Chapter 592: Things Went Well, Then Got Complicated

It is generally not very common for customers to experience stomach pain after eating in a restaurant; it is more common for that to happen after they return home.

However, some cases occur because the food was indeed not clean, and combined with their own gastrointestinal issues, they end up with a stomachache on the spot.

Others may experience some form of food allergy; in short, before going to the hospital, nothing is known for sure.

Zhou Yi felt that the Manager's attitude was quite good, at least not like some shops that assume others are trying to extort them the moment an incident occurs.

Yet, in reality, even though food safety is talked about all day long, food safety issues still emerge one after another.

Especially with some takeout, such as certain "Jet Fighter" packages, as well as many buffets, hot pot restaurants, and the like, there are a bunch of shady practices.

So why does this phenomenon keep emerging? It must be for money; in the catering industry, if you pull a few tricks, the profits increase significantly.

And there are only so many market supervision staff; it is impossible for them to check every single catering business on the street, so they can only conduct random inspections.

In short, due to various reasons, even though food safety is emphasized in every way, such problems still exist, and the phenomenon of turning into a "Jet Fighter" after eating a meal keeps emerging.

But neither Zhou Yi nor Zhou Xinran felt that this shop would have any problems.

It is such a large shop, the environment looks very clean, and it is also one of the top internet-famous restaurants, with business booming every day; you even have to make a reservation to get a meal.

Therefore, generally speaking, it is impossible for there to be any problems.

Thus, Zhou Yi did not take it to heart and just kept chatting with Zhou Xinran there.

After a short while, Wu Qiuling, who had been holding her stomach in discomfort, slowly sat up straight; she felt around carefully and felt a bit strange, because her stomach no longer hurt.

Fang Xiaoying asked from the side: "Qiu Ling, how do you feel now? Your complexion seems much better than before."

Wu Qiuling felt around again and then said: "Yingying, I don't think it hurts anymore. Why don't you go tell Boss Zhou, let's not go to the hospital..."

After all, this is Boss Zhou; no matter how good the boss's attitude is, employees always feel constrained in front of their boss and don't want to trouble them.

Fang Xiaoying was worried and asked again: "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Don't worry, I'm completely fine now. Maybe it's because I ate too fast and my stomach was uncomfortable for a moment. Alright, I'll go tell Boss Zhou."

Wu Qiuling stood up, walked to Zhou Yi's side, and with a smile on her delicate face, said: "Boss Zhou, um... I'm fine now, let's not go to the hospital."

Zhou Yi was talking with Zhou Xinran; hearing Wu Qiuling's voice, he turned his head to look at the young woman and then asked: "Not going to the hospital? You're okay?"

"I'm fine, Boss Zhou."

"Are you sure? You looked quite serious just a moment ago."

If the situation hadn't been serious, Zhou Yi wouldn't have called an ambulance; he could have just driven her to the hospital himself.

But who would have thought that not even two minutes after making the call, she would be fine again...

I knew it, even this Little Koi has to follow science; it makes no sense for trouble to follow wherever I go.

After confirming again that there was no issue, Zhou Yi dialed the number again; what a mess, he shouldn't have been so anxious to call 120 just now.

Doing this actually occupies precious emergency resources, so Zhou Yi specifically asked clearly on the phone whether any additional fees needed to be paid for this situation.

As it turned out, the staff on the other end told him that the ambulance he had just called hadn't even departed yet, so it was just right to cancel it.

Knowing this, Zhou Yi finally felt relieved.

Manager Liu, who was nearby, now also knew the situation; since there was no need to go to the hospital, that was fine.

Knowing there was no issue, Zhou Yi prepared to leave with Zhou Xinran, but before leaving, Zhou Yi still said: "That, Xiao Wu, my personal advice is, when you have time later, you should still go to the hospital for a check-up. Such sudden stomach pain must have a reason; see if you need to get some treatment."

Wu Qiuling nodded quickly and said: "I understand, Boss Zhou."

Forget it, he had already reminded her; her body is her own.

Watching Zhou Yi and the other person leave the restaurant, Wu Qiuling and Fang Xiaoying finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yingying, the pressure of being with Boss Zhou is so high!" Wu Qiuling said from the side.

