A month has passed, and many things have happened. The court has signed the agreement with Ma La to regain the Eastern territory. They also tried to regain South City, but Ma La found excuses to decline. One reason I heard was that if Ly gave back South City, then all their progress in the years of war would be a complete zero. Keeping South City, at least, would signify that all the deaths of Ly's soldiers were not in vain.
But everyone knew that was just a reason he made up, because soon after his leaving, we got news that South City was given to Ma La to govern.
Nevertheless, the court didn't press further, because they don't want to upset the Ly and have them go back on the agreement.
As for Princess Sa Mi, I want to meet her again to ask more about Ly Giai's badge, but she was too busy in the court planning and organizing what the officials should do when the land returns to them. To keep a closer look, she left the capital with her army to the East to take care of things personally. It was too bad that Ly Giai, Si, and I couldn't visit her once, even though I promised the king to do so.
In the meantime, I tried looking for a job but couldn't get accepted at any place, so I picked up odd jobs here and there to get some money. We can't solely rely on Ly Giai now that my wounds are fully healed.
At the end of the month, she handed me a bag of coins. "Do, can you go here and pay rent?" Ly Giai gave me a paper with the location of our landlord. "The princess said to go here when we pay rent. There are ten silver coins inside the bag. That should be enough."
I checked and there were indeed ten coins. "I said that I will help with half the rent. This is the full amount," I complained.
Ly Giai softly smiled. "I know how hard it is for you to earn five silver coins doing odd jobs. You won't have anything left if you pay half. I am making twenty coins a month, so I should take the rent fully."
I shook my head and took out five coins from the bag and returned them to her. "A promise is a promise. I promise to pay half the rent, so I'll do that."
"But…"
"I don't spend money anyway." I laughed and put my half in the bag. "Now it's fair," I smiled.
Ly Giai looked at the five coins in her hands and gave them to me. "Then use this whenever you need money."
"Hey! That's the same…"
But she stopped my lips with her finger and said, "This is your allowance. It's different."
"You're spoiling me…" I complained.
Ly Giai smiled, "I am."
…
"Is this the right place?" I asked myself. I was doubtful because I was standing in front of the biggest restaurant in the capital, My An. It was located right in the middle of the market and was the building that Ly Giai, Si, and I were in awe of when we first saw it.
I checked the paper that had the landlord's location again, and I wasn't mistaken. It was pointing to this place. Before stepping in, I saw there were posters about the restaurant needing workers, so I took one with me and went inside.
Just as one could imagine, the biggest restaurant in the capital would be, the inside was huge and chaotic. It was heated by the number of people and food. There was talking, shouting, and drinking everywhere. Like a theater, there was no ceiling between the floors, so the place looked spacious despite having so many people going in and out."How many people are with you?" A sudden tap on my shoulder brought me back. I turned over, and there was a young, nice-looking girl with brown eyes and black hair that was tied up. Looking at her clothes, I realized she was a waitress.
"Sorry, I'm not here to eat," I replied. Then I tried to explain my situation to her. "I just rented a house and was told to come here to pay rent."
"Oh! You are one of the boss's tenants. Usually he has people collecting rent for him though," she put a finger to her chin and wondered.
I shrugged. "I'm not sure. I was just informed to come here."
The girl also didn't know, so she told me, "Luckily the boss is here today. Most of the time he goes everywhere for business. Please wait a minute. I will let him know that you are here."
…
A few minutes later, the girl came back to me. "The boss will see you. Please come with me."
I followed her pass the customers and other waiters and waitresses.
"To Ai! Do you know this is the busy hour? Why aren't you working?" a waiter was surprised seeing the waitress leading me through the sea of people. I couldn't understand how he was able to move holding five dishes of food in both hands.
The girl smiled weakly, "Apologies. The boss is having me do something for him. I'll be right back!"
"Hurry then! We are on the thread right now! Damn it!"
"Van Vai! Seven more dishes are ready to deliver!" A voice from the kitchen shouted from the front.
"Got it! F*ck! Why are we still not getting new people?" The waiter cursed and stormed off to the customers' tables.
"Ha ha…" the girl turned to me awkwardly. "Let's hurry," she said. "Van Vai can be rough when stressed, but he is a very nice person."
