PDLP Chapter 5 Scrap Metal Collection Station
Chapter 5 Scrap Metal Collection Station
Gloria patted her chest to catch her breath and thanked Simon Lin: "You helped me again today. I'll definitely invite you next time there's a community group buying event."
"I appreciate your kind offer, but I still prefer online shopping," Lin Ximeng replied, immediately declining.
The idea of buying something for free sounds appealing, but since I don't have natural camouflage skills, I'm not going to join in.
Max's eyes were still glued to Simon Lin: "Seriously, your muscle definition is amazing. It's way better than those drug-addicted influencers I've seen online. Their pecs are as hard as plastic."
Lin Ximeng said calmly, "It's all-natural, and it hasn't been treated with any drugs."
He recalled his days at the company in his past life, where he worked overtime every night. Later, fearing he might actually die suddenly, he forced himself to be self-disciplined.
I did 100 push-ups every day and went to the gym for two hours every other day without fail. That's how I built this muscular physique.
Riley quickly seized the opportunity and said to Max, "Simon just saved you guys, so... could you close a few minutes later?"
Max glanced at Riley and said, "Originally, the door wouldn't have broken if someone (referring to Gloria) hadn't pulled it like that."
She then looked at Lin Ximeng: "But handsome, you really helped me, so I'll give you ten minutes alone."
Seeing that Gloria was about to have another outburst, Max added,
"What's the rush? I haven't finished speaking yet."
She leaned against the door frame and buttoned up her shirt collar, which had just been undone. "But for Simon's sake, I'll give each of you an extra eight minutes."
"Anyway, you have to pay to get a seat in the front row of the bar, so it's better to get up close and see abs than to see male models from a distance."
Gloria curled her lip after hearing this, "Bitch! You're such a pervert, you have no principles when you see a handsome guy."
"That's called being honest with yourself," Max said without any hesitation, straightening his back and speaking with conviction.
"That's enough," Lin Ximeng said without any concern. He had experienced the power of eight-pack abs in the gym before.
Right now, the most important thing for me is to convert those bottles and jars into money.
Max led the three into the recycling center and pointed to an electronic display screen, saying:
"These are today's recycling prices, take a look."
Lin Ximeng glanced at it; it read:
PET plastic bottles, $1.50 per pound.
Aluminum cans, $1.60 per pound.
Cardboard, $0.01 per pound.
Glass bottles, $0.20 per pound.
Then Max took out several plastic buckets that were about half a person's height. "Just pour all your bottles and jars into the plastic buckets and weigh them."
"Remember, aluminum cans and plastic bottles must be kept separate, otherwise the machine won't recognize them."
At Max's instruction, Simon Lin poured the bottles and jars from the two bags into two plastic buckets.
And one by one, they were placed on the scale to be weighed.
"By the way, where are you from?" Max asked.
"From the East, from the Xia Kingdom," Lin Ximeng said.
Max laughed: "No wonder, even though we're both Asian, your face is much more pleasing to the eye than Ah Han's."
Riley explained to Simon Lin, "Max's boss, Ah Han, is of Korean descent. He's not particularly good-looking, and his height is his main advantage."
Gloria, however, seemed to have a different opinion. "I think Ah Han is a good person; he's an honest man."
Max completely ignored Gloria's words. She looked Simon Lin up and down, her eyes blunt and undisguised. "Seriously, even if you're a homeless person, you're the most handsome homeless person in this area, bar none."
After several people weighed the cans one by one, they quickly calculated their earnings for the day.
Max glanced at the results on the electronic screen and announced the amounts: "Simon Lin, 216 aluminum cans, 182 plastic bottles, total $25.5. Riley, you've shortchanged me by $18.3."
Gloria brought the most jars of them, the most she had accumulated over the past three days.
Max raised an eyebrow as he stared at the screen: "Gloria, $41.2. Looks like you didn't waste those three days camping out at the bar's back door."
The group took the banknotes from Max, and Gloria happily counted them. Suddenly, she noticed the change in Riley's hand and her eyes widened: "Wait, you actually made over ten dollars today?"
As Riley's roommate at the same camp, she was aware of Riley's recent situation.
Because he looks like a girl, Riley seems to have been targeted by a few homeless perverts recently, which has made it impossible for him to collect cans in peace, and he can't even make ten dollars a day.
Riley immediately straightened up and moved closer to Simon Lin, gesturing animatedly:
"That's because of Simon! Just now at the back door of the Fire Bar, those two guys with the scriptures tried to steal our jars, and Simon took them down in no time—his punches were as fast as in the movies, he's practically a kung fu star."
Lin Ximeng spoke casually, after all, dealing with a few drug addicts was indeed not difficult: "It's a piece of cake. If you ever encounter a kind-hearted person who 'delivers cans to your door' again, you can always ask me for help."
Just now, when the weight was taken and tallied, Lin Simon clearly remembered that at least half of the jars he brought were given to him by those perverted homeless men.
Lin Ximeng would love to meet such a warm and kind homeless man every day.
Riley put away the cash and then asked Max, "You said last time the recycling center had free sleeping bags, are they still there? Simon just arrived in Los Angeles."
Max raised an eyebrow, turned and walked towards the warehouse: "Coincidentally, there's one last one. I'll go find it for you."
Gloria frowned upon hearing this: "What do you mean? I asked you yesterday and you said no, are you treating me differently?"
Max stopped at the warehouse entrance, glanced back at her, and said bluntly without any attempt to hide his feelings, "Preferential treatment? Do you also have such nice eight-pack abs?"
"If you don't have one, then shut up." She waved the blue sleeping bag she had just pulled out and handed it to Lin Simon. "This sleeping bag is of pretty good quality; I'm sure it will give you a good night's sleep."
"Coleman, the cheapest one must be at least thirty dollars, right?"
Gloria's tone clearly carried a hint of jealousy, not because she had any ill will towards Simon Lin, but because she was constantly being targeted by her former roommate Max and had no way to retaliate, which made her quite resentful.
"Although it's a cost-effective option, it's frost-resistant and waterproof, better than many of the ones distributed by welfare sites."
Riley recognized the brand of the sleeping bag, and to be honest, it was a level above the nameless sleeping bags used by most homeless people.
Lin Ximeng took it and touched it. The sleeping bag was made of thick fabric and had a smooth zipper. It was indeed of better quality than he had imagined.
He was a little curious: "Why would your recycling station give away sleeping bags? That's not cheap."
Max pointed to the small print in the corner of the sleeping bag. Lin Ximeng leaned over to take a look and saw that it read "Red Basket Supermarket - Fresh Ingredients, 5 off for every 100 spent," along with the supermarket's address.
"What else could it be?" Max shrugged.
"Our boss, Ah Han, is smarter than a calculator. He opened this recycling center so you can make money."
"I'll also send you sleeping bags so you know his supermarket has special offers."
"In the end, he'll lure you all to his supermarket to spend your money, and the money you earn from selling the cans will eventually have to be spent back on him."