Chapter 3 — Selling the Shop for Two Million Yuan, I Made Them Go Bankrupt

On the other end of the line, lawyer Truong was silent for a moment. His voice carried a bit of hesitation: "The second step? Miss Tham, to be honest, at this time we should keep quiet and observe the situation. Vuong Duc Phat is like a mad dog right now, taking the initiative to act is not a wise choice." I smiled softly: "Lawyer Truong, when fighting a snake, you have to hit the right dangerous spot. A crazy dog must be beaten to death right when it's at its craziest. Otherwise, it will cling to you for the rest of your life." He still hesitated: "But they will definitely come back to bite you, saying you deliberately hid the store's serious shortcomings. Then public opinion will be very unfavorable for you."

“Let them bite.” My voice became a little colder. "What I sell is a store, a recipe, not a hands-on service. Lawyer Truong, I ask you a question, do you really think a store has a net profit of 1.8 million yuan per year, the thing that creates the core value is just a recipe book that anyone can copy?"

He mused: "Of course not, there's also location, customers, operations, brand..."

“You're right, but you forgot the most important point.” I interrupted him. “Only I can make Nguyet Ban Loan become Nguyet Ban Loan.”

I stood up, walked to the glass door, looked at the busy traffic below: "It's time to tell you the real secret of this shop. Do you remember what I said when signing the contract? That 2,000,000 is money to bury loved ones. Actually, I only said half of that sentence. It's also the amount of money I dug a grave for them." On the other side of the phone, lawyer Truong took a deep breath, did not interrupt, just listened quietly.

"The street where Nguyet Ban Loan is located belongs to the old street improvement area. The outside is flashy, but the underground system underneath is extremely chaotic. Right under my shop, there is an abandoned underground sewer line from the Republic of Korea era. Over the years, it has been partially clogged with construction waste and industrial waste. Most seriously, it has a damaged intersection with the city's main sewer system."

“Every time the pressure is low or during the rainy season, the sulfur gas in the main sewer will follow that broken point and leak into the abandoned sewer line, then seep through the foundation cracks and old ventilation pipes, seeping into the kitchen behind.”

Lawyer Truong's voice was full of surprise: "Is that gas... not easy to detect?"

"Are not." I shook my head, even though he couldn't see. "This gas is almost colorless, odorless, very low in concentration, and completely masked by the smell of smoke and spices from the grill. It itself does not cause direct harm."

“So… what causes food poisoning?”

“The key is in my formula.”

I slowly told the secret I had been hiding for many years: "In the recipe there is a special spice from the Nam Cuong region, which is the soul of the restaurant's flavor. But when this spice comes into contact with sulfur gas in the air and undergoes high temperatures when baking, a chemical reaction will occur, creating a compound with very strong effects."

“It is not fatal, but it will cause severe stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhea... which are symptoms of food poisoning.”

The other end of the line fell silent for a long time. Obviously, lawyer Truong was stunned by this secret. He spoke with difficulty: "So before you..."

“It took me nearly a year, nearly 500,000 yuan, to find the cause.” I speak slowly. "After that, I hired someone to specifically design a two-layer air filtration and isolation system, hidden in the kitchen's ventilation duct. It will periodically operate, filtering out all those toxic gases."

“All drawings are designed by me and produced in a small workshop. There is only one set in the world.”

I paused for a moment, my voice as light as the wind.

“The night before the handover, I took it apart and took it away.”

"Lawyer Truong, I sold them a store. In the equipment list of the contract, there was never that system, because it is my personal property."

I smiled softly.

"They are greedy, stupid, and arrogant. They think that if they have a formula, they have everything."

“But they never thought…”

“The thing that has kept Nguyet Ban Loan at peace for so many years has never been a formula.”

06 Counterattack Lawyer Truong completely understood. His voice changed from worry to excitement mixed with admiration: "Miss Tham... is really skilled. This is no longer a transfer of the store, but a pre-calculated game of chess. Legally, you don't have any loopholes. Handing over according to the 'status quo', they didn't realize that the environmental problem was their fault. The equipment was not on the list, you had the right to take it away. This time they had a big fall."

“Falling is just the beginning.” I speak very softly. "A chicken that lays golden eggs, they won it, but they don't know how to raise it. The chicken died, the eggs were lost, and they still have to pay a large sum. Now they are short of money, involved in lawsuits, and their reputation has collapsed. This is the best time to take action."

Lawyer Truong's voice immediately became sharp: "Understood. Tell me, what do I need to do?"

“I need you to prepare two sets of lawsuit documents immediately.” I pulled out the desk drawer and took out two bags of prepared documents.

"The first set is related to the old house my parents left behind, in the old neighborhood in the south of the city. A copy of the red book is in here. That year I was sixteen years old, my uncle and aunt, using the excuse of 'keeping it safe from being scammed', lured me into signing a transfer contract. The price listed on the contract was only 100,000, while the market price at that time was at least 500,000. They never gave me a single dong, and said that 100,000 was considered the cost of my meals at their house. year.”

"I was underage at that time, and the contract was clearly unfair and legally completely cancelable. I wanted to get the house back."

“No problem.” Lawyer Truong answered decisively. "A large property contract signed by a minor, with a conflict of interest on the part of the guardian, we are sure to win in this case."

I picked up the second bag of documents.

"The second set is a lawsuit against them for misappropriating my property. My parents' accident compensation, plus the university living expenses they took in the name of 'family investment', totaled 28,700 yuan. When I asked again, they said the investment failed and was lost, but could not provide any documents."

"I want them to return both principal and interest in full, without missing a penny. I keep all transfer documents."

Lawyer Truong's breathing was clearly more rapid: "The evidence is too complete. Ms. Tham, you are too prepared. With these things, plus the fact that they are entangled in a poisoning case, they definitely have no strength to resist. We can attack them right away!" I looked out the window. The restaurant "Nguyet Ban Loan" that once belonged to me is now surrounded by blockade wire, like a giant cold tomb. A grave... made by hand I choose for them.

"Before my mother passed away, she held my hand, said he was her only younger brother, the only relative left, and told me to be patient."

“I listened to you.”

“I persevered for ten years.”

“I left the compensation money that my parents exchanged with their lives for them to ‘manage’.”

“I watched them move into my parents' house, renovating it to their liking.”

“I even let Vuong Thien use my money to buy her first designer bag.”

“I used to think that giving in would give me a little warmth called friendship.”

“But what I received was only bottomless demands and ever-growing greed.”

“Until they targeted the thing that kept me alive.”

“That's when I understood…”

“This thing called love, it's time to bury it.”

I picked up the transfer confirmation for 200,000 yuan.

“Lawyer Truong, use the money they gave me.”

“I won't owe you a penny for the litigation fee.”

“I want them to understand, what ate mine…”

“Had to release twice as much.”

“And I will make them…”

“Completely empty-handed.”