Restoran Cepat Saji Xu.
Setelah makan siang dan menghabiskan dua mangkuk besar sup kacang hijau, wanita tua itu dengan puas mengeluarkan tisu untuk menyeka mulutnya.
'Tidak heran Ye selalu pesan di sini,' pikirnya. 'Makanannya enak, harganya pun tidak mahal. Pilihan bagus.'
'Cuma aku tidak yakin soal kualitas bahan-bahannya. Kalau bisa lihat ke dalam dapur itu bagus, tapi jelas tidak mungkin.'
Sedikit kecewa, wanita itu keluar dan menatap papan nama lagi. 'Restoran Cepat Saji Xu. Aku akan ingat.'
Dia berbalik hendak pergi, tiba-tiba matanya tertuju pada poster rekrutmen yang agak sobek di dinding luar pintu.
'Dibutuhkan Pencuci Piring. Jam: 11.00 - 14.30. Gaji: 500 yuan/bulan. Keuntungan: Makan siang disediakan.'
Mata wanita itu berbinar. 'Bukan ini kesempatan sempurna untuk masuk dapur dan mengamati?'
Gajinya tidak tinggi, tapi jam kerjanya cuma tiga setengah jam sehari, dan gratis makan siang. Tawarannya cukup bagus.
'Aku kan biasanya bosan di rumah saja. Kerja beberapa jam sehari tidak capek, malah dapat uang. Kenapa tidak dicoba?'
'Kalau terlalu berat, aku lakukan dua atau tiga hari saja buat cari tahu soal bahan-bahannya lalu berhenti. Kalau tidak berat, bisa jalan panjang. Bukan cuma dapat uang, aku juga hemat makan siang!'
Dengan pikiran itu, wanita yang baru keluar tadi kembali masuk ke restoran. Dia mendekati kasir, tersenyum lebar ke Nenek Xu, dan bertanya, "Bu, butuh pencuci piring? Menurut Bu aku cocok nggak?"
Restoran Lezat.
Setelah mengamati beberapa hari Restoran Cepat Saji Xu tidak buka malam, Jin Dayong merasa gembira.
'Peribahasa orang tua benar,' pikirnya. 'Satu trik jitu cukup buat menang.'
'Dulu aku robohkan minimarket desa dengan cara itu, sekarang aku hancurkan Restoran Cepat Saji Xu dengan cara yang sama.'
Di atas itu, bisnis restorannya sendiri beberapa hari ini bagus sekali, membuat Jin Dayong semakin puas diri.
Dia berhenti bagi-bagi telur rebus teh gratis kemarin, tapi pengunjung tidak berkurang, yang membuatnya sangat bangga.
'Bisnis Restoran Lezat akhirnya di jalur yang benar!'
Pukul 10.50, Jin Dayong berdiri di depan pintu restorannya, menunggu pelanggan datang.
Tapi jam 11.10, dua puluh menit kemudian, hanya dua warga lokal yang masuk. Tidak satu pun pekerja bangunan yang muncul.
Reaksi pertama Jin Dayong, 'Apakah dua bajingan kecil di Restoran Cepat Saji Xu main trik baru buat curi bisnisku?'
Dia sabar menunggu sepuluh menit lagi, tapi cuma tiga orang lagi yang datang. Jin Dayong tidak tahan lagi dan bergegas ke Restoran Cepat Saji Xu.
Setelah belok tikungan, dia melihat depan Restoran Cepat Saji Xu juga sepi, tidak ada orang.
Jin Dayong ke pintu Restoran Cepat Saji Xu dan melihat ke dalam. Mereka punya pelanggan lebih sedikit dari tempatnya, cuma tiga sampai lima orang. Jauh dari keramaian yang dibayangkannya.
'Apa yang terjadi? Apakah pekerja dapat hari libur?'
Saat dia berbalik, dia melihat kerumunan besar di pintu masuk tapak bangunan Zijing Garden, masing-masing dengan gembira makan dari kotak makan.
'Ada yang tidak beres!'
Untuk mengenal musuh, harus masuk ke wilayah musuh. Jin Dayong ke pintu tapak bangunan dan menanyakan ke beberapa pekerja.
Dia akhirnya tahu bahwa tapak bangunan Zijing Garden ganti supplier kotak makan. Kotak makan dari hotel baru lebih substansial, porsi lebih besar, cukup kenyangkan pekerja.
Setelah tanya-tanya, ekspresi puas diri yang hampir melekat di wajah Jin Dayong berhari-hilang, digantikan sedikit kegelapan di matanya.
Saat lewat Restoran Cepat Saji Xu, selusin pelanggan yang tadi dianggap sepele sekarang terasa seperti duri di mata.
