MTLNOVEL Chapter 166: Seize!
Jiang Feng returned to Fengming with Nangong Qingcheng, Chu Feifei, and Liu Shiyuan. From a distance, they could see several law enforcement vehicles parked at the warehouse entrance. Officers were unloading boxes of goods from the warehouse, while Heizi stood at the door, looking distressed. Bai Zhiqing was being escorted aside by two officers, her freedom restricted.
Seeing the four of them arrive, a look of relief appeared on Heizi's face. "Brothers, Manager Nangong, you're finally here!" he greeted them.
Nangong Qingcheng looked serious and asked in confusion, "What on earth happened?"
"Qingcheng, it's my fault. I didn't take good care of the company..." From a distance, Bai Zhiqing let out a bitter smile, her eyes slightly red.
At this moment, she was filled with self-reproach. Fengming had ended up like this not only because of a significant oversight at work but also because she felt she had betrayed Nangong Qingcheng's trust.
"Sister Zhiqing, don't be upset yet. Can you tell me exactly what happened?" Nangong Qingcheng comforted Bai Zhiqing, stepping forward. In times like these, she had to take charge because she was the manager.
"This is what happened: the batch of snacks we brought in yesterday, sold through e-commerce channels, caused problems for the buyers. Many people experienced dizziness, vomiting, and severe cases even went into shock. The law enforcement received complaints and came to investigate. They found the snacks had a cyanide content that was critically over the limit! That's why they wanted to seal our company and suspend operations." Bai Zhiqing explained while giving Jiang Feng a bitter look, feeling even more defeated by such a mistake in front of him.
"Which snacks exceeded the limit?" Chu Feifei asked. She was now helping Fengming by promoting their products in livestreams, so she knew that snacks formed part of Fengming's business. But with so many varieties, which one was causing the issue?
"Southern Guoguo Almonds," Bai Zhiqing replied. "They were a best-seller before, but this batch turned out to be substandard."
"Guoguo Almonds?" Nangong Qingcheng was taken aback. She used to be in charge of purchasing, but due to being busy with school lately, she let Bai Zhiqing handle both buying and sales. She never expected that it would be the Guoguo Almonds causing the problem.
It shouldn't have happened. Initially, it was she who signed the purchasing agreement online with the manufacturer of Guoguo. Their product quality had always been excellent. How could they be substandard now?
"Was it an issue on the manufacturer's side?" Nangong Qingcheng asked in confusion.
"I made a call to inquire, but the manufacturer denied it, claiming all their products undergo strict testing before leaving the factory without any quality issues. They suggested that it was our problem and that we should conduct an internal audit." Bai Zhiqing said bitterly.
"Hm, they shirk off responsibility just like that!" Chu Feifei said indignantly.
In fact, all almond products contain cyanide, which is common knowledge. A small amount is harmless to humans, but an excessive amount is a different story. Cyanide is a prohibited toxin, on par with mercury compounds, selenium powder, and phenol, and excessive consumption can be life-threatening!
If the toxic almonds sold result in fatalities, closing the company would be the least of concerns. As the sales supervisor, Bai Zhiqing might even face jail time!
At that moment, Jiang Feng suddenly approached the boxes of Guoguo Almonds being moved by law enforcement, picked up a pack, and sniffed it without hesitation.
"What are you doing?" An officer spotted his actions and immediately stepped in to stop him.
"Officer, I'm the legal representative of Fengming Group; I'm responsible for everything here," Nangong Qingcheng stepped forward to say.
"Are you the manager?" The officer frowned.
"Yes."
"Your company has seriously violated food safety regulations. According to the protocol, we must temporarily seal it off, and we hope for your cooperation," the officer said expressionlessly.
"I understand. If it's indeed our snacks that caused adverse reactions, we'll take full responsibility." Nangong Qingcheng immediately stated her stance.
Hearing her determination, the officer's expression softened, satisfied with Nangong Qingcheng's sense of responsibility, "Let's not discuss this further. Since you're the person in charge, please accompany us later for a more thorough investigation, and further testing will be conducted on these almonds that exceeded the limits."
"Alright." Nangong Qingcheng sighed softly. Watching the officers load all the Guoguo Almonds onto the vehicles, they then took out seals to close off the entire warehouse.
Moreover, the office building was also sealed off, prohibiting further operations.
