Rebirth 07: Starting with Saving a Bankrupt Restaurant

Two days passed in the blink of an eye. Everything at Zhouji Restaurant was normal during these two days, and nothing unpleasant happened.

The weather is getting hotter and hotter, and the big yellow dog in front of the convenience store next to Zhouji Restaurant is sticking out its tongue.

Around 1 p.m., the store was busiest with customers, which is the lunchtime period.

"Excuse me, could you please get me a bottle of soda?"

"Please add another cup of hot water."

"Okay, please wait a moment..."

"..."

After finishing her work, Shi Ying dabbed the fine sweat on her forehead with the back of her hand and let out a soft breath.

A few minutes later, Shi Ying's ears twitched.

I faintly heard the sound of sirens. At first, I thought something had happened nearby and didn't pay much attention to it, but I didn't expect the sirens to get closer and closer.

Finally, an older model sedan pulled up in front of the restaurant. Shi Ying's pupils widened, and after standing there stunned for a few seconds, she rushed to the kitchen, exclaiming, "Boss, something's happened!"

Zhou Wen, who was focused on cooking in the kitchen and was also listening to the sounds from the stove, didn't hear it very clearly.

Seeing Shi Ying's panicked expression, they assumed there was something wrong with the dishes.

Shi Ying took a breath and said, "Someone's coming."

Someone's here? Are the two at home checking up on me again?

Zhou Wen's first thought was that his parents had come to the restaurant again.

But then she thought it was unlikely. If it really was the two elders who came, Shi Ying wouldn't be so flustered.

Zhou Wen then followed Shi Ying to the front hall, where he saw the yellow construction warning lights and the conspicuous blue lettering on the bread truck: "Health Supervision".

"I hope nothing bad has happened to the boss?" Shi Ying's panic was palpable.

As for Zhou Wen, he was completely unmoved and even wanted to laugh a little. He also understood what it meant to be upright and not afraid of being wronged.

Three people got out of the car: two men and one woman.

The man in the lead was around forty years old, wearing a dark blue uniform with a law enforcement badge pinned to his chest and a briefcase tucked under his arm.

The woman behind him looked rather young, with a neat low ponytail and her hat pulled down at just the right height, revealing her clean eyes.

With delicate features and fair skin, he doesn't quite look like someone who works in this line of work.

The other person was a slightly overweight man.

The diners inside had already stopped eating, glancing at the people at the door and then at Zhou Wen.

It seems everyone's first thought was: "Is Zhou's Restaurant going to get into trouble again?"

After the three arrived at the restaurant, they began to observe it and found that the restaurant was surprisingly clean.

However, a clean front hall is obviously not very useful; the most important place is the kitchen.

The man at the head of the group approached Zhou Wen and asked in a calm, unhurried tone, "The owner of Zhou's Restaurant?"

Zhou Wen nodded.

The man showed his law enforcement credentials and said, "Hello, I am Zheng Yijun, a supervisor from the Municipal Health Supervision Institute. This is my credentials."

"We have received reports from the public and are conducting an on-site inspection of your store's food hygiene. Please cooperate. These two are my partners, Yang Qing and Zeng Yi, the supervisors."

Yang Qing, standing behind him, had already begun taking notes in her notebook.

Zhou Wen showed no sign of panic, and smiled confidently, saying, "Okay, I will cooperate with the inspection."

While speaking, Zheng Yijun was also observing Zhou Wen's facial expression. There was no panic as expected, only calmness.

I didn't expect the shop owner to be so calm. I don't know if he was really calm or just pretending.

"Which side is the kitchen?"

Zhou Wen pointed behind him.

Zheng Yijun nodded slightly and led the other two to the kitchen, while Zhou Wen followed along to assist.

Zheng Yijun was surprised to find that the kitchen curtain had already been drawn, and at first glance, the kitchen was much cleaner than the front hall.

Because of the constant coming and going of customers, and the occasional spillage of soup or liquid, the front of house during business hours is indeed less efficient than the kitchen.

Upon entering the kitchen, the three exchanged glances, clearly surprised by the state of hygiene in the kitchen.

Zheng Yijun turned around and glanced at Zhou Wen. No wonder the boss remained calm; he must be very confident.

The tip-off call he received earlier was most likely made by a competitor, Zheng Yijun thought to himself, and then began to observe carefully.

There are no problems with the walls, floors, or ceilings.

Zheng Yijun sniffed; there was no strange smell in the kitchen.

Yang Qing looked at the kitchen, unsure where to begin her inspection. She glanced at Zeng Yi beside her, who shrugged slightly.

Although it should be clean, the necessary procedures still need to be followed, since some areas are not necessarily fine just because they are not clean.

Zheng Yijun got up and began to check the ingredients.

Since reopening, no meat in the store has been kept for more than two days. Vegetables may last a little longer, but they are all stored in the refrigerator.

There was no problem with the ingredients either.

Zheng Yijun was somewhat skeptical, so he checked the refrigerator but found nothing wrong with it.

"Refrigerator temperature records".

Zhou Wen didn't dawdle; he gave others whatever they wanted, because he was always honest and straightforward in his actions.

It's impossible to say there are absolutely no problems; there are some issues, but most are minor and harmless.

……

"Is there nothing wrong with anything?"

Zeng Yi nodded.

"There are some minor issues, but no major ones," Yang Qing said truthfully.

Zheng Yijun nodded and didn't say anything more.

Zheng Yijun then looked at Zhou Wen and after a long while said, "Well, there are no violations. Keep it up. But you should still pay more attention to some minor details in your daily life."

"Okay, sure."

"Yang Qing, is that the hot and sour noodles you always talk about?" Zeng Yi asked as they were leaving.

As soon as she entered the store, Yang Qing could smell the hot and sour noodles and nodded.

"You've been saying you haven't tasted it in a long time."

"It's been a long time since I've had this, and the aroma smells quite authentic," Yang Qing said after taking another look.

"You can give it a try when you have the chance."

But in reality, both of them knew that this was impossible. As supervisors, they naturally could not eat at restaurants within their jurisdiction, especially since this was a restaurant they had just inspected that day.

Even if it's after get off work, in casual clothes, or at my own expense, I would never come.

The only way to taste it might be to wait until you are transferred to another jurisdiction, or to ask someone to pack one for you.

Although it wasn't as strict as it would be later in 07, everyone in this industry knew the importance of "avoiding suspicion."

After the person left, the diners in the restaurant started talking about it.

"Won't there be any problems?" one diner asked.

"What could be the problem? Can't you see nothing's wrong? The boss tied up the kitchen curtain a long time ago. If you're really worried, you can just go and take a look."

"That seems to be true."

Diners found that nothing happened after the inspectors arrived, which ironically gave the restaurant a boost in publicity.