Chapter 40 was reported.
The customers present started discussing it.
"Who is this person? They actually reported that Gu's Private Kitchen added additives. We've been eating there for so long, can't we tell that they added something?"
"I didn't think so at first, but since someone reported it, they must have discovered something, right? The meat dishes at Gu's Private Kitchen taste so good, could it be that they added something to enhance the flavor?"
"Let's wait and see how it goes. This meal has suddenly become unappetizing."
"Impossible. I've been eating at Gu's Private Kitchen for so long, I know my own body well. How could they say that the meat and dishes contain additives that harm our health? That's utter nonsense."
"I wonder who reported it. They're really bold to report it by name, hiding behind the scenes and afraid to show their face. I finally got to eat a meal at Gu's Private Kitchen, and now my good mood is ruined."
"..."
Among the customers present, some were skeptical, some believed, and some remained indifferent. Even the customers queuing at the restaurant entrance started discussing the commotion inside. Everyone loves a good show.
Of course, most people were also anxious this time, hoping that there would be no problems with Gu's Private Kitchen.
Most of them are regular customers of the restaurant and have eaten at many of the restaurant's private kitchen dishes. Although it is unlikely that the restaurant would be so foolish as to add things randomly, since this has caused such a stir, they hope to find out the truth so that they can continue to eat there with peace of mind in the future.
There aren't many restaurants that offer such delicious food at such a reasonable price. I hope Gu's Private Kitchen will continue to thrive.
Gu Qingqiu knew that this was most likely a report from a competitor hiding in the shadows.
Those netizens who criticized Gu's Private Kitchen because of its acne scar fading feature don't seem to have IP addresses in Jiang City. It's unlikely they would travel such a long distance to report their own restaurant online; there's no such deep-seated grudge or conflict of interest.
If this incident is brought up in front of so many customers and the matter isn't quelled quickly, it will negatively impact the restaurant's future operations.
She nodded and said, "Okay, we will fully cooperate with the food safety supervision and management department's investigation. Every day, we keep samples of every dish in our restaurant's kitchen for investigation purposes. Would you like to have the samples tested on-site or take them back for testing?"
Seeing that the boss was cooperating, the staff member's expression softened slightly: "We can take samples on-site for reagent paper testing, and then take some samples back to the department for verification. The test results will be issued within three working days."
"Okay, thank you." Gu Qingqiu nodded and instructed Sister Zhou, "Sister Zhou, please take the staff to the kitchen to get meat and vegetable samples for testing."
She always remembered the habit that had been passed down from her grandfather when he ran the restaurant, a habit that slightly more formal restaurants would have: keeping samples of meat and vegetables from each meal for relevant departments to inspect at any time.
Or, if a customer experiences any problems with the food, relevant food testing can be conducted upon return.
Sister Zhou nodded in agreement and led the staff member with the handheld recorder into the kitchen to retrieve meat and vegetable samples.
Just to be on the safe side, the staff also brought out some uncooked ingredients.
Using a table in the dining area, staff members wearing white plastic gloves conducted food testing in an open and impartial manner.
All eyes were on their hands, or rather, on the test strip.
Xu Shiren and Feng Jianguo also sat at their respective tables, watching.
They weren't worried about any problems with Gu's Private Kitchen; this wave of complaints was clearly just malicious competition among businesses. As long as the meat and vegetable samples tested negative, the game was over.
Having traveled all over the country and eaten at countless meat restaurants, Feng Jianguo had naturally encountered some unscrupulous vendors. He could usually tell whether common food additives were present just by tasting them, and Gu's Private Kitchen clearly didn't have any.
Fang Nian was enjoying her meal, almost finishing all the meat and vegetables on the table, when she heard these people claiming to be staff from the food supervision and management department. She was a little stunned.
Her first thought was about the purpose of her visit: she had heard that eating Gu's private kitchen dishes could fade acne scars. Could this be a side effect of the food additives?
For a moment she had doubts, yet she was unwilling to believe that Gu's Private Kitchen, which could make so many delicious meat dishes, would add substances like food additives that are harmful to customers' health.
After having lunch at Gu's Private Kitchen, she had a very good impression of the restaurant and was particularly fond of the beautiful figure she saw busy at the stove through the glass window.
