"Please wait a moment."
Xu Yanxia discreetly used her phone to take a picture of the other party's screen first, then said to Luo Jiajia, "Sister Jiajia, check last night's payment records and look for this order for 135 yuan."
Luo Jiajia gave an affirmative sound and opened her phone to start searching.
Fortunately, she had already placed the orders for the new tables of customers earlier, and no one had settled their bills yet.
But the troublemakers grew impatient. "Afraid we're trying to scam you? What's with all the phone checking?"
As they spoke, they even tried to snatch Luo Jiajia's phone.
"Don't you dare touch her!"
Xu Yanxia quickly stepped in front of Luo Jiajia, blocking her, and said loudly to the men, "We live in a society governed by law, and with so many people watching, we can't just take your word for it. We need to check our records too!"
"That's right,"
a dining customer chimed in to support Xu Yanxia, "You both need to match your records! Otherwise, who knows if you're just trying to extort them?"
"And who knows if they're just going to delete their payment record?"
The burly man continued to argue obstinately, "I think she's just stalling and doesn't want to resolve this! I can't believe you all can still eat here; careful you end up with diarrhea like my buddy!"
"You will be held responsible for every word you say today!"
Xu Yanxia cut him off sharply. "Everyone here today is a witness, and we're even livestreaming over there. This is a society governed by law; you can't just go around saying things recklessly."
"You bitch, who the hell are you threatening?"
The man, furious and embarrassed, actually clenched his fist at her.
"Hey! Trying to hit someone?"
Lu Jingyao, not far away, put down his chopsticks and stood up.
Xu Zhanpeng and Wang Gang had already rushed forward.
Xu Yanxia, however, remained calm under pressure and continued coolly, "We've already called the police. They'll be here any minute. I dare you to lay a hand on me."
As if on cue, just as she finished speaking, a police car pulled up by the roadside. Two officers got out and entered the area, asking, "Who called just now?"
"We did."
Luo Jiajia hurried forward to guide them over. "Hello, officers. We were operating normally today when these people suddenly came to cause trouble, spreading rumors about our place and even trying to hit someone!"
"Stop talking nonsense!"
Seeing the police arrive, the men were already losing their nerve. "We got food poisoning from eating your teppanyaki! We even have a hospital report!"
"Your payment record is fake,"
Xu Yanxia pinpointed the issue. "It's a photoshopped image made specifically to frame us."
"That's right."
Luo Jiajia also quickly showed her phone to the police. "Officers, look. Their picture shows a payment made at our place last night at 9:13 PM. There's no such transaction in our income records."
"You just deleted it! Why would we frame you for no good reason?"
The burly man was still stubbornly insisting.
The officer took Luo Jiajia's phone to look, then said to them, "Let me see your payment record."
The skinny man hesitated but still handed over his phone.
The officer spotted the problem immediately. "This is a screenshot. Pull up the original payment record."
"The original record..."
The skinny man pretended to swipe through his phone. "Can't find it. Might have deleted it by accident."
What? You can accidentally delete a payment record?
Hearing this, the onlookers around them laughed. "Accidentally deleted? It's definitely a photoshopped picture!"
"Yeah, did you take a screenshot in advance because you knew you'd 'accidentally' delete it?"
"Absolutely here to scam them! I eat at this place regularly and have never had stomach issues!"
"Are they from a competitor? Came to cause trouble because the business is good?"
Listening to the crowd's comments, the men began to panic.
The officer said sternly, "If you can't produce the genuine payment record, then this constitutes creating a disturbance. What's really going on? Why are you causing trouble here?"
"Well, um,"
the burly man immediately changed his tune, "My buddy might not have been feeling well yesterday, his mind was fuzzy from a fever... it might really be a misunderstanding..."
"Huh?"
At a nearby table, Lu Tong frowned as he stuffed teppanyaki into his mouth. "Why does that skinny guy look familiar?"
"Isn't he... the parking lot security guard across the street?"
"The VIP parking lot for 'Nine Delicacies,' right?"
Xiao Xu, who was sipping dark plum juice, added, "That's him! I saw him just a couple of days ago when I parked across the street."
"Officers!"
Lu Jingyao already called out, "These guys are from 'Nine Treasures Gourmet' across the street! They're here on purpose to cause trouble!"
"What? They're from Nine Delicacies?"
The onlookers immediately grew indignant—
"A big restaurant like that using such dirty tricks to bully a small stall? How low can you get!"
"Nine Delicacies would do something like this? No wonder nobody eats there! Serves them right!"
...
"No, no, mistaken identity, mistaken identity! It's all a misunderstanding today, purely a misunderstanding!"
Seeing their cover blown, the men covered their faces and tried to slip away.
Xu Yanxia immediately blocked their path and said to the police, "What happened today is absolutely not a simple misunderstanding. They even prepared a photoshopped image. If you hadn't arrived in time, I might have been hit. Moreover, they've been slandering us and spreading rumors about our ingredients in front of all these customers. If this isn't cleared up, it will cause significant damage to our reputation."
"Please, we need a proper resolution!"
"Yeah! You can't just spread rumors and walk away, can you?"
The onlookers chimed in agreement.
The police said to the men, "Come with us."
With that, they escorted the men into the police car.
"Well done!"
"Bravo!"
Everyone cheered, some even breaking into applause.
"Thank you all for your trust,"
Xu Yanxia said, standing in the middle of the area and giving a slight bow. "We always use the freshest ingredients. We post our prep process daily on Douyin and usually have a livestream in the evenings, so everyone can clearly see how our dishes are made. If you're interested, please follow our Douyin account. You can also get discount coupons in our WeChat group these next few days."
"Although we're a small business, using clean ingredients is our top priority. You can absolutely rest assured. For all our customers here today, we're offering complimentary servings of our homemade traditional dark plum juice."
"Great!!!"
Everyone cheered and applauded.
After Xu Yanxia and Luo Jiajia finished distributing the drinks, Xu Yanxia checked the time on her phone and hurriedly told Luo Jiajia, "It's almost eight. I need to get back to work."
Luo Jiajia nodded. "Go ahead, be careful on the way."
Xu Yanxia went to get her backpack and also took a moment to instruct her brother, Xu Zhanpeng. "I think they'll lay low for a couple of days now. You guys just keep focusing on cooking well and keep building up the Douyin account. If anything happens, contact me. Whatever you do, don't act impulsively."
"Don't worry."
Xu Zhanpeng nodded.
Xu Yanxia then went over to say goodbye to Lu Jingyao and the others. "I have to head to work. There are still two complimentary dishes coming your way later. Please enjoy your meal."
"Sis, let me walk you."
Lu Jingyao made a move to stand up.
"No need, I'll just take a taxi," Xu Yanxia said.
After waving goodbye to them, she walked over to the roadside.
She took out her phone and opened the ride-hailing app. It was probably a busy time, as the nearest car wouldn't arrive for another ten minutes or so.
Just as Xu Yanxia was considering taking the subway from a nearby station, a sleek black luxury car suddenly pulled up in front of her.
The car looked somewhat familiar, but she didn't give it much thought. After just a glance, she averted her eyes and was about to cancel her ride request.
Unexpectedly, the front passenger window rolled down, revealing a fair-skinned, smiling face that greeted her, "Hello there, beautiful Miss Xu."
