Upon hearing this, Yu Yao immediately stood up and said to Li Yuanqing and the others, "Captain, Secretary Liu, let's go take a look together."
Then he looked at Su Meihua and said, "Sister-in-law Meihua, you lead the way, and we can talk slowly on the way."
Su Meihua nodded and turned to lead the way.
All the members of the sideline work group and the cadres of the Qingshuiwan Brigade followed.
On the way, Yu Yao asked Su Meihua, "Sister-in-law Su Mei, what exactly happened?"
Su Meihua explained the whole story, "It's about the mangoes. Didn't you tell us to keep an eye out for particularly bright, beautiful, large, and sweet mangoes? When we were harvesting the mangoes, we specifically emphasized that the quality of the mangoes picked from this particular orchard should be exactly what it is, and we shouldn't try to fool people with mangoes from other orchards. But I never expected—"
“Even though we’ve emphasized it so much, someone still managed to sneak in some mangoes when we weren’t looking.”
Upon hearing this, Li Yuanqing's heart skipped a beat. He exchanged a glance with Secretary Liu beside him, both of them filled with doubt.
Could it be that Yu Yao and the others know about the problematic mango grove?
Otherwise, why would they refuse the brightly colored mangoes and specifically emphasize that the mangoes cannot be swapped?
Thinking of this, Li Yuanqing stole a glance at Yu Yao, his heart pounding, but he forced himself to remain calm while his mind raced, trying to come up with a solution.
Yu Yao took in Li Yuanqing's reaction.
Su Meihua continued, "After Su Su found out, that person denied it to the death, saying that we were making trouble for no reason and deliberately making things difficult for them. Who would exchange a better mango for a worse one? He insisted that we calculate the weight for him. Su Su refused, and the other party became furious and even tried to hit her..."
Later, both sides accused each other and refused to acknowledge each other's claims, escalating the conflict into a dispute between the Qingshuiwan Brigade and the Sideline Group.
Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, Sun Yu quickly sent Su Meihua to find her.
That's roughly how it happened.
After listening, Yu Yao did not give a direct opinion, but looked at Li Yuanqing and the others beside her, "Captain, what does Secretary Liu think about this matter?"
Li Yuanqing looked embarrassed. "Comrade Yu, there must be some misunderstanding. The mango grove behind our village is close to the mountain, with good soil and plenty of fertilizer. The mangoes there are brighter and sweeter than those from other groves. How could we possibly replace the mangoes from other groves? There's absolutely no need for that."
"Besides, these mangoes are brightly colored, big, and sweet—isn't that a good thing? Consultant Yu, don't you think?"
After much deliberation, Li Yuanqing decided to deny everything.
Firstly, only the people in their brigade knew about the haunted mango grove; no one else was aware of it.
Secondly, the mango trees on the mountain at the east end of the village produce a lot of high-quality mangoes, accounting for most of the village's mango production. If they don't sell them, the losses will be huge.
Although the mangoes here were tainted by ghostly energy, they have all been washed with pomelo water, so the ghostly energy has been cleaned off. People with good health will not have any reaction after eating them. Only people with weak health might get diarrhea after eating them, but the probability is not high.
Even if someone gets diarrhea from eating it, they'll just assume it's a problem with their own body and won't suspect the mango.
That's why he secretly condoned the actions of the rest of the group.
When Yu Yao asked, he couldn't admit it no matter what.
Seeing that Li Yuanqing refused to admit it, Yu Yao did not press him further. She said with a half-smile, "Captain Li, the mangoes are brightly colored, big and sweet. They are indeed good mangoes."
She paused, then added, "But that's on the condition that these mangoes don't have any other problems. Captain Li, don't you agree?"
Li Yuanqing wasn't sure how much Yu Yao knew, so he could only vaguely reply, "Advisor Yu is right."
Yu Yao stopped talking and continued on her way, but she was thinking about how to handle the situation.
Judging from the attitude of Li Yuanqing and others just now, they were aware of the team members' secret swapping of mangoes. As for why they let it go unchecked, the reason is quite simple.
The problematic mango orchards account for more than half of the total mango production in Qingshui Bay. If they cannot be sold, Qingshui Bay will suffer heavy losses.
This batch of mangoes, which includes problematic ones, is definitely not safe to buy.
If the people of Clearwater Bay were to bear all the losses, some might become upset, which would be detrimental to future cooperation.
Yesterday, when Li Yuanqing took Yu Yao to visit other fruit farms, she discovered that the soil and water in Qingshui Bay were very suitable for growing tropical fruits.
The fruits here, regardless of variety, are better than those from other places in terms of yield, size, and taste.
If the side business group wants to grow bigger and stronger and earn more funds for the military, Qingshui Bay is a good source of raw materials.
Therefore, this matter should be handled with caution, and we must not let a small matter cause us to lose more than we gain.
Yu Yao was still thinking about how to handle the situation.
Su Meihua pointed to the orchard ahead and said, "Advisor Yu, we've arrived just ahead."
Yu Yao snapped out of her reverie and looked ahead.
From afar, a huge mango grove could be seen, and on the earthen embankment in front of the grove, two groups of people stood clearly separated.
On the left are members of the Qingshui Bay team wearing short-sleeved vests, some of whom are holding knives for picking mangoes.
On the right are the members of the side business group, represented by Yin Susu and Sun Yu, who are holding wooden sticks and baskets in front of them.
When Yu Yao arrived, the two sides were arguing, each sticking to their own version of events.
"These mangoes are so good, and you all don't want them? Isn't that making things difficult for us?"
"That's right, they look down on us and are deliberately picking a fight. They're definitely trying to take advantage of us to lower the price. If you don't give us an explanation today, we'll fight you to the death."
Someone in the crowd shouted, "The captain and Advisor Yu are here!"
The crowd automatically parted to make way for Yu Yao and Li Yuanqing to enter.
Yu Yao quickly walked up to Yin Susu and the others, looking at them with concern, "Are you hurt?"
Yin Susu shook her head. "No, we didn't do anything."
"Susu, Sister-in-law Sun Yu, you did a great job. Leave the rest to me."
Yin Susu and Sun Yu nodded and stood beside Yu Yao.
Yu Yao is the anchor of the side business group; with her around, all problems seem to be easily solved.
Yu Yao stood in front of the sideline group, protecting them while waiting for Li Yuanqing and the others to arrive.
When Li Yuanqing arrived, he saw Li Laosan in the middle and frowned. "Li Laosan, you've only been behaving yourself for a few days, and you're already causing trouble again?"
Li Laosan laughed nonchalantly and said, "Captain, this time it's not my fault. I was working hard to earn work points, it's her fault."
He pointed at Yin Susu, then at the others behind Yu Yao, "And them. They deliberately caused trouble, trying to find an excuse to renege on their payments and deduct our wages."
Yin Susu retorted excitedly, "You're talking nonsense! It was clearly you who switched the mangoes and deliberately instigated others to target us."
As they talked, the two were about to start arguing again.
Yu Yao and Li Yuanqing quickly spoke up to stop the argument, first calming it down and then giving both sides a chance to explain what had happened.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
