Chapter 108 – That Little Mature Woman Has Quite a Temper

When Jiang Ning heard her cousin-in-law’s suggestion,
she quickly did a mental calculation of the expenses, investment, and her current savings.

Her eyes lit up instantly.

Damn!
It’s feasible!

Opening two stores at the same time could not only solve the brand development issue,
but also rely on the residential district’s population to make money.

Most importantly—She no longer had to struggle over which of the two candidates to pick as store manager.

Just hire both of them!

Have the eloquent and sociable Xia Ling go to Times Square,and place the studious and technically skilled Wang Chan in the southern residential area.

This kind of arrangement was absolutely perfect!

Although the financial pressure would be considerable,opening both stores at once was undoubtedly the best solution to the current issues faced by Shi Ning Ji.

But if they were really going to go through with this…

Jiang Ning turned her gaze toward Tian Wenhao.

“Cousin~~~”

“Okay, got it, say no more! I’ll go contact the landlords for both locations!”

Before Jiang Ning could even finish her sentence, Tian Wenhao had already spoken up.

Clearly, this cousin of hers had learned a hard lesson in this area before.

And not a small one either.

Watching Tian Wenhao flee the changing room like he was escaping from something,Jiang Ning immediately raised both her hands to her cousin-in-law.

“Cousin-in-law, you saw that, right? I didn’t say anything.”

“It was all cousin’s idea, completely voluntary.”

Seeing her little sister-in-law trying so hard to clear herself of blame,Xiao Mingxiu could only smile helplessly.

“You clever little imp.”

“Can you stop dragging your cousin to do everything for you?”

“If you need help, why not get a boyfriend? That’d be more convenient to boss around.”

At that suggestion, Jiang Ning immediately shook her head in protest.

“I’m not doing that…”

“Boyfriends aren’t as reliable as cousins!”

Xiao Mingxiu could only shake her head with a wry smile.

Just then, Jiang Ning noticed her cousin-in-law holding a form.

She asked curiously:

“Cousin-in-law, what’s that?”

“Inventory list. Lately, the fried chicken cutlets at the Station Store have been piling up,but chicken wings are selling out fast.”

“I figured since the University Store goes through cutlets more quickly,I’d bring over the stock list and swap inventory.”

Ah, so that’s what this was about.

Hearing her explanation, Jiang Ning suddenly realized—maybe both stores should have computers installed.

Then she could network them and create a unified inventory system.

That way, when inventory was checked after closing each night,she could instantly see which items were running low at which store.

And stock transfers could happen in real time—no more running around with physical inventory sheets.

With that idea in mind, Jiang Ning confirmed the exchange details with her cousin-in-law, then went to find Tian Wenhao, who was still making a call outside.

She waited a bit.

Tian Wenhao ended his call.

“I’ve got one piece of good news and one piece of bad news.”

“Hit me with the good news first.”

“The residential area shop is locked in.”

“Right at the south gate of Jinrui Community.”

“It’s 120 square meters, three-year lease, 15,000 yuan a year.”

15,000 per year, so 45,000 for three years.

Add in equipment and renovation, and the Jinrui shop would require about 80,000 in total investment.

That’s pricier than the University Store, and about on par with the Station Store.

But considering it’s 120 square meters and a three-year lease, the terms are still acceptable.

“What’s the bad news?”

“The store we originally looked at in Times Square has already been rented out. There’s only one unit left—110 square meters, split into two floors.”

110 square meters, split into two levels?

That means each floor wouldn’t even be 60 square meters.

These split-level mall shops, in this era before modern interior design updates,are basically useless.

Each level is too small for big-name chains, and the rent’s too expensive for smaller businesses.

No wonder that spot was left unclaimed.

Seeing Jiang Ning stay silent, Tian Wenhao thought she was feeling regretful and quickly offered:

“Should I contact Wanmenhui’s leasing department? Maybe they have a better location?”

“No need,” Jiang Ning replied without hesitation. “We’ll take the split-level one.”

——————

In truth, the city of Jiangzhou is both big and small.

Covering over 5,000 square kilometers, with a main urban population of 3.5 million—it’s unquestionably a second-tier city.

But Jiangzhou can also feel small.

As soon as Shi Ning Ji’s fried chicken shop planned to open two new branches at once, a bunch of other food industry peers caught wind of it.

But most of them just laughed at this reckless newcomer.

After all—Trying to follow in the footsteps of CFC or McRonald’s with a chain restaurant
isn’t something that just takes money, manpower, and a storefront.

That afternoon during lunch break—For once, Jiang Ning didn’t skip class.
She sat in the classroom, napping on her desk like a regular student.

But she hadn’t been asleep long when someone suddenly called her name.

Groggy, she looked up.

It was Tian Yawen.

“What is it?”

“Someone’s here for you.”

“Who? In the middle of lunch break…”

Jiang Ning wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth, grumbling as she turned toward the door.

