Chapter 27 Now that things have come to this, is there still any need to pretend? ...
Chen Ci was stunned when she saw Li Linrui's message. Uncle Li's restaurant was just a small restaurant, and Gouwa and the others were helping out there. What could possibly happen?
The actors participating in the performance on stage began to take their bows, and enthusiastic applause erupted from the audience. Many of Zhou Mingye's fans stood up and called his name. Amid the applause and screams, Chen Ci quickly replied to Li Linrui with three words on her phone: "What's wrong?"
After sending the message, she stood up and clapped with everyone. Soon after, the phone in her hand vibrated again.
Li Linrui: We've been reported, so we probably can't operate today.
Chen Ci frowned. Zhou Shilin, who was beside her, looked down at her and asked, "What happened?"
Chen Ci said, "Li Linrui said that Uncle Li's restaurant was reported."
Food service complaints are usually related to food safety and hygiene, but Uncle Li has always used the freshest ingredients and kept the shop very clean, so why was he suddenly reported?
"Let's go take a look," Zhou Shilin said to her. "The play has just finished."
Chen Ci glanced at Zhou Mingye, who was waving and thanking the audience on stage: "Zhou Mingye had originally asked us to go backstage to find him after the event."
Zhou Shilin said, "With so many of his fans here, some of them will definitely go backstage to look for him. It would be bad if they were caught."
Chen Ci thought he made sense; she didn't want to be trending on social media again with a popular celebrity.
Although the first time was just a misunderstanding.
She nodded and left the theater with Zhou Shilin. The driver seemed to have timed it perfectly, arriving just as they came out.
"Let's go to Uncle Li's restaurant from last time," Zhou Shilin instructed the driver in the front seat after getting into the car. The driver responded and slowly drove off.
Chen Ci sent a message to Li Linrui from the car, telling her that she was coming over now.
While they were still on the way, Zhou Mingye came over to confront them, asking, "Why did you leave? Didn't you say you were coming backstage?"
Chen Ci: Uncle Li's restaurant has been reported, let's go check it out.
Zhou Mingye: What?! Who reported such delicious crayfish?! [Angry]
Chen Ci: I don't know, maybe someone maliciously reported it.
Zhou Mingye: Definitely [angry] I've seen this kind of thing too many times [angry]
"..." That's definitely how it is in your industry.
Zhou Mingye: By the way, why are you and my brother here today? Where's your sister?
Chen Ci: Uh, my sister doesn't really like crowded occasions, so I made an appointment with President Zhou instead.
Chen Ci: He's quite interested in your performance.
Zhou Mingye: Really? I don't believe it.
Sinking porcelain: ...
Although Shen Ci claims to be a twin, she is actually an only child and has never really spent time with her brothers and sisters. Perhaps that's how it is between brothers!
Half an hour later, Zhou Shilin's luxury car drove into the old street where Uncle Li's restaurant was located again. Perhaps it was a case of familiarity before, but this time when the car drove by, it didn't attract as many onlookers.
At this time of day, Uncle Li's restaurant would normally be bustling with activity, but today only Gouwa and Uncle Li were sitting inside. Li Linrui was standing at the door, explaining to a customer that the restaurant was closed for the day.
After the guests left, Li Linrui looked up and saw Zhou Shilin walking over with Shen Ci.
She knows Zhou Shilin and knows that Zhou Shilin is Chen Ci's creditor, but Chen Ci just said she was watching a play... so was she watching it with Zhou Shilin?
Is their debt relationship legitimate?
"How did it go?" Chen Ci, unaware of her deep thoughts, stepped forward, still concerned about the restaurant being reported. "How did it get reported?"
Li Linrui reluctantly withdrew her gaze from Zhou Shilin: "Some people said that they vomited and had diarrhea after eating the crayfish here, so they called the relevant departments to complain that the food here was not clean."
"It must have been Scarface and his gang." The blond guy stood up, speaking indignantly. "He's the one who hired them. I felt something was off about that guy yesterday; he kept picking fights while we were eating!"
Gouwa also believes that this matter is inseparable from Daoba: "We sell so many crayfish every day, if there really is a problem, how could it be that only he has a problem?"
Zhou Shilin didn't know who Scarface was, but there was no point in discussing it now: "Did someone come to the store to check today?"
"Um."
What did they say?
