Chapter 8

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"Ha ha, don't worry, you won't regret it, buddy. This is a unique dog bowl in all of New York. Take this dog bowl home, and your sweetheart will love you to death. Anyway, my Pipi has already left with that ***, so I don't need this bowl anymore. You got a good deal."

This black guy thought Jin Muchen also had a dog, which was why he was interested in the dog bowl. In his view, exchanging such a broken bowl for a $35 dinner was undoubtedly a great deal.

But Jin Muchen was muttering to himself, "Damn, it's clearly you who exchanged a dirty dog bowl for a meal, and you're still acting like you got the better end of the deal."

If it weren't for me wanting to verify my hypothesis, you could try taking this broken bowl out and see if anyone would be willing to spend a penny on it.

However, Jin Muchen didn't have the time to argue with this guy. He just wanted to get the bowl back as soon as possible and verify his hypothesis.

If his guess was correct, he wouldn't have to work hard or deliver food anymore.

Jin Muchen quickly said goodbye to the black guy, got in his car, and returned to the food delivery store. He paid for the food himself, didn't even have time for a late-night snack, and hurried back to his place.

Once he got back, he rushed to the kitchen, took out a new sponge and dish soap, and soaked the bowl in hot water for a while before gently scrubbing it when the residue softened.

After more than half an hour, the once dirty dog bowl finally revealed its true appearance.

It was a beautiful yellow-based, pink-patterned, five-clawed dragon cloud-patterned open-mouthed bowl. Jin Muchen measured it with a tape measure: 14.80 cm in diameter, 7.00 cm in height, and 6.80 cm at the bottom. It was a practical item, not a decorative one.

However, if this bowl was genuine, its price would certainly not be low. According to Jin Muchen's judgment, this bowl should be an official kiln product from the Qing Dynasty's Yongzheng period.

But when he turned the bowl over and saw the small seal script at the bottom, Jin Muchen felt a bit puzzled.

Based on the bits and pieces he learned from his grandfather, he judged that this bowl should be from the Qing Dynasty's Yongzheng period, but why did it say "Made in the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty" at the bottom?

Truly, one regrets not having learned more about antiques from his grandfather when he had the chance.

Before he knew it, it was already midnight. Jin Muchen checked the time, then got into bed. He decided to take the bowl to Fang Bo on the weekend and have him appraise it.

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"Hey! Muchen, it's the weekend tomorrow, right? You're off, aren't you?"

On Friday night, after Jin Muchen finished his work at the distribution center, Paul came over.

It was payday, and everyone had received their wages. The others liked to go to the nearby bar for a few drinks, but Jin Muchen, who was trying to save money, wasn't very interested in such entertainment.

"Yes, I'm off tomorrow."

As soon as Paul came over, Jin Muchen pretty much guessed what he was going to say.

"Hehe, how about coming over for a barbecue tomorrow? Sam and I are planning a party. Come along, there will be a lot of hot girls!"

Paul winked at Jin Muchen.

Sure enough, what Paul said was exactly what Jin Muchen had guessed. When he first started working here, in the first week, he won the respect of these rough guys with his serious work attitude, strong physique, and the courage to stand up to thugs like Joey Blinder.

So from then on, Jin Muchen was quickly accepted by everyone. On his first weekend after joining, they all had a party at Paul's place.

Jin Muchen couldn't refuse and went. It was a typical American party, with barbecues, beer, marijuana, and many muscular black beauties.

Such parties are actually a part of American culture. When he was in college, his foreign classmates would have such parties almost every weekend. It was basically a bunch of hormone-driven men and women finding various excuses to get drunk and hook up with random partners.

Jin Muchen went a few times but quickly got tired of it.

And after going to Paul's party once, he lost interest. The food and drinks were rough, and more importantly, the girls were of poor quality, far inferior to the parties he used to go to in college.

Those muscular, smelly black girls just didn't interest him. It wasn't out of discrimination; he just couldn't appreciate that kind of beauty.

"Sorry, Paul, I have something to do tomorrow. I can't make it to your party."

