Culinary Expert

Chapter 17: The Water Meter Reading Incident (Part 1)

Wei Hai walked straight into Bai Xiaobai’s Restaurant, pulled out a dining chair, and sat down. “Mr. Bai, the usual—one tea-egg, please.” Wei Hai was straightforward and to the point. From their previous encounter, he already knew the owner’s name, so this time he added “Bai” before “Mr.” to show they were on familiar terms. “Sure thing, just a moment,” Bai Xiaobai replied with a smile, turning to head back into the kitchen to scoop out the tea eggs. Wei Hai lifted the hem of his basketball jersey to wipe his face, unscrewed the cap of his mineral water bottle, and tilted his head back to gulp down a big mouthful. He’d just finished playing basketball on the court and was completely drained, exhausted beyond belief, and his mouth felt bland and tasteless. Normally, a vitamin-enriched energy drink would have been enough to recharge him, but ever since he’d eaten the Supreme Tea Eggs Bai Xiaobai had cooked, Wei Hai found himself thinking about them day and night, unable to get them out of his mind. Especially right after playing basketball, Wei Hai craved them even more. He didn’t even bother going back to his dorm to change; instead, he ran straight from the school basketball court to Xiaobai Restaurant. That familiar aroma! Wei Hai could smell the rich fragrance drawing closer and closer to him. “Enjoy your meal.” Bai Xiaobai gently placed a white porcelain bowl in front of Wei Hai. Wei Hai picked up the tea-leaf egg and asked as he peeled it, “Boss Bai, aside from the tea-leaf eggs, have you introduced any new dishes in the past couple of days?” “Not yet, but we’ll be launching new dishes tomorrow or the day after,” Bai Xiaobai replied with a smile. Bai Xiaobai wasn’t just making things up—completing Qian Duoduo’s task today was a done deal, so new dishes would definitely be available in the next day or two. As for what those dishes would be, that remained to be seen. Upon hearing that new dishes would be available in the next day or two, Wei Hai flashed a row of pearly white teeth and laughed, “Boss Bai, I’m looking forward to your new dishes. I’ll definitely come by to support you then.” “Sure thing. By the way, where are those two guys who came with you last time?” Bai Xiaobai remembered that when Wei Hai came last time, he was accompanied by a skinny guy and a chubby guy, but neither of them was there this time. “School’s out for summer break. The chubby guy and the skinny guy both went back to their hometowns yesterday; they won’t be back until school starts in September,” Wei Hai said while munching on a tea egg. I see. There was a moment of silence. Bai Xiaobai didn’t want to disturb Wei Hai while he was eating his tea eggs, and just as he was about to turn around and head back to the kitchen to wash the dishes, three more people walked into the restaurant. To put it simply, these three looked like a chubby guy, a short, stocky guy, and a lanky guy—all three were wearing civil servant uniforms. Having worked in the food service industry for several years, Bai Xiaobai still possessed a certain amount of intuition. Nine times out of ten, the Bureau of Industry and Commerce had come to check up on things. Bai Xiaobai took a few steps forward and asked politely, “Comrade, may I ask what brings you here?” The lanky man leading the group had a hostile look in his eyes. He gave Bai Xiaobai a quick once-over and said, “Are you the owner of this shop?” “I am the owner of this shop. What’s the matter?” Bai Xiaobai replied calmly. “What’s the matter? Someone reported you for tax evasion and inflating prices. We’re from the Administration for Industry and Commerce, and we’re here to investigate,” said a plump man standing next to the tall one in a very arrogant tone. This was blatant nonsense! Completely groundless! Jianghai City has a tax policy stipulating that sole proprietorships are only required to pay taxes if their monthly revenue exceeds 30,000 RMB. In the two years since Bai Xiaobai opened his restaurant, his revenue had never exceeded this threshold, so he had always applied for tax exemption—how could there be any talk of tax evasion? Although Bai Xiaobai felt uneasy, these officials held authority, and as an ordinary citizen, he couldn’t confront them head-on. So he replied calmly, “Comrade, that’s not true. Have you made a mistake? My shop’s monthly revenue has never exceeded 30,000 RMB—it’s all tax-exempt.” “What about the inflated prices? The story about your shop selling fifty-one tea eggs has spread far and wide. With such a high price, isn’t that fraud?” Gao Zhugan’s tone was aggressive as he fired off the question. Even clearly marked prices are being called fraud—this is nothing but a case of “if you want to pin a crime on someone, you’ll find a way”! “Comrade, I’m not inflating prices—I always quote the price upfront…” Bai Xiaobai hadn’t even finished explaining. “Shut down for a few days. You can reopen once we’ve investigated this thoroughly.” ” The stocky man impatiently cut Bai Xiaobai off. No evidence whatsoever, yet they order a suspension of business for rectification just like that—what a fine public servant of the people!!! No matter how well-mannered Bai Xiaobai was, he couldn’t help but curse under his breath: “@#%￥&! *” But anger aside, he had to stay calm at this