America's King of Poetry

Chapter 36

Time flies to late April, and a spring rain falls in New York City.

The rain falls from the gloomy sky unhurriedly. Before summer, the rain is not so irritable, with a hint of gentleness.Some pedestrians on the streets of New York held up colorful umbrellas, and some didn't open umbrellas at all, letting the rain wet their hair and hats.

The night was shrouded layer by layer, but the darkness did not completely fall.The neon lights on both sides of the road in Little Italy are lit up, and the rainwater that falls forms small puddles on the ground, reflecting the neon lights and making themselves colorful with the light.As soon as the rain stops and the sun shines tomorrow, they will disappear without a trace, leaving only the mud on the ground.

Luciano's restaurant was open until nine o'clock in the evening, and after eight o'clock, there were very few customers in the restaurant.Arthur was wearing a greasy chef's uniform, smoking a cigarette at a small round table at the entrance of the restaurant.He still remembered that the first day he arrived here a month ago was a gloomy and rainy day.The rain is bigger and more violent than today.

Time passed quickly and slowly. Arthur did a lot of things in a month, but felt that he had done nothing.He still continues to work as a helper at Luciano's restaurant, and he has already started to cook.The main content of daily life is to work in the restaurant, hang out with his little girlfriend after get off work, and occasionally go to the bar or casino to play a few games, just like a loose youth with no ambitions.

But at the same time, he secretly controlled a huge underground force through Russell, Montoreau, and Abramo, directing them to move in a direction that had never gone before.But exactly where this power went, Arthur himself didn't know.As for the four newly obtained cards, no suspicious targets have been found so far.

When the time came to 08:30, the store manager Schmidt came out of the store and said to Arthur in a good voice: "Arthur, clean up the umbrellas, tables and chairs at the door, and we will close in half an hour. You didn't leave early today, so I'll trouble you...Of course, you can smoke first, and I will clean up with you after smoking."

Schmidt speaks carefully. The wound on his forehead has healed, leaving a less obvious pink scar.

Arthur's blow caused his head to bleed, and glass shards stuck in the wound. He went to the hospital for a long time and had a few stitches.Schmidt called Montolo angrily, thinking that Arthur could be dealt with, but he never expected to be scolded by Montolo.Montolo went to Schmidt's house in person at night, on the one hand, condolences to Schmidt, and on the other hand, warned Schmidt, "If you trouble Arthur again, I will prevent you from seeing the sun tomorrow."

Schmidt, who was warned, fully understood that Arthur was someone he couldn't afford, and it had nothing to do with Tony's presence or absence.Since then, Schmidt has been respectful to Arthur, and paid all the salary and bonus. He works when he wants to work, and asks for leave when he wants to.

Hearing Schmidt's command respectfully, Arthur took one last puff of his cigarette and threw the cigarette butt into the puddle.There was a ripple in the puddle, and then there was a "sizzling" sound, and the cigarette butt went out.After he had finished packing up the tables and umbrellas outside, a Cadillac slowly stopped at the entrance of the restaurant.

This is a new 93 Cadillac Fleetwood. It stopped right in front of Arthur. The rear window was down, and a man wearing glasses was staring at Arthur.He pointed his finger at Arthur, gesturing for Arthur to come over.Arthur stepped forward, and the man asked, "Is there a fire?"

Arthur nodded, took out a disposable lighter from his greasy coat pocket, and the man with glasses took out a thick cigar from his pocket and put it in his mouth.Arthur noticed that his right front tooth was missing a piece, which looked a little ridiculous.

"Clap!"

Arthur lit the fire, and the flame was aimed at the cigar smoke that the man in glasses protruded from the window. The man in glasses took a few puffs vigorously, and the blue smoke wafted out from the chipped front tooth repeatedly.The cigar was lit, and the man with glasses closed his eyes and took a deep breath, with an expression of enjoyment on his face.Then he opened his eyes and looked at Arthur, and said, "Thank you, I forgot to bring the fire, I was suffocated along the way."

Taking another puff, the man in glasses got out of the car. He was wearing a light blue jacket, brown trousers, and fancy black and white leather shoes on his feet.He is not tall, has short hair, and looks ordinary, but he has a terrifying aura.Standing beside Arthur, he took off his glasses, put them in his jacket pocket, and asked Arthur, "Has the Luciano family come?"

Arthur didn't know this man, but he heard from Russell that several families were going to have a meeting in the restaurant today.Arthur has met Gigendi and Masino. If there is no accident, this person should be the leader of the Gandolfield family, Jackie Gandolfield.

"No, Montoro said he'd be there after nine," Arthur replied, bowing down like a pony.

The man wearing glasses when he came was indeed Jackie Gandolfiel. After hearing Arthur's answer, he gave Arthur a meaningful look and said, "Be early at any time, lateness is the most intolerable. Also, you lied to me, the Luciano family is always here, isn't it?"

As he spoke, Jackie put the cigar into his mouth and bit it, and pushed the door open with a "ding bell" and entered the restaurant.

Arthur watched his back as he entered, slowly straightened his waist, and spat on the ground, thinking that he knew my identity, so he wouldn't have pretended if he had known.

