Miss Witch, even if we're poor, we can't sell ourselves!

Around four o'clock in the afternoon, Miya pushed open the wooden door of Nightingale's Nest.

Before the copper bell on the door frame could even ring, she was startled by the scene before her.

Korika, perched on Zimilu's neck, was wiping the dust off the crystal chandelier with a rag. Her light green ponytail swung back and forth, causing Zimilu to sneeze several times.

Sylvie stood in front of the bar, with seven or eight chairs floating in front of her. She was spraying cleaning spells on each one while chanting the proportions of the disinfectant.

Belle squatted by the window and wiped the glass with old newspapers. After wiping it a couple of times, she would breathe out white breath and draw a smiley face on it.

Flores stood in the center of the store, directing the entire operation. She wore a burgundy fishtail dress with an apron over it and held a glass of red wine in her hand, looking more like she was on vacation than doing a spring cleaning.

"What are you doing?"

Miya placed the bags and packages on the bar counter.

"Spring cleaning."

Flores took a sip of her drink.

"Tonight is the first day of reopening. The chandeliers need to be cleaned and the floors need to be waxed—Korika, the crystal pendant inside your chandelier is leaking."

"I can't reach it! Purple Rice Dew, go a little higher!"

"I'm already standing on my tiptoes."

Miya put down her small backpack and looked around.

The store was actually quite clean, but Flores has very high standards.

She spent the whole day shopping, from eating noodles early in the morning, looking for Luo Yan to sell herbs, to picking up her school uniform, buying clothes, and browsing snack shops. Her legs were aching from all the walking, and she didn't want to climb up and down to clean the chandeliers anymore. But seeing everyone else working while she rested made her feel quite uncomfortable.

So she leaned against the bar counter, her gaze sweeping over the few bouquets of flowers and a large bunch of loose flowers in the corner, wrapped in kraft paper and piled up in the corner. They were probably bought by Flores from the market that morning to decorate the shop, and she hadn't had time to deal with them yet. There were also a few empty vases scattered around them.

"I'll arrange the flowers."

Miya rolled up her sleeves to her elbows.

She learned a bit about plant pairing in Bie Chenye's wooden cabin. Although she mainly learned about herb classification at the time, Bie Chenye's notes also contained a lot of information about ornamental plants.

Those notes detailed which flowers were suitable for indoor placement, which flowers had a stress-relieving effect with their fragrance, and which flowers looked best paired with vases of which materials.

She unwrapped the kraft paper and carefully removed and sorted the flowers one by one.

The main flower is a deep red color I've never seen before, with petals layered like a skirt, golden stamens, and a faint, sweet honey scent.

The accompanying flowers are small white flowers with petals as delicate as a sky full of stars, but each flower emits a very faint fluorescent glow, making them perfect for placing in a dimly lit corner as an embellishment.

There are also a few slender green vines with small, round leaves and flexible stems that can be bent and shaped at will.

She chose the transparent glass vase, wrapped the vines around the mouth of the vase a few times, let the deep red main flower peek out from between the vines, and then added a few fluorescent white flowers as embellishments.

After arranging the flowers, she stepped back two paces to look at them, and then added two small, trimmed flower buds to the bottom of the vase to make it more layered.

She placed the vase next to the candle in the center of the bar. The candlelight filtered through the petals, casting warm red spots on the bar, which overlapped with the faint glow of the white flowers, creating a scene so beautiful that she was momentarily stunned.

Flores put down her glass, walked over and glanced at it, a smile appearing on her lips.

"You've learned quite a lot lately."

Miya felt a little embarrassed by the praise and lowered her head to tidy up the remaining flowers.

"Teacher Bie's notes contain everything. She said that the aesthetic appreciation of plants is also part of the perception of vitality. Each flower has a unique fragrance, and when they are matched well, they can affect the atmosphere of the entire space."

"It's beautiful, I like it very much."

Before Mi Ye could continue speaking, she turned around and waved to Belle, who was still wiping the glass.

"Belle, come here and move these vases to the various tables."

Belle jumped down from the windowsill, grabbed two vases, and ran off.

Korika finally finished wiping the last crystal pendant on the chandelier, slid off her purple off-shoulder dress, and was so surprised to see the flower arrangement on the table that her mouth dropped open.

"Little Miya, you can even do flower arranging?!"

Zimi Lu took the vase and placed it on the high table in the corner, then stepped back two paces to examine it.

"It really looks good."

Miya wrapped the last vine around the copper hook next to the coat rack at the bar entrance and pinned two small flowers on it so that customers who came in to change their coats would see it at first glance.

After doing all that, she retreated behind the bar and looked around.

A small vase of flowers appeared on each table, and the light shone through the petals, casting dappled shadows on the dark wood surface.

In addition to the original scents of wood and red wine, the air is filled with a faint, sweet floral fragrance, making you want to sit down and stay a little longer.

"Alright, work's done, let's eat."

Flores brought out a large tray from the kitchen, on which were several dishes.

Looking at all the delicious food, Miya realized that she had been shopping all day and had only eaten three bowls of noodles in the morning and a few biscuits while shopping. Now, smelling the aroma of soy sauce, her stomach immediately rumbled twice.

Claire pulled Miya to sit next to her, while Belle took the seat on Miya's other side.

Sylvie gracefully laid out the napkins, and Zimilu poured everyone a glass of homemade sparkling water, with a small slice of lemon stuck in the rim of the glass.

Flores sat at the end of the long table and raised her glass of red wine.

"Let's treat ourselves before opening! Everyone worked so hard today, cheers!"

The rims of the glasses touched each other, making a crisp clinking sound.

Dinner was plentiful, and Mi Ye found that her appetite was even larger than when she ate noodles in the morning. She ate three bowls of rice and several pieces of braised pork.

Korika kept putting food on her plate, saying as she did so that she should eat more because she was exhausted from the exam. Zimilu quietly pushed her own chicken wings in front of her as well.

After the meal, everyone cleaned up the dishes, wiped the bar clean, and checked all the wine glasses to make sure there were no water stains.

Flores walked to the door and flipped the wooden sign hanging on the door to the "open for business" side.

The snow outside had stopped, and a thin layer of snow covered the stone pavement in the back alley.

The streetlights had just come on, and their warm yellow light made the snow surface sparkle.