93: Chapter 93 Where's my fish?! Where's my fish?!

"Tell me, what are your selfish motives?"

Qin Xun leaned forward, getting a bit closer to Xia Ning, and asked.

Xia Ning glanced at Qin Xun, gave a soft smile, then turned to look at the night sky outside the window and spoke slowly.

"Didn't I open a few coffee shops before?"

"They went bankrupt after six months, which made me realize that starting a business is truly not easy; every pitfall you stumble into costs a lot of money."

She turned her head and looked at Qin Xun.

"So, I want to use Dudu Tea's money to fall into various pits and gain experience for myself, making it easier for my next venture."

Seeing that Qin Xun's expression hadn't changed, she hesitated for a moment and said softly.

"Tell me, does this count as slacking off?"

Qin Xun raised an eyebrow, a look of sudden enlightenment appearing on his face, and he gave her a thumbs-up.

"Good thinking, good thinking. It's really possible!"

"I have high hopes for you!"

Xia Ning laughed softly.

Qin Xun lowered his head in thought, then glanced out the window.

The night wind made the leaves rustle loudly.

It was almost the end of August, and autumn had already begun.

Although Haicheng was still very hot during the day, once the sun went down, the wind brought a bit of a chill.

He looked a bit troubled.

"Autumn has already started, and Mid-Autumn Festival is only a month away. It's already too late to perform a strategic brand upgrade for a milk tea brand now."

Xia Ning raised her head, looked at Qin Xun quietly for a moment, and said slowly.

"It's not late!"

"On the contrary, I think the timing is perfect!"

Qin Xun was stunned.

It was the first time he had seen such a solemn expression on Xia Ning's face.

Xia Ning looked at Qin Xun and, with a smile, began to explain eloquently.

"When a catering chain undergoes a brand upgrade, it usually starts with a pilot in one city, then expands to a second, a third, and a fourth."

"During this process, directions are adjusted and plans are remade in a timely manner based on the difficulties and problems that arise."

She paused.

"This process doesn't happen overnight. Although the milk tea industry is about to enter its off-season, not the entire country has distinct seasons like Haicheng."

"Some places have spring-like weather all year round, while others stay hot until the end of October or even November."

"Dudu Tea has over 2,000 stores nationwide; there are bound to be some places suitable as pilot sites for brand transformation."

Qin Xun had never heard Xia Ning say so much in one breath; he knew she placed great importance on this case.

He thought for a moment, looked at Xia Ning seriously, and reminded her.

"Even though you want to use someone else's money to gain experience from pitfalls, we can't intentionally fall into them. Once I take this on, I will definitely be responsible."

He straightened his collar.

"After all, I'm a person of status now."

Xia Ning smiled and nodded quickly, feeling somewhat happy.

Although she had made up that nonsense about falling into pits, she had also been worried that Qin Xun would intentionally waste her father's money.

Seeing Qin Xun's solemn expression, she felt relieved.

She heard Qin Xun continue.

"Our company currently focuses on product marketing; we have absolutely no experience in strategic brand upgrades or transformations for a catering chain."

"This..."

His voice trailed off, making him seem a bit conflicted.

Xia Ning watched Qin Xun's expression, fearing he would say he couldn't do it. Her heart was in her throat, but then she heard him say:

"Our department needs to hire people and expand."

"The two of us can't handle it alone."

Xia Ning breathed a sigh of relief.

"Then hire them!"

Qin Xun narrowed his eyes and looked at Xia Ning, frowning slightly.

"Little Xia, watch your tone and attitude."

"You make it sound so easy. It's not like you're the one paying the salaries, right?"

He tapped the table lightly and warned her.

"As a member of Oak Tree, you should always be thinking about increasing revenue and cutting costs for the company, you know?"

Xia Ning: "..."

Heh—

Has this guy's mindset changed this quickly?

She seemed to understand the feelings of an employee toward their boss now.

It's truly annoying!

Just then, Qin Xun's phone chimed with a notification.

He looked down; it was a reply from Cheng Wan.

[President Qin, what's the matter?]

Qin Xun looked up at Xia Ning and asked.

"Are you going to lend me the money or not?"

Thinking about how she had "confiscated" the 50,000 yuan Song Ying gave him, forcing him to wander around, Xia Ning felt a bit embarrassed.

She looked at the Boiled Fish in front of her, pondered for a moment, and said seemingly nonchalantly:

"Your cooking... is okay. If you can be my chef, I can rent out a spare room in my home to you."

She looked up, her expression calm.

"The security in this complex is very good; no one will harass you. I'll give you a discount—only 2,000 a month."

Only to see Qin Xun raise his middle finger at her without hesitation.

Xia Ning: "..."

She didn't press further and silently picked up her phone to transfer 2,000 yuan to him.

"Thanks!"

Seeing the transfer, Qin Xun was momentarily stunned and a bit surprised, so he quickly clicked to accept the payment.

"Xia Ning, Sister Wan just replied to me. If I don't say something, it'll look like I'm harassing a married woman in the middle of the night."

"Draft a job description for me, and I'll send it to her."

Xia Ning's eyes lit up slightly.

He just said they needed to hire, and now he's taking action immediately.

Has this guy's drive become this strong?

Xia Ning felt a sense of anticipation; even when he was being reckless, he could produce such stunning proposals.

Now that he was being so serious, wouldn't he be even more formidable?

She lowered her head and thought for a bit, her fingers flying across the screen as she typed out a set of hiring requirements and sent them to Qin Xun.

Qin Xun received it and clicked to open.

[01. Bachelor's degree or higher, marketing major preferred.]

[02. Possess certain organizational, coordination, and communication skills, as well as keen insight.]

[03. Possess strong project advancement capabilities and excellent execution.]

[04...]

He skimmed through it, looked up, and smiled at Xia Ning.

"Well written!"

Xia Ning gave a faint smile.

But then she saw Qin Xun put away his phone without forwarding it to Cheng Wan.

Was he going to make some edits?

Heh—

Leaders always seemed to like doing that—making a few insignificant changes to someone else's hard work and then submitting it as their own.

This Qin Xun was acting more and more like a big boss.

Qin Xun picked up a piece of fish meat and ate it, then stood up, said goodbye to Xia Ning, and turned to leave.

"See you tomorrow, see you tomorrow!"

Xia Ning watched him silently as he walked out of the living room, not saying a word to make him stay.

She stared quietly at the night outside the window, lost in thought.

Suddenly.

Her phone rang.

Xia Ning looked down; it was another video call from her father.

She answered.

Xia Shujie was all smiles.

"Ningning, let me see how the Red Dragon Fish is doing."

"Based on my years of experience in fish-keeping, I adjusted the temperature earlier, so by now, it should definitely be lively and kicking."

Xia Ning smiled softly, picked up her phone, tapped the camera flip button, and aimed it at the fish tank.

She froze!

From the phone, Xia Shujie's voice was quite loud, completely lacking his usual refined and calm demeanor.

"Where is my fish?"

"Where is my fish?!"