Fang Nian decided to wait and see, but she already had a vague idea of what was going on; it should be fine.
Gu Qingqiu and Sister Zhou stood to the side, closest to the staff and the test samples, watching as one of them took notes and the other conducted the tests.
The test strip quickly provided the answer.
The staff member smiled and said, "Congratulations, these meat and vegetable samples tested negative for any problems. Everything is normal, so please feel free to eat them."
He looked at his boss and said, "Next, we need to take some meat and vegetable samples back to the department for testing. We will issue you a test report within three days and update it on the official website."
Gu Qingqiu smiled and nodded: "Okay, thank you. I'll have the staff pack some meat and vegetable samples for you to take back. We welcome your supervision."
Sister Zhou immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
The surrounding customers' tension dissipated instantly, and they started talking amongst themselves.
"I knew it! How could there be a problem with the meat dishes at Gu's Private Kitchen? We've eaten there so many times; if there were a problem, we would have noticed it long ago."
"Thankfully, everything's fine. I was so nervous just now. My amazing restaurant has withstood the test and didn't collapse!"
"This Gu Family Private Kitchen has been run with integrity since the owner's grandfather's generation. Now that the owner's cooking skills are so good, it's impossible for her to resort to any crooked methods."
"..."
Xu Shiren and Feng Jianguo exchanged a glance and breathed a sigh of relief, happy for their boss.
Fang Nianxiang smiled too. She knew it! There couldn't be any problem with such delicious meat and vegetables. Her trust hadn't been betrayed.
Amidst the cheerful atmosphere, just as the staff were about to follow the store clerk into the kitchen to retrieve some meat and vegetable samples, a customer suddenly called out to the staff.
"Staff from the supervisory and management department, wait a minute! Since the samples left in the restaurant's kitchen tested negative, could you also get our meat and vegetables tested?"
At the table near the entrance of the restaurant, a young man wearing a black T-shirt and with a buzz cut stood up and spoke.
Facing the questioning looks around him, he smiled and said, "The restaurant keeps its own meat and vegetable samples, and we also take real samples of the meat and vegetables that are given to customers. We test both of them and the results show that there are no problems. This way, everyone can feel more at ease, right?"
The customers in the restaurant looked at each other, feeling both that the relevant personnel had already completed the tests and confirmed that there were no problems, and that the man's suggestion to test the meat and vegetables on the customers' tables seemed provocative, yet they also felt that what he said made some sense.
After all, there might be some differences between the meat and vegetables kept in the restaurant kitchen and those served to customers, so it seems safer to test both.
The staff exchanged a glance with the customer and then looked at the restaurant owner to ask for her opinion.
Gu Qingqiu looked at the young male customer who stood up and asked to have the meat and vegetables on their table tested. She couldn't tell anything unusual from his expression or eyes.
She immediately suspected that this man was an accomplice sent by the restaurant's competitor who had reported her, and that he might have tampered with the meat and dishes on the table.
After Gu Qingqiu scanned the meat and dishes on his table and saw no black mist, even though there were traces of food that still contained tiny specks of spiritual energy that had been eaten, she felt relieved.
Gu Qingqiu nodded and said to the staff, "Since the customer has concerns, please do the test again to put everyone's mind at ease."
The staff member agreed: "Okay, then in order to be more responsible to our consumers, we will take a sample of this meat and vegetable dish for testing."
The same steps were repeated, and this time it still attracted the attention of everyone present. Even the customers queuing outside the restaurant quietly squeezed in, and passersby, seeing how lively it was inside, also came over to take a look.
Gu Qingqiu watched the staff's operations with a calm expression.
At this moment, even everyone's breathing seemed to be clearly audible, and the staff still operated the meat and vegetable sampling and testing with steady movements.
Time seemed to pass both slowly and quickly. As the test strip changed color, the staff smiled and said, "Congratulations, these meat and vegetables have also passed the test. Everyone can rest assured."
The restaurant instantly became lively, and many customers breathed a sigh of relief.
"Now I can finally relax. The sample dishes in the kitchen are fine, the ingredients are fine, and the meat and vegetables for the customers are fine. I really can't think of anything that could be wrong!"
