North American riot police: Start by arresting P. Diddy!

Chapter 282 Chain Reaction
Chicago, South Side.

In just one year, this once forgotten corner has been completely transformed.

What was once a slum despised by everyone has now become a hot commodity in the eyes of capital.

Wealthy businessmen wave their checks around, transforming dilapidated houses into boutique shops and high-end apartments, gradually encroaching on the living space of the poor.

The first Starbucks, Watsons, and Apple stores in the South District sprang up one after another, like a group of uninvited guests, crowding out the last place where the original inhabitants lived.

Business at Xiao Kai's Ellebo bar remains dismal.

With only five or six loyal customers, the business barely managed to stay afloat.

Frank Gallagher, as usual, settled into his usual spot, took a big gulp of his beer, and yelled at the top of his lungs:

"These rich guys are just like the British who landed in America back then! They're trying to swindle us out of our ancestral land with cheap stuff like candy and tea! Once we've squandered all that money, we won't even have a place to shelter from the wind and rain!"

He took a swig of his drink, spitting as he spoke: "Guess what? Those rental apartments were built by the capitalists who bought our houses! The money they gave us just goes around in circles and ends up back in their own pockets! In the end, we poor people are left with nothing but our homes and money, homeless, and completely enslaved by capital!"

Yes, Frank Gallagher was indeed a complete scoundrel. He abandoned his wife and children, cheated and swindled, and would even pretend to be gay and commit marriage fraud for money for a drink.

But this dropout from the industrial university in the last century, even though his future was ruined by drugs, was still quick-witted and saw through the trick behind the booming prosperity of the South District at a glance.

Right now, on every street, at least half the residents are happily selling their dilapidated houses for high prices, and then squandering their money in a life of hedonism and excess.

No one thought about what to do after the money ran out.

But that's understandable. Who would have any feelings for this place if they grew up in this hellish place where gunfire is constant?
Anyone who lives in constant fear of being robbed would try every possible way to escape this awful place.

So even though there weren't many customers in the bar, no one agreed with Frank's "brilliant idea".

"Shut up, Frank! You're just jealous! Everyone knows the deed to the house your aunt left you is in Fiona's hands. Even if you sell it, you won't get a single penny!"

"Exactly! If he could get a share of the money, that old bastard would definitely be the first to sell his house!"

"This is Frank from Mare Fuck. The day his disability allowance arrives each month is his happiest time. He can get completely drunk and fart all the time!"

"Hahaha"

The moment the topic of mocking Frank came up, the patrons got excited, and the whole bar was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

Faced with the ridicule of the crowd, Frank could only roll his eyes helplessly.

This world is strange. When he lies, everyone believes him, but when he tells the truth, nobody takes it seriously.

To be honest, he still has some attachment to the South District. Even if he could sell the house, he wouldn't easily move to another unfamiliar place.

Unfortunately, just as others have said, the property deed wasn't in his possession, so he had no say in the matter.

"Kai, another one." He slammed the empty glass down on the bar.

Xiao Kai glanced at him; the old man's face was deathly pale, and he was sweating profusely.

I wanted to advise him to drink less, but thinking of his drunken behavior, I swallowed my words and picked up the bottle to refill his glass.

But as soon as the cup was filled, Frank muttered:

"Put it in Lunis's account."

"Fuck. You really think someone's going to pay for your things?"

Xiao Kai shook his head helplessly.

The wine had already been poured, and he was too lazy to put it away. He pushed it in front of him and asked in a low voice, "Have you heard, Frank?"

"What did you hear?" Frank looked up, his eyes blurry with drunkenness.

“A wealthy guy has been giving away free phone cards at Lakeside Park these past few days. Each card has $50 in credit, and people are lining up to get one every day.”

"Damn it, this is what I meant by 'candy' and 'tea'! It's a trick by rich people to get us to leave our hometown!"

“No, no, you didn’t understand what I meant.” Xiao Kai leaned closer. “You don’t have a phone, so getting the cards is useless to you. Why don’t you get a few more and exchange them for money here—I’ll give you $20 per card.”

"cough cough"

Frank choked violently, spraying the liquor all over himself.

After wiping his mouth clean, his first reaction wasn't curiosity about what had happened, but rather a conditioned reflex of bargaining: "40!"

"Fuck you! You think I can sell it for 50? 22, take it or leave it!"

Seeing Frank hesitate, Xiao Kai added, "I'll let you drink for free for another day, deal?"

