“Let’s do some cleaning.”
The next day after arriving in Yichang, I told the martial artists of the Tang Family to rest at the Baekga House before heading back to the Tea Bookstore.
“When will I finish this cleaning?”
I muttered while gazing inside the bookstore, which seemed like an echo chamber.
Getting help from the martial artists of the Tang Family was nice, but overworking them could bring complaints. First, I should clean up a bit while thinking about how to put them to work.
As I dusted off the bookshelves with a duster, dust exploded out like a bomb going off.
This is beyond imagination. It seems the Tang insignia has rested long enough, so should I just call them back?
“The door’s open?”
Should I not dust the shelves but take each book out one by one to clean?
Just when I was seriously pondering this, a commotion was heard at the entrance of the Tea Bookstore.
“Is the manager Gang really here?”
“The sign isn’t up! Hey! They said we shouldn’t go in!”
“Can’t we just peek our heads in?”
Is it the members of the Tea and Book Club? Holding the increasingly troublesome duster in one hand, I headed toward the entrance.
“Hello everyone, it’s good to see you again.”
At the door stood the members of the Tea and Book Club, whom I hadn’t seen yesterday.
“It really is Manager Gang!”
“No way!”
“It’s truly a delight to see the familiar faces of people I hadn’t seen in a while.”
I said this with the joyful expression of a soldier on leave meeting old guildmates.
“Same here!”
“Were you safe?”
The members of the Tea and Book Club responded with broad smiles.
“Thanks to your concern, I’m fine. Right now, I’m preparing to reopen the Tea Bookstore after leaving it unattended for a long time.”
It would be problematic if the Tea and Book Club members came in and made the already messy bookstore even messier. I needed to get them outside first.
I turned my head slightly towards the messy interior of the Tea Bookstore, feigning a troubled expression, then looked back at the members.
“You’ll have a tough time for a few days.”
“I saw a sign I hadn’t seen before. Are you hiring staff?”
Realizing my intention of not letting them into the Tea Bookstore, one member retreated and pointed at the large sign at the entrance.
[Help Wanted.]
Who wrote this is truly a talented calligrapher.
In a world without job boards or heavenly job finds, if you want to hire someone, it’s best to go old school and write ‘Help Wanted.’
“Yes. Since I’ve been away for a long time, I can’t rely on the help of the previous staff, so I think I need to hire new ones.”
I had looked for the previous employees who had worked at the Tea Bookstore yesterday just in case.
The conclusion was a total failure.
Most of them were elderly individuals who had been helping out since the days of Huairin’s maternal grandfather’s bookstore, and by the time I had been away for a few months, they had retired.
I had managed to hold on to them as they said they would rather quit, and since Huairin had settled with the Tang Family, it was impossible to press them into staying with Huairin’s connections, so I decided to give up.
“Looks like there will be a mountain of work waiting for me when I return.”
One member of the Tea and Book Club frowned at the dust beyond the door.
“Just coming back is already a win. By any chance, would you have someone in the Tea and Book Club who could be introduced as staff?”
The sign saying ‘Help Wanted’ written by a talented calligrapher might be effective, but connections are the most important when it comes to hiring.
“Are you asking us to introduce staff?”
“Yes. I’d like someone who is hard-working, good-looking, and knowledgeable about books.”
The Tea Bookstore is a bookstore, but it’s also a café.
The staff obviously can’t be illiterate and need to be strong enough to lift heavy books. It would also be great if they had a suitable appearance for a service job.
Since it’s not a world with the internet, they should have some level of common sense when asked about the books.
Even I can see that the conditions for hiring staff are quite challenging.
“Introducing staff, recommending staff…”
“Ahem.”
“Are you not keen on it?”
When I asked them to help with introductions, the members of the Tea and Book Club all averted their eyes in unison.
“Ahem, I tend to keep my social relationships narrow and shallow…”
“Are you also like that? I am too.”
Ah, is that how it is?
“Narrow and shallow? All the members of the Tea and Book Club are friends; how can you say it’s narrow?”
“You and I are friends?”
“Then, is it not?”
“……”
“Ah… I’ll be taking some medication for a sudden panic attack.”
“Hahaha. You all are joking too much. I know many in the Tea and Book Club have busy schedules.”
I tried to lighten the suddenly heavy mood with laughter.
“Of course! The Tea and Book Club has many distinguished members of the Literary Association and even famous unnamed postmasters.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
So, they should just introduce me to those people.
“But we are not the ones visiting the Tea Bookstore at this hour.”
“…….”
“If we had a lot to do, would we stamp our attendance at the Tea and Book Club every day?”
“Hahaha.”
I couldn’t help but let out a bitter smile at the self-reflection of the Tea and Book Club members.
It’s still morning. It is indeed a busy time for preparing for the morning work. I should ask the others who come at different times.
“Is it because the girl with the purple hair hasn’t returned that you are looking for employees?”
“Yes. Huairin has decided to live with the Tang Family.”
I wiped away my bitter smile and informed the Tea and Book Club of Huairin’s absence.
“We’ve lost a key talent for the Tea Bookstore.”
“Exactly. She was a crucial member of the Tea and Book Club.”
“That troublemaker broom. It’s regrettable that the troublesome Huairin is gone.”
“Excuse me? Troublemaking broom?”
“Well, whenever troublemakers caused a ruckus at the Tea Bookstore, Huairin would suddenly appear out of nowhere and chase them away. So, we called her a troublemaker broom, a tool for erasing troubles.”
