Illiterate

Ron held paper and glue in his hands, standing beside an alleyway trash can, using the glue to stick the paper onto the wall.

At the very top of the paper, in clear, bold font, were the four characters for "Hiring Notice," with the content as follows:

"This shop is looking to hire two employees."

"Applicants must be young, capable, and hardworking."

"Working hours are from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM, and 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM."

"Job duties include watching the shop, serving customers, and handling the cash register."

"The wage is 5 silver coins per week, settled weekly."

"There are no racial requirements; as long as the age is between 14 and 25 according to the human calendar, you are eligible."

"Those interested, please visit during business hours to speak with the shop owner in person."

At the bottom was the signature: "--Ron's Wonderful Flower Shop, Owner Ron Andre."

This hiring notice was actually prepared specifically for the stray child from yesterday, but to prevent the other party from refusing out of excessive pride, Ron had come up with this method.

Because he needed to set aside time to study at the Magic Academy, he couldn't guarantee the shop's operating hours.

Hiring employees was definitely a necessity.

Since that child was willing to fight three strong thugs just because of a meal of barbecue he had provided, her character should be decent enough.

Given that, Ron didn't see the need to go looking for a stranger.

This was far better than simply giving the other party charity.

It was an equal transaction: one side provided money, the other side provided labor.

If the stray child could support herself through her own abilities, there would be no need to dig through trash cans every day just to survive.

If he had only encountered an ordinary stray child, Ron would have at most provided a full meal out of pity.

But since that child had already proven her character yesterday, Ron didn't mind giving her a chance.

This was something she had earned for herself.

Thinking this, Ron stepped back a few paces to look at the hiring notice, and after confirming there were no major issues, he headed to Lyle's Barbecue Shop.

"Yo, Ron!" Lyle walked out of the kitchen, greeting him heartily. "The usual today?"

"That's right." Ron nodded with a smile.

Lyle immediately turned to give an order, then grabbed the shop's ledger and sat down in front of Ron, saying excitedly, "Hehe, Ron, I really don't know how to thank you. Business has been getting better and better these days; we're almost running out of tables at night. Look at the ledger for the past few days."

Watching the jubilant Lyle, Ron chuckled as he took the ledger, listening to Lyle speak while he looked it over.

"You have no idea how popular your seasoning is!"

"Many customers specifically spread the word among their friends after going home, saying how delicious my barbecue is. As a result, a large group of people has been coming here by reputation these past few days."

"Look, the turnover the day before yesterday was 30 silver coins, yesterday it was 50, and today we actually brought in a full 100 silver coins!"

"The turnover from these three days alone is enough to match what I used to make in half a month!"

Ron offered his congratulations: "As long as business is good, then I can rest easy."

"It's all thanks to you." Lyle couldn't help but add another compliment.

"That's because you have a good eye for discovering my seasoning." Ron shook his head with a smile. "This is a fair trade between us, Lyle. The fact that business is booming is all your own merit."

"Hehe." Lyle scratched his thinning hair, feeling uncharacteristically shy. "Then it's our joint effort."

Ron didn't mind; after all, the money he earned from selling a single Nether Orchid was enough to cover a month of Lyle's turnover after his business exploded.

Moreover, Lyle was talking about turnover, while Ron's income was pure profit with no overhead.

So, naturally, Ron didn't care about the barbecue shop's business.

However, seeing the barbecue shop becoming more and more popular, Ron was still happy for Lyle.

After finishing the barbecue, Ron walked back to his shop. Passing the alley, he glanced inside but didn't see the stray child.

He didn't think much of it and returned to the second-floor study to read.

Late at night.

A figure walked down the street draped in moonlight.

Nora limped into the alley between the barbecue shop and the flower shop, reaching out to rummage through the trash can.

Yesterday, her knee had been kicked by the thugs.

At the time, she hadn't thought it was very serious, but after waking up from her sleep, she found her knee aching severely. She couldn't even walk, and it wasn't until nightfall that she could barely manage a few steps.

It wasn't the first time she had encountered such a situation; with her constitution, she would usually be mostly recovered after a day.

It wasn't until late at night, feeling the pain subside significantly and her stomach growling with hunger, that she emerged from the dilapidated shack where she lived to find food on the street.

However, the prime time for her to scavenge had already passed, and the places where she usually looked for food had already been picked over by others.

In the end, she could only eat the scraps of the scraps.

She followed her usual routine to the alley between Ron's Wonderful Flower Shop and the Barbecue Shop, rummaging through the trash cans, but found nothing.

This was within her expectations, so she didn't feel particularly discouraged.

The time slot between five and six in the afternoon was usually hers, but late at night, because the Barbecue Shop was so busy, the latter part of the day was always occupied by a gang of vagrants.

Therefore, when Nora came here at this hour, she could basically find nothing to eat, as the trash cans had already been picked clean by others.

In the end, she only found a few tiny scraps of meat, which she put into her mouth and sucked on, barely managing to get a taste of meat.

"I really want to eat barbecue..." With the scraps of meat in her mouth, Nora recalled the delicious barbecue she had eaten last night, feeling her saliva constantly secreting and her stomach growling.

She furrowed her brows on her dirty little face, looked up at the lights shining from the second floor of the flower shop, and finally sighed.

Then, her gaze fell upon a piece of paper posted on the wall.

She was certain that this paper had not been on the wall yesterday.

So, she leaned in to take a look by the light of the moon and the streetlamps, squinting her eyes to read it intently, but eventually pouted in frustration.

She was illiterate.

She couldn't understand what was written on it at all.

Well, not entirely; at least she understood times like "8:00 AM" and "12:00 PM," she understood "5 silver coins," and she also understood "14 years old" and "25 years old."

As for the rest of the content, aside from the characters for "Ron's Wonderful Flower Shop," which she had seen on the flower shop's front door and had a slight impression of, she couldn't recognize any other words.

Her stomach began to growl again, so Nora had no choice but to give up and continue searching for food elsewhere.

Under the cover of night, Nora, wearing a tattered robe and a burlap hat, dragged her body, limping as she wandered the streets.

After searching for a long time and only managing to get half-full, Nora finally dragged her exhausted body back to her humble shack.

She took out the dagger she kept in her arms, gripped it tightly in her hand, then lay down on the straw-covered bed, curling her body up as she slowly drifted into a light sleep.

The wind blew, flattening the grass outside.

A rustling sound rang out.

Nora opened her eyes instinctively, still clutching the dagger tightly in her hand, listening quietly to the movements around her, wary of any potential danger.

Just like a startled little rabbit.

Even though there wasn't much meat on her bones.

Since I haven't signed a contract yet, I can only increase my update frequency to reach 10 chapters sooner so I can apply for a contract myself... Sigh... Therefore, for the next ten days, I will be posting three chapters a day, totaling 6,000 words.