America: A Prodigy of Stereotypes

Peter tilted his head; he could sense that there was something alive inside the cardboard box.

Uncle Ben put the cardboard box down, and when Peter opened it, he saw what was inside.

"A dog?" Aunt Mei took a step back.

"The new editor-in-chief had a litter of puppies at home, and he brought them with him when he came to the editorial department. He gave one to each of us." Uncle Ben said, hands on his hips, looking down at the puppies in the cardboard box, his tone tinged with helplessness.

"Ben, we can't keep dogs."

“Yes, I know. Mei, you’re allergic to dog hair,” Ben said.

"Aunt May, are you allergic to dog hair?" Peter was taken aback; he had never known this.

"Nobody here keeps dogs," Aunt Mei said casually.

“We need to find this puppy a home,” Uncle Ben said, looking at Peter.

"Should I go find the puppy's owner?" Peter asked Uncle Ben, pointing to himself.

"Peter, could you go to school and ask your classmates?"

“It’s a good puppy; its mother trained it well,” Uncle Ben said.

"What breed of dog is this?" Peter asked.

"Labrador?" Uncle Ben answered hesitantly.

“We should be able to find it…” Peter said.

"Mei, could you ask her for me too?" Uncle Ben said to Aunt Mei.

"You're a newspaper, why don't you publish it in the paper and see if anyone wants to adopt the puppy?" Aunt Mei asked Uncle Ben.

"What?! We haven't come up with this solution all day?! Mei, you're a genius!"

Uncle Ben's face showed a look of sudden realization, and Aunt Mei was amused by Uncle Ben's expression.

"I'll talk to other people about this tomorrow."

Inside the cardboard box, a Labrador puppy sat quietly, its bottom covered by a diaper.

Peter squatted down in front of the cardboard box and started playing with the puppy. Suddenly, John and Helen came to mind.

“Aunt May, could you ask John tomorrow? He and Helen might be interested in getting one of these puppies,” Peter said.

"John?"

“I remember Labradors are great guide dogs,” Peter explained.

“But John and Helen aren’t blind?” Aunt May hadn’t caught up with Peter’s train of thought.

“What I mean is, if Labradors can be guide dogs, they should be able to take care of patients too,” Peter said.

Chapter 176 A Major Historical Opportunity

During lunchtime at school, a few people ate and chatted together as usual.

“Liqun, why is ‘二百五’ (èr bǎi wǔ) an insult for someone being stupid in Chinese?” Gwen asked Liqun.

“More than two thousand years ago, an advisor to a monarch was assassinated, but it was a failed assassination attempt. In order to find the assassin, the monarch lied and claimed that the assassin was a traitorous spy and offered a reward of one thousand gold pieces to the assassin. The four men who tried to assassinate the advisor believed the monarch's lie and went to claim the reward, only to be caught and brought before the monarch. The monarch scolded these four men as fools who believed everything they were told,” Li Qun explained to Gwen.

“It’s a math problem,” Harry remarked from the side.

"Is this a fairy tale?" Gwen asked.

“Who knows? Anyway, the monarch and that advisor are both legendary figures in the history of China,” Li Qun replied.

"Peter, are you spacing out?"

“No, I’m listening,” Peter said, turning to Gwen.

"Does anyone want to get a dog?" Peter asked.

"A dog? Peter, you want a dog?" Gwen asked.

“No, Uncle Ben’s new colleague gave us a puppy, but Aunt May is allergic to dog hair, so I have to find the puppy a home,” Peter explained.

“I suggest Aunt May contact John; John and Helen might adopt the puppy.”

“Well, just maybe,” Peter said.

“I’d like to, but I don’t have the time. Owning a puppy might end up becoming Bernard’s job,” Harry said.

“Harry, do you think the Duke would like a puppy?” Li Qun asked.

“Peter, you haven’t said what breed the dog is.” Harry looked at Peter.

“It’s a Labrador puppy, I don’t know how old it is,” Peter replied.

“Labradors? They’re one of the breeds I can accept,” Gwen said.

“I’ve heard from people who have owned Labradors that a Labrador’s tail should be classified as a controlled weapon because it hurts a lot when it hits someone,” Li Qun said.

"Why would Uncle Ben's new colleague bring a dog to the newspaper office? And then give the dog to Uncle Ben?" Gwen asked curiously.

