5_The Confusion

Jimmy lay on the cardboard, recalling the miraculous experiences of the day. He was just a high school graduate who joined the fire brigade after graduation. He had been there for over 10 years. Despite being in the fire brigade, he didn't isolate himself from society. He used his time for training and emergencies, but he still managed to watch movies, TV shows, and read novels during his breaks. He never thought he would experience the kind of rebirth that only existed in novels.

Having limited knowledge about the United States, he only knew some news and information from various movies and TV shows. However, movies were exaggerations of art, and there was a significant gap between them and real life.

Dealing with the few people since his rebirth, Jimmy had been cautious. Slowly adapting to their way of speaking, understanding the environment, and getting to know the people at the gathering point was exhausting.

Regarding the next steps, his plans were still preliminary. Firstly, he needed to save some cash to ensure he could return to California. He didn't expect to achieve great success like the predecessors in the novels who became Hollywood stars or wealthy celebrities. At least he was still knowledgeable about the progress in society over the past 20 years, and he believed he could find a way to carve out a path for himself.

Resting for a while, Jimmy got out of the tent. He couldn't rely on Jerry to find solutions for him all the time. He needed to understand the social situation. The quickest way was to read newspapers, but it was hard to find them here. Instead, he decided to check the surrounding residential areas in case someone had left newspapers lying around.

After folding the newspaper back neatly and placing it where he found it, Jimmy returned to his camp. He had come to terms with the fact that this was a different world, so he abandoned the idea of returning to China or trying to capitalize on his knowledge of future societal developments.

As Jerry called out to him, Jimmy stepped out of the tent to meet Jon Woolf, the owner of Wolfhouse, a nearby restaurant, who offered him a job. Despite Jimmy's lack of experience in the restaurant industry, Jon agreed to hire him as a waiter. Jimmy accepted the job, and they arranged for him to start the following day at 5300 Ash Street. Jerry, who had known Jimmy for over 10 years, bid them farewell as Jimmy prepared to embark on this new opportunity.