Chapter 10, Troubles in the Profession

Xie Danran smiled faintly and turned to leave

Xie Sanyuan sighed and shook his head, saying: "It seems that my Xie family lacks the talent for studying. That's it, you may return now. I will go home early this afternoon."

After Lin Zhao walked away, Xie Sanyuan wiped his hands, took a deep breath, and turned to greet his daughter who was bringing the meal

The young ladies of wealth are generally quite reserved, but some of the maids who come to buy books on behalf of their mistresses are rather bold. One of them, after meeting Lin Zhao for the first time, sent a box of pastries to Lin Zhao the next day and then ran away while covering her face

After hearing his father's question, Xie Danran did not respond directly. Instead, he leaned his head to look behind his father and then said with a smile, "Father, you mentioned yesterday that a new apprentice was hired at the shop and asked me to bring two meals over today. Why is there no one at the shop?"

At this moment, Xie Sanyuan was teaching Lin Zhao how to bargain with the customers in the bookstore. Upon hearing his daughter's voice, his expression changed slightly, and he immediately said to Lin Zhao: "You go to the back room and wait for a moment. I will call you out when it's time."

After muttering to himself for a while, he placed the food basket on the table and said, "Kid, it's time to come out for dinner"

In the faint distance, there seems to be a hint of... a bloody scent

Thus, Lin Zhao goes to work at Sanyuan Bookstore punctually every day. After a few days, Xie Sanyuan has developed a great deal of trust in him, and sometimes even leaves Lin Zhao alone in the bookstore to watch over it. He is then able to take some time to stroll around or lie on a chair to take a nap

Master, I am mostly familiar with the prices of the books in the shop. When will you take me to see the printing workshop?

The difficulty of woodblock printing lies in the fact that a single set of woodblocks can only print one set of books. The process of creating woodblocks is cumbersome, which is why only books that sell particularly well or are extremely popular will have woodblocks. For instance, in the workshop of Xie Sanyuan's family, there are only about ten sets of woodblocks, some of which were purchased, while others were produced by him over the years

The foot traffic at Sanyuan Bookstore has significantly increased.

Xie Danran nodded with a smile: "Alright, Father, you should return early to save my younger brother"

It must be said that the owner of this establishment is quite generous; not only does he provide for Lin Zhao, but he also allows Lin Zhao to dine with him, which clearly demonstrates that his character is undoubtedly good

These woodblocks are extremely precious, and there may even be other printing workshops and bibliophiles coming to steal them

Lin Zhao secretly frowned, yet still wore a smile on her face

Taste my family's ... um, my wife's culinary skills are no less than those of the grand restaurants in the city

Fortunately, Lin Zhao is not just an ordinary youth; when faced with these professional troubles, he handles them with ease and does not become flustered.

The next day, Lin Zhao started working at Sanyuan Bookstore. Xie Sanyuan first guided him to familiarize himself with the pricing of various books on the bookstore's shelves. Lin Zhao was already intelligent, and since the types of books were not particularly numerous, he managed to memorize about seventy to eighty percent of the book prices at Sanyuan Bookstore in just one morning

Where is it that does not allow you to see?

That young man is quite handsome, with a delicate appearance; how could I possibly let you see him? What if you take a liking to this poor fellow? Wouldn't that mean my bookstore would have to change ownership?

Over the course of several days, although Lin Zhao was unable to enter the printing workshop, he was gradually learning the fonts used for printing, as well as the shadow characters of these fonts

Lin Zhao was only about thirteen or fourteen years old, with rosy lips and white teeth, appearing innocent and carefree. Xie Sanyuan did not think much of it, and after lowering his head to eat a few bites of rice, he said: "You can help out in the shop for now; the workshop does not need anyone at the moment. We will let you go over there when there is a need."

Xie Sanyuan feigned anger and said: "I already told you that the boy has gone out; how could I possibly deceive you, as his father?"

Xie Danran was originally just curious. Upon hearing his father say this and glancing a few more times, he lost interest and waved his hand at his father: "Then I shall return, Father. You should come home early today. My younger brother has been mischievous at school and was sent home by the teacher. He is currently being punished by kneeling at home."

On the afternoon of the fourth day, Lin Zhao closed the shop as usual and walked towards his small dwelling. The place he rented was not close to Sanyuan Bookstore, and by the time he returned home, it was already nearly dark.

As soon as Lin Zhao opened the door, he sensed that something was amiss

After finishing this sentence, she turned around and left. Just after taking two steps, she suddenly looked back at her father and curiously asked, "Father, why won't you let me meet that apprentice?"

Lin Zhao then came out from the inner room, expressed his gratitude to Xie Sanyuan, and sat down together to have a meal

From this point on, Lin Zhao can be considered to have a job in the city

The only source of some distress is that, due to his good looks, some women who come to the bookstore to buy books often steal glances at Lin Zhao, and those with more outgoing personalities even take the initiative to exchange a few jokes with him

At noon, a young girl dressed in a plain skirt, carrying a food basket, walked into the bookstore with a lively step

Although Lin Zhao felt somewhat bewildered, she obediently stood up from her chair and walked towards the back hall

This young girl is Xie Sanyuan's eldest daughter, named Xie Danran. Because Xie Sanyuan needs to oversee the shop and sometimes has to busy himself at the printing workshop, he generally has no time to return home for lunch. Since three years ago, Xie Danran has started to bring lunch to her father at the bookstore every day

Lin Zhao said with a smile: "This morning, I took a look in the shop and saw that many of the books were newly printed, so I suspect that the owner has a printing workshop."

Xie Sanyuan looked at the distant figure of his daughter and sighed helplessly: "If only your younger brother could be as clever as you. It is not necessarily a good thing for a daughter to be so intelligent."

Her voice is clear and crisp

Xie Sanyuan put down his chopsticks, glanced at Lin Zhao, and asked suspiciously: "How do you know I have a workshop at home?"

Although the income from this job is extremely meager, it is still considered a source of income. If Lin Zhao moves to live in the backyard of the employer's house, saves on rent, and lives frugally, he could still save a considerable amount of money in a year

As he spoke, he walked back to the counter with a basket of food, murmuring to himself as he walked

Of course, the rent has already been paid for a month, and Lin Zhao naturally cannot move out. Moreover, he needs an undisturbed environment to find a way to produce movable type.

Lin Zhao was eating while conversing with Xie Sanyuan

Xie Sanyuan coughed and waved his hand, saying: "That kid has a stomachache and went out to the restroom, he is not in the shop. Alright, the food has arrived, you may go back now."

All listen to the host

After the two finished their meal, Lin Zhao took the initiative to wash the dishes and chopsticks clean, then placed them back in the basket. By the afternoon, Lin Zhao had already memorized all the books on the shelves of the bookstore. Boss Xie was too lazy to keep an eye on him and moved a long bench to recline at the entrance of the bookstore, closing his eyes to rest.

Xie Sanyuan is very fond of his eldest daughter and has mentioned more than once over the years that when his daughter gets married, he intends to use this bookstore as part of her dowry.

Xie Danran said with a smile: "Father, if you do not return, Mother will probably make him kneel there indefinitely"

Taking the food basket from his daughter's hands, Boss Xie said with a smile, "What delicious food did my eldest daughter make for her father today?"

Father, it is time to eat