Free Web NovelChapter 23: Chapter 17: He’s Not Sorry
The fussiness of Ba Shu people when it comes to food is etched into their very bones.
If they were served something disgusting, they couldn’t possibly stomach the insult without letting out their frustration. Who could stand being wronged like that?
Hearing the commotion, Zhou Yan couldn’t help but peek out the door to watch the drama unfold.
A crowd of onlookers had gathered at the factory gate, some even carrying their rice bowls out from the factory to watch.
Isn’t this more appetizing than the cafeteria food?
Wang the Fifth stood before his noodle pot getting berated, looking like a frost-bitten eggplant—limp and wilted.
His wife’s face was beet red, and she looked like she wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
In late October, the mornings and evenings had cooled down, but when the sun was out during the day, the temperature was still high.
Wang the Fifth’s noodle stall was covered by a sheet of oilcloth. The toppings and meat sauces had been sitting out under the sun for a day and then left out overnight. By noon today, they had naturally started to smell sour.
"It... it was just a little bit leftover from yesterday. I picked out the meat. How could it have gone bad?" Wang the Fifth mumbled, his lips pursed in a pout as he feigned injustice.
At two yuan a pound, who’d be willing to throw out beef!
Yesterday, because of Zhou Yan Restaurant’s impact, they had over half of their toppings and meat sauces left over. Today, they’d drastically cut the price. The couple had figured they could just cook up a big pot of new sauce, mix it in with the old stuff, and no one would be able to tell the difference.
They just hadn’t expected the sun to be so vicious today. The temperature rose quickly, and by noon, the food already had a sour smell that not even pepper could cover up.
"No matter how bad the cafeteria’s noodles are, they’re still better than your leftovers!"
"Exactly! Zhou Yan’s place looks clean and sanitary! I’d rather spend an extra twenty cents and eat with peace of mind!"
The customers weren’t buying Wang the Fifth’s excuses. Some immediately got up and headed for Zhou Yan Restaurant.
"Hey, you haven’t paid yet!" Wang the Fifth’s wife, Liu Fen, cried out anxiously.
"You still dare to ask for money? You’re lucky we haven’t torn down this whole stall! Believe it or not, I’m going to the Market Administration Committee to report you!" Liu the Eighth shouted, hopping mad. "And to think I trusted you all this time! I’ve been eating noodles at your place for years!"
"That’s right!" Wang Jianming grunted in agreement, walking away without a backward glance.
Liu Fen wanted to argue.
"Don’t say another word!" Wang the Fifth hissed, tugging on Liu Fen’s sleeve. "If they really report this, we won’t be able to run our stall anymore."
"This is all your fault! I told you it would spoil easily in this heat! Now all the customers have gone to Zhou Yan’s. What are we going to do?" Liu Fen stomped her foot in frustration.
They had invested heavily today to compete with Zhou Yan’s business. Now, with half their meat sauces and toppings left and no way to sell them, they couldn’t even recoup their initial costs.
"It’s all Zhou Yan’s fault. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have had so much sauce left over yesterday." Wang the Fifth’s face twisted in a mask of agony. Losing the reputation he’d built over many years was far more devastating than a few basins of spoiled sauce. freewebnøvel.coɱ
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Servin’ customers leftovers, what a scumbag. His conscience must’ve been eaten by a dog!" Zhao Tieying had also come to the door to watch the show, clicking her tongue with a grin. "See? It’s just like the sayin’ goes: a mean hen sitting on a sterile egg—he brought this on himself!"
Zhao Tieying didn’t bother to lower her voice, and the customers heading toward the restaurant all heard her.
"Mrs. Zhao is right!"
A few customers chuckled and added a few insults of their own, their impression of Mrs. Zhao improving dramatically.
Wang the Fifth and Liu Fen’s faces turned green, but since they were in the wrong, they didn’t dare say a word in response.
The mother and son exchanged a smile. Zhou Yan silently gave his mom a thumbs-up. When it came to landing a critical hit, the Yin-Yang Master Mrs. Zhao was unbeatable.
Wang the Fifth’s self-destruction greatly eased Zhou Yan’s inventory pressure.
Many customers who had originally planned to get the noodles with extra meat for forty cents heard that Wang the Fifth was using leftovers and decisively switched to the highly recommended Zhou Yan Restaurant. Customer traffic surged.
Wang the Fifth and Liu Fen stood guard over their empty stall, their faces etched with misery.
"Should we go ask Director Wang to come and show his support? If this goes on, we won’t be able to do business anymore," Liu Fen whispered, tugging on Wang the Fifth’s sleeve.
"You go get him. I’ll..." Wang the Fifth whispered a few words in her ear.
"Got it." Liu Fen nodded and hurried away.
Meanwhile, Wang the Fifth stood up, held up a half-full basin of braised beef topping, and announced loudly, "About what happened today, I, Wang the Fifth, was wrong. I shouldn’t have been stingy with the leftover beef, and I certainly shouldn’t have served customers leftover sauces and toppings. When you’re wrong, you stand tall and take the punishment. There’s nothing more to say.
