Reborn 92's Business Tycoon

Chapter 619: Neighbours

The two people who had slept in the middle of the day were quite excited at night. After having an authentic American seafood dinner at Fisherman's Wharf, they drove around at night in San Francisco. The two young Asian people were driving an elegant and dignified convertible luxury car like this, and needless to say, they got a lot of attention.

Looking at the vastly different scenery and crowds around her, Huang Jingping always feels a little unsure. 'Is this really settling down in the US again?'

'Why again?'

'Look, in 1998 we were in the city, in 1999 we were in the capital, and in 2001 we were in the US again,' Huang Jingping counts on her fingers. 'Where will you take me in another two years?'

That's true. But after finishing a year of exchange studies here and giving birth to a baby at the same time, if Huang Jingping also returned to China, she definitely wouldn't go back to the capital. At that time, the SARS outbreak was imminent, so how could she let her baby stay in the capital with her?

'What, you don't like it?'

'Hee hee, as long as I'm with you, I like it wherever we are,' Huang Jingping quickly gave him a kiss on the cheek.

'But where are we?' Feng Yiping immediately realised that he had driven aimlessly and didn't know where he had arrived.

After asking for directions a few times, they finally turned off the main road. Just like when Feng Yiping first came here, Huang Jingping was also not used to the quiet, or should I say deserted, place. 'It's only a little after nine,'

The road home was even more quiet. Although the street lamps were bright, at the end of the small road by the side of the road were also houses with bright lights, but there were no people on the road, not even a dog. All they could hear was the sound of insects in the trees.

Finally, there was a car going downhill in front of them. It was a convertible Porsche sports car. When they met, the guy in the car, wearing a grey T-shirt, even stopped to say hello, 'You must be our new neighbour? Nice car, I'm Harry,'

'Von, nice to meet you!' Von Yiping smiled and greeted him, this being their first meeting as neighbours.

'Mike tells me you've just arrived in the US. If you need any help, give me a call,'

It seems like a pretty helpful guy, but you're damn right you're going to leave a phone number if you say something so nice!

Back home, Feng Yiping would have politely asked, 'Where are you going?' But this is the United States, where privacy is more important than breathing, so it's better not to ask.

'It seems that neighbours are not as indifferent as legend has it,' Huang Jingping said.

Although they lived in that villa area in the capital for such a long time, they still didn't know their neighbours' names for sure.

'There are probably one or two enthusiastic people in every community,' Feng Yiping said with a smile.

Neither he nor she had the slightest idea how neighbours got along in the US. They both thought that people just shut themselves away in their own little worlds, minding their own business.

...

'Ding dong,' the doorbell rang. Huang Jingping was preparing lunch in the kitchen when Mike said he would bring Lisa over. 'Yiping, go answer the door,'

When he opened the door, a woman in a blue dress, neatly dressed, stood in the doorway, holding a tray in both hands, next to her was a little girl in a princess dress. 'Hello, you must be Feng, I'm Kate, the third house on the right down here, here are some cookies I baked to congratulate you on moving into your new home,'

Feng Yiping took the large tray a little dazed, and ushered them inside, 'Please come in,'

'No bother,' Kate smiled and took a note from her daughter's hand, "this is my husband Harry's phone number,'

Oh, it turned out to be the woman of the friend from yesterday.

'Then you wait a moment," Feng Yiping went into the room and rummaged for a while, picking out a fat doll riding a water buffalo from the box of clay sculptures he brought with him, "this is for you," he bent down and said to Harry's daughter.

'Wow, this is so delicate,' the foreigner just loves these little folk art items that are unique to our great country, "Annie, what should you say?'

'Thank you!" the little girl sweetly said to Feng Yiping.

Kate's visit seemed to be a signal, and then Feng Yiping's door was constantly being knocked on. They all stood in the doorway and said a few brief words before offering a plate of homemade snacks. The box of clay sculptures they brought was quickly given away.

