We are busy opening the business here, and there are two clerks watching over the shop opposite.
At this time, two men came to the store.
The waiter Xiaochun went over and greeted him: "Uncle, what do you need?"
The two looked around the store but didn't seem to find what they were looking for.
Xiaochun said, "We have a lot of goods in our store. Tell me what you need and I'll help you find it."
One of the men asked, "Do you sell dried tofu in your store?"
Xiaochun said: "That's what our boss's family cooks for themselves. They don't make it anymore."
"So, your store has sold dried tofu before?"
…
Zheng Youlin was greeting his friends when Xiaochun came hurriedly over and whispered something in his ear.
Zheng Youlin apologized to his friend and followed Xiaochun to the store across the street.
The two men saw Zheng Youlin coming over and asked, "Are you the owner of this store?"
Zheng Youlin replied: "Yes, may I ask who you are?"
"We are from the Price Bureau. We have received a report that your store is raising prices. Your staff also admitted that some products were sold at high prices. Now please follow us to the Price Bureau and pay the fine."
Zheng Youlin said: "Is there any misunderstanding? The goods in our store are sold at normal market prices, and there is no price gouging."
"Your clerk has already told you that you dare to sell ordinary dried tofu for two yuan per pound."
Xiaochun said, "I've explained to you all that our boss makes his own dried tofu. The ingredients are expensive, so the price is high."
Zheng Youlin said: "Wait a moment."
Going to the backyard, Zheng Youlin took out a bag of dried tofu, tore open the bag and poured the dried tofu onto a plate for the two staff members to taste.
“Isn’t this just dried tofu that tastes better?”
Zheng Youlin said: "We add ginseng and other precious medicinal materials to our dried tofu, and the price we sell it for is barely enough to cover the cost. There is no such thing as price gouging."
The staff of the Price Bureau said: "The dried tofu you sell is just a little bit better in taste, but it is also made from soybeans. You said you added precious medicinal herbs to it, but I didn't see any on the plate."
“The herbs are placed in a medicine bag and thrown away after they are prepared.”
"I can't taste it anyway, but it is a fact that your store sells at high prices. It has seriously disrupted the market and must be punished."
“You are exaggerating. My family makes dried tofu for our own consumption. An old man came by and saw it, so he asked to buy some to try. We sold it to him at a loss, but there is no disruption to the market as you said.
The old man is dining across the street right now. If you don’t believe me, I can ask him to come over to prove it.”
The staff member nodded, and Zheng Youlin walked to the other side and told the old man about the situation.
The old man was happy to help, but asked Zheng Youlin to sell him some dried tofu.
The old man knows what he is talking about and is willing to pay a higher price for it.
Zheng Youlin smiled bitterly: "Even this, the Price Bureau came to my door, how could I dare to sell it again?"
Zheng Baozhu saw her father leading the old man away, and came over to ask, "The guests haven't finished eating yet, where are you taking them?"
Zheng Youlin asked Zheng Baozhu to go with him.
The old man came forward to explain: "I insisted on buying the dried tofu. It wasn't expensive. If it wasn't great value for money, I wouldn't have come back to buy it a second time."
The staff member said: "Uncle, there are standards for commodity pricing. It's not just a matter of one person willing to fight and the other willing to be beaten. You need to show evidence."
Zheng Baozhu looked at the dried tofu on the plate and said, "I don't believe you can't tell there's a taste of Chinese medicine in it. If you can't tell, just take the dried tofu to a doctor and let him smell it, and he'll be able to tell whether it's real or fake."
The staff asked the Zheng family to take the tofu to a specialized agency for testing and also confiscated all the tofu.
Zheng Youlin said angrily: "They are all eaten, and the last bag is on the plate!"
The old man also said something nice: "Don't make things difficult for the boss. This is just a private transaction between us. He didn't sell the items to anyone else."
The staff member said: "Who can prove it? If you didn't sell it to anyone else, why would they call the Price Bureau to complain?"
Zheng Youlin said angrily: "Okay, I'll take it for testing!"
But the staff asked him to pay the fine first.
The old man frowned. He still wanted to continue buying the Zheng family’s dried tofu, but after what happened, he guessed that the Zheng family would never make it again.
So he said to Zheng Youlin, "Can I borrow your phone?"
The old man picked up the phone and dialed a number.
"Lao Zhong, I bought some good stuff and wanted to bring it to you to try. Unfortunately, his company was reported for price gouging. I guess they won't do it anymore. What a pity..."
When the staff saw the old man chatting with their director very familiarly, they began to doubt its authenticity.
The old man saw it and said to the phone, "I came to eat and happened to meet someone from your department. Let them say hello to you."
Hand the phone to one of the staff members.
The staff member recognized the leader's voice, said a few simple words, and then handed the phone to the old man.
The old man said a few more words and then hung up. He said to Zheng Youlin, "This matter was caused by me. After dinner, I will accompany you to see Director Zhong and I will pay the fine."
The staff member smiled and said: "The matter has been explained clearly, so there is no need to pay the fine."
…
The matter was resolved and the old man went back to continue eating.
Zheng Baozhu asked: "Who reported our family?"
Zheng Youlin said: "We have only sold dried tofu to this old man. He seems to be someone important. He even helped us. It is impossible that he was the one who reported it."
Zheng Youlin thought about everyone, but still couldn't think of who it was.
When returning to the medicinal chicken shop, Zheng Youlin glanced at his elder brother.
Zheng Yousen felt uncomfortable being stared at by his brother for no apparent reason, so he asked, "What's wrong?"
Zheng Youlin said, "It's okay."
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