Free Web NovelChapter 76: Chapter 76: Hiring People to Cause Trouble at the Restaurant
Bai Su frowned slightly, looking at the men.
Their faces showed no concern for their companion, only furtive, shifty-eyed expressions as they glanced all around.
It seemed they weren’t worried about their companion’s stomachache from eating bad food; they were more eager to find her, the owner, and hold her accountable.
’I have a pretty good idea of what’s going on,’ Bai Su thought as she walked out. "What’s the matter?"
She brought the livestream camera out with her.
Live Comments: [Great, more people showing up to cause trouble.]
[Running a restaurant sure isn’t easy for the boss. How can there be so many people looking for trouble day after day?]
[Call the Leader over and have him execute them! How audacious! Daring to stir up trouble for no reason!]
[HAHAHAHAHA, no joke, our Leader would totally do something like that.]
[I don’t get it. How are these people so bold? Daring to cause trouble at the Leader’s Wife’s restaurant.]
The leader was a Crocodile Beastman. He looked Bai Su up and down. "You’re the owner, right?"
Bai Su nodded. "I am."
The Crocodile Beastman pointed at the Beastman on the stretcher. "This is my brother. He ate at your restaurant today, and not long after he got back, he started suffering from unbearable stomach pain. You’re the Leader’s Wife, so we wouldn’t dare do anything to you. We’ll let you decide how to handle this."
Bai Su smiled warmly at them. "If it’s his first time here, it’s normal to feel some discomfort after eating my food. It’s possible the food is helping his body detoxify. However..."
She glanced at the person on the stretcher. "This Beastman looks unfamiliar. I don’t believe he’s ever eaten at my restaurant before, has he?"
"Are you trying to deny it?" The Crocodile Beastman grew anxious. "Boss, you can’t use your status as the Leader’s Wife to bully us common folk! Your restaurant has so many customers. Can you guarantee you remember every single face?"
"My brother just left your restaurant. How could that be a lie?"
The man on the stretcher clutched his stomach and cried out even louder, "Owwww, my stomach! It hurts so much..."
Bai Su’s lips twitched. "My food contains a Healing Ability. If you had really eaten my food just now, I would be able to sense that Healing Ability on you. But there’s nothing on you at all. You clearly didn’t eat my food."
Hearing this, the Crocodile Beastman beside him looked displeased, but because she was the Leader’s fiancée, he didn’t dare to be too aggressive. "This is your restaurant, so of course you’d say he didn’t eat here. But my brother is in this state precisely because he ate your food."
"You have to give us an explanation. You can’t just ignore my brother’s life and death to protect your restaurant’s reputation."
"We’re not asking for much. Could you at least reimburse my brother’s medical expenses for a doctor’s visit?" ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
"He came to your restaurant to eat, paid for such an expensive meal, and ended up having to go to the hospital."
Bai Su’s expression darkened. She looked at them. "Fine. Since you claim he ate at my restaurant, where’s the proof? How do I know he didn’t just eat something bad elsewhere and is now trying to pin the blame on me?"
Live Comments: [This Crocodile Beastman’s attitude doesn’t seem that aggressive. It doesn’t look like he’s here to cause trouble.]
[Could it be real?]
[I don’t know. Let’s wait and see.]
[It’s not necessarily stirring up trouble. After all, the boss is the Federation Leader’s fiancée. I think he might have really gotten sick from the food.]
[I’ve read ancient history books. Before canned food was invented, there were many restaurants like this one, but they basically all had food safety issues. Most Beastman families chose to cook at home and rarely ate out.]
A troubled look appeared on the Crocodile Beastman’s face. "How are we supposed to give you proof? The food is already in his stomach. You can’t expect my brother to cut open his belly to show you, can you?"
Bai Su said, "Then I’m sorry. If you can’t produce any evidence, then this is slander. If I indulge you today, and two more people come tomorrow claiming they got sick from my restaurant, would I have to pay them compensation too?"
"If everyone did this, how could I possibly keep my restaurant open? If you’re going to say he got sick from my food, you should at least present some evidence, right?"
"Where’s the proof? You have none, yet you stand here spouting nonsense. With so many people in my restaurant, you’re ruining my reputation! How am I supposed to do business in the future?"
The Crocodile Beastman flew into a rage out of embarrassment. "You! So you’re just refusing to take responsibility, is that it?"
