I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 218

Chapter 218: Little Nuo’er Should Strive for Self-improvement

During this month of working at the cafe, although I wore the maid outfit similar to Rem’s from “Re: Zero ? Starting Life in Another World” every day, my activities were mostly confined to the cafe itself.

At most, I would serve customers who preferred dining outdoors, or I would go out to trim the greenery and water the plants in the bushes along the corridor.

However, such situations were rare because Ouyang Xue mostly took care of the greenery and small trees outside the cafe. Unlike me, who went back home every day and returned to the cafe by eight in the morning, Ouyang Xue mostly stayed on this side of the cafe.

According to Ai Luodi, she usually woke up between six-thirty and seven-thirty in the morning, did a quick wash, had breakfast, and then went outside to water the flowers, trim the branches, and by the time I arrived at eight, the outside work was already done.

Ouyang Xue truly treated this side of the cafe as her “home,” and she put almost all her energy into her work every day.

She worked during the day, cleaned at night, and even went online to promote the cafe after cleaning. At least for me, who had worked outside for so many years, Ouyang Xue was the only boss who could be categorized as “excellent” and the only one I respected.

Now that June’s weather had fully entered summer, even though the outdoor tables of the cafe, shaped like a large mushroom, were not directly exposed to the sun, it still took a lot of courage to dine outside. For instance, a few days ago when I received the task from Ouyang Xue to water the two grapevines under the banyan tree outside, the temperature outside was close to forty degrees Celsius, and many leaves of the grapevines had turned yellow due to the intense sunlight and high temperatures.

“I printed these advertisements a week ago, but I see you all are busy every day, so I didn’t mention it.”

Handing me the advertisement papers filled with leaflets along with a bag, Ouyang Xue gestured towards the direction of the commercial street behind the house.

“Have you been there?”

“Um…”

I thought for a moment, “I’ve seen a little bit. Occasionally, Xiao  Mo and I would go there for a walk in the evening.”

“There’s also a trading city behind the commercial street called Mianyun Commercial City. It’s already built, and today is the inauguration ceremony.”

Ouyang Xue returned to her position, “Everyone is rushing to move in June, symbolizing smooth progress. Many businesses are holding events today, June 1st. There are people everywhere. You can go to the entrance of the trading city. It’s crowded there.”

“Uh…”

I looked at the large bag in my hand and then at the leaflets inside, “Did you make these yourself, Sister Ouyang?”

If I remember correctly… the cafe didn’t have a “designer” position. Or maybe “graphic designer.” This profession is responsible for image beautification, graphic design, and various miscellaneous tasks.

Back then, it was because I had self-taught graphic design during my university days and knew a bit of Photoshop that I met Pipi. Later, through occasionally helping him beautify family photos and edit novel covers, I established a deep friendship with him, and then I met Marisa, Su Yunjin, and the others.

Most slightly more formal shops have graphic designers. When the shop holds events, they let the designer create leaflets, take photos of products, align them on the computer, write copy, and then create advertisements with eye-catching visual effects such as “explosive sales” and “discounts.” Finally, they print out the designed materials, and that’s the advertising leaflet.

In addition to this, some shops may also be on delivery apps or have their own websites. They need to design the images for the web, like cropping the photos, beautifying them, outlining them, setting prices, etc. When making a website, the website UI, advertising banners, and scrolling bars are all the work of a graphic designer.

Now Ouyang Xue directly gave me the leaflets that were already produced and printed, which made me instinctively think—she must have worked overtime. I guess she probably pulled an all-nighter one night, specifically to rush these out, after all, this guy has a history of doing so.

“Your focus is so strange.”

Seeing me inquire about the origin of these leaflets, Ouyang Xue in front of me raised her head, “Shouldn’t ordinary employees just do as the boss says when asked to distribute leaflets, without asking how many or for how long?”

“Because I know you so well, even if I just casually run out and come back, or if I lose the advertisements, you won’t blame me.”

I lowered my head and casually pulled out a leaflet from inside, “Come on, tell me, did Sister Ouyang make these herself?”

These leaflets… um, I don’t know how to put it. From a designer’s perspective, none of them are up to par. The borders are misaligned, the fonts are crooked, and in some places, the overall colors clash…

Moreover, perhaps in an attempt to match the lively theme of the cafe girls, there are many cute elements designed by Ouyang Xue on this leaflet. Like hand-drawn bunnies and kittens, and even the main menu with cat paw patterns, giving the impression that it’s put together by a child sticking pictures together.

Or maybe… is it simply because Ouyang Xue didn’t have time to do this herself?

However, in terms of “functionality,” these leaflets are actually sufficient, because in the advertising field, I remember there’s another relatively “unique” category, which is the “bold, large, black, red, and thick” type. Like the very famous “Coconut Tree” coconut juice, it’s a typical example that uses red, yellow, and black, these very eye-catching colors to highlight “freshly squeezed,” “30 years,” “I’ve been drinking it since I was a child,” standing out among numerous beverages. Similar design styles can be seen on those crazy flashing small advertisements on websites, such as “The editor is not home, the author is alone in the dark room doing things,” “9.9 free shipping,” and so on.

