America: A Prodigy of Stereotypes

Chief Black placed a bunch of wallets in George Stacy's hands.

"Just evacuation, no catching the thieves?" George asked the bald leader in front of him.

“This is the perfect ending to the story, and taking the law too seriously would ruin it,” Chief Black said to George in a good-natured way.

George Stacy passed the order down, and dozens of officers began to move. The blocked traffic gradually cleared, and the news media were the last to leave.

Community volunteers, police family members, and unofficial journalists such as Li Qun, Gwen, and Peter also stayed until the end.

They watched as Steve Rogers, the homeless hero, was put into the ambulance. "Johnny" was to be taken to the hospital for a formal brain and psychiatric evaluation, accompanied by George Stacy and Chief Black.

Mayor William's house was left in a mess, with someone secretly urinating and defecating on the ground while watching the rally. The city government urgently dispatched a cleaning team to clean up the mess.

"Something's really wrong with this world," Li Qun sighed.

“If you’re the only one who feels something’s wrong, then something’s wrong with the world is you,” Ben Parker told Li Qun.

“It’s time to go home,” Uncle Ben said.

Peter, Li Qun, and Gwen got into Uncle Ben's car. The three of them sat in the back seat, and Jameson looked back at the three children with a grin.

"How are you feeling?" Jameson asked.

“Wilson Fix is ​​such a great man, I want to make a clipping wall about him,” Li Qun said.

"It's really cool to make a grand entrance and hand out a million dollars right away. Although his net worth isn't as high as Tony Stark's, he's much more human than Stark," Gwen said.

"How will Johnny be?" Peter asked with concern.

“Of course we’ll continue to follow this up; we can’t let Johnny just disappear without a trace,” Ben said.

“Ben and I, one is responsible for reporting the beginning of a news event, and the other is responsible for investigating the ending,” Jameson said with a smile.

"Will this incident make the front page tomorrow?" Li Qun asked.

“Of course! And Ben took a really artistic photo. Tomorrow, everyone in New York will know ‘Johnny.’” Jameson gestured with his hands.

The three people in the back row looked at each other in bewilderment.

They haven't told Ben Parker that "Johnny" is Captain Steve.

They need to prove that "Johnny" is the legendary Captain Steve before they can tell Ben Parker that they have found Captain Steve.

Peter had virtually no say in anything at home except fixing the plumbing in the basement.

“Uncle Ben, do you know what Mr. Black, who took ‘Johnny’ away, does for a living?” Li Qun asked.

“I don’t know.” Ben shook his head. “You could ask Gwen’s father.”

"Oh……"

Gwen placed her hand on her forehead.

Today at the event, Gwen saw her father George, and George also saw his daughter Gwen.

George repeatedly gestured to Gwen to leave the scene, but Gwen pretended not to see and ignored George.

Gwen was thinking about how to get by when her father came home.

“Liqun, could you come to my house for a while? We can discuss something,” Gwen said.

"no problem."

“Peter, we’ll call you,” Gwen said to Peter again.

"I'm fine."

Ben Parker's gaze was reflected in the rearview mirror inside the car; Peter and the other two were being scrutinized by Uncle Ben.

"Peter, what made you suddenly want to do community volunteering?" Uncle Ben's sixth sense was quite sharp.

“One day we were walking down the street when we saw a poster on the community bulletin board. The community really needed help, so we decided to become volunteers.”

“Gwen and I have a very easy time doing community work; the only one who has to work hard is Liqun,” Peter replied.

“That’s right, Li Qun has to prepare meals for dozens of people every day, it’s exhausting,” Gwen said.

“Ms. Martha has been very kind to us, and I feel very good about it,” Li Qun said.

Ben Parker had a very strict fatherly air about him, and Gwen and Li Qun felt a little nervous subconsciously. Li Qun secretly observed Peter's expression; he seemed quite used to Uncle Ben's serious demeanor.

“You’re hiding something from me, aren’t you?” Uncle Ben asked.

"Which one?" Gwen asked.

How many are there?

Happy 15th Chapter Day...

At Gwen's house, as soon as she got home, Gwen called to order three pizzas: two for dinner and one to eat the next day.

"I will never give advice to others again."

Gwen turned on the TV, and the local New York station was showing nothing but footage of "Johnny." She wondered what the homeless show would air tonight at midnight.

“Gwen, this proves that I wasn’t wrong,” Li Qun said to Gwen.

"Johnny, he's Captain Steve."