"That's right, although Boss Zhou is quite easy to talk to, but... forget it, let's head back too."

This meal was certainly not cheap, but the seafood and meat products here were indeed quite rich, along with some sashimi and the like; in short, they were all those things that looked very expensive.

So, after eating, it still felt quite worth it.

It was already late when they finished eating and headed home; it was around ten o'clock at night when they got back, and neither of them wanted to do anything else, so after washing up, they lay down in bed early.

Wu Qiuling naturally had no intention of going to the hospital for any check-up; she just felt that she was still young and shouldn't have any problems.

In fact, many people still hold a resistant attitude toward going to the hospital, feeling that if there is nothing wrong, they should go to the hospital as little as possible.

No matter how much "early detection, early treatment" is promoted, it is useless; finances are one aspect, and personal mindset is another.

Time reached around four in the morning when Wu Qiuling opened her eyes in a daze, and afterward, she couldn't fall back asleep.

She felt her stomach starting to hurt again.

Looking at the time, it was only past one, and Fang Xiaoying should be sleeping soundly, so she thought she would endure it for now and wait until dawn to go to the hospital.

But no matter how she tried to endure it, she couldn't; she tossed and turned for a long time, but it still hurt severely, and she had no sleepiness at all.

Unable to endure it any longer, Wu Qiuling could only force herself to sit up, take out her phone, and call 120.

After making the call and stating her situation, she started enduring the pain while getting dressed; that is how it is for migrant workers living away from home.

When there is no illness or pain, life actually feels okay, but once there is some illness or pain, one can only endure it alone.

Telling family is useless; family members are who knows how far away and cannot fly over, so one can only rely on oneself.

Fortunately, she still had a good roommate...

She dialed Fang Xiaoying's phone again; this time it wasn't so easy, and it took a full three calls before it was finally answered.

"Hello, Qiu Ling, it's only past one, we still have to work tomorrow, what's wrong?"

"Yingying, I... my stomach started hurting again, I really can't endure it anymore..." Wu Qiuling said on the phone, feeling very embarrassed.

Hearing this, Fang Xiaoying woke up instantly and asked hurriedly: "It started hurting again? Did you call an ambulance? Don't move, I'm coming over right away!"

Not long after, Fang Xiaoying pushed open the bedroom door and walked in; the apartment they shared was a two-bedroom, one-living-room unit, with each person living in one bedroom.

"Qiu Ling, how do you feel? Is it just stomach pain? It's the same as tonight, right?"

Wu Qiuling nodded, her face pale, and said: "Yes, it's the same as today. I don't know why, I was just sleeping and suddenly woke up in pain."

"I'll heat up some water for you first. Let's call an ambulance; we'll wait here."

As they spoke, Fang Xiaoying went outside to heat some water, and soon the water was brought in.

"Drink some hot water quickly, do you feel any better?"

This hot water was, after all, no miracle cure, but Wu Qiuling still said, "It's a little better."

The two began to put on their clothes and head downstairs; even if an ambulance came, it couldn't drive up to the apartment.

Fortunately, at this time of night, it arrived quite quickly; after waiting downstairs for about ten minutes, the ambulance arrived, and the two hurried into the vehicle, heading straight for the hospital.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Fang Xiaoying began running back and forth to help with the paperwork; Wu Qiuling was no longer just suffering from a stomachache, but was now also experiencing symptoms like diarrhea and vomiting.

Fortunately, once they reached the hospital, they felt a bit more at ease; such is the unpredictability of life—no one knows whether tomorrow or an accident will arrive first.

When the time reached eight in the morning, Zhou Yi climbed out of bed, feeling refreshed and clear-headed.

After returning last night, the two had a little wine, and then engaged in some life-harmonizing exercise; it was very comfortable, though his kidneys were a bit overwhelmed.

After washing up and heading to work, he arrived at the Company, signed all the documents that needed signing, and then General Manager Zhou began his routine inspection.

Then, he saw that Wu Qiuling's workstation was empty.

It wasn't that Zhou Yi remembered every single Employee in the Company; that would be impossible, as the number of Employees at Tenda was already quite large.

