Chapter 46: Impossible, Absolutely Impossible
Xu Kang and Xu Le got to eat the candied haws they’d been longing for, watched the acrobatic show, and even got a new set of clothes each.
Although there was a small hiccup, the trip to the market was a success.
Around seven in the evening, just as Xu An finished helping Granny Xu with her bath and was about to wash Xu Kang and Xu Le, the roar of a motorcycle engine sounded from outside the courtyard, followed by a knock on their gate.
"Um, ah, I’m the law enforcement officer who came to collect samples yesterday." The person outside wanted to call out to Xu An but didn’t know his name. After fumbling for a moment, he finally remembered to identify himself.
Hearing this, Xu An’s first thought was that the results from the afternoon’s sampling were out. ’It’s rare for them to notify people door-to-door about inspection results.’
He wiped his hands and went to open the courtyard gate.
Unlike in the afternoon, the young law enforcement officer now stood outside the gate dressed in a cool rider’s outfit, holding two packages, one large and one small.
Seeing Xu An, he handed the large package to him. "This is for you."
’For me?’
Opening it, he found several sets of clothes neatly folded inside, along with some children’s picture books and toys.
Xu An looked at the young officer in confusion. "What’s this?"
COUGH COUGH.
The young officer coughed lightly, trying to hide his embarrassment.
"These are just some clothes I don’t use. I have to wear a uniform for work, so I don’t get many chances to wear them out. They’ve just been sitting in my closet. I saw this afternoon that your clothes were patched up, so I thought I’d bring these over."
At this point, he seemed to feel his actions were a bit rash and quickly added, "If you don’t like them, you don’t have to force yourself to take them."
Xu An wasn’t offended by this, just a little surprised.
’We’re just strangers who’ve met once, yet he saw my predicament and brought me clean clothes. This guy is unusually kind.’
"I like the clothes a lot. Thanks." Xu An didn’t hesitate, accepting the clothes straightforwardly and expressing his gratitude.
Seeing this, the awkwardness on the young officer’s face finally dissipated, replaced by a slight blush.
"My sister saw me gathering the clothes. She heard you have a young girl here who also dresses plainly, so she packed up some of her own spare clothes for me to bring."
"Alright, I’ll pass them on to Liang Dani for you." Xu An couldn’t help but smile at the officer’s flustered state as he reached out and took the small bag of clothes.
Seeing Xu An take both bags, he finally let out a sigh of relief. "I still don’t know your name. I’m Lin Xu Yang. What’s yours?"
"Xu An."
"Okay. I’ll come hang out when I have time."
With that, he put on his helmet, straddled his motorcycle, twisted the throttle, and shot off like an arrow.
Xu An looked through the clothes. Not only were they neatly folded and clean, but a few items even still had their tags on.
This food inspection wasn’t just about food poisoning; it also involved illegal activities like the sale of expired food.
Therefore, the operation was swift. All samples were collected by 3 PM and sent to the lab for testing by 4 PM. By 10:30 PM, all the test results were in.
Through a combination of on-site investigation and the test results, it was confirmed that a total of twenty-one establishments in Hai City were connected to expired food products.
Among these twenty-one establishments were one factory canteen and three city-wide fast-food chains.
This result was nothing short of shocking.
These three fast-food chains were a top choice for many office workers at mealtime, and many of the investigators themselves had eaten at these places.
The thought of having eaten dishes made from food that was expired by six months to over three years made everyone’s stomach churn with discomfort.
At eleven o’clock at night, Wang Qiang finished a late-night meal with his no-good friends. He was a little drunk, staggering back toward the construction site.
As he walked, he suddenly noticed something was wrong. ’Why is the canteen still brightly lit and crowded with people this late?’
The human instinct to gawk at a spectacle drove him toward the canteen. As he got closer, he could gradually hear furious shouting coming from inside.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! We get all our ingredients from legitimate wholesale markets! Every single item has a receipt! How could they be expired ingredients? Absolutely not! You’re slandering us!" Sister Wang shrieked, her voice raw.
"Receipts? You mean these?" The middle-aged man in charge took several organized files from his young subordinate and held them in front of Sister Wang.
Sister Wang stopped yelling and stared at the documents. She nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, yes! See? It’s written right there! A legitimate company, Anxin Food Processing Company, not some shady, unscrupulous business!"