"This whole mess really ruined my meal. Luckily, it turned out well. I told you Gu's Private Kitchen was fine. I don't know who was deliberately nitpicking!"
"Yes, could you please disclose the identity of the whistleblower?"
"Yes, now many places require real-name reporting. You should hurry up and reveal who the whistleblower is so we can see for ourselves!"
"These people are like rats in the gutter, they can't stand to see Gu's Private Kitchen being good. I can't even imagine where I'd be able to eat such delicious meat dishes if Gu's Private Kitchen had a problem. The whistleblower must be exposed!"
The staff of the food supervision and management department would naturally not disclose the whistleblower's information. Besides, this time they received an online report that described the problems with Gu's Private Kitchen and provided relevant evidence. All that was available about the whistleblower was their account information.
Of course, if they wanted to investigate further, they could find the whistleblower's real personal information, but they do not have that right.
So the staff member with the recorder ignored the customers' loud protests and said, "Sorry for keeping you from eating. Please continue eating. We'll just take some meat and vegetable samples and head back."
Gu Qingqiu smiled and shook hands with them: "Okay, thank you both for your hard work this time. Sister Zhou, please take this gentleman to get some more meat and vegetable samples."
She reassured the customers present, "I'm very sorry for affecting everyone's dining experience. Ensuring the quality of meat and vegetables is the bottom line for our restaurant. We're offering a 20% discount on all lunch orders. Please continue with your meal."
The customers were quite satisfied with what they heard.
"The boss is so generous!"
"It's alright. We feel much more at ease after the test. We will continue to support Gu's Private Kitchen in the future."
"Thank you, boss. We will recommend Gu's Private Kitchen to our friends."
As for the male customer who had previously asked to have his meat dishes inspected, he smiled and sat down to continue eating, completely ignoring the stares from other customers.
Gu Qingqiu and Sister Zhou escorted the two staff members to the restaurant entrance, smiling and inviting them to come and eat at the restaurant when they had time.
Turning around and walking into the restaurant, Sister Zhou breathed a sigh of relief: "Phew, this whole commotion was really terrifying."
Gu Qingqiu smiled and reassured her, "It's alright. We have nothing to hide. If the meat and vegetables are fine, we have nothing to fear from testing."
"This time, it's the person who reported it who should be furious."
She glanced back at the restaurant across the street, then looked away and walked into the restaurant.
Sister Zhou served the customers, offering a 20% discount when they paid the bill after their meal.
Some of the customers who were originally in line left after watching the excitement, while others chose to stay and dine.
Sister Zhou invited them into the restaurant and sat them down at an empty table. She brought a rag to wipe the table clean, then set out bowls, chopsticks, and washing utensils according to the number of people, and then called the customers to order.
Gu Qingqiu also got busy in the kitchen again, starting to cook according to the order form handed over by Sister Zhou.
Meanwhile, in the dining area, customers continued to enjoy their food.
Xu Shiren and Feng Jianguo finished all the meat dishes on the table, and even drank every last drop of the morel mushroom and seafood soup.
They got up and went to the cashier to pay. After a 20% discount, it only cost 184 yuan. It was such a good deal for me.
After leaving the restaurant, the two elderly men used umbrellas to avoid heatstroke, humming songs as they walked out of Suli Street and took a taxi back to the Provincial Procuratorate's residential compound.
Fang Nianxiang finished her meal, paid the bill, and left.
She was extremely satisfied with her first meal after landing in Jiang City. The deliciousness of Gu's Private Kitchen exceeded her expectations, and the farcical whistleblowing incident just now proved that there were no harmful additives in the meat and vegetables of Gu's Private Kitchen.
All she needs to do now is go back to the hotel to rest, go out for a walk in the afternoon, come back for dinner in the evening, and then wait to see if there are any subtle changes on her face.
It was a little past 12:30, and there were still five tables of customers eating at Gu's Private Kitchen, chatting happily while enjoying their delicious food.
The restaurant already had a sign that read "Ingredients sold out" hanging at the entrance.
The noodle shop diagonally opposite was empty, with only tables and chairs, but no customers.
It's not that the ingredients are sold out and we can't serve customers, but rather that no new customers have come in since the two customers who finished their beef noodles at noon left.
