People in Mondstadt, starting to develop black technology

Seeing the two people, one big and one small, looking at her expectantly, Sandang sighed and said, "Okay, let's go over and take a look."

Originally, she wanted to return to the alchemy workshop and study alchemy knowledge for a while, but she really didn't want to ruin their interest. She and Shen Qin had been studying in seclusion for so many days and had no time to play with Klee.

Forget it, forget it. I'll just waste the day today and spend some time relaxing with them.

They followed the crowd to the square in front of the West Wind Cathedral, where bright lights illuminated the square like daylight. A huge banner was hung high by two hot air balloons - the 3rd Mond Cocktail Competition jointly organized by the Cat's Tail Tavern and Angel's Gift.

"Huh?" Shen Qin reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled ticket. "So this is what Diluk was talking about!"

"My dear friend, are you also attracted here by the rich aroma of wine?"

Kaiya suddenly appeared and put his hand on Shen Qin's shoulder. Then he saw the ticket in Shen Qin's hand and shouted exaggeratedly: "What? You actually have a precious VIP ticket?!"

Chapter 45: You have to pay more!

Hearing Kaiya's words, everyone around looked over. An uncle rushed up and said to Shen Qin eagerly: "Little brother, can you sell this ticket to me? I'll give you five hundred... no, one thousand Mora!"

"I'll pay two thousand, just sell the ticket to me!" A young lady squeezed up to Shen Qin and stuffed Mora directly into his hand.

"Three thousand! I'll use three thousand to buy your ticket! Please, give me the ticket!"

Shen Qin was confused. He didn't understand why these people were willing to pay so much Mora for this ticket. Was it so valuable?

"Okay, okay, everyone, go away. My brother has already promised to give me the tickets. You should hurry up and see if there is anyone else who wants to sell tickets. It will be too late if you are late." Kaiya said to them with a smile.

When the onlookers heard what he said, they thought it made sense and soon they dispersed to look for their own targets.

"You guy, I didn't promise to give you the ticket!" Shen Qin looked at Kaiya warily, "Also, why do you all want this ticket?"

Kaia explained that the two giants of Mond's wine industry, Cat's Tail Tavern and Angel's Gift, have jointly held a cocktail competition for two consecutive years, and this year is the third.

At every cocktail competition, the best new bartenders in Mondstadt will participate. They will mix cocktails on the spot, and then the judges will select the new bartender with the best skills.

There are only fifty seats in the front row VIP seats, and everyone has the opportunity to taste the bartenders' works first hand, just like the judges.

These fifty places are basically randomly selected by the two pubs from regular customers. Before the game starts, many people who love drinking will look for those lucky ones on site and buy tickets at high prices.

"Generally, the transaction price of a ticket is around 5,000 Mora. In order to drink the new wine first, they are definitely willing to spend this amount of Mora." Kaiya looked at Shen Qin with a smile, "For the sake of our good friendship, I will buy your ticket for 6,000 Mora, how about it? Anyway, you don't seem to like drinking much."

"Our friendship is only worth one thousand Mora?" Shen Qin said angrily, "You have to pay more!"

"Uh..." Kaiya almost sprained his waist because of his dirty words, and looked at him with a helpless look.

"Just kidding." Shen Qin patted his shoulder. "This ticket was given to me by Master Diluk himself. I was afraid that he would kick you out as soon as you sat down."

"Okay, you have a point. He is really capable of doing such a thing!" Kaia shrugged. "Then I will go and have fun by myself. Fortunately, there are ordinary wines available on site, so those of us who love wine will not be too bored."

"Take Klee and Sucrose with you. I may not be able to take care of them later. Remember, don't let Klee drink!"

Shen Qin left the two girls to him and squeezed towards the VIP seats, but when he quickly glanced around, he saw a familiar green figure in the crowd.

He quickly changed direction and walked over there.

The young bard seemed to be drunk. There were a few empty wine bottles under his feet. He stood there swayingly, and the harp in his hand was plucked randomly, but it still produced melodious music.

