Chapter 216: Just That Unyielding

She wasn’t sure when it had started.

But Jiang Ning had grown used to days spent in the company of books.

Eyes up—blackboard. Eyes down—exam paper.

Time blurred.

One blink, and another test was done.

One moment it was subject-verb agreement in English grammar.

The next, it was key points to remember when solving inequalities.

Granted, none of this was particularly difficult for Miss Jiang, a reborn soul.

But tests were tests. No skipping them.

Like the placement exam she was taking right now.

When she finished the final question, she gently set down her pen.

Massaged her slightly sore wrist.

Then lifted her head and let her gaze drift blankly across the classroom.

Everyone else was still scribbling furiously, focused and serious.

Except for her deskmate.

That girl was sprawled across the desk, fast asleep, face turned toward Jiang Ning.

A small puddle of drool was spreading beneath her mouth.

Judging by the size of the puddle, she’d been out for quite a while.

Strangely enough—

Jiang Ning actually felt a little envious of this pampered heiress.

No classes, no studying, no exams.

Just a Photoshopped report card, and she could coast through the school years with a smile.

Then, when the time came, she’d happily follow her family’s arrangements.

Go abroad for a few years.

Come back as a freshly minted, overseas-returned “sea turtle.”

Compared to that…

She’d been through reincarnation, and still had to build everything from scratch.

She let out a quiet sigh.

Then pulled out a scrap of paper and began mapping out the current state of her franchise plans.

From the faxes she’d received over the past few days, it was clear:

Franchise applicants for “Shi Ning Ji” now covered every prefecture-level city in the province.

And judging by their profiles—

These were no small fries.

Some were even well-established local companies with real clout.

But now a new problem had emerged.

There were only so many prime business districts in each city.

With so many people vying for a spot, territorial overlap was inevitable.

According to the three-kilometer exclusivity rule for franchise locations—

If two applicants chose the same area, one had to relocate.

Or they’d have to compete.

Of course—

“Compete” didn’t just mean financial muscle.

It also included soft power—within reasonable, controllable bounds.

Take that couple from Pengzhou, for example.

On paper, they couldn’t hold a candle to the other applicant, a corporate restaurateur.

But when Miss Jiang noticed that one of the couple’s elders held a senior position in a key bureau—

Well then.

Decision made.

Tian Wenhao had no objections.

After all, he’d been in business long enough to know: having friends in high places makes everything smoother.

And so—

The first round of preliminary approvals was complete.

As for the second round of reviews—

Jiang Ning decided to hand that off to the store managers of her seven existing locations.

They’d form teams and head out to verify the authenticity of the franchise applications across the province.

Just as she was wondering when she might start expanding beyond the provincial borders—

Up at the podium, Old Guo clapped his hands.

“Five minutes left. Please double-check your answers.”

…

Half an hour later.

Beneath the phoenix tree.

The evening breeze rustled the leaves overhead.

Miss Jiang sat beneath the tree, watching Luo Shanshan arrive—fashionably late, as always.

She put on her best parental expression and asked with a smile,

“So, how’d the test go?”

As soon as the words left her mouth—

Luo Shanshan’s cheerful face fell.

“Don’t even ask.”

“That hormone question practically exposed my entire endocrine system…”

“For real?” Sun Qian reached out toward Luo Shanshan’s chest with a mischievous grin.

Only to have her hand smacked away with a loud slap.

Luo Shanshan glared at her.

“What do you think you’re doing, tablet brain?!”

“I just wanted to see if your hormones really were out of whack.”

“Buzz off! I’m already depressed!”

“Pfft, you don’t believe I can help you get through this crisis?”

“Seriously?”

Whether it was fear of another smack or genuine curiosity about Sun Qian’s dabbling in the I Ching—

Luo Shanshan actually froze in place, watching as Sun Qian began pretending to calculate with her fingers.

After a long moment—

Jiang Ning couldn’t help but laugh.

“This placement test? The scores won’t be sent home.”

