Chapter Forty-Three: Closing the Shop

Wu De and Gou Weidong's shop finally welcomed their first chef.

It had taken a great deal of effort to bring in this master chef from the countryside, but at last, he arrived.

The chef was a man in his forties whom everyone called Old Duan.

Old Duan's skills were truly excellent—he cooked several dishes, each with wonderful flavors.

Wu De and Gou Weidong, seeing their business improve even a little, became proud once more.

Yet, their small gains still failed to affect the business at Chen Huajiang’s place.

Moreover, they heard that Liang Long had already begun building houses at the textile factory, and once construction was complete, their branch would open.

At Chen Huajiang’s current pace, Wu De simply couldn’t keep up.

After work that evening, Gou Weidong suddenly thought of something and pulled Wu De aside.

“What Boss Feng suggested last time, I think it’s feasible. Didn’t you say your uncle works at the Food Bureau? Go and see him, tell him about Chen Huajiang’s situation, and let him investigate first.”

Gou Weidong had been dwelling on this matter, but he had no contacts at the Food and Drug Bureau.

“I’ve been thinking about it too these days. Their aroma is definitely unusual. All right, tomorrow morning I’ll visit my uncle at the Food Bureau. You and Old Duan stay at the shop.”

Wu De agreed the matter couldn’t be delayed; if they dragged their feet any longer, Chen Huajiang would grow even bigger.

“Good, let’s divide the work this way.”

Meanwhile, Chen Huajiang was pondering ways to lure Old Duan to his own side.

He planned to open a large restaurant in the future, and how could a big restaurant go without dishes cooked to order?

Especially with Feng Weizhi eyeing him hungrily, certainly with no good intentions.

But Chen Huajiang hadn’t yet found the right opportunity.

That night, as soon as Daguang returned home, Lu Cheng called him over.

Previously, Chen Huajiang had instructed Daguang to offer herbal ingredients to Lu Cheng and his associates, but with one condition: Daguang would only mention selling if Lu Cheng brought it up first.

If Lu Cheng didn’t raise the subject, Daguang wouldn’t do so proactively.

When Daguang walked over, he asked, “What’s wrong? Not comfortable working at Flavorsome Fresh?”

“How uncomfortable could I possibly be? It’s not my restaurant anyway. I just collect my meager monthly salary. By the way, our boss asked me to ask you—are you selling those herbs at your shop?”

After asking, Daguang smiled.

“Of course we sell, but the price is a bit steep—your boss might not be able to afford it.”

“There’s something my boss can’t afford? Just tell me, how much per pound?”

Lu Cheng waved him off.

“Ten yuan per pound. If your boss doesn’t think that’s expensive, have him bring someone to our shop tomorrow to pick up the goods.”

With those words, Daguang returned to his room.

Was that expensive? It was outrageously expensive.

Of course, it didn’t concern Lu Cheng much—he just needed to pass the information to his boss.

So, the next morning at work, Lu Cheng told Feng Weizhi the price.

Feng Weizhi’s face darkened, and he shouted, “This is highway robbery! Are they out of their minds? Ten yuan per pound—why not ask for a hundred?”

“Boss Feng, I told you their price would be sky-high. We shouldn’t buy it. Business at our place is decent enough—why spend so much?”

Lu Cheng saw absolutely no need, especially with such a steep price.

“I’ll think about it. Go get busy, and I’ll see what’s going on.”

Feng Weizhi wanted to find out whether Wu De and Gou Weidong had reported Chen Huajiang.

At that moment, in the office of the Food Bureau director, Wu De’s uncle Zhou Guoan listened as Wu De explained the situation at Chen Huajiang’s place.

“You’re simply not cut out for business, but you insist on doing it. Now look, you’re being squeezed out and can barely hold on.”

Zhou Guoan looked at Wu De with some displeasure.

“Uncle, you have to help me. I’m sure there are forbidden ingredients in his lamb soup. That’s your bureau’s responsibility—aren’t you going to do anything?”

Since Wu De was his nephew, Zhou Guoan had to help, whether it would make a difference or not.

“It’s fine, I get it. I’ll take some people over soon.”

Zhou Guoan could hardly refuse his nephew.

Wu De returned to his shop triumphant, certain the matter was settled.

Seeing Wu De return so pleased, Chen Huajiang knew the fellow was up to something.

In the afternoon, Zhou Guoan led several people to Chen Huajiang’s snack shop.

“Seal up his shop for me.”

At Zhou Guoan’s words, the staff behind him moved to shut down Chen Huajiang’s snack shop.

“Wait—who are you people? Why are you closing my shop?”

Chen Huajiang was puzzled.

“We’re from the Food Bureau. Your lamb soup contains banned substances, so we must seal your shop. Understood? You can reopen after inspection.”

Zhou Guoan hadn’t so much as investigated, but came straight over with people to shut down the shop. Of course, Chen Huajiang wouldn’t agree.

“Even if you’re from the Food Bureau, have you actually investigated? What exactly is in our lamb soup? Tell me.”

“What’s in it? Poppy husks. We’ve already investigated. Didn’t you go to Yunnan recently? Did you bring these things back from Yunnan?”

Zhou Guoan’s tone was stern.

“We went to Yunnan to buy herbs, not your so-called poppy husks. All our herbs are in the kitchen—you’re welcome to inspect. If you find a single poppy husk, I’ll close the shop myself.”

Chen Huajiang showed no fear; he had already guessed this was Wu De’s scheme.

“We’ll confiscate all your herbs first and take them back for inspection. Your snack shop must close, or else don’t blame us for being harsh.”

Zhou Guoan’s purpose was to help his nephew shut Chen Huajiang’s shop; everything else was just a pretext.

The other staff had already carried out all the herbs.

“Let me warn you—if you take everything away, you’ll have to personally return it.”

Chen Huajiang stared coldly at Zhou Guoan.

“Who do you think you are? I should return them to you? Listen, no matter who shows up today, your shop is closing.”

Seeing Zhou Guoan’s attitude, Chen Huajiang had no desire to argue further.

“Fine, closing the shop, is it? Take your time investigating.”

Chen Huajiang locked up the snack shop himself and let his staff go home to rest.

Wu De and Gou Weidong were immediately elated.

After all their battles with Chen Huajiang, they finally felt they’d got a bit of revenge.