Chapter 214: The Button Flew Off

The summer sun was blazing.

But when it shone on your face, it felt surprisingly pleasant.

Of course—

That was only true if you were in an air-conditioned room.

Step outside, and you’d be melting in minutes.

“Sister Mingyu.”

“Aren’t you tired running that many steps every day?”

Jiang Ning lounged on the sofa by the window, sipping from a glass of ice-cold soda. After asking, she took a satisfied sip, savoring the fizzy dance of carbon dioxide on her tongue.

At that moment, Miss Jiang was in pure bliss.

“Little Jiang Ning.”

“One more word out of you, and I swear I’ll strip you naked and toss you out!”

The slightly older woman, glistening with sweat, was practically radiating resentment.

Not that it fazed Jiang Ning in the slightest.

She shot Li Mingyu a provocative look, eyes sweeping her from head to toe.

“Come on, then~”

“Let’s see who strips who.”

Just then—

A commercial suddenly started playing on the nearby TV.

It showed a family out enjoying a day in nature, surrounded by blue skies and clear waters.

When lunchtime rolled around, they realized—they’d forgotten to bring food.

As the kids looked on anxiously, the dad pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

Half an hour later, a smiling young man in a green uniform arrived, delivering a full family meal from “Shi Ning Ji” right to their picnic spot.

In the final scene, the whole family posed for a photo with the delivery guy, all smiles.

Two lines of text appeared at the bottom:

First: “Great taste, right on time — Timely Delivery at your service.”

Second: “We don’t make the food. We just deliver the deliciousness.”

Then came a brief segment promoting franchise opportunities with “Shi Ning Ji.”

The whole ad was fresh and fun.

Even though she’d seen it before, Li Mingyu still watched the entire thing with interest.

When it ended, she let out a sigh.

“Little Jiang Ning.”

“I seriously want to crack open that little head of yours.”

“Where do you even come up with all these bizarre ideas?”

No sooner had she said it than Jiang Ning put on an exaggeratedly horrified expression.

“Oh no!”

“You’re interested in my brain?!”

“That’s terrifying!”

She said “brain,” but Miss Jiang crossed her arms protectively over her chest—

As if her brain were located there.

Li Mingyu rolled her eyes and stepped off the treadmill, clearly unimpressed.

She grabbed a towel, wiped the sweat from her body, and moved over to the yoga mat.

“By the way, Little Jiang Ning.”

“What exactly did you mean earlier about that ‘cooperative development’ thing?”

At that, Jiang Ning chuckled.

She got up and walked over to a strength-training machine near the yoga area.

Sitting down, she rested her hands on the padded grips and began explaining the “cooperative development” plan in detail.

After a while, Li Mingyu, now sitting cross-legged, nodded thoughtfully.

“So what you’re saying is…”

“You want me to set up an independent Renovation Team and station them at your company.”

“Then whenever a new Franchisee signs on, the Renovation Team handles the store setup?”

“Exactly,” Jiang Ning said, giving the cushion in front of her a pat.

“I just don’t trust outside contractors.”

“Even if we provide blueprints, there’s no guarantee they’ll get it right.”

“Plus, if ‘Shi Ning Ji’ is going to grow big, we have to keep tight control over store design.”

She giggled and added,

“Instead of letting someone else make the money, I’d rather give it to my dear Sister Mingyu.”

It made sense.

So Li Mingyu just chuckled softly and shifted positions.

“When’s your upstairs office going to be done?”

“Probably another week,” Jiang Ning replied, adjusting the resistance on the strength machine to the lowest setting.

“Alright. Once it’s ready, I’ll send a few people over.”

She paused to catch her breath.

“Just borrowing them to you, got it? Don’t get any funny ideas.”

At that—

Miss Jiang’s eyes sparkled with mischief.

“Don’t worry.”

“Sister Mingyu.”

“I won’t eat them all.”

With that, she pushed forward hard with both hands.

And in the very next second—

Pop!

A button flew off with a sharp snap, launching through the air as Miss Jiang stared in horror…

…

By the time Miss Jiang walked out of the Tianwei Building—

Her outfit had undergone a complete transformation.

