Chapter 37: Takeaway Shop in the Basement (1)
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Ningyue didn't take it seriously, because she was sure that the two elders would eventually do the renovation, but it was hard to say what the renovation would look like.
I think this matter still depends on my sister. Before Jiang Ningyue could make the call, her sister called back.
"What did you say to our father? He was so angry that he kept mumbling and cursing for a long time."
"Hahaha." Jiang Ningyue laughed. "Didn't I give them 100,000 yuan? I told them that if they don't renovate the house before the New Year, I won't even enter the house and will just turn around and leave."
"I think our old house should be renovated."
As a poor area among poor areas, in Jiang Ningyue's memory, her family's house has been in a dilapidated state since she was born.
After walking through the muddy and difficult road strewn with cow dung, we arrived at the mud-brick house. The glass in the house was already blurry, and one piece was broken, which Jiang's father had covered with plastic sheeting.
The tattered wooden door was full of gaps and had no anti-theft function at all.
Of course, no one would come to steal from this house.
The room was very dark, a large room lit by a single dim light bulb, and the electrical wiring hung on the wall. The wiring had not been replaced for years and was filled with oil.
Looking up, I saw wooden beams as big as the roof.
There is a big refrigerator in the living room, which was bought by my sister for the family. There is a small TV in the bedroom, which relies on a satellite dish to receive signals.
In a house like this, not to mention the problems of leaks and drafts, even if you live in it, you never know when a short circuit in the wires might cause a fire.
What gave Jiang Ningyue the most headache was the dry toilet at home. The feeling was simply indescribable.
For the hard decoration in the countryside, twenty or thirty thousand would be enough. By the New Year, Jiang Ningyue would buy them some furniture, which would be enough.
My sister smiled and said, "I went to talk to them this year and offered to pay for them to build a new house, but they refused. They said they didn't have many years left and didn't want to build a new house. It would be a waste of money."
"It's okay, I agree this time." Jiang Ningyue said calmly, "It will definitely be renovated."
"What if it's not renovated?" my sister asked curiously.
"If you don't decorate it, I will leave that day." Jiang Ningyue said calmly.
"sharp."
My sister laughed, "Xiaoyue is a big reporter now. She's a completely different person."
"That's it."
Jiang Ningyue laughed, "Go back and tell them that Jiang Ningyue has grown independent. If they don't listen to her, she really won't come back."
"I think it's okay."
The elder sister thought about it and said fearfully, "Will our father get drunk and beat you?"
"Don't worry, he won't dare."
Jiang Ningyue sneered, "He used to have the final say in all family matters, but now that I'm here, everything is going to be different."
For the older generation of rural parents, especially the feudal patriarch like Jiang's father, if they want to dominate the family, simply put, the right time and place are both essential.
After settling her family affairs and the loan, Jiang Ningyue felt a lot more relaxed. It could be said that this had fulfilled Jiang Ningyue's long-cherished wish.
On October 8th, her first day at work, Jiang Ningyue felt too lazy to move. Since there hadn't been much negative news coverage during the National Day holiday, the number of calls from citizens reporting her issues had piled up thickly.
Tian Jun pointed at one of them and looked at Jiang Ningyue, "Xiaoyue, let's go take a picture of this! There are many takeaway restaurants in the basement of Ankangli Community."
"A takeaway in the basement?"
Jiang Ningyue was shocked. "Okay, let's go."
On the way, Tian Jun spoke with the informant by phone, and the informant said that he had retired and had plenty of time.
Jiang Ningyue quietly took out the 'hidden camera' that the system had given her a long time ago, "Brother Jun, I'll go in and shoot some footage later. I have a hidden camera."
"Really?"
Tian Jun was a little surprised. "Then let's shoot together. I have a special watch for secret investigations."
"Can."
Jiang Ningyue nodded.
The two parked the car at the entrance of the community, and the old man who reported the incident was already waiting there.
The old man was very excited when he saw the two of them.
"You guys are finally here! I've been calling everywhere, but it's no use. Come and expose it."
"Don't be anxious, sir. Take your time."
