The soup had made him felt better until he teared up, but he realized he couldn't break down right now, as there were some matters he needed to secure first.
He didn't have any money on himself, and he needed it to survive. He needed to find information to do some menial jobs that paid right away if only to find him a meal tomorrow. Seeing plenty of bulky, big muscled men milled about the street with sacks of goods on their shoulder, he doubted he could do it himself. He was a modern scholar who had never carried around that much weight before, and he didn't have the muscle to support it.
He took a step back mentally to list all skills he had that could earn money quickly.
Teaching. He could teach elementary to high school's material, from math to science. He might need to brush up a bit, but it was doable. The problem was he couldn't be a teacher with nothing on his name and no credential backing him up. He would be mistaken as lunatics. It was not preferable to be done right now.
Cooking. Living alone for years had taught him a bit about cooking, but he had no idea what people in this place use for cooking. And Ari could bet that there were no pots for instant noodles, no rice cooker, no gas stove. If he came to a bar or restaurant claiming he could cook noodles, what if they wanted him to make noodles from scratch?
He could fish. He had come to a fishing spot with his uncle before when he was young, and he could catch a fish. But he didn't know it was because of his skill, or because of the fishing spot was a pond intended for family recreation even a small child could catch a fish in it. He also needed a fishing rod, which he didn't have on him right now.
He had skills in literature. Maybe he could recite poetry on a square and hope some pedestrians gave him a loose change? No, he would die in embarrassment first.
He couldn't even do business because from what he knew, he needed capital to buy goods first. And he had no skills in business either.
Now Ari was frustrated. He had only a few skills as a modern man that didn't involve technology. It won't matter here if he said that he was proficient in Word, Excel, and Power Point. He could also change light bulb quickly, set up home theatre, and he had programmed some simple teaching materials. He could ride bike, motorcycle, and car, but all of them were useless right now.
Suddenly an idea came into Ari's mind. He had heard about stories which people couldn't pay for their meal and were forced to serve the restaurant to be dishwasher until their debts were paid. He never witnessed it beforehand, or heard from a reliable source, but maybe he could give it a go?
First he needed to freshen up a bit. Maybe ask for a bucket of water from the chapel? Ari reckoned asking for a restroom would bring incredulous gaze to him.
He had finished his soup and bread, and he checked on the lady who distributed soup earlier, who seemed idler than before. He gathered himself and pushed away all his embarrassment to ask.
"Excuse me, madam. If it doesn't bother you can I please have a bucket of water?"
--=--=--
"Dishwasher? No, I don't need any."
The door in front of him that only opened a bit was closed loudly, making Ari step back. He sighed and went on to the next place he reckoned look like a place to eat in this road. He had asked many, but none of them accepted him. Maybe this wasn't a common job here? Or he looked distrustful so they won't employ him?
He knocked the next back door of a tavern he found, and not long after the door was opened. An annoyed looking man stood up on the door impatiently.
"What?"
"Do you hire? I could wash dishes and help in the kitchen." He asked quickly. He had learned the hard way at the previous tavern that making small talk when the kitchen was busy would only make people impatient, so he stated his application as quick and blunt as possible while still trying to be polite.
"No, we're full kitchen." He dismissed him while closing the door.
Ari sighed again. It's the afternoon, the sun almost set, and he had nowhere to stay or any money in hand. Maybe he should just take a laboring job? He wasn't sure before that he could do it, but at this pace he couldn't survive his first day here.
Maybe he should practice first? Ari looked around to find some weight, maybe stones or log to know his capacity to bring heavy weight and whether he could do it as a job. He didn't find any, but he found a hunchbacked old lady with a sack on her shoulder. He hesitated a bit, but he decided he couldn't stand looking at her walking with difficulty and just walked away like that without bad taste in his mouth. He could help her a bit and maybe he would find a place to sleep before continuing looking for job tomorrow.
Ari approached the lady slowly, asking whether she needed help. She looked worried and said she could do it herself.
Ari could only shake his head. "Don't worry, madam. You don't have to pay me. I just want to help."
The lady hesitantly accepted his help. She transferred the sack to his back, and Ari groaned at the sudden weight on his back. Luckily, it seemed to be something light, maybe grass or wool, or he really couldn't stand it. Maybe the hesitancy of the lady was not only about paying for help, but for Ari's muscle. The weight was about the same as a big gas tank he could carry in his old life, so thankfully he could do it.
He could only grit his teeth since he had promised to help, and confirmed in his head that he couldn't take a labor job. He was useless. Maybe he should find time to exercise. Almost all men he met on the street were bigger than him.
He walked with the sack on his back slowly. Fortunately, the old lady was slow too, and she directed him to a dilapidated house near a pigsty. The walked took about fifteen minutes, but to Ari it was forever. His put the sack onto the ground with a grunt, relieved to be freed from the weight. The old lady thanked him and as he spun his heel to go looking for a place to sleep in the town, he was stopped as the lady asked him to wait a minute.
She went to her home and went out bringing a green apple for him. His polite self had automatically refused it, but she insisted.
To be honest, Ari was a little bit apprehensive. An old lady giving him apple, if this was a fairy tale then he would be poisoned. But as he was not in one, so he accepted when she insisted with gratitude. At least he could eat it for breakfast tomorrow. He nodded his goodbye to the lady, put the apple to his pocket, and went away.
Not knowing he was watched by someone from afar.
He looked around the town to find some inconspicuous alley to sleep, but there were still many pedestrians walking around, maybe activity in the road would lessen when the night comes. There was a tavern in front of him, and he decided to ask for a job one more time before giving up today.
He knocked as usual, and someone opened the door.
"Hello, do you hire? I can wash dishes and help in the kitchen." Ari asked.
Different from before, the man who opened the door didn't quickly dismissed him. He scrutinized him slowly from head to toe, making Ari a bit uncomfortable. When he was sure he would be rejected again, the man answered.
"Come in, you'll work tonight." He grunted and opened the door a bit wider.
Ari couldn't believe his ears. He gaped a bit before hurriedly followed the man inside the tavern's kitchen.
He did it!