Chapter 115: Chapter 115: Fly
The shop owner almost didn’t even think before directly rejecting Lin Ye’s request.
The waiter hadn’t actually finished speaking yet when the shop owner interrupted him. In fact, he had one more thing to say, so after hearing the owner’s refusal, he added:
"Boss, don’t be so quick to interrupt, I haven’t finished yet. Listen to me first and then decide whether to agree or not."
The shop owner was already very impatient by this point.
To be fair, if you think about it, he’s already overwhelmed, making batch after batch of wontons without end, feeling quite agitated inside.
And the waiter had to come and disturb him at this moment.
Isn’t that just wasting his time?
The customers behind were all waiting to eat, and by this time, they were basically starving.
If they don’t serve the food soon, won’t it have a negative impact on their shop?
If things escalate, he couldn’t bear the responsibility, and besides, it’s just a small business, not making much money anyway.
"Well, he said he won’t take it for free; he’ll wash the lunch boxes in our shop for a month and give us a dollar."
Upon hearing this, the shop owner’s hands paused in the middle of wrapping a wonton.
He couldn’t believe someone would actually offer to pay to come to their shop to wash lunch boxes. Isn’t that just foolish?
Even though their shop does business and uses a lot of water, the monthly water bill is less than two dollars.
Starting off with a dollar, wow, that pretty much covers half the water bill.
Is this like money falling from the sky?
Who’s the fool here?
Just wanting to wash a lunch box, isn’t that foolish?
The shop owner, being a little sharp-minded, suddenly thought of a lot of conspiracy theories, recalling previous incidents where competitors, jealous of good business, tampered with food in the shop.
As a result, a lot of customers ended up with diarrhea after eating, and the money he made was all spent on compensating their medical expenses, and in the end, he had to apologize like a grandson. Isn’t that a silent pain?
The shop owner became instantly alert, unable to continue wrapping the wontons, with his head full of thoughts about being framed.
Even though his shop is a small business, it’s been open for over a decade, with many loyal customers keeping the business quite bustling, and fairly well-known in the market area.
Regular customers often stop by for a bowl when passing by.
Moreover, their wontons not only taste good, are generously portioned, affordably priced, but the service is exceptionally good.
That’s why many people love eating at his shop; otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many people.
Still, because it’s a small business, he hasn’t expanded it over the years, staying in the same place for over a decade. Though he’s earned quite a bit of money, he has elderly and children to take care of, leaving no energy to expand the shop.
So Lin Ye must be a competitor, envious of good business, trying to harm him. Otherwise, who would just want to visit their shop out of nowhere to wash the kitchen tap?
Probably wants to see their wonton recipe or something. Over the years, many have come asking how they make their wontons.
But would the shop owner tell them?
He’s not a fool. That’s his business capital, and if the recipe gets out, others could replicate it, opening wonton shops nearby, and his business would go cold.
Especially Lin Ye, offering a dollar to wash lunch boxes. Who does he think is the fool between them?
He’s not someone easily fooled, jumping into just any trap.
So the shop owner got angry, feeling Lin Ye was extremely suspicious.
Given how hard it is to make money these days, how could he be so generous as to spend a dollar just to wash lunch boxes at his shop? It could be done anywhere else. Why his shop specifically?
The shop owner looked down at the cleaver he used to chop wonton filling.
Grinning his teeth in anger, he recalled encountering malicious competition plenty of times over his years in business.
Indeed, it’s brought him quite a bit of trouble.
He thought to himself, doing small business was just to support his family, after all.
Hindering his earning money is like cutting off his financial source, wanting his family to starve; what kind of grudge is that?
The shop owner has an intense hatred for such people.
He’s even thought of grabbing the cleaver and taking it out on Lin Ye.
But with so many customers waiting to eat, what if he scared them off?
So the owner just cursed under his breath, exchanging some words with the waiter, then said:
"I think you’re just a fool. Don’t you know there’s no such thing as a free lunch?"
"What fool would give you a dollar just to wash a lunch box in your shop? Have you considered whether the water used to wash that box is even worth the money?"
"We won’t engage in trivial benefits, what if it’s a competitor trying to sabotage us?"
"So we’d rather not take the money than take that risk."
"Go upfront and get rid of him, tell him not to affect our business!"
After he finished speaking, the shop owner continued wrapping wontons again, since business comes first.
After all, there were still so many customers waiting to eat, and if the food was delayed, he wouldn’t be able to explain.
When the waiter heard the owner’s words, he instantly woke up. After all, he’s been working in their shop for a year.
So he’s seen plenty of cunning competitor incidents, like a few months ago when someone found a fly in their wontons.
At the time, both he and the owner panicked, fearing they had overlooked hygiene when cooking the wontons, leading to the fly falling into the bowl.
In the food business, hygiene issues are the biggest fear. If customers find a fly, would their business still be viable in the future?