Becoming the Villain's Discarded Wife
Chapter 242: Recruitment

Chapter 242: Chapter 242: Recruitment

Early the next morning, Lin Ercheng sent the three children off to the Academy before heading to the Carpentry Shop, while Nanzhi tidied up and went out to meet up with Shen Miaomiao.

The two young ladies were somewhat nervous; they had a bowl of noodle soup together before heading to the Yahang.

The Yahang was very close to the county yamen, just around the corner. As it was still early, there were very few people in the Yahang.

When Nanzhi and Shen Miaomiao entered the Yahang and looked around, besides a large courtyard, all they saw were separate small rooms that confused them. After standing for a while, Nanzhi pursed her lips and asked an old man who was sweeping the courtyard.

"Old Sir, can you tell us which room to ask in regarding job recruitment?"

The old man had white hair. Upon being addressed, he raised his eyes to look at Nanzhi, then slowly point to a room.

"That one, the one in the furthest corner."

After expressing their gratitude, Nanzhi and Shen Miaomiao went to the room the old man had pointed out. The old man glanced at the backs of the two young women and shook his head.

Nowadays, it’s not easy to find a job in Yan City. He wondered whether these two young ladies could find employments.

However, they both were pretty, so they could probably find work as maids.

With such thoughts, the old man continued to sweep the courtyard.

From the outside, the room seemed quite small, but once Nanzhi and Shen Miaomiao entered, they discovered it was surprisingly spacious.

Behind the counter was a long row of bookshelves lined with piles of ledgers, and the room had the scent of books and ink.

The man named Hu San, who appeared to be dozing off, blinked in surprise when he noticed people had entered the room and greeted them with a smile.

However, when he saw who they were, his words got stuck in his throat.

"Hu San?" Nanzhi was also shocked; her family had bought the mule from Hu San. How could she run into him in Yan City?

"Aren’t you... the lady from the Shen Family?" Hu San looked at Nanzhi, slightly uncertain. How had the lady from the Shen Family changed so much in the two years since he last saw her?

Upon hearing him recognize her, Nanzhi became a bit flustered, considering she had changed her body. She had blurted out his name just now because she had been so astonished, but now she was unsure how to respond.

"Brother Hu, we’ve come to seek your help," Shen Miaomiao also recognized Hu San. Before they had fled, her family had bought a donkey to carry their belongings; she remembered buying it from Hu San.

"Please, have a seat. You’re looking for a job, right?" Hu San gestured at the stools placed nearby. After much searching, he pulled out a ledger.

"Jobs are hard to find right now, especially for two young ladies like you. But since we know each other, I will do my best to help. What skills do you have?" While Hu San scribbled in the ledger, he started the conversation.

"We’re actually looking to hire people," Nanzhi finally explained after realizing that Hu San had misunderstood them.

"Hire people?" Hu San was taken aback. He sat up straight, but his tone remained skeptical.

"What work do you need an employee for? If you need maids or servants, it’s more reliable to buy them."

"We’ve started a little business and are looking to hire chefs and waiters."

"Start a business?" Hu San looked at the two young ladies once again and nodded with a sigh of amazement.

Back then, he narrowly escaped death during the famine and wandered around for two years before finding a job in Yan City.

But now, the young woman from back then had started her own business.

In the middle of his reminiscing, Hu San pulled a thick ledger from the shelf behind him and placed it before Nanzhi and Shen Miaomiao.

"This is full of people who want to be chefs, including their height, age, and years of experience as a chef. Take a look, and I will recommend some people for your selection. Oh, remember, the name with a red stamp means that the person has already found employment elsewhere."

"Ah, alright."

Upon opening the ledger, Shen Miaomiao felt somewhat dizzy from the densely packed text. She could only understand the gist of it because her literacy was quite limited.

Although Nanzhi was literate, she was surprised by the detailed descriptions in the ledger.

The ledger had meticulously recorded everything down to what diseases each person had suffered from in the past year and when they had recovered.

Nanzhi hadn’t expected this, but she was relieved. It was important for a chef not to have any communicable diseases, and though their records might not always be truthful, at least she could eliminate those who might potentially have problems.

Seeing that they were carefully looking through the ledger, Hu San did not disturb them and continued to sort out other ledgers.

People soon began to enter the room; there were men, women, the elderly, and children, all looking for work through Hu San.

Nanzhi and Shen Miaomiao discussed for about an hour before finally settling on two people. One of them seemed to be from another county and had good references.

Hu San had just finished with a batch of clients and was catching his breath when he noticed that Nanzhi and Miaomiao had finished looking. He smiled and asked, "Have you found the right people?"

"Yes, we have." Shen Miaomiao nodded and handed the ledger to Hu San.

"We would like to interview these two people." Nanzhi pointed to two names in the ledger and sat back down.

Hu San looked at the two pages they had pointed out and also nodded with a smile. "These two are indeed good candidates. I was the one who registered them. When do you want to meet the candidates?"

"This afternoon. But we also need a few more waiters and ideally, an accountant."

"Alright. But what kind of waiters are you looking for?" Hu San nodded and recorded the names and addresses of the two candidates before asking further questions.

After some thought, Nanzhi finally said, "We need someone diligent, quick, enthusiastic, and tidy."

"And preferably clever."

"That can be arranged."

While they were speaking, Hu San took out another ledger from the side, flipped through it, and finally pointed out a few pages to them.

"These are all people I have registered. I have met them all, and they are all under 25 years old and certainly clever. Three of them have experience as waiters and can handle difficult customers."

Hu San had a smile on his face, and Nanzhi began to flip through the ledger.

Of the five people, the youngest had just turned 15, and the oldest was only 24 this year. Their records were clear, including why they had stopped working for their previous employers.

"That’s fine. We can meet them all this afternoon. But do you have anyone who could serve as an accountant?" Nanzhi hesitated. She knew how to keep accounts, but she was about to open a restaurant and couldn’t handle everything by herself.

"You’re in luck! In fact, we have a much more suitable option than recruiting." Hu San suddenly gave a mysterious smile and whispered something in a low voice.

"We received a batch of people who were sold off yesterday, and one of them is perfect for you, He used to manage affairs for a high-ranking official in Kyoto, but got into trouble when he discovered some illicit affairs happening in the household and was sold off."

Upon hearing this, Nanzhi and Shen Miaomiao looked at each other and nodded.

If this person was reliable, buying him would indeed be more cost-effective than hiring an accountant.