“Uncle Ben said the new editor-in-chief’s family had a litter of puppies, and not only Uncle Ben got one, but everyone else at the newspaper got one too,” Peter replied.

"Did Uncle Ben take the puppy to work today?" Li Qun asked.

“No one’s home. We can’t exactly let Aunt May take the dog to work, can we?” Peter replied.

“Working with dogs feels pretty much like our summer internships,” Harry said.

“No, it’s far from it,” Li Qun said. “Being with cats and dogs can relieve stress.”

“But it will also affect people’s work efficiency, right?” Gwen said.

"If the kitten comes to play with you, do you continue working or play with the kitten for a while?" Gwen asked.

“I’ll play with the kitten for a while,” Li Qun said.

“Gwen, I’d like to keep a cat in our future studio. What do you think?” Li Qun asked, looking at Gwen.

“I’m a cat lover, of course I agree,” Gwen said.

"And me? Don't I need your opinion?" Peter asked.

“Peter, do you agree?” Li Qun asked.

“I agree,” Peter said.

“See?” Gwen smiled.

"What's this studio all about?" Stephanie asked curiously.

“It’s just that a few of us plan to start a business together after we go to college,” Gwen told Stephanie.

“Wow! Starting a company? Harry’s with you guys too?” Stephanie looked at Harry Osborn.

“Harry… well, that depends on his father’s opinion. Harry will probably have to work for his family’s company,” Gwen said.

“Yes, that’s right. I probably started as a junior employee, and none of my colleagues knew that my father was actually the founder of the company,” Harry said to Stephanie with a smile.

"Speaking of work, how's Uncle White doing?" Harry asked with concern.

"I haven't seen him for a long time."

“We have the food truck and the food truck operating license, but my father doesn’t have the extra energy to run the food truck part-time. The new job takes up all his time.”

“It’s a bit of a waste to keep the food truck license at home,” Stephanie said.

"Stephanie, do you have a driver's license?" Li Qun asked.

"Have."

“Should we set up a food truck? Right next to the street fighting tournament?” Li Qun suggested to Stephanie.

“But what can we sell? I’ve heard my mom do the math; she’s an accountant, and a food truck isn’t much different from opening a fast-food restaurant,” Stephanie said.

"Stephanie, have you ever eaten steamed buns?"

"steamed stuffed bun?"

"Looks like you haven't tried it before. I'll bring you some xiaolongbao tomorrow."

“Xiao long bao is a very classic Chinese snack that New Yorkers never forget once they’ve tried it, and it’s very suitable as a food truck item,” Li Qun said.

“If your family allows it, we’re going to make a fortune together,” Li Qun said, giving Stephanie a thumbs up.

"Can you bring more tomorrow? I want to eat some too," Gwen said.

"How about we eat steamed buns tomorrow?" Li Qun asked.

“I can,” Peter nodded.

"Can I benefit from this?" Harry asked greedily.

“You’ll get your share,” Li Qun said to Harry.

Harry laughed happily.

……

The next day, Liqun and his friends ate steamed buns with various fillings for lunch at school.

"See? Eight of these small steamed buns can sell for $8; the big ones can sell for $1.5," Li Qun said, pointing to the buns in the insulated box with his chopsticks.

"It smells so good! The beef and scallion buns are delicious!" Harry ate like a hamster with puffed-out cheeks.

“Eight dollars is still a bit expensive, six dollars would be more reasonable,” Gwen considered.

"Why are you already considering the price?" Stephanie asked.

“Making xiaolongbao can be as rigorous as a chemistry experiment. The ratio and amount of dough to filling are fixed. The only difficulty is wrapping the dough and filling into the shape of a bun. The cooking method is the simplest: steaming,” Li Qun told Stephanie.

“Come over to my house on Saturday? We’ll try making steamed buns,” Stephanie said.

"Stephanie, if you dip it in some sauce, the xiaolongbao will taste even better," Liqun suggested.

Stephanie followed Li Qun's advice, dipped her finger in the sauce Li Qun had prepared, and her eyes widened like a cat's after she put it in her mouth.

"OMG!!" Stephanie exclaimed, blinking at Li Qun.

“I’ll never forget this taste in my life,” Stephanie said, completely captivated.

"Is it really that exaggerated?" Peter asked.