Chapter 79: Jiang Jiang! What Are You Doing?

Half an hour later, Jiang Ning looked at the drawing in her hand—a sketch of a piglet.

As she admired it, she couldn’t help but marvel at Zhu Hui’s drawing skills.

Just based on a few verbal descriptions from Jiang Ning, Zhu Hui had managed to capture exactly what she had in mind, almost perfectly.

This wasn’t just a classmate.

She was a true talent.

And in the new century, what was the most important thing?

With that thought, Jiang Ning’s gaze suddenly drifted over to Zhu Hui’s small face.

That ambiguous look sent chills down Zhu Hui’s spine, making her break out in goosebumps.

“Jiang Jiang, what are you doing?”

“Nothing~ Hehehe…”

Jiang Ning licked her lips, then pounced on Zhu Hui.

A moment later.

Jiang Ning walked out of the classroom, satisfied, completely ignoring the resentful wails behind her.

She arrived in front of the teacher’s office.

Tap, tap, tap.

“Come in.”

After receiving permission, Jiang Ning pushed open the office door.

At a glance, she saw Teacher Yang Mei leaning over her desk, writing something.

Seeing this, Jiang Ning walked over and stood beside her.

“Teacher Yang, I’d like to take a leave of absence this afternoon.”

“For what?”

“Uh…” To be honest, after taking so many days off, she had already used up all her excuses.

So when Yang Mei asked this, Jiang Ning was momentarily speechless.

Fortunately, Yang Mei didn’t nitpick over the details.

After all, they had an agreement from the start—so long as it didn’t affect her studies, taking leave a few times a week was fine.

However, today, Yang Mei unexpectedly added a condition.

“The school’s internal math competition has been moved up. It’s scheduled for the 20th of this month at 9 AM. Don’t be late.”

Since she was given leeway, Jiang Ning naturally agreed without hesitation.

But.

The moment she stepped out of the school gate, she suddenly remembered—wasn’t the 20th the grand opening of her new store?

Damn it.

The dates clashed.

What should she do?

For now, Jiang Ning couldn’t think of a solution.

So she simply pushed the problem aside and decided to focus on getting the mascot design sorted out first.

That’s right.

Jiang Ning had taken leave today to go to the outskirts and find Du Meilan.

She planned to hand over the design sketch and discuss the business details.

As for the sketch in her hand—

It was a chubby pink piglet with a silly, goofy look and a round face topped with a colorful hat.

If someone from her past life saw this, they would instantly recognize it as the famous McDull.

McDull—a cartoon character that wouldn’t be released until 2001.

With its adorable, silly appearance and heartwarming yet humorous stories, it quickly became a nationwide sensation.

Gaining a massive fanbase.

And what Jiang Ning wanted to do now was—whether or not this world would ever produce a piglet character like McDull, she intended to tie it to her brand, Shi Ning Ji, making it her store’s official mascot.

If possible, she even planned to follow the original path and invest in animated films in the future, using them to promote the piglet’s image.

But that was for later.

For now, she had to focus on executing her plan.

If it failed, then none of the future steps would matter.

Half an hour later.

Jiang Ning arrived at Du Meilan’s house.

After sending a message, she waited outside the door.

The countryside scenery was indeed beautiful. The fields, ripe for harvest, stretched out in golden waves.

Bathed in the afternoon sunlight, they glowed brilliantly.

If only there weren’t those annoying buzzing mosquitoes, it would be perfect.

Just as she was swatting at the mosquitoes, Du Meilan’s voice rang out.

“Jiang Ning, over here.”

Hearing the call, Jiang Ning turned her head and walked toward Du Meilan.

Upon entering, the first thing she saw was over a dozen sewing machines whirring away non-stop, filling the room with a noisy duh-duh-duh sound.

Without pausing, Du Meilan continued walking forward.

Jiang Ning followed her into a room that looked like an office.

“It’s a bit messy, don’t mind it,” Du Meilan said, pouring some warm water into a disposable cup and handing it to Jiang Ning. She gestured toward the couch.

“Have a seat.”

Jiang Ning took the cup but didn’t sit down. Instead, she pulled out the drawing of the piglet.

“Sis Lan, take a look—would making something like this be difficult?”

Du Meilan took the paper and examined it for a moment.

“The design isn’t complicated, but the colors might be tricky.”

“As long as the colors don’t fade, that’s fine.” Jiang Ning wasn’t too picky about colors—she cared more about quality.

“The fabric should have a good texture, and the stuffing should be PP cotton if possible.”

Hearing this, Du Meilan raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“You even know about PP cotton?”

Faced with the question, Jiang Ning just grinned sheepishly.

“Sis Lan, this batch of merchandise is for market entry. The quality must be top-notch.”

“I’d rather pay more—it’s fine.”

“I hope you understand.”

Hearing this, Du Meilan smiled.

“Don’t worry. Every toy that leaves my factory is personally overseen by me. I won’t give you any defective products.”

Jiang Ning had full confidence in Du Meilan’s guarantee. She knew this woman was meticulous and reliable.

After that—

The two discussed some finer details.

Once they finalized the price, Jiang Ning paid a deposit and left.

Stepping outside, she checked the time—still early.

Feeling good, she made a call to Tian Wenhao.

As soon as the call connected, after exchanging a couple of words, the other side dropped a bombshell.

“Perfect timing. I needed to talk to you. If you’re free, come over.”

“What’s up?” Jiang Ning asked curiously.

“The new store’s hiring process.”

Oh, so it was about that.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning immediately hopped on her bike and pedaled to the store.

By the time she arrived, panting from the ride—

Tian Wenhao was sitting in a corner with a stack of documents in front of him.

Jiang Ning walked over and glanced down.

Wow.

So many résumés?

She picked up a few at random.

[Wang Chan, Female, 22, Unmarried, High School Graduate, Two Years Experience in Clothing Retail…]

[Chen Yangyang, Female, 32, Married with Children, Primary School Graduate, Expected Salary: 1200, Five Years Experience as a Supermarket Cashier…]

[Ma Dongcheng, Male, 28, Married with Children, Middle School Graduate, Three Years Experience in Sales, Seeking Position…]

After skimming a few, she set them down.

At that moment, Tian Wenhao pointed to the three resumes she had just placed down.

“These three are the best candidates I’ve found so far.”

Seriously?

This was the best?

Jiang Ning turned around and pulled out two more résumés.

[Huang Guoxiang, Male, 47, Unmarried, Seeking Position as Store Manager, Expected Salary: 3000…]

[Li Ming, Female, 19, Expected Salary: 2000, Requires Employee Housing…]

She frowned at the first two but—when she saw the third one—

Her mouth twitched uncontrollably.

[Li Xiu’e, Female, 38, Unmarried, High School Graduate, No Job or Salary Requirements.]

[Only requirement: Arranged marriage.]

???

(End of Chapter)