Half of this building was now rented by Tenda, so the Employees Zhou Yi could remember were basically all very distinctive.

Like this Wu Qiuling...

This girl actually hadn't come in; after thinking for a moment, Zhou Yi wandered over to the office of the Department Manager where Wu Qiuling worked.

Department Manager Lian Jiangang saw Zhou Yi enter and quickly stood up, saying, "General Manager Zhou, oh, you're here to inspect my department today."

This was strange; previously, General Manager Zhou would just walk around the office area and then head to the Legal Department, but today he had actually come into the office to look around.

"Just wandering around. By the way, Lao Lian, why isn't Wu Qiuling from your department here?"

Lao Lian quickly smiled and said, "Oh, Xiao Wu? Xiao Wu asked for leave today, sick leave. The leave request has already been approved. Look here, she has a certificate issued by the hospital."

Zhou Yi picked up the report and looked at it; it really was!

Because of Company regulations, sick leave of less than five days generally didn't need to be reported to him, and Wu Qiuling had only asked for one day of sick leave.

"What happened to her? I saw her eating at that, what was it, that internet-famous restaurant last night."

"General Manager Zhou, I'm not entirely sure of the specifics, just that it seems to be some kind of food poisoning. I don't know what she ate, but she's vomiting and has diarrhea, though it's not that serious."

This sentence immediately shocked Zhou Yi.

"Food poisoning? Are you sure?"

Holy crap, it couldn't really be that meal from last night, could it? Was this Little Koi already using her own body to set up cases?

"Really, look here, this, the Photo Xiao Wu took, it says it's food poisoning."

Zhou Yi followed the spot Lao Lian was pointing at and looked carefully; it really was, something called Vibrio parahaemolyticus...

He didn't understand this stuff, but he just felt it was a bit absurd.

The key was that he and Zhou Xinran had also eaten there last night, and both of them were fine.

"By the way, what about Fang Xiaoying? Is she okay?"

Lao Lian shook his head and said, "Xiao Fang is fine."

This was strange; Fang Xiaoying had eaten at the same table as Wu Qiuling, yet one ended up in the hospital, while the other was perfectly fine.

"Alright, you go back to your work."

After finishing with Lao Lian, Zhou Yi left the office; he planned to make a call to ask about it.

In the hospital, Wu Qiuling looked at the IV drip with a blank expression; she had been perfectly fine, yet here she was in the hospital, and she even had to have an IV drip.

Today was Monday, and Fang Xiaoying had to go back to work.

But she seemed a bit unlucky; she ate at the same table as Xiaoying, yet the other person was fine, while she ended up in the hospital.

But she clearly hadn't eaten anything else after returning yesterday.

Just as she was thinking about it, her phone rang; she picked it up to look, and General Manager Zhou was actually calling!

Subconsciously, she sat up and answered the phone, saying, "Hello, General Manager Zhou..."

This was a subconscious action, just like how we all subconsciously stand up when we receive a call from a superior in our daily lives.

Zhou Yi's voice rang out from the phone: "Hey, Xiao Wu, what's going on with you? Didn't you say you were fine last night? How did you end up in the hospital?"

"And it's some kind of food poisoning? What's going on?"

Wu Qiuling hurriedly said, "General Manager Zhou, I really was fine last night, I didn't feel a thing. But around one o'clock in the middle of the night, my stomach suddenly started hurting terribly. There was really nothing else I could do, so I came to the hospital with Xiaoying."

"Then, after the doctor examined me and ran tests, they said it was food poisoning."

"Xiao Wu, look at the mess you've made. If I had known, you should have just gone to the hospital yesterday. Did you eat anything else after you went back last night?"

"No, General Manager Zhou, I went straight to sleep after I got back last night," Wu Qiuling hurriedly said.

"Then it must be that meal from last night. Strange, why is Fang Xiaoying fine?" Zhou Yi asked his question.

It seemed now that if she hadn't eaten anything else at night, it could only be the food from that internet-famous restaurant, but Fang Xiaoying was fine.

Wu Qiuling thought carefully and said, "General Manager Zhou, I've been wondering about that today too. After thinking for a long time, I seem to remember that I ate two more plates of sashimi than Xiaoying..."

