85_85536 William was rightly a little upset when he heard what the young man, Paul, said—illiterate? Literacy is the basic premise. But it seems that the young man doesn't seem to know any words other than his own name. How can this be?

As a result, William, who was already a little impatient, completely lost his patience and obviously showed an impatient expression: "Mr. Paul." Even if you are illiterate and can't read job postings, you've probably heard that we recruit people who are scribes, clerks, or bookkeepers. There is a premise for this, which is literacy...... I don't want you to be proficient in Gothic. But at the very least, you should also know at least two hundred words that are most commonly used. Obviously, Mr. Paul, you don't meet our recruitment criteria, and unfortunately I can't hire you, please. ”

After finishing speaking, William shook his head, hoping that the other party would be able to retreat and leave quickly, saving himself from being uncomfortable and wasting his time.

After hearing William's words, the young man named Paul was visibly nervous. He hurriedly, and said to William in almost incoherent words:

"No, not really, that, Mr. Knight, please think again. Although I am illiterate, but, but, but ......"

"But what?" William shook his head, "if you have any other craft, such as glassblowing, weaving, blacksmithing, or sculpture, then you don't need to tell me. In the near future, I'll be holding another recruitment event to recruit artisans, which doesn't care too much about literacy, maybe you can try your luck when the time comes. With that, William stood up and prepared to leave.

"No, please wait a minute, Mr. Knight—though I can't read, I can do the job of the bookkeeper!" he said hurriedly, and then opened the sack he had brought with him. Then get ready to dig something.

This made William even more uncomfortable...... In fact, many people have chosen to do so before. Give a gift...... Wealthy squires, or merchants' children, usually give away valuable works of art, knick-knacks, or something. And those who don't have money will more or less take some of the local products.

If it's a bribe, it seems a little more unpleasant, because some of the gifts themselves are not very valuable. But of course, that doesn't mean William will take those things in peace...... Of course, William also knew that they would not feel at ease if they did not accept their gifts. But this opening really can't be opened from yourself.

Therefore, in order to balance the relationship between the two, it was explained to these candidates with the character of a small farmer that he only looked at ability and did not talk about human feelings, which cost William. Or rather, a lot of time wasted. Even in many cases, the recruitment process cannot be carried out smoothly.

Therefore, Paul's action reminded William of all kinds of unhappiness in the past few days, and thinking of this, William became even more impatient with this young man named Paul.

So, William began to consider whether to call the guards over and fork the young man out.

It was at this time that the young man named Paul took out the contents of the sack.

It wasn't like William thought, it was a local product from the mountains or something expensive that he unexpectedly took out as a gift, but took out a few clay tablets.

"It is so," explained the young man Paul to William as quickly as he could, "it is so, please look at the ......," he said, placing the clay tablets on the table. William noticed that there were a number of strange marks on it.

"I'm in my house...... Ah, it's the old man Sears' house. At that time, Master Sears asked me to herd the sheep. He was a very stingy and mean person. He always said that I didn't have the right number of sheep. Find ways to cut my salary. So, I tried to record the number of these sheep, the number of rams, the number of ewes, the number of lambs......

Then Mr. Sears asked me to be in charge of shearing the sheep, milking the sheep, and haggling with the vendors who sold wool, mutton, and goat's milk. I also recorded all these related numbers. Then, as the flock grew, I recorded these numbers little by little...... It's ......"

"Did you record all these things little by little?" William recalled, remembering who the man he had said earlier was Sears...... That's a stupid, greedy guy. He is also a well-known rancher in several recent territories. A wealthy man who started his career by shepherding sheep.

William often wondered why such a man of average intelligence and ability could have the opportunity to multiply his fortune several times......

"Do you want to say that you take care of all the sheep in Sears?" asked William.

"Yes...... Ah, no, it's not. Paul nodded and then shook his head: "In addition to me, there are many other hired men, who are responsible for milking, shearing, and grazing. I'm their head...... Of course, there are also two nephews of Mr. Sears on the ranch...... But they're just going to mess with me......"

At this point, Paul seemed a little depressed.

......After that, William sat back in his place.

In fact, the guy named Sears had brought his two nephews to bother William before that. The word "bother" is used because his two nephews are stupid. In addition to stupidity, he is illiterate. In addition to being illiterate, he is arrogant and arrogant, and he is very fond of fantasy illiterate.

They give the impression that I'm stupid and incompetent, and I can't read. But don't bully the poor youth. As long as you dare not give me a chance, I will kill your whole family when I am developed. And if you give me a chance, then I will naturally take your part of it as a matter of course, if you obediently give me a little brother and then send my wife, I can still leave you alive, otherwise you should die if you are not right......

So, of course, William did not hesitate to turn away these unreasonable guys. Anyway, such a guy, even if he goes outside to promote William's jealousy, no one will believe it.

But if this is true, then things are different.

"So you can't read, and you haven't studied calculations, mathematics, and accounting systematically?" asked William.

"Yes, that's it, Mr. Knight. When Paul heard William's question, he couldn't help but bow his head in shame again.

"Hmm...... It's kind of interesting. William said to himself...... If what the young man Paul said was true, then it was possible that he was a manufactur.

"Let me elaborate. So William returned to his seat, and then pointed to the clay tablets that had been carved with a knife, and said to the young man, Paul, "Do these symbols represent the kind and number of sheep?

"Yes, yes, yes. That's what it means. Hearing William's question, the young man Paul seemed a little excited: "That's what I mean, Mr. Knight, look at this symbol, this is the male, this is the female, this is the lamb, and this is the goat, this is the sheep." This represents the variety, this is the increase, the decrease, and this is the price, these are the numbers......"

In this way, the young man Paul confidently explained his "invention" to William. These hieroglyphs, which he made up and which he only recognized, comprehensively recorded all the changes in his master's ranch in the last ten years. Moreover, the number jù is detailed, and there is no difference in calculation. It's hard to imagine that this is something that an illiterate young man has figured out on his own.

"It seems that this guy really has some skills. William nodded secretly, and then stopped Paul, who was still trying to continue talking. Then he asked, "So, Mr. Paul." In this way, you are really serious about your original work. This is to be appreciated. So I'm going to ask you a few more questions now. ”

"Yes, please ask, Mr. Knight. I felt a change in William's tone and tone. The young man Paul replied, looking a little excited.

"Well, first of all, when did you start putting this thing ...... "William couldn't describe these things recorded on clay tablets in an appropriate noun for a while. Therefore, it can only be called "something" in general terms.

"Uh......" Paul recalls really seriously, seriously. But alas, he couldn't recall it at all. He could only bow his head and cautiously replied, "I can't remember the specific time...... However, I remember that during the time I was perfecting this thing, a new church minister came to the territory. That is, Father Peter. ”

"That was eight or nine years ago. William continued to talk to himself, and then asked, "And how old are you?"

"Twenty-two years old. Paul replied.

"Twenty-two......" William thought. In other words, this person has already completed this thing very well since he was thirteen or fourteen years old. And he "invented" this thing, naturally, before that, when he was eleven or twelve years old, or even earlier.

Thinking of this, William had a plan in his heart