Two people and one cat fell from the sky. When they approached the ground, their speed suddenly slowed down, as if they were stepping on a layer of cotton. Jenkins and Cogman landed smoothly on the street, and then the chocolate fell on Jenkins' shoulders.
It can be seen that it is very excited, and it seems to be novel about this way of landing.
The rain is still falling, with no trend of getting bigger or getting smaller. Compared with the streets with few pedestrians on Fifth Queen's Avenue, even in the rain, the streets in the city center are still full of pedestrians. The carriage carrying the guests "stops" beside Jenkins, and Jenkins can see the horse running. Freeze-frame funny expressions.
The target newspaper boy was standing in front of a closed silverware store on the east side of the street to hide from the rain, his hand clutching the shoulder strap of his bag very hard. He hid here more to prevent the newspaper from getting wet, and without guests, it was obviously a worse situation if the newspaper could not be sold.
The door of the silver shop was chained and the windows were boarded up. There is also a notice posted on the board, stating that the owner of the store has gone to the country for business and will not be able to open the door until later next week.
"What is my goal this time?"
Jenkins asked, and the Gear Man replied immediately:
"It's simple, this time it's 'Vigorous Heart'."
"Vigorous? Is it all such a conceptual thing?"
Jenkins looked at the boy's face. His face was a little dirty. It was obvious that he didn't wash his face every day. But he still seems to be in good spirits, and his face is more worried that the newspaper will not be sold, rather than tired of selling newspapers.
"The last goal has almost lost the heart of selfless dedication. This time, the goal is probably not a vigorous boy, right?"
"That's your problem, so let's get started..."
As soon as the voice fell, the sound of the pattering rain was immediately drowned out by the noise of pedestrians on the street. The carriage next to Jenkins continued to drive forward, but the horse turned its head slightly to look at Jenkins, probably feeling his majestic vitality.
Although there were many pedestrians with umbrellas and without umbrellas on the street, people spontaneously avoided Jenkins and the gear man standing in the middle of the street. When the two walked towards the closed silverware shop on the side of the street, the pedestrians also consciously gave way to them, even though no one could realize that there were two strange people here.
Jenkins came under the canopy of the silver shop, and Cogman stood in front of the boarded-up window and watched the scene.
He touched his cat, then reached into his backpack, and took a long time to find a small bag with a tied mouth. The shape of the bag was very similar to the dice bag in the ancient town of blood therapy. Inside were coins, coins and notes of all denominations.
Considering that anything is possible in the treacherous land, the church specially prepared these coins for easy spending.
"Give me a newspaper."
He counted out four small penny taels and handed them over.
"Twopence a newspaper, sir!"
The boy said, it's not that he is kind and unwilling to deceive the stranger in front of him, but that the price is uniform in the whole city. If he breaks the rules, someone will come to teach him the rules.
The newspaper the boy peddled was the "Norland Evening News", one of the most sold newspapers in Nolan and surrounding areas. When the "knowledge tax" existed more than 30 years ago, the price of a newspaper was 7 pence. After the cancellation, it was gradually reduced to two pence. Because the low price of newspapers has indirectly promoted the sales of newspapers, and thus the literacy rate, the Church of the Sages has always believed that the abolition of the "knowledge tax" is the church's greatest political achievement in the past century.
"The other two pennies are a tip for you. It's still raining, and I can only take shelter here for a short time. You shouldn't mind chatting with me. Of course, you can leave anytime, I just want to be less boring. "
Jenkins tried to keep his tone as soft as possible.
"Of course, sir, it's my pleasure."
The boy nodded immediately, and at the same time took a dry newspaper from his satchel—the middle, not the outermost—and handed it to Jenkins before daring to accept the four small copper coins.
Jenkins unfolded the newspaper and glanced at it. The date was late July 1865, a full year difference from the current time in the physical world.
In other words, the time at this time in the Paradise is the day Jenkins came to this world.
"I adjusted the time to today, a year ago. Isn't that more immersive? Oh, except for the year, the date and hour are the same, and it's evening outside now."
Seeing Jenkins looking at it, the Gearman explained.
"Evening a year ago..."
That said, a few hours to go... Jenkins blinked, and instead of making a comment, began a conversation with the newsboy.
"This rain is really good. Some rain is needed in this season, otherwise there will be more people suffering from lung disease. However, this is not a good thing for you, right? I think the rest of your newspapers are really good. Quite a few."