“What?!”

“Ask little Zhu Hui if you don’t believe me.”

Sure enough—

When Luo Shanshan saw Zhu Hui nodding with a bright smile, she immediately relaxed.

“Oh thank god, thank god…”

And with that—

The Sister Group gathered around, munching on skewers, chatting, and goofing off.

After a while—

Sun Qian suddenly turned to Jiang Ning and asked,

“Jiang Jiang, how much did your electric scooter cost?”

Jiang Ning blinked, caught off guard. She didn’t give a price—just asked,

“Why? You want one?”

Sun Qian nodded, looking a bit glum.

“My birthday’s next month.”

“My dad said he’d get me a little scooter as a gift.”

“But then he saw something about a Motorcycle Ban and told me to consider an electric one instead…”

“I wasn’t even thinking about it—but then I saw yours and it’s actually kinda cute…”

Sun Qian went on and on.

But to Miss Jiang—

Only two words stood out.

“Motorcycle Ban”…

If memory serves—

The first Motorcycle Ban was issued in 1985, when the capital city launched it to combat air and noise pollution caused by motorcycles.

In the years that followed, few cities followed suit.

It wasn’t until after the turn of the millennium that something—no one quite knows what—triggered the nationwide rollout of the Motorcycle Ban.

Over the next decade or so, the policy spread rapidly.

Eventually, it was implemented in over a hundred cities across the country.

It was against this backdrop that companies like Xma, Lvyuan, and Yadi emerged—pioneers in the Electric Bicycle Enterprise sector.

And so, China became the largest electric bicycle nation in the world.

Jiang Ning had no idea which city the ban had reached now.

Nor could she predict how far her Electric Bicycle Factory would go under this policy.

But at this moment, she knew two things.

First, she was about to get very busy.

Second, how was she going to ask for time off?

With that thought in mind—

Miss Jiang returned to her dorm.

Seeing that no one else was there, she pulled her phone out of the locker.

The moment it powered on—

A message from Lin Ke popped up.

She tapped it open.

【Boss! Hengzhou just announced the Motorcycle Ban this morning!!!】

Jiang Ning knew Lin Ke well.

He was driven, but usually pretty composed when he spoke.

For him to use that many exclamation marks in a message—his excitement must be off the charts.

And honestly, it made sense.

Lin Ke had poured his heart into this factory.

For the longest time, business had been lukewarm at best.

Jiang Ning, as the boss, even had to keep pumping in her own money to keep it afloat.

That had always made Lin Ke feel a bit guilty.

But now, things were different.

With this policy spreading, the factory’s rise was just around the corner.

Jiang Ning understood how he felt.

So the first thing she did when the call connected was calm him down.

Once Lin Ke had settled enough to speak clearly—

Miss Jiang got to work.

First, she ordered all four idle production lines to be restarted.

Three would manufacture the older models. One would focus on developing a new one.

The goal: sell one generation, develop the next—simultaneously.

They’d work overtime if they had to.

Even if the bikes didn’t sell right away, it was fine to stock them in the warehouse.

Next, she arranged for more logistics companies to handle transportation—every step covered.

Then she had the Sales Department reach out to Jingcheng TV Station.

Even if it cost more, they had to get the Xiaoning Electric Bicycle name out there.

And finally—

Jiang Ning reminded Lin Ke:

No Cash on Delivery.

Money first, goods after.

That’s right.

She wasn’t playing around.

However—

Just as Miss Jiang confidently ended the call—

Her phone rang again.

She glanced down.

Tang Tu?

What’s this girl calling me for?

Don’t tell me the instruments at her shop aren’t selling…

And now she’s broke and looking for a sugar mama?

She pictured Tang Tu’s signature twin ponytails.

If she paired that with a JK uniform…

Tsk, tsk, tsk…

“Hello?”

“What?!”

“Teacher Du is back?!”

“Her mom’s already setting her up with a boyfriend?!”

(End of Chapter)