Jiang Ningyue asked first, "What do you mean by this takeaway shop?"
"Our Ankangli community was built in 2000. As you can see, it's all low-rise, with the highest being six stories. But one good thing about this community is that it has a basement. However, our basement has long been occupied by the community's property management company."
"A few years ago, the property management company rented it out to migrant workers. Now, it's directly rented out to takeaway shops. These takeaway shops cook all day long, and the smoke is so intense that we dare not open the windows all summer long."
"Also, these people use gas cylinders to cook, which is so dangerous! I'm afraid one day these cylinders will explode and blow our whole building up. Also, the electricity they use is illegally connected wires, which is very dangerous."
Jiang Ningyue nodded after hearing this. This community was just as the old man said. Although it was only 18 years old, the environment, sanitation and facilities of this community were very old.
“Do you reflect on the street?”
"It's no use reporting it."
The old man complained, "The neighborhood committee is just arguing. No one has taken action for several months. I called 12345, but no one cares either."
"What do you mean no one cares?" Jiang Ningyue asked curiously, "They should at least reply to you, right?"
"The response was just the same old stuff, about things like 'we are coordinating' and 'actively handling'. It was completely useless."
"oh."
Jiang Ningyue nodded after hearing this, "Alright, uncle, go and take a rest. Let's go take a look at that place."
"Yeah, take a look, take some pictures. That place is really dirty. I don't know why kids these days love to order takeout so much."
Jiang Ningyue and Tian Jun arrived at the southeast corner of the complex and saw Building 9, as the old man had mentioned. On the east side of Building 9, they saw a number of delivery guys smoking and chatting outside. On the east side, there were steps leading to the basement entrance. On the wall next to the entrance, the names of eight delivery guys were posted.
XX rice noodles, XX braised chicken with rice, XX fried rice, XX fried chicken, XX barbecue, XX noodles...
Without taking time to observe carefully, the two of them walked straight down the stairs.
The basement was very dark and dingy, with a central corridor flanked by small rooms. In each room, two or three people were cooking and serving dishes.
The men cooking inside are all shirtless, without any hats, masks, gloves or other protective equipment. Because the temperature is very high, sweat drips directly into the food.
The women were responsible for preparing the dishes and packing them, but they weren't much cleaner either. They'd just throw the food back on the floor after it fell. Because there was no tap in the basement, getting water was difficult, so they didn't even wash the vegetables; they'd just chop them up and throw them into the pot.
The sanitation was terrible, with the ground covered in black sewage, which had solidified in the corners and emitted a foul odor. Meanwhile, cockroaches and rats were rampant in the basement.
One of the fat rats passed by Jiang Ningyue and ignored her. It seemed that in just a few months, the rats had learned to live in peace with humans.
In addition, Jiang Ningyue also took pictures of half-human-high gas tanks placed aside, as well as wires that were privately connected from somewhere and simply hung on the wall. The wires were covered with oil.
Jiang Ningyue looked around and found that those people were either busy or just glanced at her and ignored her.
After they finished filming enough videos, they walked out of the basement and went outside. Picking up the microphone and camera, Jiang Ningyue found these stores on the food delivery platform, and holding her phone, Jiang Ningyue began to appear on camera.
"I'm currently in Building 9 of Ankangli Residential Area in Jiangbei District, Haining City. You can see eight takeout shop signs on the wall behind me. They're for XYZ rice noodles, XYZ braised chicken, and XYZ spicy hot pot. It's like they've got all the fast food options the average worker would order for lunch."
"You can search and locate these shops through food delivery platforms on your mobile phone. At the same time, these shops are all legal shops that have been reviewed and approved on the food delivery platforms. The uploaded photos show that these shops have uploaded legal and compliant photos of their storefronts and lobbies."
"However, the photos on the food delivery platforms are all fake. The actual sanitation in the basement is beyond description, terrible. The only word I can describe is abysmal, extremely bad. The food is put into the pot without being washed, the chef does not wear basic protective equipment, the table is thickly coated with grease, the ground is full of sewage, and there are swarms of rats and cockroaches. Don't the street and market supervision and management departments know about this situation?"
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