"Sir, do you want a newspaper?"
A teenager wearing a dirty cap and carrying a huge leather satchel appeared in front of Lynch.
The boy looked about 11 or 12 years old. He looked at Lynch expectantly and opened his satchel to reveal the newspaper inside.
These children were under the management of various "mastheads." This masthead was not the newspaper headlines, but the managers of the newsboys.
They relied on certain connections, means, or other methods to firmly control the mobile newspaper market in certain areas. Only their own newsboys could sell newspapers here. No one else could enter, and the newspaper stalls were not included.
Every morning, they would gather outside the newspaper office and load the newspapers, which were still hot from the machine, into a cart, and bring them back to their "base." Then, they would distribute them to the children and drive them to the streets.
Every child would have a sales standard, a minimum limit. If they fell below this limit, they would be beaten or starved. Only if they exceeded this limit could they enjoy food, but there would be no reward.
The welfare home and some poor families had already taken away their remuneration for their work. All they had to do was to work as hard as possible in exchange for a shelter and two meals of sustenance.
Some people might think that this was hell, but compared to those who lived in a more desperate abyss, these children were like in heaven.
Lynch took out a one-yuan note from his pocket and chose two newspapers. The local newspapers were 50 cents a copy, and the national newspapers were only 1 yuan a copy.
The newsboy kept thanking Lynch for his patronage and did not even forget to take off his cap and bow. For Lynch, two newspapers for 1 yuan might be an unavoidable part of life, but it was also the redemption that the child wanted the most every day.
The child was about to leave, but Lynch called him back.
"Sir, is there anything else I can help you with?"
The teenager asked.
Children like him were often more adaptable to society than children with good family conditions who were still in school. Lin Qi felt a little emotional as he looked at the little face that was still very young but was already full of smiles due to reality.
This was the worst era, but it was also the best era.
He asked, "Do you want to make money?"
The child immediately nodded. "Even in my dreams, sir. But I don't do anything illegal."
Where there was light, there would be darkness. The brighter the light was, the darker the light would be. Conversely, the light would make the darkness even darker.
Some people used children to sell newspapers, but others used children to commit crimes. These were not top-secret rumors. In the process of the vigorous development of society, everyone was blinded by wealth.
As long as they could make money, there would always be someone who would do it, no matter what it was.
Lynch shook his head. "Do you have 97 points?"
Although the newsboy was a little hesitant, he quickly took out 97 points from his pocket. He had some change in his pocket, which was arranged in everyone's backpack when they came out.
The money did not belong to them. When they returned, the newsboy would calculate it. If someone lost the money or had less money, they would starve or be beaten. This also made children very sensitive to money.
Looking at the ninety-seven cents in the kid's hand — all of which were coins, Lynch took out a dollar and put it in the kid's left hand. Then, he took the ninety-seven cents from the kid's other hand.
"Sir, there are still three points missing. I'll change it for you now …" The newsboy thought that Lynch wanted to change the change. City transportation generally had two types of tickets, 10 points and 25 points. One was for those within five kilometers, and the other was for those beyond five kilometers.
Whether it was the bus or the subway, they did not give change. If you gave them 50 points, they would only give you two tickets, not one and change.
As a result, many people would more or less carry some spare change with them to avoid losses.
Lynch stopped the newsboy and asked again, "Do you want to make money?"
The newsboy had not reacted yet. It was the first time he could take advantage of someone so openly, which made him feel a little uneasy. He hesitated for a moment before nodding and saying, "Yes, sir. I want it even in my dreams!"
The smile that gradually appeared on Lynch's face made the child feel as if he had just seen the rising sun. It was not dazzling, and the light was very gentle. However, it could tear through the darkness and illuminate the entire sky!
"Do you have 97 points?"
He asked again.
After a brief moment of astonishment, shock, and bewilderment, the paperboy hurriedly took out the 97 cents from his bag and held it in his palm.
His face was flushed. It was obvious that he was excited, nervous, nervous, and somewhat suspicious. His clear eyes looked at Lynch, waiting to see what this guy in front of him was going to do.
Lynch took out another yuan and put it in the newsboy's hand. He also took away the 97 points in his other hand. He asked with a faint smile, "Do you want to make money?"
At this time, the newsboy was so excited that he was trembling. He nodded repeatedly and took out all the change that could be gathered for 97 points. "It's all here, sir …"
Lynch counted 12 yuan and put it in his hand. He then put all the change into his pocket. "Looks like this is all you have."
The newsboy was a little excited. Although he had only exchanged 14 yuan from Lynch, his own income was already 42 points, which was close to half of 1 yuan.
One had to know that no matter how well he did his job, he would not get a single cent. The compensation would be given to the welfare institute.
This newsboy was a child who grew up in the welfare institute. In the welfare institute's words, he should do something for the welfare institute. After all, the welfare institute raised him up and did not ask for anything in return.
Generally speaking, as long as a child was not adopted after the age of 10, the chances of being adopted after that would be very small. Except for some girls, they were adopted for other reasons and purposes.
However, the welfare institute would not interfere too much. When children were over 14 years old, they could refuse to be adopted. At the same time, when they were over 16 years old, they would have to leave the welfare institute and enter society alone to survive.
In other words, boys over the age of 10 were basically considered "marginalized people" in the welfare institute. It was difficult to earn adoption subsidies and donations from these children, so they had to work.
They wanted to use their jobs to compensate for the welfare institute's efforts in raising them all these years. As for whether this was the right thing to do, it didn't matter because no one would care about this. Everyone's eyes would only be fixed on things that were related to their own interests.
How to integrate into society as soon as possible after being kicked out of the welfare institute and find a place to stay was the most troublesome thing for these children at the moment.
If they could get some money before they left, it did not need too much. As long as they could survive for a short period of time, they would have a chance to survive.
Lynch's action of exchanging the change made the child discover a bright path. Just like he asked before, "Do you want to make money?"
And his own answer, "Dream on!"
After keeping the money, the newsboy asked hesitantly, "Sir, will you still be here tomorrow?"
Lynch nodded, "I'll be here before lunch. If I'm not here, then I'll be here the next day!"
He tapped his wrist with his finger, "You still have enough time …"
These children who had begun to come into contact with society immediately understood Lynch's meaning. About ten minutes later, a group of newsboys surrounded them, and more people kept coming.