Selling Drinks

Qin Shunying first had Jiang Han memorize the drinks menu, then the tavern's food menu.

The drinks menu was long, divided into straight liquor and cocktails, and none of it was cheap. Bottles that cost three or four hundred were everywhere. Jiang Han did a quick mental calculation and silently clicked her tongue. A night of eating and drinking in a place like this would cost at least eight or nine hundred.

No wonder the Witch House's storeroom was packed with rare spells and materials. They had money.

"When customers ask about the drinks, you can tell them what you know, but don't exaggerate what they can do. You can act sweet and coy, but no touching. I'm sure you're a good girl who knows how to behave, but I have to make these things clear."

So it was a proper—no, a rather respectable tavern... The stone in Jiang Han's heart finally dropped. She nodded to show she'd follow the house rules.

"Good."

"When customers ask about the prices, you don't need to answer. Just hand them the menu," Qin Shunying said. "You don't need to say much. Just look at them quietly. Their vanity will soon make them order the most expensive drinks they can afford. Your job is to get customers to buy those pricey drinks willingly, without making them angry."

Qin Shunying spoke with plenty of experience:

"Listen more. Customers often have a lot to say, and when they do, you need to listen to what's on their minds. Be patient. If they start talking about something like a relationship, don't try to sell them drinks. They'll feel like you're only listening so you can sell them something. That may be true, but you can't let them feel that way."

"And you need to have some style. In fact, what I just said—don't talk about prices, just slide the menu over gently... Oh, how's your handwriting?"

What did good handwriting have to do with selling drinks...? Jiang Han grumbled inwardly, then answered honestly, "It's all right."

In truth, that was modesty. She'd had beautiful handwriting in her previous life, and it had even earned her favor with her boss.

"Good." Qin Shunying narrowed her wine-red eyes, looking a little sly.

"Keep a few slips of paper handy. When customers ask what drinks we have, write down a few of the most expensive ones and slide the note over. If they buy one, great. If they ask whether you have anything cheaper, don't make fun of them. Keep your cool, write another note with some mid-priced drinks, and slide that over instead..."

"That way, they'll definitely buy something!"

Psychological marketing... Jiang Han hadn't expected the tavern's sales tactics to be so advanced. If they were tackier, they could shout out the name every time they sold a high-end bottle, and it wouldn't be much different from the taverns she'd seen in her previous life. But the Witch House had standards. They wouldn't do anything that tacky.

Qin Shunying went on to explain all sorts of other tricks, then gave her a TV schedule.

The Witch House tavern had a big-screen TV (handcrafted by an Archwitch). From noon to midnight, it showed prerecorded programs bought from the Witch TV Station. The pay-per-view fee wasn't high, but customers had to book in advance. From one in the morning until eleven, it showed live programs, including the School Duel Tournament and Potion Variety Show.

It was also part of the job to memorize the programs and find ways to chat with customers who came to watch TV.

Qin Shunying glanced at the clock and asked,

"Hmm, it's almost eleven. Would you mind trying out a shift behind the bar?"

"Sure." Jiang Han answered, then asked, "Do I only need to handle the cash register back here?"

If possible, she hoped to spend five days a week behind the bar, letting it keep her penned in so she wouldn't have to go out and sell drinks to those witches...

Qin Shunying nodded, her smile twitching now and then.

"That's right. It's easy work. And if customers come to the bar to drink, you'll need to sell them drinks too. Use the first method I just mentioned: slide the menu over. The bar is staffed by two people, so your partner will have an easier time too."

As she spoke, she walked out of the break room.

Jiang Han followed her to the bar, where she saw a witch standing there in an outfit much like her own, except this one wore gloves.

She had long, traditional black hair, but the tips and ends blazed like flames. Her quartz-red eyes were striking, and her skin was fair, much like Jiang Han's, but there was a noticeable difference.

Her skin seemed to glow as if lit by burning flames, while Jiang Han's had a cooler tone, as if lightly dusted with snow.

When Jiang Han came up to the bar, the witch glanced over her qipao, then turned her head slightly toward Qin Shunying.

"This is Miss Jiang Han. She joined the Witch House today." Qin Shunying gestured toward the witch. "And this is Miss Chu Yujun. She'll teach you the basics. I hope you two get along."

The two women nodded in unison. Qin Shunying smiled with satisfaction, clapped her hands, took a puff from her long-stemmed pipe, then tapped the table lightly. "All right, ladies. This is yours now."

