New York is as calm as ever today.
The sewer vents along the street emit steam, snow piles high along the road, and the murky air makes passersby sneeze.
The skyscrapers in Manhattan are still under construction, and cars come and go on the streets. But unlike wartime, there are many more smiles on people's faces.
Even peace advocates and anti-war activists are happy to enjoy the benefits of wartime and live a better life.
A bit of a distance from Manhattan, in Queens, there is a very ordinary community high school, and today is the last day of school.
Christmas is coming; the school is about to start its winter break. Not only are the students completely uninterested in studying, but even the teachers feel the same.
The last half-day of classes is mostly self-study. Generally, winter break in the United States lasts about four weeks, starting one or two weeks before Christmas.
This year is different from previous years; in many places in New York, there are new buildings called supermarkets, marked with a yellow W sign, indicating they are owned by Wilson Enterprises.
These buildings haven't opened yet and are still covered with curtains. But outside these buildings, there are rows of billboards with pictures of various products and prices so low they're shocking.
It's said that the Friday before Christmas, these special stores will officially start operating, selling these items at extremely low prices.
Everything from daily necessities to those light luxury items people usually hesitate to buy will be discounted.
Actually, historically, Black Friday is the fourth Friday in November, right after Thanksgiving. However, Earth 40K doesn't have this concept; supermarkets were proposed by Su Ming, who simply decided to schedule the huge sale on the last Friday before Christmas for convenience.
It's called Black Friday because American accountants use red ink to record loss figures, known as deficits, while black ink is used to record profit figures. Black Friday essentially means 'Big Profit Friday.'
Now, whether students or teachers, their minds are filled with thoughts about how to spend their salary or pocket money.
Some students are writing their shopping lists on slips of paper, but those who don't have part-time jobs or come from poorer backgrounds inevitably feel a bit dejected.
"Alright, students, I wish you all a happy holiday in advance. Class dismissed."
Whoosh...
As the teacher cheerfully announced the end of class, the classroom suddenly became lively. Students picked up their books and bags, laughing and chatting as they walked out in small groups.
In the hallway, a blond-haired boy in a worn pilot jacket was putting his textbooks into his locker. The mess inside the locker made him exert more effort.
Besides beauties and football stars, the faces on these posters all crumpled and transformed as he struggled to close the locker door.
"Hey, Leo, do you know what day it is today?" The Fatty beside him was his friend, and their lockers were close together.
The blond-haired youth rubbed his parted hair, leaning against the locker: "What?"
"Black Friday." Although Fatty didn't look as handsome, his locker was very tidy. He could easily close it while chatting animatedly with Leonid.
"What Black Friday?"
"Ahem, you actually don't know? God, do you walk without looking?" Fatty gave his friend a condescending look, pulling a flyer from the back pocket of his jeans.
Due to his size, these jeans became like large grain storage pockets, so a stack of flyers could be tucked inside without even folding them.
Leonid reluctantly accepted the flyer, discovering it was filled with various discounted items.
60% OFF, 75% OFF, such big red numbers were plentiful. Things originally priced at tens of US Dollars were listed on the flyer as only costing a few dollars now.
"Wilson Enterprises chain supermarket, Black Friday blowout sale, just a few US Dollars, a bargain, no regrets..." He read the promotional language instinctively and couldn't help but frown: "What is this..."
Fatty snatched the brochure, flipping through several pages: "It's a big store, and everything inside is super cheap. Wilson Enterprises is reportedly giving back to society so everyone can have a good Christmas."
"Oh." Leonid replied disinterestedly, planning to slip away.
But Fatty, big and strong, grabbed him around the neck, nearly pressing the brochure against his face.
"Look, buy the latest model tape recorder, and it comes with a Shachimo album tape. Know tape? It's German technology from wartime. And this, buy a football and receive a random baseball star card, all super cheap."
"Mm." Leonid continued struggling.
"Buddy, the supermarket opens in two hours. Want to go with me? You should get yourself a new pair of shoes." Fatty looked down at Leo's feet.
Not that his current shoes were bad, but is it too cold to wear only canvas shoes in winter?
"You know I have to work, otherwise I won't be able to pay the tuition after winter break." Leonid shook his head. He was an orphan and couldn't spend his money on these things.
Even if these items are dirt-cheap, they're unnecessary.
Fatty nodded understandingly, patting his chest, saying heartily: "I'll buy them for you as a Christmas gift. My dad works at Wilson Enterprises and got this much for a bonus recently..."
