Chapter 504 Welcome Ceremony in New York
There were no accidents or romantic encounters on this road trip from the west to the east. Jack drove the Firebird in just over 40 hours to complete the entire journey.
It's not that he set off too late and had to rush on his way. In fact, there was still a week before he officially reported to the FBI office in New York. Jack planned to use this time to adapt to the life of New Yorkers in advance.
When I visited the Big Apple for the first time, the pace of life here made Jack, a half-Los Angeles resident, quite uncomfortable. Every time he saw the hurried passers-by on the street, he felt as if the whole world was being fast-forwarded at twice the speed. key.
As a result, as soon as he entered the city limits, the traffic in New York City gave him a hard blow. Although he often encountered traffic jams in Los Angeles, he could still move two steps every few minutes.
As long as you avoid busy traffic hours, you can drive wherever you want.
And when Jack's Firebird turned onto Ninth Avenue, it was stuck in place. Half an hour passed before his eyes, and the destination that should be close at hand turned out to be so far away.
Jack began to reflect that he might have made a wrong decision in driving the Firebird to New York. No wonder the police movies he saw in his previous life, especially those about New York, had the protagonists driving their cars onto the sidewalk and running rampant. It seemed that they were indeed based on reality.
He just saw on the Internet that there is a "Chongqing Noodle" in the West Side of Manhattan that is said to be very authentic. He wanted to stop by to feast on it before going to Rossi's apartment, and also pay homage to "Hell", one of the holy places of American comics. kitchen".
But he didn't expect to be in such a "desperate situation". Looking at the drivers in the cars around him, they all looked like they were used to it. Jack could only sigh silently, took out his mobile phone, took a photo of the long queue in the traffic jam, and sent it to Justin. .
This girl, who seems to have been in front of the computer forever, replied with "O(∩_∩)O" almost instantly to show her gloating.
Although the detective novel has not yet been officially published, Jack can now call himself a "writer" because Justin anonymously uploaded and published the first "The President's Contract Wife".
With sales of nearly 5,000 copies a month, although it is not a hit, it has already reached the threshold of a bestseller.
Considering that Jack and Justin work together, one writes the outline and the other fills in the polish, and can produce at least two similar novels every month, Chris is negotiating to acquire a small publishing house.
Of course, Jack was too afraid to expose the writer's vest. He was too social and even hid it from the girls around him. All discussions between him and Justin about the manuscript were conducted in a "burn after reading" manner. , without leaving any traces on your phone.
The traffic in front finally started to move slowly. When Jack found a parking lot and parked his car, he was really shocked by the parking fee here. US$15.4 an hour can only be said to be worthy of the big apple.
After walking out of the parking lot, Jack followed the map on his phone and quickly found the small noodle shop. When he opened the glass door, a young blonde girl doing homework at her desk caught his attention.
"Alexis?" Jack asked tentatively.
When he watched "Spiritual Detective" in his previous life, he liked this precocious little girl very much. She was well-behaved and sensible, which was very different from the bunch of troubled teenagers in the usual American dramas. Instead, she often had to worry about her troubled father. .
"Uncle Jack?" Alexis was a little hesitant, but still took the initiative to extend her hand like a young adult. Her Uncle John called "Jack" on the phone. She thought she would see a middle-aged man who was nearly 40 years old. Man, I didn’t expect that the person in front of me would be so young.
"Uh" Jack was in a trance for a moment, uncle or something, the last time someone called him that seemed to be in his previous life, "Please be sure to call me Jack!"
"Okay, Jack." Alexis sat back down with a smile and began to put away the homework on the table.
"Are all New Yorkers in such a hurry like you?" Jack glanced at her book, which had the word "Senior" written on it. This is a textbook for the fourteenth grade of an American middle school and the last year of high school.
"So are all the people in Los Angeles as unpunctual as you are?" Alexis countered slyly, "I've been waiting here for nearly an hour and a half."
Well, this is starting a chain of contempt between New York and Los Angeles. Old Americans also have regional discrimination. In addition to the difference in time concepts, Los Angeles people will think that beautiful girls in New York rely on makeup and famous brands to set off, while New Yorkers think that in Los Angeles All of them were stuffed with silicone and injected with Botox.
"I didn't expect the traffic in New York to be so jammed. I left all my things in the car and rushed here as soon as I entered the city."
Jack sighed silently. There were so many two-way single-lane and two-lane streets, and the streets were extremely narrow. There must be very few bank robberies, because after the robbers got the money, they could only run away, not by car. .