He sang Mond's old ballads in an ancient accent, and although people couldn't understand him, it felt surprisingly appropriate to listen to him sing while drinking.

The corner of Shen Qin's mouth twitched. He really didn't expect to see Mond's drunkard at this time - the wind god Barbatos himself. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to call him Wendy now.

He wanted to contact Wendy, or at least tell her about Tvarin, but a hand suddenly locked his wrist tightly, preventing him from moving forward.

He looked back in astonishment, only to see the Knights' maid Noelle holding his hand, and said anxiously, "Mr. Shen Qin, I finally found you! The cocktail competition is about to start, I'll take you there!"

"Eh? Wait..." He was pulled towards the center of the square by the serious maid and was completely unable to resist the huge force.

Shen Qin looked back at Wendy, and in a trance seemed to see him winking at him.

At this time, the center of the square has been arranged to look like a bar. The long bar can accommodate more than a dozen people. Behind the bar is a wine cabinet that is one and a half meters high. It is filled with various wines and cocktail ingredients. The operating table below the wine cabinet is filled with various cocktail tools.

There are twenty tables and fifty seats directly in front of the bar, which is the VIP seat.

Diluk stood in front of the bar. Seeing Shen Qin being dragged over by Noelle, he couldn't help but smile. He looked at the noisy crowd and raised the megaphone in his hand: "Now I declare that the third Mondstadt Cocktail Competition officially begins!"

"Oh!!!" the audience cheered.

"Cheers! Cheers!" This was someone who was drunk before the game even started.

Next, Diluk briefly announced the rules of the competition. There were a total of thirty-two bartenders participating in this competition. Half of the contestants would be eliminated in each round until the fifth round, when the champion would be decided. The reward for the champion would be the position of chief bartender of the Cat's Tail Tavern.

The thirty-two bartenders sitting on the side waiting were all full of fighting spirit and eager at the same time. The chief bartender of the Cat's Tail Tavern was basically at the top of the bartender industry, and they didn't want to miss such an opportunity to rise to the top.

But among the thirty-two people, a little girl with pink hair, cat ears and a cat tail stared at Diluk with hatred: "Damn it, you turned so many people in Mondstadt into drunkards! I must become the head bartender of the Cat's Tail Tavern, mix the most unpalatable drinks, and destroy the entire Mondstadt wine industry!"

After announcing the rules, Diluk continued, "Next, please welcome the judges of this competition. They are Margaret, the owner of the Cat's Tail Tavern!"

Margaret came to Diluk in a delicate little dress and waved to everyone: "I hope everyone has fun today!"

"Boss lady, I love you!" Someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, causing everyone to laugh.

Margaret also smiled softly and said, "You can love me, but I just hope you can love the wine in Cat's Tail Tavern more!"

Taking advantage of the good atmosphere, Diluk immediately invited the second judge, Duraf, the hunter leader of Qingquan Town.

"Damn it! Dad is here after all, and he's even become a judge. I'm going to make him the most unpalatable drink later!" The little cat bartender gritted his teeth.

The third judge is the new adventurer Jack. (Yes, the Jack who once joined Benny's adventure group.)

He was not well-known, but the guests who often visited Angel's Gift knew that he had a remarkable alcohol tolerance and shouted his name. He shyly waved at them.

The fourth judge was Quinn, a fruit shop vendor. He was well-known among Mondstadt's drinking buddies and received enthusiastic cheers from everyone when he appeared on stage.

"I am the fifth judge. Although I don't drink, I will make my judgment based on the color, aroma, and the bartender's manners when mixing the drinks."

"Now, let us invite the last judge, Mr. Shen Qin, the genius alchemist who invented the flying skateboard and bionic prosthesis!"

Shen Qin was confused: What?

Chapter 46 Cat's Tail Special

Shen Qin was pushed to Diluk's side by Noel. Venti and Kaeya in the crowd looked at him enviously. It was such a lucky thing to be able to taste the new wine at the first time!

