Chapter 175: There’s a Term Called ‘Sharing’
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Boss, you’re here. I have a report about the newest development of the project.”
Seeing Fang Ning entering the office, Zhao Ying stood up and greeted him.
Fang Ning’s main purpose for appearing in the office was to listen to the report so he could understand the situation better. At the very least, to understand how much assets he owned so he could be a better strategist.
He sat casually at the couch next to him and nodded. “Just give me a simple rundown. I’d like to take a break for a day or two to complete some chores. I’ll stay for a bit before I go…”
Zhao Ying muttered under her breath, “There must be a new game or a new novel or something…”
Of course, she would not comment on it directly and continued her report. “Right now, the most important part is the complex we’re building. We have enough money to keep it going until completion, and we’re doing pretty well speed-wise. I reckon we will be able to complete it by year-end and ready to begin operations after the renovations by next year May.”
“By that time, the other local franchise stores of Fang’s Delicious Catering Chain would move in there to form the hub that provides high-quality food-and-drink service…”
Fang Ning nodded. He knew from the night before through his mechanical puppet that Zhao Ying’s last project about a nationwide food-and beverages group was scrapped due to the frequency of abnormal things that were happening throughout the nation, she could not handle the stress.
After that, she looked for the Qi City’s Chamber of Commerce as well as foodservice industry experts for advice. All of them advised that she refrain from looking too far ahead and just focus on developing in Qi City and build their brand to the top.
Zhao Ying finished reporting on the main things and started on everything else about the restaurant such as daily turnover, the purchase of ingredients, clientele, and employees’ attitude. Everything was clearly structured and easily understandable.
Fang Ning said he could only stay for a bit, but he still finished listening to the report.
After concluding the report, he laughed and complimented her, “Good job. Our future is bright. With hard work, all of us would become rich in due time. With Vigilante A behind our backs, we don’t need to worry about things other people need to look into. The target for operations was well-set, we can diversify our services to better satisfy our clientele.”
Zhao Ying nodded and said yes. Honestly, without her boss who was really good at pretty much everything, she would not have been able to run the business to this size, so she was aware of where she stood.
Just as Fang Ning tried to pretend like he knew everything, his phone rang.
He asked Zhao Ying to take a break and took the call.
“Oh, yellow- no, I mean, Mr. Xue. Nice hearing from you.”
“What! Where are you asking me to cook for you today?!”
Hearing the explanation from the other side of the call, Fang Ning soon understood.
The yellow dog, Xue Ba, had invited its date to the farmhouse. It dropped Vigilante A’s name and wished the Master Chef Fang to cook for it. It must be trying to impress its date, but how could that be…
“Oh, I really am not available for the next two days… I’ll let my manager Zhao Ying send someone else over. Don’t worry, the taste would be the same. That’s all then, buh-bye, buh-bye.”
Zhao Ying was speechless at Fang Ning’s behavior. She knew who Mr. Xue was, it was the yellow dog from her savior’s residence. Like her hamster, it was sapient, could speak, intelligent, and liked reading. She knew about those.
Her boss must be a special kind of a homebody, to the point that he would avoid a chance to get close to her hero.
If it were her, she would have grabbed the chance and run over to cook a meal. Regrettably, her cooking skills were never up to par no matter how much she practiced. So there goes the chance to be closer to her hero.
Fang Ning hung up the phone and muttered subconsciously out of feeling unfair, “This yellow dog got laid before his master. I should’ve known better than to not keep an eye on it…”
At this point, he realized what he was doing and noticed Zhao Ying looking at him funny. He said in response, “Nothing, continue please.”
Zhao Ying did not. Instead, she turned toward the hamster.
The hamster stopped its nibbling. Its mouth was moving, but there was no sound, it was as if the human-hamster pair was communicating telepathically.
After being with the System for so long, Fang Ning could notice these things much better. His interest was piqued. ‘This hamster is sapient, what is it saying?’
He went to the System Space and asked his dear game book to show him the information of the hamster. It was every bit as stunning as it was exciting.
In the Dossiers module of the game book, some really peculiar information was being shown about the hamster.
[Bai Ruocang. Sex: Male, Likes: Games, Literature, Gourmet food, Music. Age: 19. Identity: 3rd-generation heir of House Bai.]
[Alignment: Neutral Righteous.]
[Power Level: Mug-level. Description: Description unneeded, protected by artifact, extremely strong defense, indomitable spirit.]
Fang Ning finally realized the uniqueness of the hamster as he read. Moreover, something else was written below.
[Cang Gongzi 1 . Sex: Male, Likes: The four arts, sleep. Age: N/A. Identity: 11th-in-line to Elder Ancestor Bai’s throne, Royalty of Greater Rat demons.]
[Alignment: Righteous.]
[Power Level: Basin-level. Description: One basin, protected by artifact, extremely strong defense, indomitable spirit, superb instincts, very sensitive to danger.]
Fang Ning immediately thought, ‘These two were similar to me and the System.’
