Sometimes Making Money Is Easy

Sometimes Making Money Is Easy. "Sir, want a newspaper?"

A half-grown boy wearing a filthy Duckbill Cap and carrying an enormous leather satchel appeared before Lin Qi.

The boy looked to be about eleven or twelve. He gazed at Lin Qi expectantly and opened his satchel, revealing the newspapers inside.

These children were all managed by various Newspaper Bosses. This Newspaper Boss did not mean a newspaper headline, but the people who managed the Newspaper Boys.

Through connections, means, or other methods, they tightly controlled the roaming newspaper market in certain areas. Only their own Newspaper Boys could sell papers here; no one else was allowed in. Book and newsstands were excluded.

Every morning, they gathered outside the newspaper offices, loaded papers still warm from the presses onto carts, hauled them back to their "bases," then handed them out to these half-grown children and drove them onto the streets.

Every child had a sales quota, a minimum threshold. If they failed to meet it, they would be beaten or starved. Only after exceeding the quota could they eat, but there were no rewards.

The Welfare Home and some impoverished families had already taken their wages. All they could do was work as much as possible in exchange for a place sheltered from the wind and rain, along with two meals to keep them alive.

Some might think this was hell, but compared to those living in even more hopeless abysses, these children were practically in heaven.

Lin Qi took out a One Sol note from his pocket and chose two newspapers. Local papers cost fifty cents each, while nationally published papers cost a full sol each.

The Newspaper Boy kept thanking Lin Qi for his patronage, even taking off his hat and bowing. To Lin Qi, one sol for two papers might have been an unavoidable part of daily life, but to this child, it was the salvation he desired most each day.

The child was about to leave when Lin Qi called him back.

"Sir, is there anything else I can do for you?" the half-grown boy asked.

Children like him were often better adapted to society than those from decent families who were still in school. Looking at that young face, already ripened by reality and covered in smiles, Lin Qi felt a little moved.

This was the worst of times, but also the best of times.

He asked, "Want to make money?"

The child immediately nodded. "I dream about it, sir. But I won't do anything illegal."

Where there was light, there was darkness. The more darkness made the light seem bright, the more the light made the darkness seem darker.

Some used children to sell newspapers, while others used children to commit crimes. These were hardly Top Secret rumors. As society boomed, everyone had been dazzled by wealth.

As long as money could be made, someone would do it, no matter the job.

Lin Qi shook his head. "Do you have ninety-seven cents?"

Though hesitant, the Newspaper Boy quickly took ninety-seven cents from his pocket. He had some Small Change on him, which the Newspaper Boss had arranged to place in every child's bag before they went out.

That money did not belong to them. The Newspaper Boss would count it when they returned. If anyone lost money or came back short, they would be starved at best and beaten at worst. This made the children especially sensitive about money.

Looking at the ninety-seven cents in the child's hand—all coins—Lin Qi took out another sol, placed it in the child's left hand, and took the ninety-seven cents from his other hand.

"Sir, you're still short three cents. I'll give you the change right now..." The Newspaper Boy thought Lin Qi wanted Small Change. City transit generally had ten-cent and twenty-five-cent fares, one for trips within five kilometers and the other for trips beyond five kilometers.

Whether it was the bus or subway, they did not give change. If you paid with fifty cents, they would only give you two tickets, not one ticket and change.

This made many people carry some Small Change to avoid losses.

Lin Qi stopped the Newspaper Boy and repeated his question. "Want to make money?"

The Newspaper Boy had not yet processed it. Taking advantage of someone so openly for the first time made him uneasy. After hesitating, he nodded. "I do, sir. I dream about it!"

The smile gradually appearing on Lin Qi's face made the child feel as though he had seen the newly risen sun—not dazzling, its rays warm, yet capable of tearing through darkness and lighting the entire sky. "Do you have ninety-seven cents?" he asked again.

After a brief moment of bewilderment, shock, and helplessness, the Newspaper Boy hurriedly took another ninety-seven cents from his bag and held them in his palm.

His face had turned red. He was clearly excited, nervous, anxious, and somewhat doubtful. His clear eyes stared at Lin Qi, watching to see what this man intended to do.

Lin Qi took out another sol, put it in the Newspaper Boy's hand, took the ninety-seven cents from his other hand, and asked with a faint smile, "Do you want to make money?"

By then, the Newspaper Boy was trembling with excitement. He nodded repeatedly and dug out all the Small Change he could gather into ninety-seven-cent amounts. "This is all of it, sir..."

Lin Qi counted out twelve sol and placed them in his hand, then pocketed all the Small Change. "Looks like this is all you have."

The Newspaper Boy was thrilled. Although he had only exchanged fourteen sol in Small Change with Lin Qi, he had earned forty-two cents for himself—nearly half a sol.

He knew that no matter how well he did at this job, he would not receive even a single cent. The Newspaper Boss would hand all the payment over to the Welfare Home.

This Newspaper Boy had grown up in the Welfare Home. In the Welfare Home's words, it was time for them to do something for it. After all, the Welfare Home had raised them this big without asking for anything in return.

Generally speaking, if a child had not been adopted by the age of ten, the chances of being adopted later were very slim, except for some girls, who were adopted for other reasons and purposes.

But the Welfare Home did not interfere much. Once children turned fourteen, they could refuse adoption, and once they turned sixteen, they had to leave and survive in society on their own.

In other words, boys over ten were basically already considered "marginal people" of the Welfare Home. It was difficult to make adoption subsidies or adoption donations from them, so they had to work.

They had to use work to compensate the Welfare Home for raising them over the years. Whether that was right or not did not matter, because no one cared. Everyone only watched what concerned their own immediate interests.

How to quickly integrate into society after being thrown out of the Welfare Home and find a place to belong was the most troubling matter for these children.

If they could get some money before leaving—not much, just enough to last for a short while—they might have a chance to survive.

Lin Qi's exchange for Small Change had shown this child an Avenue of Light, just like the question he had asked before—did he want to make money?

And his own answer—he dreamed about it! After putting away the money, the Newspaper Boy hesitantly asked, "Sir, will you still be here tomorrow?"

Lin Qi nodded. "I'll be here until lunch. If I'm not here, then I'll show up the next day!" He tapped his wrist with a finger. "You still have plenty of time..."

These children who had already begun dealing with society immediately understood what Lin Qi meant. About ten minutes later, a group of Newspaper Boys had gathered around, and more kept arriving.