Chapter 246 - 211: Hundredfold Compensation

Chapter 246: Chapter 211: Hundredfold Compensation

Xu An had just picked up the two little ones from kindergarten. Before his car had even come to a complete stop at their front door, he got a call from Zhang Dezhen. "Boss, someone is about to successfully complete the first-prize challenge!"

’Huh, I didn’t expect a brave soul to succeed at the first-prize challenge on the very last day of our grand opening event.’

’This is great! It’s the perfect way to cap off the seven-day grand opening. Tang Wen can also ride this wave of popularity to drive some traffic to the Taobao Store. With the feedback from the two hundred prize winners, our Taobao Store should see some decent sales figures on launch day.’

He glanced down at his watch. It was 4:40 PM. The round trip would take about an hour and a half. Add in the time for presenting the award and saying a few words, and it would be at least two hours. He’d be back close to seven.

He had originally planned to make braised prawns for the two little ones tonight, but since he was in a hurry, he’d have to settle for a quick and easy dish of fresh shrimp noodles instead.

He carried the still-wriggling prawns he’d just bought into the kitchen. In a flash, he deveined and marinated the shrimp. He took a tomato from the fridge, diced it finely, and sautéed it in a pan until it formed a sauce. He then added seasonings and water. Once it came to a boil, he threw in the pre-softened noodles and the marinated shrimp. A minute later, he sprinkled a handful of chopped scallions on top. The whole process took less than fifteen minutes, and soon three large bowls of fresh shrimp noodles, whose fragrance filled the whole house, were ready.

Watching the two little ones slurping down their noodles with gusto, Xu An reached out and pinched their little cheeks. "When you’re done eating, just put your bowls in the basin under the faucet," he instructed. "I have to go out for a bit, but I’ll be back before eight tonight. Until I get back, you two need to listen to Granny, understand?"

"Big Brother, aren’t you going to eat before you go?" Xu Kang managed to lift his head from his noodle bowl, his mouth smeared with red broth, which made the corner of Xu An’s mouth twitch.

"Yeah, I’m not eating right now. You two be good!" He ruffled Xu Kang’s hair and glanced sideways at Xu Le. That little rascal was busy struggling to peel a shrimp, not even sparing him a glance.

’I can’t believe one of my two little sweethearts was so heartless!’

After giving Granny Xu a few more instructions, Xu An grabbed his car keys and headed out. He had just unlatched the courtyard gate when he heard the pitter-patter of fast, urgent footsteps behind him, followed by Xu Le’s cherubic voice, "Big Brother, this biggest, biggest, biggest shrimp is for you!"

Xu An looked down and saw Xu Le, whose face was just as messy, looking up at him. She was holding a peeled shrimp high in one hand, while her other hand beckoned for Xu An to lean down.

"Is this really for me? In that case, I’m really going to eat it!"

Seeing Xu Le nod with a determined look on her face, Xu An opened his mouth wide and popped the plump, pink, succulent shrimp inside. It tasted exceptionally delicious.

’Looks like this little sweetheart isn’t heartless after all. Her heart’s probably lined with down feathers. Who knows, maybe she’ll grow up to be a full-on down jacket one day!’

All the way there, Xu An felt warm and fuzzy inside, his mind already racing with ideas for what delicious meal he could make for his two little sweethearts tomorrow night.

However, this good mood didn’t last long. As he rounded a big curve, he saw a law enforcement vehicle parked on the road next to Xu’s Braised Shop. Even from a distance, he could spot uniformed officers moving in and out of the store amidst a dense crowd, and the air was filled with a clamorous noise.

’Law enforcement? Don’t tell me the challenger got sick from the food!’

Xu An’s heart immediately tightened. He hastily parked his car in a less crowded spot, not even bothering to lock it before taking off at a run toward the shop. "Excuse me, make way! Please, let me through! I’m the owner of the braised food shop!" he shouted as he ran.

At his words, the dense crowd in front of him parted, creating a narrow path for Xu An to Xu’s Braised Shop. Eyes filled with mockery and curiosity scanned him from head to toe, and a wave of whispers rippled through the onlookers...

Xu An paid no mind to their curiosity. Right now, he was far more concerned with what had happened inside the shop. He quickened his pace, slipping through the narrow path the crowd had made like an eel, and arrived at the entrance of Xu’s Braised Shop.

The first person he saw was Zhang Dezhen, who was cooperating with the officers’ investigation. Next, he saw the part-time employees standing nervously to one side, with one being called over for questioning from time to time. Finally, he saw Lin Xu Yang walking out of the shop, holding sample bags.

