Everything I bought on online shopping platforms was genuine.

Chapter 496 Threat
Before the two even got back, they received another complaint: the same recipe, the same taste.

With no other option, the two had to turn around and head back. On the way, Lin Mo received another phone call saying that his restaurant was unhygienic, and another from the fire department saying that his restaurant's fire safety facilities were inadequate and that a routine inspection was required. Even the tax officials came over.

Once is a coincidence, twice is a coincidence, but the third time is definitely not a coincidence, let alone the fact that it wasn't the third time for him.

At this point, Lin Mo was certain that he had been maliciously reported.

He thought carefully about his situation. He didn't know many people, and he had offended even fewer.

The person who would report him like this is either a fellow high-end restaurant owner, who may have even dined at his restaurant and feels that his situation is a threat to him or has already affected him, so he resorts to this method; or it could be that lunatic from yesterday.

He couldn't imagine anyone else doing this to him.

Moreover, his intuition told him that the latter was more likely. There was no other reason than that, although the former was also possible, the former was, after all, a client personally selected by Liu Ruyan, so there was still some affection between them.

Moreover, even if they really wanted to do it, they would definitely find out about its background beforehand. And if it was done by someone who came to the restaurant to eat, they would know that the restaurant was owned by Liu Ruyan.

Although he didn't know how much influence Liu Ruyan's family had in Jiangning City, they were certainly not ordinary people without power or influence.

Liu Zhengyuan has been in Jiangning for so many years and still has some influence. If an ordinary person wanted to do this, they would definitely have to consider the strength of the Liu family.

The reason why the other party would use such a straightforward method is that they simply don't take the restaurant owner seriously.

If the other family could ignore the Liu family, they wouldn't care about such a small restaurant. Instead, they treated him as the restaurant owner, which is why they were so eager to bully the weak.

It's important to understand that this method is very simple, even a bit brutal, but it can be extremely deadly for ordinary people who have no power or influence.

On the way back, Lin Mo's face was somewhat gloomy, and he didn't say a word, because his senior sister Shen Qingnan was right, he was being targeted.

However, he wasn't too worried about it. Firstly, the restaurant was very clean, and both its hygiene and tax compliance were completely legal. He wasn't afraid of such a report; at worst, he could ask Liu Ruyan to resolve it or ask people he knew for help.

It should be noted that he is not entirely without connections in Jiangning. He has connections with Director Liu of the Jiangning Public Security Bureau, Miss Yuan and her family, and his two teachers.

Professor Mu knows mostly people in academia, but she at least knows the president of her own school. Lin Mo, after all, hasn't graduated yet.

Professor Li has a wide network of connections. In addition to the university, he also has connections with his patients, and many leaders have asked him to treat their health. These are all ways to get things done.

But the worst thing is that some people have no shame and it will affect his restaurant's business. Even if it is eventually resolved, it will still affect the future development of his restaurant. On the contrary, the other party disgusted him, but he didn't suffer any loss.

If he had no connections at all, these actions might even have forced him to close down.

Soon, the two returned to the hotel, this time with a much larger entourage, including several department heads.

There are those in charge of food hygiene, those in charge of restaurant hygiene, those in charge of fire safety, and those in charge of taxation.

Now that he knew someone had deliberately reported it, Lin Mo's earlier pleasant expression vanished, because he didn't know if anyone had been secretly instructed to do so.

Finally, with the help of my senior sister, the inspection results came back. The food hygiene was up to standard. The main problem was that the store didn't even have any ingredients. Everything was used up, bought, and cleared out on the same day. After all, the store was only open one day a week, so there was no way there would be any leftover ingredients.

The tax situation was also satisfactory, as Liu Ruyan's people managed the restaurant's finances, so there were no issues. However, problems arose with fire safety and hygiene.

Although the hotel had fire extinguishers and emergency lighting, he said the evacuation signs were not clear and the staff had not been trained.

The store's hygiene was questionable, even though the tableware was all custom-made and disposable. However, issues were found with the disinfection of some kitchen utensils and the storage of miscellaneous items. As for how these issues were discovered and what standards were used, Lin Mo no longer wanted to consider them.

Senior Sister Shen Qingnan wanted to argue a bit more, but he stopped her. In the end, she paid the fine and had to suspend business for half a month.

"Junior brother, why didn't you let me speak just now?"

After everyone left, Senior Sister Shen Qingnan spoke in the lobby on the first floor.

Lin Mo sat on the sofa on the first floor and shook his head slightly: "It's no use. The person behind it has it figured out. Besides, these staff members are just following the rules and regulations. Instead of explaining, we might as well wait for the person behind the scenes to say something."

At this point, he realized very clearly that he couldn't solve this problem on his own. Moreover, the other party had already made their move, but he didn't even know who they were, which was the most frustrating part.

"Junior brother, do you know who's behind this?" Shen Qingnan couldn't help but ask.

Lin Mo shook his head, staring at the phone on the coffee table, and said, "I don't know, but I have a rough idea."

"So what do we do now? Go investigate? If that doesn't work, I know some people, and if all else fails, there's always the teacher," Shen Qingnan asked.

Lin Mo let out a heavy sigh: "No need. If it's really as I guessed, then the other party will definitely contact me. We just need to wait."

"Wait? How long would that take?" Shen Qingnan said, taking out her phone to tell her teacher.

But the next second, an unfamiliar number lit up on Lin Mo's phone screen. Seeing this, he couldn't help but sneer, "Heh~ Here it comes~"

After saying that, he immediately answered the phone, turned on speakerphone and recording functions.

Unexpectedly, after the call was connected, neither Lin Mo nor the other party spoke, and the two remained silent for nearly half a minute.

Finally, the other party couldn't hold back any longer and spoke first: "Lin Mo, Mr. Lin, right!"

The other person spoke slowly and deliberately, but with a condescending tone.

Lin Mo remained expressionless and said calmly, "It's me!"

"Mr. Lin's restaurant is really hard to book. I wanted to have a meal there yesterday but couldn't. Everyone says that the food at Mr. Lin's restaurant is amazing. I hope I'll have the chance to try it again. But since Mr. Lin doesn't like to be in business, it seems that the current situation is exactly what you want." The man chuckled, his voice low but carrying a sarcastic tone.

The threat implied is self-evident; it could even be a simple provocation.

Lin Mo sneered in response: "It's alright, it'll open eventually, but whether you'll be able to get a table is another matter!"

"We'll see."

(End of this chapter)