“Referring to a woman with such a nickname is…”
“Those nicknames are just slang among us. How could we say such things to a lady?”
“Not easy.”
“That’s right. Not easy.”
The members of the Tea and Book Club nodded in agreement as if they understood.
“We had another nickname we used among ourselves: Poisonous Butterfly.”
“Poisonous Butterfly?”
That was originally Huairin’s nickname.
“Isn’t there a rumor about the Tea Bookstore? When customers caused a fuss, she would suddenly leave them scared. But mysteriously, Huairin would quietly fly by. So, we called her Poisonous Butterfly.”
“Hahaha.”
That’s the story of Huairin’s poisonous butterfly charm.
When Huairin found someone being too troublesome, she would sprinkle poison on them, which I guess a few of the Tea and Book Club members caught on to.
“It’ll be tough to deal with troublesome customers without Huairin around. It would be great to have someone experienced in martial arts to handle those troublemakers.”
“If we keep piling on those conditions, we’ll need to bring in a martial artist from a famous sect, but that won’t be easy either.”
“True. I’ll reach out to the Tea and Book Club to scout for people. Speaking of martial arts, how about getting a recommendation from Hao Mun?”
One member of the Tea and Book Club brought up an unexpected suggestion.
“Hao Mun? Isn’t that the faction that buys and sells information?”
Why is Hao Mun’s name popping up here?
“Information about people is still information. Places like taverns and brothels have all sorts of jobs, so people might go to Hao Mun when looking for staff.”
From tavern waitresses to courtesans at tea houses, it’s true that Hao Mun is a place where the lower classes gather.
Besides the higher-ups of Hao Mun, those who need to make a living are united by exchanging information or acting for personal gain.
Could it be that they also provide job recommendations in this world?
“How would we find a hidden faction like Hao Mun?”
“Find it? You know the Hao Wanjian on the pier, right?”
“Isn’t that the place with the delicious dumplings?”
That was the place Huairin and I used to go for dumplings.
“The owner is the branch leader of Hao Mun in Yichang.”
“…….”
Why is this not a secret organization?
“Hey! Why didn’t you mention that joining Hao Mun would require money or being part of Hao Mun?”
“Does it require a lot of money?”
“If you’re talking about hiring for just a day, getting a waiter from a tavern would cost little, but with the conditions Manager Gang sets, you would have to pay quite a bit to not be part of Hao Mun either.”
Black-haired barbarians are indeed a problem. Living in a foreign land, I don’t have many reliable connections.
While it would be great to get introductions from the members of the Tea and Book Club, it’s wise to keep my options open.
But the idea of a hefty introduction fee is troubling.
It’s better to minimize expenses, but if I could get a good employee introduced, that wouldn’t be so bad.
‘Is there a way to get introduced to Hao Mun cheaply… Oh! Right.’
I turned my head and spoke to the Tea and Book Club member who mentioned the introduction fee.
“Didn’t you say that Hao Mun members give each other discounts?”
“That could be the case, but are you part of Hao Mun, Manager Gang?”
“No, but there is a way to get introduced cheaply.”
“Eh?”
I had a very affordable way to be introduced.
————–
Just as that member of the Tea and Book Club had said, when I went to the Hao Wanjian branch and mentioned I was there for Hao Mun business, I was immediately guided.
“Black hair? Why is this barbarian here?”
Is he trained in martial arts? A well-built man who didn’t fit the dumpling house’s atmosphere asked me with a scowl.
“I came to see Hao Mun.”
“Are you looking for a job? A barbarian like you can’t even find a job here.”
The man mumbled, cursing whoever thought it was funny to send a barbarian.
“I’m not here for that.”
I didn’t care too much about the rudeness right from the get-go, so I shook my head.
“Then what? Do you think a barbarian like you can join Hao Mun? Bring someone who can guarantee your identity. Wait a moment. I’ve seen that face somewhere…”
He recognizes me. The man approached me with a frown.
“I don’t have a guarantor, but I do have something that can assure my identity.”
It doesn’t matter. I didn’t come here to sell my face anyway.
From my pouch, I pulled out my trump card to pay for the introduction and handed it to the Hao Mun member.
“What are you offering? Huh…? This is? Black Token?!”
“Yes. Black Token.”
Oh, good reaction. I was worried he might not recognize it, but there’s someone who knows it right away.
What I handed over was the black coin marked with the character for filth (汚) — the Black Token.
It was a black token I received from Mr. Wang, who runs a clothing store in Chilgok County.
“Wh-Why does this… Barbarian have this?”
“Because it’s mine. Do you need anything else?”
Mr. Wang told me to use it when I needed to ask Hao Mun for help, but I rarely needed to ask them for anything, so it had been lying in the corner all this time.
“I apologize! Excuse me!”
“Is this enough?”
“Yes! Of course! Just, please wait a moment.”
With a startled face, the man quickly left the room.
—–
DONG!
“Branch leader! We have a problem!”
In the office of the Hao Mun branch leader in Yichang, a Hao Mun member burst in, gasping for breath.
“Is this guy insane? What’s wrong?”
The branch leader exclaimed, grimacing as he nearly broke the branch of the bonsai he was carefully tending.
“It’s, it’s, it’s….”
“What about what? Speak clearly!”
“The Shadowless Thief’s Black Token has appeared!”
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