Jenkins started the conversation with this, and the boy was at least coherent, though a little nervous. He is a native of Nolan. Although his accent is a bit heavy, Jenkins can understand it completely:
"Yes, sir, today's luck is really bad. But there are always times of bad luck in a year. At least it's just a little rain now, and it's not like a newspaper can't be sold."
"So this isn't your first year selling newspapers?"
Jenkins asked again, and the boy answered with some embarrassment:
"Yes sir, I have been selling for two years."
From the outside, the boy seems to be only eleven or twelve years old, but considering that children from poor backgrounds are generally malnourished, his actual age is probably older.
"Since it's raining, why don't you sell newspapers at the door of the church, or at the corner of the street where the clubs are located? Or go to the street where the coachmen wait for customers. I think there are more opportunities in those places."
He kindly suggested that this is the process of getting closer.
"But that's someone else's territory. It's not easy for me to get this location near the city hall to sell newspapers. I can't go to someone else's area to sell newspapers."
There are tens of thousands of children who want to make money by selling newspapers, but the number of customers who will buy newspapers in a certain area will not increase with the wishes of the children, so newsboys rely on default rules or the size of their fists to simply divide their respective areas , on the contrary is a very smart approach.
"But selling newspapers is not a long-term business. Have you never thought about reading and literacy? The church of the sage has open night classes every week. Even if you are not a believer in the sage, as long as you are willing to pray to the sage, the priests of the church will not I would mind if children like you go to class."
The boy scratched his head:
"Oh, sir, you are definitely a very devout believer, and thank you for your kindness, but I have to take care of my brother and sister at night, so my father and mother can go out and do some odd jobs."
A big city like Nolan needs a lot of odd jobs at night, but not only some jobs that are inconvenient to tell the children, but also the large cargo ships that arrive at the pier at night, the backpack workers at the railway station, the night shift workers in factories, and the noble manors. The kitchen help hired temporarily for the banquet, etc., these are all jobs that can make money.
"That's really a pity."
Jenkins said euphemistically, and then said:
"Although I shouldn't say this, but now that the topic is here, I'm curious, how do you plan for your future life?"
Generally speaking, even children would not talk about these things with strangers, even if Jenkins paid twopence more. But in this strange situation, his character is easy to be trusted by people. As long as he doesn't make any outrageous actions and is properly induced, the target won't mind talking about some private topics.
Of course, Jenkins' kind appearance and the cute cat on his shoulder are also one of the reasons why he won his trust.
"planning?"
The boy muttered the word for a while, obviously trying to figure out the usage of the uncommon word:
"It's nothing, my father has already made an agreement with the old widower in the neighborhood. In a few years, I will learn how to drive a carriage with him, and I will run with him a few times. When he can no longer continue to do what he is doing now, I will let him to do it, but I'm also responsible for things like arranging the funeral when he dies."
This is equivalent to finding a job as an apprentice. Although it can't be compared with a serious craftsman's apprentice, at least it can support yourself, which is a relatively stable life plan.
But this kind of life planning almost imprisoned the remaining 30 to 40 years of my life. There will be no glory in my future life, but I will have some interest.
Jenkins doesn't think boys should have too much ambition, and a stable life is fine for him. But at least don't be so old at the current age, you should look higher, think more, and think with a vigorous age. In this way, even if he really becomes a handlebar in the future, he can at least have an impact on the next generation, instead of letting his descendants fall into the same cycle forever.
This is also beneficial to the entire society and even the times. The development of production requires more high-quality talents, and the rapid transformation of illiterate people into skilled workers with a certain basic education background, instead of just letting people look down in the dirt. rice grains. Jenkins hopes that everyone can hold their heads up, even if they can't change their lives and get brilliant, at least they must know how wonderful the world really is.
This is the performance of "vigorous" in youth. Therefore, Jenkins thinks he has the responsibility to say something. Of course, if this is not a paradox but a reality, he will probably use another strategy:
"Are you satisfied with this arrangement?"
"Of course I am satisfied. My father can arrange such a good thing for me, but my two younger brothers may not be so lucky. Maybe they will work as porters at the dock in the future, or be forced to leave their hometown to go to other cities. But my father said Now, since he helped me find someone to rely on in my future life, I have to be responsible for taking care of the lives of my younger brothers and sisters, which is fair."