The middle-aged man nodded, and the young subordinate produced a flyer and held it in front of Sister Wang.
"Anxin Food Processing Company: frozen chicken wings, ten yuan a jin; frozen chicken legs, three yuan a jin..." Sister Wang’s voice suddenly trembled. "How... how could it be so cheap? Officers, you must have made a mistake, right?"
No one answered her. The young subordinate once again took out a transparent sealed bag. Inside was a food package, with its production date and expiration date positioned right in the center of the sealed bag, extremely conspicuous.
"Production date: February 7th, 2009. Shelf life: twelve months... Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Sister Wang became hysterical again. "This can’t be! The procurement money I give out every day is more than enough! More than enough! How could this happen!"
In her panic, she looked up and saw Wang Qiang standing behind the crowd, swaying unsteadily as he watched the show. As if seeing her savior, she rushed over, grabbed him, and pulled him forward.
"Qiangzi, tell these officers! You bought all the ingredients from legitimate sources, didn’t you? Right, Qiangzi? Say something!" By the end, Sister Wang’s voice held a pleading tone.
Wang Qiang was drunk, but he wasn’t stupid. Having listened to their conversation for a while, he had a pretty good idea of what was happening.
He looked at the uniformed law enforcement officers in front of him, and a single thought popped into his head—’Run!’
He thought it, and he did it. Shaking off Sister Wang’s hand, he made a break for the exit.
Unfortunately, he didn’t get two steps before several officers tackled him to the ground and pinned him there, unable to move.
Seeing this, even the most oblivious person would understand what was going on. Sister Wang’s lips trembled, her voice filled with disbelief.
"Qiangzi, tell me, why? Qiangzi, why?! I gave you enough money for the groceries every day! Why would you do this?!" As she spoke, something seemed to click, and her tone suddenly became agitated. "Qiangzi, tell me, was it those no-good friends of yours? Did they threaten you? They led you astray, you didn’t want to do this, right? Right?!"
After this outburst, Sister Wang’s legs felt weak and useless, unable to support her.
She slowly, slowly, slowly sank to the ground.
"Take them away." The middle-aged man sighed softly. ’If they knew it would come to this, they wouldn’t have done it in the first place.’
All employees from the twenty-one establishments, including the Good and Come Again Fast Food Restaurant and Jiajia Fast Food Restaurant, were transferred to a nearby detention center to await interrogation.
Liu Jia had been frightened by the afternoon visit. The scare had cleared her previously muddled head, so there was no reason to stay in the hospital. The law enforcement officers took her to the detention center along with the others.
As soon as she entered the detention center, she saw many familiar faces.
Old Liu, the owner of the Good and Come Again Fast Food Restaurant, and his staff; her own employees; that blond kid she always saw at the construction site...
After scanning everyone, Liu Jia suddenly realized something. ’Why don’t I see those two little brats who sell boxed lunches at the construction site entrance?!’
’They obviously get their supplies from Anxin Food Processing Company too!’
’So why aren’t they here now?!’
’If it weren’t for them, I would never have thought of making boxed lunches just for the workers! I wouldn’t have gone to the wholesale market! I wouldn’t have met the people from Anxin Food Processing Company! I wouldn’t have bought expired food! And I wouldn’t have ended up in this mess!’
The thought sent a surge of rage through her. She grabbed the iron bars of the cell and started rattling them with a CLANG! CLANG! while shouting at the officers outside. "Where are those two brats who sell boxed lunches at the construction site entrance?! Why aren’t they here?!"
"Those two brats?" The officer was startled by the sudden outburst and asked subconsciously.
Only after the words left his mouth did he realize—everyone who needed to be arrested had been. How could there be any who got away?
"The little stall at the construction site entrance, the one selling boxed lunches! It’s run by two brats! I asked! The boss said they get their supplies there too!" Liu Jia’s voice was sharp, tinged with a strange excitement.
"Everyone who belongs here is here. If they aren’t here, it means they’ve done nothing wrong." The officer tossed this sentence at her and returned to his post.
Hearing this, Liu Jia froze. Her hands, gripping the iron bars, slowly loosened and slid down. Her face was a mask of confusion.
"Impossible. The owner of Anxin Food Processing Company told me himself, they get their supplies there too!"
"He wouldn’t lie to me! He wouldn’t! You’re the one who’s lying!"
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"You’re all liars! All of you!"