America: I'm causing trouble for environmental organizations

Chapter 6 The Fine Traditions of NGOs

Fifteen minutes later...

Unable to stand it any longer, Clarissa took Meng Ran back to the car.

She slumped in the chair, a hint of girlish discouragement on her face.

However, she quickly rallied and smiled.

Then, he even comforted Meng Ran, saying, "It's okay, there are many organizations that want to donate to NGOs, we can find another one."

Upon hearing this, Meng Ran deliberately provoked, "Have you said this many times?"

"..." Clarissa paused for a moment when asked the question, and her smile froze.

I sat up straight and pressed the ignition button to start the car.

It was clear that she was somewhat annoyed and embarrassed, but her long-standing good manners prevented her from losing her temper.

But Meng Ran did it on purpose.

He couldn't let Clarissa give up.

If Clarissa gives up, who knows if her mission will be affected?

Please note that the mission's title is "Clarissa's Assistance Request".

So he continued, "Don't keep saying you'll find another company. Are you willing to suffer indignity for no reason?"

"The problem is, Conrad has most likely already reached an agreement with Martin." Clarissa turned to look at Meng Ran, her tone somewhat irritated.

"It might not be settled yet. Let's go back to the association first. I need to find some friends to get some information. Trust me, I can help you secure this donation."

Meng Ran planned to go to Menjos Bar to take a look.

However, he didn't plan to take Clarissa with him because he couldn't explain why they were going there.

Why not go for a walk first, and then pretend you've gathered information from outside?

soon.

The two returned to the association.

The association is located in Midtown Detroit.

It is close to Wayne State University and the Medical Center.

The office area was converted from a four-story old red brick office building.

It has a unique aesthetic appeal and is a great landscape for sketching.

get off.

Step through the gate.

Then we went up the stairs to the second floor—the real office area is on the second to fourth floors, while the first floor is the association's visitor and reception area.

To be honest, the work of NGOs is quite good.

Working 9 to 5, with weekends off, and no clocking in, it seems to have no downsides except for the low salary, unstable finances, and the possibility of running out of money at any time.

Meng Ran and Xi Ya's workstations are next to each other.

As soon as she sat down, Thea leaned over and asked curiously, "How did it go? Was it all right?"

"It went smoothly, except for a tiny bit of trouble." Meng Ran didn't say much more.

Clarissa was already upset enough; if Thea found out about today's events and grumbled a bit more, that red-haired girl would probably really explode.

"What little trouble?"

"We have a competitor, so we need to speed things up," Meng Ran said as she packed her backpack, preparing to leave.

It seems that Kassia no longer wants to slack off in the association.

They insisted on going along.

After thinking for a moment, Meng Ran decided to bring her along.

It doesn't matter if we bring Thea along; she's also clueless. There are some things we don't need to explain to her; she'll figure out the source of the information herself.

Moreover, she has a lot of clever ideas, which might be helpful.

I got into Meng Ran's car.

Thea quickly fastened her seatbelt: "Where are we going?"

"Six miles." Meng Ran slid his finger across the map on the car's infotainment system.

The so-called 6-mile road is somewhat like a loop road concept.

Starting from mile 0 in downtown Detroit, heading north, an east-west main road is laid every mile.

Therefore, there are also 5-mile roads, 7-mile roads, and so on, all the way up to 37-mile roads.

The most famous of these is 8 Mile Road, a rap mecca and a dividing line between Black and White people and between the rich and poor in Detroit.

"What are you going to do at 6 Mile?"

"Find a bar called Menjos; they might be able to give us some clues."

"Menjos?" Thea felt the name of the bar sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.

The two chatted as they searched.

It took about twenty minutes.

Meng Ran's car finally stopped diagonally opposite Menjos.

Looking at the bar's sign through the windshield, Thea's expression gradually turned strange: "Are you sure this is the place?"

"There shouldn't be another Menjos here, right?" Meng Ran wasn't really sure either, as he wasn't familiar with this area.

"No." Thea's tone suddenly became certain.

"What, you seem to know this place very well?"

"After seeing the sign, I remembered that this place is actually quite famous and has been open for... almost 40 years."

"A bar that's been open for 40 years? No wonder Martin comes here." If Meng Ran knew there was a bar that's been open for 40 years, she'd have to go check it out too.

