Chapter 2926: Leisure Time (7)

Shiler arrived in Los Angeles at dusk, and the sunset on the West Coast was gentle and lingering.

Unlike the blue sky and sea during the day, at sunset, the sea surface was filled with rich orange-red, and then it was a dreamy purple. The thin cloud lines were woven into gauze curtains, and the sun was like a pearl rolling down the shark gauze.

The sentiment of the US West Coast is different from the atmosphere of any other region in the world. It is busy but leisurely, lively and romantic. The cool evening breeze in autumn brushes the face, and you can always hear some cheerful and lively tunes on the road, like a city born for jazz.

Walking out of the airport, you can see high-rise buildings covered in orange-red, and the palm trees closer by are like men with long necks and afro hairstyles, dancing happily when they move gently with the wind.

Shiler stood in front of the airport and yawned. The sun was setting lower and lower. Tim, who bought a bottle of coffee from the convenience store, pushed the door open, and the wind chime sound was very crisp. He shook the coffee can in his hand at Shiler.

Shiler waved his hand at him. He couldn't get used to this kind of instant coffee. Tim tightened his backpack and poured a can of coffee into his mouth.

He didn't love coffee that much, but the other him in other universes loved it very much. When chatting with them, he would feel uncomfortable if he didn't have a cup of coffee. Over time, he also got used to drinking coffee regardless of time and place.

The hotel car came quickly, but what was interesting was that it wasn't any serious stretched luxury welcoming car, but an old Ford car with bright flower patterns pasted on it.

The driver was a black guy. He helped Shiler put his luggage into the trunk. From the moment he got on the car, his mouth didn't stop. Why do people say West Coast rap is famous? This guy's speech had a rhythm of rap.

"I guarantee you will fall in love with our green home and spend a very pleasant two weeks here, sir. I know you are from New York, that is a big city, but Manutin is different from there. It is a very quiet town, peaceful and beautiful..."

Tim hadn't heard of the place name he mentioned. He guessed it might be the local way of calling it, but hearing that it was a small town, he looked at Shiler, and Shiler showed him the Airbnb booking interface.

It turned out that they didn't book a hotel in the city center this time, but booked a homestay in a place between Los Angeles and the Love Farm they were going to investigate.

This is a house on the hillside of a small town about 40 kilometers away from the farm. It seems to be a very popular homestay. Tim flipped through the pictures and found that this is a typical cabin in the woods. The most popular point should be that the window of the living room can see most of the city of Los Angeles, and even the coastline.

They soon drove onto California Highway 10, which is also a very famous highway. The winding route, the background is orange-red like undiluted paint, and you can see a large starry sky after the sky gets a little dark.

It seems that after passing a certain important intersection, the car was a bit congested. Shiler and Tim were eye-opening, because there were all kinds of old cars around. Tim suspected that many of these cars were older than Thomas.

He lay on the window and looked out, soon smelled a rich smell of marijuana, coughed twice and took his head back.

Seeing that the driver in front was about to take out a cigarette, Tim immediately said: "Sorry sir, I am a minor, can you wait a while before smoking?"

"You mean this? This is just ordinary cigarettes." The guy smiled and said: "Don't you smoke? Then I won't smoke either."

"Cigarettes are fine, I really can't smell marijuana." Tim wrinkled his nose very disgustedly. His sense of smell was very sensitive, or maybe it was a problem developed from living in the upper city for many years. He always felt that marijuana had the smell of vomit, and he wanted to vomit when he smelled it.

At this time, Shiler very skillfully took out a box of cigarettes from his handbag and threw it to the driver.

The driver didn't feel anything at first, but after seeing the packaging, he widened his eyes in surprise.

"Chinese cigarettes?! God! You are really a lucky rich man, this wouldn't be mainland goods, right?"

"Of course, authentic Su cigarettes, count yourself lucky, kid." Shiler said: "My nephew's family is very rich, and he is not allowed to touch cigarettes and alcohol since childhood. You can't lead him astray, otherwise I have no way to explain to his father."

"Understand, understand." The black guy grinned with a mouthful of white teeth, laughing from ear to ear. Tim gave Shiler a thumbs up.

In fact, Chinese flue-cured tobacco is very popular in the West, and it is divided into Hong Kong parallel imports and authentic mainland goods. Authentic mainland flue-cured tobacco sells much more expensive than marijuana, and you may not be able to buy it even if you have money.

In fact, it is mainly because the method of processing tobacco leaves here is very rough. Like the world-famous Camel brand, it is basically raw tobacco, which is equivalent to smoking leaves, not to mention choking, and there is no fragrance of tobacco at all.

Chinese flue-cured tobacco is much more particular. The processing method of tobacco leaves is old-fashioned, and it is roasted just right. The nicotine content is not that high, but it is very fragrant. Most importantly, the exhaled secondhand smoke is not choking.

Even in the era of the War of Resistance Against Japan and the War of Liberation, the People's Liberation Army relied on exporting cigarettes to earn foreign exchange. At that time, it was not cheap to sell, so many fathers in Europe and America took being able to smoke Chinese cigarettes as a symbol of status.

The black guy lit the cigarette, took a big puff, and exhaled the smoke enjoyably. He looked at Shiler and said: "You look like a mixed race. You should have relatives in China, right? Have you been to Chongqing? I saw on Tiktok that it is a real cyberpunk city."

