The light at noon in New York passes through the gauze curtains floating in the wind and shines into the slightly narrow but not crowded living room. This is an ordinary house in Queens, with two floors and a small yard. Compared with the wealthy areas, it cannot be called
It's a villa above, but it can barely touch the threshold of a middle-class residence.
The light of the car's turn signal flashed, and Ben Parker, who was sitting in the driver's seat, already had a trace of white hair on his temples. This middle-aged man was not tall or strong. He always liked to wear plaid shirts and jackets, otherwise he was...
Work clothes of various colors, always with a small tool bag hanging on the waist, so that emergency repairs can be carried out immediately in case of any emergency.
In New York, the job of an electrical engineer is not one of great wealth, but it is still decent and the income is good. It is enough to support a family. Although it is occasionally difficult to make ends meet, this is the case for most residents living in this community.
They are not poor people, and they are definitely not so poor that they cannot afford to eat, because when they were young, they caught the tail end of the golden age of the United States. A blue-collar worker was enough to support a family, as was the case with Ben Parker.
When he was young, he left home early to study electrical engineering skills. He was already working independently when he was less than 20 years old. He earned a pretty good salary and got married successfully. Each of his parents received a small sum of money as a
The newlyweds used their start-up capital to buy a house and a car, as well as some financial products as long-term income.
However, such days only lasted for a short period of time. Since the U.S. economy began to decline, its ability to harvest the world has become weaker and weaker. After the golden age has passed, blue-collar workers no longer have such superior conditions, at least their income is not as high as before.
, but prices have become expensive again.
Most of the residents living in this community are like this. Although their income is not bad, they still have to bear high property taxes and insurance, and they have to make careful calculations. At the end of the year, they still have no savings.
Ben Parker took his hands off the steering wheel, opened the door and got out of the car, looked back at the Cadillac, and showed a satisfied expression on his face.
But this kind of satisfaction is not pride for other people. Although Peter Parker's achievements also make him very happy, he actually bought this car with his own salary, not Peter bought it for him.
Ben Parker has always wanted to own a Cadillac, but over the years, the Parker family's financial situation has left them with little money to buy a new car. Even the Ford they later exchanged was bought from the second-hand market.
Just run, don't pursue the brand and configuration.
Standing in front of the car, Ben Parker stared blankly at the Cadillac logo. This scene fell in the eyes of Aunt May in front of the window on the second floor. The lady, who still looked energetic, knocked on the balcony with a feather duster in dissatisfaction.
guardrail.
Ben Parker was awakened. He looked up at Aunt May, waved his hand, touched the key on his waist, and walked quickly to the door.
But at this moment, Aunt May stopped him, gestured to him, and waved her hand. Ben Parker immediately understood that it must be Peter's girlfriend.
At this time, the sunshine outside the window happened to shine on the armrest of the Parker family's sofa. Gwen propped one arm on the armrest, looked at Peter with a somewhat sad face and said, "Now, not only do you have to create an alibi, but I also have to create an alibi."
She created an alibi, so I shouldn't have agreed to her so easily!"
Peter, who was sitting next to her and was opening the cookie box, smiled happily and said, "What's scarier than Director George knowing that his daughter's boyfriend is Spider-Man? It's him knowing that his daughter is also Spider-Man!"
Gwen reached out and pushed him, looked around to make sure there was no one, and then said a little bit angrily: "Don't laugh, you have experience, help me think of a way, my dad will find out sooner or later!"
Peter shook his head and said: "I realized this earlier than you, so I have given up. There are more than 200 Spider-Man in New York. It is not a matter of fire. You should prepare some blood pressure lowering medicine quickly."
Gwen, who was wearing a floral dress, slumped to the side of the armrest, supported her head with her fingers, and said feebly: "My dad will go crazy, he will really go crazy, more than 200 Spider-Man will be enough for him."
of!"
Suddenly, as if she remembered something, Gwen turned to look at Peter and said, "Aren't you planning to buy a new house for your uncle and aunt? Have you chosen the location?"
"It's not that I want to buy it, it's that my uncle plans to change his house." Peter took out a cookie from the cookie box of other universe specialties and gave it to Gwen, and then said: "Since he changed his job, his salary has increased a lot, and his treatment has also improved.
It's getting better, first I bought a new car, and now I'm planning to buy a more spacious house."
"Uncle Ben has a new job?" Gwen said a little surprised: "Didn't he work at the New York Power Administration before? I remember he was doing emergency repairs of municipal facilities?"
"Yes, but this job is actually tiring, dangerous, and doesn't make any money." Peter curled his lips and said, "If it weren't for the subsidies in winter and summer, he wouldn't be willing to do it. You know, he used to be a big company.
"I am an electrical engineer. If the company had not closed down during the economic crisis, he would not have lost his job so hastily, and then found a job in a hurry to support Aunt Mei and me."
