Chapter 82 [More Than One] I've been reborn, I'm definitely going to become an internet celebrity!

I've been reborn, I'm definitely going to become an internet celebrity!

Chapter 82 [More Than One]

As soon as the old man spoke, the noise from the surrounding tables seemed to be paused, instantly falling silent.

Countless gazes instantly focused on them.

Most of the people present knew what the situation was.

The old man was panting heavily, sweat beading on his forehead. His eyes darted away, avoiding Liu Zhuohao's gaze, his eyes fixed on the greasy ground. His words spilled out like beans: "I...I don't even know that person! He just told me to come over and join your line, then argue with the people behind me, and—he gave me the money!"

"I only took that hundred dollars! I only did it once! Hmm—maybe, maybe I've come a few times, but this was definitely just a temporary job!"

He spoke incoherently, desperate to distance himself, yet his words were full of inconsistencies: "But that report really has nothing to do with me! I know nothing about it!"

After a few words, the area around the bustling stall suddenly fell silent for a few seconds.

As the steak sizzled on the hot plate, everyone froze, including Huang Weixiong and others, their eyes darting back and forth between the old man and themselves.

Looking at the overly tense yet slightly pleading old face before him, Liu Zhuohao finally remembered.

Among the faces that repeatedly appear in the video footage, deliberately linger, and provoke arguments, there is indeed such a person.

At the time, I thought, "At such an old age, doing this kind of thing is really—"

He slowly put down the clips in his hand and wiped his hands on his apron.

"So old, really—"

"It's not that old people have become bad, it's that bad people have grown old."

"If apologies were enough, why would anyone call the police?"

Whispers gradually rose from the surroundings, carrying disdain, mockery, and a hint of pleasure.

However, most people remained silent, their ears perked up, waiting to see their reaction.

Should they shout angrily? Call the police? Or—

Liu Zhuohao didn't show any intense expression on his face. He just stared at the old man for several seconds until the old man was almost unable to hold back his pleading posture. Then he sighed softly, his voice not loud, but loud enough for everyone around to hear: "So, it was you."

The old man nodded hurriedly, his voice even more urgent: "It's me, it's me."

"This has nothing to do with me, boss. I'm just looking for a day job."

Liu Zhuohao laughed helplessly: "This odd job—isn't done like this, uncle."

As soon as he said this, many people around him echoed his sentiments:

Upon hearing this, the onlookers, who had been holding back their anger, immediately found an outlet for their frustration, chiming in with a cacophony of voices: "Yes! Uncle, are you out of your mind? This can't be called doing odd jobs! This is illegal, you know!"

"Back in the past, twenty years ago, at best it was just employees causing trouble; at worst it was considered joining a gang or working as a thug!"

"Hey, hey, you can't say that, there aren't any branches these days—"

"They're pretty much the same!"

Amidst the fragmented sounds, some audible and some inaudible, the atmosphere suddenly became subtle and tense.

"I haven't broken the law!"

The old man, his face flushed red with anger at the crowd's accusations, stubbornly insisted, "I'm just a laborer! What's wrong with being a laborer?"

"Talking to me about this won't do any good, sir." Liu Zhuohao picked up the tongs again, flipping the steak on the hot plate, his tone as calm as if he were discussing whether tomorrow would be sunny or cloudy. "This matter falls under the jurisdiction of the regulatory bureau now, you know the regulatory bureau, right?"

"I have no idea."

The old man blurted out, not even giving himself a second to think, "Anyway, I'm just an employee, Boss Liu, I have nothing to do with this!"

In short, it's okay, it's really okay.

I don't know, I just don't know.

I am innocent!

Liu Zhuohao was amused by his unreasonable and irrational behavior, and laughed in exasperation.

Without stopping his hands or looking up, he said, "If you say you don't know, I'll take that as you really don't know."

"That's why, sir, you should really look into it."

He paused, then spoke clearly, making sure everyone around him could hear him: "This isn't something I, a street vendor, am handling; it's being handled by the regulatory authorities."

"I'm just a businessman; I don't have the authority to handle this matter."

"If you really have any thoughts or feel wronged, you have to talk to them. Talking to me won't help."

The old man wouldn't let it go and started arguing unreasonably: "Young man, why are you so petty? I've already said I didn't know anything, I'm just a day laborer, why are you so fixated on this?"

Liu Zhuohao turned around without looking up, his voice calm and even: "Well, I'm just a street vendor, there's nothing I can do about what you're saying to me."

One insisted, "I'm just a wage earner," while the other retorted, "I'm just a street vendor."

The two of them kept going back and forth on the same topic.

The tense atmosphere was eased by this childish conversation.

