Chapter 1354
Uncle Zhang looked at the dead rat
"As I was eating, I noticed the soup tasted a bit strange. Upon closer inspection, oh my god! There was a rat's tooth in the soup! It disgusted me!"
Chen Yunfei said in an exaggerated tone.
"I originally wanted to confront them on the spot, but I was in a hurry to get back to the bureau for a meeting, so I didn't have time."
"I just finished working and then it occurred to me that I can't just let this go. I need to talk to your health bureau. Restaurants with such serious hygiene hazards can't be tolerated!"
Li Mingwei on the other end of the phone was silent for two seconds.
Everyone here was a seasoned veteran of officialdom, and he instantly understood Chen Yunfei's hidden meaning. What "rat teeth"? It was clearly a ploy to use someone else to do his dirty work, to use the health bureau to crack down on that noodle shop!
He chuckled and said in the same tone.
"Such a thing is true?"
That's absolutely outrageous! Food safety is no small matter when it comes to ordinary people! Old Chen, thank you for providing this lead; we will definitely investigate it seriously!
"That's good, then thank you for your hard work."
Chen Yunfei smiled with satisfaction when he saw that the other party had understood his meaning.
"By the way, Lao Chen, are you free tonight? It's been a while since we got together. How about we invite a few old classmates from Dongguan to grab some food and drinks?"
Li Mingwei took the initiative to extend the invitation.
"Sure! I'll arrange the place and send you a message later!"
Chen Yunfei readily agreed.
"Okay, it's settled then!"
After hanging up the phone, Chen Yunfei revealed a smug smirk on his face. He then picked up his phone again and started sending messages in the classmate group, arranging dinner for that evening.
……
In the office of the director of the Municipal Health Bureau, Li Mingwei put down the phone, a thoughtful expression on his face.
His wife happened to be nearby and casually asked a question.
"Who is it? Chen Yunfei?"
"Ah."
Li Mingwei nodded, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said calmly.
"He's indirectly asking me to do him a favor. I don't know how I offended Sister Na's Beef Noodles across from the Municipal Bureau."
"what?
So you're actually going to investigate?
His wife was somewhat surprised.
"Investigate! Why aren't you investigating?"
Li Mingwei put down his teacup, a shrewd glint in his eyes.
"Chen Yunfei is now a powerful figure in the Dongguan police force, and he's reached this position at such a young age. With the Xue family behind him, his future is limitless. I'll make him owe me a favor; you never know when that might come in handy."
This small favor is easy and inexpensive.
……
On the other hand, after the morning's commotion, Sister Na's Beef Noodle Shop still reluctantly opened for business in the afternoon.
After all, for a small shop, closing for a day means losing a day's revenue.
Uncle Zhang, still shaken, said to Sister Na while tidying up the tables and chairs that had been overturned that morning.
"Honey, I'm thinking, how about... we start a live stream? We can set up the phone there, so if those thugs come looking for trouble again, we can have some evidence!"
The owner, Sister Na, had indeed done some live streaming for a while to attract customers to her noodle shop and had accumulated some followers. She thought this idea was good and nodded in agreement.
"Okay! Let's start a live stream! Let everyone see that we're legitimate business people!"
Without further ado, Uncle Zhang quickly found his dusty phone tripod, while Sister Na took out her phone, logged into the live streaming app, adjusted the angle, and captured the kitchen and most of the dining area in the shot before starting the live stream.
At lunchtime, many regular customers gradually arrived at the noodle shop. Some even asked about what happened in the morning, which Uncle Zhang and Sister Na managed to brush off with smiles. Without Ruan Jiaxin's help, the couple had to cook noodles, handle the cash register, serve dishes, and check the comments in the live stream from time to time. They were so busy that their feet barely touched the ground, and they were in a complete mess.
However, less than an hour after opening, several official vehicles with the words "Health Supervision" printed on them stopped in front of the noodle shop.
The car door opened, and seven or eight staff members in blue health bureau uniforms stepped out with serious expressions and went straight into the noodle shop.
The lead employee glanced at the busy boss, Uncle Zhang, and asked loudly.
Who owns this place?
The customers in the store were all startled by this scene and looked over.
The proprietress, Sister Na, felt a sudden unease, a bad premonition. She quickly put down her work and stepped forward to respond.
"I'm the proprietress, gentlemen, what can I do for you?"
The staff member flashed his badge and spoke in a businesslike tone.
