Chapter 210: Boss, You’re Still Underage

“Come on, eat up—no need to hold back.”

“Today, it’s our Secretary Wang who’s treating us.”

“Eat as much as you want, no need to be polite.”

Miss Jiang completely ignored the resentful look from the little secretary and shoved a large braised pork trotter into the bowl of Wang Chan, the store manager of the Jinrui branch.

The young girl recoiled at the sight of the glistening, fatty meat, instinctively leaning back in alarm.

Still, a few drops of oil splattered onto her clothes.

Watching Wang Chan’s dismayed expression, Miss Jiang gave an awkward chuckle.

At that moment—

Xia Ling raised her glass of soda.

“Boss~ Come on, a toast to you!”

“Thank you for giving me this opportunity to grow!”

“Here’s to the continued success of ‘Shi Ning Ji’!”

With that, she downed the drink in one go.

“Well said!” Yang Mingliang, manager of the Technical School branch, clapped enthusiastically at her words.

He then raised his own glass.

“Boss! Let me toast you too!”

Next—

Jiang Shuyan, manager of the No. 2 Middle School branch, gave a composed smile.

“Boss… I may be a few years older than you, but…”

As she spoke, she poured the soda from her cup into her bowl, then grabbed the beer in front of Yang Mingliang and filled her glass to the brim.

“Boss~ I’ll drink it all. You drink however you like!”

Tsk tsk tsk.

Now that’s someone who’s been around the workplace.

Even the way she drinks is more decisive than the others.

Watching Jiang Shuyan down her beer, Miss Jiang felt her own throat itch a little.

She couldn’t help but glance at the can of beer sitting in front of her cousin.

That glance didn’t escape the little secretary, Wang Jianguo.

He gave a soft cough.

“Boss~ you’re still underage…”

What an ungrateful little secretary!

Miss Jiang rolled her eyes with a deep sense of grievance.

But she knew.

Ever since that incident with the sake, alcohol was probably off-limits for her.

A moment later—

Seeing that everyone had more or less finished eating, Miss Jiang set down her chopsticks.

Her gaze swept slowly across the eight people seated before her.

Aside from Little Secretary Wang Jianguo, the other seven were the managers of the seven ‘Shi Ning Ji’ branches.

At this point—

Everyone realized the boss had something to say. It was clear the gathering had reached its most important moment.

In an instant—

All eyes turned to Miss Jiang.

“Ahem.”

Jiang Ning cleared her throat.

“Let me say a few words.”

She turned her gaze to the girl sitting to Wang Jianguo’s left—a slightly tanned girl with a ponytail and a shy demeanor.

“Big Sis Wang Chan…”

“You’re steady and reliable, with strong management skills. That’s why sales at the Jinrui branch have always shown stable growth.”

“That’s excellent.”

“But—”

Jiang Ning paused, her tone turning serious as she looked into Wang Chan’s slightly confused eyes.

“You must pay close attention to the safety of the delivery team.”

“Never sacrifice your own safety just to meet a deadline!”

At those words—

Wang Chan instinctively lowered her head.

“Boss, I understand.”

Satisfied with the response, Miss Jiang nodded and turned her attention to the second person—Xia Ling, manager of the Times Square branch.

Looking at the girl before her, lightly made-up and smiling naturally—

“Xia Ling.”

“Your people skills and ability to negotiate with the mall are truly impressive.”

“You’ve consistently secured the best terms for us during discussions with the mall.”

“That’s a real strength.”

“But…”

Jiang Ning paused again, letting out a soft sigh.

“Before handling external matters, you need to get your own house in order.”

“Do you know how many complaints your store received last month?”

“Hygiene… safety… tardiness…”

“The mall staff were one step away from calling me directly.”

“I… I thought they’d manage themselves…” Xia Ling looked a bit embarrassed.

In truth—

Miss Jiang had always known Xia Ling wasn’t as meticulous in management as Wang Chan.

But she hadn’t expected the girl to be so careless she’d forget to lock the store after closing.

If it weren’t for the mall’s night patrols—

The whole store could’ve been emptied without anyone knowing.

At that moment—

Tian Wenhao suddenly spoke up from the side:

“Regarding that, Jiang Ning and I have put together a staff performance evaluation system.”

“I’ll share it with everyone when I get the chance.”

“If it works for you all, we can start using it going forward. How does that sound?”

Seeing that no one objected to her cousin’s suggestion—

Miss Jiang continued down the line, turning her gaze to the next three people.

“Yang Mingliang, Jiang Shuyan, Zheng Xiaodong.”