……

An hour later, Luciano's restaurant closed, and the chef, waiter, and store manager all went home from get off work.The curtains of the glass windows were drawn and the lights were extinguished.In front of the round table in the corner, six people sat in a circle, and the leaders of the five major families of the New York Mafia gathered here.Jackie, Masino, Gigandi, Montolo, and the old man of the Fernando family, Nino Fernando.And the sixth person is the current leader of the Jersey area, Luca Abramo.

It can be said that the most powerful Italian gang in the New York area gathered here, and it was none other than Jackie Gandolfiel who called everyone here.Sitting at the table, he carefully cut the veal steak in front of him, cut the beef into neat and thin pieces, poured it with delicious mushroom sauce, paired it with a little rosemary, and carefully forked it into his mouth.Every time he eats a few pieces, he will drink a little Burgundy red wine, so that the aroma of wine and meat can be thoroughly mixed and distributed in his mouth.

"The beef is great. Do you have sausage? I'd like some more." Jackie wiped his mouth with a napkin, and he could see that he was satisfied with the supper.

Montolo waved his fork, and said, "The kitchen is still cooking, and it will be served soon... Arthur! Arthur! Is the sausage ready?" He yelled at the kitchen a few times. It was Arthur, not Carson, who was cooking to entertain the big shots tonight.Compared with the past, his cooking skills have improved a lot. After all, he used to be a middle-aged man who did laundry and cooking at home. His cooking skills are guaranteed and he is a quick learner.

After a while, Arthur brought a plate of hot Italian sausage to the table, and shared two with each of the six big brothers.Abramo wanted to laugh but didn't dare to laugh. He pretended not to know Arthur the whole time, just bowed his head and ate silently.Gigandi and Masino looked at Arthur very strangely. They were here a month ago, and they thought that Arthur was going to kill Abramo, and he himself would not end well in the end.

A month later, Arthur was alive and well, but Tony was missing, and the position of the boss was robbed.

Jackie couldn't wait to cut up the sausage on the plate. Like beef, he cut it into small pieces carefully, put it in his mouth and tasted it, and said to Arthur: "Yes, very, very good, with a very special taste... What did you add to it?"

Arthur said: "Added basil and parsley, and a little Chinese pepper."

The common ingredients of Italian sausage are basil, parsley and pepper, but Arthur got some Chinese peppercorns from Chinatown, adding the sausage has a little numbing feeling, and the flavor is very unique.Jackie was clearly pleased with the particular flavor and quickly finished off the two sausages on his plate.

After eating the sausage, Jackie wiped his mouth again, raised the wine glass in his hand, stood up and said, "In the past few months, my friends in Manhattan and my friends in New Jersey had some conflicts. They did what our gang should do for each other's dignity. Everyone did nothing wrong, but everyone also paid the price. We need peace, and we need our families to live in a safe and peaceful environment. Write it off, let us together let the glory of the Italians continue to shine, all glory to Rome! Salute!"

The other five people also raised their glasses, clinked glasses with the sound of "Salute", and drank all the wine in their glasses.Arthur watched from the side, thinking that some cultural customs of the Italians were indeed similar to those of China, such as gathering at a round table for dinner and talking about things at the dinner table.Anglo-Saxon Anglo-Americans prefer receptions and dances.

After they finished drinking, Arthur opened another bottle of red wine and refilled them one by one. When he came to Jackie, Jackie covered the mouth of the wine glass with his hand and asked Arthur, "Hey, do you like gambling?"

Arthur nodded. He has been to the casino several times this month, and it was quite exciting to be honest.

"Do you like watching basketball games?"

Arthur nodded again. Some time ago he spent money to buy tickets to Madison Square Garden, and went to the scene to experience the muscle collision of the NBA in the 90s.

"Do you have a favorite team?"

"Yes, New York Knicks."

In fact, Arthur's favorite NBA team is the Los Angeles Lakers, but since he is in New York, of course he has to pretend to be a New York fan.

"OK, tomorrow there will be a game between the Knicks and the Nets, the first game of the playoffs. Take a gamble, who will win?"

At the end of April, the NBA regular season has ended and the playoffs have begun. In the 1994 NBA playoffs, without the rule of Michael Jordan, every powerful player had a chance to win the championship, and it was bound to be extremely fierce.

"I bet the Knicks will win." Arthur knew that the Knicks made it all the way to the Finals in 1994. They defeated the Nets 3-1 in the first round of the playoffs.As a senior basketball fan, he often reads novels for nothing, and this little knowledge still has an impression in his mind.

"How many points? Within 10 points, or above 10 points?" Jackie asked again.

"Uh... 10... 10+ points, the Knicks will win by 10+ points."

Of course, Arthur doesn't remember the exact score, but according to his experience, the first game of the playoffs is at home, and the probability of a strong team defeating a weak team is very high.So he's betting the Knicks will win by 10 or more points.

Jackie nodded in satisfaction, and moved his hand away to let Arthur pour himself a drink.

"I'll make a bet for you, $5000. If you win, including the $5000, it belongs to you. If you lose, go to my house and help me cook." Jackie Gandolfiel took out his glasses from his coat pocket and put them on, saying in an undeniable voice.Jackie is short-sighted, but he doesn't like to wear glasses at ordinary times, he only likes to wear them when killing people, because that way he can see clearly the appearance of people when they die.

(End of this chapter)