Food: Randomly set up stalls, even the little guy is drooling.

Chapter 81 Haters are fans too

When Zheng Zhifeng, the anti-fraud blogger, finally arrived at the small square in front of Kaiyuan Temple with his equipment, he was already panting heavily.

He felt that he must have forgotten to check the almanac before going out today. There was a red handprint on his left cheek, which was from his assistant, no, his former assistant, Xiao Liu, when he got up. It hadn't faded even after more than an hour.

Back at the foot of the mountain, his face still hurt terribly, and he was still upset. So he unleashed a torrent of abuse on Xiao Liu, yelling, "You bastard, I told you not to hit me like that! Deduct 100! No, deduct 200!"

Xiao Liu slammed the machine down hard, then suddenly remembered how expensive it would be to repair, so he gently placed it on the ground, his face flushed red. "Damn it, you skinflint Zheng! I've worked for you for three months, carrying this equipment from morning till night every day, and I still have to wake you up!"

"I just finished my probation period, and I'm paid 4,000 a month, and you're already deducting 200 from my paycheck every day! I'm quitting this job! You can go and fight your frauds with this second-hand, who knows how many times it's been used!"

After saying that, Xiao Liu really turned around and left, leaving Zheng Zhifeng alone, bewildered in the wind.

"Damn it, you ingrate!" Zheng Zhifeng cursed, but could only grit his teeth and carry the heavy equipment bag himself, like a miserable hiker, starting his mountain climbing journey alone.

Along the way, he grew angrier and angrier, until he even moved himself to tears. "Holy crap, my assistant is afraid of being threatened by organized crime and has left me! And me, for the sake of the people's vital interests, I've abandoned everyone and am going up the mountain alone! If I just take a selfie, my tragic hero persona will be secure, right? Won't the online traffic skyrocket?"

However, when he appeared in the small square, the scene before him left him dumbfounded. There were more people than he had expected.

What's going on? There are already more than twenty people gathered in the small square!

There were elderly people who had finished their morning exercise and hadn't left yet, tourists who had just come down the mountain wearing hiking clothes, and even a few stylish young men and women, who actually lined up one by one at the temple gate.

"I heard that the steamed buns were limited yesterday, and they were all gone if you were a little late."

"Ten yuan is a bit expensive, but since we're already here, let's give it a try."

"Consider it a donation to support the temple's renovation; the roof looks quite dilapidated."

Is this right? Zheng Zhifeng was bewildered. This wasn't right. How could the script be like this? Shouldn't it be quiet and deserted, with only a handful of righteous people like him here to denounce it?

No matter how you look at it, it looks like they're really here to buy steamed buns.

He leaned closer to a middle-aged man at the end of the line and asked, "Hey bro, what are you guys doing?"

The man stared at him like he was an idiot for a few seconds. "Buying steamed buns? Aren't you? You're here to line up for incense?"

Zheng Zhifeng had already secretly turned on the device and asked a leading question, "Don't you think 10 yuan for a vegetarian bun is expensive?"

The man stared at him for a few more seconds, as if he were an idiot, and said, "Why not? Don't you think 10 yuan each is expensive?"

"That's it! That's the tone I'm talking about!" Zheng Zhifeng excitedly continued, "So you also think temples are ripping people off?"

The older man looked at him with pity, as if he were a complete idiot. "When did I say that? They clearly stated the price; they didn't force anyone to buy or sell."

Zheng Zhifeng returned empty-handed, cursing inwardly, "What's wrong with these people? They have absolutely no awareness of consumer rights! A bun costs several yuan! And they're not complaining?"

But the die was cast, and the die had to be cast. The equipment had arrived, the slaps had been delivered, and the script was finalized. Moreover, the online backlash continued, proving that he was the one with a strong popular base!

As for the foolish man in front of him, he is exactly the ignorant crowd in his video!

