These are my brothers, my dearest family and friends.

Chapter 98 These are my brothers, my dearest friends and family (Seeking monthly votes)

"Calling it the upper class is a bit of an exaggeration," Elizabeth waved her hand. "I'd rate myself as upper-middle class."

Li Wei had an expression that said, "I'll just quietly watch you show off."

"Well, well, we'll definitely be spending Christmas Day with family," Elizabeth said. "We'll be at our home on Long Island with our extended family, and all my cousins, siblings, and other people my age will be there too."

"But I'll probably be going to the White House Christmas ball with my parents tomorrow," she said happily. "My father will be discussing new policies for next year with the new Democratic president."

"I saw it on TV," Levi nodded. "I heard he was the oldest president in history to take office?"

“He is,” Elizabeth smiled, “but he is also the youngest senator. Isn’t that how interesting fate is? The youngest senator is the oldest president.”

"So you went to Yale because of your family?" Levi asked curiously, "Just because of family tradition?"

“Of course,” Elizabeth nodded. “My grandfather and my father both graduated from Yale.”

Her tone was so matter-of-fact that it was as if Yale was the only school in the world.

After saying goodbye to Elizabeth, Levi drove home to pick up some small gifts before continuing his journey to the Bronx.

Christmas is just around the corner, and the holiday atmosphere is already so strong it's almost overflowing. In addition to the usual food and electronics sales on the last Saturday before Christmas (Super Saturday Sale), Levi noticed that a gun store was also having a Christmas season sale when he drove by.

"AR-15 parts at an epic discount, buy now and get 2 boxes of matching bullets for free!"

Interestingly, there was an outdoor lifestyle products store right across from the gun shop, and the mannequins in the window caught Li Wei's attention.

That was a promotional display combining the back-to-school season and the Christmas season.

In the center of the shop window, two child-sized mannequins are carrying brightly colored backpacks, with the pink backpack on the left bearing a bulletproof rating label of Level I.

"The best gift for your child is safety," the poster reads. "Buy a bulletproof backpack and get a free first aid tourniquet kit (including a pneumothorax puncture needle), so mothers will never have to worry about their children's safety again."

Besides guns, medicines were also selling like hotcakes, with prominent signs outside pharmacies advertising painkillers for 1000 yuan.

A huge poster that read "Give away 1000".

Next to the pharmacy was the Louis Bail Law Firm, its storefront completely enclosed by iron railings. A crooked Santa hat hung from its tattered neon sign, and below, a scrolling LED screen displayed an extremely tempting holiday promotion: "15% off bail fees for violent crimes during Christmas! 5 people together, 1 person gets it free!"

Li Wei shook his head as he drove. These businesses in the South Bronx have really gone mad. They'll use anything as a selling point for promotions. If this continues, will they start using drugs and marijuana for Christmas sales?

only.....

"There seem to be more police around here lately?" Li Wei muttered to himself, watching the police cars whizzing past. "Christmas is almost here, is the security situation getting worse?"

"Line up! Don't push!"

Kevin stood behind a makeshift counter made of several piles of trash cans, holding a makeshift megaphone—which he had casually snatched from the door of a two-dollar store.

"Pili Cocaine, Christmas Sale!" Kevin felt like he was about to strike it rich. "Original price 30..."

Limited time offer: $27 USD! Grab yours now! To celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, limited to two packs per person.

Ever since he got two packs from Scarface and sold them for three times the price, his greed had become uncontrollable. Even though the price had dropped to $27, it was still a huge profit compared to the original $10 or the purchase price of $3. Apart from $14 going to Scarface, the remaining $13 was all his.

Kevin earned one dollar less than the boss, which reflected his deep-seated respect for Scarface, the boss.

Kevin remained unmoved as he looked at the line of poisoned dogs in front of him.

Even though their eyes were filled with anger, he didn't care. Having spent too much time on the streets, he knew that at least 6% of these people wouldn't survive the winter.

