A Bite of Douluo Continent

Now that Gulu can split himself in two with his mist clone, hiring another waiter will make the work in the store much easier.

"It's getting late, what would you two like to eat for lunch?"

...

The lunch break ended quickly, and Qi Han finally witnessed what revenge spending truly meant.

Perhaps because of the incident at Fenglai Pavilion during the two days I was on leave, everyone has become more aware that not every restaurant can offer such delicious food as cold dishes.

In addition, the regular customers of Fenglai Pavilion were no longer willing to go to Fenglai Pavilion and instead chose Hanshi. The business at noon was even more booming than before, and at peak times the queues almost filled half of Chenxing Main Street.

If Gulu hadn't split in two and teleported, greatly increasing his strength and enabling him to lift almost any plate, significantly reducing Qin Yue's burden, she would have been exhausted by lunchtime.

This further solidified Qi Han's idea of ​​hiring a new waiter.

As soon as the Qin sisters left the store after closing time, Qi Han hung up a new job posting at the store entrance.

The job posting was similar to the previous one, still specifying the working hours and adding a clause at the end stating that the salary would be discussed.

After hanging up his work badge, Qi Han was about to turn around and go back to the store when he was suddenly stopped by a somewhat immature voice.

"Excuse me…"

Qi Han turned around and noticed a ragged little beggar standing in front of the job posting sign.

"Were you calling me?" Qi Han asked curiously, and smiled slightly after receiving an affirmative reply. "What is it?"

The little beggar paused for a moment, then pointed to the job posting sign, "Your shop is hiring waiters, can I give it a try?"

This…

Upon hearing this, Qi Han couldn't help but scrutinize the little beggar from head to toe.

The little beggar was rather thin, but his body wasn't very dirty. His clothes had many patches and holes, but they were washed very clean.

Qi Han's gaze lingered slightly on the little beggar's feet.

This was probably the dirtiest part of the little beggar's body. He was barefoot, standing on the street with calluses and cuts on his feet, covered in filth and dust.

Seemingly sensing Qi Han's gaze, the little beggar shrank back uncomfortably.

"What's your name? How old are you?" Qi Han's eyes softened. Seeing the thin but handsome little guy in front of him, he couldn't help but feel a pang of pity.

"I...I am called Keke, and I am sixteen years old."

"Sixteen years old?" Qi Han almost thought he had misheard. The little beggar in front of him had an Adam's apple and was clearly a boy.

The boy who was about the same age as the Qin sisters actually looked thinner and smaller than them.

"I...I really am sixteen." Misunderstanding that Qi Han didn't believe her, Keke mustered her courage, straightened her back, and tried to make herself look taller.

As Keke straightened her back, she had grown to be about 1.7 meters tall, which made Qi Han nod and believe that she was indeed sixteen years old.

"Come in with me first, don't stand on the street." Qi Han felt a little uncomfortable looking at Ke Ke's clothes. He could deal with the rest later, but at least he should get the little guy a clean new set of clothes and a new pair of shoes.

Coco's eyes shone brightly.

I wasn't wrong!

The owner of this shop is really a good person!

No one had ever spoken to me so kindly before.

It would be such a wonderful thing to be a waiter under a boss like that, right?

At least, we shouldn't have to go hungry anymore.

Chapter 198 Reading Changes Destiny

Keke has been paying attention to the Cold Food Festival for a long time.

Initially, they were chatting idly with other beggars about their experiences. They came across a shop where the food was worth hundreds of gold coins, yet it still attracted many customers.

Coco was extremely shocked at the time.

Since he could remember, he had been begging for a living every day. The only time he received a gold soul coin was three years ago when a beautiful and kind lady gave him one. After receiving that gold soul coin, he indulged in a rare luxury and gritted his teeth to buy a roast chicken that he had been craving for a long time to taste. He still remembers it vividly to this day.

One hundred gold soul coins was an astronomical sum for him. Would anyone actually spend such a price just to enjoy a meal?

This is unimaginable for Coco.

Because of her shock and envy, Keke paid more attention to this restaurant called Hanshi from then on.

Later, when the new issue of Food Review was published, he saw that Han Shi appeared in the magazine and many diners were asking for its address. The clever man thought of a way to make money. By pointing out the location of Han Shi to the VIPs, he earned several silver soul coins and dozens of copper soul coins in just two days. He made a small fortune and his life improved a little.

Later, he simply started begging on the street next to Hanshi every day, because he found that the diners here seemed to have better tempers and never made a scene in front of Hanshi. Therefore, he was rarely scolded. In the past, he would occasionally be beaten by a bad-tempered guy for no reason, but he never did that here.

Moreover, diners who come to eat at the Cold Food Festival are given more.

This made Keke feel genuinely happy during this period. She could eat big white steamed buns every day, and even grit her teeth and buy some meat every now and then, which was almost unimaginable before.

As a result, Keke actually gained some weight.

