Chapter 189: 189 Hurting others, hurting oneself
The student on the bed twitched uncomfortably, clutched his stomach even tighter, then gritted his teeth and told Du Heng, "Nothing's different, pretty much the same as usual."
No problem? Du Heng was taken aback.
Unexpectedly, a student on a bed behind him, the only one in the dormitory without any symptoms, said, "There is a problem. I told you, but you didn't listen."
Du Heng quickly turned around and asked him, "What's the problem?"
"The fried chicken tasted off. I had a piece, and it tasted strange. I even asked the Auntie serving in the Canteen; she said that the chef just added extra seasoning today. But I didn't trust her. I felt like there was something wrong with the meat, so I didn't eat it."
Saying this, the student even stood up and hopped around a bit. "See, I am fine now, not a problem at all."
Du Heng patted the student on the shoulder. "Thank you, Classmate."
He then turned and hurriedly walked out, a fire of anger building in his chest. He initially came to help Gong Daoyang, but now he seemed to have inherited the problem.
At this point, Gong Daoyang had already made several phone calls. Besides Director Zhang, there were several other teachers with him.
However, the teachers seemed fine, with no signs of stomach aches or vomiting.
Seeing Du Heng approach, Gong Daoyang quickly asked, "How is it?"
With a somber face, Du Heng said, "I suspect it's food poisoning."
"That's my guess too. Liu Gong just came down from making rounds upstairs. He found that most of the Students were vomiting, having diarrhea, and experiencing stomach pain. Some Students were even getting dizzy."
Du Heng thought for a moment. "Let's hurry to the Canteen and check. A Student claimed that today's meat tasted strange."
Gong Daoyang furrowed his brows. "Let's go."
A group of people hurriedly arrived at the Canteen, but the Canteen staff had already cleaned it up immaculately. Gong Daoyang glanced back. "Where is the person in charge?"
A plump woman holding a rag walked over. "What are you here for? The Canteen does not allow outsiders, don't you know?"
Gong Daoyang stared at the woman. "Where is the food sample you saved from lunch today?"
The plump woman's eyes flickered. "The Students had all finished eating. We figured the sample wasn't useful anymore, so... we ate it?"
"Ate it?" Gong Daoyang looked deeply at the woman.
The reason for preserving food samples and how long they should be kept—he did not believe Canteen staff were unaware of this.
After entering the Canteen, Du Heng looked around but didn't see anything useful. He had no choice but to go inside and check the condition of the food in the fridge and freezer.
However, when he got to the freezer and opened it, he felt something was off. He looked up and asked, "You didn't use this freezer?"
The plump woman glanced at Du Heng and frowned. "The freezer is broken."
Without a word, Du Heng opened the fridge next to it for a look. It was a mix of raw and cooked food, with no separation.
He returned with a frown and asked, "How often do you purchase raw meat?"
"Every three days. Why?"
"When was the last time?"
"The day before yesterday. Wait a minute, who are you?"
"I am Du Heng, the Dean of the Health Clinic." Gong Daoyang introduced Du Heng and then introduced himself, "I am Gong Daoyang, the director of the Police Station. Now I am asking you, are you the person in charge of this Canteen?"
The plump woman seemed a bit flustered. "I..."
Ignoring them, Du Heng quickly took out his phone and dialed Wu Buwei. "Buwei, prepare the Transformation Decoction—rhubarbs, raw licorice... Have the Pharmacy bring out all their stock; prepare five hundred portions. Also, notify Dr. Yu Haiting that there's a mass food poisoning outbreak at Central Lake Middle School, suspected to be caused by spoiled meat. Have him prepare the necessary medicines. We'll be there in five minutes."
A mass incident, and as the head of the local Health System, fire raged in his mind.
Du Heng was seething with anger. He quickly approached the plump woman. "If I recall correctly, our Health Clinic staff came to the School for a health safety promotion just half a month ago. Where were your ears? I hope nothing serious happens; otherwise, you better watch out."
This was the first time Du Heng had threatened someone, showing just how furious he was.
Having said this, he left the woman be. Her issues would be handled by the Police Station and other departments. His most urgent task was to deal with the poisoned Students.
"Director Zhang, have the teachers organize the Students to move to the Health Clinic. The medications have been prepared. Hurry, right now."
Director Zhang quickly turned around and began giving orders to the dormitory teachers who had followed him. In no time, they all turned and ran toward the Dormitory building.
Thankfully, the distance between the middle school and the Health Clinic was short. If it were further, Du Heng didn't know what he would do. The Health Clinic's pathetic little vehicle—how much medication could it carry in one trip? How many Students could it transport at once? Today, he had to sincerely thank Gong Daoyang. He thought he was coming to help Gong, but he ended up helping himself.
The teachers' organizational skills were strong. A few minutes after going upstairs, large groups of Students began to pour out of the Dormitory building, running toward the School gate.
Du Heng's heart lurched. He hurried to the School gate and shouted, "Students, don't rush! Don't push! Don't run! Move to the Health Clinic slowly. Our Doctors have the medicine ready; there's enough for everyone. Do not rush!"
At this point, a few more teachers who had received the news came running out. They stationed themselves along the road, leaving one Teacher every few dozen meters to guide the Students toward the Health Clinic.
Instantly, the previously chaotic crowd became orderly.
Du Heng did not idle either. While helping the teachers direct the Students, he kept making phone calls to the Health Clinic and simultaneously began reporting the situation to his superiors.
Upon hearing the news, An Chunhui's heart skipped a beat. But after hearing Du Heng's response and the circumstances of the incident, he breathed a sigh of relief. The Health Clinic had conducted a health safety promotion in advance, and it was they who had promptly discovered and dealt with this health safety incident. Their responsibility in the Health System had thus been minimized. Now, they just needed to ensure that the Students' conditions didn't worsen and that they received effective treatment. The incident could then be entirely handed over to other departments, such as the Education Department and the Food and Drug Department.
At this point, Gong Daoyang, who had completed his investigation, walked over.
He stood beside Du Heng and said softly, "We've figured it out. That woman is the Sister-in-law of the Canteen contractor. This morning, when they arrived at the School, they discovered that the freezer used for the meat was broken, and all the meat inside had thawed.
"The meat had already started to smell, but this woman, on her own initiative, had the chef use heavy seasoning to mask the spoiled taste. Don't worry, we've already detained her."
Du Heng wasn't particularly worried, but he did feel indignant. "Why weren't the teachers affected?"
"The teachers and Students now eat separately. The teachers have their own small Canteen."