Chapter 31
The True Knight
Don Quixote turned his head, glanced at José with a complicated expression, and ultimately chose to remain silent, refraining from lecturing José.
José and his wife were illegal immigrants who could not survive in Mexico, so they smuggled themselves into the United States and eventually arrived in New York.
During the day, José mixes cement at the construction site, and at night, his wife goes out to solicit customers on the street. When business is good, they can save nearly $300 a week.
But ever since José's wife became pregnant unexpectedly and her belly grew bigger every day, their weekly savings have been dwindling.
For José and his wife, it doesn't matter whose child is whose; they don't care about that since they both do this kind of work.
The important thing is that they need the child to automatically acquire American citizenship at birth so that they can get rid of their status as illegal immigrants.
If José doesn't get the money today, they won't have enough for next week's rent, and José's wife will have to go out again while heavily pregnant, something neither of them wants to see again.
Just as the two were talking in hushed tones, Levi and Leto walked out of the tin shack one after the other.
"Come here, everyone," Levy said to Don Quixote. "Mr. Leto is very generous; he's going to pay everyone's wages for this week out of his own pocket."
"Li Wei, how did you do that?" Don Quixote stared in disbelief at Leto, who had sent the security guard to retrieve the money from the safe. "To snatch the money back from that miser Leto, in his eyes, is more important than his mother's life."
"We'll talk about it later," Livy said, standing next to Don Quixote. "We'll talk about it after the workers have received their money."
After all, he hadn't tested the effective duration of the "Talkative" ability to distort cognition, and he was feeling a little uneasy.
While the skill was still at the [Poor Eloquence] level, the effect on Leon didn't seem to last indefinitely; otherwise, he wouldn't have seen through it when Levi sold gold coins last time.
Fortunately, it seems that as long as no one questions it, the influence of "talking eloquently" will continue, which puts Li Wei at ease.
Just as Don Quixote and the workers received their wages and left the construction site, Li Wei suddenly saw the task panel pop up again.
[Mission: Helping the weak and oppressed has been completed]
You successfully obtained justice for the farmers and successfully prevented any violence or bloodshed.
[Reward: 0.1 Free Attribute Points Issued]
No one was injured in this incident; your cleverness deserves a reward.
[Additional +0.1 free attribute points]
[Task Reward: 0.2 Attribute Points Issued]
Free attribute points: 0.2
Li Wei's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected to trigger an extra reward after the first mission! This brought him one step closer to reaching 3.0 in a single statistic.
However, now was not the time to add points. After walking forward with the crowd for a while, Li Wei told Don Quixote how he had "persuaded" Leto.
"...That's roughly it," Li Wei said, spreading his hands. "I told him that once he paid for it himself, the company would have resolved a crisis, and they could get reimbursed afterwards, so he agreed."
"Tch, I never expected that stingy Leto would actually pay for us in advance," one of the workers said excitedly. "I finally don't have to go to the drug trial."
Li Wei smiled and nodded.
Leto did indeed pay the money upfront, but he neither knew nor cared whether his company would reimburse him.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Don Quixote coughed, seizing the opportunity, "I have something to announce."
Knowing that Don Quixote would be freed from his misery today, José glanced at Don Quixote and patted him on the shoulder with envy.
"I've found a new job and I'm moving over to Bell Ridge," Don Quixote said, looking at his fellow workers. "And coincidentally, my nephew is about to start school. I propose we go for a drink, my treat!"
Since Don Quixote was celebrating his good fortune and wanted to treat everyone, most people naturally agreed, and so a large group of more than ten people went together to find the cheapest bar.
此时的时间是3点45分，而啤酒会打折的「欢乐时光」是下午4点至7点，为此众人不得不在酒吧门口等了15分钟才进去点酒。
A dozen or so people ordered some mozzarella cheese sticks, Buffalo spicy chicken wings, and cheap Bud Light beer, then sat down at three tables and started drinking and chatting.
"Gentlemen! Hear me!" Don Quixote stood up, his sun-darkened face now flushed with the effects of alcohol. "After this week, I'm moving to Bell Ridge! I've found a new job!"
The workers erupted in cheers. While Bell Ridge wasn't a place like Manhattan where land was incredibly expensive, it was arguably the closest thing to a middle-class community that most blue-collar workers and poor weekly wage earners could imagine.
"That wretched woman, my ex-wife, couldn't break me! That bastard Leto couldn't kill me in that concrete trough either!" Don Quixote roared. "And he couldn't even hold back our wages! And today, it's all thanks to my nephew—Levi!"
Don Quixote then put his arm around Livy, who was sitting next to him, and his voice gradually rose in pitch:
"Did you see that? He not only managed to get our hard-earned money back from that miser Leto!" He said, his eyes red, looking down at his coworkers. "He's a true genius! You semi-literate folks probably don't know that, do you? Ha! He's going to Yale! And he definitely will! He'll go to Washington, D.C., and be giving orders from his office there!"
"And I wouldn't have been able to move away from here without my nephew's help," he quickly wiped his eyes with his sleeve, "Nephew, I'm so proud of you!"
"For Li Wei!" shouted a worker with a full beard, raising his glass.
"For today's wages!"
"So that I can sit in the office and give orders!"
Li Wei smiled and raised his glass in response, joining the drinking contest with the workers.
Jose sat in the corner watching Li Wei, a hint of envy flashing in his eyes. He lowered his head, took a sip of his drink, and pondered how long the money in his hand could sustain him and his wife.
The $1000 weekly wage solved his immediate problem, but it was only enough to keep him barely alive.
Suddenly he felt the sofa next to him sink – Don Quixote sat down next to him, picked up his wine glass and clinked glasses with him.
"How much longer until your wife gives birth?" Don Quixote asked. "Has she seen a doctor?"
"Based on the timeline, it should be next month, but I haven't seen the doctor yet."
Jose shook his head. He and his wife were both illegal immigrants and spoke poor English. They were afraid to go to the hospital for treatment, fearing that they would be arrested and deported by the immigration authorities.
"so......"
Don Quixote put his wine glass on the table, hesitated for a moment, and then took out the wages he had just received.
He was white and had legal status, so he could earn an extra $200 a week.
He first counted out $300, then added it up to $600.
After hesitating for a moment, he rolled up all 1200 US dollars into a ball and stuffed it into Jose's hand.
"Take this, but don't let anyone know," Don Quixote whispered. "Buy your wife some nutritious food; don't let her suffer any more during this time."
"You're still young," he patted José's head. "You're only 22. You'll definitely pull through."