"What? You're not kidding, right? Muchen, you're as strong as a bull, working so hard every day, and you don't look tired at all. Don't tell me you have no needs in that area? Why wouldn't you go to such a great party? WTF, are you gay or something? Do you like my black ass?"

Paul suddenly said with a lecherous grin, and Jin Muchen's face turned serious as he turned to Paul.

"Sorry, Paul, I should have told you a long time ago..."

Paul, with surprising agility for his size, jumped to the side and looked terrified.

"Hey! Buddy, I get it. You have that orientation, and... that's understandable... you know, gay marriage is legal in America now..."

Seeing Paul's incoherent expression, Jin Muchen suddenly burst out laughing. Seeing him laugh uncontrollably, Paul pretended to be shy and patted his chest, which was bigger than a woman's.

"Buddy, you really scared me. I knew a guy like you, full of testosterone, couldn't be gay."

"Alright, no more jokes, Paul. I'm really sorry, but I have something to do tomorrow and can't go."

"Alright, buddy. But I'm curious, you're so young, and you understand the principle of living for the moment better than I do. Why do you live like a monk? You don't drink, and you don't like women. What are you working so hard for?"

Paul looked very confused, and Jin Muchen smiled and patted his shoulder.

"Sorry, buddy, I have to go to Flushing tomorrow."

"Wait, you said Flushing? Chinatown?"

"Exactly!"

"I don't get you Chinese, how you love your junk food. Your food is high in oil and salt, and it's toxic. You like to make these toxic foods to poison us Americans."

Paul said this with a grin, and Jin Muchen wasn't angry. He just turned to leave, and Paul followed him with a smirk.

"But, can you bring me some Kung Pao Chicken and the sausage from SC when you come back on Monday? To be honest, that sausage tastes weird, it's definitely not good meat, but I haven't tasted that toxic sausage in a long time, so I miss it..."

"Seriously? Kung Pao Chicken? Alright, alright..."

Jin Muchen was speechless about the tastes of these foreigners. It was only after coming to America that he realized there was such a soul-stirring dish in Chinese restaurants in the U.S.: Kung Pao Chicken.

And almost every American Chinese restaurant serves this dish, which is basically a mix of sweet and sour sauce and thickened with cornstarch, paired with fried chicken coated in batter. The soul-stirring taste is something only these foreigners seem to enjoy.

New York has two famous Chinatowns. One is in Manhattan's Chinatown, mainly populated by early immigrants from Guangdong, but it has now expanded to Brooklyn.

In Manhattan's Chinatown, the area is now geared towards high-end customers, with upscale restaurants. Most of the Chinese here are early immigrants from Guangdong and Guangxi, who have mostly integrated into American mainstream society. Their community is very conservative and exclusive, and they look down on the recent immigrants from mainland China.

To be honest, the ones who exploit new immigrants from mainland China the most are these people. Jin Muchen has a bad impression of them.

The other Chinatown is in Flushing, Queens. This area began to develop in the 1990s as another Chinese community, mainly populated by immigrants from Taiwan, mainland China, and South Korea.

In recent years, with the rapid development of mainland China, a large number of Chinese immigrants have come to the U.S. However, these new immigrants don't get along well with the early immigrants from Guangdong and Taiwan in Manhattan's Chinatown. Most of them choose to settle in Flushing, leading to a rapid growth in the commercial atmosphere of the area.

With the economic prosperity of Flushing, a large number of Korean immigrants also began to move in, making the commercial atmosphere even more vibrant. Later, immigrants from India, Pakistan, and Greece also moved in, quickly turning the area into a community with a strong Asian flavor.

This area quickly became a new bustling commercial district and financial center. Within a half-mile radius, there are more than forty banks, making it the second-largest financial center in New York after Manhattan.

The highly prosperous economy has also benefited the city of New York, so almost every mayor since the 1990s has placed great importance on the security of the area, making it the safest neighborhood in Queens, bar none.

The place Jin Muchen is going to tomorrow is there, because Fang Bo's antique shop is located there.