Chapter 61: A Small Career Step

Chapter 61: Chapter 61: A Small Career Step

After Xu Li made the introductions, Nan Zhi learned that this Boss Yang was a friend of hers.

He was a second-generation heir, unwilling to just coast on his family’s wealth, who had taken money from his parents to start his own business.

Xu Li declared with conviction:

"Don’t worry about our connection. Name whatever price you want. This guy isn’t short on cash!"

Boss Yang glared daggers at Xu Li.

’What a *true* friend you are...’

But when he turned to Nan Zhi, his attitude became sincere and polite.

Boss Yang ran a chain of Chinese fast-food restaurants. After many years in business, it had become fairly well-known in the country, but recently, it had run into a crisis—

Their original signature dishes were no longer popular, and customers criticized the menu for being outdated and uninspired. The company’s R&D department had been trying to develop a cost-effective, widely appealing flagship product, but they had yet to see any results...

Just then, by a stroke of luck, Boss Yang tasted Nan Zhi’s Golden Egg Fried Rice.

"My standards aren’t high. You don’t need to replicate the flavor perfectly. I’m not even hoping for seventy percent, just half! Half would be good enough!"

Boss Yang’s words were earnest, as if he were clinging to Nan Zhi like a lifeline.

Fortunately, he had come to the right person.

Nan Zhi said, "I can give you the recipe. I guarantee it can replicate eighty percent of the flavor."

Boss Yang’s first reaction was—

’Impossible.’

Why was Chinese fast food so difficult to scale, unlike Western fast-food chains like McDonald’s or KFC that expanded so rapidly?

It was precisely because Chinese cuisine demanded more from its chefs. Standardizing the quality control for flavor was difficult, which increased costs. Naturally, the rate of return was lower than that of Western fast food.

When Boss Yang first started his restaurant chain, he had ambitiously planned to take the company public.

Unfortunately, after years of hardship, he had completely given up on that idea. Now, he just wanted to hold on to the small territory he had.

"We’ve tried central kitchens, cold chain logistics... We’ve tried everything. Unfortunately, nothing was very effective, though we certainly sank a lot of money into it."

Boss Yang explained with a wry smile.

He was also tactfully expressing to Nan Zhi that it wasn’t a simple matter.

But Nan Zhi was perfectly confident. She took out a piece of paper—

It was an ordinary sheet of A4 paper. The handwriting was gentle yet sharp, just like the impression Nan Zhi herself gave off. It was clearly her own script.

The paper contained a recipe for egg fried rice. Of course, it wasn’t just a simple list of ingredients and steps. It detailed things like what level of heat to use for each step and what temperature the wok should reach... It was less a recipe and more a lab manual!

Nan Zhi pushed the single, light sheet of paper in front of Boss Yang.

"This is the recipe for the Golden Egg Fried Rice. You can take it home and try it yourself, Boss Yang. See if you can replicate eighty percent of the flavor. If you can, then we’ll discuss the next step of our partnership."

Boss Yang’s jaw dropped.

"B-But I can’t cook! My culinary skills are limited to scrambled eggs with tomatoes and... tomatoes with scrambled eggs!"

Nan Zhi smiled confidently.

"Just try it first."

After a moment of hesitation, Boss Yang gritted his teeth and accepted the recipe.

His mind was a mess. Then, on a strange impulse, he asked:

"Aren’t you afraid I’ll just steal your recipe?"

Xu Li, who had been quiet the entire time, instantly bristled.

"What am I, chopped liver?"

Nan Zhi just smiled and patted Xu Li’s shoulder, signaling her to relax.

Then she turned her leisurely gaze to Boss Yang.

"I can write one recipe; I can write thousands. So, whether you choose a long-term partnership or a short-term gain... that’s up to you, Boss Yang."

Boss Yang: ...

If Xu Li’s threat had merely made him flinch...

...then Nan Zhi’s words were a sword of Damocles hanging over his head.

’Whether it falls or not... is up to you, Boss Yang.’

An icy chill shot up his spine and into his brain, jolting him to his senses.

"O-Of course I wouldn’t!"

’He was just making a stupid joke! He didn’t mean it!’

Nan Zhi was still smiling.

"Good. I believe you, Boss Yang."

As for whether Boss Yang believed her, well, that was his problem.

...All in all, the negotiation had gone very smoothly.

After Boss Yang left, Nan Zhi glanced at the time, ready to get Nan Yi so they could go home for dinner.

But just then, a café employee rushed up to her, their tone hurried and urgent.

"Excuse me, ma’am, is the little boy in the sky-blue sweatshirt yours? He’s gotten into a fight with someone over there!"

"Oh?"

The smile vanished from Nan Zhi’s face in an instant. Her eyes darkened, and a sudden chill filled the air.

An immense presence erupted from her seemingly frail and delicate frame, shocking even Xu Li into silence.

Nan Zhi said, "Let’s go take a look."

Her steps were sharp, her skirt swishing with the speed of her movement. In the blink of an eye, she reached the play area—

Nan Yi was standing barefoot on the floor. His hair, which had been neatly combed that morning, was now a complete mess, and even the collar of his sweatshirt had been yanked out of shape.

More importantly, his left cheek was slightly red and bore an angry-looking scratch.

His eyes were welling with tears, but his hands were stubbornly clenched into fists.

"Yiyi!"

The moment Nan Zhi called out, Nan Yi looked as if he had found his protector, and he rushed into her arms like a baby bird returning to its nest.

Nan Zhi didn’t ask any questions.

After examining the scratch on Nan Yi’s face, her gaze immediately locked onto a woman with red lips standing not far away, arms crossed and looking aggressive.

Nan Zhi took Nan Yi by the hand, walked over, and asked the woman:

"Did you hit my son?"

The woman, likely used to being arrogant and domineering, made no effort to restrain herself. She immediately lifted her chin and sneered.

"He was the one who—"

SLAP!

A sharp slap landed squarely on the woman’s left cheek!

The woman was stunned.

Everyone else was stunned, too.

The next moment, the woman let out a crazed shriek.

"How dare you hit me! Do you have any idea who—"

SLAP!

Nan Zhi hit her again with a backhand slap!

Now, both of the woman’s cheeks were red and swollen, forming a perfect, symmetrical pair.

The woman went completely berserk, charging at Nan Zhi like an angry bull, ready to brawl.

Xu Li was the first to react, jumping in front of Nan Zhi to block the attack.

This jolted the onlookers from their stupor, and they quickly grabbed the woman to hold her back.

The woman roared hysterically.

"Are you all crazy? That lunatic is the one who hit me! Why are you stopping me and not her?!"

Everyone thought: ’Of course it’s because you’re the one who looks more out of control!’

’Besides, aren’t you the one who hit the kid first?’

—They silently blocked the woman, refusing to yield an inch.

To be honest, everyone had been furious when they saw the woman hit Nan Yi earlier.

But as outsiders, they felt it wasn’t their place to interfere.

Now that Nan Zhi was teaching the woman a lesson, every single one of them felt a sense of satisfaction.

Nan Zhi remained unruffled, as if she had anticipated this exact situation.

She flexed her palm, which was tingling from the force of the slaps, and then asked:

"So, what happened?"

Hearing her perfectly calm tone, everyone thought to themselves that this woman was truly a force to be reckoned with.

Without hesitation, they all chimed in, and piece by piece, the whole story came out.

With their accounts, plus Nan Yi’s own explanation, Nan Zhi finally understood—

It turned out the woman was an acquaintance!

She was a neighbor from their very own residential complex!