"Where did you find them all? Do they have any work experience?"

"They do. When we were on the inside, the three of us all helped out in the cafeteria."

Yang Tao pulled a chubby man over. "This is Yan Ming. He’s an amazing stir-fry cook, specializes in Sichuan and Shandong cuisine."

"And this one." Yang Tao pulled over a skinny guy. "He’s Zheng Jiachun. He’s incredible with noodles. The two of them got out half a year before me. After they were released, they sold boxed lunches and noodles at a construction site entrance, so their skills are still sharp."

Lin Jiang rested his forehead in his hand.

He was suddenly struck by the cruel irony of fate.

’When I first got the main quest, all I could think about was growing the business, making it big, and reaching new heights of glory.’

’My employees would be long-legged university girls from 985 schools in black stockings, all at my beck and call. I’d be standing at the top of a skyscraper, looking down on the entire city. Just thinking about it felt so badass.’

’But look at it now. The most educated person on the entire team is a middle school graduate, and three of them just got out of the joint.’

’Even if there’s a gap between ideals and reality, it shouldn’t be this huge, right?’

’Forget calling it Xiaojiang Noodle Shop. I might as well just rename it Illiterate Noodle Shop.’

"What happened to his right ear? Why is only half of it left?" Lin Jiang asked, pointing at Yan Ming.

"Got into a fight. But don’t worry, it doesn’t affect his hearing."

Lin Jiang turned to Zheng Jiachun. "What about him? What’s with the glove?"

"His right pinky is gone, so he wears a glove."

"From a fight, too?"

Yang Tao leaned in conspiratorially and whispered, "He took on four guys by himself. A knife got his pinky."

Lin Jiang: ???

"He fought four guys and lost a finger, and he *still* got sent to prison recently? That’s fucking self-defense, isn’t it?"

"Nah. The son of a bitch is ruthless. After he took down the four guys, he sliced the leader’s tendons. He was convicted of excessive self-defense."

’Damn it.’

’My head hurts.’

"Looking at you guys, it seems you’re the only one who’s still in one piece."

"Don’t be so sure. I’ve had my gallbladder removed."

Lin Jiang: ...

"Three chefs, and you can’t even piece together one whole person."

"Brother, you’ve never been under the knife?"

Lin Jiang fell silent.

"Had my appendix out."

"Well, that makes all of us more or less even, then."

Lin Jiang was exasperated.

’What a fucking joke fate is.’

Seeing Lin Jiang go quiet, Yang Tao and Li Yuanyuan exchanged a look.

"Brother Jiang, are you... not satisfied with the people I found?"

"No, don’t overthink it. This is just a noodle shop. I don’t have any other requirements. As long as you can do the job well, that’s all that matters."

Lin Jiang stood up and composed himself.

"Yang Tao and Yuanyuan should have already told you about the salary and benefits, so I won’t waste your time with the details. I hope you’ll all work hard from now on. I won’t treat you unfairly."

"Thank you, Brother Jiang."

Lin Jiang nodded. As he was about to leave, he called Yang Tao and Li Yuanyuan outside.

He mainly wanted to go over a few things they needed to pay attention to in the future and to establish some rules and regulations. From now on, all work had to be done in strict accordance with these rules.

Then, he had Li Yuanyuan arrange for the new employees to get their health certificates.

He also gave the keys to the old minivan to Yang Tao, who could use it for sourcing ingredients.

After taking care of these matters, Lin Jiang left.

His current task was to help Qiu Yunong get her account to 100,000 followers. It wasn’t exactly hard, but it wasn’t easy either. It would require some real effort.

Besides that, he still had that Fitness Card.

’An effect this awesome has to be used as soon as possible.’

RING RING RING—

Just then, Lin Jiang’s phone rang. It was a call from Comrade Li.

"Mom."

"Oh, so you still remember you have a mother? If I don’t call you, you’ll never call me, is that it?"

"I was just afraid of interrupting you and the old man’s public square dancing. That’s why I didn’t dare call you."

"Get outta here. When have I ever gone square dancing with that old man?"

Lin Jiang chuckled. "So, did you call for a reason?"

"Mom has to ask you something, and you have to tell me the truth."

"What is it? Why so serious?"

"Have things thawed between you and Jiajia?"

"Huh? We’re divorced. What’s there to thaw?"

Lin Jiang was completely baffled. "Why are you bringing this up all of a sudden?"

"She just messaged me, apologizing over and over. She said she was immature back then and told me not to be angry with her or hold a grudge. She also said she bought me something and will mail it in a few days. Logically, you two are divorced and have no ties anymore, so why is she suddenly acting like this?"

Lin Jiang understood what was going on. ’She couldn’t get through to me, so she’s started working on my mom.’

’She certainly knows her Art of War.’

"Just ignore her. Don’t reply to her messages. You can just delete them."

"What’s really going on with you two? If you’re seriously thinking about getting back together, you should give it some real thought. As long as you’ve made up your mind, I’ll support you either way."

"You can rest assured, Mom. I’d sooner marry a dog than get back together with her."

"Oh, you can’t do that, son. Those things shed so much, it’s filthy."

Lin Jiang: ...

’Dear mother, are you missing the point?’

"I’m talking to you! You absolutely cannot get one of those things. Tongtong had one before, and you have to walk it every single day. You need someone with free time just to look after it."

"Don’t worry, I definitely won’t get a dog."

After finishing their conversation about Chen Jingjia, the mother and son chatted about other things. He reminded her to take care of her health and to get more exercise in the park when she had time. He also transferred 20,000 yuan to her.

He could have given her more, but that would be hard to explain.

Comrade Li’s expenses weren’t high, so 20,000 yuan would last her a while.

After hanging up, Lin Jiang tossed his phone aside. He had underestimated Chen Jingjia. He never thought she would start working on his mom.