Peter broke off a piece of biscuit and put it into his mouth, recalling it and said: "Probably when I was still in elementary school, Uncle Ben stayed at home for a while. During that time, it was really difficult to open the pot, so he had to make do with it.
I just found a job and got through the difficult times first.”
"But when the difficult period passed, he was older. Although he was experienced, he did not have a senior professional title. Many private companies were unwilling to hire such employees, so he had to find a job as a repairman at the Electric Power Bureau.
.”
"Then why is he thinking about changing jobs again?" Gwen asked.
"It's not that he wants to change." Peter sighed and said, "Since many air transport line stations were established, they have always had power outages because they are too advanced and do not match New York's slightly outdated circuit network.
.”
"Although the application of new energy has been put on the agenda, unfortunately, it is not that simple to replace all the circuit cables in such a large city, so we can only make do with it now."
"But if it's broken, you can't let it stay like this. Someone has to go to repair it. Stark has installed an alarm bell at the New York Power Administration, but the bell never stops ringing 24 hours a day. Problems are happening everywhere.
, the company where my uncle works is also like this."
"Their team has more than 60 electrical engineers and apprentices. It is not enough to mobilize all the people. The problem is that every time they go to repair, they have repaired half of the faults. If they can figure it out, it will be over soon. But
The other half of the faults involve more advanced technologies that no one can understand, so they can only wait for technicians from the Stark Group to come over."
"Wait a minute!" Gwen interrupted Peter and said, "Can't we just ask Stark to send technicians? Hasn't the antitrust law already been open to companies like Stark?"
Peter shook his head and said: "Didn't we all work in the Stark Group? Don't you know? Those so-called technicians in the Stark Group are actually researchers. It's easy to ask them to draw circuit diagrams and explain the principles clearly.
, it would be difficult for them to repair it themselves, as they would electrocute themselves to death."
"Now, the biggest problem with the power failure in New York is that the experienced masters who can handle it cannot understand the new technology, and the young researchers who know what the new technology is are not able to repair it at all. The two parties have to torture each other every time.
It takes hours to fix a small problem.”
Gwen sighed, nodded and said, "If that's the case, it's really troublesome. You haven't said yet what does this have to do with Uncle Ben's new job?"
"I was just about to say something." Just as Peter was about to speak, Aunt May came over with a smile, brought two cups of tea to the two of them, clapped her hands gently and said, "Eating biscuits should be paired with tea. This is
The British said it."
Peter picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea. Aunt May patted his shoulder lightly and gave him a wink, telling him not to be so rude in front of his girlfriend.
Peter wiped his mouth and said: "My uncle really couldn't stand this situation. He felt that it was a waste of time, so he randomly grabbed a researcher and asked him to explain to himself what the technologies of the shuttle platform were.
what happened."
"Actually, it's not complicated. The circuit technology used in the shuttle platform has not changed fundamentally. It is not much different from the previous principle. It is just because the conductors and lines of some key technologies use new materials that they will show different characteristics. The old
It takes an electrician a few times to understand what's going on."
"Every time Uncle Ben met a young Stark Group technician, he would grab them and give him a lecture. As a result, it didn't take long for him to become the most efficient repairman in their power management bureau, and even became a specialist in shuttle station maintenance.
experts.”
"As time goes by, Uncle Ben becomes more and more proficient, and it has reached the point where other staff of the Electricity Power Administration will call him to ask him about any operational problems they encounter."
"With technology like this, it's difficult to get promoted. Now my uncle is a senior technical consultant in the Air Transport Technology and Power Services Department of the New York City Power Administration. You know, this job used to be done by university professors of electrical science.
It’s a part-time job, it’s decent and profitable, and it’s not tiring. I just need to help answer technical questions.”
Peter smiled and said: "Now my uncle is leading nine apprentices, running back and forth between all the air transport line stations in New York, just to quickly accumulate technical experience for these apprentices, so that they can start their careers in power management."
The bureau is pressing for this matter every day, and I wish I could personally do something to encourage it. They are so short of people that they are going crazy!"
Gwen actually only asked out of concern for Peter's elders at first, but the more she listened, the more fascinated she became. When she heard this, she couldn't help but asked with some confusion: "Is the Electric Power Management Bureau short of people?"
"Of course, it's not just the Electric Power Administration." Ben Parker's voice sounded at the door. He took off his coat and hung it on the hanger, took off the tool bag from his waist, and said: "I just came from the shuttle in Queens.
When I came to the boarding center, Mr. Pence from the Transportation Administration complained to me for the eighth time that there were not enough platform safety officers and asked me if I had any relatives or friends who could recommend them."
Gwen slowly frowned and said as if she had thought of something: "Since there is a shortage of people everywhere, why are there still demonstrations in the Bronx because of unemployment?"
