Chapter 248 - 213: Do You Want to Pull Off Something Big?

Chapter 248: Chapter 213: Do You Want to Pull Off Something Big?

Lu Haiyu was surfing online when he happened to stumble upon the topic of [Hellish Braised Flavor]. His curiosity piqued, he dug deeper, peeling back the layers until he finally found the official account of [Xu’s Catering].

When he found the account, it was coincidentally the last day of the comment-and-like-to-win-braised-food event.

He couldn’t possibly surpass the accounts that had been accumulating likes for over two days, but he played his trump card: "money is power." He hired click farmers to boost his numbers.

It was a very wise decision. In the end, two of the three comments he submitted secured a winning spot. Then, in a burst of sheer luck, his remaining comment was randomly selected by the system! This meant he would receive three packages of braised dishes from Xu’s Braised Shop!

Almost on the same night the results were announced, he received a message from [Xu’s Catering] informing him that his prize had been shipped.

From the moment he saw that message, he was filled with anticipation. ’I wonder if one of these three packages will have the Hellish Braised Flavor I’ve been craving!’

However, this good mood only lasted for a day. After getting off work and eating dinner, he came home and lazily decided to browse his phone and surf the web to relax.

But the moment he unlocked his phone, he was bombarded by the topic of [Food Safety Issues] plastered everywhere. He clicked on it, and his vision went dark. The business in trouble was actually [Xu’s Catering]!

He frantically searched online for all related information and finally managed to piece together the full picture.

Law enforcement officers visiting the store, food samples being taken, suspension of business until inspection results were out... All things considered, it led to one conclusion: there was a 99% chance that Xu’s Catering was in deep trouble!

This made him incandescent with rage. He had spent his own hard-earned cash to win the prize from the giveaway! The prize was already on its way. When it arrived, should he eat it or not? Not eating it would be a waste of his money, but eating it would be a betrayal of his own body!

The more he thought about it, the more furious he became. He found the [Xu’s Catering] account in his followed list and, under the post announcing the results from the previous day, began his frantic tirade.

’Unscrupulous company! You have no regard for public health! Just go bankrupt already!’

’You’ve brought shame to the entire country! Hai City is ashamed to have a business like you!’

’Liar, give me back my money!’

’...’

He sent more than ten comments in a row, only stopping when the system detected he was posting too frequently in a short period and blocked him. He felt a little calmer and was finally in the mood to read the other comments under the post.

He pressed his finger to the screen and swiped down. The page refreshed quickly, and new content appeared before Lu Haiyu’s eyes. To his surprise, he wasn’t the only one who had lost their cool. Almost all the participants who had sincerely begged their friends and family for help had a meltdown. Out of the top ten comments, a good eight and a half were nothing but vitriol.

This brought him a sudden sense of joy. ’As long as I’m not the only unlucky one, it doesn’t feel so bad.’

’Ah, I’ll just consider it money spent on a lesson.’

Just as he was about to exit the page, a notification popped up at the top of his screen.

’[Xu’s Catering], an account you follow, has posted a new update. Come grab a front-row seat!’

’Oho! The main character dares to show their face? Don’t tell me they’re trying to save their already ruined reputation with apologies and promises?’

’In your dreams! Just watch how I flame you into oblivion! I’ll roast you so hard you’ll be traumatized for the rest of your life!’

Lu Haiyu spent a second scanning the post from [Xu’s Catering]. He was about to start his attack, his fingers already poised over the keyboard, when a keyword from the single-sentence post suddenly registered in his brain—one hundred times the compensation!

’Am I seeing things?’

In disbelief, he stopped what he was doing and read the simple post again, almost word by word.

’If the inspection results prove that there is a food safety issue at any of Xu’s Catering’s stores, customers with a receipt can receive one hundred times their money back!’

The post was also accompanied by an image. The text in the image was identical to the post, but more importantly, it was stamped with the official company seal! And it had the owner’s personal signature!

’Is this for real? They’re not just bluffing, are they?’

Although he was skeptical, his desire to flame Xu’s Catering into the ground subsided slightly. He even felt a twinge of regret. He wasn’t in Hai City, so he had never spent money at any of Xu’s Catering’s shops. Even if the owner made good on his word, he wouldn’t get a single cent of compensation!

He abandoned his plan to troll and chose to refresh the page instead, wanting to see what other netizens thought of the post.

’This seems legit. With the official seal, it should be legally binding, right? How big is Xu’s Catering? Can they even afford to pay? If they can’t, will it be enforced?’

’Daring to offer a hundred times the compensation... why do I get the feeling they were maliciously reported?’

’Damn, I’ve never bought anything from Xu’s Catering, but I won their braised food in the giveaway. Does that count? Can I get compensation?’

When he saw the third comment, Lu Haiyu’s eyes lit up!

That’s right! He hadn’t bought anything from Xu’s Catering, but he had won a prize! Even if the products he received were the cheapest vegetarian braised dishes from Xu’s Braised Shop, those were still worth two and a half yuan. A hundred times that is two hundred and fifty yuan!

That would cover the money he’d spent on click farmers, and he’d even make an extra hundred-plus on top. He could treat himself to a great meal!

