The hotel manager's name is Zhang Tao.

He is the hotel owner's brother-in-law.

The hotel owner is in the building materials business and has a net worth of tens of millions. He opened this restaurant mainly because he didn't want to put all his eggs in one basket. In addition, his wife kept urging him to support her younger brother as a support. After thinking it over, the hotel owner simply opened a hotel.

Considering that the owner is not usually responsible for the hotel's daily operations, Guan Feng mainly asked Zhang Tao for advice.

But at this moment...

I got a call from Lao Wang in the technical department.

The test results are in!

Of those three foods, beef contained a large amount of rodenticide residue.

This food item is likely the cause of the mass poisoning.

Guan Feng didn't have time to ask any more questions and immediately took Zhang Tao straight to the farmers' market.

......

Police cars roared by.

On the bus, Guan Feng looked at Zhang Tao and asked, "Zhang Tao, how did you buy this batch of beef?"

Zhang Tao said, "I just bought it normally!"

Guan Feng frowned and said, "You think we'd find rat poison in food if we just bought it normally? Do you think we're three-year-olds?"

"ah?"

Zhang Tao was stunned for a moment, then asked in surprise, "Poison... rodenticide?"

Guan Feng nodded and said, "That's right! Just now, our people detected rodenticide in the beef, so please tell us clearly what price you paid for this batch of beef and how many kilograms you purchased."

Zhang Tao said with a mournful face, "I...I really don't know."

Guan Feng said, "Don't try to hide it. When we get to the scene, you'll check the payment records and everything will be clear. If you resist now, it will only increase your suspicion."

Looking at Guan Feng's icy expression, Zhang Tao could only bite the bullet and say, "This...this beef I bought for 2.28 yuan per pound."

Guan Feng frowned and said, "The price of beef is now over 40 yuan per jin, and you bought it for 28 yuan a jin. Don't you think there's something wrong with that?"

Zhang Tao explained, "The shopkeeper told me that the cow was accidentally electrocuted and was being sold at a low price. I really didn't know it was poisoned! If I had known, I would never have ruined my business."

Guan Feng said, "You can't say these things now. We'll discuss the specifics in the shop."

Looking at Guan Feng's expression, Zhang Tao could only nod and agree.

soon.

The vehicle arrived at the Chengnan Farmers Market.

When Guan Feng and the others got out of the car, the meat stall had already been sealed off by police officers from the local police station.

Guan Feng stepped forward and asked, "Which one of you is Director Zhang?"

Director Zhang stepped through the crowd, looked at Guan Feng, and said, "Hello, Captain Guan! I've heard so much about you."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Guan Feng gestured towards the shop with his chin and asked, "Are the people under control?"

"It's under control!"

Director Zhang nodded and said, "All the beef has been sealed and we are notifying people to inspect it. We have also contacted the store and are making follow-up phone calls to everyone who purchased beef from him from yesterday to today!"

"Fortunately, his family mainly runs a restaurant business, which relies on large-scale purchases from regular customers, so they don't have much business with local residents."

Guan Feng was relieved upon hearing this and said, "That's good! But we still can't let our guard down. More than a hundred people have been poisoned. This is the largest poisoning case in our city in the past ten years. We must trace the source and find out the truth as soon as possible. Director Chen and Director Zhao will be here soon."

Director Zhang's expression immediately changed, and he asked, "Is there anything else you need me to do?"

Guan Feng waved his hand and said, "You've done a very good job. Take me inside first and ask the shop owner about the situation."

Director Zhang immediately removed the cordon and led Guan Feng into the shop, while instructing everyone to remain vigilant and on alert.

Guan Feng walked into the shop. In the slightly dim environment, a middle-aged man in his forties was nervously sandwiched between two police officers. He was writing down the names of the people who had bought beef from him in the past two days in the notebook in front of him, based on the payment records, while recalling what had happened.

Guan Feng stepped forward, stared at the middle-aged man, and asked, "Are you Zhang Yongsheng?"

The middle-aged man nodded and said, "I am!"

Director Zhang explained, "This is Captain Guan from the Municipal Public Security Bureau's Major Crimes Unit. He's here to investigate this food poisoning case."

"Food poisoning?"

The middle-aged man's face changed instantly. He stood up abruptly, shaking his head excitedly, "How...how could this be? How could this happen? Wasn't he supposed to have been electrocuted?"

Guan Feng asked, "Since you've brought it up, I won't ask any more questions. Just tell me clearly: where did you get these cattle? How many did you buy in total? How many were sold? How many are left? And what did the other party say to you at the time?"

The middle-aged man immediately began to recount his story as if pouring beans from a bamboo tube: "Yes, it was people from our village who came to our door."

Guan Feng nodded, signaling him to continue.

The middle-aged man continued, "People from my village came to me the night before last, saying that the cow in the village had been electrocuted. They were going to take it to Shanghai, but it was clear that it wouldn't survive, so they thought it would be better to slaughter it on the spot and save on transportation costs. They asked me if they could sell it here!"

"I didn't think much of it when I heard it, especially since we were from the same hometown, so I agreed."

Guan Feng interjected, "What price did you pay when you bought this beef?"

The middle-aged man said, "It is indeed much cheaper! My fellow villager said that the vendors pay 35 yuan per jin, but I'm just helping them process it. Plus, the beef quality is a bit low, so I only need to pay 25 yuan per jin."

Guan Feng asked, "At such a low price, didn't you consider any other possibilities?"

The middle-aged man nodded and said, "I thought about it! Of course I thought about it! I asked him if he could have been poisoned. My fellow villager told me it was impossible, but I was still worried, so I chopped up some meat for the dog. The dog was fine, so I accepted the meat."

"Besides, I really wasn't thinking about making money. I bought it for 25 yuan and only made 3 yuan profit by selling it to everyone. If I really wanted to poison people, would I have sold it for 28 yuan a pound?"