Many children bring happiness, a shameless start

Lip smiled at Karen and explained patiently:

"When I was surfing the Internet recently, I stumbled upon a promising money-making opportunity."

"Chinatown?"

"Yeah! Specifically, the Armour Square neighborhood in northern Chicago. Centered around Cermak Road and Wentworth Avenue, it's the oldest Chinese community in the United States."

"Lip, what does that have to do with getting rich?"

"Think about it—there's one particularly profitable business in the mix. It's called smuggling," Lip whispered into Karen's ear.

"Wow, that sounds exciting!" Karen said, her smile brightening.

"Smuggling arms?" Carl interjected loudly.

Lip quickly covered Carl's mouth and gave him a playful smack on the butt. "Carl, keep your voice down."

"Hehe, got it!" Carl said, grinning.

"We're not smuggling arms; we're smuggling electronics," Lip clarified.

"Electronics?" Karen and Carl asked in unison, both looking at Lip with puzzled expressions.

Lip nodded. "Specifically, Apple's iPod Classic models—the 160GB one released this September and the 120GB model from last year."

"Who would spend two or three hundred dollars on something like that?" Karen asked skeptically.

"Nearly 100 million units of these little gadgets have sold worldwide," Lip explained. "They're especially popular in the Dragon Kingdom across the ocean."

"So, believe me, these little devices can bring us a big fortune."

"Are we going to buy them at the Apple Store and then smuggle them?" Carl asked.

"Of course not! If we did that, not only would we fail to make money, but we'd also lose it."

"Then where are you getting them from?"

"Kid, in today's information age, if you can browse the Internet, there's no information you can't find," Lip said, ruffling Carl's hair with a grin.

"Cool, bro! You're awesome!"

"Alright, let's drop this topic for now. There are too many people on the subway, and I don't want to cause any trouble."

"Understood." Carl nodded.

In truth, Lip had already found his source online—a factory in Springfield.

Springfield, the capital of Illinois and part of the same state as Chicago, is home to an Apple inspection and labeling facility. This factory conducts the final quality checks on all Apple products.

Items that pass inspection head to Apple Stores or authorized retailers, while defective products are discarded.

Lip discovered through online sleuthing that a large volume of these defective items ends up circulating through Chicago's underground electronics market, particularly in Chinatown.

These processed products often sell for a fraction of their retail price—sometimes as little as one-tenth or one-twentieth.

Once smuggled to foreign countries, however, they can fetch prices nearly equivalent to brand-new items.

Smuggling electronics is an incredibly lucrative trade, and Lip saw the iPod Classic as a low-risk trial run. His ultimate goal was to smuggle the upcoming iPhone 4, set to launch in San Francisco next June.

The iPhone 4 was destined to be a game-changer, especially popular in the Dragon Kingdom, and Lip was determined to capitalize on it.

While U.S. authorities actively cracked down on high-tech smuggling, electronic goods continued to flow abroad through a well-established black-market supply chain.

Lip's primary concern now was figuring out how smugglers managed to bypass customs and move such large quantities overseas.

Once he understood that crucial step, he could minimize the risks involved.

Lip exchanged a smile with Karen, then turned his attention to Carl, who was bouncing with excitement and unable to stay still.

Kids Carl's age were naturally lively—it was a trait Lip himself had once shared.

Lip didn't scold him, though. He simply watched with a fond smile.

Carl was still young, and the infamous Gallagher mischief hadn't fully awakened in him yet.

While Carl occasionally displayed some violent tendencies, such as his overzealous care for small animals or destructive tinkering with toys, Lip believed those could still be corrected.

Lip didn't want Carl to follow the same troubled path depicted in the series. He wanted a better future for his little brother.

This trip to Chinatown wasn't just about researching smuggling. Lip had two additional goals.

First, he wanted to broaden Karen and Carl's horizons by exposing them to the ancient culture of the East.

Second, he wanted to enjoy some authentic Chinese food and revisit the sights he had read about.

After about an hour on the subway's Red Line, the trio finally arrived in Chinatown.

Lip's eyes were drawn to the ornate Dragon Gate at the station, adorned with the phrase "The world is for the public good" in bold Chinese characters.

Behind that inscription were four more words—"Propriety, justice, integrity, and honor."

Lip knew the calligraphy was attributed to the great Mr. Sun Yat-sen himself.