His large, cracked hands, marked with furrows and wrinkles, gently stroked the property certificate again and again.

In the quiet hall, Chi Chan could even hear the rough rubbing sound of Grandpa Chi's calloused hands scraping against the paper.

Finally, Grandma Chi snatched the property certificate from Grandpa Chi's hand and said with disdain, "It's time to eat. What are you looking at? Can't you see anything special?"

Grandpa Chi reluctantly stood up from the stool, washed his hands, and went to eat.

With the addition of the property certificate, the Chi family undoubtedly had a very happy New Year.

But happy times are always beautiful and short-lived, and soon it was time for the start of the second semester of the second year of high school.

Chi Ming and his wife, carrying large and small bags, returned to Xingcheng with Chi Chan.

At the No. 1 Middle School, the festive atmosphere of the Chinese New Year was still strong, but it only lasted until the third day after the school opened.

When Chi Chan returned to the shop after school, she noticed that Zhang Qiaoyue's expression was very serious.

Strangely, Chi Minghe wasn't busy at the milk tea shop at this time.

Instead, he sat with Zhang Qiaoyue, both of them looking worried.

Chi Minghe stared blankly at the table, holding a rag in his hand, unconsciously wiping the same spot on the table repeatedly.

If Chi Chan hadn't stopped them in time, Chi Minghe would have definitely scrubbed the already gleaming table until it was completely worn smooth.

Chi Chan was puzzled. Usually, this time of day was the busiest time for the shop, but today there wasn't a single customer.

She saw some classmates coming over and was about to get up to greet them.

But Zhang Qiaoyue dismissed them with a simple "We're not open today."

This is completely contrary to Zhang Qiaoyue's usual "love of money" nature!

Zhang Qiaoyue and Chi Minghe are both acting a bit strange today!

"What's wrong, Mom? Business is being offered to you, why aren't you doing it?"

This isn't like you at all! You're not even motivated to make money anymore?

Chi Chan leaned closer to Zhang Qiaoyue and made a joke in an attempt to ease the tension.

"Xiao Chan, today leaders from the Industry and Commerce Bureau and the Administration came to inspect our street. After inspecting Qiao Mama and the milk tea shop, they said that the hygiene did not meet the requirements and asked us to suspend business and stop for rectification!"

Chi Minghe clenched his fists tightly, gritted his teeth, and said with a face full of resentment and helplessness.

"I've cleaned this shop every single day. Whenever I have a spare moment, I wash and wipe everything down. Not to mention, there's not a single speck of oil on the stove!"

"Yes, your mother and I know perfectly well: this is a food business, and the most important thing is to be clean and hygienic!"

Chi Minghe looked worried and distressed.

As clean people like him and Zhang Qiaoyue, their shop's environment was one of the best on the street.

Why is it only their store that needs to suspend operations for rectification?

That doesn't make sense!

Although the couple did not know any of the bureau's staff, they had all the necessary licenses and permits to run their business, and they were operating legally!

"You mean only our store needs to suspend operations for rectification?"

Chi Chan extracted key words from Zhang Qiaoyue and Chi Minghe's accusations.

"That's right! Zhang Cui's breakfast stall has such a terrible environment, yet the management hasn't even said anything about shutting it down for rectification!"

Zhang Cui is Lin Chunni's mother. She had resumed her boxed lunch business for a while when the school banned street vending.

But a few days later, when the vendors' food stalls were set up again across from the school, Lin Chunni's mother's boxed lunch business came to an end.

For a while, Lin Chunni looked at Chi Chan with resentment in her eyes, treating him like dirt.

Lin Chunni's frustrated expression—a mixture of dislike for Chi Chan and helplessness—secretly pleased Chi Chan for a while.

Later, Lin Chunni's family also bought a shop on this street. Presumably, they were reluctant to spend the capital, so they bought a shop near the end of the street, which was relatively remote and not in a good location.

At first, he also ran a restaurant, but his business was clearly not as successful as Zhang Qiaoyue's restaurant.

Later, the restaurant was converted into a steamed bun shop, along with other food and beverage businesses.

Zhang Cui's steamed bun making skills are decent; they taste better than the ones at school.

And so, Zhang Cui's shop at the end of the street slowly managed to survive.

But only the shopkeepers on this street knew that Zhang Cui, the shop owner, wasn't a very good person.

The meat used to make the steamed buns was all frozen meat that was close to its expiration date and was being sold at a discount by the vendors.

It's one thing to be cunning with raw materials, but the person in question isn't exactly clean either.

The sanitation of the open space in front of the shops is the responsibility of each shop owner.

Zhang Cui was lazy and often swept the trash next door.

Or, for several days in a row, no cleaning is done.

This caused the surrounding shop owners to complain about her behavior.

If Zhang Cui is so perfunctory in cleaning up outside the shop, which is under everyone's supervision, one can imagine how bad the hygiene conditions inside the shop are.

In this situation, the management bureau turned a blind eye and let it go, instead ordering their shop to stop for rectification?

And they stopped at two stores at once?

This is a problem that Chi Ming and his wife have been thinking about all afternoon, almost racking their brains, but still can't figure out.

But looking back, these ordinary people just do business honestly and haven't offended anyone.

"Dad, Mom—does the bookstore also need to be renovated?"

Chi Chan suddenly asked.

"We don't have a bookstore; our business scope fully meets the requirements. These people looked us over several times, inside and out, but didn't say anything before they left!"

Chi Minghe replied.

"What can they say? Xiao Chan is in charge of the bookstore; everything is compliant and legal. There's nothing wrong with it!"

Zhang Qiaoyue said irritably.

Chi Chan's heart, which felt as if it had been doused with hot oil, calmed down a little.

Fortunately, the bookstore is still managing to keep things afloat; otherwise, Zhang Qiaoyue and Chi Minghe would definitely be even more anxious.

Almost the instant Zhang Qiaoyue finished explaining the whole story, Chi Chan thought of someone.

Leafy collar!

There was no one else besides Ye Zijin.

Of all the shops on the street, only theirs need to be renovated, and both are for hygiene reasons.

This is very abnormal.

Just as Zhang Qiaoyue said, their shop's environment is one of the best on the whole street.

If the problem is hygiene, then the entire street should be shut down, and Zhang Cui's steamed bun shop should be the first to be affected.

But it was only their family.

This is no coincidence; someone is targeting us.

Similarly, their shops operate legally and their business performance is booming.

Xingcheng City's current policies also strongly support citizens' entrepreneurship, especially encouraging self-employed individuals, and even providing corresponding policy support.

Moreover, both Zhang Qiaoyue and Chi Minghe were honest and upright, and truly achieved the goal of making money through harmony.

Since she started her business, no matter how unreasonable the customers were, Zhang Qiaoyue could always serve them obediently, let alone offend anyone.