“You three are the managers of our newest branches.”

“Not only do you need to focus on sales, but also keep a close eye on safety, hygiene, and other areas.”

The three of them nodded.

Seeing that they were new and there wasn’t much else to address, Jiang Ning was about to move on.

But just then—

At the No. 2 Middle School Store, Jiang Shuyan suddenly spoke up:

“Boss, a teacher from No. 2 Middle School came to us a while ago with a complaint.”

“Hm?”

“They said students have been bringing our store’s packaging into school, and after eating, they just toss the wrappers everywhere. It’s affecting the school environment. They asked us to be more mindful.”

???

Miss Jiang’s first reaction was: Are you kidding me?

But when she saw the serious look on Jiang Shuyan’s face, she frowned.

“Which teacher?”

“A subject teacher. I asked around later—he teaches Chinese.”

“Hah. Then let’s just pretend he’s talking out of his ass.”

Clearly.

Either that teacher has something wrong in the head, or there’s something wrong with his character.

Otherwise, no normal person would do something like that.

After speaking, Jiang Ning turned her gaze to her cousin-in-law, Xiao Mingxiu.

Looking at the increasingly mature charm she exuded…

Her mind couldn’t help but wander—

Ahem, ahem, ahem.

“Sis-in-law.”

“I’ve always trusted your management of the Train Station Store.”

“There haven’t been any major issues.”

“The only thing we really need to pay attention to is safety inside the store.”

“After all, places like train stations are crowded and chaotic.”

At this point, Miss Jiang seemed to recall something.

“Oh right, Manager Liu from the KFC at the station might be coming to discuss a joint promotion with us soon.”

“When the time comes, you’ll represent us and talk with him.”

“Remember, no matter the outcome, when it comes to our interests, don’t back down even half a step.”

“Understood, Boss.”

With that said, Jiang Ning turned her gaze to her eldest cousin.

Their eyes met.

“Cousin, find a time to rent an office floor in the Tianwei Building.”

“I think it’s time we had a proper office space.”

“After all…”

Jiang Ning smiled but didn’t finish the sentence.

But Tian Wenhao understood exactly what she meant.

He nodded solemnly and said, “President Jiang, don’t worry.”

Everyone present knew Jiang Ning was Tian Wenhao’s younger cousin.

But now, even the way he addressed her had changed.

In that moment—

Those with sharp instincts sensed something different in the air.

However—

Miss Jiang didn’t say anything more. She simply nodded, then swept her gaze across the room.

“Since our first ‘Shi Ning Ji’ store opened on September 26th last year—”

“In just one short year, we’ve grown into a chain restaurant enterprise with seven branches and annual sales in the tens of millions.”

“Right here in Jiangzhou, we’ve reached a point where we can go toe-to-toe with international giants like KFC and Golden Arches.”

“Such success for ‘Shi Ning Ji’ wouldn’t have been possible without all of your hard work.”

As she spoke, Miss Jiang picked up the soda in front of her and downed it in one go.

“Come on, a toast to everyone.”

Seeing this, the others around the table all raised their glasses with cheerful smiles and responded in kind.

Once the drinks were finished, Jiang Ning paused, set her glass down, and said with a bright smile:

“However…”

“In the days ahead, I’m afraid we’ll need to work even harder!”

“Now, I officially announce—”

“The launch of the ‘Shi Ning Ji’ Franchise Store Plan!”

…

The Franchise Store Plan was a critical step in Jiang Ning’s development blueprint for the company.

Without this step,

‘Shi Ning Ji’ would remain a small, local business.

And at that level, trying to compete with the Hongsheng Group, or having a real voice among the big players—

Would be out of the question.

Never mind how fierce the recent clash between the monk and the young widow had been.

Strictly speaking—

It was just two octopuses tangling their tentacles.

To truly go head-to-head—

‘Shi Ning Ji’ had to grow to the same level as the Hongsheng Group.

Only then would it have the right—and the power—to make Hongsheng feel pain, or even—

Crush it completely.

At this moment,

Miss Jiang suddenly realized—

The battle between ‘Shi Ning Ji’ and the Hongsheng Group had little to do with Luo Chengming anymore.

There were only so many food enterprises in Jiangzhou.

Hongsheng Group was the biggest.

If ‘Shi Ning Ji’ wanted to dominate Jiangzhou, and look toward the province, the nation—even the world—

It would inevitably have to face Hongsheng.

As for now—

Let’s enjoy the game with the little widow for a while longer.

(End of chapter)