The boy scoured the streets for possible customers as he talked to Jenkins. But in this rainy day, except for guys with ulterior motives like Jenkins, not many people are willing to walk in the rain with a newspaper. The impact of the weather on business is obvious.
"Don't you...haven't thought about other possible lives?"
Jenkins asked again, hoping his question wouldn't arouse the boy's suspicions.
"Other possibilities?"
The boy's eyes followed a passing two-wheeled carriage, so he spoke a little carelessly. He probably hoped that the distinguished guests in the carriage would stick their heads out to look at him and buy a newspaper, but unfortunately this hope of course came to nothing.
"What could be better than letting me inherit the old widower's carriage?"
The boy was clearly not being polite to his future apprentice teacher.
"For example, learn how to read and then find a decent job as a clerk. Or learn arithmetic. If you can count coins accurately, you must have a certain foundation in mathematics. As long as you learn a little more, it should not be difficult to become an accountant in the future. Your life has just begun. Start, there are countless possibilities waiting for you."
Jenkins said.
"But those possibilities are not stable. It takes money and time to learn knowledge, but this kind of spending may not be rewarded. After all, learning may not be 100% learned, and learning may not be 100% able to get a job. But rushing As long as I am willing to follow him, I will definitely be able to inherit the carriage business, and maybe pass it on to my son."
The newsboy who is not very old has a lot to think about. He was not innocent, a boy who was wandering on the streets at this age, and could grab a place to sell newspapers in such a position, of course, was not innocent.
"You are satisfied with this arrangement, and have no other ideas?"
Jenkins asked again, and the boy answered quickly:
"Yes."
After finishing speaking, he hurriedly left under the rain eaves with his satchel in his hand, and hurried to an old gentleman walking slowly with an umbrella, as if admiring the rain scene. He has elegant clothes and a neatly trimmed goatee, and he looks like a nobleman from a good background.
"Sir, would you like a newspaper?"
Asked by the boy selling newspapers, the old gentleman turned his head to look at him, seemed very interested, but still shook his head slowly. The boy didn't continue to pester, and returned to the silver shop under the rainy roof with a frustrated expression.
Jenkins took out another copper coin from the small cloth bag:
"Talk to me about a penny again, how about?"
The conversation just now made Jenkins gain more trust. This time the boy did not refuse, and happily took the coin, and he did not forget to thank Jenkins for his generosity.
Jenkins is determined to change the direction of the conversation, since he can't arouse the boy's "ambition" for a better life, then use other ways to seduce him.
"Do you read knight novels?"
Boys will like knight novels, not referring to the colored parts, but attracted by the unrealistic plots in the book, such as the former owner Jenkins. Because I know that I can't have the exciting experience in the novel, so I like it and imagine it.
The newsboy looked at Jenkins suspiciously:
"Sir, why do you think I can read?"
This is Jenkins being careless, although there are books that are mainly drawings, most of those books are illegal publications with color. He wanted to use the plots in the knight novels to make the boy realize the wonderful life, but serious knight novels are a test of literacy.
"You don't know a single word?"
"Know some, after all, I sell newspapers."
He patted his satchel proudly:
"If you don't know a single word, you can't even yell news. Sir, I'm the best yelling news around here!"
Speaking of this, the boy's eyes are a little bright:
"Sir, why don't I give you a drink?"
He was still thinking about not taking Jenkins' money for nothing.
"OK."
Jenkins laughed, and the boy cleared his throat and called out:
"Queen Isabella announced an amnesty! The notorious political hemorrhoid old Potter is about to be released from prison!"
His voice was heard in the rain, causing people nearby to look over. Still no one wants to sell newspapers, but the boy is still happy:
"How are you feeling, sir?"
"Very good, you are the best newsboy I have ever seen shouting news."
There was a big smile on the boy's face, and it was only then that Jenkins could feel that the other was just a child.
"Since you like this job so much, why can't you keep doing it?"
Jenkins thinks he's on the right track.
"Because selling newspapers can't make much money. It's not enough to support myself. At most, it can be regarded as supplementing the family. Besides, have you ever seen older children selling newspapers on the street? This kind of humble money can only be paid for." Only children who cannot work are willing to earn, and people are more accepting of children selling newspapers.
Even if I couldn't get a job driving an old widower, I couldn't keep selling newspapers here. As much as I love the job, I love the smell of this fresh ink. "
He lifted the satchel slightly, put his nose next to the remaining newspaper, took a deep breath and showed an intoxicated expression.
"If you really like newspapers, there are other jobs you can do."
The newsboy who claimed that he only liked a stable life did not immediately refuse this time, so Jenkins then asked:
"Actually, as long as you can read and write, you will have more possibilities in the future. Do you like newspapers? It's easier to work as a porter in a newspaper office. Of course, you don't earn as much as pulling a carriage. But have you ever thought about it? You can be a reporter too?"
"reporter?"
The boy knows what a reporter is, but he doesn't believe he can be that kind of person, that's a job for people who have gone to school:
"Sir, are you joking?"
"Joke? Of course not. You know, you can actually do the job of a reporter right now. Newspapers need news, but obviously they can't know everything that's going on in the city at all times. After all, everyone is an ordinary person."
Jenkins winked at the boy:
"So, guess how you got those news?"
"Someone told them!"
The boy replied immediately, and his eyes stopped looking at the street looking for customers who bought newspapers, and he stared closely at Jenkins.
"Yes, the newspaper society has its own informants... that is, intelligence personnel, who provide themselves with fresh information. Then, why can't you become a newspaper informant? Besides selling newspapers and taking care of your younger siblings, don't you have a lot of money? Can my time be wasted on the street?"