It sounded like she was introducing them on a blind date... Jiang Han looked away, only to see Chu Yujun tilting her head as she studied her. Her quartz-red eyes were deep, and her silence was unnerving. Jiang Han gave a startled look, and Chu Yujun lowered her gaze and turned away.

"Hello, Chu... Miss?" Jiang Han asked tentatively.

Chu Yujun turned back and stared at her in silence. Just as Jiang Han was starting to feel the hair rise on the back of her neck, Chu Yujun spoke slowly:

"Don't use 'Miss.' Just call me by my full name."

Jiang Han shifted her gaze for help. Qin Shunying, sitting at a round table in the tavern and watching a card game, looked over and gave her an encouraging nod. Then she tucked her pipe between her teeth, rubbed her hands together, and squeezed into the game.

"Then... Chu Yujun?" Jiang Han repeated her name.

"Sit down." Chu Yujun pointed to the long bench beneath her.

The seats behind the bar were long, high sofas, and Jiang Han looked a little small sitting on one.

The bar was built in a semicircle, with two levels of inward-facing steps, each forty centimeters apart. The side facing inward, where the servers stood, was lower. It was a little like the desks in a university lecture hall, and when there were no customers, you could write notes or read there.

Jiang Han placed both hands on the counter. There weren't many customers in the Witch House yet; most were playing cards or watching TV.

The program on TV was a witch duel. Jiang Han frowned. Since many spells could bring the recently dead back to life, the witches on the show went for the kill. One witch had cast Dispel Magic and immediately followed it up with a Wither Spell, turning half her opponent's body to ash after her shield was dispelled. It was so brutal that only viewers aged eighteen and up were allowed...

As Jiang Han watched, conflicted, while rescuers carried the witch struck by the Wither Spell off the stage, Chu Yujun's slow voice came from beside her:

"Too careless."

Jiang Han glanced over. Chu Yujun was mixing drinks as she quietly commented on the match.

"She was too greedy. She didn't want to spend more mana to win, and then she got turned around." Chu Yujun noticed Jiang Han looking at her. Her voice grew a little louder, as if inviting conversation.

"Too greedy?" Jiang Han prompted.

"This is a tournament, with six matches a day and a points system. So you have to manage your mana. Save it for strong opponents, or give up strategically." Chu Yujun explained without expression.

"So she was trying to save mana for her next match?"

Jiang Han looked at the charts on TV while the commentators offered their own take:

"Whoa! That was a bad call, Xiang Shi!"

"Exactly, that was a terrible call by Xiang Shi! She threw away a sure win! Her injuries are severe, and they might affect her mindset and performance in the next match. She was on track for a perfect 6–0 today, but after this, she might end up at 5–1, or even 4–2!"

Perhaps because it was 1994, the commentators were as bold as those in 1994 in Jiang Han's previous life. The pretty commentator cried out with feeling:

"She was even trying to save mana on her defensive spells! Who else but her would get turned around? What a terrible player! If I were in there, I'd have won that match without breaking a sweat!"

The other commentator beside her laughed:

"Exactly! If Teacher Yu had been in there, she really would've won! Though she might've been even greedier than Xiang Shi—bold enough to skip Flash Dust entirely! Didn't she get turned around at last year's Masters after saving her Flash Dust, only for Misali to turn invisible and become practically invincible?"

—The commentators were fighting!

For real!

Jiang Han was dumbfounded. Beside her, Chu Yujun calmly picked up a thermos from the table and poured herself a cup of tea. She really was relaxed.

Jiang Han relaxed too, chatting with Chu Yujun while they watched TV. It was even more comfortable than being at home.

Unfortunately, the good times didn't last. Once it turned eleven, more and more customers arrived. All eight seats at the bar filled up with witches, and Jiang Han got busy. On her first day at work, she was a little flustered. She had to serve the right drinks and record orders so the staff could fetch them from the wine cellar. She also had to deal with the verbal teasing of witches with varying degrees of nasty personalities, as well as the occasional leering stare...

Those were some of the usual troubles of working for the first time.

"Huaizhen Wine, one glass over here, with a little salt and soda."

"Enchant my vodka! I want it on fire!"

"Dream Rum, three kegs, to go."

Fixed a typo.

Changed 'Du' to 'Chu'; I had the plot of a certain literary-girl story on my mind while writing...