The moment their eyes met, Lin Xu Yang gave Xu An an almost imperceptible shake of his head, then turned, walked to the law enforcement vehicle, and got inside.

There were still four officers on the scene. Two were conducting interviews, one was filming, and a middle-aged man who appeared to be the team leader was standing outside the shop, controlling the situation. He had seen Xu An shouting that he was the owner while pushing his way through and immediately walked over, presenting his credentials.

"You’re the owner of Xu’s Braised Shop?"

"Yes, I am..." Xu An nodded, then asked, "What’s going on? What happened?"

The team leader glanced at everyone present, especially the crowd of onlookers at the front whose faces were full of excitement and whose ears were pricked up. He spoke vaguely, "We received a report that your shop’s food has safety issues. For the next two days, until the inspection results are out, you are to cease operations."

’Food safety issues?’

’If someone had gotten sick from the food, there would have been a time lag between the report and the officers’ arrival. Even if Zhang Dezhen couldn’t call, he would have sent me a text to let me know. But I just got a call from him an hour ago, and he only said that someone was about to win the first prize.’

’This proves it wasn’t a customer getting sick from the food!’

’Since law enforcement isn’t here because a customer got sick, the most likely explanation is that some son of a bitch filed a malicious report against Xu’s Braised Shop!’

Out of the corner of his eye, Xu An saw the onlookers on both sides. Many were holding up their phones to take pictures or record videos. Some had their heads down, fingers flying across their screens. Judging by their typing speed, they were definitely gossiping with friends.

’The rumors... it seems they’ve already started to spread!’

As everyone knows, spreading a rumor is easy, but dispelling one is hard. To start a rumor, all it takes is a wag of the tongue or a tap of the finger. But when it’s time to refute it, even with an official report, many people will just glance at it and move on, while even more won’t look at it at all.

If he just let these rumors spread, then even if the test results proved his innocence two days from now, the reputations of both Xu’s Braised Shop and Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant would already be ruined.

The best way to stop a rumor from spreading is to nip it in the bud right as it starts. The second-best way is to create a topic that people find even more interesting, something to overshadow the rumor.

Xu An’s mind was racing, and the hushed discussions of the crowd flowed into his ears with crystal clarity.

"The officers are here. Does this shop actually have a food safety problem?"

"So many of them, too. They’re taking samples and pictures... I’ve only ever seen a scene like this during that expired ingredients incident not too long ago."

"I knew it! I always said there was something up with their food being so cheap and so delicious!"

"Oh god, I’ve eaten here almost every day! I’m doomed! Can we make the owner pay? I’m going to the hospital for a check-up!"

"Yeah, we can’t let a guy like this off the hook! He needs to go to jail, and he has to compensate us!"

"Yeah, yeah, compensation!"

"..."

’Compensation? A full refund? Ten-fold compensation? None of those gimmicks seem big enough!’

Xu An had absolute confidence in the food produced by his kitchens. From sourcing channels to food preparation and the final cooking and serving process, everything was held to strict standards.

Most importantly, all three of his kitchens were equipped with cameras providing 360-degree, no-blind-spot surveillance. Everyone in the shop knew about these cameras. Anyone who wanted to try any funny business would have to think twice.

’Since I’m this confident, and since I need to create a new topic to grab everyone’s attention, I might as well go big!’

After getting the officer’s permission, Xu An picked up the bullhorn from the challenge table, switched it on, and slowly raised it to his lips. He enunciated every single word. "If the final inspection confirms that Xu’s Braised Shop and Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant have any food safety issues, then! Any customer who has ever spent money at either of these two shops can, after the results are released! Bring your receipt to any of our locations, and we! Will provide! A hundred-fold compensation!"

Xu An’s voice was already loud, and amplified by the bullhorn, it was heard crystal clear not only by everyone present but also by passersby who were drawn in by the promise of "a hundred-fold compensation."

The last word had barely left his lips, still hanging in the air, when a massive uproar erupted from the crowd. No one cared about the first part of his statement; they were all completely captivated by the words "a hundred-fold compensation."

Many people in the crowd immediately pulled out their recent receipts to check the details.

"My order was for twenty-one yuan. A hundred-fold compensation would be two thousand one hundred! Oh my god, that’s more than half my monthly salary!"

"I have three receipts, totaling fifty-seven yuan in spending. That’s five thousand seven hundred!"

"..."

The middle-aged team leader of the officers couldn’t help but look Xu An up and down. ’Not very old,’ he thought, ’but he sure talks big.’