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Chapter 166: Ch.165 Little Friends

Steve Rogers stuffed himself with beef burgers until he was about to burst. Lying on his old wooden bed, listening to the howling wind outside, he slept soundly that night.

Although the hamburgers weren\'t the cream cakes of his dreams, life was now nearly as good as it had been in those dreams. He didn\'t know when this "Wilson Enterprises" had appeared, but his heart was full of gratitude.

The next morning, Steve\'s parents left the house early. He also got up early to help with chores, like lighting the fire and preparing food.

His mother, suffering from malnutrition, was frail but still insisted on going out to work. She would clean houses in the wealthy district a few blocks away to earn some money.

After breakfast, Steve returned to his small room to study. He had thought he wouldn\'t need his textbooks anymore.

But he hadn\'t been studying for long when someone started tapping on his window.

Looking up, he saw his friend Bucky Barnes outside, peeking around with his characteristic mischievous smile.

"Steve, come out and play!"

Steve rolled his eyes and opened the window. Their apartment building was structured so that there was a small vent in the corridor. If opened, a skinny kid like Bucky could squeeze through, which was probably how he had sneaked out of his locked home.

"Didn\'t your dad tell you to stay home and study?"

Bucky waved off the question and climbed in through the window, plopping down on Steve\'s small bed.

"What\'s so great about studying? We\'ll have plenty of time to study once we\'re back in school," Bucky, the black-haired boy, said while scratching his ear, showing no interest in books.

Steve knew this would happen. Bucky was just like his father—asking him to sit still and study was worse than killing him.

"If your dad comes home and finds out you ran off, you\'re dead."

Bucky scratched his head. "He won\'t find out as long as we get back before he does, right?"

"No way. If you want to play, go ahead, but don\'t drag me along. My dad told me to be someone useful to the country, and that means I have to study hard."

Steve quickly refused. Once Bucky started playing, he lost all sense of time, and with his thick skin, Uncle Tom\'s beatings had no effect on him.

Bucky\'s eyes shifted as he changed the subject.

"Did you eat that burger yesterday?" Bucky asked, lying on Steve\'s bed.

"Yeah, and I had a sandwich this morning," Steve answered absentmindedly.

"That was beef, right?" Bucky rolled over, noticing the pillow felt damp.

"Yeah, I guess," Steve replied, expressionless.

"Where do you think the beef came from? Tennessee?" Bucky sniffed the damp spot on the pillow, detecting a faint, salty smell. It was saliva, not tears.

"Who knows? I haven\'t seen any cows in the city," Steve sighed.

"Do you think they\'ll bring more food home today?" Bucky moved away from the damp spot, flipping the pillow over.

"Probably not. The boss can\'t be giving out food every day," Steve replied in a resigned tone.

"True, those rich folks on the street were always pretty stingy," Bucky said, squirming on the bed like a worm, rolling back and forth.

Steve tried to focus on his textbook, but Bucky was as distracting as old Mrs. Mary from downstairs, who never stopped talking. It was impossible to concentrate.

Every time Steve turned his head to give Bucky a stern look, Bucky would feign innocence and start whistling.

"Alright, where do you want to go today?" Steve finally gave in. His friend was driving him crazy, and there was no point in trying to study in this situation.

"Did you look at the burger wrapper from yesterday?" Bucky pulled a crumpled piece of brown paper from his pocket.

"Yeah, it had a W on it, and the small print said \'Wilson Enterprises,\'" Steve replied, putting down his textbook and turning to face his friend.

"I\'ve never heard of such a big company in the city before. My dad said they hired over ten thousand people last night, and the docks were packed."

Bucky spoke mysteriously, winking and making faces at Steve.

Steve understood what Bucky was up to. To be honest, he was curious about the company too, but not to the point of rushing out to investigate like Bucky.

"Listen, Bucky, you can just ask your dad about the company tonight. Even if we find it now, what would we do next?"

Bucky jumped off the bed and leaned closer to Steve, his black eyes filled with excitement.

"Aren\'t you curious? Last night, they handed out at least a hundred thousand hamburgers and sandwiches. I mean, if they have any leftovers, maybe we could get a few more? We\'ve been starving for over a month. More food is always better, right?"

Steve had to admit Bucky\'s reasoning made sense. He was tempted, but begging or \'picking up\' food wasn\'t the right thing to do.

"No, Bucky, we can go see where our fathers work, but we can\'t beg for food," Steve insisted.

Bucky nodded, agreeing with Steve, but he hadn\'t planned on begging.

"I\'m not talking about begging. We might not be strong, but we can read and write. Think about it—they hired so many people yesterday. Today, there must be lots of follow-up work, like recording phone numbers, writing employee IDs, and making badges. We could work as temps and earn our food that way. It\'s honest work, nothing to be ashamed of."

Some places didn\'t have phones, but there was always something to record, right?

Earning food through labor was a smart idea, and Bucky was always sharper than Steve.

This was a rare opportunity. They might only work for a day or two, but it would bring in plenty of food, easing the burden on their families while also learning more about this mysterious company.

Steve was convinced. He stood up, started getting dressed, and put on his newsboy cap.

"Alright, let me leave a note for my mom, and then we\'ll go."

"Ha! That\'s the Steve I know. I\'ll wait for you."

Bucky happily stood up and began pacing around the room, urging Steve to hurry.

The city was never short of clever people. If a kid like him could think of this, others probably could too. Although they only wanted to do the boring jobs adults didn\'t want, the earlier they got there, the better.