Bai Su replied, "It wasn’t a problem caused by my restaurant, so why should I be responsible?"
"Owwww, my stomach hurts so much! Boss, you can’t just ignore me! I really did get sick from your restaurant!"
"How can you run such a dishonest business? There was clearly something in your food that upset my stomach, and you’re still trying to argue."
"You’re the esteemed Leader’s Wife! You already have power and status. Why do you need to curry favor this way? Do the lives of common folk not matter?"
"Maybe to enhance the effects, you’re actually putting forbidden drugs in it!"
"If my body wasn’t so sensitive and I hadn’t tasted it, who knows how many more people would have been poisoned by you!"
The Crocodile Beastman’s eyes reddened. He hugged the Beastman writhing on the ground. "Brother, don’t say any more. When have these nobles ever cared about the lives of us common folk?"
The customers present watched, completely bewildered.
The two of them really didn’t seem like they were acting. The crowd couldn’t help but start to believe them.
The live comments also grew suspicious: [I’m actually starting to think there’s a problem, too...]
[The boss is a female with a superpower, and she’s the Leader’s fiancée. Who would be stupid enough to go looking for trouble with her in broad daylight?]
[Besides, this is the only gourmet restaurant in the Federation. She doesn’t have any competitors, so it feels like there’s no reason for anyone to maliciously slander her, right?]
[Maybe there really is a problem with the ingredients. The boss should probably try to resolve this patiently.]
Both the live comments and the customers at the scene began to side with the two Beastmen who were playing the victim.
Bai Su scoffed inwardly. ’Acting? Who can’t do that?’
’I was able to handle it when Xiao Mi brought that group of shrews from the mountain to cause trouble. I can’t deal with these two Beastmen with their clumsy acting?’
The soldier-waiters at the side wanted to step forward and help, but Bai Su stopped them with a subtle look.
Bai Su’s eyes instantly reddened. Her posture weakened, and she leaned against a nearby surface, starting her own performance on the spot. "I don’t know who hired you to slander me, but running this restaurant isn’t easy. Does earning this dirty money not weigh on your conscience at all?"
"I get up at five every morning to start preparing ingredients. Do you think beef brisket is that easy to stew? Why do you think the fish you eat has no bones? Why are the shrimp already peeled? Do ginger slices grow out of the ground already sliced? Don’t the shrimp paste balls need to be minced beforehand?"
"Only someone who has actually cooked knows that the cooking itself is quick—it’s the prep work that takes up the most time!"
"You all know my fiancé is Lu Tingyan. With him to support me, why would I need to go through all this thankless trouble to make problematic dishes just to poison you?"
"What? Do I get money for poisoning you or something?"
"What’s in it for me?"
"I use my superpower out of the goodness of my heart to help everyone. So many people have been perfectly fine, so how is it that only you have a problem?"
Tears streamed down her beautiful face, her eyes and the tip of her nose turning red. Her little rabbit ears drooped beside her cheeks, making her look utterly pitiful.
Once again, the crowd couldn’t help but be swayed to her side.
"That’s right! The boss has been open for so long, and no one has ever had a problem!"
"It’s already not easy for a young female to be making delicious food for us. Even if she makes a mistake occasionally and some food spoils, that’s unavoidable. Why be so harsh?"
’Although the customers are on my side, they don’t truly believe I’m completely blameless in their hearts.’ A glint flickered in Bai Su’s eyes.
She sniffled again, acting as if she’d been pushed to her limit, and glared angrily at the troublemakers. "From the very beginning, I asked you to show me proof, but you just kept stalling and making excuses!"
"Is it so hard to produce proof that you ate at my restaurant? If you ate here, wouldn’t there be a payment record?"
"Is there no record of you taking a number to queue?"
"Is it so hard to show your transaction history to prove you ate at my restaurant?"
"But not only can you not produce any evidence, you keep changing the subject and even slandering me by claiming my restaurant uses forbidden drugs."
"It’s true what they say: starting a rumor is easy, but disproving it is a nightmare."
"Last time, because of Bai Xue’s slander against me, even after Lu Tingyan clarified things for me, the issue never fully went away. You people don’t look at evidence or facts; you only listen to online rumors and believe what you want to hear."
"If I don’t clear this up in front of everyone today, who knows how many more troubles will arise in the future!"
She pressed them with every step, forcing the Beastmen to back away again and again.
They never would have expected this seemingly delicate and charming young female to be so sharp-tongued.
