Chapter 14 — Tomorrow's Kitchen

The first text message came at twelve minutes past five in the morning.

"Last night when we ate at Kitchen Nha, three people had a stomach ache. The restaurant used spoiled vegetables but they were hiding it."

The message is sent to the ordering phone number. Ten minutes later, a post with more than two hundred shares appeared in the town group. The accompanying photo is the vegetable warehouse door, right in the corner of last week's anonymous post. This time there were three more red plastic bags, labeled "food waiting to be destroyed".

Khoi arrived at the restaurant when it was still dark. Ha opened the door, wearing a coat over her apron. She did not turn on the stove.

“Has anyone called in sick yet?” Khoi asked.

"One person called. She said she had a stomachache but hadn't gone to the doctor yet. The other two people's names were only in the article."

Vy put the phone on the table. “We have to stop all vegetable dishes.”

Khoi looked at the refrigerator. "All?"

“The post said the vegetables were spoiled.”

“Undetermined.”

Ha turned around. “If in doubt, stop first.”

Khoi nodded. He called Lan, Binh, Linh and the shift workers. They sealed the remaining vegetable boxes, recorded the time, took photos, and separated samples by date of receipt. No one is allowed to leave it before the inspection unit arrives.

Binh arrived twenty minutes later, his face pale. “They are calling me at the market.”

“Will you hand over this lot?” Khoi asked.

"Yes. Mustard greens and squash. But I don't know which bag the post is about."

“Is there a receipt?”

Binh handed over the phone. Photos taken at delivery show that the vegetables were checked at six forty, the outside bunch of cabbage was slightly bruised but marked second grade. There are no red bags.

Vy asked: "What is a red bag?"

Khoi remembers the trash cabinet behind. Every day, discarded goods are put in red bags so they don't mix with used goods. Yesterday a bag of vegetables was thrown away because it was slimy. But that bag was removed with organic waste at night.

“Who took the photo?” Ha asked.

No one answered.

They called the medical station. The woman in charge named Oanh said it was impossible to conclude poisoning without patient samples and a list of eaters. She asked the shop to send order information, sales hours, and samples if any.

Khoi said Bep Nha Kitchen saved samples from last week, but did not have separate standard cabinets. Oanh told me to keep it cold and not open it myself.

Man called at six twenty. “I heard the story.”

“I'm handling it.”

“You need to close immediately and hire a testing unit.”

“Called the medical station.”

"The clinic will take time. Customers are reading the name Bep Nha on every platform."

“I will make the confirmed information public.”

"Don't post without knowing. The more you talk, the more people will pay attention."

Khoi looked at the sealed red bag. “If we stay quiet, people will think we're hiding it.”

“Do you think the public can distinguish process from justification?”

"I don't know. But I know I can't tell them to believe it without giving me the data."

Man said: "I can recommend a private testing laboratory that can do same-day testing."

“Your unit?”

"Independence."

“I need names, procedures and costs.”

“You don't have time to bargain.”

"I don't bargain. I check."

Man hung up the phone.

At eight o'clock, in front of the shop, there were six people standing on the phone. One person asked if the restaurant had sent customers to the hospital. Khoi came out to meet him and did not chase him away. He said Nha Kitchen is temporarily suspending vegetable dishes, holding samples and coordinating with medical stations; Anyone with symptom information can contact the public number.

A person in the crowd asked: "Why did you say second-grade vegetables were safe before?"

"Second-grade vegetables do not mean the vegetables are bad. But if any batch is in doubt, it must be stopped."

“If you What if it's wrong?

“The restaurant is responsible according to the inspection results and agreements with customers.”

“If you are right?”

“The shop still needs to improve because photos taken in the warehouse show that the garbage process is not tight enough.”

Ha looked at Khoi. He said something that media workers usually avoid: even if it doesn't cause illness, the restaurant still has other errors.

At noon, the medical station and food safety officers arrived. They check the refrigerator, sample storage temperature, receipt book, shift and sealed bags. They ask the person directly preparing the food, not just the shop owner. Ha presented each step, admitting the shortcomings of the garbage area near the warehouse door.

The officer asked: "Why don't second-class vegetables have their own identifying color?"

Ha said: “There is a handwritten label, but no separate tray.”

“From today we must separate.”

Khoi recorded it in the minutes.

A customer named Trang called back. She said she ate dinner last night and had a mild stomach ache but no fever. She did not go to the hospital because she was afraid of wasting money. Oanh instructed her to follow up, and Bep Nha asked for permission to support medical examination costs if needed.

Trang asked: "Are you going to delete the post?"

"Are not. We just ask you to update if there are different results.”

“I don't know if the shop is trustworthy.”

“You don't need to believe it right away.”

Trang was silent for a moment. “This sentence sounds strange.”

“The shop doesn't know everything yet.”