Tanpa bisnis dari pekerja bangunan, mengandalkan warga lokal saja pasti rugi. Satu-satunya solusi: hancurkan total Restoran Cepat Saji Xu!
'Semua Restoran Cepat Saji Xu runtuh, restoran lain bukan ancaman!'
Jin Dayong kembali ke restorannya. Bayangan keramaian di pintu tapak bangunan membuatnya gelisah.
'Mustahil hancurkan Restoran Cepat Saji Xu dengan cara lama. Jadi apa yang bisa aku lakukan buat menjatuhkan mereka?'
Dua pria makan di restoran ngobrol, pembicaraan perlahan beralih ke keamanan pangan.
"Restoran sekarang makin banyak masakannya, dan murah. Jauh lebih enak dari masak sendiri."
"Murah memang satu hal, tapi tidak tahu bahan apa yang dipakai. Di sekitar sini, beberapa restoran cepat saji ketahuan pakai bahan kadaluarsa. Puluhan orang keracunan makanan!"
"Benar? Jadi... tempat ini seharusnya aman, ya?"
"Takut apa? Setelah insiden itu, seluruh kota diperiksa. Dan sekarang, pemeriksaan lebih sering dan ketat. Kita tidak usah khawatir."
"Keamanan pangan sekarang bikin cemas. Ya minyak jelantah, ya makanan kadaluarsa. Benar-benar mengkhawatirkan."
"..."
'Bahan kadaluarsa? Keracunan makanan?'
Jin Dayong langsung ingat kasus keracunan makanan di tapak bangunan Zijing Garden. Berkat insiden itulah dia bisa dapatkan tempat sekarang.
Sepertinya besok ada inspeksi pangan di daerah ini. Tiba-tiba rencana terbentuk di pikiran Jin Dayong.
'Ini mungkin berhasil!'
"Sore hari, pukul dua, keramaian makan siang sudah beres."
Jin Dayong keluarkan HP, telepon, lalu buru-buru pergi naik skuter listrik. Empat puluh menit kemudian dia kembali ke restoran.
Wajahnya penuh puas diri, merasa semuanya dalam genggaman.
"Keesokan harinya jam delapan."
Di dapur belakang Restoran Cepat Saji Xu, semua orang sibuk bekerja.
Tim penegak tiga orang tiba-tiba masuk, ekspresi serius. "Inspeksi keamanan pangan," teriak salah satu. "Mohon kerjasamanya."
Begitu kata itu, mereka berjalan lurus ke dapur dan mulai memeriksa sayur, daging, dan bahan makanan lain.
Daging, aman.
Sayur, aman.
...
Setelah memeriksa seluruh dapur belakang dan memastikan tidak ada masalah, ketua tim bertanya, "Di mana kalian simpan sampah dapur?"
Xu An membawa mereka ke pintu belakang dapur. Saat dibuka, dia melihat dua kantong sampah yang dibuangnya sore kemarin masih ada di situ.
'Aneh,' pikirnya. 'Biasanya petugas kebersihan lewat jam 7 malam dan lagi jam 4 pagi. Kenapa sampah sore kemarin masih ada?'
Ketiga petugas juga melihat dua kantong sampah besar. Mereka keluarkan sarung tangan, memakainya, lalu membuka ikatan kantong untuk memeriksa isinya.
Di panas musim panas, kantong sampah berisi banyak daging dan sayur yang cepat busuk, serta banyak sisa makanan. Setelah fermentasi seharian, baunya menyengat semua orang yang hadir.
Menahan bau, salah satu petugas mencari-cari di dalam kantong. Tiba-tiba dia merasakan beberapa kantong plastik, mengeluarkannya, dan membaca info di kemasan, bergumam, "Tanggal Produksi: 17 Mei 2011. Masa Simpan: Dua belas bulan."
Semua mata langsung menatap Xu An.
Xu An bingung dulu, tapi lalu sadar ada yang menculik dia!
Pikiran itu membuat Xu An menatap ke bawah atap. Di pojok kiri atas ada tiga kotak hitam kecil, satu di antaranya berkedip dengan lampu merah misterius.
'Tidak disangka,' refleksinya, 'CCTV yang aku pasang gara-gara preman pemeras tadi justru berguna!'
Setelah penjelasan singkat, kelompok itu pindah ke kasir. Xu An memutar monitor komputer ke arah mereka, mencari rekaman kamera pintu belakang, dan memutarinya cepat mulai dari saat dia buang kantong sampah sore kemarin.
Pukul 18.30, sosok mendekati kantong sampah, membukanya, memasukkan gulungan kemasan bekas, mengikat kembali, dan pergi.
Pukul 18.50, sosok muncul lagi dan mengambil dua kantong sampah dari belakang Restoran Cepat Saji Xu.