His coming on stage made the crowd cheer again. In recent months, the name Shen Qin had spread throughout Mondstadt. The magic of the flying skateboard and the salvation that bionic prostheses brought to the disabled had earned him a very good reputation among the people of Mondstadt.

Looking at the enthusiastic crowd, Shen Qin smiled bitterly and accepted this sudden role as a judge. He was also quite interested in drinking. In his previous life, he often went to bars to drink alone.

The competition started soon. Shen Qin and other five people sat on chairs next to the bar. One by one, the contestants came on stage to make cocktails for them.

The first person to come on stage was a tall, burly fat man, his eyes squeezed almost to a slit by the fat above and below him.

"Good evening, everyone. I'm Frank, the bartender."

Frank seemed to be a man of few words, and after saying this he started working as a bartender.

He first walked around the wine cabinet to see what materials were available, then returned to the operating table carrying two bottles of wine.

Seeing Shen Qin's bewildered expression, Diluk explained to him softly, "The white one is a sugar wine, which has a medium alcohol concentration but is very sweet. The darker one is a fruit wine, which has a low alcohol concentration, medium sweetness, and a strong fruity aroma."

Frank used fruit wine as the base wine, put another kind of sugar wine into the cocktail shaker, and after shaking for more than ten seconds, added the sugar wine into the fruit wine.

"His movements were very standard. The shaking amplitude was large but the speed was not fast. This would not allow too much air to enter the sugar wine. He probably didn't want to destroy the original taste of the sugar wine. However, such a simple mixture of two kinds of wine seemed too ordinary."

But as soon as Diluk finished speaking, Frank cut off another piece of sunset fruit and put it directly into the drink.

"Hmm, it seems that the last piece of sunset fruit is the finishing touch!" Diluk's eyes lit up. "When the sunset fruit comes into contact with the raw materials of that kind of fruit wine, it will produce a particularly spicy and stimulating taste, but the presence of sugar and wine neutralizes this spiciness. It's a good idea."

Frank poured a glass of wine for each of the six judges, then divided the remaining wine into six portions and gave them to the six lucky people in the VIP seats.

Shen Qin picked up the wine glass and smelled a very strong fruity aroma. The smell of alcohol was very, very light, but when mixed with the fruity aroma, it added a stimulation to the taste buds.

He took a sip, and the taste of alcohol overwhelmed the fruit flavor. But three seconds later, the rich fruity flavor with the stimulating taste that Diluk described invaded his taste buds, and a feeling of clarity rushed straight to the top of his head.

"It's a simple glass of wine, but the creativity is not simple, it has a bit of a return to basics. I'm optimistic about you!" Margaret gave Frank a thumbs up.

"The wine is good, but the image is a bit bad. A good-looking bartender can also add a lot of color to the wine."

"It tastes good, but it's too light, more suitable for young people."

"It's too sweet for my liking, but it's a good wine."

The judges gave their evaluations and soon it was Diluk's turn.

"Your image is not up to standard in my opinion, but when you were making cocktails, I found that your charm overshadowed your image. You have your own unique bartender temperament, and the aroma and color of the wine are good. It is a good wine that can attract customers." Diluk gave a very high evaluation.

Shen Qin didn't understand these things. He just raised his empty glass to Frank and said, "It tastes good!"

The audience who were watching them taste the wine with great interest laughed good-naturedly, and Frank also had a smile on his face, as if these two words were the highest praise for his wine.

Next up is the second bartender...

Time passed quietly during the game, and Shen Qin was surprised to see Diona. According to the plot, the champion must be her, because when the player met her in the game, she was already a bartender at the Cat's Tail Tavern.

A magical cat who is determined to destroy Mond Wine Industry, but has a magical talent for cocktail making. No matter what ingredients are put in the wine, it will make the wine taste better.

And he finally understood why she was so popular with the guests.