Upon hearing this, what could the drunkard Frank say? He immediately made the decision: "Deal!"

The old bastard didn't mind the trouble at all; he grabbed his wine glass and rushed out, his eagerness drawing laughter from everyone.

Fortunately, the lakeside park wasn't far away, and Frank staggered there in about ten minutes.

However, there were more people here than he had imagined; groups of men and women were marching with signs in hand.

The signs, painted in bright red, bore slogans such as "Give Me Back My Job," "Expel Illegal Immigrants," "Reject Cheap Labor," and "Defend Local Jobs."

Clearly, the immigration bill, implemented just a few days ago, has already severely impacted the local job market, sparking this protest.

But upon closer reflection, it's not surprising.

The minimum wage in Chicago is now $12 per hour, while the minimum wage for food service workers, such as waiters, is $7 per hour (excluding tips).

As one of the top five largest cities in the United States, this wage level has been widely criticized, as it is far lower than the $16/hour in New York.

Now that the Immigration Act has been passed, they no longer even have the right to complain.

Because illegal immigrants from the south and west, after obtaining work permits, immediately drove the price up to $30 a day!
Especially the Mexicans, whose hard work and endurance are comparable to those of East Asians. They are even willing to work for free as long as they are provided with food and accommodation and allowed to stay for a year to obtain a residence permit.

Who the hell can compete with this?!

Chicago's working-class residents, who were already struggling to make ends meet, are now completely out of options!
To make matters worse, the implementation of the "medical reform" has added a mandatory medical tax to these ordinary people who normally receive wages and pay taxes.

Their already meager income has been cut even further.

No wonder they've all stopped working and are out in the streets holding signs and marching.

I've heard that Chicago is relatively better off than New Mexico and Texas, which are closer to Mexico, where the situation is much worse, with cheap Mexican workers replacing local rednecks in jobs and sparking fierce conflicts.

Rumors are circulating online that this hot-tempered group is organizing an armed force and preparing to march on Capitol Hill to demand answers.

But none of this mattered to Frank. He could count the number of times he had a real job on two hands in his entire life, so why would he care about unemployment rates or wage competition?
This old bastard's mind is now completely occupied with that place Xiao Kai mentioned that sells phone cards.

The money he got from one card was enough for him to drink all day.

After asking several people, he finally found the long queue by the lake.

A table was set up in front, and a truck was parked there. Brand new phone cards were being distributed to the people in line by staff.

After finding an opportunity to cut in line with acquaintances, Frank overheard people whispering around him:
"That's really strange. I've seen people give out food and money before, but what's with giving out phone cards?"

"You don't understand. Millions of tickets have already been issued in New York, California, and Texas. I heard it's a promotion by European telecom companies, spending billions to make America famous."

"Hahaha, there really are such suckers!"

Although they all verbally cursed the person issuing the cards as an idiot, they were all incredibly eager to collect their cards.

To Frank's surprise, getting the card required neither a driver's license nor identification; it could be picked up anytime without even requiring registration.

What's even better is that you can get a few more by claiming you're collecting them on behalf of a family member.

Frank got really excited!
"Twelve!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. "I want twelve! For my ex-wife, ex-girlfriend, ex-ex-girlfriend, and my eldest daughter and second son!"

"Alright, alright, nobody cares who you're giving it to." The person handing out the cards interrupted him without looking up, impatiently counting out twelve cards and tossing them to him.

Frank happily stuffed the card into his pocket. This was two or three hundred dollars of extra money, enough for him to drink for a week and also help his old flame on the street.

Like him, many people went straight to places where they could cash out their cards as soon as they got them.

However, some people didn't care about the small amount of money; they were only interested in the call minutes included. So, after getting the card, they immediately inserted it into their phone, turned around, and joined the march, continuing to hold up signs and protest.

As soon as he got the phone card, Frank was afraid that Xiao Kai would renege on the debt, so he drank the rest of his beer in one gulp and rushed to the bar.

"Bang!" The bar door was violently kicked open.

"Kai!"

Frank, panting, waved the phone cards around. "Twelve cards, $300!"

Xiao Kai was startled and shuddered. When he saw that it was Frank, he couldn't help but frown.

The old man was in even worse shape than before, looking like a pickled cucumber that had been baking in the sun for three days and three nights.

This was the first time he had ever seen Frank so emaciated.

Despite his concern, Xiao Kai still said with a straight face, "Hey, don't take advantage of my bad math skills. Twelve bills should be $264, OK?"

