Driving his car, Lin Jiang returned to the noodle shop.

On the way, he had gotten a call from Liang Shuhuo.

The renovations were mostly finished, and she wanted to talk with Lin Jiang, so they scheduled a meeting for a little later.

When he arrived at the shop, the final cleaning was underway. Li Yuanyuan was supervising off to the side, looking very serious.

This kind of work suited her well. She was bold yet meticulous. Aside from her lack of education, she was great in all other respects.

Lin Jiang didn’t disturb them and instead took a look at the shop’s interior.

The renovation work was completely done, and the overall impression was very warm and inviting.

The entire design was based on a warm color palette, creating a clean and hygienic feel.

Even the menu boards were designed to be incredibly enticing. Liang Shuhuo’s design skills were truly commendable.

Lin Jiang did a quick calculation. The kitchen was almost fully stocked. In another day or two, they should be able to open for business.

Lin Jiang’s heart was filled with confidence for the future.

The noodle shop was just the beginning. This game of life was only just getting started.

"Oh, Brother Jiang, you’re here."

Li Yuanyuan, who had been supervising, spotted Lin Jiang and walked over to him.

"Can the cleaning be finished today?"

"Yep. The supplies are pretty much all here, too. We can pick a day for the grand opening."

"Let’s make it the day after tomorrow, then. You all should get ready. We’re about to get busy."

"Got it," Li Yuanyuan said.

"By the way, Brother Jiang, Brother Yang and I found the people you asked us to. They’re at the dorm right now. Do you have time? I can call them over."

"That works."

Li Yuanyuan sent a message to the WeChat group. She sounded quite formal, already looking the part of a manager.

"Haven’t seen you for a bit, and you’ve already got the air of a manager."

"I’ve been learning a lot these past few days, all about management. I feel terrifyingly competent right now. A small team of a dozen or so people is nothing to me anymore."

"You can barely read. Where are you learning this stuff?"

"On short-video platforms! Don’t look down on me for being uncultured. I’ve already grasped the essence of management."

"What essence?"

"It’s all about magnanimity and vision."

Lin Jiang scratched his head as he listened. "Go on."

"This so-called ’magnanimity and vision’ means you have to be generous to your subordinates. If someone betrays you, you just give them a million yuan. As for those who are loyal to you, you can casually toss them a few hundred million. They’ll definitely be loyal to you for life after that."

Lin Jiang: ???

’Money? Fuck, I’ve never even seen that kind of cash.’

"You’ve been watching those success guru courses, haven’t you?"

"It was 19.99 for 28 lessons! I’m on lesson three right now. Once I finish them all, I’ll be able to unlock the universe within me, communicate with heaven and earth, and bend all things in the world to my will."

’Lady, maybe you should just go read a fantasy novel.’

Lin Jiang rubbed his temples helplessly. ’Was hiring her as manager a mistake?’

"I’m just saying, can you please watch something more... legitimate?"

"Brother Jiang, don’t look down on this stuff. It’s actually really good. At the very least, I’ve benefited a lot from listening to it," Li Yuanyuan said.

"But I do think the content is a bit shallow. I was thinking of buying a book about the NBA to read, preferably one with an audiobook so I don’t have to..."

"Hold on."

Lin Jiang cut Li Yuanyuan off. "I made you the manager. Why are you reading a book about the NBA?"

"Isn’t that a management book? It seems pretty famous. A lot of entrepreneurs are reading it. I might not be as amazing as them, but I want to learn, too." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Li Yuanyuan’s comment almost fried Lin Jiang’s CPU.

’Dammit,’ Lin Jiang thought, ’what the hell does the NBA have to do with management?’

"You mean an MBA, right?"

"Yes, yes, yes, an MBA! In any case, I’m going to be the manager, so I need to learn more."

"You certainly do need to learn more."

CREAK—

Just then, the shop door was pushed open, and Yang Tao walked in from outside with several people.

There were five men and five women in total.

Yang Tao and Zhou Xiaoli seemed relaxed, but the other unfamiliar faces looked a little anxious.

"Come on, come on, everyone gather ’round," Li Yuanyuan called out.

"This is our boss. None of you are probably older than him, so you can just call him Brother Jiang."

"Brother Jiang."

Everyone nodded and greeted him. The female employees, in particular, gave Lin Jiang a few extra glances.

Li Yuanyuan stepped forward, pulling the four waitresses and two waiters aside.

"Brother Jiang, these are the servers I found. Two are from my village, and the rest are from the next village over. We all grew up together, so I know them inside and out. They’re hard workers who can take on any hardship, and they definitely won’t drop the ball."

Lin Jiang felt a wave of helplessness. At this rate, his noodle shop was going to become their personal vocational training center.

Just then, a bad feeling welled up inside Lin Jiang.

"I don’t mean anything by this, I just want to get to know you all a little better. What’s everyone’s education level?"

The new hires looked at each other, but no one spoke up.

"Did anyone here get a middle school diploma?" Lin Jiang asked tentatively.

"I did!"

A boy with dyed-blond hair raised his hand. "I have a middle school diploma."

"How many years of high school did you complete?"

"I just got the diploma, that’s it. My grades weren’t great, and no high school would accept me, so I stopped going to school."

’Perfect!’

Lin Jiang looked at the others. "So the rest of you didn’t finish middle school?"

"Yeah."

A girl with short hair nodded, looking a little embarrassed.

"Brother Jiang, we might not have diplomas, but don’t worry, we’ll definitely work hard."

"I don’t doubt that."

Lin Jiang turned to look at Yang Tao. The two people next to him must be the cooks he’d found.