"Look, even in the face of this blatant price gouging, there are still unsuspecting people who are misled by appearances. But I will not give up. This is the value and meaning of my existence."

Yes, that's what we'll do! As for the truth? What I, Zheng Zhifeng, present is the truth!

Once the video goes viral, the dilapidated temple and the steamed bun vendor will feel the pressure of public opinion. Won't they have to give me the money they just earned to clear up the misunderstanding? At that time, hehe—he could already see the money beckoning to him.

"Brilliant!" He perked up and began gathering materials.

Meanwhile, inside Kaiyuan Temple.

Gu Xunguang apologized with a guilty look on his face, "Master Zhenyan, Boss Lu, I'm really sorry! My original intention was to promote you, but I didn't expect it to cause so many misunderstandings. Now there's a lot of criticism, and even taking down the video won't help."

Master Zhenyan remained calm, gently turning his prayer beads as he slowly said, "Benefactor Gu, there's no need to blame yourself too much. Life is unpredictable, and public opinion can be deceiving; that's just the way it is. As long as you do good deeds and have a clear conscience, that's enough."

Lu Feng stood aside, deep in thought. This day of troubles had inexplicably passed, and he still didn't know who Zizi was.

As for why he was there, he was called in early in the morning to discuss it with others, and that's when he found out what had happened.

My steamed buns are priced at 10 yuan, and the cost of the ingredients alone is 5 yuan. I charge a tiny processing fee; is there a problem with that? The remaining profits are used for temple renovations; how is that considered greedy? Why doesn't anyone talk about the even more greedy "Fire-Fried Beef"?

"Boss Lu, your Fiery Beef is getting criticized too." Gu Xunguang showed Lu Feng his phone, which made Lu Feng both amused and annoyed.

In Gu Xunguang's video yesterday, a close-up screenshot of a food stall was taken, showing a skewer for fifty yuan a piece. Combined with another shot showing a tiny skewer in a customer's hand, the combination of the two has drawn criticism.

He said something like, "Guys, there's a kebab assassin here!"

Regardless, the person who gave the temple the idea was Lu Feng, so he has to help the temple turn the situation around, otherwise it feels like the abbot's troubles are going to get a 2.OPIus version.

"The reason there are so many negative reviews online is that they haven't actually eaten there; they're just criticizing the price," Lu Feng thought for a moment and analyzed. "You see, anyone who's tried the steamed buns and kebabs will definitely approve. We have clearly marked prices and don't rip off customers. Kaiyuan Temple has always had a very good reputation in this area."

He also wanted to mobilize his previously accumulated QQ and Green Bubble foodie groups to get the support of the masses, but the stupid rule of the system banning positive publicity had made him give up using his phone.

Most importantly, he felt that it would be difficult to reverse the situation online, as the truth could not outrun rumors, and these few people who came out would only be seen as "50-cent party members".

Lu Feng pondered, "Therefore, the key to breaking the deadlock lies in finding the critical problem. If the reputation has collapsed, then we must rebuild it."

"As the saying goes, haters are still fans. Whether they're curious or just looking to cause trouble, people coming here is an opportunity! If we do our best, we won't be afraid of not getting any attention. Once they've tried it, I'm confident I can turn them into fans."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Lu Feng smelled a burning odor. "Oh no, the fire in my stove is too high!"

He turned and ran outside, leaving the few people inside looking at each other in bewilderment.

Hai Chi affirmed, "I feel that what Benefactor Lu said is also correct. We should have enough confidence in his products."

Just then, at exactly seven o'clock in the morning, a loud shout came from outside the gate, "Open for business! Aren't you selling steamed buns yet?!"

Lu Feng sped all the way to the stall at the back gate. Luckily, if the stall had overturned and set the temple on fire, it would have been Game Ovr.

He placed the skewers on the grill, and the light screen in front of him flickered.

[S-Rank Fiery Beef Proficiency: Minor Mastery (999/1000) → Major Mastery]

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