Vientiane Book Cafe.
Inside the book cafe, a woman in formal clothes was supervising the work of the clerks. From time to time, she pointed to certain places and corners, speaking loudly and with authority.
"Chris, clean up carefully. I just saw a paper ball in the corner. Pay attention. Don't miss those blind corners. Today is the first day of the book cafe's new opening. We can't make any mistakes."
"Okay, May, I'll check again."
"Irina, please check the supply of coffee, milk, water, tea, etc."
"May, don't worry, everything is fine."
"Alice, you must smile more. The first thing customers see when they enter the store is you. You have a cold face, which is not good."
"Okay, May, do you think it looks good when I smile like this?" Alice, who had a delicate face, deliberately smiled charmingly at May, who was supervising the work of the clerks.
After seeing it, May pretended to be serious and said, "It looks good, but it's working time now. Give me a good laugh after you get off work."
May Parker, also known as Spider-Man's Aunt May, had been on the job for five days. Since the book cafe was originally well-decorated and had not been damaged, it could be put into use directly. In addition, the salary offered by its boss, Mr. Lockhart, was not low. In just two or three days, three clerks were hired.
Today was the first day of operation of Vientiane Book Cafe. Although she knew that the operation of the book cafe required word of mouth and there might not be any customers on the first day, May still came to the store early to supervise the cleaning of the store and the supply of coffee, tea, and other beverages. She ensured that guests who came to the book cafe could enjoy the best quality service.
However, what May didn't understand was that on her first day as store manager, she communicated with her boss Lockhart. In order to ensure a sufficient customer base in the early stages of the new store's operation, she planned to promote the book cafe through the Internet. She thought that when she put this publicity plan in front of Lockhart, she would get full support. But she found that Lockhart refused directly and told her that she does not need to be responsible for the marketing. All she needs to do is manage the store well.
The reason, Lockhart told her, was that the book cafe only needed word-of-mouth to attract customers, and there was nothing else to worry about. After hearing her boss's explanation, May, who had a somewhat strong personality, immediately wanted to complain that Lockhart was a business idiot. According to her experience, it is true that word-of-mouth attracts customers, but they need at least people to promote word-of-mouth. Initial publicity is indispensable. They must quickly get through the cold start stage before word-of-mouth ferments. Otherwise, this book cafe will just wait for losses.
But since she had just joined the job, she couldn't directly contradict her boss, or she would be fired immediately! Silently watching her boss make such a mind-numbing decision, she prepared to wait for Lockhart to suffer a loss. Then she would show off her skills to save the book cafe from danger and prove her worth.
May had studied business administration, and with many years of work experience, she had quite a lot of experience in business operations. If she knew Lockhart was going to fire her in a few months, she might have thought differently.
At this moment, May was sitting at the desk, a little bored, holding a book on cafe management and reading slowly. She actually wanted to get moving, even if a guest came. Unfortunately, no one came to the book cafe all morning. Even if they came in, they only glanced around and then left. She was speechless and could only sit down at a random table, read slowly, kill time, or recharge her energies.
At this time, suddenly, she saw a familiar figure through the glass and walked in quickly. "Boss, you're here, please come in."
With that said, May hurriedly faced Lockhart while looking at the two men in regular clothes behind him. "Are these two friends of yours? Do you and your friends need something to drink? Tea or coffee?"
After Lockhart brought Kaecilius and Master Morin into the bookstore, faced with May's question, Lockhart thought for a moment and replied, "Make us a pot of tea. Take it to study room 101 at the back later."
With that, Lockhart took the two sorcerers behind him and entered the independent study room inside the book cafe. The independent study room deep in the book cafe was Lockhart's most satisfying place. Not only was it very quiet, but it was also very private. It was simply the best choice for meeting.
At this moment, Lockhart led the two sorcerers into the study and sat on the chairs on both sides of the middle desk. "Lockhart, this is a good place. The peaceful atmosphere, I like it," Kaecilius and Master Morin began to praise as soon as they sat down.
In response, Lockhart naturally had a hint of complacency on his face, but he quickly spoke humbly. "I specially searched for this place, and the design of the book cafe was only slightly modified. All I can say is that my taste is the same as that of the original shop owner, who was a book lover."
Then Lockhart asked impatiently, "Kaecilius, Morin, do you have any clues about the material I wanted last time?"
The two mages, Kaecilius and Morin, looked at the eager Lockhart, with a smile on their faces and said, "We found some clues about the magical metal called Gold Galleons that you wanted last time. But it may take some time, we need to verify it."
Hearing the replies from the two mages, Lockhart nodded slowly, pondered for a moment, then reached out and took out two bottles of Dream Soul Potion and placed them on the table. "Sorry to bother you two, this matter is very important to me. These two bottles of Dream Soul Potion are my gift. If you find it, I will be grateful."
For the raw materials of gold galleons, Lockhart couldn't rely only on S.H.I.E.L.D. While sending S.H.I.E.L.D., he also contacted sorcerers with whom he had a good relationship and asked them to find relevant materials. After all, the world is different, and the same metal may have different names. The more people search for it, the higher the possibility it can be found.
"Then you're welcome. Once confirmed, we'll discuss it later," Morin and Kaecilius looked at the Dream Soul Potion in front of them, their eyes lit up. They replied and then each put away a bottle. Both of them had used Dream Soul Potion before and naturally knew its effect. It was still a good help for their sorcerer practice. Although the effect is best the first time they use it, the subsequent effects are not bad. At least it's much better than practicing alone. The most important thing is that they have not completely developed resistance and can continue to take it until they do.
After seeing the two put away the potion, a smile flashed across Lockhart's face, and then he asked in a deep voice, "So, how is our business going now?"