: The Knights' First Campaign After Moving

Jose looked at the wad of banknotes stuffed in his hand, his lips trembled for a moment, and finally hesitated before accepting the money.

"Thanks," he said solemnly, "I...I'll find a way to pay you back."

"You don't intend to renege on your debt, do you?" Don Quixote hiccuped, gesturing for him to raise his glass. He teased, "You owe me money now, so you'd better live to pay me back."

The two raised their glasses and clinked them together.

As night fell and the bar gradually filled up, Don Quixote and his companions left.

"Fuck, I've thought tipping was really stupid ever since I was unemployed."

On the way back, Don Quixote went on and on about how he was cursing the tipping culture in America to Livy.

"Did you see that waiter's attitude?!" he rambled on and on. "Fuck! He served us drinks and snacks with a sour face the whole time, and then asked for a minimum 20% tip when it was time to pay the bill!"

"8th Avenue is still better," he said through gritted teeth. "I know there's a bar run by Chinese people that doesn't accept tips, but it's a little more expensive than here. But looking at it this way, it's still more cost-effective to go to 8th Avenue."

Li Wei can't help but laugh when he talks about this.

This bar sells cheap drinks, but the tips are among the highest in New York.

在结帐的时候只给了小费的3个选项，20%、22%和25%。即便堂吉诃德再怎幺据理力争，最终也只能痛心疾首地付了20%的小费。

Adding in the 8.75% tax, the meal, which originally cost a little over $200 before tax, was forced to cost Don Quixote $265 before he would let him leave.

If Don Quixote hadn't just received a month's advance from Susan, he probably wouldn't have been able to afford this meal.

Livy patted Don Quixote on the shoulder reassuringly, "Take it easy, you'll be able to start a new life tomorrow."

Don Quixote, realizing this, belatedly slapped his forehead: "Oh right, we were supposed to move this afternoon!"

But everything was already packed, so the two of them had to go back, open the cardboard box, and take out their toiletries and sleeping supplies to make do for the night.

The next morning at 8 a.m., Li Wei and Don Quixote moved their belongings out of the basement and onto the roadside to wait for the moving company's truck to arrive.

Compared to U-Haul, a moving company that is ubiquitous in New York, Don Quixote, being a local, found a cheaper and more convenient Chinese moving company.

The movers helped the two of them load their meager belongings into the car, and then Don Quixote started the nearly broken-down Toyota and drove all the way from 8th Avenue to Bay Ridge.

When they arrived at Bell Ridge, Levi felt that everything here was a level above 8th Avenue.

Compared to 8th Avenue, which is more like Labor Square, Bell Ridge is more like a community that fits his understanding of America—although it is still quite far from being a true middle-class community.

But at least the sound and smell here are much better than on 8th Avenue. There are significantly fewer loudspeakers, and the constant noise of 8th Avenue is much less here.

Despite being closer to the sea, Bell Ridge doesn't have the fishy smell of seafood or the strange smell of garbage that 8th Avenue has.

The moving company's truck finally stopped in front of an inconspicuous two-story building made of reddish-brown bricks.

"That's really great," Li Wei said casually as he got out of the passenger seat of the Toyota. "Your boss is really good to you."

"Right," Don Quixote scratched his head, "I was also wondering why she wanted to rent this house to me. She said that after the house was converted from a 3-bedroom to a 2-bedroom, it became harder to rent out. If the price was too high, no one would come, and if it was too low, no one would want to rent it out, so it was better to rent it to us."

"Hmm," Li Wei didn't say much more, calmly carrying a large suitcase in each hand as he entered the room. "Indeed!"

The living room alone is much more spacious than the basement. There isn't much furniture, but all the basic living necessities are provided, including a sofa.

In the United States, 90% of long-term rentals do not include beds, sofas, tables, or chairs by default. Some rentals don't even provide ceiling lights, only light sockets, leaving tenants to buy and install the lights themselves.

The house that Susan offered was clearly much more comfortable.

The light slanted in from the living room side, passing through the half-open blinds and casting clear shadows on the wooden floor.

The floor wasn't new; it creaked slightly when you stepped on it, but that gave Li Wei a sense of security. The living room was rectangular, with a row of windows facing the street, overlooking neatly trimmed street trees.

"At least we won't be able to see other people's shoes through the window at night," Li Wei said, turning to Don Quixote. "This place should be quite quiet at night."

"So that's what you were thinking," Don Quixote said, carrying in a box containing his armor. "I thought you were trying to peek at women's underwear through that flat window every day."

"Fuck!" Levi gave him the middle finger. "Don't impose your ideas on me."

Don Quixote laughed heartily.

Li Wei dragged two suitcases up to the second floor and glanced at the layout.

Originally, this house was supposed to have a master bedroom on the first floor and two small secondary bedrooms on the second floor.

However, after Susan took over, she combined the two secondary bedrooms into one large bedroom that was no less impressive than the master bedroom on the first floor, with the bathroom on the second floor next to it.

"That's good, I won't have to listen to your snoring at night," Li Wei said to Don Quixote after coming downstairs to the basement. "Are you planning to stay on the first floor or the second floor?"

Don Quixote stared with shining eyes at the washing machine and dryer against the wall in the basement; now they would finally not have to go to the laundromat outside to do their laundry.

"I choose the first floor," he thought for a moment, "to let my knees live a few more years."

This house also comes with a small garden at the back door.

As soon as the door was pushed open, a draft blew in. The garden was not large, with stone slabs paving the ground and a few clumps of shrubs along the edge. Although no one had taken good care of it, it was not overgrown either.

The movers brought in the few remaining pieces of luggage, and the house became quiet.

But the story didn't end there. Don Quixote hadn't lived in a proper house in years. It took him a while to realize that there wasn't even toilet paper in the room.

He and Li Wei went to a nearby supermarket and bought daily necessities such as garbage bags, tissues, and laundry detergent. They also picked up two boxes of pizza from Papa John's on their way.

After finishing his meal, Li Wei took a shower in the old but clean second-floor bathroom, then threw himself into the bedroom and rolled around comfortably on the bed.

Although it was only a little past 9 p.m., Li Wei could already faintly hear that Don Quixote had fallen into a deep sleep.

The faint snoring sound penetrated the ceiling of the first floor, but it was more than 50 decibels quieter than it had been in the basement.

Li Wei's excellent physical condition and mental state meant he didn't need to sleep for so long. He sat down at the table in his bedroom, opened a Russian video chat program, and began to study it carefully.

until--

A rustling sound came from downstairs.

Li Wei paused the video on his phone and listened carefully.

That's the sound of Don Quixote putting on his armor.