First Job

After eating breakfast, Jiang Han did not immediately set off for the Witch House market. Instead, she changed back into her pajamas, happily ran to the Ice Bear Den to pet the bears, and took another nap on one of them. Would a tavern even be open in the morning? Certainly not!

This comfortable nap lasted until the afternoon. She was only woken up by her younger sister, who took her to lunch before she returned to the bear den to pet bears and read books.

It wasn't until after eight in the evening that she and her sister, Jiang Xuan—a veteran who spent her time gardening at home—ate a meal of fish noodles. After dinner, she changed into casual robes, put on her wide-brimmed witch hat, and left home in a relaxed and happy mood.

The family environment for witches is quite liberal; unless family members have made prior plans to hang out together, everyone spends their weekends doing their own thing.

After putting on her shoes in the entryway and mounting her broom, Jiang Han had already mastered the techniques of flight with ease.

Brooms are divided into Class G and Class A. Class A refers to brooms with standard flight speeds. Although Jiang Han thought Class A brooms were already quite fast, in reality, Class G brooms are nearly three to five times faster than Class A; they are true high-speed brooms. Aside from being expensive, Class G brooms also require a license to operate.

Because the country is composed of many Sky Islands, the aerial flight paths are quite complex, making it harder to obtain a Class G license domestically than abroad. However, since Class G licenses are internationally recognized, some witches go to Southeast Asia to get their licenses before returning home—incidentally, Japan is also a nation of many Sky Islands, and their exams are unbelievably strict!

After flying for a while, she saw the Floating Mountain Market, half of which had been hollowed out. Because it was the weekend, it was even more bustling. She hadn't paid much attention last time, but there were several smaller Sky Islands near the Floating Mountain Market, with restaurants and amusement facilities built upon them.

There were also quite a few ordinary people taking griffin carriages to those Sky Islands to enjoy the witch lifestyle during the weekend.

Having mastered the routine, she stored her broom at the deposit counter, received her claim tag, and followed the path she had taken the day before.

The market was chaotic but orderly.

Vendors selling fruits and vegetables were right next to flower shops, followed by trading posts for alcohol, and not far away were rows of tavern streets.

And next to bookstores, there were always shops for magical items, antiques, and enchantments.

Near the herbalist merchants, you would find alchemy shops, and so on.

Following this logic, she arrived at the tavern street and quickly found the tavern called Witch House.

It was very easy to identify; a type of bamboo called "Wine Bamboo" was planted at the entrance. This bamboo was a deep brown color and emitted the fragrance of ale. If you got close, you could even hear the faint sound of liquid flowing inside the bamboo joints...

Because of the bamboo at the entrance and a small, elegant bridge over flowing water, the Witch House looked like a small pavilion in a bamboo forest, possessing a unique and charming appeal.

Jiang Han pushed the door open and walked in, seeing the Witch House's unique interior design, which resembled a library.

There weren't many guests in the tavern at this time. Most seemed to be regulars, either sipping wine from small cups while reading magazines or gathered together playing cards.

Jiang Han leaned in to see what kind of cards they were playing.

She saw four people sitting around a round table, each holding a hand of cards, taking turns drawing and discarding.

What kind of card game requires drawing and then playing cards? Hearthstone? Jiang Han leaned in to take a look.

A witch dressed in red and black just played a card.

A witch dressed in green and black let out a soft cry of "Pong!" then picked up the card the red-and-black witch had played, took two identical cards from her own pile, laid the three cards flat in front of her, and then played a card: "Three of Bamboo."

...Isn't this just Mahjong?

...And they even turned it into a card game... Jiang Han couldn't say a word for a long time. She guessed that perhaps witches didn't like being too noisy, so they had converted the original Mahjong into a card game.

She glanced at the round table; the cards the witches had played were neatly arranged in front of them like a discard pile, and in the center sat a "Six of Ten Thousand" card, with a prompt on the table reading "Dora Indicator."

It was even Japanese Mahjong, for heaven's sake...

Jiang Han left the round table and went to the bar.

Coincidentally, the witch named Qin Shunying who had recruited her the day before was sitting there, adjusting something.

"It's you? Please wait a moment." Seeing her, Qin Shunying looked very happy and turned around.