Fatty looked around, seeing no one, and mysteriously held up three fingers from his chest, which looked like plump hot dogs.
Leonid swallowed, knowing Wilson Enterprises had great benefits, but he hadn't expected them to be so good. Especially thinking of hot dogs, he felt a bit hungry.
"Did your allowance increase again?"
To say he wasn't envious of his friend would be a lie, but what he envied wasn't his friend's wealth, but that his friend had a family.
"That's right, but we're good brothers, what's mine is yours. Today, let's check out this super mall, and for Christmas, you come to my place!"
"Thanks, but better not. I bring bad luck. I understand your good intention, but really…
Fatty rolled his eyes impatiently and brought their heads together, lowering his voice more.
"I know you suspect you're a mutant, but trust me, you're not a monster. You're a good person. Stop saying you bring bad luck."
Leonid was somewhat moved and was about to say something, when another voice piped up from the other side.
"Hey, boys, what are you talking about?"
Fatty's locker was to Leonid's right, while to the left was the beautiful class belle's locker. The gorgeous girl was curiously looking at them with her big eyes.
"Hi, Lily."
Leonid and Fatty both had dumb smiles on their faces; they felt like their hearts were melting from that lovely voice in this winter.
"Wow, you're planning to go to Wilson Supermarket too? I'm planning to go later as well, but first I need to grab a bite to eat. I suspect there will be a lot of people."
The girl's gaze fell on the flyer in front of them, and she said with some surprise.
"Uh, yeah, we're planning to go too." Leonid responded with a silly smile, as if his brain had stopped working.
He completely forgot how Fatty had tempted him repeatedly just before, while he had been firmly set on going to work. Right now, he only felt that Lily smelled really good.
Lily gave the handsome Leonid a quick glance, and her cheeks turned lightly red. She lowered her head to place something in her locker and gently closed the door, brushing her hair from her ear.
"Can I go with you?" She probably felt it was a bit abrupt, so she added, "Can you help me carry a few things? I want to buy more spicy gluten sticks."
Fatty watched the two, a boy and a girl looking into each other's eyes as they talked. His eyes, already small, squinted tightly.
Eating + shopping + carrying stuff = escorted home...
As if a flash of electric light crossed his mind, his eyes suddenly widened; he got it.
Even though he's Fatty, he's not dumb at all. The class belle has feelings for his good buddy!
Even though the class belle treated him like he was invisible, he didn't mind. As long as Leonid gained some confidence, that was good enough; he'd been having too rough a time.
While he was pondering this, Leonid and Lily had already agreed on a meeting time. The blond boy was scratching his head, dumbly watching Lily run away.
"Haha..."
Fatty rolled his eyes and 'hahed' in Leonid's ear. It wasn't until then that this daydreamer snapped back to reality.
"The class belle's got a crush on you, Leo; nice, soon I'll be an uncle."
Leonid looked at him like he was seeing a lunatic: "What are you talking about."
"Yeah, it was a joke. Here, take this, stay safe." Fatty handed Leonid a few small packets of latex materials with a cheeky expression.
"Faker, where did you get these?" Leonid immediately shoved them back into Fatty's pocket, as if they were burning hot.
"Stole them from my dad. I always thought there'd be a day to use them, and here it is." Fatty had a deep-thinking demeanor.
"I won't use them. It's not as twisted as you think. Lily's not that kind of girl."
Fatty chuckled and took out ten US Dollars: "Borrow this at least, surely you won't refuse? You won't go out with Lily without buying her a cup of coffee, would you?"
Leonid hesitated but accepted Fatty's good-will: "I'll pay you back as soon as possible."
"Never mind that, I think you should go pursue her now and have lunch together, instead of chatting nonsense here with me."
Fatty put on an experienced expression and pointed toward the doors at the other end of the hallway; Lily's figure hadn't disappeared yet.
Leonid scratched his head, feeling slightly embarrassed: "Wouldn't it be inappropriate?"
"Faker, go quickly. You're emanating the scent of love hormones, disturbing my noble single aroma!" Fatty shoved him abruptly, playfully waving his fist.
"Thanks, buddy."
With that push, Leonid started running, turning to grin and shout back at Fatty.
Fatty just nodded slowly, like a coach at the edge of a football field, raising his hands to his mouth like a megaphone: "Go! Go! Tiger!"