Boss Cheng Wenlong sat at the cashier's counter, looking at the stacks of noodles he had made by hand at 4 a.m. in the kitchen cabinets. There were still so many left, and today would most likely be another day where he wouldn't be able to sell them all. He couldn't help but sigh.
He had been running this noodle shop on Surrey Street for many years. In the past, his business was moderate but still decent, thanks to the good taste of his hand-pulled noodles and various soup noodles.
Business is worse in the summer than in spring, autumn and winter, as many people are unwilling to eat piping hot soup noodles when it's hot.
He doesn't have much ability to innovate soup noodles. The various soup noodles sold on the menu are the limit of what he can make, and they are not as popular as grilled fish, barbecue, pizza and other snacks nowadays.
At first, he didn't pay much attention to the reopening of Gu's Private Kitchen across the street. Putting aside the young woman's cooking skills, the noodle shop had been operating for many years and the private kitchen across the street was a different type of restaurant.
But who knew that Gu's Private Kitchen business would gradually become popular? During lunch and dinner hours, the restaurant was packed with people, and there were also many people queuing up at the door to eat.
Such a great opportunity to make money, yet the opposite side often displays a sign saying "Ingredients sold out," refusing to serve customers who come later and still want to dine.
At first, Cheng Wenlong was quite happy. Some of the customers who couldn't eat at Gu's Private Kitchen were no longer willing to look for restaurants and instead came to his own noodle shop to eat noodles.
He instructed the staff to provide warm hospitality while he prepared various noodle soups and stir-fries for customers in the kitchen, striving to use his best culinary skills to satisfy them.
But these customers were captivated by Gu's Private Kitchen, eating his soup noodles and fried noodles while muttering about the Gu's Private Kitchen dishes they could never have.
"Oh, I'll have to come earlier next time, otherwise I'll miss the hot Gu Family Private Kitchen dishes."
"To be honest, Gu's Private Kitchen is just too popular. I couldn't stop thinking about it after eating there once. Now, this noodle dish tastes bland to me."
"These are all restaurants on Suli Street, but the taste is vastly different. Gu's Private Kitchen is very popular, but there's a reason why this noodle shop is so quiet; the noodles here taste very average."
"..."
There were many similar comments, all praising Gu's Private Kitchen while belittling their own noodle shop. Cheng Wenlong felt they didn't know what was good for them.
He admitted that occasionally the domineering aroma of Gu's private kitchen dishes would waft into his noodle shop, and the smell was indeed very tempting, enough to make one's stomach rumble.
But the noodles at his own noodle shop are just as good. They're all handmade by him, and he's very skilled at controlling the heat and flavor of his soup noodles and stir-fried noodles. Many customers have praised them before.
Cheng Wenlong was secretly annoyed, but he and the shop assistants still greeted the customers with smiles and saw them off.
From then on, he often had his employees pretend to be passersby and go to Gu's Private Kitchen to praise his noodle shop to the customers waiting in line. Occasionally, he could attract one or two customers out of seven or eight.
However, it became increasingly difficult to attract customers. A staff member said that a customer said he would rather wait in line for a longer time than just come and eat a bowl of noodles, which made Cheng Wenlong so angry that his face turned ashen.
As Gu's Private Kitchen business grew, many people from Suli Street started going to her restaurant for meals, while fewer and fewer customers came to her noodle shop, resulting in a one-third drop in monthly revenue.
Cheng Wenlong was helpless. He kept an eye on Gu's Private Kitchen and heard from the staff that they had opened a Weibo and Xiaohongshu account to post menus and attract customers. Many customers who had eaten there also spontaneously posted pictures online praising how delicious Gu's Private Kitchen was.
With his restaurant business slow and plenty of free time, Cheng Wenlong, now quite old, started researching Xiaohongshu and Weibo, and vented his anger by posting articles on both platforms that smeared Gu's Private Kitchen.
Even though some netizens later refuted his claims in the comments section, saying that the content was fabricated and even guessed that it might have been posted by a competitor, Cheng Wenlong still felt satisfied.