The mother who brought the child last time didn't come.

"I want two packs! Here's $54!" A withered hand handed over a few crumpled bills.

"Get lost! This is $50!" Kevin glanced at the amount of money. "Don't try to fool me. If you don't want to buy it, get out of here!"

"I have! I have!" The man frantically pulled a few more coins from his sock.

Business was booming, and Kevin could feel his wallet expanding just like his ambition, giving him an unprecedented sense of control.

Just as he was about to hand over the two small packets of white powder, a burst of red and blue light suddenly pierced the darkness of the harbor without warning.

"Cops!"

Someone shouted, and the crowd that had been crowding in front of Kevin instantly erupted into chaos, scattering in all directions.

Kevin grabbed the remaining goods and darted behind the huge metal garbage bin.

Fortunately, the black and white NYPD patrol car did not stop in the alley. Its tires crunched over the snow, making a "crunching" sound, which then gradually faded away.

Only when the red and blue light completely disappeared and the alley returned to deathly silence did Kevin dare to breathe heavily. He found that his back was soaked with cold sweat, which clung stickily to his body in the cold wind, making him shiver.

"Fuck these bastards," Kevin crawled out from behind a trash can and spat on the ground. "Are these cops crazy? Instead of eating donuts at the station on Christmas, they're running around in this godforsaken place trying to get attention?"

The poisonous dogs that had just scattered and fled are now gradually gathering back from the shadows.

"Damn it, did they find a warehouse full of undocumented immigrant corpses somewhere?"

One of the middle-aged prostitutes, wrapped in a tattered blanket, sniffed. "In previous years, these policemen would have been hiding away eating donuts by Christmas. Why are they working this hard?"

"The police have definitely been patrolling more these past few days," a middle-aged Black man said. "Damn it, I'm still on parole, and I don't want to get arrested or have to pay a huge sum of money again."

Kevin just rolled his eyes dismissively.

These brainless drug addicts are terrified by the slightest sound; it's just that these police officers want to boost their performance targets.

Two hours later, Kevin sold all the goods he had.

He has been selling large quantities of loose goods recently, and this time he brought a full 300 packs, all of which were sold for $27 each.

Aside from the money he had to hand over to Scarface, he also made a fortune himself.

Humming a little tune, Kevin returned home and was surprised to find that Levi was also there.

"Merry Christmas," said Levi. "This is a Christmas present that my uncle asked me to deliver. Every household received one."

As he spoke, he took out a $25 supermarket gift card and some food that he had prepared and handed them to Michael.

Based on Don Quixote's research on taxation, he discovered that some of the expenses incurred by such asset management companies in maintaining tenant relationships are tax-deductible, although each tenant can only deduct $25 per year.

Don Quixote originally distributed a $25 supermarket gift card to each household as a Christmas present, but when Levi came to Michael's house, he bought some extra groceries from the supermarket as a supplement.

"Wow!" Michael took the large bag, somewhat bewildered. It contained enough food for his family of three to eat for a week. "Does every family have this?"

"Yes," Li Wei nodded, "Every household has them, you can take them all."

"Thank you," Michael said. "Merry Christmas to you, Kevin! Why don't you thank Levi?"

However, Kevin simply went back into his room and closed the door.

"It's alright," Li Wei shook his head and said, "How's things going with your brother's matter?"

At this point, Michael glanced into the room subconsciously, then leaned close to Levi and said mysteriously, "I've already paid."

As he spoke, he opened his phone and showed Li Wei an email that read, "Welcome Michael for purchasing the Christmas package. Please bring your family to the treatment center to report within 31 days of purchasing."

"I've searched online," he said, somewhat excitedly. "This treatment center is pretty good; it has quite a few success stories."

"You worked so hard to save this money," Li Wei said, looking at his payment receipts. "What if he relapses? What if he doesn't go?"

