Those who have learned of the entrepreneurial spirit by way of selling newspapers include the sitting President of the United States and two young girls who recently took to downtown Nanjing to do just that, inspiring many and learning a few life skills along the way.
Last month was the second outing for the “Love News” activity in Nanjing. Parents of the two young ladies wasted no time in signing them up, receiving their identification ribbons as part of the process.
Aged 10 and 5 respectively, Fu Yu and Li Xuxi took first to selling newspapers near Deji Plaza in Nanjing’s Xinjiekou.
At a loss in the beginning when facing the CBD’s endless stream of people, Xuxi’s mother stepped in. After 10 minutes of encouragement and guidance, she let them take the plunge, reported the Yangtze Evening News. Soon, their sweet smiles and sincere words were moving passers-by to stop and make a purchase.
Their first customer was a security guard, who squatted down to ask Xuxi for a price and remind her to take care under the fierce sun. A young couple, going shopping arm in arm, bought a copy to show their support. Unable to scan the QR code, a 70-year-old grandfather finally found some change and solemnly handed it to the two children.
For alert and older, western readers of The Nanjinger, the girls’ efforts will no doubt remind of that popular before and after school part-time job that was delivering newspapers to people’s homes.
And on Saturdays making sure to receive dues from homeowners. It was a great way to earn a bit of cash to spend at the mall with friends.
Yu and Xuxi probably don’t know it, but in their noble little earner they have something in common with none other than Joe Biden, President of the United States.
And quite a few others too. Martin Luther King Jnr., Warren Buffet, Walt Disney, Tom Cruise, Bob Hope and David Lynch in their younger years also took up that which at the time was known as a “paper round”.
Delivering the papers was fun and easy. But then the time came to collect payment. This Biden found terrifying, as he reveals in his autobiography, “Promises to Keep”, writing, “I lived in dread of Saturday mornings when I had to go collect [money] from people I was just getting to know”.
But the young future President found it rewarding too and an opportunity to grapple with his speech impediment. Through the weekly encounters, Biden also says that he “learned to anticipate the conversation to come”.
Today, it’s a different world. That many countries now require those who deliver newspapers to be 18 or older might lead some to suggest the antics of the young girls in Xinjiekou to be nothing short of child labour.
Others though, Biden included, believe it to be a life lesson in both finances and people skills. For parents participating in the Love News activity, it’s a way for their children to learn that money is hard won in the dripping sweat of Nanjing’s summer. And that they should maintain a good attitude in the face of setback and continue to work hard and try their best.
