Chapter 136: That Body of Yours Is Completely Wasted

So it turns out—

The first electric bicycle was already developed and released to the market back in the 1980s.

Jiang Ning stared in a bit of a daze at the vintage photo on her computer screen.

Then she scrolled down to the technical specifications.

It could be charged using a standard 220v outlet.

A full charge gave it a 40 km range, with a max speed of 20 km/h.

The bike itself weighed 42 kilograms.

Too heavy.

And the speed was a bit slow too.

You could say it wasn’t all that different from pedaling a regular bicycle.

But the benefit was that it saved effort.

Jiang Ning carefully studied the various electric bikes that came out over the years after that.

And slowly, she noticed a key issue.

Currently, the dominant battery types were lead-acid, nickel-metal hydride (NiMH), or nickel-cadmium (NiCd) batteries.

As for lithium batteries, which would be everywhere in the future, they didn’t seem to be mainstream yet.

And battery performance was the most important factor in electric bicycles.

It could be said that batteries were the main bottleneck holding back further development.

Once battery technology improved—

The blue ocean era of electric bicycles would be just around the corner.

Thinking of the countless e-bikes swarming the streets in the future—

Jiang Ning was starting to get tempted…

At that moment—

Wang Chan returned from a delivery, and even brought back the keys to Jiang Ning’s pink “BMW” bicycle.

Seeing her keys returned—

Jiang Ning picked them up, ready to leave.

But Wang Chan stopped her.

Noticing her hesitating to speak, Jiang Ning asked curiously:

“What’s up?”

After a moment of silence—

Wang Chan finally stammered out:

“Boss…”

“Is it possible to expand the takeout team a little?”

“Huh?”

Jiang Ning looked stunned.

So this whole roundabout conversation was just about that?

If it had been Xia Ling, she’d probably have already submitted a formal request.

But then again, Wang Chan had her own strengths.

At the very least, she was hands-on and reliable, which gave people peace of mind.

“If you need to expand, just write a report and hand it to Manager Tian.”

“In the future, for things that help the business grow, there’s no need to hold back.”

“I trust your judgment.”

Saying that, Jiang Ning turned to leave.

But just before she stepped out, as if remembering something, she turned back with a bright smile:

“Be sure to recruit more young guys.”

“Ones who can run, jump—and maybe help solve your singlehood.”

“Gahahaha…”

——————

Thirty minutes later—

Jiang Ning was brought to the Golden Twist gym by the busty front desk lady.

Before entering, the woman pressed the doorbell.

Ding-a-ling…

Click… “What is it?”

“President Li, Miss Jiang is here to see you.”

“Miss Jiang… Oh, let her in.”

Then—

Click.

The gym door unlocked.

As soon as she stepped inside—

Jiang Ning was hit with a strong floral scent.

Hard to name, seemed like a mix of many different flowers.

A bit overwhelming, but the longer you inhaled it, the more intoxicating it felt.

Jiang Ning gave her head a little shake, brushing off the strange sensation.

Then she looked around the gym.

It wasn’t much different from a standard gym.

Equipment, dumbbells—all there.

There was even a yoga mat laid out in the corner.

Judging by the sweat stains, some sultry older woman had probably just finished her workout there.

At that moment—

Li Mingyu’s voice called from a side room:

“Little Jiang Ning, over here.”

Hearing that—

Jiang Ning followed the voice, and the moment she saw her, her eyes were drawn to the graceful curve of Li Mingyu’s backside.

Unlike Qi Wen’s dancer-like perkiness—

Li Mingyu’s was fuller, rounder, and wrapped in tight workout leggings, showing off every contour.

Jiang “Old Man” Ning nearly swallowed her tongue.

Li Mingyu was on the treadmill, running.

Jiang Ning stepped beside her and glanced at the distance and time on the machine.

“Tsk, tsk. No wonder you’re a capitalist.”

“Really know how to enjoy life.”

“Your employees are working their butts off, and you’re here jogging in peace.”

Hearing that snarky remark—

Li Mingyu shot back irritably:

“Isn’t it all because of you?”

Huh?

That caught Jiang Ning off guard.

“What does this have to do with me?”

Li Mingyu looked her up and down, then at her loose athletic clothes, and grumbled with deep resentment:

“Such a shame to waste that demon-like body of yours.”