“I’ll talk to him about it,” Michael said smugly. “I’ll lie to him and say that this package is non-refundable once purchased, and hopefully he’ll try it out during the Christmas holidays.”

"He's always been impatient with my advice to get him to quit drugs. I tell him that if he doesn't succeed after one attempt, I'll never try again," he said with a laugh. "Based on my understanding of him, there's a high probability he'll go."

Li Wei originally wanted to keep his own mind to himself, but he couldn't help but say, "This is not an easy thing."

"Get him to quit drugs?" Michael said. "I know, but I can't let the fact that it's not easy prevent me from trying, can I?"

"His physical development has been halted by the drugs he's been using," he took a deep breath. "I've specifically looked into his case. If I don't intervene, he probably won't live past 25. The combination of cocaine and opium can easily cause him to have sleep apnea, affecting his cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, nervous, and respiratory systems... He's like a machine that could explode at any moment."

“He’s my brother,” he said. “I can’t not try to do it just because it’s not easy.”

"Good luck," Levi patted Michael on the shoulder. "I still have to deliver gift cards to a few other tenants. Merry Christmas."

"You too," Michael said. "Good luck in the game. I'll be cheering for your victory on TV."

After saying goodbye to Michael, Li Wei turned and went downstairs, disappearing into the cold wind.

Michael closed the door, clutching the bag full of food and shopping cards tightly in his hand, and hummed a rap song as he stuffed bread and canned goods into the refrigerator.

After Kevin heard Li Wei leave, he chuckled and carefully opened the shoebox. Looking at the shoebox, which was now lined with a thick layer of banknotes, an indescribable pleasure shot from his tailbone to the top of his head.

Based on the current rate at which the sold-out goods are being sold, there will probably be another round of sales around Christmas Day.

He looked at the nearly ten thousand US dollars he had accumulated after three or four separate sales in the shoebox and couldn't help but hum softly.

He guessed that Michael had only saved a few thousand dollars throughout high school, while he had earned twice as much by just selling goods a few times. Who was more capable? Who was the better son?

Kevin felt a surge of disdain when he thought about how his mother always used Michael to educate him.

At Michael's rate of selling blood, working odd jobs, and groveling, he would have been bullied to death in the South Bronx for the rest of his life without his brother.

He closed the shoebox, stuffed it under his pillow, and lay down on it, already imagining the surprised expressions on his mother's and brother's faces as he presented the money.

This is the best Christmas present for him.

In the blink of an eye, another few days have passed.

Franklin High School, the day before Christmas.

For most students at Franklin High School, the last final exam before Christmas is more symbolic than practical.

The restless, holiday-craving atmosphere in the air had reached its peak in the classroom. Even the history teacher on the podium, who was proctoring the exam, kept glancing at his watch, his mind probably already wandering to the roast turkey at home or the traffic jam on the road.

But for Travis, it was a test of life and death.

He sat behind Li Wei, his thick fingers gripping a pitiful pen so tightly that the handle was almost bent.

A fine layer of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his eyes were filled with clear stupidity and despair as he stared intently at the almost blank exam paper in front of him.

Craig had already told him that if he failed this history course, his GPA would drop below 2.5, which would mean he wouldn't be able to meet the university's requirements for a full scholarship.

"Hey!" He nudged Levi in ​​the back. "Should the answer be C or B? In which port did the Boston Tea Party take place?"

Just as Li Wei was about to look up, a taskbar popped up in front of him:

You have received a mission: the graduation exam for the Knight Academy.

The graduation exam at the Knight Academy is a matter of life and death for every knight. Now, your classmate has asked you for help, hoping you can help him pass the final exam. This is an open-ended quest.

You can choose to report your classmate to the knight examiner, or you can act out of kindness and help him pass the exam.

[A: Choose to report to the Knight Examiner: Free attribute points +0.1]

【B: Choose to help classmates pass the exam: Free attribute points +0.1】

Li Wei sighed when he saw the new task that popped up in front of him.

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