The owner exclaimed, "It’s you?! I knew it was suspicious that someone would buy something this early in the morning! Spit it out. Which rival sent you here to cause trouble?
"Miss, you absolutely must not believe her! This is clearly a competitor jealous of my booming business, deliberately sending someone to sabotage me!
"Our marinades are all made fresh daily! My own kids eat them every day. How could there be any problems?
"Plus, you can look at our store’s reviews. They are almost unanimously positive. The taste is great, the ingredients are fresh, and there is absolutely nothing wrong!"
The owner’s rhetoric was razor-sharp. With his opening remarks, he immediately framed Wendy Lynch: she was a saboteur sent by a competitor. This subconsciously led the customer to believe that Wendy’s words were untrustworthy. Then, he painted his store as a vulnerable victim to garner the customer’s sympathy. Finally, he used fake positive reviews as evidence and added a story about his own children to increase credibility. It was a seamless combo of deflection and counterattack, executed flawlessly.
Wendy, who was not good at arguing to begin with, was instantly rendered speechless by the rebuttal.
The pregnant woman was clearly gullible. After hearing the owner’s words, she actually believed him. She looked at Wendy, her tone full of complaint, "How can you be like this? It’s not easy for people to run a business. It’s terrible to casually slander others!"
Perhaps considering that there was a young child beside her, the pregnant woman did not use overly harsh words. Sighing, she walked up to the storefront and prepared to select some marinades.
Although Wendy was left speechless by the counterattack, her mind still worked quickly. She hastily pulled the test kit out of her backpack. "Miss, everything I said is true! This is the test I just completed! Their marinades really have problems!"
Before the pregnant woman could turn around, the owner rushed over and snatched the test kit from Wendy’s hands.
He shouted, "Are you done yet?! If you keep this up, I’m calling the police! Business is already tough as it is, and you’re here causing trouble at my door. Are you trying to drive me to my grave? Is it just because my ingredients are better and my prices are lower that you all have to gang up on me?"
His actions were so sudden that Wendy failed to react in time, and the test kit was snatched away. Their loud dispute quickly attracted a crowd of onlookers.
The crowd erupted into murmurs.
"This girl is quite pretty. Why would she do something like this?"
"This shop has been open for less than a week, right? It’s so pathetic that someone is already here to cause trouble."
"Can’t people nowadays just run their businesses properly? Do they have to resort to these underhanded tactics?"
"I ate at this place yesterday. The seasoning is quite nice, and the shrimp meat is very firm and springy. It doesn’t seem stale at all!"
"I just searched three platforms online, and the ratings are all 4.85! There shouldn’t be any issues, right?"
"I bet this woman is just here to make trouble."
Listening to the crowd’s accusations, for a brief moment, Wendy genuinely regretted stepping forward to intervene. However, this regret lingered in her mind for only a second before vanishing. This time was entirely different from the old woman who got hit by a car a few days ago. That old woman and her family were pure evil. Even if such scum, who repaid kindness with malice, had actually died there, she wouldn’t have regretted her decision.
However, the pregnant woman and her child standing before her were completely different. They had done nothing wrong! Who could have imagined that happily buying delicious street food would ultimately cost a child’s life? As long as she didn’t harm herself in the process, Wendy had to try and prevent this tragedy.
Seeing Wendy being criticized by the crowd, a smug smile appeared on the owner’s face. He secretly rejoiced, "You’re still too green to fight me."
Taking advantage of the growing crowd, he hastily called out, "Come take a look, everyone! Authentic Tideworth marinades! We use fresh seafood straight from the docks! We source everything firsthand! Delicious, affordable, and healthy!"
Hearing the owner’s self-promotion, quite a few onlookers were drawn in and gathered at the storefront, ready to make a purchase. Seeing more and more people flock to Tidewater Fresh Marinades, Wendy was completely dumbfounded. Her palms sweated profusely as she watched the approaching crowd.
The pregnant woman had already selected a box of blood clams and was preparing to scan the QR code to pay. Wendy’s heart leaped into her throat, and she instinctively reached out to stop her.
Right at that moment, hurried footsteps approached, and a resonant male voice rang out through the crowd. "Please make way! Food and Drug Administration inspection!"
Wendy spun around to see three staff members in navy blue uniforms striding over, the red lights on their body cameras flashing. The leading captain was tall and imposing. With his brows furrowed, his gaze swept over the piled-up marinades at the storefront and the crowd waiting to pay. His face instantly darkened.
"Everyone, stop!" The captain raised his hand, his voice booming. "This store is suspected of having food safety issues. Until our test results are out, please refrain from purchasing anything!"
The customers who were about to pay froze, and the bustling storefront instantly fell silent. The pregnant woman’s hand, holding her phone, hovered in mid-air. She subconsciously took two steps back, casting a wary glance at the owner.
As if catching a lifeline, Wendy hurriedly squeezed her way to the captain. "Hello! I’m the one who reported this just now. These are my test results. Both the blood clams and the flower crabs tested positive for Salmonella and Vibrio parahaemolyticus! The other test kit was snatched away by that owner!"
The captain took the test kit and examined it closely. Seeing the two distinct horizontal lines, his expression grew even more severe. The owner, who had been all smiles moments ago, now looked incredibly grim.
"Please suspend your business operations and present your food business license and health certificate," the captain said. He sneered inwardly at the owner’s guilty expression. Having worked in this field for over a decade, he had inspected thousands, if not tens of thousands, of stores. He could roughly judge whether a shop had issues simply by observing how panicked the owner was upon seeing law enforcement.
If it were just a minor issue like subpar kitchen hygiene, an owner might feel guilty and nervous, but definitely not excessively flustered. However, if a store had serious problems, the owner’s reaction to inspectors would inevitably be sheer panic. The owner before him, whose face had gone pale from fear, was a classic example of someone hiding a severe problem.
The owner’s voice trembled noticeably as he rubbed his hands together at his sides. "The... the licenses are all in my car. I’ll go get them now..."
He started to back away but was immediately blocked by another inspector. "No need for the trouble. We’ll go with you." The inspector’s tone left no room for argument, and his eyes stayed locked on the owner. Clearly, he had no intention of letting the man wander off alone.