When she mixes drinks, her ears and tail will sway gently with her movements. In short, it looks very pleasing to the eye! And the drinks she mixes taste very good, with a unique Diona flavor.

"I think you are the most suitable person to come to our Cat's Tail Tavern!" Miss Margaret was attracted by her ears and tail. As a cat lover, she could not refuse such a little cat who could mix cocktails.

"If you want, you can come to Angel's Gift and be a bartender. Of course, that's if you don't win the championship." Diluk also invited her.

"It's delicious!" Shen Qin raised his glass as usual.

When the competition reached the semi-finals, it was already past midnight, but about half of the people were still lingering in the square. Many people found their favorite bartenders through the judges' comments and were waiting to go to them tomorrow to order a drink.

The final semi-finalists are:

Fat Frank, his wines are always the simplest but also the most creative, and have the potential to become classics.

Cat Diona, her wine is always very personal, but Shen Qin knows that her peak period was when she joined the Cat's Tail Tavern and added those strange ingredients to the wine.

Xi Meng is a cool and handsome man from Liyue living in Mondstadt. His wine always gives people a nostalgic taste, as if they are tasting ancient wine from dozens or even hundreds of years ago.

Long-legged sister Martina, her wine is as sexy and charming as she is, with the strongest wine flavor, the most ambiguous color matching, and the strongest aftereffect. I believe that in this game, there will be a lot more men going to the bar where she drinks.

Among these four people, Shen Qin likes Xi Meng and Diona the most. Xi Meng's wine reminds him of the great motherland of his previous life, while Diona is simply pleasing to the eye and her wine is delicious.

However, after the semi-finals, Xi Meng was eliminated, and the ones who finally entered the final to compete for the championship were Frank and Diona.

In the final, Frank finally changed his previous simple combination and used a total of ten different ingredients to mix a glass of light yellow wine as pure as transparent crystal. The taste did not disappoint Shen Qin and others.

It’s a pity that after Diona mixed the wine, she used the ice element to give it a chilled enchantment, making her wine far more stunning than Frank’s work.

Although Diona was the winner in the end, her score was only one point higher than Frank's.

Shen Qin leaned back in his chair with satisfaction, his head already feeling a little dizzy. Even though he only drank the bottom of the glass each time he tasted the wine, he couldn't handle it so many times!

"Diluk, thank you so much for this time. If you hadn't asked me to be the judge, I wouldn't have been able to drink so much delicious wine!"

Diluk: "No need to thank me. Next time you want to drink, just come to Angel's Gift."

"No, that won't work. If I drink too much, Klee will dislike me, and it will also affect my research on alchemical inventions." Shen Qin stuck out his tongue.

“Okay, you still have one last task to complete.” Diluk pulled him up from the chair and stuffed the championship medal into his hands. “Go and present the award to the champion. This is what the champion asked for himself!”

"Eh?" Shen Qin was pushed in front of Diona by Diluk in a daze.

"Hello! Mr. Shen Qin, I admire you very much. The bionic prosthesis you invented saved many people in Qingquan Town!" Diona looked at him excitedly, "Although alcoholics are annoying, you are a good person!"

"Then I thank you for not hating me!" Shen Qin said with a smile, and then put the medal on her. "Congratulations, the chief bartender of the Cat's Tail Tavern."

But at this moment, Diona suddenly screamed because she felt her tail was caught by someone!

Looking back, she saw a little girl in red squatting on the ground, touching her tail curiously.

"It's so furry and comfortable!"

Chapter 47: We Really Look Like a Family

"I'm really sorry that this child, Keli, has caused you trouble."

Shen Qin took Keli's hand and apologized to the frightened Diona.

"No, it's okay. It's just that if someone touches my tail, I will fight back uncontrollably. I'm worried about hurting others." Diona protected her tail and looked at Klee vigilantly.

"Then Sister Diona, can you control yourself and let Klee touch your tail again? I want to touch your ears too!" Klee blinked her big eyes.

"No!" Diona refused decisively and took a few steps back.