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墨書 Inktalez
I wiped the sweat from my brow, draped the towel over my shoulder, and walked over with a nod and a bow.
"What’s the matter?"
The man pointed at the little girl.
"Why does she pay five yuan while we pay ten? Isn’t it written as ten on your menu? Is it just because she’s a girl?"
I was taken aback and instinctively glanced at the sign for the Loving Kitchen, but I had forgotten that it had been taken down.
With no other option, I had to apologize.
"I'm sorry, but our restaurant primarily serves patients from the nearby hospital. Some of them have lost everything due to their medical expenses, and even having a meal is a challenge for them. We charge a symbolic amount to help them eat enough."
"This isn’t aimed at you; everyone else here, including doctors and nurses, pays ten yuan."
"And you can ask around; our noodles are actually quite affordable compared to other places nearby..."
Before I could finish, the man slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly.
"What good is all this talk? Am I stopping you from doing your good deeds? I just think it’s unfair that you charge one price for us normal people and another for them! Why should sick people get to eat for less? Don’t they have two eyes and a mouth like everyone else? Is it fair for you to use our money to support them?"
"And do you just say whatever you want? You claim to be a Loving Kitchen—do you have any proof? Have you posted anything? You’re trying to fool us. We’re tourists, not fools!"
His words were harsh, and I could feel the veins in my forehead throbbing.
There were still many other customers in the shop, and one by one they spoke up for me.
"Hey, this place really is a charity kitchen; look at all those in hospital gowns eating here. The owner has good intentions; don’t overthink it; this is a good thing."
"Yeah, and ten yuan for noodles isn’t much; do you have that back home? Just enjoy your trip without worrying about these things..."
"The owner means well; you should let it go."
...
Despite everyone’s persuasion, the man became even more agitated.
"Stop trying to smooth things over! We may not have ten-yuan big bowls of noodles back home, but we don’t have this kind of Yin-Yang Menu! One price for one group and another for another—are you all hired by him?"
"Give us an explanation! Otherwise, we tourists will never come back! Isn’t this supposed to be a new tourist destination? Just think about how your actions could ruin the tourism industry in this city!"
I sighed.
He was right; if this escalated and became a big deal, it wouldn’t matter to me personally, but our city had just started to improve a bit, and I didn’t want my situation to ruin things for everyone else.
At this point, facing such a situation, I can only consider myself unlucky.
"What do you want to do?"
The three of us exchanged glances, and the man in black opened the payment code.
"Refund the money, and this matter will be settled."
This was the best and simplest solution.
As for whether I would lose money?
After all these years, I had dealt with my fair share of financial losses.
I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and returned to the cash register to grab my phone.
When I came back, there was another phone on the table, face down, in addition to the one displaying the payment code.
Just as I transferred the money, the man in black spoke up.
"So this is how we resolve this, right? Your restaurant, Yin-Yang Menu, charges ten for tourists and five for locals. You refund me today's meal cost, and that's your way of settling this?"
I frowned.
"No, first of all, my prices are indeed based on the price list. The lower charge isn't because you're a local or a tourist; it's because healthy people and patients alike often can't afford much. Patients have it tough, and we consider it doing a good deed. My restaurant has been around for decades; everyone can see that."
"You said a refund was your way of resolving this, and I've complied. So can we just leave it at that?"
The man reluctantly nodded, checked his balance, snorted coldly, and left with his friend.
After they left, others comforted me, telling me not to take it to heart.
I thought about it and returned to the storage room to hang up the sign for the charity restaurant again; it clearly stated [Patients and their families can enjoy discounted prices].
Now surely no one would mind anymore.
But as it turned out, I was wrong.
A few days later, I stumbled upon a video of my restaurant online.
The video was posted by someone called "Shop Explorer," and my face appeared prominently; the thin mosaic couldn't hide it at all—anyone who knew me would recognize me instantly.
More importantly, the audio that was exposed had been edited; the Blogger wrote about the entire incident and portrayed my act of refunding money as an attempt to make amends for my mistakes.
They maliciously edited my words into a patchwork that went like this—
"Yes, my shop has been open for decades. It's not easy without money, and refunding is my way of resolving this. Is that acceptable?"
In just a few words, I became a heartless merchant who refunded money after being exposed by the Yin-Yang Menu.
Looking at the likes and popularity, it unexpectedly soared to the top three of the Trending Topics.
I nervously clicked on the comments, and sure enough, eight out of ten were criticizing me.
"Although it's not much money, that's not the point! Has this little county town become so arrogant that the shop owners are getting carried away?"
"Is there regional discrimination too? That's really impressive."
"I found out it's called Red Star Noodle House. The owner was originally an old man; the one exposed is probably his son. What a lowly thing! At such a young age, he has learned nothing but how to deceive!"
"Haha, no wonder they can't develop; I see their local area is ruined by people like this!"
"Blogger has been wronged."
"This was exposed by Blogger. If it were an ordinary person, wouldn't they just swallow their anger? Jiangzhou Cultural Tourism Jiangzhou Police, can you evaluate this? Is this how things should be handled?"
"Thinking about it deeply is terrifying; if the shop owner had any reason, why would they agree to refund?"
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