Chapter 101: Grand Opening Turmoil
The livestream chat was divided. Some said they were crayfish, while others disagreed.
"Who cares what they are? The people from the Bureau of Industry and Commerce are here now, right? Let’s see how they handle it."
"Did someone actually call and report them?"
"What’s that supposed to mean? Are you saying we’re not allowed to?"
"If you ask me, there are too many ways to fake things nowadays. It only looks real. I haven’t believed a word the owner of Little Deer Cuisine has said from the very beginning."
"But aren’t there people eating inside right now?"
"They’re probably hired shills."
"Keep the camera on them! Let’s see what the Bureau of Industry and Commerce is actually here for."
Little Zhen nudged her chin toward the cameraman. He took the hint, adjusting the camera to focus on the law enforcement officers passing through the crowd and entering the shop.
Seeing this, Shen Lu had no choice but to pause the competition and go to meet them.
"You’re the owner of this shop?" The man in the lead was in his thirties. His name was Liu Liang, and the two deep lines etched around his mouth made him look stern and unapproachable.
Shen Lu nodded. "I am. May I ask who you are?"
"We’re from the Bureau of Industry and Commerce." Liu Liang looked down at Shen Lu, his gaze cold and his tone stiff. "Are you unaware that you must obtain a business license from the Bureau to open a shop? Who gave you permission to open for business without completing the paperwork? You are breaking the law!"
His words sent a wave of gasps through the crowd of onlookers.
"What? This shop doesn’t have a business license?"
"It’s an illegal establishment?"
"She’s so young, but she’s got some nerve. The authorities have been cracking down hard on this lately."
"She’s in for it now."
"You people from the Lower City District are so clueless. You think this is just about a business license? The government is doing this for your own safety! Have you all forgotten about the people in the Lower City District who dropped dead from poisoning after eating unregulated Insect Cakes?"
"Oh, right. The business license is to make sure these shop owners don’t mess around and break the rules."
"Then does that mean the crayfish we just ate... could be a problem?"
"I knew there was something fishy going on! The crayfish are poisonous!"
"Poisonous?"
"They are! They’re definitely poisonous!"
Just like that, the rumor that the crayfish were poisonous began to spread.
The onlookers who had been unwilling to pay the fee to enter the competition suddenly straightened their backs. It wasn’t that they were stingy, oh no. They had seen all along that there was something strange about this shop and had only avoided the cheap deal for their own safety.
As for those who had participated in the competition, they looked as if they’d lost a loved one, certain they were about to be poisoned to death. Fear quickly turned to malice. Someone kicked the shop’s plate-glass window to vent their anger, shouting a few curses.
The others followed suit, raining their own fists and feet on Shen Lu’s shop. For a moment, the glass wall rang with loud BANGS, as if a mutant beast were laying siege to the city.
Shen Lu’s expression darkened. She glanced over at the contestants in the waiting area. None of them looked happy; they had likely been swayed by the rumors and now truly believed the braised shrimp were poisonous.
Fortunately, her shop was quite sturdy; this kind of random assault couldn’t cause any real damage.
Xue Can shot his men a look, signaling them to be on high alert. As a mercenary, confronting government officials was nothing new; he wasn’t afraid of a few people from the Bureau of Industry and Commerce.
The real threat, however, was the mob that believed they had eaten poisonous crayfish.
When Shen Lu remained silent, Liu Liang took it as an admission of guilt. He gestured for his men to take her away.
Just as the officers were about to lay a hand on Shen Lu, the young woman suddenly spoke.
"Who said I don’t have a business license?"
Liu Liang’s brow furrowed. "You have the right to remain silent, but every word you say will be used as testimony. Don’t say I didn’t warn you—lying also carries a penalty!"
"I’m sure the officers won’t wrongly accuse an innocent person. Just cooperate and don’t add any unnecessary charges."
At some point, Shen Lan had squeezed into the waiting area. She spoke from behind the crowd, her voice deliberately disguised.
Shen Lu could tell the voice was disguised. Her gaze swept over to a man with a furious expression, but she caught a flash of a white corner of clothing behind him.
’Just some coward hiding in the shadows.’
Shen Lu confirmed with the system again. ’That business permit you gave me... it’s definitely going to work, right? It’s not like I’ll pull it out and they’ll refuse to acknowledge it, is it?’
[Positively, absolutely, and unequivocally effective. Host may use it with complete confidence.]
To be on the safe side, Shen Lu activated the Good and Evil Judgment Device to check Liu Liang’s level of goodwill toward her.
She had expected it to be gray, but to her surprise, the heart above Liu Liang’s head was pure white!
And it wasn’t fluctuating at all—just a steady, solid white.
He held no ill will toward her. That was all the reassurance Shen Lu needed.
"Well now, Boss Shen, what’s all this?" Boss Cao said, forcing his way through the crowd with a gloating smile plastered on his face. "Isn’t this Brother Liu from the Bureau of Industry and Commerce? Brother Liu, what brings you all the way out here today?"
Liu Liang didn’t fall for Boss Cao’s schmoozing. "A new shop opened here," he said stiffly. "I heard they didn’t complete the proper procedures, so I’ve come to inspect it."
"No business license? Then you absolutely should investigate. The products from those unregulated little workshops have been killing people lately. The Bureau is just trying to protect the lives and safety of us ordinary folk."
Boss Cao pontificated with an air of profound righteousness, his tone laced with blame. "Boss Shen, I really have to say something. Didn’t you ask around before opening? Running a shop isn’t like setting up a street stall; you need a business license. You’re just too young and inexperienced, you don’t know the rules."
Shen Lu’s lips curved into a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, and she quietly watched him put on his show.
"It would have been so much better if you’d just subleased my old shop," he said. "I could have given you some advice. But you just had to buy this abandoned building. And look what happened. You invested all that money, and now it’s all about to go down the drain."
The more Boss Cao spoke, the more delighted he became. "Getting your shop shut down would be getting off easy. You might even go to jail! Ah, Xiao Shen, look at the mess you’ve made of things... *Sigh*..."
’This is great!’
’Absolutely brilliant!’
He had endured for so many days, selling his own shop at a low price, groveling while giving gifts and treating Vice Director Liu from the Bureau to dinner. Finally, he was getting to see Shen Lu’s downfall.
The frustration that had been festering in his chest was swept away, and he felt as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
Once Shen Lu had let him enjoy his moment, she unhurriedly took out her business permit. "But I do have a business license," she said, feigning innocence. "Is there something wrong with your hearing? Do I have to repeat myself for you to understand?"
"Xiao Shen!" Boss Cao cried, his expression a mask of anguish. "You went and got a fake license? This... I can’t help you with this!"
’BWAHAHAHA! That stupid little bitch, Shen Lu, actually got a fake business license and had the gall to show it to the Bureau of Industry and Commerce. This was going to kill him!’
Boss Cao struggled to hold back his laughter, the corners of his mouth twitching uncontrollably. His eyes shone with a crazed, ecstatic light.
’Perfect, just perfect. Forging a license was an even greater crime. Shen Lu was going to be locked up for a year, maybe more.’
"Fake? Do you have proof?" Shen Lu asked.
"Of course! I gave..." Boss Cao nearly blurted out that he had given gifts to have Shen Lu’s application blocked. But he was a slippery old fox and caught himself quickly. "Whether it’s real or fake, isn’t that what Brother Liu is here for?"
Liu Liang held out his hand to Shen Lu. His meaning was clear. He was going to inspect the license’s authenticity.