Gone was the IT-girl look of a plaid shirt and jeans. In its place was a sweet, Japanese-style ensemble: a coffee-colored puff-sleeve blouse paired with denim.

As for the plaid shirt?

Mature Woman Li had unceremoniously stuffed it into the trash.

Her reasoning?

“Clothes are part of your fortune. Once they’re torn, they bring bad luck.”

And nothing was more taboo in business than messing with your fortune.

So, in the end, Miss Jiang was thoroughly convinced by Li Mingyu’s logic…

Fifteen minutes later—

Jiang Ning arrived at the “Shi Ning Ji” Jiangzhou University Store.

The entrance was bustling with customers.

After exchanging greetings with the busy staff, she stepped inside.

Right away, she spotted Meng Qing, that little rascal, dressed in the adorable uniform Jiang Ning had designed just for her.

She was in the kids’ area, playing games with two little girls.

Seeing how happy she looked, Miss Jiang couldn’t bring herself to interrupt.

Using the crowd as cover, she quietly slipped over to the changing room and gently pushed the door open.

Inside the changing room—

Tian Wenhao was seated at a desk, carefully reviewing a stack of documents in his hands.

When he heard the door open, he glanced up briefly, then returned his focus to the forms in front of him.

“How’s it going?”

Jiang Ning dragged over a chair and sat down beside her older cousin.

She casually picked up one of the forms on the table and gave it a look.

“Runzhou? Xiaojiekou?”

“This location’s not bad, almost qualifies as a Level 2 Commercial District…”

But then, as Jiang Ning noticed the details below, she couldn’t help clicking her tongue.

“Nope, the area’s too small. Nineteen square meters? That’s way below the minimum requirement of forty.”

Saying that, she picked up a second form.

“Fengzhou University Town?”

“Now that’s impressive—definitely a Level 1 Commercial District.”

“And the space is huge. Damn, 220 square meters?”

“What are they planning to open, a fried chicken supermarket?”

Miss Jiang joked to herself.

But when her eyes landed on the big red X at the end of the form, she froze.

She looked up at Tian Wenhao.

“Cousin, why didn’t this university town one pass the review?”

At her question, Tian Wenhao didn’t answer right away. He simply tapped his pen on a note at the bottom of the form.

Only then did Miss Jiang notice it.

Turns out, the guy wanted 100% ownership of the brand’s operations in Fengzhou.

Well, well.

This Mr. Tian Shouhu sure had an appetite.

“Now you see the problem,” Tian Wenhao sighed, patting the stack of forms beside him.

“There are quite a few like him.”

“Everyone wants full ownership.”

“One guy even called directly and said he wanted to buy out ‘Shi Ning Ji.’”

Buy it out?

Jiang Ning raised an eyebrow.

“How much did he offer?”

“Two million…”

Ha.

The audacity.

“Any decent ones?”

“Of course.”

With that, Tian Wenhao handed her a few forms he’d been keeping under his arm.

Jiang Ning took them and flipped through one by one.

Sure enough.

These ones actually met the requirements.

Most importantly, their demands weren’t unreasonable.

Just the basics—machine warranties, quality renovations, that sort of thing.

They also agreed to the profit-sharing and equity terms of ‘Shi Ning Ji.’

And they were all from nearby cities.

One in particular stood out—Qingzhou, from a Mr. Wang.

A shop near Cuihu in the city center.

The location, the size, the investment—everything looked solid.

Miss Jiang even started considering whether they should negotiate and invest more into it. Turning it into a flagship store might not be a bad idea.

For the rest of the time, Jiang Ning stayed in the shop with her cousin, going over the forms together.

Meanwhile, the fax machine kept humming, spitting out new franchise applications.

Most were from cities within the province.

A few came from neighboring provinces as well.

The terms were decent.

But after some discussion, Miss Jiang and her cousin decided to hold off for now.

Better to establish a solid foothold within the province first, then think about expanding nationwide.

But just then—

A new form came through the fax machine, catching her attention.

(End of Chapter)