Chapter 136: Good Luck Bar
Good Luck Bar at the Bund in Magic City has always had good business, and today guests are also coming in an endless stream.
Young men and women crowd in, slightly tipsy as they leave; indoors and outdoors are all gaudy lights and wine. For them, being drunk in the shop or on the street seems no different.
The guests here are mostly out-of-town tourists and university students, but local bar regulars living nearby are also frequent visitors to the shop.
The shop isn’t big, and there aren’t many personnel inside. To have such stable revenue, it owes much to the quality of the drinks inside, and even more to the bartender’s skills. Their menu has several cocktails unique to Magic City, available only here with no branches elsewhere, and other shops can’t replicate them either, naturally allowing them to stand out in Magic City’s flourishing bar scene.
If asked what the most unique and delicious cocktail at Good Luck Bar is, it must be the “Goddess of Fortune”.
Countless bar regulars come specifically to taste this divine drink from Good Luck Bar. It’s said that those lucky enough to drink it will be utterly captivated.
Unfortunately, the “Goddess of Fortune” is hard to come by, because the only bartender who can perfectly mix its flavor, even at Good Luck Bar, is the world-class master bartender “crystal” alone. And crystal is a capricious bartender who works one day and rests three; each shift she only mixes for certain specific crowds and serves at most three guests per night. So whether you get to drink depends on the guest’s own luck and this master bartender’s mood.
However, recently the vibe at Good Luck Bar has changed; the “Goddess of Fortune” is no longer hard to get.
Crystal took on an apprentice and in a very short time taught him the mixing method and recipe for the shop’s signature treasure—the Goddess of Fortune—and had him substitute for her during off shifts to mix the drink most desired by those guests who love alcohol like their life.
Of course, it takes a family to enter the same door; this apprentice’s “arrogance” and “capriciousness” are in the same vein as crystal’s. He too mixes at most three Goddess of Fortunes per day—no more, skips if he doesn’t like the look of someone, won’t do it in a bad mood, and money won’t sway him.
And the apprentice has his own arrogant credentials; his skills are almost on par with his master crystal, and he has a handsome mixed-race face that attracts countless women.
A capable guy with high looks can be as capricious as he wants and still be “forgiven”.
Since he works in the bar, the apprentice naturally has his own stage name “season”, but this stage name seems downright ordinary compared to his personal looks and bartending skills. So bar regulars often tease him by calling him Brother Season, making his name even more down-to-earth.
Brother Season is a capricious person; in a way, he can also be called laid-back. He doesn’t mind the guests’ teasing and even enjoys accepting it.
Today, it’s still Brother Season on shift. Ever since getting a reliable apprentice, the bar’s beauty bartender crystal has found another excuse for giving up, and her appearances have become fewer and fewer.
“Brother Season, how about a Goddess of Fortune?” A white-collar beauty who had just gotten off work smiled sweetly at the handsome bartender wiping glasses behind the bar.
Hearing this, Brother Season looked up, glanced at her, shook his head decisively, and said very straightforwardly, “Not doing it.”
The white-collar beauty’s smile froze on this sultry summer night in the thirties degrees, but she wasn’t surprised by the answer, as it wasn’t her first rejection. She put on a slightly pouty face and said, “Then a Mojito for me, that should be fine, right?”
“One moment.” Brother Season agreed very promptly this time, then turned to prepare materials and mix the drink for the guest.
Seeing this, the white-collar beauty’s friend or best friend who came with her teased with a grin, “See, even you can’t get it today.”
“Then you try?” The white-collar beauty shot her an annoyed glance.
The best friend laughed, “Fine, I’ll try.”
The best friend then ordered a Goddess of Fortune from Brother Season as well, but got the same response as the white-collar beauty.
“Not doing it.”
“Then a Margarita for me.”
This time she got Brother Season’s affirmative response.
The best friend shrugged at the white-collar beauty, “Congrats, I can’t either.”
The white-collar beauty pursed her lips, then asked Brother Season, who was mixing drinks, “Brother Season, how many Goddess of Fortunes have you made today, and how many do you plan to make?”
“Haven’t made a single one. As for how many tonight, same old rules.” Brother Season replied with a light laugh.
“So that’s three left then.” The white-collar beauty chuckled, picked up her mobile phone, and said, “Then I’ll shake up some nearby friends and see who has the luck to get you to make one. That way I can snag a sip too.”
“Go ahead.” While bantering with the white-collar beauty, Brother Season had already made a Mojito and placed it in front of her. “Your ordered Mojito, please enjoy.”
“You take a photo of it, I’ll make the call.” The white-collar beauty’s eyes lit up at the exquisitely presented Mojito in front of her, but she didn’t forget her heart’s desire—the Goddess of Fortune. She got her best friend to help take photos while she called nearby friends to come out.
Birds of a feather flock together; friends of alcohol lovers may not all love drinking, but most definitely do…
When the white-collar beauty’s friends heard it was Good Luck Bar and that tonight’s “Goddess of Fortune” still had three slots, they initially made various excuses to dodge the late-night work-night drinking gathering, but suddenly all got excited and said they’d be right there.
But as she was calling, the white-collar beauty suddenly realized she had butt-dialed and called a friend she hadn’t meant to summon.
