A Valiant Life

The uniformed personnel from the Food and Drugs Administration left with a piece of scallion pancake and some documents.

“What’s happening? People from the Food and Drugs Administration actually came over to conduct a check. That was so strange,” Fraud Tian said in disbelief. “Someone must have lodged a complaint against us. Who do you think it was?”

Lin Fan shrugged his shoulders and said, “Who knows?”

The townsfolk started to gather around.

“Little Boss, don’t worry, we trust you 100%.”

“Yeah, I wonder which bast*rd reported you. He must be crazy.”

“That’s because Little Boss has real skills and his business is booming. Someone must have been jealous of it and wanted to cause trouble. But you have us, we will definitely support you, Little Boss.”

The townsfolk started to talk among themselves. They all trusted Little Boss a lot. They had been completely seduced by the scallion pancakes. Even though there were only ten pieces for sale daily, the feeling of queueing up every day was pretty good. It gave them something to look forward to. If they were lucky enough to be chosen, it was like hitting the jackpot. It made them exhilarated.

Upon seeing that the townsfolk were so supportive of him, Lin Fan clasped his hands together as a gesture of gratitude and said, “Thank you, everyone.”

Then, Lin Fan went to take a break to recharge himself for the day.

…

The person from the Food and Drugs Administration left Cloud Street and returned to their laboratory.

Chief Zhang was waiting for them to return. He was once classmates with the Vice-Chairman of the Food and Drug Administration. He had to unveil the secret behind these delicious and captivating scallion pancakes. But he was puzzled as to how such ordinary pancakes could taste so good. Just like what the others said, if one didn’t personally taste the pancakes, one would never understand how delicious they were. It was just like a drug; one could never forget its taste after consuming it.

Chief Zhang picked up his phone and spoke to the Vice-Chairman.

“Hey buddy, how’s the situation?”

“Brother Zhang, the officer is back. I’ll contact you again when the results are out.”

“Thanks, buddy. Let’s meet up tonight if you’re free.”

“There’s no need for such courtesy. It’s not a big deal after all. If there’s really something wrong with the food, I should be the one thanking you instead.”

…

Chief Zhang wasn’t exactly very close to the Vice-Chairman but they still kept in touch. To them, this whole matter concerning the scallion pancakes was just a small one. Furthermore, this ‘Little Boss’ didn’t even treat Chief Zhang with respect even though he was asking for a business collaboration.

The next day.

Several news articles attracted the attention of many people.

‘The captivating scallion pancakes from Cloud Street contain illegal drugs. Everyone, please be careful!!!’

‘Master Lin’s popular scallion pancakes were reported by people. As a result, the Food and Drug Administration is investigating this matter.’

‘Why did the townsfolk in this video make such exaggerated facial expressions as if they had consumed drugs?’

These articles didn’t even report any important news but went viral overnight.

The UC Breaking News Department, Weibo News, and Browser News Departments were all involved in this frenzy. Every news and social media platform started to report on it.

…

Snowy Mosquito: “I’m in shock after watching this video. These people are too scary. How could such delicious food exist on Earth? There’s no way people would make such exaggerated expressions after eating scallion pancakes. It’s as if they’re on cloud nine. Such an occurrence would only happen if one consumed drugs. This man should be exposed. Everyone, please be careful. Do not be cheated by this man.”

Rising Smoke: “I have been reading up on news regarding the scallion pancakes. I used to just laugh at it and didn’t think too much about it. Now that I’m reading such news, I’m frightened by it. Food safety has always been an important issue and you’ll never know how clean or dirty the food you’re eating is.”

Flowery Prince: “Is that really true? I’ve eaten Master Lin’s scallion pancakes before. The taste was heavenly indeed. I’ve experienced the feeling too. It felt as if my whole body became loose.”

If Nighttime Never Comes: “To the one above, I suggest you should go to the hospital for a check-up. If there’s really something wrong with you, it’d be terrible.”

The netizens started to discuss among themselves. Most of them hadn’t eaten the scallion pancakes before. When they saw the video, they were completely shocked by the expressions made by the townsfolk who were eating the scallion pancakes. It was so frightening.

“D*mn it, can the people above not spout rubbish? How could there be any problem with Master Lin’s pancakes? Furthermore, it’s still in the midst of an investigation, there’s no concrete evidence.”

“Reporters these days are so immoral. The results aren’t even out yet and they’re writing such rubbish.”

“Haha, the trolls have reached the battlegrounds. What a scary bunch!”

“Is there even a need for the results to be out? Judging from the looks of these people, there is definitely something wrong with these scallion pancakes. This little entrepreneur probably thinks that this world belongs to him. How could ordinary scallion pancakes cause such reactions?”

…

At Cloud Street.

Lin Fan was sitting leisurely in his shop as he drank tea.

“How could you still be sitting here drinking tea? The entire Internet is flaming you,” Fraud Tian said anxiously.

Wu You Lan chided, “How could these reporters say such things? The results aren’t even out yet.”

“Why should we be anxious? Let them report it all they want.”

Lin Fan looked calm but on the inside, but he was cursing these reporters and their families in his heart. They were clearly spouting nonsense. At the same time, Lin Fan was curious about how the reporters managed to take those pictures even though he hadn’t noticed any reporters lately. And what the heck was with the current situation? How could one become popular on the internet just by selling scallion pancakes?

“I think there’s a high chance that it’s done by that stupid Chief Zhang,” Fraud Tian said angrily. “It’s obvious that he’s trying to bully us!”

Lin Fan just said, “Oh.”

He wasn’t bothered by it at all. He opened up Weibo. The discussions on Weibo were indeed scary.

“What ‘Master Lin’? He used drugs to make his scallion pancakes!”

“Hey, can’t he just be a good citizen? Must he resort to such despicable ways? It’s illegal!”

“Tell us, is this really true?”

“Subscription canceled.”

“+1”

“+2”

As he looked through the comments on Weibo, Lin Fan didn’t think that the issue could become so blown up. He was just an ordinary scallion pancake seller and he had gotten so much attention online.

The formidable leader of trolls, Autumn Sword Fish Killer also came to add salt to the wound.

He had been in silence for so long and there was finally an opportunity for him to strike. Lin Fan opened his private messages inbox and it was filled with hateful messages.

Autumn Sword Fish Killer: “You’ve been asking for it. You’re a scallion pancake seller and you actually did this sort of thing. Do you know why things have gone out of control? Let me, Mr. Autumn Sword tell you. Everything here is being controlled by me. I want you to know the consequences of offending me, the Autumn Sword Fish Killer. :)”

In a random house.

Autumn Sword Fish Killer laughed hysterically at his computer screen as he typed away quickly. He sent some information to various social media and news platforms. He wanted this ‘fraud’ to know his true powers. He wanted Lin Fan to face the wrath of offending him.

Autumn Sword Fish Killer drank a mouthful of water as he waited for a reply. Suddenly, he was so stunned that he spat the water out.

Lin Fan replied, “You’re so awesome.”

“…” Autumn Sword Fish Killer was speechless.

Awesome? Your sister’s awesome. Why is the reply so different from what I had expected?

He thought that this fraud must have been frightened to death. How could he reply in such a manner? It was so unexpected.