Chapter 29 An Intern More Useful Than a Slave She wasn't training dogs, she was training…
"This batch of goods is absolutely rotten. You think you can fool me with this kind of stuff?"
Lilith kept fanning herself with her black lace folding fan, trying to dispel the stench of sweat mixed with cheap incense emanating from the slaves.
Foreigners who couldn't speak a word of Italian, emaciated and withered disabled people, and incredibly ugly dwarfs. If Lilith were to buy these people, she would not only gain no profit, but the additional training and treatment for their injuries would be a huge expense, and besides, their unattractive appearance would be a constant source of distress.
“Your Excellency… As you know, there have been constant disputes, both large and small, between Genoa and the Republic of Venice recently, which has somewhat affected our supply channels…” The portly slave trader kept bowing and apologizing to Lilith, wishing he could kneel down before her.
"You're wasting my time." Lilith rolled her eyes, grabbed Heinrich's sleeve, and strode away. "Let's go! You better watch out, if the quality is like this next time, we're never coming back."
"Oh dear, madam... please calm down..."
The echoes of the slave trader's apology still reverberated in the corridor when Lilith had already led Heinrich far away. She dragged him back to the ship with a huff, casting an almost hostile glance at every passing crew member or customer, as if showing off her only presentable trophy.
“There isn’t a single suitable one.” Lilith’s face turned green with anger. “Are we really going to have to hire some expensive, scheming old men to work for my bank? That would be like inviting wolves into the house.”
“If you really don’t want to hire an experienced but unsuccessful person, there is a compromise solution,” Heinrich told her.
"What method?"
“Recruit apprentices, or interns. Attract them under the guise of providing learning opportunities, and then use gimmicks like internship certificates, attendance records, awards, and future opportunities for full-time employment to fool them. You don’t need to pay them a single penny of salary, and you can get them to work for you.”
"Really?" Lilith raised an eyebrow in suspicion.
"You can find out if the job posting is genuine by posting it for a while and seeing if anyone applies."
"Okay. Then go back tonight and write the notice, and let me review it tomorrow morning before posting it outside the door."
"Yes, ma'am."
Lilith was skeptical of Heinrich's proposal. How could any free agent be willing to work for someone else without pay? But since there were no costs involved, it wouldn't hurt to give it a try.
The next morning, Lilith, still half-asleep, got up, glanced casually at the job posting Heinrich had approved, and then, accompanied by Cecilia, prepared generous gifts to visit Shylock's family. Fortunately, his wife was in good health, and his children were grown and settled; his sudden death had not caused the family any financial burden, only endless regret and sorrow. Mrs. Shylock returned the LC Schmidel badge that had belonged to Shylock to Lilith and invited her to Shylock's funeral.
In the afternoon, as soon as she returned to her office, she saw hundreds of resumes and job applications piled up on her desk, as high as a mountain.
"What's going on?" she angrily questioned Heinrich, who kept bringing more and more resumes into the office.
"These are the internship applications we received up to this afternoon." Heinrich simply piled the wooden file boxes that were too big to fit on the table onto the floor.
"Quickly tear down these notices outside! Stop hiring! There are too many of them, how am I supposed to review them all!"
"Yes, ma'am. I'll go tear it right away."
"Wait! What does it mean that these envelopes are coated with green sealing wax?"
“Oh, I see. The ones with green sealing wax are children related to our clients, the ones with red sealing wax are related to the Knarro family, and the ones with blue sealing wax…” Heinrich glanced at the job application letter on top of the stack of papers, “are from the Schmidl family.”
"What? The Schmidl family?"
“Yes, it’s your husband’s family, the Schmidl family from Frankfurt am Main.” Heinrich carefully observed Lilith’s reaction. “His name is William Schmidl, and he seems to be your husband’s younger brother.”
“My husband’s brother? Why isn’t he staying in Frankfurt? Why is he in Venice?” Lilith casually used a letter opener to tear open the job application letter and spread the parchment out in her hand.
"I heard recently that the Vogel family, which is also from Germany, sent their children to Venice for internships to learn accounting and financial knowledge. Perhaps the Schmidl family also wants to follow suit and send their children here for experience."
“Let him come for an interview. My bank does bear the ‘Schmidl’ name, after all; I can’t go against my husband’s family’s wishes.” Lilith put William’s file aside, staring at the large stack of resumes in front of her, and blinked hesitantly. “As for the rest… it’s hard to refuse them easily due to client relationships, but it’s also difficult to manage these people if we hire them. How about you organize a week-long internship program later, bring these people here for meetings, math, and chats, and consider it an internship. The key is to give the program a good name, like ‘LC Schmidl Bank Spring Internship Week’ or something like that…”
"I have to take responsibility for this too?" Heinrich frowned. "Besides that, I also have to oversee recruitment, investigate Sherlock's death, and keep daily financial records."
“I’m entrusting all the tasks to you because I trust you, darling,” Lilith said with a coquettish smile. “Then pick one from the group of unrelated people—someone with no powerful family connections, willing to work hard, and easy to manage. We’ll dump all the dirty and hard work on him. As for the others… organize their files alphabetically by surname, especially those related to the Knarro family, and other noble scions. Their resumes might come in handy later. If you’re really too busy, ask Tata for help.”
"……knew."
