Spicy Hot Pot Chain

Chen Nan quickly finished eating, then went to take a look at the kitchen.

Sister Li, still busy inside, warmly greeted him. Chen Nan saw that she was quite beautiful, though there were fine lines at the corners of her eyes and a trace of sorrow in them. Yet that only added to the charm of her beauty.

But what Chen Nan cared about was naturally not the lingering allure of a woman in her thirties or forties. He simply felt that there was something familiar about her.

With a certain doubt in mind, he looked toward the boiling pot.

The fire had already been turned off, but steam was still drifting out. Chen Nan examined the area around the pot, then shook his head.

This was Chen Nan's first time coming into the shop for a look, so he naturally had to check things over. After all, this shop had been opened on his suggestion, and it carried the flavor of his hometown. Naturally, he hoped it could endure for a long time.

After making a round and getting a clear picture of things, he finally came back out.

The others had finished eating as well, and Jiang Lili wanted to take everyone out to have some fun.

They now had two cars. Little Black Ox, Chen Xiao, Feng Wu, Jiang Lili, Chen Nan, and the others went to the amusement park together.

At noon, they had another lavish meal. Then they ate some snacks in the evening before returning to Jiang Lili's home.

Chen Nan and the others only needed to return before the dormitory curfew at nine, so they had plenty of time.

Taking this opportunity, Chen Nan poured out all the problems he had discovered during the day to Jiang Lili and the others.

He said, "There are a few issues I need to mention.

"First, surveillance cameras must be installed in the kitchen, especially around the soup pot. That way, if something goes wrong, there will be evidence.

"The cameras must be installed very discreetly. No one can be allowed to discover them.

"Also, since you're running a Spicy Hot Pot business, don't make it look like one huge pot of stew.

"You can set up one or two rows of food display cases and arrange the various vegetables, noodles, and so on by category. Let customers choose whatever they like, then charge them by weight.

"That way, customers can eat the dishes they enjoy most, while you can account for their appetites and avoid waste. It will also reduce your workload.

"Also, Feng Wu and Chen Xiao, after a certain period of time, the two of you should go out and open branch stores. Then each of you will run one, making three main stores in Wu City.

"With those three main stores as the core, you can develop chain stores. Given Wu City's population, it would be best not to exceed fifteen shops. If the market becomes too saturated, it will also be detrimental to our development.

"Once you've developed to a certain extent in Wu City, start expanding downward into counties and towns; upward, expand into prefectures and provincial capitals.

"Finally, if you have ambition, you can naturally open stores across the entire country and march into the world."

Jiang Lili smiled. "Of course we have that kind of ambition. Chen Xiao, did you write down everything Chen Nan said?"

Chen Xiao nodded. "Don't worry. Every key point has been recorded."

This whole display left Shen Congyun and the others somewhat dumbfounded.

Good heavens, just who was Chen Nan? How could he think of so much, and so far ahead? They were all children, yet the gap between them was this huge?

At the same time, however, they caught the scent of a crisis.

There could only be fifteen shops in all of Wu City. After subtracting the three main stores, that left only twelve.

Judging by how explosively popular this Spicy Hot Pot was, opening chain stores would be absurdly easy.

Therefore, if they wanted a piece of this business, they had to act quickly. Otherwise, it would be too late.

Thus, Shen Congyun and the other two immediately asked Chen Nan for slots. They even used their bond as dormmates to pressure him, insisting that he reserve three franchise slots for them.

Jiang Lili agreed on Chen Nan's behalf, and the three of them decided that once they returned today, they would contact their families immediately.

After all, they were now students of the Preparatory Academy. Though they were still young, their status within their families had already become extraordinary.

Their parents could not possibly turn a blind eye to their requests.

The very next day, the parents of the three came to conduct an investigation, then applied to join the franchise.

After all, the customers filling every nook and cranny were the most moving sight. Whoever saw such a scene could not remain unmoved.

And the reputation of Chen Nan Spicy Hot Pot spread through Wu City, from point to surface.

News of this reached Wang Bodan's ears.

It was now nearly impossible to deal with Chen Nan, because after that battle, Chen Nan's reputation had spread far and wide. No one dared touch a tiger's whiskers.

Furthermore, the special treatment Chen Nan received at the academy proved how highly the school valued him.

Who would dare lay a hand on someone like that within the academy?

But how could the flames of vengeance in Wang Bodan's heart possibly go out? The better Chen Nan lived, the more oil he poured onto those flames, making them burn even fiercer.

Watching the enemy who had destroyed his family live so freely and comfortably—who could bear that?

Then, when he suddenly heard about "Chen Nan Spicy Hot Pot," Wang Bodan saw an opportunity to make a move.

However, he knew that he was alone and weak, incapable of accomplishing anything by himself, so he planned to contact people at the academy.