Oh~

So she was still hung up about the hot spring incident?

Jiang Ning laughed without a care.

Just then—

Li Mingyu finished her run.

She grabbed the towel hanging by the treadmill and wiped the sweat from her body.

“Little Jiang Ning, aren’t you usually running between your shops on weekends?”

“What brings you here today?”

“Missed you,” Jiang Ning replied insincerely, her gaze lingering far too long on Li Mingyu’s impressive headlights.

Which earned her a massive eye-roll.

“Get to the point. I’ve got things to do later.”

Li Mingyu flopped down on a leather sofa, picked up a water bottle, and sipped from it.

Seeing that—

Jiang Ning also plopped down on another sofa and laid out the reason for her visit.

After a moment—

Li Mingyu set down her water bottle and looked at Jiang Ning like she was an idiot.

“You’re saying… you want to make bicycles?”

“Electric ones?”

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Putting a battery on a bicycle?”

“Then why don’t people just ride motorcycles?”

“Because they’re expensive!” Jiang Ning pulled a sheet of paper from her pocket, placed it on the table, and tapped it lightly toward Li Mingyu.

“A motorcycle costs at least several thousand.”

“Most are over ten thousand.”

“But the electric bike I’ve designed? Just one or two thousand.”

“Compact, lightweight, quiet, economical—it’s got a lot going for it.”

What Jiang Ning didn’t say was the key point:

In just a year or two, a nationwide movement called “Protect the Environment, Ban Motorcycles from City Centers” would erupt.

That movement would result in nearly two-thirds of cities banning motorcycles altogether.

Li Mingyu still frowned as she picked up the paper.

It was a rough sketch of a bicycle-like design—pretty stylish, actually—with notes on production specs, investment plans, and sales forecasts on the side.

All very detailed and professional.

But Li Mingyu still wasn’t convinced.

“Why don’t you sleep on it a bit longer?”

“Your shop’s profits don’t just fall from the sky, you know.”

Jiang Ning knew she was just being cautious with money.

Still, she insisted on giving it a try.

Seeing she couldn’t change Jiang Ning’s mind—

Li Mingyu sighed softly and said:

“Alright. So tell me—what do you need my help with?”

——————

Forty minutes later—

Li Mingyu drove Jiang Ning to a company called Kewei Machinery Co., Ltd.

They hadn’t even gotten out of the car yet.

Jiang Ning pointed at the rows of massive steel beams ahead and asked,
“Are you sure this is a place that produces batteries?”

“Come on, would your big sis lie to you?”

Still skeptical, Jiang Ning followed Li Mingyu out of the car.

Then, an old man who introduced himself as the factory director led them to a warehouse-like building.

As the doors swung open, rows of unpackaged lead-acid batteries came into Jiang Ning’s view.

“Do you have the specs?”
She turned to the old factory director.

A dark-skinned young girl nearby handed her a card stained with lead dust.

Jiang Ning took it and blew off the dust.

12V, 32Ah.

The capacity was fine, but… wasn’t the size a bit too big?

She glanced at the batteries a short distance away.

Each one looked about as big as a computer monitor.

If that had to go on an electric bike…

There was just no way to fit it.

Jiang Ning immediately felt a headache coming on.

“Director Qin, these batteries of yours are—”

“Oh, for cars,” the old man replied.

As expected.

“Can the size be adjusted?”

The old director didn’t understand her at first. After the dark-skinned girl explained it quietly to him, he looked troubled and shook his head.

“Sorry, Miss Jiang.
All our batteries are made based on fixed molds.”

He didn’t say it outright, but the meaning was clear enough.

Jiang Ning could only sigh, thank them, and walk out of the warehouse.

“How was it?”

Li Mingyu asked.

Jiang Ning shook her head.

“Any other factories nearby in this line of work?”

“There’s one that makes small batteries—like the kind you use in remote controls.”

“Wanna go check it out?”

Remote controls?

AA or AAA?

Was she seriously going to link a whole bunch of tiny batteries together to make a big one?

It was possible, sure.

But with current small battery technology, it probably wouldn’t meet Jiang Ning’s standards either.

Annoying.

Just as she was about to hop into Li Mingyu’s car and leave…

An argument suddenly broke out near the entrance.

(End of Chapter)