9: Chapter 9: Working Under the Table or Cracking Down on Illegal Labor, Choose One 9: Chapter 9: Working Under the Table or Cracking Down on Illegal Labor, Choose One Work is an important way for a person to maintain their survival by obtaining certain compensation through labor.
But not a mandatory one.
Many “lying flat” youths do not work but can live quite comfortably and happily by relying on their parents.
Put simply, a person’s life, a person’s existence, has never had much to do with their job.
It pertains only to choice.
The power to choose seems to lie in the hands of each individual, yet the cost of choice varies greatly.
The differences lie on two fronts.
The material cost is different, as is the demand on our way of thinking.
Some revel night after night, simply because their grandfather suffered enough.
Some study hard in cold silence, aiming not to suffer anymore.
Some, penniless, also live comfortably.
Some change their faces, trying to stand out.
And then there are people like Cheng Daqi.
Hard to find happiness, but also hard to feel discouraged or sad.
Cheng Daqi lies in the tent, quietly enjoying the darkness.
The night enfolds him like thick amniotic fluid.
He feels a warmth coming from the quiet night.
When was the last time he fell asleep without any pain, comfortably?
Cheng Daqi could no longer remember.
Indeed, he was no longer the kind of youth who could be easily happy.
Having experienced so much, traveled so far, the ravages of time had etched indelible marks on his soul.
Even with a different body, his mindset could hardly return to that of a twenty-year-old.
But he could also calmly face the hardships he encountered.
His happiness came from contemplating, from considering the problems he faced.
From discovering life’s dragons, then forging a sword to fight and conquer them.
The continuous failures he met today made him realize that his approach was flawed.
America has long hoisted the banner of anti-discrimination, but this is anti-discrimination against Black people.
Asians, haha, are not as good as the dogs raised by Black people.
Now the status of Asians is not the lowest.
In the future, when the LGBT community rises up, Asians will be demoted another level.
Of course, this kind of discrimination isn’t too severe; most of the time, it’s just implicit.
Very few fools openly discriminate against all advice.
But as an Asian illegal immigrant, he indeed found it extremely difficult to find a place to stand.
‘But this is what makes it interesting, right?’
‘Of course, I could just make some Dollars and then go back to my country to continue my chain of fitness centers.
With my experience and the head start, I could do it even better than in my previous life.’
‘But the American version, the reboot of life’s American version, and moreover, starting off as an Asian illegal immigrant vagrant, what fun that is.’
‘And with the system’s enhancement, although right now I can’t see any particularly impressive special features of the system, only the ability to level up skills.’
‘Struggling against others, the pleasure is endless; this alone is enough.’
‘The urgent task now is not to find a job but to get a legal identity first, like, a California driver’s license.’
In some states of America, illegal immigrants can get a driver’s license.
And a driver’s license can be said to be a form of identity, with which one can rent a house.
Once you have a rental, you can use the rental address and driver’s license to endorse your identity, gain the trust of others through these two items, and thus gain employment.
As an illegal immigrant vagrant, Cheng Daqi had no records of defaulting, which meant he could shed his homeless status and seamlessly integrate into American society.
The majority of the homeless on American streets are those with defaulting records, unable to rent houses or find jobs.
They hadn’t been incarcerated, but because of their defaulting, they were ostracized by society, never able to get back on track to a normal life.
Many people from his home country didn’t understand why the American government didn’t help them.
What about America’s personal bankruptcy system?
In fact, the existence of the homeless was a result deliberately controlled by the American government.
The existence of the homeless was a result deliberately controlled by the American government!
Even if things had spiraled out of control, by now, in 2018, the American government still deemed the homeless manageable.
They needed a group of homeless people in society to show the American workforce, to show the consequences of not working hard for capitalism.
Only when the workforce walked on thin ice, constantly vigilant, was it convenient for capitalists to milk them.
Otherwise, how could the masters sleep soundly?
For decades, the American government had numerous opportunities to solve or alleviate the homeless problem, but they invariably chose to turn a blind eye.
This neglect wasn’t about ignoring the issue; of course, politicians had to be accountable for their campaign promises.
Different versions of the “Shelter Act” would surface from time to time, but most often with much talk and little action.
After a long, drawn-out period of inaction, it resulted in the scenes on the streets of America years later.
Of course, all this had nothing to do with Cheng Daqi.
He might have started as a vagrant, but that didn’t mean he would always be one.
Hadn’t Brother Zhu also changed jobs three times back in the day?
From a beggar to a monk, a monk to a soldier, and finally succeeding in becoming an emperor.
It’s impossible to become an emperor in modern America.
Joining the American military as a lackey also wasn’t an option for Cheng Daqi.
He hadn’t yet found a suitable goal, opportunity, or, in other words, an entry point.
“Let’s set long-term planning aside, the short-term primarily involves two things.”
“Survive the ten days, get the newcomer’s gift pack, and see what the damn system hands out.”
“Look for a way to get a Californian driver’s license.”
“With main tasks one and two confirmed, what side quests are there to do…”
Cheng Daqi fell into thought; he preferred planning over passively waiting.
“Zhao Hongjin, seems like there’s no urgent need to make contact in the short term, considering my current situation isn’t sufficient to maintain my persona around her, and more contact would mean losing the benefit of a first impression.”
“Sani, is it necessary to recruit her to prepare for future activities in America?
Not suitable; the trust isn’t there yet, and I’m unclear about her background, in case…”
“Health value is a little over fifty now, with the satiety buff continuously restoring it.
My body was so low on energy before that it had dropped below sixty, but now that it’s replenished, it’s recovering.”
“Should I make contact with Chinatown to find opportunities?
The driver’s license issue could be resolved this way; surely Saint Rodu’s Chinatown has driving schools catering to Chinese illegal immigrants.”
“Then there’s the issue of money.
No matter whether it’s getting a driver’s license or renting a place, you can’t do it without money, and that’s the real trouble.”
Cheng Daqi now needed money to work, identity to find work, and quite a sum to get an identity.
A perfect closed loop, a stalemate.
“There are jobs that don’t require an identity, but none of them are easy.”
Being a beggar, the daily income would range from a few tens to several hundred dollars—not bad, but it would require sacrificing personal dignity.
Without hesitation, Cheng Daqi decided to pass on that option.
What was left were jobs like undocumented restaurant staff, construction workers, farm laborers, and ranch hands.
The purpose of California’s “Sanctuary Act” was exactly that, to replenish the low-end service and manufacturing industries with cheap labor.
But all these jobs were mechanical and physically demanding, trading health for money with no added value.
Cheng Daqi was unwilling to waste his precious time on such menial work.
Thus, with various thoughts about his future, the sound of snoring gradually emerged from Cheng Daqi’s tent.
His first day in Saint Luo, safely survived!