After the call, Vy said they had to set up a contingency fund, even though they currently had no money. Khoi agreed. Ha suggests deducting a percentage from each order until the minimum level is met. Binh said suppliers also need to have a recall process if the shipment has problems.

They called the contact counter. The seller confirmed that the vegetable batch had no complaints elsewhere. Binh did not use that sentence to conclude. He asked for a list of locations received, delivery time and storage conditions.

In the afternoon, Man sent a sample notice. The content emphasizes "Kep Nha is being slandered by opponents". Khoi read and answered without using slanderous words without confirmation.

Man replied: "You let others hit you without counterattacking."

“I counterattack with process.”

“The process does not spread quickly.”

“So let it spread slowly but true.”

At night, the rapid test results of the vegetable sample did not show any unusual agents, but more in-depth testing was needed. Officials asked the restaurant not to sell dishes using that batch of vegetables until a conclusion was reached.

Khoi stood in front of the menu board, listing six dishes. The shop only has eggs, tofu, checked fish and rice left. Evening revenue dropped by more than half.

A regular customer walked in and looked at the red brick board. He asked: "Can you still eat it?"

Ha said: “Only dishes with confirmed sources.”

He chose eggs and sat on the porch. Before eating, he called Khoi.

“I don't need to say I'm innocent. I need to speak up if I'm at fault."

Khoi nodded. “We will talk.”

Last night, Dung, a reporter who came last week, called to ask to see the minutes. Khoi posts parts that are allowed to be made public, concealing personal information of guests and employees. Dung asked why the shop didn't wait for the conclusion before speaking.

“Because diners need to know what the restaurant is doing while they wait.”

“What if the results show that the shop is wrong?”

“Then the post has to be fixed.”

“What if the results show it's not consistent?”

“Then we still fix the garbage process.”

Dung asked further: "Do you suspect who is behind it?"

Khoi looked at the photo in the article. The angle was taken from inside the fence, but not enough to guess. “I don't say anything that hasn't been proven.”

After hanging up the phone, Khoi checked the list of people who had keys to the warehouse. There are six people. Mother Lan, Vy, Khoi, Ha, Binh when delivering the goods and a seasonal employee who quit. He didn't want to turn the search for the photographer into a witch hunt. But safety cannot rely on everyone being good.

Ha said: "Change the course from tomorrow."

“The delivery person needs to come in.”

“Can be picked up at the outside door.”

“It will take time.”

“His time has a price.”

Khoi added the cost of receiving goods outside the door to the table. Every new process has a price to pay. But not putting a price tag doesn't make it free; it just shifts the burden to someone else.

Two days later, the official test results were sent back. No poisoning agents were detected in the stored vegetable samples. The trash sample was not eligible for testing because it had been moved, but records showed that the batch of vegetables did not match the time of the three people in the post: one person never ordered food, one person ate at another restaurant the same night and one person did not provide a sample.

Kitchen Nha was not found to cause poisoning.

But officials recorded three minor process violations: the garbage area was not completely separated, the samples were not kept for enough time, and the second-class labels were inconsistent.

Khoi read the minutes and did not jump for joy. He called Trang and asked about the status. Her stomach pain was gone and she agreed to update the article. The remaining two people were not contacted.

Vy wrote a new announcement. This time there are results, time, work done, shortcomings noted and plans for correction. Khoi asked to add: "The test results do not prove that all the restaurant's dishes are perfect."

Ha said: "That sentence scares people."

“But yes.”

Lan's mother stood next to her and told her to keep it.

The post was posted at seven o'clock in the evening. Someone apologized. Some people say the restaurant overcooks it. Some people still say you shouldn't eat second-rate food. The shop cannot change everyone's mind.

Binh called to inform the wholesaler that he would accept a refund for the stamped vegetables, but from next week he would have to pay an additional inspection fee. Vy asked where to get the money. Khoi said seasonal dishes are included in the price and clearly stated.

That night, Man did not call. He posted a short video about the new store, in which the narrator said "quality is controlled from farm to table". Khoi knew they didn't have a farm store yet, but he didn't comment.

Ha asked: "Aren't you angry?"

"Have."

“Why don't you say it?”

“That doesn't change the result.”

“Sometimes silence makes others think you agree.”

Khoi opens the audio file. “So I will clearly state that I do not agree, but do not hold them responsible for their mistakes.”

Late at night, he wrote:

"Today's incident does not end with the restaurant being vindicated. It ends with the restaurant knowing that it is missing three steps and having to pay to fix it. Diners have the right to be suspicious. The kitchen has the responsibility to answer. No one can use emotions as a substitute for inspection."

He turned off the phone. On the table, the photo of the red bag was still in the envelope. The post has been deleted, but the photo is still there.

In the reflection on the closet door, Khoi saw a piece of blue shirt. Not the restaurant owner's shirt.

Someone had been standing near the warehouse door the night before, and that person knew exactly when the trash bags were brought out.