Heinrich silently carried the two large stacks of job applications out of Lilith's office and piled them on an empty workstation. He looked at Tata, who was slumped in her chair with her legs propped up on the desk—the idle Gypsy girl was leisurely humming a song while fiddling with several strands of colorful thread.
"Tata, come over later and help me organize these documents."
"This is your job, isn't it?" Tata looked up impatiently. "The tasks Madam assigns me are always relayed by Cecilia. When did it become your place to order me around? Can't you see I'm busy?"
"Okay, I'm going out in a bit to meet the job applicant that Madam wants to see. I'll deal with it with you when I get back. What are you busy with?"
“I’m making a lace crochet bracelet for you, Madam.” Seeing that Heinrich didn’t seem to be forcing her to start working immediately, Tata’s attitude softened considerably. She showed him the half-finished piece she was working on and shared it with him. “Look, I bought peach pink, violet and silver colored yarn. You can make a lace bracelet by braiding three strands together.”
"Doesn't Madam usually wear black dresses most of the time?"
“That’s mourning clothes. She’ll have to take them off someday; she can’t wear black forever.” Tata’s fingers moved quickly, and in no time she had woven a rose pattern. “Actually, the lady has many beautiful dresses in various colors in her wardrobe. She used to love wearing white and pink dresses.”
"Like her name, Liliana? (Note: The root of Liliana is 'lilium,' meaning lily flower.)"
“Yes, Liliana, and not just ‘Lilith the Moneylender,’” Tata muttered to herself, her voice so soft that Heinrich clearly didn’t intend for her to hear. “The lady used to be a very lively and cheerful person, but ever since the bank opened, she’s always frowning and looking sullen. I haven’t seen her smile in ages…”
Heinrich had no time for further conversation. He strode to William's hotel and escorted the prepared interviewee to the bank's president's office. The brothers exchanged a glance, then Heinrich knocked on the door. After receiving permission, he led his brother inside and sat down next to Lily as one of the interviewers.
"Welcome to the internship interview at LC Schmidl Bank. I am Liliana Knarro Schmidl, the bank's CEO, Chairman, and President, and also your sister-in-law." Liliana solemnly extended her right hand to shake William's hand, her expression full of feigned resentment.
“I never expected to see you like this, dear William. You may have already learned from your parents before you left that your brother, my husband Heinrich, had passed away. The Knarro family held a solemn funeral for him in Venice. In a couple of days, when I have time, I can take you to visit his tomb.”
“Thank you for your kindness, Madam. Yes, my mother was devastated upon hearing the news of my brother’s death. She lost both her husband and son in succession, and she spends her days in tears, crying until she can barely see.” William’s Italian was not actually very fluent, but he had practiced what he was going to say in the interview countless times in front of the mirror under Heinrich’s urging, so he spoke very fluently.
“What? My father-in-law…” Lilith covered her mouth in astonishment, pretending to almost faint. “Merciful God! Please do not punish the loyal and upright Schmidl family any further! I would rather the Knarro family bear all this suffering to appease your supreme wrath!”
This was the first time William had ever seen such exaggerated, theatrical language. What to do?! He'd never practiced this before! Helplessly, he glanced furtively at his brother, just in time to see Heinrich silently roll his eyes at Lilith.
“Oh no, please don’t say such things… You…you are, after all, my sister-in-law, and in my eyes, the Knarro family is also my family. Oh, may God bless the Knarro family…That’s why my mother sent me to Venice, hoping that I could grow up quickly with the help of the Knarro family…”
“You’ve grown up quite well. How old are you this year? 16? You’re taller than me now.” Lilith, seeing that William had picked up the conversation tactfully, looked him up and down with satisfaction. “I’ve heard that in some places there’s a custom of a younger brother marrying his widowed sister-in-law. You’re not approaching me with that kind of intention, are you?”
“Absolutely not! There’s absolutely no such custom where we’re from…” William had just finished speaking when he realized that his mother was about to be forced to marry his uncle. Suddenly overwhelmed with grief, he couldn’t help but speak his mind, “To be honest, I have no plans to get married anytime soon. My father and brothers have passed away, and I’m the eldest son in the family. I just hope to grow up to be an independent adult as soon as possible and protect my mother and younger siblings.”
“Having ambition is a good thing. But what can you offer me, dear William?”
"I can do anything! Attracting customers, calculating bills, delivering goods and running errands, even laundry, cooking, and cleaning can all be done by me. I can do anything I know how to do, and I can learn anything I don't know how to do."
"How much compensation do you need?"
"I don't need payment! If possible, I'd like a place to stay and some food..."
“Deal.” Lilith tossed a newly made LCS silver badge to William. “There’s a spare room with a bed upstairs in our building; we can tidy it up and someone can live there. Let’s start work tomorrow. Heinrich, you arrange his work.”
"Heinrich...?"
“Oh, right, I forgot to introduce you. He’s our company’s CFO, and his name is also Heinrich.” Lilith chatted with William with a smile. “Heinrich… your brother’s name is very nice. What does it mean in German?”
“It means ‘head of the household’,” William explained somewhat awkwardly, feeling as if he had said something he shouldn’t have.
"Oh, I see." Lilith's face suddenly darkened, and her icy gaze fell on Heinrich, making him feel a chill down his spine.
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Author's Note: The recruitment process in this chapter is entirely fictional, set in an alternate history. It seems to be the author's fantasy before he died from overwork (wiping sweat).
Next update on Wednesday~
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