i've became one of the millions commuter of the shanghai metro ever since i started my job at hudson (which is slightly over a year ago). let me tell you...it is no fun being in extreme close distance with people that you don't know and it is hell if they are sweaty, has body odour, bad breath...eewww!!! but what to do? this is easiest, fastest and cheapest way for me to go to work since my working hours has became 9:00 - 6:00
upon alighting at East Nanjing Road Station (that is my office's station), i came to notice there are a group of people standing around the exit gate everyday. they should be aging around 60 years old, female and male. at first, i didn't pay attention to what they do...but slowly i realised they are actually there to collect newspaper from metro commuters. very thin copies of newspapers are given out free at stations and the commuters will normally finish reading it when they alight. these are the 'product' that these old folks aim for. they basically just stand there, mostly expressionless except for a man who smiles all the time. they don't force you to give; but when it's given they will nod their head in appreciation.
my guess is, they are probably too old to be any good in any other jobs but they do need some money be it to buy rice, veg, toiletries or whatever it is; or they might just be doing this to kill time? i don't know...
one fine day (after a spring cleaning at home), i noticed i have tons of 'Shanghai Talk', 'City Weekend' and 'Classified' in my drawers. the faces of the 'newspaper collection team' pops up in my mind and i decided all these will go to them as i've never gave them anything as i don't read those free metro papers.
i set off to work carrying about 10 copies of those magazines in my bag the next day. as i was walking out of the exit gate, i saw them standing in their usual spots. i've somehow walk towards the only woman in the group, took the magazines out of my bag and pass it to her without saying anything. her eyes pop open looking at the magazines in my hand and when she realised those are for her, she nodded her head non-stop until it was almost a bow. i noticed a slight smile on her face as i continue to walk towards the exit to my office in the midst of the rushing crowd.
to me, i think it's worthwhile of me carrying those magazines in my bag in exchange of the head-nodding and the slight smile from the newspaper woman...