"Xiaoying said she couldn't eat raw food, and I thought it tasted quite good at the time."

The more Wu Qiuling talked, the more she felt it made sense; she had indeed eaten two plates of sashimi yesterday, she had enjoyed it, and then her stomach started hurting.

Sashimi, huh? If that's the case, it really is possible.

"Alright, I know now. Look at this mess you've made; it would have been better to go to the hospital yesterday. Let's leave it at that for now."

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Yi felt a bit helpless; this time, Little Koi had actually aimed her sights at this internet-famous restaurant.

But, she didn't go to the hospital while at the restaurant yesterday, saying she was fine, and then had issues at night; this made things troublesome.

Many times when we get diarrhea or something from eating unclean food, Legal Aid is difficult because it's hard to prove in the middle of it all that you definitely got diarrhea because you ate their food.

However, there was no need to talk about that now; this was Wu Qiuling's business, and besides, the manager of that restaurant yesterday had a pretty good attitude.

Humming a tune, Zhou Yi wandered off toward the Legal Department.

Time quickly reached past six in the evening. Wu Qiuling was already feeling fine; her situation was not considered serious, and the reason she had been put on an IV drip was to prevent issues in her body caused by excessive diarrhea and vomiting.

After paying the fees and completing the procedures, Wu Qiuling walked out of the hospital. She had originally intended to go back and rest, but her mind kept dwelling on her earlier phone call with General Manager Zhou.

Furthermore, Tengda always said in daily life that being persistent about the truth is not wrong, especially when it comes to matters of principle—one must be persistent!

Thinking this way, Wu Qiuling hailed a taxi in front and headed straight for that internet-famous restaurant named Shaoxi.

It was just the dinner rush, and Manager Liu was constantly busy back and forth; business was too good.

Many people outside were waiting a bit anxiously, and Manager Liu kept saying polite things to them.

"Everyone, please wait a little longer. It is indeed full right now, there is no space. Everyone has made reservations, and others made theirs even earlier. Please understand."

After soothing the customers for a long time, Manager Liu returned to the restaurant to quickly drink some water.

Nearby, a woman wearing professional attire walked over and smiled: "Lao Liu, there are quite a lot of people outside, aren't there?"

Manager Liu looked back and said: "Store Manager Li, there really are too many people. If we see there are many people when they make reservations, we should stop taking them, otherwise we can't handle the service."

Upon hearing this, Store Manager Li shook her head and said: "That wouldn't be very good. We are currently in need of building our reputation. Since business is so good now, it doesn't matter if we let them wait a while longer."

Since the store manager had said so, Manager Liu naturally did not say anything more.

After chatting for a moment, just as Manager Liu was about to get busy, a waiter nearby walked over and said: "Manager, Manager, there is a woman outside saying she ate here and got food poisoning."

What? Manager Liu was startled upon hearing this: "What is the situation? How did she get food poisoning? Where is she? Did other customers see it?"

The waiter said: "No, she went to the front desk to say it, she is right over there."

Looking in the direction the waiter pointed, Manager Liu and Store Manager Li soon saw a girl saying something at the front desk.

"Lao Liu, you go take a look and see what's going on," Store Manager Li said from the side.

Manager Liu nodded and immediately walked toward the front desk. Before he even arrived, he heard a series of sounds.

"I ate here last night, and then I didn't eat anything else..."

Manager Liu hurried forward and said: "Miss, I am the manager here. You can just tell me whatever the matter is."

After speaking, he looked at the other party; she was a quite pretty girl.

Manager Liu naturally did not remember Wu Qiuling. Too many people entered and exited their store every day; he simply couldn't remember them.

Wu Qiuling turned her head when she heard the voice and immediately said: "You are that manager, right? I ate here last night; don't you remember?"

Being persistent about the truth is easy to say but hard to do. There were too many people here, and she didn't know who to look for upon entering, so she could only find the front desk.

As it turned out, the front desk waiter said they didn't handle such matters, and their manner made it feel as if she were there to commit Extortion.

Therefore, the volume of Wu Qiuling's voice was slightly loud.