And so, he clicked into the comment thread and, along with other netizens, pushed it to become the top comment...

In the second-floor office of Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant No. 2.

Xu An, Lu Ziyue, and Gu Jiayi, who had just joined today, stood behind Tang Wen, holding their breath. They stared intently at the computer screen, the only sound in the office being the CLICK-CLACK of Tang Wen’s mouse...

"The topic [One Hundred Times Compensation] has 47,000 views and 4,300 discussions. The topic [Food Safety Issues] has 52,000 views and 7,300 discussions..."

Tang Wen murmured the numbers as she flicked her wrist, and the page on the screen quickly switched back to the [Xu’s Catering] account.

"The post has 98,000 reads! 26,000 forwards! 12,000 likes! And 8,900 comments!" Tang Wen turned to Xu An, her voice trembling. "Boss, we’ve successfully diverted the traffic! The data growth for the [Food Safety Issues] topic is slowing down, while the data for [One Hundred Times Compensation] and our new post is skyrocketing!"

WHOOSH—

Hearing this, a sharp glint flashed in Xu An’s eyes.

This really was a battle with his back against the wall. When Xu’s Braised Shop was suddenly hit with this crisis, Xu An’s only thought was that he had to shift the conversation away from [Food Safety Issues]. Thinking on his feet in a moment of desperation, he came up with the [One Hundred Times Compensation] offer.

The topic had indeed shifted away from [Food Safety Issues], but now Xu An was facing a new crisis.

Although he was certain that every step, from purchasing ingredients to cooking, was fully compliant with regulations, the suddenness of the report made him worry. What if his rival had planned this for a while and bribed an employee to sabotage things? Or what if they had directly bribed the relevant officials...

Just as Xu An was pondering this, Tang Wen’s voice cut in. "Boss, the top comment on our post is from a netizen asking if the prizes won in the giveaway count for the compensation."

’A prize winner?’

Xu An felt as though he had just grasped a flash of inspiration, a crucial rope.

"Pay them. As long as the packaging is intact and unopened, we’ll compensate them based on the retail price!" Though a thousand thoughts raced through Xu An’s mind, his face remained calm and composed. "This is the first crisis our shop has faced since we opened, but it certainly won’t be the last! In the future, as our business gets better and better, we will face no shortage of similar crises! Therefore, I hope we can all work together to overcome this hurdle and pull off a brilliant comeback!"

"It’s getting late. Those who need to go home should go home, and those who need to rest should rest. Conserve your energy. We need to be in top form for the tough battle two days from now!" Xu An’s voice was firm and resonant, each word landing with conviction, slightly calming the frantically beating hearts of Tang Wen and the others.

The three of them hesitated for a moment but ultimately chose to pack up and go home to rest. They would fight again tomorrow!

Tang Wen was the last to leave the office. The moment she stood up, Xu An called out to her. She looked at him, a bit bewildered, waiting for him to continue.

"Go home and get a good rest. When you come back tomorrow, put aside what you’re working on. I’ll have a new task for you," Xu An said with a smile. "And it’s a task that only you can do."

Her lips moved a few times, but she ultimately swallowed the questions she had and said goodbye to Xu An before leaving.

’Since I’ll find out tomorrow, I’ll just wait until then.’ On her way, Tang Wen took out her phone, logged into the Xu’s Catering account, and continued to answer the netizens’ various questions. Under her guidance, the atmosphere in the once-hostile comment section slowly began to soften, with more and more people shifting from anger to a wait-and-see attitude...

After everyone had left the office, Xu An closed up Restaurant No. 2 and walked straight to Restaurant No. 1. He took out his keys, pulled open the door, and went to the cashier’s counter. He lit up the computer screen and pulled up all the surveillance footage from the past week, watching it at fifty times the normal speed.

When he got sleepy, he’d wash his face. When he got tired, he’d drink a Red Bull. He kept this up until three in the morning, when he had finally finished reviewing all seven days of video.

’Ha! Everything’s normal! There’s no mole in my shop!’

All his ingredients were purchased through legitimate channels, with complete paperwork. If the final results confirmed a food problem, then the issue wasn’t with his shop but with the supply chain of Hai City’s wholesale market...

If it really was a supply chain problem, with how big the issue had become, it wouldn’t be resolved just by throwing Xu’s Catering under the bus...

But this incident was more likely caused by someone who was jealous of his business and had filed a malicious report.

Whether it was the owner of Golden Dragon Fast Food Restaurant who wanted to open a braised food shop, the Brocade Hotel which had been frequently bidding against them recently, or even the relatively successful but still suppressed Express Delivery platform—they all had a motive to report him.

’Whoever it is, I hope they’ve covered their tracks well. Very, very well!’

Lifting his fingers from the keyboard, Xu An looked at the document he had just typed up on the screen. A chilling smile slowly spread across his exhausted face.

Xu An took out his phone and dialed a number he had just saved to his contacts. His throat was a bit dry from stress and anxiety, and though the words he spoke were hoarse, to the person on the other end of the line, they sounded like the music of the heavens.

"I’m Xu An, the owner of Xu’s Catering. Are you interested in pulling off something big?"