Chapter 12: “Shi Ning Ji”

“Where is it?” Jiang Ning immediately perked up with interest.

“It’s still on the night market street, but about a hundred meters from the school gate.”

“Facing south, next to the Jixiang Hotel.”

Hearing this, Jiang Ning thought carefully and subconsciously murmured,

“Isn’t that Hua Caishi?”

“Hua Caishi? What’s that?” The voice on the phone questioned.

Jiang Ning quickly changed the subject.

“How much is the rent?”

“850 per month, 100 square meters, transfer fee is 5000, and the lease is for at least a year.”

“That cheap? Did you ask why?”

After all, in the future, this location’s rent would be at least 200,000 to 300,000 per year. Even in this millennium era, the rent should be at least 1,000 to 2,000 per month.

“I asked. They said Jiangzhou Academy is upgrading its facilities and plans to connect the dormitory area and the teaching area underground. For student safety, they’ll seal off the gate above.”

Seal the school gate?
Is that true?

Jiang Ning didn’t remember the school sealing off the gate in her past life.

On the contrary, because of the school upgrade, the night market between the two campuses became even more popular.

Could something have changed?
No, that’s not right.

After a moment of thought, Jiang Ning decided to trust her memory.

Even if the school gate really got sealed, the shop could still be used for something else.

“Rent it?”

“Rent it!”

With a single word, Jiang Ning expressed her determination.

The call ended.

Jiang Ning lay flat on her bed, staring at the white ceiling, lost in thought.

If she took this shop, what kind of business would maximize profits?

If she only sold plush toys, it would be too limiting.

But if she did something else…

Suddenly.

Jiang Ning recalled a financial interview she had seen in her past life. The featured guests were the Hua brothers, founders of Hua Caishi.

And they started Hua Caishi around this time…

So.

Might as well give it a try.

With this thought, Jiang Ning immediately started recalling details from her past life.

She remembered that a close friend had once opened a fried chicken shop. She had learned about various flavors, sauces, and the necessary equipment from him.

So this field wasn’t unfamiliar to Jiang Ning.

After nearly two hours, she filled three sheets of paper with notes.

After reviewing them, her heart was filled with excitement.

Finally.

At the very top of one of the sheets, Jiang Ning solemnly wrote three words: “Shi Ning Ji.”

---

The next day, during military training.

Dressed in an oversized military uniform, Jiang Ning sat on the flower bed under a tree, twirling a lock of hair near her ear out of boredom.

Round and round.

At this moment, Jiang Ning was truly bored.

She couldn’t train with the team, nor could she leave the field.

So all she could do was sit in the shade and quietly watch her classmates undergo training.

If only she had a guitar, she could at least play some music.

As she observed others, others were also observing her.

“Hey, which class is that girl under the tree from?”

“She looks kinda pretty.”

In Class One’s formation.

A few boys whispered to each other during the break.

“No idea, but I don’t think she’s from our floor.”

“Tsk tsk, I really want to go talk to her.”

“What, you can’t hold it in already, even though we’re only in our first year? Careful, your mom will beat you to death, Young Master Gao.”

“Beat me to death?” Gao Ye sneered, flexing his biceps.

“Even with two sticks, my mom wouldn’t be able to break me.”

“Besides, if I bring a girlfriend home, at most, she’d only break one of my legs.”

He smirked and motioned toward the girl under the tree.

“One leg for a girl like that—tell me, worth it or not?”

“Hiss…”

A chorus of exaggerated eye-rolls.

But just as they were chatting.

In Class Two’s formation, a commotion suddenly broke out.

A tall boy was pushed out of the formation by his classmates.

Looking closely, he was holding a bottle of soda.

“Isn’t that Chen Chaoyang? Class Two’s sports rep.”

“What’s he up to?”

The same question crossed the minds of Class One’s students.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes.

Class Two’s sports rep, Chen Chaoyang, walked over to the tree with the soda and handed it to the girl with the crutch.

Damn!
He moved that fast?!

Class One’s boys were outraged.

But then.

The smiling girl under the tree waved her hand and said something unknown.

Next, Chen Chaoyang walked back with the soda, looking disappointed.

Class One’s boys instantly grinned with schadenfreude.

After all, they had gotten familiar with Class Two over time.

There wasn’t any major conflict, but there was definitely a sense of competition.

Now that they saw a Class Two guy getting rejected by a girl, they felt satisfied.

Even Gao Ye was getting eager now.

He glanced around, then grabbed an unopened bottle of iced tea from a classmate’s pocket.

Under his classmates’ watchful eyes, he walked toward the girl under the tree.

He didn’t expect to win her over right away, but with his decent looks, at the very least, she wouldn’t refuse his kindness.

However.

Before he even got close.

The girl under the tree suddenly stood up, grabbed her crutch, and walked away without looking back.

Since he was nearby, Gao Ye vaguely heard her mutter in frustration,

“Dammit, can’t a person get some peace? One after another…”

---

In the evening, Jiang Ning declined Wang Zekai’s invitation to walk home together. After saying goodbye to Luo Shanshan, she rode her bicycle toward Jiangzhou Academy.

Her ankle no longer hurt much. She could walk normally without issues.

As long as she avoided intense activity, she was fine.

Since cycling required less effort, Tian Cuilan was okay with letting her commute alone.

Jiang Ning had a hunch—her mom probably agreed so readily because she didn’t want to waste time dropping her off and picking her up.

Sure enough.

Her mother’s personality hadn’t changed in either lifetime.

Ten minutes later.

Jiang Ning arrived at the stall.

From a distance, she saw a man and a woman busying themselves behind it.

The man was, of course, Tian Wenhao, arranging and organizing things.

As for the woman.

Tall and slender, with a ponytail, dressed simply but with a nice demeanor.

A little beauty.

Tian Wenhao also noticed Jiang Ning approaching and quickly walked over while there were no customers.

“You’re here?”

“Hey.” Jiang Ning greeted him, then looked at the little beauty with a teasing expression.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us?”

Hearing his cousin’s playful remark, Tian Wenhao seemed momentarily at a loss for words.

Seeing her cousin getting flustered, the little beauty suddenly spoke up:

“Jiang Ning, nice to meet you. I’m Xiao Mingxiu, your cousin’s classmate.”

“Classmate? I doubt it’s that simple.”

With just one sentence, the little beauty’s face turned bright red.

(End of Chapter)