The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

That evening, after dinner, Shen Cao told her family about her idea of ​​hiring people.

"Grandma Zhang, could you also keep an eye out for someone suitable?"

"Okay, but as you know, I don't get along particularly well with other people, and they don't like to associate with me."

Shen Cao had forgotten about Granny Zhang's predicament.

She should keep an eye on it herself.

In those days, few people went to school, and she originally thought of writing a job advertisement and posting it on the door.

Most people are illiterate, so it's pointless for her to write anything.

“Mother, when you chat with the neighbors, please ask them for me as well.”

Sometimes, Shen's mother would go to chat with the neighbors and ask for information.

It seems we can only rely on Shen's mother.

Shen Cao was a little worried. She calculated the time and knew that Shen Yu'an and the others would arrive in a few days.

When Shen Yu'an and the others arrived, she didn't have time to help out at the Shen family's restaurant.

Finding a suitable person within the next few days will be difficult.

At the dinner table, Shen Cao was thinking about hiring people and didn't notice Xiao Qi's hesitant expression beside her.

For several days in a row, although Shen's mother helped find people, they only worked for less than half a day.

They're either lazy or dishonest.

There are also some who still can't learn even after being taught several times.

The women that Shen's mother found were all older women.

These people all have children and are used to giving orders. They see Shen Cao directing them to do their work every time.

I always felt like I was losing face.

This was the fifth one this morning, and in the end, they left in a huff.

"Sigh! It's such a hassle to find the right person these days." Shen Cao had lost count of how many times she had sighed.

Shen Cao also went to ask the matchmaker, but they said she needed to give notice a month in advance.

After all, these days, very few women would go out to work in public.

Most of them were men.

Shen Cao saw off the aunt who had been working there for a trial period that morning and was about to go to the kitchen.

Turning around, she finally noticed Xiao Qi's hesitation.

"Xiaoqi, is there something you want to tell me?"

Xiao Qi pinched the hem of her clothes, feeling a little embarrassed to speak.

Shen Cao led Xiao Qi to the main room. "Alright, there's no one here now. Just say what you need to say."

Xiaoqi was still too embarrassed to speak up.

Shen Cao walked up to him, patted him on the shoulder, and encouraged him, "Xiao Qi, have you forgotten what your older sister told you before?"

“We are a family, so if there’s anything, just say it.”

"Or is it that you don't consider your older sister as family?"

"No!" Xiao Qi answered almost without hesitation.

"It's just that I'm a little embarrassed to talk about this. I'm afraid of troubling you, sister."

Xiaoqi gently patted her head.

"Family members are meant to be a nuisance."

Xiaoqi looked up, her eyes reddening, before slowly speaking.

"Sister, she's a friend of mine from when I was still a beggar."

"Because I haven't begged for food since I came to the Shen family."

"That day, I went back."

"I discovered that because my friend and I used to be close, other people took their anger out on my friend after they saw that I had been adopted."

“They bullied him and wouldn’t even give him leftovers.”

"I would occasionally bring him some food to eat."

"But this is not a solution. I thought, since my sister is hiring, could I give my friend a try?"

"But I'm also worried that since we're in the food business, if people find out there's a beggar in our house, they might think it's dirty and won't come to eat."

Shen Cao hadn't expected this to be the case; Xiao Qi was indeed considering a problem.

But she didn't want to reject her brother right away.

"So, the reason you've been hanging around me after school these past few days is because of this?"

Xiaoqi scratched her head sheepishly.

"Alright, bring your friend this afternoon. I'll take a look first."

"But let me make this clear: if your friend doesn't do a good job, I won't give you any face."

Xiao Qi nodded emphatically, "Yes! Don't worry, sister, he can definitely do it."

Shen Cao watched Xiao Qi's hurried figure and shook her head with a smile.

This child is quite sentimental.

In the afternoon, Xiao Qi indeed brought a little boy who was half a head taller than him to find Shen Cao.

Shen Cao looked at the child in front of her. The child had obviously tidied up before coming, washing his face and hands clean.

The clothes she was wearing were a bit small; they looked like Xiao Qi's old clothes.

The more she looked at the child, the more familiar he seemed.

"Have we met before?" Shen Cao asked gently.

The little beggar's timid eyes looked very nervous.

"Don't be nervous, I'm not going to eat you."

"Xiaoqiao, don't be nervous, my older sister is a very nice person."

“I know, I’ve seen Sister Cao’er before.” Xiao Qi’s voice and Shen Cao’s attitude eased the little beggar’s tension, and he spoke in an extremely soft voice.

"Oh right, I remember now, you were the one who told me where Xiao Qi was that day."

"Speaking of which, you were Xiaoqi's savior."

Xiao Qi clearly didn't know about this. After hearing Shen Cao's words, she looked at the little beggar with some excitement.

The little beggar nodded to Xiao Qi first, and then looked at Shen Cao.

"Sister Grass, I was just stating what I saw."

Shen Cao gently patted his head, "It's already very brave of you to say it."

Although the two had tidied themselves up before coming, the little beggar still had a slight odor due to limited resources.

"Xiao Qi, go to the kitchen and boil a pot of water so your friend can take a bath."

"Go find Shen Qing and get a clean set of clothes; your clothes are a bit too small."

The little beggar, upon hearing Shen Cao's words, assumed that she disliked him for being somewhat dirty and was at a loss for what to do.

Unexpectedly, Shen Cao turned around and squatted down in front of him. "Xiao Qiao, it's not that I think you're dirty. You know I'm in the food business."

"Cleanliness and hygiene are the top priority. Not only you, but everyone in our store needs to have good hygiene habits."

"Sister Cao'er is right. We must wash our hands before every meal, and we are not allowed to go to the kitchen if we are dirty."

Xiaoqi also spoke up to explain.

When Xiaoqiao heard that it wasn't a rejection of her, her previously low spirits dissipated somewhat.

When he heard Shen Cao ask Xiao Qi to help him take a bath, his face first turned red, and then he became somewhat awkward.

After Xiao Qi went to boil water, he walked up to Shen Cao.

She tugged at Shen Cao's sleeve and said, "Sister Cao'er, could you please not let Xiao Qi help me take a bath?"

"I can do it myself."

Shen Cao was a little doubtful, "Don't worry, Xiao Qi is really good at bathing." After Shen Qing bathed with him before, he praised Xiao Qi for being able to scrub people's backs, saying that he could scrub them comfortably and cleanly.

She thought Xiaoqiao was afraid that Xiaoqi would do more harm than good, so she tried to explain.

Unexpectedly, after hearing Shen Cao's words, Xiao Qiao quickly grabbed her and slowly said, "Sister Cao'er, Xiao Qiao is a girl, I can't let Xiao Qi bathe me."

Huh! Shen Cao was shocked.