Mei Man: I drew Superman during the Great Depression

Chapter 7 Newsboy
"Hello, sir... I heard that you are looking for us?"

Inside the Messenger newspaper office, several boys wearing obviously ill-fitting clothes and newsboy caps huddled together and asked Colin cautiously.

Because of long-term malnutrition, the newsboys looked very thin and their faces were sallower than their peers.

In fact, it was children who were hurt the most during the Great Depression.

According to later statistics, the malnutrition rate of children in some states at that time even exceeded 90%. Poor vision, heart and circulatory problems, deformed arms and legs, and mental disorders are common.

Including the famous Captain America Steve Rogers, a young man who grew up during the Great Depression.

And his skinny appearance before the injection of super soldier serum is also a true portrayal of most adult men in this period.

"Yes."

Putting down the pen in his hand, Colin smiled at the newsboy in front of him, and said kindly.

Relying on the relationship of the delivery man that Old John said, he finally found the newsboy smoothly.

"May I take the liberty to ask..."

Colin's kind attitude reassured the newsboys who were already anxious.

The children looked at each other, and the last one looked twelve or thirteen years old. Like the leading newsboy, he mustered up his courage and said to Colin, "Sir, why did you come to us? If it's about the price of newspapers, I'm sorry I can't say yes, sir, because the livelihood of all newsboys is at stake, and the Courier-Journal has been running out of money for us lately."

When it came to the selling price, the children gathered together to raise each other's momentum.

For newsboys, every penny of the price of a newspaper is a matter bigger than the sky.

The cause of the newsboy strike in 1899 was the difference of 10 cents per bundle. The newspaper tycoons at that time raised the price of each bundle of newspapers by 10 cents for their own interests, which cut the profit of the newsboys, making them almost Unable to make ends meet.To this end, the newsboys decided to go on strike to protest the expensive newspapers, and eventually won.

"No, quite the opposite."

Shaking his head, Colin looked at the newsboys gathered in front of him.

Most of them are not even ten years old, but they already have to run around for their livelihood.

"The purpose of my coming to you is not to raise the price, but to give you money."

"Send money?!"

Unsurprisingly, what Ke Lin said caused a commotion among the newsboys. They looked at each other with surprise on their immature and sallow faces.

Not only was the newsboy surprised, but even Old John was shocked by what Colin said.

On the side, he opened his mouth to say something, but was stopped by Colin's gaze.

"Thank you, sir, for your generosity."

When the commotion quieted down, the leading newspaper boy opened his mouth and looked at Colin with a small face full of freckles. Although his tone was also a little excited, he said unexpectedly calmly: "But, can you tell us the reason? Is it? We are just a group of ordinary newspaper boys who work hard every day to distribute newspapers just to survive. If your purpose is to use our identities to do some illegal things, I am sorry, although we are poor, but Every penny counts for hard work and it gives us peace of mind every day."

The words of the leading newspaper boy awakened the children who were immersed in joy, and turned their attention to Colin.

Sensing the gazes from the newsboys, Colin couldn't help raising his eyebrows.

Naturally, he didn't have the idea of ​​using the newsboy to do so-called illegal things, but the leading newsboy's neither humble nor overbearing attitude left a big impression on him.

Colin couldn't help but ask, "What's your name?"

"Jimmy, sir."

Nodding his head, he remembered the name of the leading newspaper boy in his heart.

Colin immediately continued: "Very well, Jimmy, regarding your concerns, I can tell you with certainty that the purpose of my calling you here is for the newspaper, that is, the "Courier", and what we are going to talk about next is It's only about newspapers."

"call……"

Ke Lin's words were like a reassurance pill, which relieved the uneasy hearts of the newsboys.

After listening to Colin's words carefully, Jimmy the newsboy said, "We are willing to trust you, sir. So, what do we need to do to get the money?"

"It's simple."

Looking at the newsboys with hopeful eyes, Colin twitched his lips and smiled, "I just need you to learn a few songs..."

There were not many lyrics in Ke Lin's mouth, and after a few minutes, the newsboys present had already memorized them.

Repeating the lyrics in his mouth, Jimmy looked at Colin in front of him, with a dazed look on his expression for the first time: "Sir, that's really the only reason you came to us? Only by singing these lyrics can we be able to Five cents less for a bundle of newspapers?"

"Yes."

Nodding his head, Colin looked at the freckled face of newsboy Jimmy and replied with a smile: "Not only the newsboys who came to the Courier Newspaper, you can also go back and tell other newsboys the news, as long as they memorize These few lines of lyrics and promise to sing them when selling the "Courier", then they can be included in the newspaper with the same discount at my place."

A discount of 5 cents on the purchase price is enough to impress newspaper boys with meager income.

You know, the opportunity that caused the newsboy strike was only 10 cents.

What's more, under the current Great Depression, all walks of life are in a difficult situation, even newsboys are no exception.

Therefore, after a little hesitation, the newsboys quickly agreed to Colin's request.

"Colin, no, boss..."

Watching the backs of the newsboys happily leaving, inside the Messenger Newspaper Office, Old John's face could not help showing a bit of worry.

He turned his head to look at Ke Lin in front of him, and couldn't help but said, "Are you really planning to lower the price of the newspaper? I'm afraid that just in case..."

The discount of 5 cents per bundle may not seem like much, but once accumulated, it will be a huge burden for the already crumbling Messenger Newspaper, and even a little carelessness may lead to a crisis.

As it was related to his job position, Old John felt that it was necessary to say something more.

"Perhaps, we can try to let Little John go to more places and shoot some..."

　Thank you Yuhuichun for the 100 starting point reward.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)