Alexis waved her hand nonchalantly and expressed her forgiveness to him in a familiar manner. She took out the menu and started ordering food, "I thought when you first arrived in New York, you would choose to try the bagels here first."
Bagels are hard bagels, also called bagels, and are probably the most popular bread in New York.
When Jack saw her, he ordered a small portion of pot stickers, thinking that she wasn't hungry. After all, it wasn't four o'clock in the afternoon yet, so it wasn't meal time. He ordered a bowl of spicy beef noodles and a bowl of fat sausage noodles. Another order of xiaolongbao was added.
Seeing Alexis' eyes widening in surprise, he realized a little later, "Is there any problem?"
His last meal was breakfast, which he had in Pennsylvania, and now he was extremely hungry.
"How do you keep in shape? You look like this." The little girl stuttered.
It's still a bit chilly in New York in May, so Jack didn't bring the Los Angeles style of sandals and big pants here. He changed into a formal suit on the way here, and he's the type to dress to look slim, so compared to his appetite, It's actually quite surprising.
It seems that New Yorkers are very body-conscious. Jack recalled the pretty ladies he saw along the way. Indeed, the cup sizes were at least two sizes smaller than those in Los Angeles.
The little girl is not yet an adult. No wonder she looks weak and incompatible with traditional beauty. What kind of body management is she doing at such a young age? There are so many problems with New Yorkers.
What surprised Alexis even further was that the young "Uncle Jack" finished the food in front of him. While wiping the sweat from his forehead, he talked to the noodle shop owner in some strangely pronounced Chinese. Chatted.
As a native of Jiangsu Province in his previous life, Jack could only speak average Sichuan dialect, but being able to hear the familiar accent from the mouth of a white-skinned ghost guy was enough to surprise the boss from Sichuan Province.
After some deliberate efforts to get close to him and a generous tip equivalent to the cost of the meal, Jack easily struck up a conversation with this old Sichuan man. After a while, he would build more friendship and help get some difficult seasoning ingredients or even lend him a loan. Small things like a stove are no longer a problem.
After all, he was going to stay here for a year and a half. In addition to asking John to help arrange for his niece to be a guide, he planned to use this week to get familiar with the city. He also had to plan certain things in advance. .
After filling his stomach and saying goodbye to the noodle shop owner who was reluctant to leave, Jack, led by Alexis, walked around the neighborhood called "Hell's Kitchen".
The official name of this neighborhood should be "Clinton District". It is located at the southwest corner of Central Park, between 34th Street and 59th Street. Jack's current location is 46th Street in the middle, also known as "Restaurant Row." The security is good, and as the name suggests, there are various restaurants.
Although Alexis matured precociously, she was still a little girl at heart. When someone chatted with her with an equal attitude towards an adult, and even asked her humbly about life knowledge such as New York subway transportation,
Although the little girl had tried her best to suppress it, the sense of achievement of being respected and affirmed still made her feel a little elated. The introduction was comprehensive and very detailed.
Thanks to the NYPD's largest police force in the country, New York's daytime security is pretty good. The location of "Hell's Kitchen" is actually pretty good too. After some redevelopment, at least now, there is no such chaotic scene as it once was. .
"Emit Grant still has 20 yards. 15 yards. 10 yards."
"But there's a big guy right behind him!"
"But the big guy can't catch up at all. Emmett is going to win, he's going to win, yeah!"
Two African-American children, one big and one small, ran past the two of them happily, as if they were playing a rugby game.
Alexis turned around deftly and let them pass. She watched with a smile as they stopped at the door of a 6-story apartment building. The older child shyly started fighting with another African-American girl. call.
The two children seemed to be biological brothers. The older one urged the younger brother to go upstairs first, a little embarrassed. It seemed that he wanted to chat more with the girl he liked.
Jack and Alexis were walking and chatting before, and unknowingly they had passed several streets. Jack raised his hand and looked at the time. He felt that it was getting late, and he estimated that he would be stuck in traffic for a while on the way back. Offered to take Alexis home.
"So we will be neighbors from now on?" The little girl blinked her long eyelashes and asked curiously.
Coincidentally, the penthouse apartment that Rosie lent to Jack happened to be adjacent to the apartment of a well-known writer, Rick Cassel. Although they were in two different buildings, the height of the buildings was the same, so it was barely enough. They are considered neighbors, the kind who can stand on the rooftop and wave to each other.
"Yes, that's why I try my best to please you." Before Jack could finish his words, his eyes suddenly focused, and with a warning sign in his heart, he pulled Alexis over and protected her behind him.
"Boom!" A huge explosion sounded, and screams spread.