"What? Come on! I'm a regular customer, how dare you skimp on even a long-time customer like me!"

"Alright, enough nonsense." Xiao Kai impatiently inserted the phone cards one by one into the card reader, skillfully transferring the prepaid credit to his electronic account.

After all the phone cards were processed, he counted out a stack of change from the cashier and handed it to Frank without looking up: "Here you go. Oh, and remember to tell Fiona that I'll give her an extra five dollars per card if she comes to exchange them."

He held up his hand and waited for a long time without any response. When he looked up, he was dumbfounded.

Frank, who had been so cheerful just moments before, was now deathly pale, his eyes bloodshot, sweat pouring down his face like a broken string of beads, and he was swaying unsteadily: "Take...take me to the hospital!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Frank's eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the ground.

"Frank! Waterfa? Frank?!" Xiao Kai panicked.

A few minutes later, Xiao Kai anxiously dialed the emergency number, only to be told that all ambulances in the city were blocked in the strike and protest areas, traffic was completely paralyzed, and no ambulance could be dispatched in a short time.

Seeing Frank lying unconscious on the ground, Xiao Kai stomped his feet in frustration.

Don't get me wrong, it's not that he really cares about this old drunkard, it's just that he and his wife, Little V, are both good friends of Fiona, and he can't just stand by and watch his friend's father die in front of him.

But now Fiona can't be contacted, and Lip is at the University of Chicago.

He could only hope that Frank, who claimed he would survive the destruction of the world like a cockroach, would hold on a little longer.

Just when Xiao Kai was at his wit's end, the ambulance finally arrived.

Xiao Kai asked a regular customer to watch the store while he went with the ambulance.

Along the way, almost every street was blocked by protesters holding signs.

"Fuck! What on earth are these people doing?" Xiao Kai couldn't help but ask.

As the medical staff connected Frank to monitoring equipment, they sighed and explained, "Didn't you read the newspapers? This is all because of that damn immigration bill. Now the minimum wage in Chicago has been reduced to five dollars an hour. A day's work isn't even enough to cover the heating bill. Who would want to work?"

"How much?! Five dollars?!" Xiao Kai, who never watches the news, was stunned and blurted out, "Where can I find workers this cheap?"

“Just go to the slums and find a few illegal immigrants. By the way, don’t you own a bar? Maybe you can get them to work by offering them free drinks. Anyway, the government is issuing them work permits now,” the medical staff member said half-jokingly.

Xiao Kai stroked his chin, lost in thought, and suddenly felt a strong urge to hire a few Mexicans to work at the bar.

But then I thought, given the dismal business of my own bar, I probably couldn't even afford to hire a waiter for five dollars an hour.
"Fake!"

The medical staff suddenly started cursing, "Immigration bills are one thing, but now with healthcare reform in effect, it's not even certain whether we'll get paid on time this week!"

Xiao Kai asked in shock, "You medical staff are also owed wages?"

"How could it not be?" the medical staff said through gritted teeth. "After the medical reform, the hospital's income mainly relies on medical insurance reimbursements from insurance companies, but these bloodsuckers are notoriously slow at processing claims! From now on, it'll be good if our salaries arrive in ten days or half a month!"

His words were not alarmist. In fact, on the day the healthcare reform was implemented, organizations such as the American American Medical Association (AMA), the American American Nurses Association (ANA), the American American College of Surgeons (ACS), and the American American Orthopaedic Society (AAOS) had already anticipated this and strongly criticized the reform for failing to address the issue of medical liability insurance.

After the healthcare reform was implemented, only insurance companies actually made money, while major hospitals had to bear even greater risks than the federal government.

After all, as he just said, who knows how fast the insurance company can pay out? If it's delayed by tens of millions of dollars each time, the hospital simply can't operate!
".All right."

Xiao Kai, of course, didn't understand any of this, and could only scratch his head in confusion, without asking any more questions.

He suddenly realized that everyone he had met today was extremely irritable and full of resentment.

After a difficult drive of more than half an hour, the ambulance finally arrived at the hospital.

Xiao Kai rubbed his hands together, ready to help lift the stretcher, but froze on the spot as soon as he jumped out of the car.

At the hospital entrance, a group of doctors and nurses in white coats were holding up signs that read "Resist Medical Reform" and protesting loudly, completely blocking the hospital gate!

"Doctors...doctors are on strike too?!" Xiao Kai was completely dumbfounded.

(End of this chapter)