As he was thinking, Zhao Ying seemed to have finished discussing with the hamster.
She hesitated for a few moments before she said, “I think Vigilante A had not been visiting for a while. What if we invite him to dinner in a few days? It can help deepen our relationship and deter people with ulterior motives from making a mess.”
Fang Ning could not tell her that her hero was right in front of her, that he did not need an invitation, and that they need not deepen their relationship, because their relationship could not be any stronger…
After cultivating Dragonization Ability to Advanced-level, Vigilante A gained the effects of high-level Gorging and had the ability to eat once every three months as long as he consumes the full amount of food. It had become normal for him to not present at the restaurant, only the other people did not know about it.
He gave it a thought and asked a certain someone, “Do you need to eat?”
The System said, “Not at the moment.”
Fang Ning said, “Alright, I’ll refuse. But why did she consult that two-in-one hamster? I’m a little curious, can you check it out?”
The System said, “They’re both righteous, why do you want to check them out? I don’t have the time, I just feel it’s a pity… I had just realized the Luck Attribute was useful but we never added points in there.”
If Fang Ning could give the System a side-eye, he would have. “The way you said that made me think you’re scheming something.”
The System protested, “How could I be? All I think about was ways to raise our chance of survival, but right now, I don’t know what to do. Do you want to cook up a plan for me?”
Fang Ning said, “Explain your dilemma.”
The System said, “I realized a treasure was right in front of our eyes. Too bad I’m a heroic system and cannot rob for it. It must be because I never spent on Luck Attribute, or I wouldn’t not have met this treasure for the time I spent in Qi City. Only today that I realized it’s in Zhao Ying’s hands.”
Fang Ning immediately understood. It must have reminded the idiot when he was reading the Dossiers.
He said immediately, “Hey, don’t think about robbing an artifact off anyone. If we get a treasure after vanquishing an evil enemy, that’s fine and dandy. These two are both righteous, we can’t just take their artifact they rely on to preserve their lives.”
The System sounded as if it was wronged. “Host, how could you accuse me like that? I’m a Heroic System, how would I kill someone just to get their item?
“That artifact is good, but with enough ingredients, I can make it, why would I want it from someone? Cang Gongzi is what I meant by ‘treasure’.”
At this point, Fang Ning connected the points and immediately understood. There were not many things that the System would call a treasure.
He laughed. “I know what you’re trying to do. There’s a way.”
The System said, “Host, what ideas do you have? Zhao Ying really likes it, she won’t let it follow us for sure.”
Fang Ning had no words. “Who says we have to snatch it from her? Don’t you know, there’s a term called ‘sharing’?”
The System said, “Sure, help me make it blue, and I’ll give you two more days of break.”
Fang Ning said, “Just you wait.”
At this point, the white hamster shuddered. It looked around and could not find the source of the sudden draft, its tiny eyes blinked with confusion.
Zhao Ying stared at her boss while he was spacing out and decided not to disturb him.
In her opinion, her boss must be considering how to invite her hero. After all, her hero was too cool, it was not easy to talk to him.
After a while, Fang Ning spoke. “What you said is really important. Now that the yellow dog asked us to cook for them, I think we should go together. You know me, I don’t socialize well, so you can be the face. Oh right, I think your hamster is pretty smart. Maybe we should bring it along to facilitate communication with the two dogs. They are beasts, so they probably have a common language.”
Zhao Ying was really surprised and immediately said, “Don’t worry, boss, I will bring it along.”
Fang Ning nodded. “Good, go get ready, we’ll move out in a while.”
The white hamster was not visibly surprised by the news. It was as if everything was under its control. However, it wore a complicated expression.
…
In Vigilante A’s farmhouse.
The yellow dog was really antsy, totally devoid of the calmness it exuded the previous day. It paced about in the garden and kept muttering to itself.
“What do I do, what do I do. Dan Dan is coming over in the evening. I promised her the Fang’s Delicious Catering Chain’s master chef, why did he not show up? Could it be that master still could not intimidate him? That’s weird, where does he get his confidence from?”
The black dog was feeling schadenfreude at the side. When it asked the yellow dog for help the nights before, he had to be humble and did not miss out on the bullying and unequal treaties he had to endure.
Xue Ba was not happy when it saw Brett who laughed at its misery. It said, “Brett, what are you laughing at? We’ve promised yesterday night, I’m the better dog. Now, I’m giving you your first command. Go to where that homebody master chef is hiding and drag him over. You’re strong, he won’t be able to resist…”
Brett was slightly stunned by the order. He said after considering for a while, “Boss, our master would never bully people like this, and he hates people who do. If he found out that you asked me to do something like this after he came out of seclusion, he would most definitely hang you on the ceiling for three whole days…”
The yellow dog heard it and sighed loudly. “I’m just saying. Is it possible that I, Xue Ba, the noblest of the Earthly Hounds, cultivator of Morality, would break my promise on my first ever date?”