She had seen this manager last night; his attitude had been exceptionally good, and he even wanted to have someone go to the hospital with her.

After speaking, she realized the other party had no reaction, so Wu Qiuling quickly added: "Manager, have you forgotten? Last night, I had a stomachache at the time, and our General Manager Zhou even called the emergency number. Don't you remember?"

"I still have the payment record here; take a look."

As she spoke, Wu Qiuling took out her phone and flipped to the payment record from last night.

Manager Liu looked at the payment record and suddenly realized: "Oh, it's you. I remember now. But didn't you say you were fine at that time? Why are you coming to find us again now?"

Wu Qiuling said: "I was fine at that time yesterday, but it started hurting again around one o'clock in the morning. This time the pain was unbearable, so I went to the hospital. The hospital check-up said it was food poisoning. Look, I still have those receipts and such with me."

Manager Liu took those receipts, looked at them carefully, and then handed them back, saying: "Miss Wu, is it? So, what is your intention in coming to find us now?"

"I got food poisoning after eating at your restaurant. I feel you should be responsible for the medical side of things, right? And you should also compensate me for my losses."

One could tell immediately that this was learned at the Tengda Legal Department; the compensation costs were clearly distinguished.

Medical expenses are one thing, and the Tort compensation for the infringement of personal rights caused by food poisoning is another.

Hearing this, Manager Liu's brow furrowed, and he then said: "Miss Wu, this isn't quite right, is it? The main thing is that your food poisoning happened in the middle of the night. Whether it was actually caused by eating food from our store cannot be determined."

"But I went home after eating here yesterday and didn't eat anything else."

"Miss Wu, you can't say it like that. You say you didn't eat anything, but there's no way to prove that, right? I'm not saying anything about you, but the matter is just like this; you have no evidence."

Manager Liu certainly had to deny it now. No matter how internet-famous a restaurant is, it is still a restaurant, and food safety must absolutely not have problems.

Under such circumstances, it was absolutely impossible to admit that their own food had problems. If this were exposed, how could the restaurant continue to operate?

Moreover, from Manager Liu's perspective, he believed he was very much in the right.

You say you got food poisoning from eating our food, but how can you prove you didn't eat food from other places?

This is also one of the difficulties of seeking Legal Aid after similar situations occur.

According to the principle of Burden of Proof, if you say it was caused by this restaurant's food, you must produce corresponding evidence.

But this evidence is very hard to produce, and the restaurant even feels you are committing Extortion.

"But Manager Liu, this..."

Wu Qiuling was still planning to say something, but Manager Liu interrupted her directly.

"Miss Wu, I am still very busy here, so I won't say more. You truly have no evidence here, right? So please do not continue blocking the way here."

After speaking, Manager Liu turned and left, leaving behind a bewildered Wu Qiuling.

If this were in the past, she felt she would have already started arguing with the other party, because from her perspective, she really hadn't eaten anything else yesterday.

However, her experience with Tengda Legal Aid told her that arguing could not solve problems.

But this matter could not just end like this. Such a big internet-famous restaurant, looking like it had such a good environment, yet the food actually had problems!

While thinking this, Wu Qiuling turned and left the restaurant. Making a scene in public was also not her personality.

The other party's words also had some logic; she had no evidence here now, so she would think of a way to find evidence.

Inside the restaurant, Manager Liu and Store Manager Li watched Wu Qiuling leave and exchanged a glance. Store Manager Li then said: "Tell the people in the back to be careful these next two days, and guard against someone coming to inspect if the other party files a complaint."

Manager Liu nodded to indicate he understood. This was also just in case, because the other party might very well file a complaint; in any case, as long as there were no issues when they inspected, it would be fine.

Time quickly reached the next day. Inside the Legal Department, Wu Qiuling looked at Huo Pengfei in front of her and felt like she was going numb.

Why would it be such a coincidence...

Six thousand characters. Goodnight everyone. Thanks to Brother Muwan, Brother Shuyou2022, Brother Yu Min, Brother Another Newbie, Brother Jian, Wenchidage, and Feimaowuyu. Thanks for the tips, thank you.

(End of chapter)