Chapter 699: Proof
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
After ascertaining what had happened, the four angry men drove back to Fresh Polar Seafood in a huff.
Hans wanted to charge immediately into the restaurant. He'd never been so humiliated in his life, especially in front of a date—he was in a rage.
Li Du held him back. "Leave this to me."
He didn't go in directly but instead approached a passerby. "Hi friend, I would like to order some dishes from this restaurant but it's not convenient for me to go in to do so. Are you able to help?"
As he said that, he took out a 500 yuan note. "Just two dishes—the rest of the money is yours."
The passerby he'd approached was a youth who was delighted to see the money. He asked, "What would you like to order?"
Li Du said, "A fried codfish and a sweet and sour pork. It shouldn't cost more than 100 dollars—you can keep the change."
The youth agreed readily and went in to order the two dishes before taking a seat in waiting.
Hans was puzzled. "What's this all about?"
Li Du said, "Proof, we need proof."
It was past mealtime and there were no customers in the restaurants. Within five minutes, the dishes were placed on the table.
Seeing that, Li Du asked the three of them to wait as he walked into the restaurant alone.
After sitting down at the table, he told the server, "Where's your boss? Please get him to come out. There's something he needs to resolve."
The server smiled. "Sir, may I know what seems to be the problem?"
Li Du said, "There is indeed a problem, but it's beyond you. Get your boss to come out."
As there were no customers in the restaurant, everybody's attention was on him. Hearing his request for the owner, a big-sized and muscular-looking bald man stood up to ask, "What is it?"
Li Du asked, "Are you the owner?"
The man said, "I'm not. Why are you looking for him? You can talk to me."
"Okay, it's a simple matter. We had stomach issues after taking lunch at your restaurant. There's something wrong with the quality of your codfish which caused us issues after eating it."
The man frowned. "Maybe your stomachs are problematic? We've never had issues with hygiene here—are you here to pick on us?"
Li Du smiled. "If I wanted to pick on your restaurant, then I wouldn't have come alone. I'm trying to solve this issue."
The man waved his hand. "If you think there's a problem, you can call the Health Bureau or expose us in the media. In any case, we have nothing to hide."
With the wave of his hand, the servers in the restaurant surrounded him.
Li Du frowned. "Are you trying to throw your weight around?"
The man asked, "Are we throwing our weight around? I never do that but also don't take any bullying!"
Li Du smiled. "Good. I agree."
He walked to the door and waved at Hans and the rest.
The three men walked in with grave expressions. Beyond the fact that Godzilla and Big Quinn had big builds, the three of them were of three different nationalities—this already had shock value.
The staff in charge of settling their bill remembered them, and upon seeing their approach, hung her head down and made to run off.
Li Du didn't stop her since the temple still remained should the monk run away.
He sneered at the man coldly. "Our foreign friends have been conned at your shop. Are you sure you don't need the owner to come out and explain things?"
Godzilla was ashen as his stomach was hurting. He'd just changed into a new pair of pants. He daren't pass gas and could only suppress the urge—he was utterly miserable.
Big Quinn also looked pale. He was already menacing-looking, and now he looked even more frightful.
The initial arrogance the staff surrounding them started to dissipate. The man became flustered. "Why are all of you surrounding us for? Surround us for what? Liu, give Boss a call and ask him to make a trip here."
Perhaps it had to do with foreigners being involved, but the owner was quick on his feet.
Before long, a car drove up and a short plump man alighted. The big-sized man went up to him and addressed him as "Boss." He was evidently the person in charge.
The restaurant's owner, who looked to be only five-feet tall, had a beer belly. He carried a smile on his round face, which made his eyes narrow into a single line. He looked amicable.
He walked over and chortled, "Hi bro, how are you? My staff says you guys got stomach issues after eating at our restaurant? This can't be."
Li Du patted the table with the fried codfish. "We've got the victims and the proof. Boss, don't you try and fool us. If I send this plate of fish to the food inspection bureau, your restaurant may need to close down."
The owner laughed. "Little brother, you're not scaring me one bit. My restaurant is legit and has passed the health inspection. Even if you send it to the government's administrative office at Zhong Nanhai, I won't be in any trouble."
Faced with the owner's fierce denial, Li Du got impatient and said, "So you don't want to resolve this matter, do you? Okay, let's call the police then."
The owner frowned. "It's not that I don't want to solve it, but I don't know how to solve it. You said there's something wrong with our codfish? What's the problem with it?"
"What you have got is not codfish, it's a type of oilfish. It upset our stomachs."
The owner then asked, "Upset your stomachs? Then do you have a report from the hospital? Only if the report shows that you had the issues because you ate the codfish from my restaurant can I bear the responsibility."
Li Du didn't expect this guy to be so obstinate and shameless—he found himself momentarily at a loss for words.
He had the proof. On the table was a plate of the so-called fried codfish. It was just oilfish, but he was not quite sure which government authority would be in charge of managing such matters.
Seeing that he was speechless, the boss became smugger. He spread his hands and said, "Look bro, you haven't any real proof. You said your stomach hurts because of the codfish but in actual fact, an upset stomach can be caused by many things. Who knows what junk you ate out there?"
With that, he put on the demeanor of someone in power. "I know! You're in need of money, and thought of blackmailing me for some, right? Let me tell you, little brother . . . "
Godzilla was becoming impatient. He was extremely uncomfortable in trying to keep it down. He asked Li Du, "Boss, how do we settle this?"
Li Du was frustrated. "This is a scoundrel. D*mn it, he said we've got no proof. I gotta call the police."
The reason he had yet to do so was that it would be troublesome to solve this matter once the Bureau of Industry or the Health Bureau got involved. He did not want to waste time and energy to deal with this matter.
Hearing Li Du's words, and looking at how the owner had refused to budge, Godzilla was extremely furious. His body trembled a few times and then he stretched his hands out to squeeze the owner's shoulders.
Before the almost 6.5-foot tall Godzilla, the five-foot rotund owner looked like a child. Godzilla dragged him forward.
Godzilla reached into the back of his pants and took something out. Plat! He smeared it on the owner's face and hollered in rage, "You wanted proof? This is the proof!"