Chapter 35: Fried Chicken Beauty?

The National Day in the year 2000 fell on a Sunday, so the holiday started on Saturday, September 30.

It lasted all the way until Sunday, October 8, before students had to return to school.

Such a long holiday, and without those annoying make-up workdays!

This put Jiang Ning in an extremely good mood.

Of course, it would be even better if there were less homework.

Jiang Ning rubbed her sore wrist, took a short break, and then buried her head back into the dozens of test papers on the desk in front of her.

It was a battle of life and death!

She fought fiercely until lunchtime. However, due to a shortage of provisions, Jiang Ning had no choice but to retreat.

Patting her empty stomach, she changed into some comfortable clothes, tied her hair into a high ponytail, and headed out.

Since today was the first day of the National Day holiday, the streets were much more crowded than usual.

Considering the situation at the shop, Jiang Ning naturally had to go help out. At the same time, she wanted to discuss some ideas she had thought of last night with Tian Wenhao.

Before long, she arrived at the shop, right at the peak lunch hour.

The place was packed. Even the extra seating outside was almost completely occupied.

Seeing this, Jiang Ning greeted her cousin-in-law before heading straight to the changing room.

She put on her uniform and joined the busy work shift.

As for lunch, there was nothing a burger couldn’t fix.

And if there was—just add a chicken wing.

Of course, she ate in the changing room before stepping out again; otherwise, customers might get the wrong idea.

—

“Two value meals ready! Please come pick them up!”

“Who ordered two sodas? Please come get them!”

“Hey, handsome~ Your ice cream cone is ready! Come grab it, thanks~”

“Cumin-grilled wings ready! The customer who ordered, please pick them up!”

—

For nearly two hours, Jiang Ning shouted nonstop, calling out orders as the crowd gradually thinned.

By the time it was past 3 PM, she accepted a cup of soda from Wang Ting.

After chugging it down, she let out a satisfied sigh, then finally asked,

“Where’s my cousin?”

“He just went out for a delivery—to Jiangzhou Bank. He should be back soon.”

Hearing this, Jiang Ning smiled and nodded. She walked out from the back, grabbed a chair, and sat at the entrance, casually chatting with Xiao Mingxiu.

Not long after, she spotted a familiar figure wobbling toward them on a bicycle from afar.

As soon as Tian Wenhao parked his bike, Xiao Mingxiu approached him with a smile, whispering something that made him grin.

“Hey! Can you two be mindful of the fact that there’s an underage girl here?”

Jiang Ning smacked her lips in exaggerated disgust.

By now, Tian Wenhao was used to her teasing. Instead of getting flustered, he even had the nerve to fire back,

“If you’re jealous, why don’t you get yourself a boyfriend?”

“I mean, that little pretty boy from last time seemed like a good match. Tsk, tsk—his concern for you was practically overflowing. Even I could feel it.”

…

What the hell?

He’s getting bolder now?

Jiang Ning immediately jumped up from her chair and charged at Tian Wenhao, roaring like she was about to bring justice to the family.

Caught off guard, Tian Wenhao yelped and bolted, and the two of them chased each other around in front of the shop.

Xiao Mingxiu, watching from the side, could only shake her head helplessly.

Eventually, after Tian Wenhao admitted defeat, the two cousins finally stopped.

Leaning against a tree by the shop entrance, Jiang Ning caught her breath and brought up her idea to Tian Wenhao.

“Starting a dedicated food delivery company?”

“A service just for takeout?”

Tian Wenhao thought for a moment before asking in confusion,

“But a single delivery only earns a few bucks in service fees, and there aren’t that many orders in a day.”

“Wouldn’t this lose money?”

“There will definitely be initial costs,” Jiang Ning admitted.

She did a quick calculation—hiring a few delivery riders at the start wouldn’t be too expensive.

And as long as they could build a reputation and collaborate with more restaurants…

Then in a few years, when the internet boom hits, riding that wave would be a no-brainer.

So Jiang Ning explained everything she could to Tian Wenhao, keeping certain key details to herself.

Even so, the vision she painted was enough to leave Tian Wenhao utterly shocked.

“A single phone call, and you can get whatever food you want…”

“A guaranteed delivery time of just 30 minutes…”

“Anyone can become a delivery rider…”

If all of this became reality, he couldn’t even begin to imagine how massive this company could be.

Seeing him lost in thought, Jiang Ning clicked her tongue and waved her hand in front of his face.

“Hey, don’t overthink it. Let’s start small—just put together a delivery team first.”

“We need to get our own shop’s delivery service running smoothly before we think about launching a company.”

That made sense. Tian Wenhao quickly snapped out of it.

Still, he couldn’t shake off the excitement stirring in his chest.

“How many people do you need?”

“Let’s start with four—two guys, two girls.” Jiang Ning counted on her fingers.

“The guys can handle deliveries outside, while the girls focus on the school area.”

“So, do you have anyone in mind?”

She asked casually, not expecting much. But to her surprise, Tian Wenhao actually nodded.

“I have a dormmate whose family isn’t doing well financially. He’s been looking for a part-time job, but hasn’t found anything with a good schedule.”

“How’s his attitude? I mean, in terms of dealing with people.” Jiang Ning asked.

“You’ve met him before. He was one of the three guys who helped out at the grand opening—the tallest one.”

Jiang Ning thought back and quickly recalled a slightly tanned, broad-shouldered guy with a silly grin.

She nodded.

“He seems decent. If you think he’s reliable, then count him in.”

“For the rest, you can put up a hiring notice outside.”

—

With a simple plan in place, Tian Wenhao immediately ran over to the nearby print shop to get things set up.

This was the beauty of a startup—ideas could be executed the moment they emerged.

And if any issues arose, they could be adjusted or halted in real time.

That was efficiency.

Half an hour later, a hiring notice was successfully posted at the shop entrance.

And not long after, the first successful applicant arrived in front of Jiang Ning.

She looked familiar.

A second later, Jiang Ning recognized her.

Wasn’t she the first customer at her plush toy stall?

Now this was interesting.

—

Xia Ling hadn’t expected that while looking for a part-time job, she would run into the strikingly beautiful girl who had left such a deep impression on her last time.

Unable to hold back, she asked,

“You… are you here to apply too?”

Jiang Ning shook her head and grinned.

“Nope! This is my cousin’s shop. I’m just here to help out.”

Hearing this, Xia Ling suddenly had a look of realization.

“So you’re the ‘Fried Chicken Beauty’ everyone’s been talking about in the campus online community!”

…

What?

Fried Chicken Beauty?!

—

(End of Chapter)