This scene made Nangong Qingcheng's eyes well up with tears. The company painstakingly created and operated for two years had ended up like this. Entrepreneurship is hard. She wondered if Fengming could survive this ordeal.
"Let's go." Nangong Qingcheng turned to Bai Zhiqing with a forced smile, "Sister Zhiqing, we're upright and not afraid of shadows. We didn't intend to harm anyone. I'm sure the relevant departments will give us a fair judgment."
"Yes." Bai Zhiqing nodded sadly, knowing that this would inevitably affect Nangong Qingcheng's studies and reputation, and she felt even more guilty.
"Qingcheng, Sister Zhiqing, I'll join you!" As Nangong Qingcheng and Bai Zhiqing were about to be taken away, Chu Feifei stood up gallantly and said.
"Fei'er, you've only recently joined the company, and this matter isn't related to you. You shouldn't wade into this mess," Nangong Qingcheng said.
"Qingcheng, what are you talking about? Do you think I'm afraid of trouble? Besides, I was planning to promote the Guoguo Almonds in my livestreams, so it involves me too. As sisters, don't say such things." Chu Feifei said, then headed towards the law enforcement vehicles ahead of everyone else.
"Fei'er..."
"And me too, Qingcheng! I'll go with you! Although I can't help you and Sister Zhiqing much, I'll face this with you. We'll get through this together!" Liu Shiyuan said resolutely, standing firm and determined as never before.
"Alright." With the two of them being so righteous, Nangong Qingcheng couldn't say anything else. Her eyes turned red, "Fei'er, Shiyan, thank you. Let's get through this challenge together."
"Wait, where's the uncle?" Just as Chu Feifei was about to board the law enforcement vehicle, she suddenly realized Jiang Feng hadn't commented, turning to him in confusion.
At the same time, Nangong Qingcheng, along with the other two women and Heizi, also turned their gaze to Jiang Feng.
Jiang Feng set down the pack of Guoguo Almonds he'd been examining for a long time, then directly asked Bai Zhiqing, "Supervisor Bai, are you certain these almonds are the same as before? Wasn't the delivery swapped after the manufacturer sent them over?"
Hmm?
At Jiang Feng's sudden question, everyone was startled, especially Bai Zhiqing, who looked slightly puzzled, "I don't know, I never noticed. Could these not be the manufacturer's almonds?"
"I checked the date. These almonds were delivered yesterday afternoon. Who was in charge of the shipment from the manufacturer? Do you know?" Jiang Feng asked, seeming to ignore the previous question, then glanced at Nangong Qingcheng, Bai Zhiqing, and Heizi.
"I know!" Heizi replied, "The guy's name is Chen Peng, a Southerner. He always drives the big truck to deliver goods here, and I helped him unload yesterday. I can't believe that bastard sent over fake goods this time!"
Whether they were fake or had been swapped, it was hard to say. Even Jiang Feng couldn't be sure, but finding that Chen Peng person could shed light on the truth!
"Where is he now?" Jiang Feng asked.
"Hard to say. That guy usually stays in Binhai overnight after a delivery and leaves the next morning. I'm guessing he might have left by now... Should I call him and ask?" Heizi said as he took out his phone and tried calling Chen Peng, but it went to voicemail.
"Damn it, there's something fishy; that bastard won't take my call!" Heizi cursed after several attempts.
"Could it be Chen Peng?" Bai Zhiqing was startled, then suddenly thought of something and said, "Jiang Feng, you could reach out to Feng Na. She had a good relationship with Chen Peng, and since Guoguo Almond sales were previously handled by her, but after she resigned, I took over."
"That's true." Heizi sneered, "When Feng Na and I were on good terms, Chen Peng was always eyeing her, flirting behind my back. Now that we've split, there's more chance he'd have cozied up to Feng Na."
"Feng Na?" Jiang Feng frowned.
This did raise suspicions. Feng Na had been selling Guoguo Almonds for so long without any issues, but Bai Zhiqing had only been handling sales for a day, and a dozen boxes had gone out by express delivery in the morning, leading to an incident before noon. The clues were evident.
"Uncle, do you suspect Feng Na did something?" Chu Feifei wanted to ask more, but the officers weren't giving them any more time, taking the four women away one after another.
"Don't worry, I'll get to the bottom of this and ensure justice is served!" Jiang Feng said coldly, watching the silhouettes of the four women disappear into the distance.