“Operating without a license. Rectify within the deadline, pay the fine in full within three months, obtain an official qualification certificate, and then resubmit your business application.”
After sealing off the noodle shop, the inspector handed a penalty notice to Connie.
Connie’s face was pale, her lips wriggling as if wanting to say something, but in the end, they pressed tight again. She squeezed the sheet of paper tightly, her silhouette projecting a sense of utter despair.
Standing outside the crowd, Ning He took a step back with a somewhat guilty conscience.
This… shouldn’t have anything to do with her, right?
Since Connie had returned the chef’s certificate to her at that time, she should have made other preparations.
As the inspectors left and the crowd of onlookers dispersed, Ning He thought about it and decided to step forward and express her concern.
After all, they were old acquaintances.
“Connie, um… I saw what happened just now. Is there anything I can do?”
Connie looked up, and seeing that it was her, forced a smile that looked uglier than crying.
“The shop is sealed off. What else can be done?”
Connie’s eyes were somewhat red. Ning He scratched her head, at a loss as to how to comfort her.
The meat sauce minced noodles had many loyal diners, and Connie and Ah Huai were not stingy, giving generous portions of both sauce and noodles. Having a shop like this sealed off at a moment’s notice was a loss for the customers as well.
However, rules were rules. Once caught, one could only endure the penalty.
“Then… how much is the fine? I’ll chip in a little for you.” Ning He gritted her teeth, patting her chest.
Connie was somewhat surprised, but her expression immediately darkened again.
“Ten thousand Yuan Dollars. Do you have that?”
“So expensive!” Ning He was startled.
Connie smiled bitterly. “Who made us a Level 3 restaurant? The fine is doubled.”
Ning He also grew worried. “They hit way too hard. How about trying to set up a street stall?”
They had earned quite a bit at the shelter earlier; setting up a stall for three months should be enough to gather the amount, right?
The corner of Connie’s mouth twitched. “It’s too late. The money on hand has already been spent. In fact, we had already negotiated with someone to rent a chef’s certificate, and we would have gotten it tomorrow. Who knew we’d run into a surprise inspection today…”
This… was truly terrible luck.
Just two days apart, yet they were caught right on the spot.
Ning He sighed inwardly, realizing that selling the vegetables was likely out of the question as well.
“Connie.”
At this moment, Ah Huai walked over from not far away, his brow slightly furrowed, his expression grave.
“How is it?” Connie looked toward him with a faint trace of hope.
Ah Huai shook his head gently.
Connie found it hard to accept. “How could that be? We didn’t cause food poisoning to anyone, nor did we sell forbidden food. How can’t there be any room for flexibility at all?”
Ah Huai said, “Uncle Bali said that the other side suddenly received a notice this morning, specifically ordering a surprise inspection of the shops on our street. I’m afraid we’re being targeted.”
“Targeted? We stay in this market all day, who could we have offended? Who is so bored that they’d find trouble with us?” Connie’s anger flared up, her voice rising.
Seeing the enraged Connie, Ning He was a little scared and took another step backward.
Just then, a little boy holding a lollipop ran over from somewhere and stopped in front of Ning He.
“Big sister, someone asked me to bring you a message just now.”
Ning He looked down with a bewildered face.
“He said that now that the noodle shop is closed, you can go to work at the Golden Grapefruit Restaurant in the Third Ring at any time, and he will give you a very high salary!”
*BOOM—*
Ning He’s mind exploded.
*SWISH—*
Connie’s glare shot over like a blade.
“No… mis… misunderstanding… I didn’t, it wasn’t me!”
Ning He waved her hands like fan blades, but Connie could not hear her at all, approaching her step-by-step with a menacing expression.
“Fine! I was wondering why it was so coincidental that as soon as I returned the stuff to you, people were sent from above to inspect us. So it was you!”
“I thought you had changed your nature, but I didn’t expect you to still be so repulsive! Why didn’t you drown when you jumped off the bridge!”
Cornered against the wall step-by-step by the furious Connie, Ning He felt her heart was bitterer than gentian root, and her innocence was ground into dust.
“Listen to my explanation! Things really aren’t what you think! It must be those people from the Golden Grapefruit Restaurant holding a grudge against us for stealing their business. They’re deliberately sewing discord to make us break up so he can cut in and snatch me!”