When he asked this, the golden retriever's temper flared up again: "First they say we don't clean up the trash in time, then they say our health certificates are about to expire but we haven't renewed them in time. I'm speechless. How can the trash cans in the restaurant be completely empty? We've been cleaning them frequently enough! And the health certificates are even more ridiculous. 'About expired' just means they haven't expired yet!"
Zhou Shilin said, "Since they only mentioned these minor issues, it proves there are no major problems, and they shouldn't make you suspend operations for rectification."
Gouwa said, "They didn't actually ask us to close down, but after today's commotion, we can't continue operating."
Chen Ci comforted her, "It's alright, you can take a day off and also find time to reapply for new health certificates."
“In addition, you should keep a record of your work every day.” Zhou Shilin stood in the store and looked at Gouwa and the others in front of him. “Every time you clean, you should record it and take a picture as evidence. You should also keep a record of the new ingredients that arrive in the store every day. The food should be clearly labeled and samples should be kept for 48 hours to provide a window of opportunity for food safety traceability.”
After he finished speaking, the shop fell into a subtle silence.
Li Linrui stood there, not daring to speak. What was she supposed to do? Was this the Shijie Group's routine meeting?
Gouwa and Jinmao looked completely bewildered; frankly, this was the first time in their lives they had ever heard the term "work documentation."
Is this what it feels like to be an employee at a big company?
It was... kind of fun.
"No, we're just a small restaurant!" The blond-haired man finally snapped out of his reverie about being a big-company employee. "You can't hold us to Michelin-starred restaurant standards, can you?"
Zhou Shilin's gaze naturally fell on him: "Food safety is no small matter. If there is a problem, whether you are a small restaurant or a Michelin-starred restaurant, you will be held accountable."
"...You're right."
"And from what you just said, there's someone called Scarface targeting you. If he can file a complaint once, he can file a complaint a second time, so you should be even more prepared to deal with the inspection."
“…You’re right.” The golden retriever stood to the side like a primary school student, beginning to reflect on his actions.
Chen Ci clapped for Zhou Shilin: "That's why President Zhou's surname is Zhou. You're so thoughtful!"
Zhou Shilin: "..."
Thank you for your support.
"Hey, it's so lively here?" Scarface's voice suddenly rang out from outside the shop. Gouwa looked over in the direction of the voice and met his gaze.
"Having a meeting here?" Scarface, accompanied by three henchmen, casually kicked aside a chair in front of the door and walked into the shop. "Is it still open at this hour?"
"You still dare to come?" The blond man walked up to him and asked with a sneer, "Was the person who complained about us someone you hired? You're resorting to such underhanded tactics."
Scarface chuckled and said, "What do you mean by 'despicable means'? We live in a society governed by law. Consumers have the right to protect their rights through legal channels, right?"
"..." Golden Retriever was so angry he almost laughed. Not only did their Dog Brother know the law, but Scarface did too, right?
"I'm here today to talk to you about our collaboration." Scarface raised his hand and pushed aside the blond guy blocking his way. He had originally intended to talk to Uncle Li, but when he looked up, he saw Zhou Shilin, dressed in a suit and tie, standing in the store.
Even standing in such a small restaurant, he couldn't hide his air of nobility. Even if Scarface was ignorant, he could tell that he was definitely not an ordinary person.
"Oh, there's a big boss here too?" Scarface said as he walked towards Zhou Shilin. Chen Ci walked up to Zhou Shilin and blocked Scarface's way.
"Stay away from him." She looked at Scarface expressionlessly, a hint of disgust in her eyes.
Scarface stopped and looked at Chen Ci: "Wow, a female bodyguard?"
Chen Ci didn't speak. Scarface looked her up and down, then twirled his wrist: "She's quite pretty, but I wonder if she can fight?"
After he finished speaking, he reached out his hand towards Chen Ci. Chen Ci's eyes changed slightly. He grabbed his hand, flipped it upwards, and then pried his four fingers down. Scarface immediately cried out in pain, "You, you, you, you let go of me!"
He started swearing at Shen Feifei. Shen Feifei's gaze darkened, and instead of letting go, she pressed down even harder, pushing his four fingers down further.
In an instant, Scarface's cursing tone changed. He turned around and shouted at his three henchmen standing outside, "What are you all standing there for? Beat her up!"
