Did you see the news? Some teahouses in Chengdu were reported because they served brewed tea.

I saw it. Tea made with hot water also counts as a self-made beverage, so according to regulations, a food business license is required. But many small teahouses didn’t know that before.

If they didn’t know, they can learn. If they don’t have a license, they can apply for one. But what’s strange is that the same person reported more than two hundred teahouses.

Exactly. He also called the businesses and asked for several thousand yuan, scaring them with possible fines. That’s not right.

People like that specialize in finding small problems and then intimidating businesses. Of course owners get scared when they hear they might be fined fifty thousand yuan.

So this time the government applied the policy of no penalty for a first minor violation, giving businesses a deadline to make corrections and time to get their licenses.

But businesses can’t just complain about being wronged. They should get the required licenses and learn the proper procedures, or next time someone will still find something to use against them.

Exactly. Consumers can report problems, but they can’t use reports to demand money privately. That could be suspected extortion.

I’m meeting a client at a teahouse tomorrow. Looks like I’ll have to ask first, ‘Do you have a license?’ so drinking tea doesn’t cause trouble.