"Water… cough, water…"
No one knew how long it had been before Su Han slowly regained consciousness. Even before opening his eyes, the sharp pain all over his body made it unbearable.
In his haziness, Su Han felt someone hand him a cup of cool tea. It tasted slightly bitter, but there was a trace of sweetness afterward. He parted his lips to take a small sip, then gulped down the rest.
Perhaps there was medicine in the tea, or maybe the chill helped disperse his drunkenness.
Either way, Su Han felt much better. When he slowly opened his eyes, a cute, mischievous face came into view.
"I'm sorry, Brother Su! It's all my fault. If it weren't for that jar of wine, you wouldn't be suffering like this."
Xiangling apologized repeatedly when she saw Su Han awake. But before he could respond, Hu Tao's voice came from behind her.
"I didn't expect a grown man like him to have such a low tolerance, but let's not talk about that. Su Han, you should be sober by now, right? Hehe, how about we discuss a big business deal?"
Looking at the girl smiling at him, Su Han suddenly had a bad feeling. What was this about? Why did it feel off?
Could it be that he said something he shouldn't have while drunk?
Feeling uneasy, Su Han looked at Hu Tao and asked cautiously, "Hall Master, what do you want to talk about?"
"Hey, don't be so nervous." Hu Tao squatted beside his bed, smiling. "I'm just saying, you've been hiding your talents pretty well. Every time I asked you to help me come up with ways to expand the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's business, you always dodged me.
This time, I got you drunk, and you spilled everything! I won't beat around the bush, recently, I plan to take Xiangling and head to Mondstadt to expand our operations. And while we're at it, we'll sell some of your comics. In exchange, I want you to write me a detailed business development plan."
Su Han went black in the face and flopped back onto the bed, muttering, "Drinking really leads to disaster…"
Just from her words, he could tell exactly what had happened. But since he had already talked in his drunken state, there was no point denying it now. The only reason he'd refused to help Hu Tao expand earlier was because he didn't want to be sent to Mondstadt.
For others, Mondstadt might be a free and joyful city.
But to Su Han, freedom often meant chaos and lack of order.
The fact that even the Anemo Archon's cathedral could be occupied by the Fatui showed just how ridiculous that country was. So until Lumine cleaned up the Fatui mess, Su Han had no intention of stepping foot there.
When it came to safety, Liyue was far more reliable.
Hu Tao looked at Su Han pretending to be dead and snorted. "Don't think you can get away with this. I'm not asking you for free, how about I give you ten percent of the profits from the Mondstadt branch?"
Hearing the word "profit," Su Han instantly sat up straight and looked at her. "That generous?"
Ten percent profit, without him having to do anything? That was basically free money!
Hu Tao rolled her eyes and said angrily, "What are you saying? When have I ever been stingy? Besides, think of it as me paving the way for you. Don't you want your comics sold in Mondstadt too?
When I get there, I can even check potential shop locations for you. You're the one getting a great deal here!"
"Well, thank you very much then."
"Less talk, more work. I want to hear a proper detailed plan. You were too drunk earlier, I could barely make out what you were saying."
"Fine, but just explaining it might not be enough. I'll make a diagram for you."
"Even better!"
Su Han did as he said, he grabbed a brush and began writing at the table.
"First off, Mondstadt's preferred funeral style involves being buried in cemeteries. The focus is on offering flowers and recounting the deceased's achievements, and if there aren't any, just embellish a bit! Then, hire some bards to provide music.
The style should match what the deceased liked in life, so communicate well with their families. After that, invite the Church of Favonius to offer prayers, or if not, find some fallen noble families to do it. Finally, the funeral procession can begin."
In Mondstadt, there was actually no formal funeral industry.
If Hu Tao went there, her professionalism alone would crush the local competition.
Listening to Su Han's explanation, Hu Tao nodded repeatedly. Even Xiangling, though not understanding much, was amazed.
"Brother Su, have you lived in Mondstadt before? You seem to know their customs so well."
"Hehe, of course not. But I once saved a noble from Mondstadt, so I learned a bit from him."
Naturally, Su Han couldn't admit that he knew all this from the game. Simply put, Mondstadt funerals were Western-style ones. The only difference was that Mondstadt, being a free city, liked to keep the atmosphere a little lively. Other than that, there wasn't much difference.
After reading through the plan carefully, Hu Tao said, "Su Han, I'm planning to recruit craftsmen tomorrow morning and head straight to Mondstadt."
"So soon?"
Hearing that she was leaving at dawn, Su Han was surprised. Even if they were expanding business, there was no need to rush that much.
Hu Tao nodded slightly and explained, "I heard from Xiangling that Mondstadt is currently facing a dragon disaster. Didn't you once say that business comes from demand? This is a golden opportunity!"
When Su Han heard about the dragon disaster, he sighed inwardly. So the story had begun already. In a few months, Lumine would probably awaken.
Still, he wasn't too worried.
He was just a comic shop owner, so long as he didn't get involved in things like the Abyss, those monsters had no reason to bother him.
Later on, Su Han gave more detailed instructions regarding Mondstadt's business development, such as precautions for establishing a branch of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and what kind of people to recruit.
Hu Tao nodded as she listened, though some notes made her raise an eyebrow. She pointed to the document. "Wait a minute, Su Han, these two points sound strange. 'Don't recruit bards wearing green clothes,' and 'try to take care of a little girl in red.' What's that about?"
Su Han glanced at it and chuckled. "Oh, that. I just heard that bards in green clothing in Mondstadt are notorious slackers. If you hire one, it's like paying someone who's asleep when you need them most, a waste of Mora.
As for the little girl in red, she's actually a member of the Knights of Favonius. She's extremely powerful, and adorable too. Having her around means our business will be safe and sound."
"Ohh, I get it, it's about finding reliable allies! Makes sense."
After Su Han's explanation, Hu Tao finally understood. Besides, when it came to slackers, between Zhongli and Su Han, she had enough already, no need to recruit more from elsewhere.
While the two of them were still discussing, far away in Mondstadt's plaza, a bard had just finished his song when he suddenly sneezed.
"Achoo!"
"What was that? A cat nearby? No… I didn't sense one. Huh, must be someone talking about me."
He rubbed his nose and chuckled softly. "Still, waking up this time sure brings plenty of trouble.
I wonder when I'll see my old friends again… maybe I'll dig up a two-hundred-year-old jar of wine and visit that old man?"
"Yeah, that sounds good. It's been a long time since I've gone to Liyue. Once Dvalin settles down, I'll head there."
Muttering to himself, the bard looked around, no one was paying attention, and his body turned into a breeze of emerald light, vanishing into the air.
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