The younger brother rushed forward as if waking from a dream, but Gouwa and Jinmao immediately stopped them, and the two sides quickly started fighting. Seeing this, Scarface could only endure the pain and use his other hand to grab a bottle of soda from the table and smash it over Shen Feifei's head.
Shen Feifei grabbed his other hand that was swinging at her, pressed him towards her, and at the same time, suddenly bent her knee and struck him in the abdomen.
The soda bottle in Scarface's hand slipped and fell to the ground, shattering glass everywhere. Only then did Shen Feifei release his grip, watching him slowly kneel on the ground.
"Brother Dao!" The three henchmen at the door were momentarily at a loss when they saw Scarface kneel down. Shen Feifei looked at them, took a step forward, and the three of them simultaneously took a step back.
Shen Feifei wanted to go out, but Zhou Shilin behind her stopped her: "Let's call the police."
Shen Feifei turned around and looked up at him.
Zhou Shilin said, "They damaged things in the store and need to pay compensation."
Shen Feifei's eyes flickered, and she said to Gouwa, "Gouwa, call the police."
"Okay, Sister Feifei!"
Although Uncle Li's restaurant was old-fashioned, it installed surveillance cameras after something was stolen once. In addition, Li Linrui quietly took a video from the corner the moment the scar appeared, providing the police with evidence from multiple angles.
Zhou Shilin immediately summoned Shijie's lawyer to provide legal assistance to Uncle Li's restaurant.
When the lawyer arrived, he had only one question in mind: when exactly did the president acquire this restaurant?
"name?"
"Zhang Wei..."
"Li Bin..."
"Wang Haitao..."
Inside the police station, Gouwa, Scarface, and others sat on one side giving their statements, while Shen Feifei sat alone on the other side, with Zhou Shilin standing next to her.
"name."
Shen Feifei hesitated for a moment before saying, "Sinking porcelain."
Zhou Shilin glanced at her but remained silent.
"ID card."
Shen Feifei took out her ID card from her bag and handed it over.
Because the details of the incident were clear, and the lawyer Zhou Shilin had called was very assertive, Shen Feifei, Gouwa, and the others quickly left the police station. Daoba and the others were not so lucky. Not only were they suspected of provoking trouble and facing punishment, but they also had to compensate the store for its losses. In addition, Zhou Shilin also told the lawyer about the malicious complaint and asked them to handle it as well.
As they walked out of the police station, Zhou Shilin called out to Shen Feifei, who was hurrying away trying to escape: "Shen Feifei."
Shen Feifei paused, turned around and looked at him: "I am Chen Ci."
Zhou Shilin walked up to her step by step, lowered his eyes slightly to look at her: "Now that things have come to this, do you still want to pretend?"
Shen Feifei clutched the bag slung over her shoulder, keeping her head down and not looking at him. After a while, Chen Ci looked up, glanced at him blankly for a moment, and then quickly realized the situation.
Good heavens, did she switch between different characters in front of Zhou Shilin? Or twice?
Where am I? In front of the police station?
Shen Feifei didn't kill him, did she?
"Chen Ci?" Zhou Shilin called out to her.
Chen Ci forced a smile and replied, "It's me. What's wrong?"
Zhou Shilin looked at her for a while and said, "You're like an old TV with an unstable signal, switching channels all the time."
Chen Ci: "..."
Gouwa and Jinmao walked up behind her and asked, "Sister Feifei, is your name Shen Ci or Shen Feifei?"
Chen Ci: "..."
Help! The situation is already chaotic enough, why are you all rushing to make things worse!
“Shen Feifei is actually…” Shen Ci swallowed hard and smiled as she spoke, “my stage name.”
Golden Hair suddenly realized, "I get it, we guys in the underworld all need a nickname!"
"Haha, more or less." Chen Ci stared at Zhou Shilin, her laughter almost gone. "Well, with so much happening today, you should go back with Uncle Li and clean up first."
"Okay." Gouwa nodded and walked out with the golden retriever. As he passed Chen Ci, he whispered to her, "The brother-in-law you found is not bad."
Chen Ci: "..."
After they left, just as Zhou Shilin was about to speak, Chen Ci said, "I know what you're going to say. I'm definitely not a twin."
Zhou Shilin remained silent. Chen Ci pursed her lips, as if she had made a decision: "Come with me to see someone."
"who?"
"My therapist."
-----------------------
Author's note: I'm writing really slowly [crying emoji]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
