Night of the Broken Gliph

Chui Yim watched the happy waiter work. He was efficient, and Chui Yim’s food and drinks arrived in no time. The food wasn’t as good as Chui Tin or Lam Ming’s, but it had a unique, pleasant taste when paired with superb wine. Starved, Chui Yim dug in contentedly. 

“Siu Chun, come over!”  Somebody called for the waiter.

It was late, and Chui Yim was the only customer left. He heard the waiter reply before walking over to the cashier, the restaurant’s owner. The owner looked at the waiter and sighed.

“Siu Chun, how will we continue our business like this? Just today, there were three customers you allowed credit. You didn’t even record their names! How are we going to get our money back?” 

“But the guests looked like they needed help…” the waiter answered softly.  

“Siu Chun, you’re a great waiter. Your efficiency is equivalent to several waiters alone,” the owner sighed again, “but your character is really unfit for this. I’m sorry, but you need not come back tomorrow.” 

“Alright. Boss, thank you for all your help,” the waiter said nothing else, sighing sadly. 

The boss retrieved a bag of silver taels from behind the counter. “You’re a good, hardworking kid. Take this bag of silver taels. It should be enough to last you until you find a new job.” 

“Thank you, boss.”  

Chui Yim, who had just finished his food, watched the waiter as he savoured his wine. Despite having just been fired, the waiter continued to tidy up the restaurant seriously, albeit with a sad expression.  

“Why are you still working so hard even after getting fired?” Chui Yim couldn’t help but ask.  

Hearing Chui Yim, the waiter turned to Chui Yim with a despondent smile. “That’s something I’ll consider tomorrow. I accepted today’s salary, so I will work hard today.” As if finally seeing someone willing to hear him out, the waiter sat down across him gloomily. “It’s difficult to survive these days. I haven’t worked for many years, and I didn’t know that things have changed to this extent.” 

“With your dedication, I doubt it’ll be tough for you to find a job.” Chui Yim comforted him. 

“I’ve already changed three or four jobs since arriving at South Imperial City,” the waiter said with a frown.  

“Don’t tell me it’s because you let customers pay on credit?” Chui Yim was left speechless as the waiter smiled embarrassedly.  

“Can you cook?” An idea popped into Chui Yim’s mind after watching the waiter for some time.  

“I know the basics.” 

“Can you clean?”  

The waiter smiled broadly on hearing this question. He patted his chest hard proudly. “I’m not boasting, but I’m great at tidying. I can make things neat and tidy in seconds!” 

“Mhmm,” Chui Yim replied with a smile. The more he looked at the waiter, the more satisfied he was. “Brother, are you interested in being a housekeeper?” 

“Housekeeper?” The waiter stared at him blankly.  

“Yup.” Chui Yim became increasingly enthusiastic. “Taking care of meals and daily chores. Tidying the house, gardening in the courtyard. Once you’re done, the rest of the time will become your free time.” 

“Such a great deal?” The waiter’s eyes lit up on hearing the description. But he soon hesitated. “But I’m afraid I won’t be able to do a good job.”  

“Don’t worry!” Chiu Yim immediately walked up to him. “You’re just what I’m looking for! As for your payment, we can slowly discuss it!”  

“Look, tomorrow, you’ll be jobless. Why not have a trial period? If you’re not happy, you can quit after a few days.” Seeing that the waiter was still hesitating, Chui Yim continued. 

“Okay.”  

Chui Yim returned to his residence with the waiter in tow, who was rendered speechless on seeing the couplet.  

Chui Yim turned around and welcomed him in happily. “C’mere. This is the living room, and the courtyard is behind. On the left is the workshop, and my bedroom is on the right. All you need to do is tidy the place daily and cook. Relax, there isn’t much for you to do. We’ll be like a family. Loyalty is something I value greatly,” Chui Yim said as he patted his chest.

“However, be careful in the courtyard. Look at the hill; there are traps that you have to watch out for. As you know, it’s dangerous for a child like me to live alone… I need to keep my guard up too, but there isn’t much to worry about… 

“Beware of that flower, it  shoots poison.” Chui Yim then continued pointing out several other mechanisms in the courtyard before turning around with a smile. “You’ll be fine after remembering all of these.” 

The waiter was dazed. He had never seen such a complicated yet reliable defensive network before. And… this feels like it’s more for an animal instead of a human.  

“Pass me your bag, I’ll store it for you.” Chui Yim was still as enthusiastic as before.  

Chui Yim was bothered by having to tidy his residence daily. The place was too large for him alone, and dust had piled up again after a month. He didn’t have enough time to clean, and the idea to employ a housekeeper came to him while eating. Now that he had found such a professional housekeeper, he wouldn’t let go of him.  

They had only met a few hours ago, but Chui Yim was already addressing him as his brother. “How should I address this brother? We’ll be spending a lot of time together in the future.” 

The waiter was still in a daze, but he knew that this would be an interesting experience for him. The thought of this made him laugh. “I have the surname Yeung, and Chun is my given name. Just call me uncle Yeung.”  

“Big brother Yeung!”  

“Hahaha!”  

The next day, it was Woo Nim’s turn to teach the class.  

“Do you have some time after class?” Kam Chin Kee whispered to Chui Yim during class.  

“Why?” Chui Yim glanced at him.  

“You’ll know if you follow me.” Chin-Kee smiled mysteriously.  

“I need to leave before dinner,” Chui Yim answered after a pause. He felt that Chin-Kee was getting weirder as days passed, but he had a weird sense of familiarity with him.  

“That’s enough time.” Kam Chin Kee smiled.  

“Today’s lesson will end here,” Woo Nim said peacefully. “Revise well. I’ll randomly pick students to answer my questions next lesson. Those that can’t answer aren’t needed in this class.”  

With that, she left the class full of stunned students.  

What kind of test is this? Kicking out those who can’t answer?  

Lam Zaa turned to Chui Yim happily. “Do you have some time today, brother Chui? There’s a rare northern wine being imported to the Southern Heaven Inn today. Since brother Chui loves wine, would you like to have a taste?” 

“Wine?” Chui Yim’s eyes lit up brightly, but he frowned as he remembered something. “I’m sorry, brother Lam, but I have something on today. Tomorrow!” He looked at Lam Zaa unwillingly as he sighed before leaving in reluctance. “Wait for me, my wine!”

“Goodbye.” Kam Chin Kee looked at Lam Zaa weirdly as he followed Chui Yim.  

Lam Zaa looked at them leaving, eyebrows creasing together.