Lisha followed Mike when he came, and she also brought snacks. It was a cake she had made herself. Looking at the things on the table, they were obviously not surprised. 'Looks like you're preparing a party,' Mike said with a smile.

'Do I have to? Can I return the visit?'

'It's tradition,' Mike felt a little happy as he watched the young boss in a difficult situation.

'It's very simple,' Lisa helped him set the table. "You just pick a day, set up a tent in the front yard, prepare some snacks, drinks and a seafood barbecue, and the people who come will bring some food themselves,'

'Oh, let's try it, follow the local customs!" You have to sing the song of the land you're in, and here, they have to follow their rules.

'Yiping, help me serve the food,' Huang Jingping walked out with a plate of pan-fried tofu.

When it comes to Western food, she definitely can't compete with Lisa. Today they have prepared authentic Chinese dishes, such as Szechuan-style shredded pork, hot and sour shredded potatoes, and Kung Pao chicken.

To take care of the children they have brought along, they have also made scrambled eggs with tomatoes and steamed shrimp with broccoli.

'Is this really authentic Chinese food? It's not the same as what you can get in Chinatown,' says Mike. He can eat spicy food, but he is really bad at using chopsticks, and it takes him forever to get it right.

'You'd better use a spoon,' Feng Yiping says, pointing to the spoon he has set aside.

'It really is delicious,' Lisa says, 'and this eating habit is healthier than ours, with less meat and more vegetables,'

Actually, we do eat meat too. I was going to stir-fry some pork belly, but I was afraid you wouldn't like it.

'Mike, is it like this in your community? Are the neighbours all so friendly?' Feng Yiping really couldn't believe it. In his country, which was known as a society of human relationships, neighbourly relations were becoming increasingly indifferent. In this profit-oriented America, would neighbours be so nice to each other?

'Well,' Mike seemed a bit at a loss for words, 'it's like an unwritten rule that whenever a new neighbour arrives, everyone has to welcome them.'

Mike actually left out one thing: especially in this market downturn, neighbours who can still invest in this area will definitely want to get along with you.

'I understand. Even in normal times, we still maintain an appropriate distance, right?'

'Yes,' Mike nodded.

'What do we need to pay attention to when interacting with our neighbours?' Huang Jingping asked.

'It's actually quite simple: try not to disturb others,' Lisa said.

'There's a proverb, 'An Englishman's home is his castle'. Don't drop in uninvited. If you really need to visit, it's best to phone first and make an appointment. And try not to call your neighbours before 7pm or after 10pm,' Mike added.

'And, keep your own yard tidy, like the lawn. In this kind of summer, it usually needs to be mowed once a week,' Lisa added.

'If you go to a bar or café together, don't fight over who pays the bill.' I won't do that, but I don't usually mind if someone else pays.

'And if you have pets, you need to manage them well in the future,' she added.

...

Yiping Feng felt that although people in the United States said that they had a lot of freedom in relationships, in reality, it seemed that they did not have freedom to live in their own country.

Moreover, the reason why everyone is so enthusiastic today is because they are new to the area. If they hadn't been neighbours for a long time, they wouldn't know what their neighbours did either.

'But,' Michael said, probably seeing that the two of them looked a little uncomfortable, "people are also happy to share things with their neighbours, for example, which gardener is good,'

and on this point, Feng Yiping didn't respond for a long time, "what's wrong with you?'

'I think I've got something,' Feng Yiping said.

Whether in the United States or China, neighbourly relations are becoming increasingly indifferent, and the reason is actually very simple.

Although society is becoming more and more progressive, at the same time, everyone is under increasing pressure. After work, when they get home, they are exhausted like dead dogs, and they can't even worry about their own affairs, let alone have the energy to care about other people's affairs.

Besides, if you are neighbours, you are bound to have some bumps and bruises. If you usually have a good relationship, it would be bad to turn your back on each other when there is a conflict, wouldn't it?

Keeping your distance is actually a kind of protection for yourself.

But then, the major social media in the United States became extremely popular. They must really like socialising, so could something be done about this?