“Oops.” The white-collar beauty was just about to hang up, but unexpectedly, the other side picked up even faster.
“Hello, A Lin, calling me so late, what’s up?” As Brother Season served the freshly made Margarita to the white-collar beauty’s best friend, he heard the low male voice from her mobile phone microphone. The man’s emotions seemed off, though he was trying hard to mask it with hearty laughter.
“Uh, nothing much, just calling to ask if you’re free to come out for drinks… Of course, if you’re not free, no problem, since you have to take care of the child.” The white-collar beauty gave a dry laugh. This friend of hers was a single father who usually took care of the child alone; the child was only eight, just starting third grade in primary school.
Hearing this, the man on the other end went silent for a moment, then gave an answer the white-collar beauty hadn’t expected: “Sure, where?”
“Eh? You don’t need to bring Xiao Peng?” The white-collar beauty was suddenly surprised.
The man let out a few wistful bitter smiles, his laughter full of story, and said, “Xiao Peng’s been sent to her grandmother’s recently. I… never mind, we’ll talk when we meet.”
“Okay, okay, waiting for you, Brother Yu.” The white-collar beauty was a bit delighted and quickly gave the bar address before ending the call with him.
A friend she hadn’t seen in a long time suddenly showing up with “drinking snacks” always thrilled the chatty, gossipy drinkers.
In less than half an hour, the friends summoned by the white-collar beauty arrived one after another, including that “Brother Yu” who came with a story.
Brother Yu was a somewhat haggard-looking man in his thirties, wearing an out-of-place striped polo shirt, but everyone could tell this man had made some preparations to come out tonight, like shaving—though somewhat perfunctorily, with a few stray “weeds” still growing wildly on his chin.
Brother Yu wasn’t particularly handsome, but his face had a approachable vibe that put people at ease and drew them closer.
“Can I get a Goddess of Fortune?” Brother Yu sat next to the white-collar beauty, in the middle of the bar crowd of friends. After taking his seat and ordering, he didn’t forget the white-collar beauty’s reminder on the phone; upon arriving at the shop, he immediately ordered a “Goddess of Fortune” from the handsome mixed-race bartender.
Everyone who had already failed to order a Goddess of Fortune turned hopeful gazes toward Brother Yu, watching Brother Season expectantly, all inwardly chanting “It has to succeed this time.”
“Sure.” Brother Season responded to the drinkers’ inner thoughts and agreed.
Tonight’s first Goddess of Fortune successfully ordered!
“Brother Yu, this one’s on me.” The white-collar beauty said generously, grinning as she squeezed Brother Yu’s shoulders. “But later, you gotta let me have a sip.”
“Damn, sneaky A Lin! I want some too!” The best friend and the other summoned friends immediately weren’t happy and clamored.
Brother Yu was amused by these old drinking buddies he’d once partied with, chuckling, “Then you all share it. Um, Brother Season, right? Another Martini for me.”
“Brother Yu’s so generous!”
“Brother Yu’s so cool!”
“Brother Yu, this Martini’s on me!”
“…”
Hearing Brother Yu so generously give away the fine drink, everyone showed ecstatic joy and started showering him with rainbow farts.
Soon, the legendary shop treasure, the “Goddess of Fortune”, was served. Considerate Brother Season had even divided it into small cups for everyone, so including Brother Yu, all could have some.
Brother Yu looked at the misty pink liquor in front of him, puzzled why everyone was so crazy about this drink. No matter how good, how far could it go?
With skepticism, he downed a cup. Brother Yu only felt a profound fragrance burst from the tip of his tongue, spreading both upward and downward at once—one surge to the brain, one sinking to the stomach. The alcohol warmed him slightly, flushing his cheeks and misting his eyes; he couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.
Hearing the sigh, every drinker immersed in the wine’s aroma and deliciousness suddenly perked up. While restraining themselves to sip the remaining small amounts, they asked Brother Yu why the sigh, if something was bothering him lately.
Brother Yu rubbed his forehead, glanced at the crowd, hesitated to speak, spending a long time switching back and forth between sighing and gearing up to talk, leaving everyone itching with anticipation.
After a while, Brother Yu hesitantly said, “You all know, my wife passed from cancer five years ago.”
“Yeah, so what?” The best friend pressed.
“Recently, Xiao Peng’s art teacher assigned her class a homework to draw their idea of heaven.”
“That’s nice.” The white-collar beauty didn’t catch anything wrong at first, but as she connected the context, it felt a bit eerie.
“Yeah.” Brother Yu licked his dry lips and said, “But Xiao Peng’s still young and doesn’t know some things. She asked me what heaven is, so I said it’s where mom goes. Then I described to her what heaven looks like in my mind.
Xiao Peng understood the meaning of heaven but looked at me puzzled without speaking—she’s never been talkative. Then she started drawing. An hour later, she said she was done and showed me the drawing.”
“What did she draw?” Everyone sensed the horror point had arrived.
Just as everyone thought Xiao Peng would draw something shocking and unconventional like terrifying beings, Brother Yu said something that made their hearts tremble.
“She drew our attic…”
Barely scraped to 3k3… I’ll push harder during this 4k period
