Chapter 51: Daily Life 4 (Please Follow)

“Los Angeles Breaking News: Recently, an eighteen-year-old mother, illegally residing in the United States, gave birth behind a food truck and abandoned her newborn in a dumpster. Fortunately, a passerby discovered the infant in time and called the police. Officers and paramedics rescued the child.

The police quickly traced the incident back to the food truck, located the young mother, and transported her to the hospital as well. She now faces a felony charge of child abandonment, with bail raised from ninety thousand dollars to two hundred thousand dollars. According to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Bureau, she is considered a flight risk, and her release has been suspended; she is currently held in the women’s jail.

Yesterday, county police raided multiple residential areas, arrested several individuals, and seized large quantities of drugs, cash, and weapons. The suspects face charges including possession and sale of controlled substances, illegal possession of firearms, possession of stolen firearms, illegal transportation of marijuana, money laundering, illegal cultivation of marijuana, and unlawful residency. Some suspects were released on bail ranging from ten thousand to fifty thousand dollars.

Simultaneously, county police stated their intention to pursue those who assisted in money laundering and the processing of marijuana into edibles, both organizations and individuals. They will also continue to investigate supply channels behind the operation and enforce strict measures. Details remain undisclosed as the investigation continues. Both the Los Angeles FBI and DEA offices have expressed concern about the case.

Yesterday, while county police pursued drug dealers, the suspects’ vehicle collided with a woman completing an Uber order. Her car was severely damaged, and she herself was injured.

What pained her most was the response from county police: they claimed they were acting lawfully and would not compensate her, and the suspects had no means to pay. Further investigation revealed the suspects’ car belonged to a dealership and lacked insurance.

Her own insurance company stated her policy covered only personal use, not commercial activity. As the accident occurred during an Uber job, they refused compensation.

Uber explained that when she signed her employment agreement, she did not check off a particular clause, relieving them of any obligation to compensate her. The woman said she had worked for Uber for three years and was never clear about the insurance terms; moreover, she couldn’t understand why, even if she wasn’t compensated for the car, she wasn’t entitled to damages for personal injury incurred while working. Uber maintained it was not their responsibility.

She had only finished paying off her car loan less than half a year ago, and now her vehicle was wrecked with no one taking responsibility. She was left in utter despair.

Ao Xi copied reports in his office while listening to the radio, increasingly amused. The bail for drug dealers was lower than for abandoning a child; he couldn’t fathom the logic. Supposedly, bail is determined by one's assets.

The more assets you have, the higher the bail. If someone skips bail, the money is forfeited and everyone profits.

Thus, the young mother who abandoned her child must possess immense spiritual wealth.

Yesterday’s drug dealer arrests went smoothly, with no gunfire, so there was no need for administrative leave—only action reports to write.

He was appalled. Who even knows how to write those? Luckily, he could copy them. Since Ao Xi had participated in the operation, he could just tweak a few details—no one checked for plagiarism anyway.

Ao Xi remembered his first attempt at writing a school thesis: copying snippets from everywhere, resulting in a seventy percent plagiarism rate.

Especially memorable was the time a fool ordered a paper from Taobao for over three hundred yuan, and the plagiarism rate was one hundred percent. He could still recall the advisor’s livid face and scolding: “Couldn’t you at least change a few words? Add some interjections? Anything to keep it from being a hundred percent!”

Ao Xi took this to heart. When copying, he added plenty of interjections—“FXXK,” “SXXT,” and so on.

He sidled up to Mark, who was also copying his report. “What does it mean when the news says the FBI is ‘paying attention’?”

Mark didn’t look up. “It’s literal. Whenever there’s a major case that crosses state lines or local police can’t handle it, the FBI has the authority to take over. That’s what annoys us most—it’s like they’re looking down on us.”

“Is the FBI really that formidable?”

“Of course. They recruit people with military or police backgrounds, as well as talent from technology, economics, medicine, engineering, law, education, and more. With nationwide resources, they’re definitely powerful. But in recent years, Homeland Security has taken over many of their powers, so they’re a bit weaker now.”

“Why don’t you apply to join the FBI?”

“I never went to college, and being a regular cop is good—I can help a lot of people anytime.”

“How about helping me by copying my report?”

“You must be dreaming!”

Ao Xi pursed his lips, thinking Mark was all talk about helping people, yet wouldn’t lend a hand with something so trivial.

Mark clenched his fist, so Ao Xi hurried away to keep copying his own report.

Just then, several older white men walked in and entered the chief’s office.

Ao Xi sidled over again. “Who are those people?”

Mark glanced over. “They’re staff from the El Monte city government, here to ask if they can buy several hundred pounds of seized marijuana once it’s processed as evidence.”

“Several hundred pounds—that’d last a whole family a lifetime.”

“Who says they’re going to use it themselves? Haven’t you seen the news? El Monte plans to build a marijuana cultivation base and sales center. But growing takes time, so they want to buy the seized marijuana cheap to get their sales center up and running.”

Politicians—always cunning.

“I heard Temple City residents oppose the marijuana cultivation proposal and are gathering signatures for a referendum.”

“That already failed. You must have missed the news. El Monte held a hearing a few days ago and unanimously approved the proposal. Afterwards, the city government authorized four sites for cultivation and distribution.”

“That can’t be! Chinese residents at the hearing wouldn’t agree!”

“They controlled the number and ethnicity of attendees. Hardly any Chinese managed to get in.”

Politicians—truly unscrupulous.

Ao Xi asked, “Will Chief Mesa sell them the marijuana?”

“Do you know why our division is called Temple City Division, not El Monte Division? Much of our funding comes from Chinese companies in Temple City. Only a fool would offend their benefactors for a bit of money. Chief Mesa is no fool.”

Sure enough, before long, the older white men left the chief’s office looking disgruntled.

Ao Xi breathed a sigh of relief. He had no strong feelings about establishing a marijuana cultivation base, but seeing those men leave empty-handed was satisfying.

He felt he’d gained another insight: people might betray their class, but rarely their own interests.