This incident continued to ferment online, showing signs of escalating further.
Netizens had all sorts of opinions on the matter.
"What exactly is going on here? Can anyone sensible explain this to me?"
"Oh my, I'm a parent, and I can't imagine if my child was subjected to violence at school. How awful that would be!"
"I used to watch foreign films of this type, but couldn't bear to finish them. Please investigate this quickly."
"There's no smoke without fire. If someone is saying this, then there must be some truth to it."
"Yes, and she's even a relative, so she must know some inside details that we don't. Don't be afraid, young lady. If anything happens, we'll all protect you."
"These wealthy people are the best at putting up false fronts. Who knows what crooked schemes they're hatching behind the scenes?"
"The more I think about it, the 260 yuan fee seems like it could be a lure."
"For such a great school, how could it be just 260 yuan? That wouldn't even cover the costs."
"This can't be some kind of playground for the rich, can it? Do you remember that orphanage incident from before where they selected pretty young boys and girls..."
The whole night saw discussions escalating further and further.
Even short video sites had repeatedly tried to lower the heat on this issue, but the discussions still shot to the top of their trending lists.
The next day, many staff members at Starry Sky Kindergarten arrived before dawn.
Doctor Lu, Weng Lan, and others had dark circles under their eyes from a sleepless night.
Liu Master Chef doesn't go online much, but he heard about this incident after arriving and was absolutely furious!
"It's nothing like what they're saying at all. How can doing good deeds still lead to misunderstandings these days?"
Others might not know, but he knew exactly what ingredients went into the meals every day and what nutritional standards were followed.
All the fruits were imported, and he went over the order lists daily.
You could say the freshness of the ingredients here surpassed even the Jiangbei Grand Restaurant!
It really was a case of making a mountain out of a molehill.
Not to mention, just look at the children's condition - where do they seem abused or oppressed?
Liu Master Chef was indignant: "What do they know? They're just talking nonsense. Doctor Lu, you're the most educated person here. You can't let them spread rumors!"
Doctor Lu sighed: "There are people online stirring up trouble and muddying the waters. Yesterday we kept explaining, but no one was listening."
"Some people don't want to know the truth. They only believe what they want to believe."
"Our 260 yuan tuition fee has already upset many people, especially our competitors!" Weng Lan added.
Those competitors were just looking for an opportunity to cause trouble, and now this incident has them overjoyed!
Doctor Lu said: "Yesterday I asked a friend who works at a video site, and he said this video had many people boosting its heat, investing anywhere from 1,000 to tens of thousands of yuan."
"So they came prepared, huh? What do we do now?" Liu Master Chef was incensed.
The drivers like Zhang Daming and others looked worried too.
They were just ordinary employees, having never faced such an onslaught before.
In this Internet age, many things are hard to understand, but everyone knew how terrifying the negative energy from public opinion could be.
Liu Master Chef felt especially disheartened: "Isn't this a case of no good deed going unpunished?"
If even a hardworking employee like himself felt hurt hearing such accusations, it was no wonder Shen Wei felt even worse.
She was just a young entrepreneur, so this must be really upsetting for her.
Teacher Tang came early today too, hoping to work out a counterstrategy with everyone.
They couldn't just stand by and let others slander them, after all.
Even before work hours began, everyone had serious expressions: "Stay calm. Isn't this exactly what they want - for us to lose our composure? Let's just keep working diligently."
"Right, as long as the officials present their investigation findings, that will speak louder than any explanation."
After a brief analysis, everyone went about their tasks. It seemed they had a tough battle ahead of them today.
Teacher Tang went to find Doctor Lu and Weng Lan, both being relatively younger and more knowledgeable about online media matters, hoping to help share Shen Wei's burden.
Having found such a great job, he was determined to work twice as hard to prevent this company from failing.
Shen Wei also arrived early.
Seeing everyone's obvious dark circles, she said: "I know who's behind this incident. Everyone should just carry on with their duties. There may be inspectors coming soon."
After such a huge incident, the authorities were bound to respond.
No sooner had she finished speaking than several law enforcement vehicles pulled up outside.
Many people in uniform with body cameras arrived, representing multiple agencies and even some reporters.
Outside the Starry Sky Kindergarten gate, there were also some influencers live streaming with their equipment.
This was currently the biggest issue online, so whoever got first-hand footage would gain the most traffic.
Shen Wei didn't chase them away, only asking them to remain outside the gates for their live streams.
First, she let the inspection team and official media in.
This was a surprise inspection, with all the joint inspection members only being notified at the last minute late last night after the incident blew up. They arrived this morning with no chance for the kindergarten to prepare at all.
The higher-ups had issued strict orders. Since this had already caused such a huge impact online, if any violations were found, they would face severe punishment.
Everyone understood the gravity of the situation, so the inspection was extremely thorough.
But during the inspection process, they were left dumbfounded.
There were no violations whatsoever here.
The kitchen was hygienic, the offices were spacious, and there were even surveillance cameras installed.
The accounts were clean and clear, with all the paperwork properly filed by Shen Wei's team.
Not only were there no violations, but many aspects even exceeded the bureau's standards.
The fruit section of the kitchen was particularly eye-catching.
The blueberries had a thick frosting, and the grapes looked dewy and fresh.
There were indoor and outdoor children's entertainment facilities, all made from eco-friendly materials.
The cameramen were constantly looking to film something else, noticing that all the produce here was organic.
The prices for these organic vegetables were four to five times higher than regular ones since they were pesticide-free - only health-conscious households would buy them.
When the interviewer asked Shen Wei about this, she said: "I treat this place like my own home, so I only purchase things I would eat myself."
The host continued: "But why are people saying such things happened here?"
Shen Wei replied: "I don't know what mindset those people have for making such claims. It's easy to spread rumors, but setting the record straight is an uphill battle."
"Initially setting the 260 yuan tuition was just to make it more affordable for everyone since I was just starting this kindergarten. To be honest, I'm not short on money either."
"I never expected it to cause such a misunderstanding," Shen Wei said with a sincere gaze.
The host and cameramen, having met all kinds of people before, could tell from Shen Wei's manner of speaking that she seemed about 80% credible to them.
The cameraman inwardly mused that this kindergarten must have disrupted someone else's profits.
After multiple rounds of thorough inspections, even involving the fire department, it was clear that everything here was completely legal and compliant.
As they were leaving, one young woman from the inspection team even asked: "Are you still enrolling students here?"
Shen Wei replied: "Not for now, given the current situation online that you're aware of."
The young woman seemed regretful, as she had a child and was looking for a kindergarten.
Now, seeing such a great kindergarten with such affordable fees, she was truly tempted.
Looking at the school buses, the faculty and staff, and the food here, everything is so good that one gets the urge to enroll their child in this place.
When Shen Wei said this, one felt a bit resentful: "Such a great place, yet there are people badmouthing it. How unreasonable!"
