Before the group could say anything, two uniformed police officers approached them.
Mr. Li's legs trembled, and he took a few steps back.
The market patrolman went to call the police, but he thought the other party was just trying to scare them.
Ah Jian stepped forward and the police officer who had come with him briefly explained the situation.
"Officer, we know we were wrong..." Mr. Li admitted his mistake first.
The two policemen realized they had been tricked, and their expressions became even more serious.
The authorities are currently focusing on cracking down on market disruptions, and this case involves a large sum of money, so they dare not ignore it.
"Didn't you ask them to write a receipt?" Lin Ziyan suddenly asked, remembering something.
For this batch of shrimp to be compensated, it must be found that the shrimp poses a food safety issue; otherwise, based solely on taste, it will be difficult to make Mr. Wang and his associates lose money.
"Yes, there's a name signed on it, but it's very illegible..." Mr. Li hurriedly pulled out the receipt from his pocket.
He knew, of course, that it would be difficult to get those people to pay back the full amount, but he couldn't worry about that now.
Ah Jian stepped forward, took the receipt, and nodded to Lin Ziyan.
He was certain that the receipt was written by Boss Wang.
“Mr. Lin, if we only consider the taste of the shrimp in this dispute, the shrimp seller won’t compensate us…” one of the policemen said with difficulty.
…
Luojiao Village is located three kilometers away from the seafood market.
Mr. Wang and several other business owners were smoking by the shrimp pond.
They've almost sold all the shrimp this time, so they're discussing raising another batch.
Last time, they staked out the parking lot of the seafood market in Haibi Village, intercepted several vendors, and sold all the shrimp in one go.
"Old Wang, I'm not feeling well. Will those people come looking for us?" The man with some gray hair at his temples smoked his pipe, exhaling smoke rings that obscured the dim light in his eyes.
All the receipts this time were handled by Lao Wang, so they weren't afraid of being confronted.
"Luo Shisan, what are you worried about? We didn't force anyone to buy or sell, nor did we sell them dead shrimp. We're not in the wrong if they come looking for us," Boss Wang retorted.
This shrimp harvest made them quite a bit of money, enough to earn more than someone else's annual salary.
Small investment, high return – anyone who doesn't take this opportunity must be a fool.
In the past, when they cooperated with shrimp farms in Haibi Village, the investment was large, the profits were not as high as they are now, and they were subject to regulation everywhere.
Ah Jian would come to inspect the farm once a week, and each time the group would wait for him to arrive before cleaning the shrimp ponds and changing the water.
"Old Wang, we're all on the same side here, let's not talk about those formalities."
“We really can’t eat this batch of shrimp. My daughter gets diarrhea every time she eats them,” Luo Shisan continued, keeping his voice as low as possible, afraid that someone might overhear him.
The others hung their heads and smoked without saying a word.
They made the money, but it felt like a hot potato.
So they had no time to deal with the shrimp ponds that had already produced shrimp; they were all gathered together thinking about what to do next.
They were hesitant to raise another batch of these shrimp.
They had some idea of what the feed was made of.
But feeding them that kind of feed makes the shrimp grow fast and big, and they are reluctant to waste such good shrimp feed.
The group was in a state of mixed feelings; they wanted to make a lot of money, but they also felt uneasy.
"Why should we worry about things that aren't our business?" Boss Wang snorted.
He didn't think there was anything wrong with it; in business, it's a matter of mutual consent.
Those business owners buy their shrimp because they're big and cheap.
"At worst, we'll just buy shrimp from the seafood market and wholesale them to those out-of-town bosses. As long as they don't harm the people of Fushi," Boss Wang continued to reassure them.
He thought to himself that he wouldn't be stupid enough to give these feed shrimp to his family. Only Luo Shisan was greedy and coveted these big shrimp, thinking he could save money by cooking them.
After Mr. Wang finished speaking, everyone fell silent and did not say another word.
The men puffed on their pipes, each lost in their own thoughts, and remained motionless.
"Clang..."
Suddenly, there was a knock at the entrance of the shrimp farm. Because it was an iron gate, the sound was particularly jarring.
Luo Shisan ran quickly to open the door, and as soon as the door opened, several policemen filed in.
He was so frightened that his legs felt like lead and he couldn't walk.
When he saw Lin Ziyan following behind him, his eyes widened and he was speechless.
"Boss Luo, long time no see." Lin Ziyan walked into the shrimp farm and greeted him in a casual tone.
When Master Li and the laborer saw Luo Shisan, they immediately went up to him, grabbed his arms, and said in unison...
"We bought shrimp from him because he said he was a stall owner at the seafood market."
Luo Shisan couldn't break free and dared not look at Lin Ziyan again.
The police went directly into the shrimp farm, and the quarantine staff who came with them took water and sludge from the shrimp ponds and put them into transparent bottles.
Mr. Wang and his companions saw this but dared not stop it; they could only stand by anxiously.
Lin Ziyan approached the shrimp pond and saw a thick layer of shrimp excrement at the bottom, her brows furrowing.
They didn't change the water for the shrimp for over 20 days? And then the shrimp were released from the pond?
The shrimp can still grow big like this, it seems a lot of pesticides were used.
Anger surged in Lin Ziyan's eyes. Of all the knowledge they had learned during their training, all they remembered was not to let the shrimp get sick.
These shrimp were sold to other provinces, and the reputation of Fuzhou shrimp was ruined by these few people.
"Officer Zhang, this area needs to be sealed off. The shrimp pond water has excessive bacteria levels, and the shrimp excrement contains high levels of hormones. If children eat it, they will get diarrhea and may even vomit..." The quarantine officer's expression was serious, and his eyes were cold.
Who would dare eat shrimp raised in such a shrimp pond?
"Officer, our shrimp are absolutely fine. This water has been sitting for several days, so it's normal for the bacteria levels to be too high," Mr. Wang said, regaining his composure first.
Luo Shisan broke free from their grasp and quickly ran to Boss Wang's side to explain.
"That's right, the water in the shrimp pond has been sitting there for a few days, we just haven't had time to clean it yet, the shrimp will definitely be fine."
They waited anxiously, but the quarantine staff's gaze was sharp as a knife, unmoved.
Officer Zhang, who was leading the team, glanced indifferently at the shrimp pond, then looked at Mr. Li, who had followed them, and his eyes flickered slightly.
"Take them back to the police station first. As for whether there's a problem with the shrimp, we'll know after the quarantine station tests them."
Luo Shisan swayed, trying to appear calm, but his hands were trembling.
He hurriedly looked at Boss Wang, but the other party remained calm and deliberately avoided his pleading gaze.
The feed was provided by Boss Wang, so now that something's happened, he'll definitely take the blame.
Thinking this way, Luo Shisan calmed down a bit.
"Pay up!" Master Li shouted, his eyes growing more anxious as he watched more and more villagers gather at the shrimp farm.
“Selling shrimp that even pigs wouldn’t eat is a complete scam…” Mr. Li shouted.
Officer Zhang frowned, but did not stop him.
If we use him to spread the news, it will save them a lot of trouble.
In the village, whenever someone raises shrimp, people will occasionally come to buy some.
He was afraid that these people might still have stockpiled goods at home, and if problems arose, he would be the one held accountable by his superiors.
"Who lied to you? The shrimp were lively and big, and they only cost 1 yuan per pound. You bought them voluntarily at the time. Now you're trying to turn around and bite us, but we don't believe it."
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