"We are from the Municipal Health Bureau! We received a report from the public that your store has serious hygiene hazards! We are now conducting an inspection in accordance with the law, and we ask for your cooperation!"
"Hygiene risks?"
"How...how is this possible?"
Uncle Zhang and Sister Na stared wide-eyed in shock, their faces filled with disbelief.
Although their shop is small, they always take hygiene very seriously and clean it thoroughly every day after closing.
But when faced with law enforcement, they dared not be negligent in the slightest and could only nod repeatedly.
"We'll cooperate! We'll definitely cooperate!"
Na Jie gave a smile that looked more like a grimace to the live stream camera, said to the few viewers in the chat room, "Sorry, the health bureau is conducting an inspection, I have to end the live stream now," and then hurriedly ended the broadcast.
Business was forced to stop, and the customers in the store were asked to leave. They looked at each other, wondering what had happened.
Several health bureau staff members, wearing white gloves, walked straight into the kitchen area. Soon, the sounds of things being rummaged through and some hushed conversations could be heard.
Uncle Zhang and Sister Na stood outside anxiously waiting, feeling that every minute and every second was exceptionally long.
A dozen minutes later, Li Mingwei, the director of the Health Bureau, walked out of the kitchen, surrounded by a group of subordinates.
His face was ashen, as if he had seen something utterly disgusting.
What shocked Uncle Zhang and Sister Na even more was that Li Mingwei was holding a stiff, dead rat in a transparent evidence bag!
Li Mingwei slammed the dead rat up in front of Uncle Zhang and Sister Na, his voice stern and filled with undisguised questioning.
"Boss! Boss lady! Look for yourselves!"
What is this?! A dead rat found behind your spice cabinet! What?! Is this how you ensure food hygiene and safety?! It's outrageous!
"This...this is impossible!" Uncle Zhang stared at the dead rat, his head buzzing as if struck by lightning. He vehemently protested loudly.
"We clean every day, cleaning every nook and cranny! How could there be a dead rat?! Absolutely impossible!"
Sister Na was also so anxious that her face turned pale, and she waved her hands repeatedly.
Comrade!
"This must be a mistake! Our shop has been open for so many years and we've never had a hygiene problem!"
"A mistake?"
Li Mingwei snorted coldly, handed the dead rat to his subordinate, then pointed towards the kitchen, his voice suddenly rising as he loudly accused them.
"It's not just dead rats! Our initial inspection revealed that your shop's exhaust pipes are heavily grease-covered, posing a fire hazard! Food storage is not up to standard, raw and cooked foods are not separated! The tableware disinfection process is practically non-existent! Kitchen waste is not disposed of promptly, and garbage cans are not covered! ... There are a whole host of problems!"
With each item he mentioned, Uncle Zhang and Sister Na's faces paled a little more. These were the areas most likely to be found fault during inspections of the catering industry, but being pointed out so intensively and harshly still made them feel dizzy.
"According to the Food Safety Law and related regulations, your store has significant food safety hazards! You must rectify them immediately!"
Li Mingwei announced this in a stern and forceful manner.
"I am now officially informing you that the restaurant is temporarily closed for further investigation! You two, come with us to the unit to accept the consequences!"
"Close down? Take action?"
Uncle Zhang was struck dumb. He looked at Li Mingwei in disbelief and asked in a trembling voice.
"Boss... could it be... could it be that none of our products meet the standards?"
Li Mingwei looked at him coldly, his tone resolute and leaving no room for negotiation.
"According to national standards, your shop currently does not fully meet any of the requirements! With so many problems, you've got some nerve to open for business!"
When the proprietress, Sister Na, heard about the "fine," she became even more anxious and asked in a tearful voice.
"Then...how much will the fine be?"
"fine?"
Li Mingwei glanced at her and said expressionlessly.
"In your case, the starting price is at least 30,000! We'll discuss the specific handling decision when we get back to the office!"
After saying that, he didn't give the two a chance to explain, and waved to the staff behind him.
"take away!"
The noodle shop owner, Uncle Zhang, and his wife, Sister Na, were escorted away from their small shop, which they had run for many years, by health bureau staff, just like prisoners being led away, and taken to the Dongguan City Health Bureau.
In a serious interrogation room, they faced cold, indifferent faces and prepared "investigation results."
