After listening to Li Xiao’s account of what happened,
the middle-aged police officer then turned to the manager.
"The complainant has given his statement. Do you have anything to add?"
The manager quickly spoke up,
"Officer, please, don’t just listen to his side of the story. That’s not what happened."
"He’s clearly just here to cause trouble!"
"I admit the first skewer of yakitori we served had a small flaw, but we didn’t shy away from the problem. We immediately offered to replace it with a new one."
"As for his claim about the problematic skewer of grilled chicken liver, that’s pure slander!"
"That’s our restaurant’s specialty! We’ve always grilled it that way!"
"Other customers have always eaten it like that, and no one has ever complained. Are customers supposed to tell us how to grill our skewers???"
"And the broccoli skewers? That’s also a special preparation method we use, meant to enrich the vegetable’s flavor."
The middle-aged officer had already inspected the four broccoli skewers still on the plate.
Even he, a man who rarely cooked, could tell the broccoli was burnt to a crisp.
’If I were out for barbecue and the owner served me skewers like this, I’d probably call the police myself.’
Not to mention, the average cost per person at this place was over a thousand yuan. Even if the food couldn’t be absolutely perfect, serving garbage like this was unacceptable.
Hearing the manager’s explanation, the corner of the middle-aged officer’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch.
As an officer who frequently responded to calls, he had seen plenty of shameless people, but someone as shameless as the manager before him was a rare sight indeed.
However, he soon found himself in a difficult position. Although he couldn’t stand what was happening, this case was clearly a civil dispute. The police didn’t even have the authority to file a formal case; they could only mediate.
If both parties were unwilling to reconcile, the only option was to let them take it to court.
’In my opinion, a messy case like this would probably just turn into endless bickering even if it went to court.’
So, as an officer with a sense of justice, he still wanted to try and help the victim.
He picked up a broccoli skewer from the plate, held it up to the manager’s face, and questioned him coldly,
"Are you not just making excuses?"
"Look at this thing. What the hell is this?"
"I didn’t see the other ones, but you dare say this broccoli isn’t burnt??"
The manager looked at the evidence but wasn’t worried at all. He’d realized by now that the police couldn’t do anything about this kind of situation.
Besides, they hadn’t gotten physical earlier. At most, it was a small argument, not even qualifying as a brawl.
Since the police couldn’t intervene, he no longer had anything to fear. He offered a shameless explanation,
"Officer, you’re mistaken."
"Whether it’s cooked well or not is a very subjective matter."
"If you say one portion has this problem, then yes, it’s burnt. But if all the broccoli we serve is cooked like this, doesn’t that just prove it’s our restaurant’s unique grilling style?"
"Besides, this is our place of business. When we encounter unreasonable customers, we have the right to refuse service."
"Right now, I refuse to mediate, and I demand they leave immediately so as not to disturb my other patrons."
In the live stream chat, hearing the manager’s utterly shameless speech, everyone was filled with righteous indignation.
"If it’s all burnt, it’s not burnt? What kind of thug logic is that?"
"This guy has no shame, does he?"
"He’s so disgusting! Why don’t the police just arrest him!!"
"Arrest him for what? On what grounds? You need evidence and a legal basis to arrest someone!"
"It’s true, situations like this are hard for the police to handle!"
"I was an auxiliary officer for a while. A lot of people complain that the police don’t do anything, but it’s not that we’re inactive. There are just a lot of things we really can’t get involved in."
...
However, Zhang Li, who had been listening silently from the side, revealed a slight smile.
As an experienced, top-tier lawyer, he had a wealth of experience in handling similar disputes.
He looked at the manager and said in a firm tone,
"Sir, I understand your insistence on your restaurant’s grilling methods, but legally, customers have the right to demand reasonable quality for the products they consume."
"This isn’t just a matter of subjective feeling; it’s about consumer rights and the responsibility to fulfill a contract."
"You say all the broccoli is grilled this way, but customers have the right to expect the quality of the product to be commensurate with the price they paid."
"If an item has quality issues due to improper preparation, the customer has the right to request a refund or a replacement."
He paused for a moment before continuing,
"As for refusing to mediate and demanding the customer leave, that is not a wise way to resolve a dispute."
"According to the Consumer Rights Protection Law, a business operator must provide consumers with necessary service information and notices during the course of service, not arbitrarily refuse service."
"Otherwise, you may face legal liability for infringing on consumer rights."
"While you do have the right to select your customers, just as they have the right to select a restaurant, that right exists *before* they begin their meal."
"My client has already begun dining. Unless there’s a case of force majeure, such as a power outage or an earthquake, you have no right to expel my client."
"Furthermore, as far as I know, your restaurant operates on a reservation basis. My client, Mr. Li Xiao, paid a 30% deposit in advance."
"Therefore, the two parties have already entered into a legally binding contract. To fulfill this contract, you must provide products that meet the required standards."
"Your previous act of trying to expel my client, Mr. Li Xiao, constitutes a direct breach of contract. According to relevant regulations, we can apply for punitive damages of ten times the amount—that is, a compensation of fifteen thousand yuan per person."
"As for having your chefs surround, coerce, and even threaten my client with weapons—that is the most serious offense of all."
At this, a dangerous smile appeared on Zhang Li’s lips.
"You could be implicated in three separate criminal offenses."
"First, **Intentional Injury**. Using tools as weapons for intimidation may constitute the crime of intentional injury under criminal law. Coercing others while armed is a clear act of violence that could lead to physical harm, satisfying the constituent elements of intentional injury."
"Second, **Criminal Intimidation**. The criminal code defines the crime of threatening others with violence or other means, and having your chefs intimidate a customer with weapons clearly falls under this offense."
"And finally, **Unlawful Deprivation of Personal Liberty**. By surrounding my client with weapons and using coercive means to restrict his freedom, you may be guilty of the crime of unlawfully depriving another person of their liberty."
"On top of all that, you also violated public security administration penalties. Threatening others and disturbing public order can lead to fines or administrative detention."
Seeing that the manager’s previously relaxed expression had been replaced by a deathly pale one, the smile on Zhang Li’s lips grew wider.
’Seeing this arrogant guy now looking like his whole world has collapsed makes me feel like my education was truly worth it.’
He continued,
"If this were merely a civil dispute, the officer here could indeed only mediate. However, this matter now involves potential criminal charges and violations of public security ordinances."
"So, this is something the officer can, in fact, handle."
"And likewise, you still have no right to throw us out."