He already had a target: Zhang Hua, who also hated Chen Nan.

Wang Bodan's feelings toward Chen Nan were hatred, while Zhang Hua's were jealousy and resentment.

Originally, Zhang Hua had believed that once he entered the Preparatory Academy, he would definitely become its most dazzling star. A "celebrity" like Chen Nan could only become his lackey.

But the situation had turned around. Chen Nan had instead become a dazzling figure at the academy.

When he listened to the students chatting normally, which one of them was not envious of Chen Nan? Beneath Chen Nan's radiance, Zhang Hua appeared much dimmer.

There was a saying that suited him well: How could the glow of a firefly dare contend with the brilliance of the bright moon?

But what kind of background did he come from? How could he endure this? This was still within Wu City's territory, after all!

Therefore, he had long wanted to make things difficult for Chen Nan.

Once Wang Bodan found Zhang Hua, it took only a few provocative words to win him over. The two joined forces and began plotting how to cause trouble for Chen Nan.

Since they could not lay a hand on Chen Nan inside the academy, they would naturally target his business outside it.

They set their sights on Chen Nan Spicy Hot Pot. Wang Bodan came up with a plan that had two steps.

The first step was to destroy that Spicy Hot Pot shop. As for food businesses, the methods used to bring them down had almost always been the same.

The idea Wang Bodan proposed was utterly vicious. If it succeeded, the Spicy Hot Pot shop would never be able to rise again.

But destroying the Spicy Hot Pot shop was not Wang Bodan's ultimate goal. What he truly wanted was to use it to lure Chen Nan away from the academy for an extended period.

At that time, there would be plenty of opportunities to use extraordinary methods to deal with Chen Nan.

In truth, the ranks of Transcendents were also filled with criminal organizations. For example, there was the Assassin Association. The Assassin Association would not assassinate ordinary people, but it had no such scruples when it came to Transcendents.

That was what Wang Bodan had in mind.

When Chen Nan came to handle the Spicy Hot Pot incident, Wang Bodan intended to hire an assassin to eliminate him.

And for that, he needed Zhang Hua's help.

As an ordinary person, Wang Bodan found it difficult to come into contact with the business of Transcendent assassins. Therefore, he needed Zhang Hua's assistance.

Zhang Hua agreed to everything except the plan to kill Chen Nan. Wang Bodan did not care. He only needed Zhang Hua to provide information about assassins; then he would pay a great price to hire one.

Zhang Hua was naturally delighted to let the river wash the boat for him, and provided him with the information.

Wang Bodan was going all in. Although the court had seized his family's assets, there were always some hidden assets left behind.

There were more than ten million in total. If he relied on that money, living freely and comfortably for the rest of his life would not be a problem at all. Unfortunately, hatred would not allow Wang Bodan to do so.

He knew this was his last chance. Once Chen Nan entered the Transcendent Academy, the two of them would be as far apart as heaven and earth, forever beyond each other's reach.

Therefore, he intended to use all that money to hire an assassin and wipe Chen Nan out completely.

Chen Nan knew nothing of any of this. He still kept both ears shut to matters beyond the window, focusing single-mindedly on cultivation.

In the blink of an eye, another month passed. Chen Nan rose another three levels and had now reached Level Six Zero Stage.

However, Chen Nan discovered from this that cultivation started easy and became difficult later. The first three levels had taken one month, and the next three levels had taken another. Though the time and number of levels were the same, the circumstances of the two periods of cultivation were different.

During this month of cultivation, Chen Nan had trained with powerful assistance. Not only had he received boosts from food, but also from various devices and medicines.

Yet even so, he had only risen three levels in a month.

Chen Nan estimated that at this pace, reaching Level Ten would take at least two months. But that would put him in February of next year.

The entrance examinations for the Transcendent Academy were held in September of that year. To reach Level Fifteen, he had only seven months left. Looking at it that way, time was still extremely tight.

As for whether he could place in the top three during the examination, that was not particularly difficult.

Because during the examinations, it was rare for anyone at Level Eighteen or Nineteen to appear.

Most people would take the examination right at the Level Fifteen threshold. After all, entering the Transcendent Academy earlier meant receiving more advanced education earlier.

Who would be foolish enough to waste precious time just to fight over an empty reputation?

In any case, the major Lineages would absolutely never do such a thing. Only wildlings, including Preparatory Academies like the one in Wu City, cared so much about such rankings.

When it came to entering the Transcendent Academy, what truly mattered was age. The younger someone was, the more it proved they were a genius and possessed greater potential for development.

Of course, even so, securing one of the top three spots during the examination would never be easy.

Though empty fame was useless, how many people were still burdened by it?

It was easy to imagine that even if it was useless, quite a few youths would still fight over it.