Two days ago, he finally got his chance and saw someone on Xiaohongshu (a Chinese social media platform) saying that Gu's Private Kitchen was advertising in acne-prone areas, claiming that eating meat and vegetables from Gu's Private Kitchen continuously could fade acne scars, which is simply a fantasy.
Cheng Wenlong didn't believe it either; what kind of meat or vegetables could have such an effect? But looking at the before-and-after facial comparison photo shared by a member of the group, he wondered, what if it really was true?
If customers can see their acne scars fade after eating there, then Gu's Private Kitchen must have added something to its meat dishes, right?
Perhaps this is the key to why Gu's Private Kitchen tastes so good and attracts customers who are crazy about it and want to eat it again and again.
The more Cheng Wenlong thought about it, the more likely it seemed. He took a screenshot of the note and then used his phone to log onto the official website of Jiang City's food supervision and management department to file a report.
After the report is filed, staff will come to take samples for testing. It would be best if the test results showed a problem, but if there is no problem, this incident will have some impact on the reputation of Gu's Private Kitchen, and may even cause some hesitant customers to give up on dining there.
He waited for two days. At noon, he made a bowl of vegetarian noodle soup with poached egg in the kitchen and asked the staff to serve it to him. When he came out, he looked across the street and saw that many people were standing around talking in hushed tones. He could vaguely see two staff members wearing blue shirts in the middle.
Cheng Wenlong was immediately excited when he realized that people from the food supervision and management department had arrived.
He sent a shop assistant over to listen, while he stood at the entrance of the noodle shop and watched.
However, as time went on, his excitement turned to disappointment. After the first round of testing, the people in the restaurant across the street were all smiling, which meant there was no problem.
However, things took an unexpected turn. A customer said something that made everyone's expressions turn strange, and then the staff started taking samples for testing.
Cheng Wenlong's heart leaped with joy.
Yes, restaurants usually keep samples of meat and vegetables for inspection purposes. Maybe these meat and vegetables are fine, but the ones served to customers have something added to them?
But Cheng Wenlong was soon disappointed again, because everyone in the restaurant smiled again, even the staff member in the blue shirt looked better.
He knew that Gu's Private Kitchen was most likely fine. He would never find another opportunity to annoy the other party, and he couldn't bring himself to do anything underhanded.
The shop assistant came back and rattled off a bunch of things, but Cheng Wenlong remained unmoved, his face ashen.
After 1 p.m., Gu's Private Kitchen closed its wooden doors and ended business.
After wiping the table, Sister Zhou went into the kitchen to wash the dishes and spatulas, while Gu Qingqiu sat at a table in the dining area looking at her phone.
The recent incident involving a tip-off and testing was indeed upsetting, but the restaurant's business hasn't been affected much in the short term; all the ingredients prepared for lunch have been used up.
I just don't know what the online reaction will be; I'm sure many customers will post about what happened at noon online.
She first opened Xiaohongshu and switched to the official account. When she entered the message bar, there were still 99+ likes, favorites, and comments.
Gu Qingqiu simply switched to the homepage and clicked on the new menu post from this morning to read the comments. The top comments were still full of people drooling and wanting to eat.
[I want to raise a panda: *slurp* I want to eat it!]
[I'm really looking forward to it: I don't even know what I'm looking forward to, but I just look forward to opening Gu's Private Kitchen at 10 a.m. every morning to see today's menu, and then spending the rest of the day drooling with anticipation!]
[Diligence can make up for lack of talent: The desire to settle in Jiang City has reached its peak, not for any particular reason, but simply to be able to eat a meal of Gu's private cuisine every day.]
These were all comments that were replied to earlier and received more likes. Gu Qingqiu simply switched to displaying the comments by latest comment, and sure enough, she saw some relevant comments this time.
[Where there's wind, there's freedom: I was having lunch at the restaurant when someone maliciously reported Gu's Private Kitchen. Thankfully, the tests came back negative. I'll always support Gu's Private Kitchen!]
[Bright lights and bustling atmosphere: I also ate at the restaurant at noon. I don't know who reported Gu's Private Kitchen, but the tests showed no problems! Friends who want to eat at Gu's Private Kitchen, don't hesitate, eat there sooner and enjoy!]
