"You too."
Allen Zhang smiled, "I'm going to get a relief meal now because I heard from inside information that the Baal Relief Meal Truck will be on a certain street today. Do you want to come with me?"
"Yeah."
Simone gladly agreed and took out her toothbrush and cup, "Can you wait for me for three minutes?"
"Of course."
Allen Zhang readily agreed.
About three minutes later, Simone had finished washing up, put on her coat, a knit hat, and pushed her bike out to the main road with her backpack, showing that she was not a person who likes to dawdle.
Perhaps it was her innate boldness, she quickly cast aside the unpleasantness of earlier and asked curiously, "Allen, how did you find this place?"
"Dominic brought me here; he's my good friend." Allen Zhang answered.
"Oh." Simone relaxed quite a bit, "So you're going to live here too? Welcome to Lori Louis 19!"
She extended her fist as a welcoming gesture.
"Thank you." Allen Zhang also raised his hand and bumped fists with her.
"Were you out jogging to stay fit earlier? Dominic usually gets up around noon; why didn't you choose to sleep in a bit longer?" Simone asked again.
She had been here for so long, and it was really the first time she saw a homeless person with so much energy.
Most homeless people seem to get by with neither full bellies nor starvation.
They only show the joy of freebies when collecting subsidies and shopping vouchers.
More often, they numbly push the small carts acquired through Zero-Dollar Purchase from supermarkets, wandering aimlessly in the streets with large and small bags.
More than the physical hardship, what torments the homeless more is the mental devastation, the erosion of their bottom lines. Over time, many of their mental states become abnormal.
Allen Zhang smiled, "Maybe it's because I just got here. I'm used to sleeping and waking up early, and even changing environments hasn't altered that habit. But you're up early as well, Simone. You were the only person I saw all along the way. You are really a diligent girl."
"Of course, because I have to go to work."
Simone was pleased to hear someone praise her. She said, "I found a modest day job on the street; I work in an Indian restaurant cleaning and delivering food. Of course, sometimes, I inevitably face sexual harassment at work."
"How did you find a job without having a house?" Allen Zhang was curious.
"It's a bit complicated. I stayed at a friend's house for a while, asked them to help fill in my information, dealt with the community union's spot checks and the inquiries from the recruiting company, making them believe I had a stable residence, thus I got the part-time job," explained Simone.
"But the community conducts unannounced spot checks from time to time; I can't always bother my friends, so I found a rental company on the street, asked them to rent me a 'nonexistent house', providing just a rental certificate but the house is actually uninhabitable. I only have to pay a small amount of rent weekly, they helped me take care of it, it's also a solution."
Nonexistent houses are mostly those that have collapsed due to disrepair or unfinished buildings that are being reconstructed, like motels, but their documents are not yet expired. You can say it is legal, but it can also be considered illegal.
Mainly promoting cheap rent, a building could have several hundred people registered; it's more like running a business of selling qualifications rather than a rental business. As long as the address could be verified online, one can find a job.
The same advantage is that you only need to check out at the speed of light on the day you receive the subsidy, becoming homeless again, and then you can reapply for subsidy and shopping vouchers as a homeless person.
Simone spread her hands, "But occasionally, there are unexpected issues. The emails from the workplace always get lost, or even thrown away as trash by the rental staff. My initial few jobs all vanished because of this, and I even nearly got blacklisted as a defaulter of trust, unable to find any more jobs."
Is this what they call policy loopholes?
Allen Zhang was somewhat astonished.
You really have to be a local Qi Person.
"Since you had a stable job, you shouldn't have to roam the streets, right?"
Allen Zhang inquired.
"I have to mention my ex! My life was about to get back on track, but because he didn't want to break up, he caused trouble at my workplace, resulting in me losing my job and being listed as a temporary defaulter of trust. I absolutely loathe him!"
Simone was irritated.
"I currently work at an Indian restaurant that's also not very formal, and the wage is pretty low, only $15.20 per hour. Just twenty cents more than the minimum wage set by California's law!"
Simone said helplessly, "Honestly, you have no idea how these Indian guys leer at me with such hunger, always finding excuses to take advantage of me, it's disgusting. Sometimes, I think about smashing the plate right on his face when he stares at my butt and walking out slamming the door!"
"If I were you, I'd definitely punch them in the face, stop them from doing those disgusting things," Allen Zhang said seriously.
"I really want to do that! But compared to being taken advantage of, I still prefer money more."
Simone shrugged helplessly, spreading her hands, "I need money, that's life, bro, welcome to the West Coast, welcome to Los Santos! Everyone here loves to smoke."
"I get what you mean."
Allen Zhang laughed, "yo! west coast we selling music and coco."
"Wo～"
Simone laughed, her speech was just like an old West Coaster. After all, gangster rap is inseparable from music and coco, it affirmed his musical achievement.
The two chatted and walked, quickly becoming more familiar with each other.
He also officially became Allen Zhang's third friend on the West Coast.
Interacting with people is really quite simple!
Apart from some street trash and extremists, there aren't that many racists at all.
If you have enough confidence, you're easily liked by others.
Of course, that's if both parties are at the same social status and class, and the topic is something both can talk about.
You as a homeless person can't go arm in arm with the governor of California, can you?
…
A few minutes later.
They arrived at the relief food truck, managing to catch the first batch.
Allen Zhang lined up and got two meals from the relief food truck. Double cheeseburgers, Pepsi, and cream ice cream cake.
Damn, this meal is better than what I've had before.
And what's more, it's all for free.
You know, sometimes the basic welfare for homeless here is really good.
This little cake must sell for at least a dozen US dollars?
And it's topped with strawberries, with each bite full of industrial whipped cream.
Unlike back home where they implement the policy of 'better to teach fishing than to give fish,' here as long as you are willing to work, you can live a decent life like a normal person.
America, on the other hand, cannot curb the emergence of homeless people; they need the homeless to exist, too lazy to provide job opportunities, choosing the 'provide basic needs' route, it's better to dredge rather than block. Sometimes, they are so poor they only have national debt and money left.
During the election periods that require voting, just a cheap subsidy of $600-1000 per person per month can win over the hearts of the homeless firmly.
Eat your meal without breaking your pot, and firmly cast your vote for them!
Under the 'kick out' policy, if you're broke, you have to be homeless. Streets are filled with single mothers with two or three children, homeless because they can't afford the rent. Often, the more developed the city, the more homeless people there are because the welfare benefits are indeed in place.
Many homeless from other states travel long distances just for a relief meal, only to find themselves trapped and unable to leave the poor streets.
Anyway, it is capital that is paying, not the senators, major corporations just need to leak a bit for tax purposes, which is enough to support millions of homeless, and there are still people embezzling.
When it's time to vote, the homeless are still people; if you're of no use, just go die somewhere.
Who cares about you.