“Hmph, I think you looked down on our Fourth Ring for being broken and poor and wanted to move back to the Third Ring, so you teamed up with others to scam us!” Connie was still fuming.
“It’s a false accusation! Really, there isn’t! I’ve already rented a stall in the academy cafeteria again and will start work on Monday! If you don’t believe me, go ask at the academy! I can’t lie about this, right?”
These words made Connie regain a bit of her composure, and her action of rolling up her sleeves paused.
“Are you serious?”
“Truer than pure gold! That day, right after you guys left, they came looking for me, even wanting to pay money to buy my secret recipe, which I rejected on the spot. If I wanted to work for them, why go through all this trouble and put on a show like this?”
Ning He’s explanation made some sense, and Ah Huai stepped forward to say a few words to Connie.
“I don’t think she’s lying. The other party probably wanted to give her a show of strength, and retaliate against us for stealing their business at the same time.”
“Then she still can’t be cleared of responsibility! If it weren’t for her, why would people come specifically to inspect our shop?”
Connie’s anger had not dissipated, and her gaze at Ning He remained filled with resentment.
Ning He’s mouth twitched, and after thinking for a long time, she could only accept it.
The food was made by her.
The business was stolen with her help.
The people were offended under her momentum.
And in the end, a wave of sarcastic, provocative assists was delivered.
About this matter… she indeed had a tiny… tiny bit of responsibility.
“Um… how about I pay a thousand Yuan Dollars as compensation? My capability is really limited; the rest was paid for the cafeteria deposit, and I don’t have any more money on me.”
Gritting her teeth through the pain, Ning He decided to bleed a little cash. Otherwise, whether she could return home unscathed today was not guaranteed.
Kneading so much dough every day, Connie had long developed power-muscled arms; a single punch from her was no joke.
“A thousand Yuan Dollars? What use is that?! Pay me back my noodle shop!” Connie’s anger flared up again.
“Let’s talk nicely, talk nicely!”
Ning He raised her hands to shield her head, looking helplessly toward Ah Huai, who was always calm.
“Right now, it’s not just a matter of the fine. Clove’s post-surgery care and rehabilitation expenses are even more urgent. The situation… is a bit tricky,” Ah Huai said with a frown.
Ah? Someone at home was sick?
Ning He felt a bit of despair.
“With the noodle shop gone, where are we going to earn money?” Connie said hatefully.
The atmosphere turned extremely heavy for a moment.
“Um… how about you guys come with me to try the academy cafeteria?” In the end, Ning He weakly made a suggestion.
Connie’s eyebrows twitched slightly. “What kind of stall did you rent?”
Ning He smiled awkwardly. “A Level… Level 0 stall.”
“Pfft—”
Connie did not conceal her sarcasm at all.
“A Level 0 stall? You’d be lucky to feed yourself! Asking us to follow along? Are we going to drink the northwest wind?”
Ning He hurriedly said, “It can be upgraded! Besides, students get subsidies from the academy for meals, so they don’t skimp on money. As long as the food is delicious, it will definitely be popular. You know my culinary skills; business won’t be bad. We’ll split the money we earn evenly.”
Ning He looked at Connie and Ah Huai with a sincere attitude.
Once the thought of inviting the two to join crossed her mind, the more she thought about it, the more sensible it felt.
First, she was just one person with two hands, her production capacity was limited, and she couldn’t handle it all. Second, the cafeteria was full of old acquaintances of the original body’s owner; if she suddenly whipped out a bunch of new dishes, it would likely arouse suspicion. Having Connie and the others join would give her a cover story.
Connie and Ah Huai looked at each other, both seeing the wavering in the other’s eyes.
“A Level 0 stall cannot sell meat sauce noodles, nor can it sell salads. What else do you know how to make? Words are not proof, and we won’t just take your word for it,” Connie said.
“Actually, I’m worrying about it too. I know quite a lot, I just don’t know which one is most suitable. How about I make them all once, and you guys help me decide?”
Connie opened her mouth, really wanting to mock her with a few words.
Know quite a lot?
Truly talking big without shame.
However, thinking of the meat sauce noodles and those two types of salad dressing, she swallowed her words back down.
“Fine. If you really have that kind of ability, we’ll go with you.”