If you want to do it for free, upload better content.
AddMeFast was all the rage back in 2013 when you could upload a random gameplay vid, add a filler asking the viewer to check out a link in the description, buy 1000 HR views, add a couple 100 likes from AMF and wake up the next day with earnings.
Exchange sites is something I’d avoid if I’m trying to grow a channel. Using those views on regular videos is questionable, let alone on shorts. If at all they were to show up, they’d show up as external and not from the “shorts feed”.
Shorts can perform pretty well if you’ve got the right kind of content so if I were you, I’d be focusing on that. Even then, if your end goal is to upload longer content, there’s no reason to “start off” with shorts. The subs you get from shorts are shit.