Yes, Keke, who looks very thin in Qi Han's eyes, has actually gained quite a bit of weight recently.

Therefore, every time Keke looked up at the Hanshi (Cold Food Festival) sign not far away, her eyes were filled with deep gratitude.

Although the Cold Food Festival didn't help me much, my current good life is closely related to it.

Even so, Keke never thought of saying anything to the owner of the Cold Food Restaurant to express his gratitude, because he was just a little beggar, and the owner would probably find him distasteful if he entered the restaurant.

After the restaurant closed at noon, he saw the owner of Hanshi again. This time, the owner had a wooden board with some words written on it, which aroused Keke's curiosity. He couldn't help but be the first to go up and take a look.

Keke is literate. Although many little beggars in Xingluo City cannot even write their own names, Keke is not among them.

When he was a child, he begged in a small village on the outskirts of Xingluo City. There was a kind old man there who ran a literacy class, teaching commoners to read and write. When he saw Keke eavesdropping by the window several times, he invited him in to learn with him.

The old gentleman once said: Only by studying can you change your destiny.

Although he has not been able to change his fate of begging through reading, Keke firmly believes in what that kind old man said.

When Keke saw the job posting on the wooden board, his heart started pounding.

Perhaps, this is the true meaning of the old man's words?

With that thought in mind, he mustered all his courage, looked at the back of that figure he had never dared to approach and talk to, and said that sentence.

"Excuse me... are you hiring waiters/waitresses? Can I give it a try?"

...

"Mr. Qi, can I really wear this?"

Keke's eyes shone brightly. He had just finished showering in the living area on the third floor of Hanshi Building, and his body still carried the faint scent of shower gel. His clean face looked even more delicate and fair. If it weren't for the tattered and patched clothes he was still wearing, he would look like a handsome aristocratic boy.

He still seemed a little awkward, but he was incredibly excited when he saw the new clothes Qi Han had bought from a nearby clothing store while he was taking a shower.

The last time he wore new clothes was two years ago. His old clothes were no longer wearable, so he spent three copper soul coins to buy a new coarse cloth garment, which was far inferior to the one Qi Han was giving him now, but he was as happy as if it were New Year's Day.

"Put it on, it's nothing to me." Qi Han's eyes were warm.

Keke obediently changed into the new clothes Qi Han had prepared for him, sat properly on the chair in the room, and looked at Qi Han with admiration and gratitude in his eyes.

Aside from the old gentleman, this is the first time someone has been so kind to me!

Looking at Keke, who was sitting upright as if listening to a teacher's lecture, Qi Han fell into thought.

Star Luo City is different from Shrek City. There are not as many Soul Masters here, and there are more commoners. Therefore, Qi Han did not intend to require applicants to be Soul Masters like Shrek City did.

Even so, there are still some other requirements, such as…

"Can you...read?"

As soon as the question left his mouth, Qi Han felt as if he had asked a pointless question.

If someone is illiterate, how would they know that you're hiring a waiter/waitress?

“Mr. Qi, I can read! I can even recite the Xingluo Poetry Collection!” Keke hurriedly said, and then recited one or two famous poems from it.

"Oh?"

Qi Han was genuinely surprised this time.

"The Star Luo Poetry Collection" is a book that records famous poems from the Star Luo Empire from ancient times to the present. The Star Luo Empire's poetry style leans towards modern poetry, but it also has its own unique requirements for rhyme and meter. Qi Han can't appreciate it. However, such books are usually only read by a few nobles who have nothing better to do than pursue literature. Most commoners are actually not interested in them.

Keke can even recite this?

Then recognizing the menu in the store will definitely not be a problem.

"So, can you do math?"

"Yes, I will." Coco nodded hurriedly.

In this era, arithmetic is more useful than literature; even illiterate people know a little bit about it.

Qi Han casually gave Ke Ke a few addition and subtraction problems within 100, and seeing that Ke Ke quickly calculated the correct results in his mind, he nodded silently.

That's good. This math ability is more than enough to handle the business in the store.

As for other requirements, there shouldn't be any major problems.

Qi Han nodded in satisfaction. "Okay, so would you like to become a new employee at the store? Two meals a day, no waste allowed, and..."

"By the way, where do you usually live?"

Before Keke could even feel happy that she had actually become a store employee, she looked embarrassed because of Qi Han's words.

Seeing Keke's expression, Qi Han seemed to understand something, and then smiled easily, "It's okay, you can stay here from now on. There's a guest room next door where you can stay."

"No way!" Coco shook her head violently. "Mr. Qi, you're too kind to me. I don't deserve it."

He's a grateful little guy.

A hint of appreciation flashed in Qi Han's eyes, and he smiled, "Don't rush, I haven't finished yet. Since I'm providing you with lodging and food, the salary will be even lower, ten gold soul coins a month. What do you think?"

Ten gold soul coins... is that too few?

Coco blinked, a blank look on her face.

Chapter 199 He gave so much