📖 Chapter 23 – The War of Words
The days after Raj's counterstrike were some of the busiest the railway stall had ever seen. Customers flocked not only for the taste of fusion pavs and chocolate gulab jamuns, but for the assurance that Raj himself stood behind every plate. His reputation had not only survived Shankar's sabotage—it had grown stronger. Yet Raj knew victories bred jealousy, and enemies never vanished—they adapted.
True enough, the whispers began again, not among the commuters this time, but in the markets, in nearby lanes, and even on college campuses. Flyers appeared, cheaply printed but sharp in their accusations: Street food is dirty. Fusion is fake. Raj's Fusion Eats is a scam. The words spread like ash in the wind. Some bore Shankar's old stall name at the bottom, as though he were proudly signing his attack.
Arjun stormed into the hostel one night, waving a crumpled flyer in his fist. "Bhaiya, look at this! He's calling you a fraud in writing!" His face flushed with anger. "We should tear them all down!"
Raj studied the flyer calmly, his eyes narrowing not in rage but in thought. "Words are blades, Arjun. Tear one down and two more will appear. Fighting lies with silence makes them grow stronger. The only way to cut through them is with truth—and louder truth."
The system flickered before his eyes:
[New Crisis Detected: Smear Campaign Active.]
Reputation Threat: High
Countermeasure Suggested: Public Promotion / Community Endorsement.
Raj leaned back, his mind racing. Shankar had chosen the battlefield of words, so Raj would answer with words of his own. But his would not be whispered in shadows or printed in cheap ink. His would be shouted by the voices of those who had tasted his food, trusted his hands, and believed in his brand.
The next morning, he launched his counter. Every customer who ate at the stall was invited to sign a simple white banner hung at the side: "I Trust Raj's Fusion Eats." Students scribbled their names with pride, office workers left quick signatures before catching trains, mothers scrawled blessings, and children left messy doodles of pavs and sweets. Within hours, the banner filled with color and words, a wall of trust built by the people themselves.
Photos spread quickly across social media. The same bloggers who had once praised his fusion dishes now returned, this time to film the banner and interview customers. One video captured a college student saying, "Anyone can spread rumors, but food doesn't lie. Raj bhaiya's food is the best in Mumbai, and everyone knows it." Another showed a mother laughing as her child ate gulab jamun with chocolate smeared across his cheeks, declaring, "If it wasn't safe, would I give it to my son?"
By evening, the tide had turned again. Flyers that once whispered lies were drowned out by photos and videos shouting truth. Customers came not just to eat but to stand in solidarity, their signatures and voices silencing Shankar's smear campaign before it could take root.
The system glowed warmly:
[Smear Campaign Neutralized.]
Reputation +30. Customer Loyalty +25.]
Unlock: Public Relations Skill (Level 1).
Raj smiled faintly, his hands still busy at the pan. "Words can wound, but they can also heal. And when spoken together, they can build walls stronger than stone."
But far away, Shankar tore one of his own flyers in half, his face twisted with rage. His war of words had failed, his enemy stronger than before. Yet the hatred in his eyes only deepened, like a fire refusing to die. "So be it," he hissed. "If words fail, then I'll use fire."
Raj, unaware of the storm those words promised, kept serving food with steady hands. But the system flickered with a new, ominous warning:
[Alert: Physical Sabotage Risk Rising.]