Despite the couple's insistence that their noodle shop was perfectly hygienic and that the dead rat's arrival was suspicious, their arguments proved utterly weak and powerless in the face of so-called "evidence" and power.
The process was almost a formality. Director Li Mingwei, who had led the team to the store earlier, didn't even show up again; a subordinate simply announced the disciplinary decision to them.
Given that "Sister Na's Beef Noodles" restaurant has several serious hygiene hazards, in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, it has been ordered to immediately cease operations for rectification and has been fined 35,000 yuan.
Upon hearing the figure of "thirty-five thousand yuan," Uncle Zhang and Sister Na felt their vision go black and almost collapsed to the ground.
For a small noodle shop like theirs, this is a huge sum of money, almost half a year's worth of their net profit!
After completing the formalities in a daze, the couple walked out of the health bureau building as if they had lost their souls. The sunlight outside was dazzling, but they felt cold all over.
"Thirty...thirty-five thousand...and we still have to close down...what...what are we going to do..."
Sister Na could no longer hold back, and tears streamed down her face. She grabbed her husband's arm, her voice filled with despair.
"The rent for the next quarter is due soon... and the kids' tutoring fees too... how are we going to survive?!"
She became more and more agitated as she spoke, and couldn't help but complain about her husband.
"It's all your fault! If you hadn't been so impulsive this morning, arguing with that young master Xue and almost pulling out a knife... we wouldn't have gotten into such big trouble! Now look what's happened, the shop's been shut down, and we have to pay such a huge fine! How are we going to pay it?!"
Uncle Zhang was already in a bad mood, and hearing his wife's complaints, a surge of anger rose up within him, and he retorted with a stiff neck.
"Blame me? Blame me for protecting Xiaoxin and our shop? Are we just supposed to cower like turtles and watch those bastards bully us?! We are the victims! Why should we bow down and apologize to those perpetrators?!"
Xue Shih-hao even slapped me!
I can't swallow this insult!
"Can't swallow it? If you can't swallow it, then go fight him!"
Sister Na cried out in a fit of emotion.
"Fight to the death! And then what? Are we all supposed to starve? Do you think you're some kind of knight in a movie?"
This is reality! We need to eat, pay rent, and send our children to school! Can we feed ourselves with just backbone?!
She pounded on Uncle Zhang's chest, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Last time, you offended those protection collectors by helping Old Wang from the shop next door. You got beaten up and had to stay in bed for half a month. Have you forgotten how much your medical expenses were?"
What about this time?
This time they're going to completely destroy the shop we depend on for our livelihood! We can't fight them! Old Zhang, I'm begging you, let's... let's just humble ourselves... go apologize to Young Master Xue and beg him to show mercy and let us go..."
Seeing his wife's tearful and nearly broken state, and listening to her recount the hardships of the past and the harsh reality of the present, Uncle Zhang's tightly clenched fist finally loosened helplessly.
He knew all too well that the Xue family was powerful and that they couldn't afford to offend them. But his strong sense of honor and his pride as a man made it impossible for him to grovel before those who had humiliated him.
The heated argument eventually subsided under the heavy pressure of reality. Uncle Zhang closed his eyes in pain, took a deep breath, and as if using all his strength, squeezed out a sentence through clenched teeth.
"Okay...I'll go...I'll go apologize to him..."
……
Meanwhile, outside the gate of the Dongguan City Police Station, Ruan Jiaxin had been waiting from noon until the afternoon, for more than three hours.
She waited anxiously, but Luo Fei never appeared.
Her unease grew stronger, so she mustered her courage, went to the guardhouse, and asked the policeman on duty.
"Comrade, could you tell me about the gentleman who was arrested this morning for fighting at the noodle shop across the street? How is he doing? When will he be released?"
The policeman glanced at her, seemingly knowing who she was talking about, and said in a detached tone.
"You mean the one who hit someone?"
He's suspected of intentional assault and has been detained. We'll have to wait for the legal proceedings to begin.
"Intentional injury? Detention?"
Ruan Jiaxin was struck dumb; her beautiful face instantly drained of color, and she exclaimed in disbelief.
"How is this possible?! Our statements clearly prove that he was acting in the line of duty! The other party harassed me first and started the fight! How could it be intentional assault?!"
The policeman waved his hand impatiently.
"How the case is classified is a matter for the investigating department; I don't know! Don't ask here, just leave!"
A chill ran from the soles of Ruan Jiaxin's feet straight to the top of her head! (End of Chapter)