She was holding a spherical black cat that looked severely overweight. The witch was holding a piece of bamboo with a string attached to it. After about ten seconds of adjustment, she tied the bamboo to the black cat, then held the head of the bamboo in one hand and picked up a goblet to place on the cat's belly with the other.

"Ahem, will you remember tomorrow~ the diary you wrote yesterday..." Qin Shunying cleared her throat and began to sing, scratching the cat's belly with the goblet, causing the black cat to emit the sound of a musical instrument in a very unscientific way.

What the hell, a shamisen... Jiang Han once again didn't know what to say.

After this gorgeously dressed witch finished singing a song, the black cat let out a meow, broke free from the bamboo, and jumped onto the floor.

Thump! Slap!

Two sounds rang out simultaneously. The black cat landed face-first, seemingly causing the wooden floor to creak, and then limped behind the bar...

"Hahaha!" Qin Shunying let out a laugh that was not very ladylike. She wiped away tears of laughter, picked up the pipe on the bar to light it, took a puff, and said with a smile: "Music, an important part of our lives, or perhaps, the life of a cat."

This woman is a bit crazy... Jiang Han gave her a wary look.

"We met the day before yesterday." Qin Shunying tapped her pipe, gave an apologetic gesture to the few witches reading and drinking quietly nearby, and looked at Jiang Han with interest. "Do you want this job now?"

Jiang Han hesitated for a moment, sat down at the bar, and asked, "Can I see what special spells you have first?"

"No problem. Every witch interested in working here asks to see them first, and after seeing them, they all want to stay." Qin Shunying took a list out of her robe pocket; she seemed to have it ready at all times.

There were quite a few spells on the list, the vast majority of which Jiang Han had never heard of in school books. They were primarily Evocation and Abjuration, which was completely different from Jiang Han's impression of the Witch House. In her view, a club like the Witch House should circulate spells from the Illusion or Enchantment schools.

Abjuration and Evocation are simple and direct types, which doesn't fit the persona of a woman selling alcohol... Jiang Han nodded, acknowledging the value of these spells. Some of the spell names sounded explosive just by hearing them, such as "Skyfire Skyfire."

"Then, let's have a brief chat about the part that interests you most."

Qin Shunying took out another document, this time a contract:

"The Witch House guarantees that it will not increase or decrease the points required to exchange for spells. There will be a fluctuation of no more than 15% for the exchange points of potion materials, and a fluctuation of no more than 10% for the exchange of magical items."

The contract contained the details Qin Shunying had mentioned before:

A Class A work agreement (5% tax, national insurance), thirty hours of work per week, a weekly salary of 1,000 yuan, one meal included, a 10% share of alcohol sales, 50 Witch House points per week... and miscellaneous clauses like earning xx points for selling xx alcohol, with more expensive drinks earning more points...

There was also a salary commission for playing cards with guests.

The salary split for singing and performing songs.

There was even a line at the very bottom of the contract for 'crosstalk salary split'. It seemed they didn't just recruit beautiful witches here, but also those who could perform crosstalk...

Jiang Han read through it carefully once more, confirming there was no content regarding 'erotic services', and nodded:

"No problem. Do I sign here?"

"Yes, but after signing, you'll need to wait here for a while. Our contracts need to be taken for notarization," Qin Shunying smiled. "Although we might look like a somewhat unconventional profession, we are officially recognized, have insurance, labor agreements, oversight from the labor union, and are a tax-paying industry."

If these things weren't in place, I wouldn't be taking this job either... Jiang Han took the pen attached to the contract and signed her name in the corresponding spots. The contract was quite long, requiring signatures in over a dozen places.

After everything was signed, Qin Shunying took out a badge and a silver box the size of a matchbox. She pressed the badge into the inkpad inside the silver box, pulled it out, and then thwack, pressed it onto the contract.

She then beckoned to a witch wearing a black qipao, and after the other party approached, she handed the contract to her and instructed:

"Take this to the Witch Association for notarization."

After giving the order, she stood up, reached out toward Jiang Han, and said:

"Welcome to the Witch House."

Jiang Han stood up as well to shake her hand, politely replying:

"It is my honor as well."