Upon hearing Meng Ran's words, Ke Xiya immediately revealed a gossipy expression: "So, that Martin... likes men?"

"What??" Meng Ran suddenly turned to look at Xia, wondering if there was something wrong with his ears.

"This is Detroit's most famous men's bar. He couldn't have come here just out of curiosity, could he?" Thea said matter-of-factly.

Meng Ran was taken aback.

Then, a suppressed laugh escaped his lips: "Huh?"

"What's wrong?" Thea asked, puzzled.

"It's nothing..." Meng Ran lowered his head and waved his hand, laughing so hard he was practically speaking his native language. "Holy crap, I really didn't expect this..."

"What are you saying?" Thea clearly didn't understand Chinese.

Meng Ran stopped laughing: "Martin has a girlfriend, Theron, the daughter of the major shareholder of Garden Meat."

"Wow~~" Thea frowned, not quite understanding. "So?"

"If you were Theron, would you accept your boyfriend doing this?"

"But I'm not Theron. Just because I can't accept it doesn't mean Theron can't. Maybe they often play threesomes together?"

"..." Meng Ran was speechless.

He scratched his head, glanced at the English on the bar sign, and then looked at Thea's beautiful face.

Oh shit!

This is North America.

What Thea just described could very well happen.

"No, no, let me think about it."

Meng Ran reviewed the three pieces of information from the system again, word by word. The information said that Martin had come to Menjos Bar "quietly" yesterday.

Since he did it quietly, doesn't that mean he doesn't want anyone to know?

If Theron can accept it, why should he come secretly? Why not just come openly and honestly?

Thinking of this, Meng Ran slapped the steering wheel: "Saron definitely won't accept this."

Upon hearing this, Thea stopped worrying about why Meng Ran was so sure that Cyron couldn't accept it.

Instead, he followed up on Meng Ran's words and asked, "So, you're trying to use this to threaten Martin?"

"No, it's probably not appropriate to just use this to pressure Martin. We need to come up with some proper and effective solutions."

A simple threat is extortion, which carries too much legal risk, and Martin might not even actually comply.

What if he gives up and does nothing at all?

But if this is used as an excuse to force Martin to discuss the plan properly and persuade him with the plan, then it would be normal cooperation and could avoid a lot of trouble.

Thinking of this, Meng Ran rubbed his face: "Reliable sources say he'll be coming to this bar again tonight. We need to take this opportunity to get substantial evidence."

Otherwise, Martin could simply say he didn't know the nature of Menjos's bar, since he's Canadian. We need to make a plan.

"What's the point of planning? Once he's in there, just go to the bar and catch him, won't you?"

"We'll definitely arrest him, but first we need to find a guy Martin doesn't know to take some pictures of him at a bar." Meng Ran shook his head.

Martin knew him.

It wouldn't be appropriate for him to go in and take photos; it would alert Martin.

The question is, who should we contact?

…………

That night.

Clarissa's car was parked diagonally opposite the Menjos bar.

She stared nervously at the bar entrance, and couldn't help but ask again, "Are you sure Martin will come to this bar today? What if the information is wrong?"

Meng Ran leaned back in the passenger seat, twirling his Nokia candybar phone with his fingers, his eyes also fixed on the bar entrance.

He laughed and said, "Even if there are mistakes, it's just a waste of time. Hunting requires patience."

Clarissa nodded upon hearing this, then remained silent for a moment before hesitating, "Do we really have to do this? Wouldn't that be inappropriate?"

"Hypocritical." A disdainful voice came from the back row.

Clarissa looked up and glanced at the rearview mirror inside the car.

In the mirror, Thea, sitting in the back row, was rolling her eyes so hard they were practically reaching the sky.

Clarissa bit her lip lightly, crossed her arms over her chest, and didn't refute anything.

Her family did indeed do a lot of shady things, but it was all her father and brother who carried them out.

She herself has never done it herself, and has had very little contact with it.

Therefore, her actions today were somewhat excessive for her.

But going beyond the bounds means excitement.

She actually really enjoys this kind of excitement; her emotions and reason are at odds.

Seeing this, Meng Ran laughed and said, "Aren't all American NGOs like this? They use the name of public welfare to carry out extortion. We are just inheriting the 'fine tradition' of this industry."

Moreover, we genuinely presented a solution that benefited them, and the outcome was positive; there were just some unexpected surprises along the way, and I hope Martin enjoyed those surprises.