Pukul 19.00, petugas kebersihan datang bersihkan, tidak nemu kantong sampah, menyapu lantai, dan pergi.
Pukul 04.00, petugas kebersihan datang sapu kedua area pintu belakang. Lagi tidak ada kantong sampah.
Pukul 05.00, sosok kembali dalam kegelapan membawa dua kantong sampah, meletakkannya di pintu belakang Restoran Cepat Saji Xu, dan pergi lagi.
...
Badan gemuk, gaya rambut "Mediterranean" yang botak, telinga besar dan panjang...
Gabungan ciri-ciri itu membuat satu sosok terbayang di pikiran semua orang di Restoran Cepat Saji Xu—pemilik Restoran Lezat, Jin Dayong!
Rekaman video jelas sekali, menangkap seluruh kejahatan dengan detail sempurna. Tidak ada ruang untuk sangkal, dan sepenuhnya membersihkan Xu An dari kecurigaan.
Mengetahui tersangka adalah pemilik Restoran Lezat di sebelah, ketiga petugas berunding sebentar. Satu tinggal di Restoran Cepat Saji Xu, dua yang lain ke Restoran Lezat untuk inspeksi dan pemeriksaan.
Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant.
After finishing her lunch and downing two large bowls of mung bean soup, the older woman contentedly pulled out a napkin to wipe her mouth.
’No wonder Ye is always ordering from this place,’ she thought. ’The food is actually pretty good, and the prices aren’t high. It’s a great option.’
’I just don’t know about the quality of their ingredients, though. It would be great if I could get a look inside the kitchen, but that’s obviously not possible.’
Slightly disappointed, the woman walked outside and glanced up at the sign again. ’Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant. I’ll remember that.’
She turned to leave when her eyes suddenly fell upon a somewhat tattered recruitment poster on the wall outside the door.
’Dishwasher Wanted. Hours: 11:00 AM - 2:30 PM. Salary: 500 yuan/month. Benefits: Lunch included.’
The woman’s eyes lit up. ’Isn’t this the perfect opportunity to get into the kitchen and observe?’
The pay wasn’t high, but the hours were only three and a half a day, and it came with a free lunch. The offer was actually quite good.
’I’m usually bored at home anyway. Working a few hours a day wouldn’t be tiring, and I’d even get paid. Why not give it a try?’
’If it’s too hard, I’ll just do it for two or three days to find out about their ingredients and then quit. If it’s not hard, I could do it long-term. Not only would I earn some money, but I’d also save on lunch!’
With this in mind, the woman, who had just stepped out, walked right back into the restaurant. She went up to the counter, beamed at Granny Xu, and asked, "Auntie, are you hiring a dishwasher? Do you think I’d be a good fit?"
Delicious Restaurant.
After observing for several days that Xu’s Fast Food wasn’t open in the evenings, Jin Dayong was in high spirits.
’The old sayings are true,’ he mused. ’One good trick is all you need to win.’
’That’s how I took down the village convenience store, and now I’ve crushed Xu’s Fast Food the same way.’
On top of that, business at his own restaurant had been excellent these past few days, making Jin Dayong even more self-satisfied.
He had stopped giving away free tea-steeped eggs yesterday, and customer traffic hadn’t decreased at all, which made him incredibly smug.
’The business at Delicious Restaurant is finally on the right track!’
At 10:50 AM, Jin Dayong stood at the entrance of his restaurant, waiting for customers to arrive.
But by 11:10 AM, a full twenty minutes later, only two local residents had come in. Not a single construction worker had shown up.
Jin Dayong’s first reaction was to wonder, ’Have those two little bastards at Xu’s Fast Food pulled some new trick to steal my business?’
He waited patiently for another ten minutes, but only three more people came in. Jin Dayong couldn’t take it anymore and stormed off toward Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant.
After turning the corner, he saw that the front of Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant was also deserted, with no one in sight.
Jin Dayong walked to the entrance of Xu’s Fast Food and looked inside. They had a few more customers than his place, but only by three or five people. It was nothing like the packed crowd he had imagined.
’What’s going on? Did the workers get the day off?’
Just as he turned around, he saw a huge crowd of people at the entrance of the Zijing Garden construction site, each happily eating from a lunch box.
’Something’s not right!’
To understand the enemy, you have to go behind enemy lines. Jin Dayong walked over to the construction site entrance and asked several workers about the situation.
He finally learned that the Zijing Garden construction site had switched to a new lunch box supplier. The lunch boxes from the new hotel were more substantial, with larger portions that were enough to fill the workers up.
After his inquiries, the smug expression that had been practically welded to Jin Dayong’s face for days vanished, replaced by a hint of gloom in his eyes.
