Colonel Sanders did not start his career particularly early. He officially entered the fried chicken business in 1932, when he was already in his forties.
He had participated in World War I, though he had not seen much fighting in Europe. After returning to the United States and leaving the military, he served as a Magistrati in a small town for several years.
But his family was simply too poor. He needed to support his sickly mother, as well as his wife and children, so he decided to use his limited savings to start a small business.
So he first opened a gas station. At the time, oil was plentiful in the United States, and private gas stations were springing up everywhere.
However, when he saw long-haul drivers waiting to refuel, always clutching their stomachs and complaining about unbearable hunger, he discovered the real business opportunity.
He opened his first fried chicken restaurant beside the gas station. With his exceptional skills, his exclusive secret recipe, and the pressure cooker—which was still high-tech at the time—he invented the concept of fast food.
In those days, drivers were lucky to get a hot meal, let alone meat like fried chicken. As a result, his business grew better and better, and his establishment grew ever larger.
Put in modern terms, it was like rapidly expanding from a tiny milk tea shop into something on the scale of Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant's flagship location.
By 1935, Sanders's fried chicken had become famous far and wide, turning into a well-known star business throughout the region.
Kentucky Governor Ruby Laffoon, grateful for the tax revenue Sanders had brought to the state and for inventing the convenient food known as "Colonel's Chicken Nuggets," formally awarded him the rank of Honorary Kentucky Colonel. Thus, people called him "Dear