The two snuggled together on the sofa, Gwen clutching the cushions tightly to her chest.

"Should you call Martha, or should I?" Gwen asked Li Qun.

“I’ll take it,” Li Qun said.

One of the people who followed Steve from the shelter to East 88th Street in the East District was Li Qun. Gwen and Peter saw Li Qun running out and followed him. They don't know if it was because of the influence of the three of them, but they led the onlookers from the first scene in the shelter to the second scene in front of the mayor's house.

Ms. Martha shouted at the three of them as they ran away. Peter and Gwen heard her, but Liqun was running too fast, and Peter and Gwen kept following at a distance.

"Hi, Martha, I'm Leon."

"Leon, are you alright?"

“I’m fine, Gwen and Peter are both fine. I have to apologize to you for what happened today, and I apologize to you on behalf of Gwen and Peter. Madam, you may not know this, but I was the one who watched Johnny being taken to the shelter, so I bear some responsibility for what happened to Johnny,” Li Qun said into the phone.

"It's okay, I'm watching the New York Evening News right now."

"Johnny is not a dangerous person, he is a good man, he is a hero of New York."

“However, the three of you might need to rest for a few days. Everyone in the shelter got beaten up by Johnny, and they're in the hospital now. Luckily, everyone had basic medical insurance when they checked in, so you don't have to pay much for a couple of days in the hospital,” Martha said.

"That's wonderful!"

“I’m also planning to ask you for two days off in a few days,” Li Qun said.

"Are you taking leave? Are you feeling unwell?"

Li Qun heard Ms. Martha's voice on the phone rise a octave.

"It's a traditional festival in China in a few days, and I need to ask for leave," Li Qun explained.

Oh, happy holidays.

“OK…”

After hanging up the phone, Li Qun's expression was somewhat subtle.

What traditional festivals will there be in Aurora in August?

It is a traditional festival that combines the folk, Buddhist, and Taoist elements of the Ghost Festival, the Hungry Ghost Festival, and the Ghost Festival on the 15th of the seventh lunar month.

Happy holidays? This isn't something to be happy about.

The 15th day of the seventh lunar month is not a concern for people of Chinese descent; people of other ethnicities do not pay attention to it.

At the East Zen Temple in New York, the temple has already published the schedule for the Ullambana Festival ceremony. However, the uncle told Liqun that his family would not be attending, and also declined other organizations' gatherings and joint worship activities.

They would celebrate the festival at home by themselves, preparing offerings, paper money, and clothing bundles, and performing a simple ceremony to burn the paper money and clothing bundles for their deceased family members.

That will be a heavy day.

Looking back at the time when the Li family had the accident, it was around January of this year. The Li family was not only in New York to have a gathering with their uncle's family, but also to celebrate the Chinese New Year together. However, they encountered an accident on the way.

“My dad isn’t coming home; he has to work overtime,” Gwen said to Liqun, holding up her phone.

“Quickly ask him what Mr. Black does for a living,” Li Qun reminded Gwen.

"I texted him and asked..."

Gwen's fingers tapped on the phone's buttons.

He said it was confidential.

……

……

On the 14th day of the seventh lunar month, Liqun was folding gold ingots in his father's shop, while his father was making paper figures beside him.

My father is good at everything, but he seems to know more about religious ceremonies. On the night of the 14th, a fellow villager group invited my father to do business, and Li Qun's family also burned paper money on the 14th.

The old man gave Liqun a few instructions: Don't wait until the fifteenth day of the lunar month to burn things; while burning, don't poke at the offerings or break them; wait until all the offerings are completely burned and there are no more embers before leaving; don't look back when leaving; don't sweep up the ashes immediately or step on them; leave the ashes until the morning to clean them up...

Being in a foreign country, the ceremony was kept simple.

The door of the Yellow Crane Tower Chinese Restaurant was pushed open, and the bell by the door rang.

"We're closed. Come back tomorrow," the uncle called out to the "guest" without turning his head.

"Isn't today a holiday?" Gwen asked.

The uncle turned around, somewhat speechless.

"Did Liqun tell you that we're celebrating a holiday today?"

Gwen nodded.

"Didn't he tell you that today's festival is a day for us to commemorate our ancestors and deceased family members?" My uncle asked with a serious expression.

"Actually, I was eavesdropping." Gwen gave an awkward laugh.

“Well, since you’re already here, it wouldn’t be good to send you back,” Uncle said to Gwen.

“Why isn’t it good?” Gwen asked.

Don't ask too many questions.