As he passed by Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant, the dozen or so customers he’d previously thought were insignificant now seemed like a glaring eyesore.
Without the business from the construction workers, relying solely on local residents meant he would definitely operate at a loss. The only solution was to completely crush Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant!
’As long as Xu’s Fast Food falls, the other restaurants are no threat!’
Jin Dayong returned to his restaurant. The image of the scene at the construction site entrance made him restless.
’It’s impossible to crush Xu’s Fast Food with my old methods now. So what can I do to bring them down?’
Two men eating in the restaurant were chatting, and their conversation gradually turned to food safety.
"Restaurants these days have more and more dishes, and they’re cheap. It’s much better than cooking at home."
"Cheap is one thing, but you never know what kind of ingredients they’re using. Right around here, a couple of fast-food places were caught using expired ingredients. Dozens of people got food poisoning!"
"Really? So... this place shouldn’t have any problems, right?"
"What’s there to be afraid of? After that incident, the whole city was inspected. And now, the inspections are much more frequent and strict. We don’t have to worry."
"Food safety these days really makes you anxious. It’s either gutter oil or expired food. It’s a real concern."
"..."
’Expired ingredients? Food poisoning?’
Jin Dayong immediately recalled the food poisoning case at the Zijing Garden construction site. It was thanks to that incident that he had been able to acquire his current storefront.
It seemed there was going to be a food inspection in the area tomorrow. Suddenly, a plan formed in Jin Dayong’s mind.
’This might actually work!’
「Two in the afternoon, the lunch rush was over.」
Jin Dayong pulled out his phone, made a call, then hurriedly left on his electric scooter. Forty minutes later, he rushed back to the restaurant.
He wore a look of smug satisfaction, feeling as if everything was under his control.
「The next morning at eight.」
In the back kitchen of Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant, everyone was busy working.
A three-person law enforcement team suddenly walked in, their expressions grave. "Food safety inspection," one announced loudly. "Please cooperate with our work."
With that, the three of them walked straight into the kitchen and began inspecting the vegetables, meat, and other food items.
Meat, okay.
Vegetables, okay.
...
After checking everything in the back kitchen and confirming there were no issues, the team leader asked, "Where do you keep your kitchen waste?"
Xu An led the three of them to the back door of the kitchen. When he opened it, he saw that the two bags of trash he’d put out the previous afternoon were still there.
’That’s strange,’ he thought. ’Normally, the sanitation workers come by at 7:00 PM and again at 4:00 AM. Why is the trash from yesterday afternoon still here?’
The three officers also saw the two large trash bags. They took out gloves from their pockets, put them on, and untied the bags to inspect the contents.
In the summer heat, the trash bags contained a lot of easily perishable meat and vegetables, as well as plenty of leftovers. After fermenting for a whole day, the smell they emitted was overwhelming for everyone present.
Fighting the stench, one of the officers rummaged through the bag. He suddenly felt several plastic bags, pulled them out, and read the information on the packaging, murmuring, "Production Date: May 17, 2011. Shelf Life: Twelve months."
All eyes immediately focused on Xu An.
Xu An was baffled at first, but then he realized someone was trying to frame him!
At this thought, Xu An looked up at the eaves. In the upper left corner were three small black squares, one of which was blinking with a mysterious red light.
’Who would have thought,’ he reflected, ’that the security camera I installed because of those blackmailing thugs would actually come in handy!’
After a brief explanation, the group moved to the cash register. Xu An turned the computer monitor to face them, found the footage from the back door camera, and played it on fast-forward starting from when he had put the trash bags out the previous afternoon.
At 6:30 PM, a figure approached the trash bags, untied them, stuffed a roll of discarded packaging inside, retied the bags, and left.
At 6:50 PM, the figure appeared again and took the two trash bags from behind Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant.
At 7:00 PM, a sanitation worker came to clean, found no trash bags, swept the ground, and left.
At 4:00 AM, the sanitation worker came for a second sweep of the back door area. Again, there were no trash bags.
At 5:00 AM, a figure returned in the darkness carrying two trash bags, placed them by the back door of Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant, and left again.
...
The portly figure, the balding "Mediterranean" hairstyle, the large, long earlobes...
When all these features were combined, one person’s image surfaced in everyone’s mind at Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant—the owner of Delicious Restaurant, Jin Dayong!
The video footage was crystal clear, capturing the entire crime in perfect detail. There was no room for argument, and it completely cleared Xu An of all suspicion.
Upon learning that the suspect was the owner of the nearby Delicious Restaurant, the three officers conferred for a moment. One stayed behind at Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant, while the other two headed to Delicious Restaurant to conduct an inspection and questioning.
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