Someone couldn't help but burst out laughing, and then more laughter followed.

"Boss Liu has a good temper; he doesn't get angry at all."

"If someone messed up my stall like this, and still dared to cause trouble, I would have already—"

"Shh! Don't you dare lay a hand on me! If you do, you'll be in the wrong!"

The desire to watch the spectacle took over, the tension dissipated, and everyone watched with amusement.

"Here you go, table number five, medium-rare with black pepper." Liu Zhuohao deftly shoveled the seared steak onto the sizzling hot iron plate and gestured to Cheng Bing, who was trying not to laugh, to take it over.

He then looked up at the old man who was still standing there, his face turning red and blue: "I really am just a street vendor, uncle, you've got the wrong person."

The old man seemed embarrassed by the laughter around him, and then, as if remembering something, he suddenly raised his voice: "I, I heard someone say that what you have is called—name, the right to reputation! Yes! The right to reputation!"

You can't just take pictures of me and put them on the news! That's illegal!

Liu Zhuohao, his hands still busy, casually replied, "It was a reporter from the TV station who put you in the news. If you think there's a problem, you can go and complain to the TV station."

"But I think it's no use even if you complain, since they've blurred your face."

He abruptly changed his tone, his voice suddenly becoming sharp, and for the first time, his gaze turned genuinely cold as he stared directly at the old man: "But I did indeed film you with my own equipment."

"Otherwise, how would I know you were doing this kind of odd job at my stall?"

He leaned forward slightly, his voice low but each word firm and resolute: "So, of course you can sue me for infringing on your portrait rights or reputation rights. No problem, that's your right."

"but"

He straightened up and raised his voice, making it clear to everyone present, whether openly or covertly: "While you sue me, I can also sue you, and I will definitely countersue you for participating in malicious commercial defamation and infringing on my business rights and reputation."

"We'll see you in court then."

"But let me give you a piece of advice: you're not my target right now. If you really have any clues or know anything, you can go and explain it to the people at the regulatory bureau instead of making a scene here."

Once there's a first, there will be a second, a third—

As if a hole had been pried open, those who had appeared in Liu Zhuohao's videos and maliciously queued began to appear one after another in front of his stall, or tried to contact him in other ways.

Some of the younger ones would seize any opportunity to approach him, their faces pale, pleading and swearing that they were only doing things for money and knew nothing about what was going on behind the scenes, hoping that Boss Liu would be lenient and not pursue the matter.

Some of the older men simply followed the example of the old man from before, trying to use their age and ignorance of the law to their advantage, even resorting to tantrums and tantrums to muddy the waters, gain some sympathy, or create some trouble.

But no matter what guise they presented or what their intentions were, the responses they received were all similar: Liu Zhuohao's attitude was clear and cold, consisting of only one sentence—

"This is not my responsibility. Go and explain the situation to the regulatory authorities."

At noon, Liu Zhuohao was making a video call in his room.

On the other end of the video call, Liu Zhuoyue, the cousin who had already left his hometown, took advantage of his lunch break to give instructions with a slight frown: "In short, don't get too involved with them. It's best to avoid even physical contact or verbal exchanges."

"What we need to do now is wait for the regulatory authorities to investigate and determine the nature of the case."

"We'll see how they handle it before deciding on our next step."

After all, he had just been promoted and didn't have much vacation time. After briefly helping me check some documents, he contacted the local legal community, found me a relatively reliable local lawyer, and then left.

Liu Zhuohao smiled on the other end of the screen, somewhat reluctantly: "Brother Yue, after all, I'm in business."

"When people come to my stall and talk to me in front of so many customers, I can't just pretend I'm not hearing anything and not react at all, right? I have to make things clear as much as possible and get them to leave so as not to affect other customers."

He paused, his fingers tapping the table unconsciously: "But then again, once the test report came out, my self-certification process was complete."

"But the regulatory authorities—to this day, it seems they haven't even made a single official call to me."

"Are they sure they're handling it? Or are they trying to downplay it, pretend they don't know, and wait for the hype to die down?"

My cousin on the other end of the screen was silent for a few seconds, his expression becoming somewhat subtle.

Instead of answering directly, he presented a fact: "Your video of defending your rights was trending on social media."

Liu Zhuohao was taken aback, then nodded: "Yes, so—"

Upon hearing this, he seemed to understand something, and opened the Weibo ranking interface with one hand, where his own video was no longer displayed.

Liu Zhuohao manually searched for the hashtag #XiaobiFoodBloggerEncounteredMaliciousReports#. After entering the site, he found a "Details" button after the 175.7 million views and 738 discussions. Clicking on it led him to the details of the trending hashtag.