[Raindrops on the ground: I wanted to eat meat and vegetables today, and I've already had them! Don't believe the rumors, believe in the delicious taste and the joyful, satisfied feeling we got from eating!]
Gu Qingqiu smiled after reading it. It was indeed a pleasant thing to have so many customers willing to trust her restaurant.
After she exited, she searched for "Gu's Private Kitchen reported" in the search bar, and this time she did find two or three related notes.
These posts were all made by customers who were at the restaurant at noon. They explained that the restaurant was reported, relevant departments came to the restaurant to take samples for testing and found no problems, and then a second test was conducted on the meat and vegetables on the customers' tables and found no problems either. The staff took samples and left, and a detailed report will be issued three days later to explain everything clearly, so that netizens who care about Gu's Private Kitchen can see it at a glance.
These notes strive for impartiality in their writing, but ultimately lean towards Gu's Private Kitchen, and they garnered a considerable number of likes and comments.
Most netizens who know about Gu's Private Kitchen are supportive, while a few people who are new to the restaurant are confused and ask what happened. Some say that flies don't land on eggs without cracks, and that the test paper might not have detected some problematic ingredients.
Of course, the latter was criticized by other netizens.
After reading it, Gu Qingqiu felt relieved. After thinking for a moment, she decided to post a simple explanation note to avoid worrying netizens who were concerned about her restaurant.
After posting it, she copied and pasted the content onto Weibo and posted it again.
This time, she didn't check the related comments on Weibo. Instead, she went into her notes and made a note to check the test results later, and then posted a formal response on both official accounts.
While Gu Qingqiu was handling things on her phone, Sister Zhou washed all the tableware in the kitchen and put them in the sterilizer. She also arranged all the pots, pans, and spoons to dry. Then she went to get a broom to clean the restaurant and mopped the floor.
After Sister Zhou finished her work and went back, Gu Qingqiu locked the wooden door and went upstairs to rest.
The restaurant was still doing very well in the evening. When a customer asked about the restaurant being reported at lunchtime, Sister Zhou answered frankly at the owner's request.
After listening, the customer nodded to indicate that he understood and could enjoy the delicious meat dish with complete peace of mind.
Around eight o'clock, Gu's Private Kitchen closed for business as usual, having sold out all the ingredients prepared for the day.
Gu Qingqiu counted today's turnover at the cashier. It was more than 500 less than yesterday, mainly because of the 20% discount at noon, so the impact was not significant.
She greeted Sister Zhou, who was washing dishes in the kitchen, and went upstairs to wash her hair and take a shower.
After drying my hair, I went downstairs, and Sister Zhou was already cleaning the restaurant.
Gu Qingqiu asked, "Sister Zhou, did the store receive any packages today? I bought a book."
Sister Zhou straightened up and leaned on the broom: "Yes, I took it and put it in the cabinet under the cashier."
"OK, thanks."
Gu Qingqiu walked over to the cashier. There was a three-tiered drawer under the counter. The middle drawer, which was locked, was for cash. The left and right drawers contained pens, invoice books, disposable tableware, gloves, and other items. The cabinet below was larger and contained things like umbrellas.
She opened the package and saw a delivery. After taking it out, she grabbed a delivery knife from the cabinet on the right, opened the package, took out a book, and tore off the seal on the book.
Gu Qingqiu flipped through it briefly. The book "Food Therapy for All Diseases" felt decent to the touch, and each dish was accompanied by an illustration. However, the illustrations were a bit blurry and the text was not very clear, making it look a bit like a pirated book. But when she bought it, the product was labeled as genuine.
The dietary therapy recipes inside mainly focus on various diseases and provide brief introductions. The required ingredient quantities and cooking methods are also explained in detail. The medicinal value of some of the ingredients is introduced in the lower left corner of the accompanying pictures.
After flipping through several disease-related recipes, Gu Qingqiu discovered that the ingredients used in these recipes were all very common. The meat dishes, soups, and stews made were both ingenious and homely, which suited the positioning of her restaurant quite well.
After Sister Zhou finished her work and left, Gu Qingqiu locked the wooden door, closed the windows, and took the book back upstairs to read it slowly.
Before going to bed, I also tentatively decided on the two dishes for tomorrow.
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