Shiler thought about it, he had really been there, but in the era he went to, Chongqing couldn't be counted as a cyberpunk city, so he said truthfully, "I have been there, but that was a long time ago. Do you want to travel to China?"

"I want to, but the visa is too troublesome." The black guy sighed, shook his head and said: "I have friends who want to go over, the visa process took three months, so I can only brush videos."

The car is not driving fast now. It should be very choking to smoke in the car, but Tim felt okay. He sniffed and didn't smell any strong smoke, at least not like the secondhand smoke he inhaled before, where the smoke drifted into his nose and stung people.

After a while, they reached the intersection. The black guy took the pack of cigarettes and got off the car, handed two cigarettes to two people wearing police uniforms next to him, and the car soon passed.

When checking the window, Tim happened to be sitting by the window. All his clothes added up to thousands of dollars. The police didn't even look at him, checked Shiler and Tim's handbags and let them pass.

"Why is it checked so strictly recently?" Shiler asked a bit confused.

"Don't mention it, isn't it time to elect a mayor again? Many big figures have been coming and going in Los Angeles recently."

Shiler just remembered that the mayoral election in Los Angeles is in autumn and winter, and it should be the most intense time now.

He hadn't said anything yet, Tim asked curiously: "Who are the candidates? What's the background?"

"There are many candidates, but the hopeful ones are actually those two or three, to be precise, two. One is a white man called Tusochi, who seems to be a boss who does big business. The other is called Karenna, a black woman. They are both locals, and the competition is quite fierce."

"Foreigner? Can the mayor choose someone who is not a local?"

"It's not that foreigner. They are both locals, but one is doing business locally, and the other is investing later. One represents the local circle of the West Coast, and the other represents Congress."

"Which one has a higher approval rating now?" Tim asked again.

"You are quite strange. Coming here to play, you don't ask about attractions first, but care about the election."

"Heh, my dad is a big figure, he talks about these all day, so I naturally follow suit, and I have a social survey report that hasn't been done, so I guess I don't have much time to play." Tim complained pretendingly.

The black guy laughed and said: "You look like that kind of pampered rich young master. It's not strange that you are interested in these. To talk about approval ratings, they are actually about the same."

"Black women are of course more popular with ethnic minorities. Her approval rating among Latinos, African Americans, and women is very high, and I also support her more. However, she did come to Los Angeles to invest and do business in recent years, which is not as good as that Tusochi."

"But it's hard to say. Many emerging businessmen in the local area support her very much. After all, they have had enough of that group of real estate developers."

The black guy said a lot intermittently, and the congested road section passed. The car continued to drive forward until it was further and further away from the city, and there were more uphill roads. Not long after, it drove into a small town.

This small town is still quite lively. Even if it is completely dark, the town is brightly lit. You can also see people setting up stalls to sell goods. The black guy explained: "A video made this small town popular, and there are too many tourists recently, taking pictures and checking in everywhere."

"You made a fortune, right?" Shiler asked.

"That's not it." Although he said so, the guy still grinned from ear to ear. He said: "This car is my uncle's, and I have to share the dividends with him. However, if I give him half a pack of cigarettes today, maybe your tips will all belong to me."

"You have already been given a pack of cigarettes, and you still want tips?" Tim teased.

The black guy immediately wailed, "No, you rich people!! You can't just use cigarettes to bribe me! Otherwise, if you want to use a car on the mountain, I won't come!"

"Is it difficult to use a car on the mountain?"

"It's okay, mainly because some people cherish the car and are unwilling to drive up. My uncle's broken car is about to be scrapped, and I don't care, but you have to give double tips, or..."

The black guy stared at the cigarette in Shiler's hand and swallowed. Shiler put the cigarette away and said: "Then it's double tips. Don't think about getting more good goods from me. I still have use for it."

The black guy started wailing again.

Driving all the way up the winding mountain road, Shiler understood why this black guy said it was difficult to use a car on the mountain. This kind of road consumes the most fuel, and ordinary drivers are unwilling to drive up. It seems they had better find a way to rent a car.

This guy's driving skills are quite good. He didn't turn the corner in a hurry, and it wasn't very bumpy. It wasn't the kind of driving method that sacrificed comfort to save fuel, so when he got off the car, Shiler threw him another pack of cigarettes plus sufficient tips.

The black guy screamed, half of his body poked out of the car window and said: "Damn rich man, call me next time you use a car! Whoever dares to grab business with me, I will blow his dog head!"

Tim laughed loudly, standing in front of the door watching the old car with bright patterns swaying and driving down the mountain.

He pushed the door open. The lights in the room were on, and a tall white man in a floral shirt was waiting for them in the room.

"God, you finally arrived. I didn't expect you to take the little black dog's car."

"God, you are a racist..." Tim said with some surprise.

The big white man waved his hand and said: "That's their nickname. His uncle is called Old Black Dog, and the nephew is naturally called Little Black Dog. That's a slippery guy. Did he ask you for double tips? Just because the mountain road is difficult to drive?"

"He drives quite well." Shiler and Tim hadn't put their things down because they weren't used to touching the furniture before the owner of the house spoke.

"He says that to everyone. In fact, because of the rise of tourism, the government has fuel subsidies, and he can get double money... Just throw the bag on the sofa, don't be polite, after all, your bag is more expensive than my sofa." ===== CHAPTER 2927 =====