Chapter 137: “Shi Ning Ji” Is Mine

Lin Ke. Thirty-six years old. He studied abroad for three years and worked for seven, having started at the bottom and worked his way up to management. He returned to Jiangzhou earlier this year due to family reasons, originally planning to use the lithium battery technology he’d learned overseas to establish a related production line in China.

But after months of effort, no one in the industry was willing to invest in his technology. Some even outright said his lithium battery tech was garbage. That really pissed him off. Combined with the cold treatment he’d received lately, it all came to a head. If someone hadn’t held him back, Lin Ke might’ve already slapped that fat-faced guy on the spot. Still, even without a full-blown conflict, he knew there was no way he’d be allowed through that factory gate again.

All he could do was tidy up his slightly wrinkled clothes, cast one last indignant look at the factory entrance, and take a few deep breaths. The sun at 3 p.m. was already turning harsh. Thinking of all he’d been through recently, the confident fire he’d had when returning to China had all but burned out. He’d even thought of giving up more than once. But whenever he remembered his gentle wife and their sweet, innocent daughter, he clenched his teeth and told himself it was all worth it.

All he needed was one factory willing to take a chance on his lithium battery technology—then everything he’d endured would be worthwhile.

With that in mind, Lin Ke took a flattened piece of bread out of his pocket and sat down by the roadside. As he ate, he pulled out a sheet of paper, looking for his next target. Just then, a gentle female voice sounded nearby.

“Excuse me, is this your photo?”

Photo?

Lin Ke looked up instinctively and saw a beautiful young woman with long hair, standing less than two meters away, smiling politely at him. She was stunning—he’d seen pretty girls before, but never one with such pure, fresh elegance. He was momentarily stunned. Then, as he snapped back to reality, his gaze dropped and he saw the family portrait in her hand—him, his wife, and their daughter.

He immediately stood up. “Thank you, thank you,” he said, bowing his head as he took the photo and carefully placed it in his briefcase. He looked back up to thank her again, but this time she waved it off and asked, “I heard from someone at Kovi that you have lithium battery technology. Would you mind showing me a brief?”

Startled, Lin Ke quickly raised his head. The sunlight caught her features, and for some reason, it felt like he was seeing a glimmer of hope.

Half an hour later, Lin Ke was sitting a little nervously on a sofa, facing two beautiful women—one older, one younger. The older woman had a gentle, refined elegance, with a poised manner and an air of aloof authority. She was clearly someone used to being in charge.

The younger one was reading his documents. Though she looked no older than twenty, with a bright and delicate face, her demeanor was all business—sharp and experienced, like a seasoned executive. After finishing the documents, she quietly set them down. Lin Ke knew the verdict was coming. He’d been rejected so many times, he wasn’t expecting much—but still, he hoped.

“Mr. Lin Ke, correct?” she said. “Where did these documents come from—”

“They’re absolutely legitimate,” Lin Ke said firmly, patting his chest. “They include patent authorizations from my mentor.”

She flipped to the relevant page and saw a signature: Akira Yoshino. Her brows lifted slightly as she glanced at the older woman beside her—who, predictably, looked indifferent. The girl smirked and gave her a quick pinch on the thigh, then straightened up.

“Mr. Lin Ke, how much do you estimate your proposal will need for initial investment?”

Here it came—the key question.

He’d sat through this conversation many times, and his projected costs had always scared people off. But there was no way around it. The reason lithium batteries had always struggled to gain traction was due to safety concerns. Improper use could easily lead to overheating, short circuits, even explosions. His technology solved those problems—enhancing both safety and cycle life—but the tradeoff was high cost.

He looked at the girl and steeled himself. “Two hundred thousand.”

“Two hundred thousand!?” Before the girl could respond, the woman next to her, Li Mingyu, blurted out in shock. “Two hundred thousand just for some battery?”

“How much does a whole factory cost?”

“It’s the first phase,” Lin Ke replied, since he’d already said the number, he might as well explain. “Two phases in total. First, 200,000 for machinery and materials. Then another 300,000 for product testing and certification. Only after passing that can we produce a final product.”

Li Mingyu still looked like she wanted to object, but the girl patted her shoulder, then fixed her gaze on Lin Ke.

“How old is your daughter?”

“Four.”

“She in preschool?”

“Yes, Jiangzhou No. 2 Kindergarten—junior class.”

“And your wife?”

“She’s an office clerk…”

At this point, Lin Ke had basically given up hope. But just as he was about to thank them and leave, the younger woman suddenly said:

“I’ll invest the initial 200,000.”

“But you need to understand—my factory won’t be producing just one type of lithium battery.”

“I can hire you, but if you don’t deliver what I want within the set timeframe, I can replace you just as easily.”

With that one sentence—

Lin Ke shot up from the couch in shock.

He stared at Jiang Ning with eyes shining bright.

“Miss Jiang! Are you serious?”

“Oh no, I mean—are you the one who makes the decisions?”

In the face of his doubt, Li Mingyu, sitting nearby, surprisingly didn’t say a word. She just covered her mouth and grinned mischievously.

Her smile earned her a silent eye-roll from Jiang Ning.

Then Jiang Ning pushed over the box of fried chicken that had been sitting on the table for a while, sliding it in front of Lin Ke.

“‘Shi Ning Ji’—have you heard of it?”

“This…” Lin Ke didn’t quite understand what Miss Jiang meant. After thinking for a moment, he still nodded.

After all, Jiangzhou wasn’t that big.

He was definitely familiar with the name of this local fried chicken chain that had four branches.

Lin Ke had heard quite a bit about it.

Because his precious daughter was particularly fond of the piglet dolls this store was selling.

“This store is mine.”

“Huh?” Lin Ke seemed to not have heard the girl’s mumbling clearly, standing frozen in place.

The next second.

The girl revealed a confident and straightforward smile.

“‘Shi Ning Ji,’ is mine.”

——————

Half an hour later.

Through the window, Li Mingyu watched the man named Lin Ke get into a taxi.

Then she turned around, her face full of displeasure as she glared at the beautiful young girl beside her.

“Jiang Ning, ah Jiang Ning.”

“Do you think you have too much money?”

“Spending hundreds of thousands on an electric bicycle.”

“Aren’t you afraid of losing money?”

“If you think you have too much money, give it to me to spend!”

“Give it to you? Does that count as keeping me? Sister Mingyu.” Jiang Ning grinned and leaned on the table, looking at the mature woman beside her with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“Of course it counts!”

Li Mingyu raised an eyebrow.

“Just in time to transfer the Golden Twists to you.”

“Sister, I’ll just use the money to eat, drink, and have fun every day!”

“So I don’t have to worry about the company’s business anymore!”

“I’m almost getting wrinkles!”

Knowing that Li Mingyu was just joking, Jiang Ning smiled, knowing her friend well.

After all, she was aware of the money-making power of her fried chicken stores.

Even if she invested a few hundred thousand, it wouldn’t affect the business much.

So.

Jiang Ning smiled again and looked down at the contract she had just signed on the table.

Since the issue with the core battery had been resolved,

the next step was the site selection and construction, along with follow-up issues.

However,

these were minor matters, no need to personally handle them.

Now, wasn’t there someone in the villa who was always complaining of boredom?

Then let her take care of it.

(End of Chapter)