Maybe Ouyang Xue’s unconventional minimalist design can make people who receive the advertisement take a second look?

“Um, I just did it casually following the template.”

As she spoke, seeming a bit guilty herself, Ouyang Xue added, “I didn’t stay up late to do it, I rested properly.”

“Oh, okay…”

I nodded, “Is that all then?”

“Why, do you want to distribute all day long?”

Ouyang Xue looked at me somewhat amused, “First, try the effect. You can distribute as many as you want. The temperature outside is quite high. You’ll be very hot in that outfit. When you get to Mianyun Shopping Mall, go to the bottom of Building 1 or Building 2 to avoid the sun and distribute to passersby there. Don’t run around in the sun, it’s easy to get heatstroke.”

“I definitely won’t be running around in this kind of weather under the sun. I’m not stupid…”

As I said this, I noticed a subtle expression of embarrassment flash across Ouyang Xue’s face.

Huh?

Could it be… she has done such foolish things before?

“By the way, Sister Ouyang, I have a request.”

Seeing Ouyang Xue looking like a child whose secret had been guessed, I didn’t expose her. Instead, I said, “In the future, you can leave similar tasks to me.”

“Hmm?”

Ouyang Xue looked somewhat surprised. “Similar tasks? What do you mean?”

“I mean tasks that require design and graphics work.”

I said in a serious tone, “I self-studied these during my university days, did some part-time jobs, took on some projects, and have a certain foundation.”

“Are you referring to graphic design?”

Hearing me say that, Ouyang Xue’s eyes lit up. “Have you taken… any design-related exams?”

“I haven’t taken any exams. I self-taught through online videos, learned a lot, and made a lot of things.”

I explained, “I can handle simple Photoshop designs and advertisement production without any problem.”

Before I made writing novels my side job, I actually tried other ways to earn money. Writing novels was just one of them.

I tried self-learning programming, too. After work each day, I would eat while watching related instructional videos. After finishing, I would experiment on my own computer. But unfortunately, it seemed I didn’t have a talent for it, and my interest wasn’t very strong. In the end, I had to give up. Otherwise… if I mastered programming, it would actually be more profitable than writing novels.

There’s a huge demand for it online now. On those professional freelancing websites, there are all sorts of projects. People state their requirements, and those who can code write programs according to those requirements. For example, there are requests for “image organizers” from certain mature forums or “cash register systems” needed by small supermarkets or grocery stores. The market for this area is enormous.

In addition to coding, there’s also a certain demand for graphic design, such as advertising leaflets, Taobao product pages, and photo editing for slimming, etc. After failing in my attempt to learn programming, I picked up Photoshop, which I had self-studied during college. I took on many projects. Later, when I started writing novels, I didn’t have time to take on Photoshop projects anymore. The skills I learned were mainly used to help good friends like Pipi and Marisa design novel covers or edit photos.

“Really?”

Seeing me so sure, Ouyang Xue seemed visibly excited. “Can you do advertising design?”

Then, as if she remembered something, she shook her head, “No, I hired you for the position of maid waitress, not for this…”

So how could we not say our dear Sister Ouyang is the best boss?

“I want to help too, and…”

I deliberately paused for a moment and said mischievously, “Didn’t Sister Ouyang say that she would hand over this cafe to me in the future? Anyway, when the time comes, I’ll be responsible for these things, so why not adapt in advance?”

“You…”

Ouyang Xue seemed touched. She was silent for a moment and then turned her head, “Alright, if you have spare time after you return, you can try. For now, go to the Mianyun Commercial City and familiarize yourself with the surroundings.”

“Got it!”

“Oh, by the way, if you’re going there, take Dingman with you. Prepare water and cat treats, and bring a leash.”

I paused for a moment, “Take Dingman?

“Yeah, to outsiders, cats are the best advertisement. Or you can tell people passing by that they can get a leaflet if they pet the cat once… Can you keep an eye on Dingman?”

“How could I not? I’m super strong, right?”

I raised one hand in a “strong man” pose, then picked up the large bag of advertising leaflets. “Alright then, Sister Ouyang, I’ll head off! Can I go to Building 1 or Building 2 of Mianyun Commercial City?”

“Either is fine. Both buildings are invested in by Tongmeng Net, and the bosses and managers there know you. Go ahead with confidence.”

“Got it.

I left the miscellaneous room and saw Dingman, who usually sticks to me like glue, curiously looking in my direction from the cat climbing frame outside.

“Let’s go, Dingman.”

I waved to the big cat—

“Sister… cough, cough, I’ll take you to see the outside world!”

“……”

……