But I’ve been selling noodles at the textile factory gate for two years, and this is the first time I’ve ever done something like this. I hope everyone can give me a chance to turn over a new leaf. I swear, from this day on, our noodle stall will never use leftovers again."
After speaking, he directly poured the beef topping in his hands into the slop bucket next to him. It was half an enamel basin’s worth—at least two or three pounds of beef.
Then he picked up another basin of minced pork sauce and poured it into the slop bucket.
This move from Wang the Fifth drew the attention of many workers.
That was all meat! An ordinary family might only eat meat once or twice a month, and he just wasted it like that.
Wang the Fifth poured out three basins of sauces and toppings before stopping. Then he announced, "The remaining toppings and sauces are all good! They were freshly made this morning, with absolutely no leftovers mixed in!"
"To express our apology, I’m treating everyone to free noodles! A bowl of noodles with two ounces of meat, and you don’t have to pay a single cent! Consider it my way of making amends!"
As soon as he said this, the eyes of many workers lit up.
Even the customers who had been walking toward Erwa Restaurant couldn’t help but stop in their tracks.
A bowl of noodles with two ounces of meat, and for free? It certainly sounded appealing.
"Free food. Should we give it a try? Everyone said Wang the Fifth’s noodles were decent before, right?"
"He knows he was wrong and is trying to change. We should give him a chance."
"He doesn’t know he was wrong, he’s just scared. You go if you want. I’m eating at Zhou Yan’s."
The workers muttered among themselves. Some headed toward Wang the Fifth’s noodle stall, while others steadfastly continued toward Zhou Yan Restaurant.
A corner of Wang the Fifth’s mouth tilted up. His gamble had paid off. The leftover sauce would have spoiled by tomorrow anyway. It was better to give it away for free to restore his reputation. If he sold his noodles at a low price for a while after this, the whole incident would slowly blow over.
Zhao Tieying took some empty bowls into the kitchen and told Zhou Yan what was happening.
"He’s certainly got some guts." Zhou Yan paused, his hand still holding the noodle strainer. ’Wang the Fifth’s crisis management was quick. It seems like his implosion alone won’t be enough to take down his stall.’
’I wonder if that Station Chief Gao is reliable, and if the investigation will trace back to Wang the Fifth.’
"Don’t worry. A scoundrel like that will get his comeuppance from heaven sooner or later," Zhao Tieying said, comforting Zhou Yan with a smile. "The most important thing is that we make our noodles well and let our customers eat with peace of mind."
"You’re right." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile. Mrs. Zhao truly was someone who didn’t get bogged down by internal struggles.
Once word spread about the free noodles, Wang the Fifth’s stall quickly became bustling again. In no time, seven or eight people were seated.
Wang the Fifth stood before his large pot cooking noodles, a smile back on his face. ’A small loss is nothing. As long as I can stay in business, I’ll earn it all back sooner or later.’
Meanwhile, Liu Fen had also brought Wang Defa over.
Wang Defa stood before the noodle pot with his hands behind his back, his potbelly jutting out. He admonished in a pained voice, "Wang the Fifth, you’ve been foolish! What have I always taught you? You must let our worker brothers eat well, eat their fill, and most importantly, eat with peace of mind!"
"Director Wang, you’re right. My heart was clouded by greed. I just couldn’t bear to waste the meat. I’ll never dare to do it again," Wang the Fifth said, nodding his head like a pestle grinding garlic.
"Sigh. I know you’re used to being thrifty, and with everyone just recently having enough to eat, I can understand. But this must never happen again." Wang Defa nodded slightly, his tone softening considerably. "Your noodles are still quite good. The meat is high-quality, just like in the factory cafeteria. The portions are generous, and the price is fair. Not like some restaurants that only see money, with their capitalist ways."
"Of course, of course," Wang the Fifth replied with a nod.
Wang Defa and Wang the Fifth were putting on such a good show that even Zhou Yan, who was carrying out a bowl of noodles, couldn’t help but stop and listen for a moment. ’Can’t underestimate street smarts,’ he thought. ’This PR stunt is way better than some of the amateurish operations from later generations. And they even managed to take a jab at me.’
"Even Director Wang from the factory cafeteria praises Wang the Fifth’s noodles so highly. It must mean they’re really good."
"The factory cafeteria’s meat is prioritized supply from the supply and marketing cooperative. Wang the Fifth is really willing to spend money on ingredients."
"Maybe I should go back and get everyone from the workshop. A chance for a free meal like this doesn’t come often."
The workers nodded repeatedly upon hearing this. A few more sat down to give it a try, while others prepared to call their friends over.
Wang Defa smiled, looking quite pleased with himself, and prepared to deliver a few more bureaucratic platitudes.
Just then, two jeeps pulled up and stopped in front of the noodle stall.
From the first jeep, which was stenciled with the words ’Jiazhou Epidemic Prevention Station,’ stepped two prevention officers in white coats. One of them was none other than Gao Tianlei.
From the second jeep, two "uncles in hats" got out. They glanced at the noodle stall’s sign, then looked at Wang the Fifth and said, "You’re Wang Dewei, correct? You are suspected of purchasing large quantities of diseased pork over a long period, endangering food safety. Please come with us to be investigated!"
