ping-pong balls: orange-yellow and white.

The white ping-pong ball is even more difficult to see in Li Qun's nearsighted vision.

Two hours later, all three of them were panting and stood up to rest, with ping-pong balls scattered all over the rooftop.