"Go for it!" Yabemia clenched her fist and silently said.
Sally quickly stepped forward, picked up the tray, and walked to table number 3. Looking at the bowls, plates, and two bags on the table, she quickly thought for about thirty seconds before saying, "Four servings of Yang Zhou Fried Rice, three servings of tofu pudding, and two servings of Rou Jia Mo, that'll cost 36 gold coins in total."
After speaking, she immediately began clearing the table, haphazardly piling up plates, bowls, and bags onto the tray before quickly moving on to the next table.
"This won't do..." Yabemia looked at the carelessly stacked plates and bowls on Sally's tray, somewhat anxiously.
Mai Ge remained silent, his gaze also fixed on the plate in Sally's hand. No matter what you do, the basics are crucial, clearing the table may seem like a small task, but the same principle applies.
At the second table, Sally again announced the amount due within thirty seconds. The bowls and plates were stacked even higher, but her sense of balance was excellent, the dishes were stacked two layers high without falling.
Sally finished the first three tables in less than three minutes. When she got to the fourth table, the stack of bowls and plates, which was half a meter high, looked a little shaky in her hands, as if it might fall over at any moment.
"That's... 16 gold coins." Sally paused, picked up a bowl, and solemnly offered it to the top, accidentally bumping into a stack of bowls.
The two piles of bowls, each half a person's height, wobbled before finally losing their balance and toppling to either side, scattering dishes like dumplings onto the ground.
"Watch out!" Yabemia cried out, dropping her mop and running towards Sally.
Mai Ge was also slightly startled, unconsciously taking a step forward.
"Stop!" Sally's expression also showed a slight panic. She pointed lightly with her left hand, and a ribbon-like column of water appeared out of thin air around her body. It circled around her, catching the falling dishes one by one, and circling around her body, so that none of them fell to the ground.
"Amazing!" Yabemia, who was halfway there, stopped and stared at the bowls and plates circling around Sally, her mouth slightly agape as she watched this magical scene.
"A water mage?" Mai Ge's eyes also showed a hint of surprise. With this level of control, she was at least a level five mage. A level five knight could become a deputy general commanding five hundred knights in the army. A level five mage was an equal. And now she was applying for a waitress job?
"You have one and a half minutes left." Mai Ge reminded her, raising his hand.
Sally, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, tensed up again. She quickly regained control of her water magic, piling the plates and bowls back onto the tray and heading towards the last table. The exaggeratedly stacked plates wobbled precariously, but the water ribbons protected them, preventing them from falling.
"...That's 22 gold coins in total!" Sally finished calculating the bill for the last table, and with a wave of her hand, the bowls and plates on the table were swept up by a stream of water and flown up, stacking them all on top of each other, making them look as tall as a person.
"Four minutes and thirty seconds." Mai Ge glanced at his watch and nodded.
"Wow, amazing." Yabemia looked up at the dishes stacked almost to the ceiling, somewhat amazed.
"Did I pass?" Sally looked at Mai Ge expectantly, her joy mixed with barely concealed nervousness.
"You completed all the tasks within the allotted time, and the bill was all correct, and all the cutlery was put away properly." Mai Ge looked at Sally, whose face was gradually breaking into a smile, and then changed the subject: "But… your performance was too unprofessional. I don't expect too much from your attitude towards the guests, as long as you don't offend them, the rest is up to you. But don't make the whole process seem too rushed. Also, that's not how you stack plates."
The plates and bowls, stacked in two separate piles, managed to create such an imposing sight. Mai Ge's lips twitched, and he managed to suppress a laugh. Perhaps only Sally could pull that off.
"Tables 2, 7, 14, 16, and 4, Mia, you demonstrate how to settle the bill and clear the tables." Mai Ge said, looking directly at Mia without giving Sally a chance to speak.
"Okay." Mia nodded, quickly went into the kitchen to get another tray, and then settled the bills one by one in the order Mai Ge had instructed. She stacked the plates and bowls separately, and in less than three minutes, she was done. The dishes were separated and piled up to less than half a meter high, with the Rou Jia Mo bags neatly arranged beside them.
"Wow...so fast!" Sally stared at Yabemia in disbelief. Yabemia's calculation speed was more than twice as fast, and she even smiled throughout the entire process without any sense of haste. Looking at the trays in their hands, the almost identical number of plates created two completely different impressions, clearly demonstrating the difference in skill.
Sally felt a little discouraged, she realized she was indeed very unprofessional.
"You just haven't mastered the technique yet. It's already quite impressive that you did that on your first try." Yabemia said, waving her hand when she saw Sally's expression.
"But..." Sally's eyes brightened again, and she looked at Mai Ge hesitantly.
"For your first time, it was actually quite good." Mai Ge nodded. If all the bowls had been broken, Mai Ge would have kicked her out. But that water magic was very skillful, proving that although the girl wasn't very professional, but she had good adaptability and was capable enough.
Moreover, a magical elf waitress would be a truly wonderful experience for diners.
One is a spirited half-dragon waitress, and the other is an elegant and noble elf waitress. It sounds very interesting.
As for stacking plates and bowls, that could be easily resolved with a few pointers, it's not a problem. Mai Ge saw potential in Sally.
Of course, more importantly, Mai Ge saw in her eyes a longing for this job, somewhat like that of Yabemia back then.
Yabemia was fighting for survival, while she... was driven by a craving for delicious food. Depriving a foodie of the right to enjoy food is almost the same as killing her, so the two are indeed quite similar.
She could complete the calculations quickly using complex algorithms. If she knew the nine nine multiplication tables, she could definitely check out the bill even faster.
"Then can she stay?" Yabemia asked Mai Ge, her eyes full of anticipation.
Sally gave her a grateful look, then looked at Mai Ge with equal expectation.
"There's another question. You just said you could take over all the cleaning work in the restaurant? After the guests finish their meals, the restaurant needs to be thoroughly cleaned, including the tables, chairs, floors, and even the walls. Are you sure you can handle that?" Mai Ge asked Sally with some doubt.
"Water element, heed my call, cleanse all impurities..." Sally raised her left hand, and melodious incantations rang from her lips...