113: Tricky

...The Scar-faced Youth and Hu Lei, who were also in the private room, acted as if they hadn't seen anything and lowered their heads to eat.

Having followed Qi Fang for many years, they were long accustomed to such things.

“Oh, right, Scar, has the licorice shop owner been dealt with?”

Qi Fang pulled out a tissue to wipe his sticky fingers and spoke to the Scar-faced Youth.

“As you instructed, Boss, we gave him ten thousand yuan and booked him and his wife a ten-day tour package to the South Korea-Japan region. They were very happy. They are probably already on the plane flying to South Korea.”

Qi Fang nodded. “Good. I’ll have my friends on the inside apply more pressure to finalize this matter quickly. Then, we can directly take over Feng Wenjun’s two shops.”

Ever since Feng Wenjun’s shops became explosively popular, he had been coveting them.

Generally, people with capital who see a promising shop will consider investing in it.

Qi Fang was clearly not ordinary; he chose to eliminate his competitors root and branch.

He wouldn't allow anyone else to share in the business he desired.

Even if someone else started the business first... He was used to acting tyrannically in the Maple Tree Catering Industry. He appeared amicable on the surface but frequently sabotaged his competitors in secret.

Relying on his friends in official positions, he succeeded time and again, never failing.

In recent years, he had ruined at least eight or ten high-end restaurants.

The number of people he had “sent in” (to jail) for restaurant food safety issues was also considerable.

In his view, even if Jesus came this time, he couldn't save Feng Wenjun... By the time Chen Su and Li Chuxia arrived in Maple City, it was already half past twelve in the afternoon.

For lunch, the two of them simply ate a bowl of noodles at a small noodle shop downstairs, making do with a quick meal.

After dropping off their luggage at home, Chen Su drove toward Ye Sheng’s company... At Li Chuxia’s home.

After putting down her luggage, Li Chuxia sent a message to Zhang Youzhi.

“Check the Fat Chef in the video—where is he from, and what did he do previously?”

Zhang Youzhi: “Received.”

This matter was tricky; the opponent was cunning, and the timeline had been stretched out. Now the internet was filled with posts denouncing Feng Wenjun.

Whether in reality or in online public opinion, Feng Wenjun was clearly at a disadvantage... Ye Sheng’s company.

Chen Su: “What’s the situation now?”

Ye Sheng: “Someone in the back kitchen was bribed and put powdered poppy husks in the seasoning. Many customers went to the hospital for urinalysis, and they tested positive. Now a crowd of people is demanding compensation at the shop entrance.”

Chen Su: “And Wen Jun? Which detention center was he taken to?”

“The Chengxi Detention Center. Xiao Wenzi has gone over and made arrangements. The most crucial thing now is finding evidence. Several surrounding shops are constantly fanning the flames, trying to unite customers to file a lawsuit and demand a heavy sentence.”

Ye Sheng also looked troubled at this moment.

He had no idea where to start looking for evidence.

“Didn't the back kitchen have surveillance installed? Have you checked the footage?”

“The police checked the surveillance, focusing on the Fat Chef, but couldn't find anything suspicious.”

“That's strange. So how did he put it in?” Chen Su was confused.

“However, there is a short surveillance blind spot between the back kitchen and the dining area. I suspect they tampered with things there. The insider isn't just the Fat Chef; there's someone else cooperating with him.”

“Poppy husks aren't something you can just buy anywhere~”

Chen Su stopped mid-sentence, suddenly recalling a piece of information from a while ago.

Although the system was currently upgrading, Chen Su could still retrieve previously recorded intelligence at any time.

[A Zheng Licorice Shop at 116 Heping Avenue, Yongxing County, Maple City, is secretly selling poppy husks.]

This piece of information might be a breakthrough... After leaving Ye Sheng, Chen Su drove toward A Zheng Licorice Shop at 116 Heping Avenue, Yongxing County.

Yongxing County was over a hundred kilometers from Maple City's urban area; it took Chen Su an hour and a half to arrive... Although Heping Avenue had the word “Avenue” in its name, it was actually a narrow alley.

The kind where a car couldn't even drive in.

Chen Su had no choice but to park his car on the roadside, turn on his phone navigation, and walk down the alley, checking the shops one by one.

The shops inside Heping Avenue were very mixed.

There were all sorts of shops: hardware stores, locksmiths, tailor shops, bun shops, and so on.

These shops looked very old; the anti-theft doors outside were pitch black. Just walking past them,

Chen Su could smell the scent of rust.

He continued walking inward.

Finally, at the end of the alley, he saw a small shop labeled A Zheng Licorice Shop.

However, the shop door was tightly locked.

Chen Su looked around and found a cardboard sign posted at the entrance of the licorice shop.

A contact number was left on the cardboard.

“Phone Number: 133******”

He tried calling the number, but no one answered... Just then, an older woman walked out of the tailor shop next to the licorice shop.

“Young man, if you want to buy licorice, I sell it here too.”

Seeing Chen Su lingering outside A Zheng Licorice Shop, she guessed he was there to buy licorice.

Chen Su was about to ask the nearby merchants, and this auntie just walked out.

“Oh, okay.”

He walked into the tailor shop and bought ten yuan worth of licorice from the auntie.

“Auntie, where did the owner of A Zheng Licorice Shop next door go?”

“Him? He went traveling abroad with his wife. I heard they went to South Korea and Japan. Don't you think the beautiful mountains and rivers of our own country are more fun than those two tiny little countries?”

The Tailor Shop Auntie said this while scooping licorice for Chen Su.

“When did they leave?”

“They went to Fengcheng Airport first thing this morning to catch their flight. They should be on the plane by now.”

“Did they say when they would return?”

“A few days ago, I heard A Zheng's wife say they planned to travel for ten days to half a month before coming back.”

...“Auntie, I heard their business was quite good? How can they go traveling for so long all at once? Are they not running the business anymore?” Chen Su asked probing questions.

“Good? What are you talking about? They don't sell as much licorice in a month as I do here,” the Tailor Shop Auntie laughed.

“Besides the couple themselves, is there anyone else in their family?”

“They have a daughter who married and moved to the neighboring county a few years ago. Now it's just the two of them looking after the shop.”

“Besides selling licorice, do they sell anything else?”

“They also sell some medicinal herbs and some homemade herbal tea.”

...Chen Su asked a few more questions but couldn't get any useful information.

Holding the small bag of licorice he bought for ten yuan, he left the tailor shop... A Zheng Licorice Shop's business wasn't great.

Yet, the couple had the spare money and leisure to travel abroad.

That was highly unusual.

For now, this lead was cut off and temporarily useless.

Chen Su could only drive back to Maple City...