What does this mean?
Lu Ze handed the report to the two men. "The person we caught at the tobacco curing barn yesterday is a member of the Nanwan Production Team of Baisha Commune. He's an orphan who has been idle for a long time and was recently detained for assault. This is the investigation into him."
Yu Yao and Wu Huaiqing took the report from Lu Ze and read it carefully.
After this man was released from the detention center, he was harassed by gamblers for debt. When he was desperate, someone found him, gave him some money, and told him to go to Warehouse No. 11 at a specific time to be responsible for burning you all alive.
The client was disguised, and the person tending the fire never saw the person clearly from beginning to end.
Lu Ze pulled a can of food from his pocket. "The client gave him some money and a small amount of supplies, which we found in the cave where he was staying. Through testing, we confirmed that this can of food is the batch that disappeared from the Starfish Food Factory."
Yu Yao took the canned food. The outer packaging had been destroyed, and the meat inside had changed somewhat, indicating that it had probably been opened four or five days ago.
Nevertheless, Yu Yao was able to identify its scent through her keen sense of smell.
Previously, in order to develop canned food, Hu Lingyu took her to a department store to buy a lot of canned food, and she herself also bought canned food from other food factories at the supply and marketing cooperative.
The canned food from Haixing Food Factory contains a unique island herb that Yu Yao had previously used when making partridge tea, which adds a rich flavor to the food.
This is why Haixing Canned Food Factory's canned meat is so popular, and it's also the best way to distinguish Haixing Food Factory's canned goods from other canned goods.
While others needed technological means to confirm it, Yu Yao was able to distinguish it with her keen sense of smell.
"It is indeed canned food from our factory, no doubt about it."
"Take another look at this."
Wu Huaiqing pulled a letter from his pocket. "It was given to me by the person in charge of investigating Zhou Qiang and the canned goods before you woke up. All the canned goods stolen from the factory ended up in the black market near the island. He was discovered by the people in the black market while he was investigating, and I think that's why they went so far as to kill him."
The strangest thing is that all of these canned goods that disappeared in recent years vanished into thin air after entering the black market, and did not circulate in the black market.
Many nearby residents and employees sneak over to buy things, but no one has ever bought canned or other perishable foods from there.
The batch of canned goods that disappears each year is enough to feed forty or fifty people for a month.
In an era of scarcity where supplies were scarce and ration coupons were required to purchase food, the question of what kind of people would have such a need is actually quite limited.
It's safe to say that this group is definitely not to be trifled with.
"What should we do now? Should we report it to the police? Won't that alert them?" Yu Yao asked.
"Don't report it to the police yet. This black market has already been noticed by the military. The people behind it are likely the Black Shark smuggling gang that has been operating in Guangdong Province for the past year or two. We need cooperation from multiple departments..."
According to Lu Ze, this group was ruthless, extremely vengeful, and very cunning. They would fire one shot and move to another, operating the black market randomly. At the slightest sign of trouble, they would immediately cower away.
Over the past six months, the island troops, in conjunction with the border defense station, have made several attempts to track down the enemy, but in the end, they had to give up due to insufficient clues.
If we can't wipe out this smuggling ring this time, it's best not to take any rash actions. Otherwise, if they retaliate, innocent people may be harmed.
Yu Yao had seen reports of such smuggling gangs in the newspaper before.
During this period, China was in a special phase, and both its economy and politics were impacted and disrupted to some extent.
In particular, Guangdong Province, due to its closed-door policy and the huge gap between it and Hong Kong, not only led to a large-scale exodus to Hong Kong, but also saw increasingly rampant smuggling activities, which had a huge impact on the country's economy and social stability.
This involves a wide range of issues and requires collaboration among multiple departments.
"In that case, why not turn the tables and lure the snake out of its hole?" Yu Yao suggested.
Her idea was not unfounded.
"Brother, do you remember the information about sugarcane you showed me before?"
Wu Huaiqing nodded. "I remember. What's wrong?"
Yu Yao took a sip of water and continued, "When I was checking the sugarcane losses in recent years, I found that the sugarcane losses started to change the year before last, and the disappearance of canned goods also started the year before last."
In months when sugarcane losses increase abnormally, the defect rate and breakage rate of canned meat products leaving the factory also rise significantly. I don't think this is a coincidence.
It has now been confirmed that these so-called substandard and damaged canned goods were actually embezzled by Zhou Qiang and secretly sold to smuggling gangs behind the black market.
Wu Huaiqing didn't quite understand Yu Yao's meaning. "The increased sugarcane loss only proves that Zhou Qiang used inferior materials. What does that have to do with the disappearance of canned goods?"
Yu Yao looked at Lu Ze; he should understand what she meant.
Lu Ze spoke calmly: "If the factory's sugarcane is of inferior quality, then the good sugarcane must have been moved by someone else."
This batch of sugarcane is sugarcane, an important raw material for white sugar. The extracted sugar can not only be used to barter for goods, but also to provide energy and maintain physical strength in special circumstances.
Upon hearing Lu Ze's words, Wu Huaiqing immediately understood.
Sugar is widely used as a food and industrial raw material. In addition, it is easy to store and transport, has a long shelf life, and can be used as a military supply in special circumstances.
This smuggling gang spends most of their time on the ship, where resupply is inconvenient, so canned goods and sugar have become their best source of supplies.
The sugarcane that Zhou Qiang smuggled away using the substitution method most likely ended up in the hands of the Black Shark smuggling gang, just like the canned goods.
"Now that you mention it, something suddenly comes to mind."
Yu Yao and Lu Ze looked at Wu Huaiqing, "What is it?"
“After I discovered that Zhou Qiang was selling inferior goods as superior ones, I had someone investigate the whereabouts of the sugarcane. The people who investigated the sugarcane inquired extensively in the black market, but they couldn’t find any sugarcane dealers. If the sugarcane had already been hoarded by people in the black market, then everything makes sense.”
"It seems my guess was right."
Yu Yao continued, "This group knows we've uncovered the connection between the canned goods and the black market. Based on their past habits, they definitely won't be interested in targeting the canned goods again anytime soon. Our attempt to pinpoint their location by tracking the final destination of the canned goods is no longer feasible."
At this point, she changed the subject, "But what if we look at it from a different angle?"
A thought flashed through Wu Huaiqing's mind, "You mean we can locate it by tracking the sugarcane's whereabouts?"
Yu Yao nodded. "That's what I think, and I'm right. Lu Ze, what do you think?"
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