And the moment she saw Li Mingwei’s figure—She snapped awake in an instant.

Why was this guy here again?!

Jiang Ning hesitated in her seat.

She considered ducking her head and pretending to sleep, but then saw Li Mingwei holding up his phone and waving it at her.

What was that supposed to mean?

What, like I don’t keep my phone on at school?

Oh wait.

She realized something, quickly fished her phone from her bag, and powered it on.

Immediately, several texts came in.

Two missed calls, four messages—all from Li Mingyu.

It was obvious she was pretty eager to reach her.

Seeing this, Jiang Ning waved her phone toward Li Mingwei outside, then lowered her head and opened Li Mingyu’s messages.

【Little Jiang Ning, I heard you’re opening more branches again? Two at once, no less?】

【A friend told me someone’s digging into who’s behind ‘Shi Ning Ji’. I think they might be up to something. Tell your cousin to be careful.】

【Little Jiang Ning, I found out those asking about you are from some restaurant association in Jiangzhou. They say you’re breaking their rules and might cause trouble for you.】

【Little Jiang Ning, I helped block them for now, but they want you to pay a membership fee and join their group. What do you think?】

That was the last of the messages.

But the content still made her frown.

A restaurant business association?

Jiang Ning had seen this organization on TV in her past life. It had been lawfully shut down by the Market Supervision Bureau.

The reason? Forming economic cliques, charging illegal membership fees, and disrupting the market.

She originally thought that as long as she ran her business honestly, she wouldn’t have to deal with shady groups like this.

But to her surprise, they came knocking first.

After thinking about it, Jiang Ning still typed out a message.

【Mingyu-jie, thanks for helping me block the trouble. But I don’t really want to join their association.】

Not long after, Li Mingyu directly called her—just as the geography teacher walked in.

Startled, Jiang Ning immediately hung up, then quickly sent a message:

【Sis, I’m in class. If there’s anything, just text me.】

A moment later, a message came in.

【Little Jiang Ning, I hate it when people hang up on me. I’m mad now!】

Uh…

This little mature lady has quite a temper?

Before Jiang Ning could even think about how to placate her, another message came in.

Jiang Ning opened it—and laughed.

【Alright, I’m done being mad. Little Jiang Ning, why don’t you want to join the association? I just did some research—turns out this association is no joke. Even CFC and Golden Arches(McRonald’s ) are members.】

【Then ask them how much the membership fee would be for a branch-based fried chicken shop like ‘Shi Ning Ji’.】

After replying with that, Jiang Ning stuffed her phone into her desk.

Then she nudged the sleepy “Booby Consort” next to her and started seriously paying attention in geography class.

It might just be an elective, but it was still a science subject.

Studying it well would help on the college entrance exam.

Sure enough—Li Mingyu’s reply took a long time to come, probably because she was asking around for information.

After quite a while, just as the geography class was about to end, the message finally came.

【Little Jiang Ning, how many shops are you planning to open in Jiangzhou?】

【No less than 10.】

【Then forget the association. We’re not joining.】

Now it was Jiang Ning’s turn to be curious.

Wasn’t Li Mingyu the one urging her to join the association at first?

Why the sudden 180?

So she asked:

【What happened, Mingyu-jie?】

It was like poking a hornet’s nest.

A bunch of messages flooded in—but none were long, most of them just ranting.

Thank goodness text messages didn’t cost money anymore, or Jiang Ning would’ve turned her phone off.

Still, this side of Li Mingyu was kind of amusing.

She really resembled those socially anxious girls from the future, venting behind a screen using memes and emojis.

Jiang Ning habitually rubbed her chin and then finished reading the messages.

In short—These guys were seriously shady.

They charged 500 yuan per shop per month. With her four shops, she’d be paying 2,000 a month.

And the average wage was only 800 to 1,000.

They’d be taking 2,000 a month for doing nothing. Who would agree to that?

And Jiang Ning’s plan was to spread shops all over Jiangzhou.

If she really joined this so-called association, she’d be bleeding money.

What made it worse was that for all the fees they charged, the support they provided was practically nonexistent.

At most, they’d give you a plaque to hang.

No wonder there weren’t any chain restaurants in Jiangzhou.

The problem lay with these parasites.

After thinking it over for a while—Jiang Ning decided to stay the course.

No matter what tricks these guys pulled, she was still going to open her new shops.

As long as she walked every step steadily, she didn’t believe they could pull anything she couldn’t handle.

With that sorted out—Jiang Ning didn’t dwell on it anymore and focused on her study drills.

After all, the provincial-level math olympiad was coming up.

If she really went in cold and came back with a garbage score, how would the “queen of Jiangzhou” keep her reputation?

So in the following days—Aside from signing the lease for the two new shop locations, she spent the rest of her time grinding through practice questions.

And grinding.

And grinding.

Until the first thing that popped into her head when she saw Luo Shanshan’s exam results was… another math problem.

The exam had arrived.

(End of chapter)