chapter 183 part 2
If he had known that this would be the end, Langge would not have written that letter to Manroland even if it killed him.
But what's done is done, and no amount of regret can change anything.
Having lost his identity as a Manroland agent, Langge needed to think about how to face the following unemployment.
As a former rotary printing press maintenance worker, if Langge was willing, he could find a maintenance job in a factory with a salary lower than before The Great Depression.
During The Great Depression, the demand for printed products actually showed a growing trend. Everyone was looking for a channel to escape reality, and books became the first choice for some people.
However, after experiencing the life of an agent, it was obviously a huge psychological gap for Langge to take off his suit and become a worker again. What's more, he had several workers under him, and once he left, these workers would immediately fall into unemployment, and some of them might even become members of the homeless because of this.
Langge had seen the appearance of those homeless people, seen them gathering in alleys to compete for kitchen garbage.
He neither wanted nor was willing to see this scene happen to people he knew, especially since these workers had been with him for a long time, and some of them he had known since his days as a maintenance worker.
However, thoughts are one thing, and reality is another.
If you ask those people wandering on the streets, they would also be absolutely unwilling to live the life they are living now.
However, under the impact of The Great Depression, whether they were willing or not, they lost their jobs, homes, and even families, and became homeless people wandering on the streets. Some of them were even richer than Langge before becoming homeless people, having been bank executives or even company bosses.
Thinking of this, the expression on Langge's face became even more solemn.
With a heavy heart, he returned to the office. The workers, still unaware of the bad news of unemployment, were working diligently.
Langge's gaze swept over the familiar faces of these workers. He opened his mouth, but found it difficult to convince himself to tell everyone this news from the Manroland headquarters.
Once he revealed this news, not only the workers would be affected, but also the families they were struggling to support.
But what difference did it make? Even if Langge could hide it for a while, could he hide it forever? The fact that Manroland had canceled the agency rights would be known to everyone sooner or later. What's more, without the funds from Manroland headquarters, Langge alone wouldn't be able to pay the workers their remaining wages.
Not only did the workers need to support their families, but he also had a wife and daughters to support.
"...It's time to make a decision."
Thinking of his wife and daughters at home, Langge couldn't help but take a deep breath, just about to open his mouth with difficulty to tell everyone that he had lost his agency rights with Manroland headquarters and was unemployed.
Suddenly, his gaze inadvertently glanced at a newspaper on a worker's desk.
Looking at the serialized comic clearly visible on the newspaper, Langge quickly stopped the words at his lips, picked up the newspaper, and asked, "Does anyone know which newspaper agency printed this newspaper?"
"Should be *The Messenger Newspaper*, right?"
Faced with Langge's question, the workers, who were completely unaware that they had just been on the verge of unemployment, looked at each other, and one of them spoke in an uncertain tone.
"*The Messenger Newspaper*."
Listening to the worker's answer, Langge muttered to himself.
Currently, from his observations during this period, the printing technology used by *The Messenger Newspaper* is only utilized in its own publications. In other words, this printing process has not yet been widely promoted on the market. Although it's unclear whether this so-called new printing technology was truly invented by Colin, the owner of the Messenger Newspaper Agency, as rumored.
Still, Langge decided to meet with the other party.
"This may be the only chance."
Silently saying this to himself in his heart, Langge looked at the unaware workers in front of him.
He placed all his hopes on *The Messenger Newspaper*.
…
"Mr. Langer Worster?"
Inside the Messenger Newspaper Agency.
Colin looked at the hesitant middle-aged man in front of him and asked in confusion.
"So, what is the purpose of you waiting at the newspaper office door early in the morning?"
According to Little John, this man who claimed to be Langer Worster had been waiting at the newspaper office door before he opened it, and it seemed that he had been waiting for a long time.
"If you are here to apply for a job, I'm sorry, the application for *Messenger Comics* has ended."
Looking at Langge's appearance, Colin obviously regarded him as someone who had seen the information in *The Messenger Newspaper* and came to apply.
"No, you misunderstood, Mr. Collin Roper, I'm not here to apply for a job."
Shaking his head, he denied his identity as an applicant.
Although Langge had indeed become unemployed after losing the Manroland agency rights, he had obviously not accepted this change in identity, or was still planning to work hard.
"Then, you are?"
Hearing Langge's denial, the expression on Colin's face was slightly surprised, looking at the embarrassed middle-aged man in front of him, he asked.
"In fact, I am a rotary printing press agent, at least I was until recently..."
Under Colin's watchful gaze, Langge slowly stated his identity. At the same time, he did not hide the fact that he had now lost the Manroland agency rights.
This was something that could be verified, and Langge didn't want to lose the opportunity to cooperate because of his concealment.
"Rotary printing press agent?"
Hearing Langge's self-introduction, Colin raised his eyebrows slightly.
He didn't expect that the other party's purpose was actually the four-color duplex sheet-fed offset press he had mastered. It wasn't that Colin didn't value this printing process, but because *The Messenger Newspaper* had only been using the four-color duplex sheet-fed offset press for a short time. Colin had originally thought that he would have to wait a while before people noticed its unique qualities.
He didn't expect that Langge would discover it so early and come to his door.
If Langge knew what Colin was thinking,
He would definitely respond with a wry smile. He not only discovered the difference in the four-color duplex sheet-fed offset press technology mastered by Colin, but even reported it to the Manroland headquarters in Augsburg.
It was precisely because of this action that he was discovered by the Manroland headquarters in advance about the loss situation in the American market, which led to his agency rights being canceled and him becoming unemployed.
It can be said that if it hadn't been for Langge's 'acumen,' Manroland wouldn't have noticed the situation in the American market so quickly. After all, they were already overwhelmed by their internal problems in Germany and had no energy to pay attention to an overseas agent's issues.
(end of chapter)