Chapter 84: Recruitment
2023-05-02 Author: Yue Shang Xintou
Pushing open the Great Door of the Newspaper Office.
Inside sat the familiar figure.
"Good morning, you two."
Colin lifted the cup in his hand, took a sip of coffee, and nodded in greeting to the two people at the door.
"Good morning, Boss."
Hearing Colin's greeting, Little John and Old John quickly forced a smile and replied.
"I plan to add another Superman Comic story to the weekend issue of The Messenger…"
Standing up, Colin handed the newly created Comic Manuscript to Old John and said casually, "You might need to re-typeset the content."
"No problem."
Old John took the Comic Manuscript Colin handed him, scanned the story on it, and then nodded.
Today, the Superman Comic is already the most popular section in The Messenger.
Although extensively serializing Comics on the newspaper's front page drew much criticism from many peers, who believed that The Messenger's approach could hardly be called a News Report.
However, undeniably, The Messenger has become one of the most sought-after newspapers in New York.
Its weekly circulation has already reached as many as one hundred thousand, bringing considerable profits to the Newspaper Office.
Old John took the new Comic Manuscript given by Colin, went to the Typesetting Machine, and began a new day's work.
Why wasn't there any charcoal burning?
Little John picked up the kettle, looked at the cold stove, and a hint of confusion flashed in his eyes.
Passing by the Typesetting Machine, he snuck a glance at the Comic plot on the Comic Manuscript from the corner of his eye, and his steps also slowed down a bit.
The content of the new Comic told a story of Superman entering Haiti to battle.
The evil Luthor appeared again, this time having changed his appearance, debuting with a bald look. However, this new image did not diminish his evil aura; instead, it made Luthor seem even more formidable. With his plans repeatedly thwarted by Superman, Luthor decided to change his strategy. He launched an attack from the depths of the ocean, attempting to drown the entire Metropolis with a tsunami.
At the critical moment, Superman, who works at the Daily Planet, appeared. He dived deep into the ocean, found the evil Luthor, destroyed the weapon he used to trigger the massive tsunami, and prevented Metropolis from being submerged by the tsunami. Luthor himself, in his panic, was swallowed by a giant shark from Haiti.
"Little John."
Inside the Messenger Newspaper, just as Little John was engrossed in the Comic, a shout from behind pulled him back from the tumultuous plot.
Turning his head, he saw his boss, Colin, looking at him with a half-smile.
"Boss, do you need hot water?"
Little John held up the kettle in his hand and asked tentatively.
"Is the Newspaper Office's recruitment information ready?"
Colin shook his head, not pursuing the issue of Little John slacking off, and casually asked again.
Seeing that Colin didn't reprimand him further, Little John secretly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly responded, "It's all ready. We're just waiting to hang it outside the Newspaper Office."
Putting down the hot water kettle, Little John retrieved the prepared cardboard from under the table.
Recruitment, Newspaper Office Worker, Weekly Wage Ten Dollars.
The recruitment information on the cardboard was extremely simple, only mentioning the job requirements and basic salary.
However, neither Colin nor Little John were too worried about the outcome of the recruitment.
This was The Great Depression, an era where hundreds and thousands of people competed for three or four laborer jobs.
During such a difficult period of economic depression, for a Newspaper Office to still be willing to recruit employees was itself an extremely rare occurrence.
Therefore, not long after Little John hung the sign with the recruitment information outside the Messenger Newspaper, a long queue had already appeared there. Many of them had rushed over overnight after learning about the Newspaper Office's recruitment information from Wednesday's The Messenger.
Many people had already been staying around the Newspaper Office for several days, just to secure a good position.
In fact, Colin had seen these people on his way to the Newspaper Office; they were hiding like a pack of hyenas in unseen corners, waiting with eager eyes for the recruitment to begin.
"Get out of the way! I was here first!"
"Why should I? I clearly arrived first…"
"I've been here for two days, just for this spot. This is my only hope. My family is still waiting for me to find a new job."
"Sorry, you're not the only one with family; so am I. My wife and children are all relying on me."
"Unless you step over my dead body, don't even think about getting in front of me in line."
As the line gradually grew longer, arguments also broke out.
Many Unemployed People fiercely argued over a slightly better position in line, even coming to blows.
"Everyone, keep quiet!"
Seeing that the situation was developing into an out-of-control situation, Little John had to intervene. He took a deep breath, halted the two arguing at the front of the line, and at the same time, tapped the recruitment information on the Newspaper Office's Great Door.
"If such incidents happen again, today's recruitment will immediately end, and all of you can get out!"
Little John's words showed no mercy.
However, the tapped recruitment information seemed to possess some kind of powerful magic, instantly silencing the queue.
Even the two who were violently arguing and fighting closed their mouths.
They, too, longed for this job.
Looking at the quiet queue in front of the Newspaper Office, Little John nodded with satisfaction.
Pointing to a neatly dressed middle-aged man at the very front of the line, he said, "You, go in first."
"Thank you, sir."
Taking off his hat, the man thanked Little John before him, then, with a nervous expression, walked into the Newspaper Office.
"Hello, sir…"
"I have three skills, speak three languages, and have rich work experience. As long as you give me this job, I will do my utmost to repay you. You just need to hire me."
Clutching his hat in his hand, the man spoke to Colin inside the Newspaper Office in a nearly pleading tone.
"I have three children waiting to be fed. If I don't get a job, our whole family might really starve to death."
The man's slightly trembling lips pleaded bitterly to Colin.
In front of the Typesetting Machine, Old John, hearing the man's plight, paused his hands typing on the keyboard, then continued again.
"I'm sorry, sir."
However, facing the man's earnest plea, Colin had to harden his heart and slowly said.
"While I sympathize with your situation, your skills in financial investment are not suitable for the Newspaper Office's work. Perhaps you could try elsewhere; maybe someone will need a professional like you."
Shaking his head, the man walked out of the Newspaper Office with heavy steps.
"Sir, the Newspaper Office will provide Relief Aid every Monday morning, if you and your family need it."
Colin said, watching the man's dejected figure.