We moved passed the customers and entered the back of the restaurant. The noise went off, so I was able to talk. "It looks like you guys are short on staff. Is it hard finding people?"
The girl scratched her head like it was difficult, "We offer pretty good money compare to other restaurant, so there are a lot of people applying. But as you can see, there are simply too many customers, so most new employee quits right after the first day. We walked for a bit more and stopped at a room. "This is the place. Please go in," she finished and ran to the front to continue working.
I entered the room and the first impression in my mind is "Greatness".
The room was filled with expensive items from all over the world. The room was bright. The right side was shelves of books and a collection of helmets, feathers, and other odd items. In contrast to the clutter, the left side was empty. The only thing there was a gigantic map that covered the whole left wall. It was an incredibly detailed map of the combined Sa and Ly with all the cities, landmarks, and small, random red dots all throughout.
In the middle of the room, there was a tall man dressed in luxury silk standing. His eyes and body was fixated on the left wall while having his hands behind his back.
Everything about this man is great. His height is great, his luxury is true wealth, and his posture is true class. I couldn't help but feel nervous looking at him.
"Hello there. I come here to pay rent," I spoke nervously.
The man took his eyes off the map and turned to me. Looking directly at his gaze, it was incredible that a person's eyes could be so clear of determination, like they know full well what to do with their life.
"You must be the person Her Highness recommended," he said with a friendly smile. "Please come in," he invited.
I reluctantly walked in and stood beside him. He turned back to the map, and I unconsciously did the same.
"What are the red dots?" I asked out of curiosity.
"They are my businesses," he said with such pride.
"Each of those is a business?" I couldn't believe it. "There are hundreds!"
"Ha Ha Ha!" the man laughed. "My friend. Do you know what the good things about war are?" He looked at me and asked out of the blue.
"Uh… No?"
"Hm," the man looked a little disappointed and turned back to the map. He raised his fingers one by one. "First, wars bring chaos and leave gaps in the economy that need to be filled. Those gaps are called opportunities.
Second, because wars are chaotic, it seems as 'risky' for businessmen, so you can demand a lot of government benefits to set up and run a business. They will hand you half of the starting cost and a tax exemption for fifteen years.
Third, the businesses that couldn't handle the war are brought to the edge of collapse. That means you can acquire them for incredibly cheap. All the business secrets, wisdom, connections, and customers can be bought for such a low price.
Fourth, wars bring suffering and hunger, which means you can employ desperate people and only need to give them the minimum food and shelter."
I listened to those reasons that a normal person could never think of. "So you can find profit from war while still helping people?"
The man was surprised by my words, "I admit I try to profit from war, but where in my reasoning are for helping people?"
I was still nervous, but couldn't help voicing my thoughts. "Your first and second reasons, you get government benefits and set up businesses that fill the gaps in the economy to help it from collapsing. That stops the further tragedy from expanding.
Your third and fourth reasons, you acquire failing businesses for cheap and keep them running, which means the workers won't lose their jobs. You pay them, giving them food and shelter. Those are blessings to the suffering people in times of war."
The man listened to me and smiled. He turned his body this way and showed me his right hand, where four fingers were held up.
"Fifth," he smiled and lifted up his final thumb. "In wars, you get to help people while profiting."
He laughed it hard, and like being swept through a current, I laughed as well. When stopped, he offered his hand. "Mister Do, my name is Ban. It is nice to meet you."
I took it and gave a firm handshake. "It is nice to meet you, too, Boss Ban."
He then noticed the thing in my hand. "Mister Do, looks like you are holding our recruiting poster."
I gave him the poster and said. "I am looking for a job. I also want to be a chef. So this caught my eye."
Ban held the poster and looked at me for a while, "Mister Do. Do you want to work for me?"
"Gladly."
"Can you start tomorrow?"
"Yes."
"Ha Ha Ha! I like decisive people like you!" he laughed loudly.
…
After giving him the rent money, I left the room. The moment I stepped foot outside, I held my head. "What the hell was that? What did I get myself into?" I was too carried away by the energy that I decided thing on the whim without giving much thought. "But… this also means I have a job now!"