The place never received any natural light. Days and nights could have passed and Xiao Hui would have had no idea.
That is, if she did not go out every other day.
Ever since Yuan-er brought her to his house, the maid realized that they were extremely short on money. The family was already harboring Han Bingwen and his courtesan lover so bringing a third person in was, in no way, a good deal.
Xiao Hui did not realize the true extent of the Feng family's impoverishment until she overheard a conversation between the previous King, the courtesan, Yuan-er and his father.
Their words were clearly not meant for her ears if the harsh words were to be taken at face value.
"Yuan-er," his father had been saying. "Why did you bring that girl here?" Xiao Hui's back had pressed uncomfortably against the wall when she heard that. Somehow, she was not surprised; Feng Qin had, from the moment she arrived, despised her.
As always, Yuan-er did not answer or if he did, Xiao Hui did not hear it. Instead it was Han Bingwen's voice just mere seconds later that she heard.
"Now, now. Yuan-er is but a child, is he not? Why are you being so hard on him?"
The maid had always known that the previous world's ruler was a good man but she had expected the same aloofness that the Royals had. Her respect for the man had decreased after she had seen him with the courtesan but now she had to grudgingly admit it; Han Bingwen was a benevolent man.
It was the courtesan who had replied in the stead of Feng Qin. "The Feng master has every right to berate him. We are truly fortunate that this time he brought someone who is in a similar state as us, but what about next time? He could bring someone who works for the King and we will all be executed at best."
Then Feng Qin had added on. "Indeed. It is also a question of money. This one is ashamed to say but we do not have much fortune. Having another guest is taking a toll on us."
The concern was valid, but Xiao Hui could not help but bristle for Yuan-er. The boy did not just randomly take her from the street! He did not even reply to her until, after more than a week, she told him about her situation. At least Dawang was on his side.
But she had spoken too soon. The true King was clearly hesitating and biting back his words after having two people against him.
"You are right, of course, A-Ming. But we could chalk this up as a mistake and I am pretty sure Yuan-er would not do this again, would you?" The last part was said to the boy. He must have shaken his head in affirmation, because Han Bingwen said joyfully, "See!"
They had not spoken of the matter since, or at least Xiao Hui had not overheard them, but the conversation was still in her mind after 5 days.
The day after that conversation, a tax collector came to the humble home, demanding money that was way more than what the Feng family earned.
Feng Qin had begged for some more time and the tax collector had relented, saying that he could only delay the time to next month. When asked why, he had become shifty and had just said six words. "I would be in a huge debt."
They had laid him off then, but Xiao Hui had been perplexed. Why would the tax collector be in debt? Should it not be them? The answer had come from an unexpected source.
"If we, the dwellers, do not pay our taxes by three month, he would have to bear the burden and we would be executed. That is the word of the King and both he and we have no choice but to follow it."
Then, giving her a poisonous look, she had said, "I do not suppose you would know any of this since you spent most of your time in the palace."
No, she did not know any of this because she was not from this New Regime.
But still, the implication of her laziness and lack of common knowledge hurt and so she had set out to find a job. Feng Qin had asked where she was going but she simply replied that she needed some air. He let her go without any protests. Probably because he could understand, to some extent, how suffocating it was down the dungeon. Or perhaps because he was tired of her and wanted to see her away. Either way it worked in her favor.
She had already spent three days desperately searching for a place to work in but no one accepted her. They would either look at her with disgust or say that they did not have space.
Had it been on any other circumstance, Xiao Hui would have given up by now. Unfortunately that was not possible. The Feng family were at huge risk because of her and it was her duty to help them.
She paused to catch her breath, leaning against a house as she did so. This entire day was filled with rejections after rejections. She was not planning to give up but she could not help feel hopeless.
"And what is a young girl like you doing 'ere?"
The maid nearly jumped off her skin. His footsteps were so light that she was unprepared to have someone beside her.
The speaker was an aged man with a pointy goatee and a pair of round glasses on his face. She had never seen someone with glasses before; it was exceedingly rare and only very rich people had them. It made her wonder just who this mysterious man was.
Seeing that she was not answering, the man bent his already slightly crooked back and leaned towards her. "You look rather worse for the wear."
"This one was searching for a job." There. Simple. This one did not get any. She almost bit her tongue to stop those words from escaping. She did not have to. The stranger made a sound as if he understood anyway.
"Come 'ere. I will show you something you might like." The words were ominous and the speaker was a stranger but Xiao Hui was desperate. She followed him.
As they walked among alleys, the maid asked for him to introduce himself. At the very least, they would not be complete strangers and she would have a name to place him.
He glanced at her for a moment, his pace not stopping once. Then he gave her a toothless smile.
"You can call me Haoran."
***
Renren Book Shop was a place not unlike the Feng household. It had the same dingy exterior and smelt slightly rotten. However it was different in the inside.
The entire place was covered from head to toe with books and scrolls. Xiao Hui could not see clearly what they were about, but they made the space look exotic. She had never seen so many books after the Royal Library.
Haoran looked like he was at home. "How do you like it, eh? Is it not beautiful?"
The maid could not possibly disagree with that fact and so she nodded.
"That is good," he nodded to himself. "That is good, indeed." He went towards one of the shelves and pulled a hefty book with yellowed pages. It did not look like it was for sale.
Picking up a brush and ink, he quickly wrote something in it before shutting the book closed with a satisfied "aha". Xiao Hui watched him with anticipation.
"It is good," he repeated. "It is good to like the place you will start working in."
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Question:
While going job hunting, how much time did it take for you to get employed?