moment. These three started talking about a “rectification” the moment they walked in—utterly unreasonable. They clearly came prepared. They must have taken a bribe, and their goal is to shut down my Restaurant for good. If he lost his cool now and resorted to force or started cursing, he’d be playing right into their hands, and he’d definitely end up worse off. Bai Xiaobai repeatedly told himself to stay calm as he picked up his phone to call his uncle, Bai Yuanshan. His uncle runs an antique business, has a wide circle of friends, and is quite well-connected in Jianghai City. As long as he could get through to him, there would surely be a way to resolve this. But when it rains, it pours. Bai Xiaobai made two calls. Both times, an automated message said the recipient was out of service range. Uncle, you bastard—you haven’t gone underground again, have you? People in official uniforms always stand out when they walk into a store, and in an instant, a huge crowd gathered at the entrance to Bai Xiaobai’s shop to gawk. “Holy crap, they’re already raiding the place this fast.” “I told you, this place wouldn’t last long.” “It was fine as can be yesterday—how come the Industry and Commerce Bureau is here to crack down today? I bet the owner must have offended someone.” “You’re right—that’s some real bad luck.” “Unlucky my foot—the owner’s charging fifty for a single tea egg. It’d be a miracle if they didn’t come after him.” Outside, the crowd chattered away, some expressing sympathy, others gloating. But anyone with eyes could see that even though the Industry and Commerce Bureau called it a “suspension for rectification,” it was practically the same as shutting down for good. Unless the owner slipped some cash and pulled some strings, this shop definitely wouldn’t be able to stay open. Wang Tuzi squeezed into the crowd to watch the spectacle, a barely perceptible smirk playing at the corner of his mouth. This is so damn satisfying. Selling a tea egg for fifty—just wait until you stop showing off. You little punk—you’re still way too green to take on your grandpa. Three officials from the Administration for Industry and Commerce had already begun clearing out the storefront. In fact, aside from Bai Xiaobai, Wei Hai was the only one inside the shop. The stocky official tapped Wei Hai’s counter with his finger and said haughtily, “Hey, comrade, this shop is now closed for rectification. You’d better leave right away.” Wei Hai had just finished his tea egg and asked nonchalantly, “Why is this shop being shut down for rectification?” “Just leave when we tell you to. Why all the nonsense?” The stocky official’s tone turned harsh as he shoved the table. As the table tilted, a white porcelain bowl tipped over, spilling the sauce and tea right onto Wei Hai’s basketball jersey. A sly smile tugged at the corners of Wei Hai’s mouth. He stood up, suddenly clenched his fist—as big as a sandbag—and landed a direct punch right in the face of the stocky civil servant. Wei Hai played basketball regularly and was the top member of the school’s boxing club, which had built him a muscular physique; as a result, he was five or six times stronger than the average person, so this punch was no joke. The blow was so forceful that it knocked the gold-rimmed glasses off the stocky civil servant’s nose. Ah… The stocky man let out a scream and collapsed to the ground. He was severely nearsighted; with his glasses knocked off, his vision went completely blurry, and he could see nothing clearly—his fighting ability instantly dropped to zero. “You dare use violence to obstruct law enforcement?” The lanky guy and the chubby civil servant standing nearby saw that things were going south. They weren’t pushovers either, so they quickly rushed over to lend a hand, ready to teach Wei Hai a lesson. Wei Hai got into a scuffle with the lanky guy and the chubby civil servant. Bai Xiaobai stood quietly to the side, too shocked to speak. Wei Hai taking on three guys at once—and assaulting civil servants, no less—was truly beyond belief… Was it just because the chubby civil servant had spilled tea sauce on his basketball jersey a moment ago? Or was Wei Hai actually standing up for himself? As for the reason… The shop’s premium tea eggs are delicious—if the shop closed, would he never be able to eat them again? No matter the reason, Wei Hai just jumped right into a fight at the drop of a hat, leaving Bai Xiaobai at a loss for what to do. He was just an honest shop owner, and the other party was, after all, a civil servant. Bai Xiaobai really didn’t know whether to intervene or try to talk them down—this was… “Call the system, SOS,” Bai Xiaobai said, clinging to a sliver of hope. The result… A snoring electronic sound echoed in his head. [System is sleeping. Do not disturb. ] “System, damn it! You’re the fastest when it comes to collecting money, but now that the situation’s critical, you’re still sleeping…” Just as Bai Xiaobai was cursing at the system, he suddenly spotted a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on the ground. The short, stocky man with severe myopia was still searching for his glasses on the floor. It looked like he was about to reach them. Bai Xiaobai acted as if nothing were happening, pretending not to see it, and walked over to stomp the gold-rimmed glasses to pieces with a single kick.