Chapter 132 Hua Gui ran into trouble selling snails
The next day, Wang Yuqing was picking out the poisonous snails from the basin in the yard. She didn't know much about snails, but she didn't want any snails other than field snails.
After all, it's food made for people to eat, so we have to have a conscience.
Every time she stir-fries snails, she does it with utmost care and attention, afraid of not cleaning them properly.
In the ditches, ponds, and reservoirs, besides river snails, there were a whole bunch of other snails that she couldn't name. There was also a type of snail called the onychomycosis snail, which would cause diarrhea if eaten. If it wasn't cooked at high temperatures, it was more likely to be invaded by parasites.
She saw Hua Gui and others collecting snails several times, taking all kinds of snails regardless of their type. Since she had started a craze for selling snails, almost every household started collecting snails everywhere. The snails were almost all gone, so those unscrupulous people who were eager to make money took all the snails, regardless of their type.
Therefore, Wang Yuqing was certain that something bad would happen to them sooner or later!
She didn't need to concern herself with this matter. After all, these people weren't kind-hearted to begin with, and she wasn't a saint. She only taught Lei Yongxia, Tang Wan, Chen Xiang, Niu Zhenzhen, Aunt Huang, and others, repeatedly telling them that they couldn't eat any snails other than field snails.
Hua Gui and the others have made a lot of money these past few days, so they're not very enthusiastic about working. They take leave in the morning, and although they do come to work in the afternoon, they all bring basins, buckets, and baskets...
Before it was time to finish work, they would rush around grabbing snails. They even argued a few times over snails. At night, they would lie in bed and count their money while licking their fingers.
Many people said they could hear laughter coming from their room at night.
Many people in the team were already unhappy, and there was a lot of discontent.
Director He Guangliang turned a blind eye, clearly not wanting to get involved, after all, his wife and daughter were among them, and they had indeed made a lot of money. He said, "It's a good thing for everyone's family to become wealthy."
And sure enough, something bad happened today.
From morning till night, people kept coming to the brigade headquarters crying and making a scene, saying that their family members had eaten snails prepared by Hua Gui and others, and either had stomach aches or diarrhea, accusing them of making the snails unclean and causing great harm.
He Guangliang ordered the brigade leaders to drive everyone away.
Hua Gui stood at the door and shouted, "What does this have to do with my snails? It's your own problem! You all ate my food and now you want to take advantage of me? You just don't want to pay for it, right? You want to eat for free? There's no such thing as a free lunch! You think you can have it all?"
She added, "You guys just can't stand seeing our people making money, so you're deliberately trying to cause trouble."
Yuan Fang, Liu Li, Shi Feng, Qian Juan and others who were working outside were all a little uneasy, especially when they saw people going to the brigade headquarters. They all broke out in a cold sweat.
When they touched the unfamiliar snails, they were unsure what to do with them and even asked Hua Gui for advice. Hua Gui replied, "Who cares if they're edible or not? Aren't they all snails?"
Even after work, dozens of people had gathered at the brigade headquarters, demanding that the brigade leader, He Guangliang, and the old party secretary give an explanation.
Wang Yuqing was playing with the pigs in the yard when Lei Yongxia dragged her to the brigade headquarters to watch a play, and also took Tang Wan, who was on her way home from gathering firewood, along with her.
Lei Yongxia said, "There were quite a few people, I counted at least thirty. They were making a big fuss and said they wouldn't leave unless they got an explanation."
She added smugly, "They deserve it. Who told them to be so heartless? Look, the snails we sell are all fine. I saw it last time; they took a whole pair of random snails and brought them back. I said something, and they said I couldn't stand them touching so many."
I ran into Niu Zhenzhen on the way. She said, "At noon today, I heard Liu Li bragging that she had made more than 70 or 80 yuan in the past few days. My husband was envious at home and kept saying to me, 'Why don't you learn from them?' Luckily, I didn't follow them, or I would have been in trouble this time."
Chen Xiang, who was standing next to her, asked in a low voice, "Won't this cause a big problem? Could someone die from eating this?"
Wang Yuqing said, "Let's go take a look first. It shouldn't be that they're eating dead people, right?"
She guessed that there must be far more than just a few dozen people who got food poisoning, since the county's employees didn't have time to rush to the countryside to demand an explanation.
Brigade Headquarters.
There were nearly forty people gathered in the courtyard, some of the young men even carrying sickles, hoes, picks, pitchforks... They looked like they were about to fight.
As more and more people gathered, Hua Gui became a little scared. Standing next to He Guangliang, she forced herself to speak, "It's your own stomachs that have problems, what does it have to do with my snails?"
Yuan Fang, Liu Li, Shi Feng, and Qian Juan all kept their heads down in the crowd, not daring to come out.
The old Party Secretary shouted, "Who else is there? Step forward, all of you!"
They pushed and shoved each other, each reluctantly stepping forward.
The patients' family members all recognized them, and some of them had fiery tempers and wanted to rush up and hit them. Fortunately, He Guangliang stopped them and said, "You dare to lay a hand on us? Do you think we Jinniu Brigade members are easy to bully? We Jinniu Brigade members will not allow you to bully us."
After saying that, he instructed Ji Xuening to lead the militia to drive these people away.
Ji Xuening, with a stern face, said, "Director, please don't drag our entire brigade into this. The snails were sold by those few girls; it has nothing to do with the rest of us. We may not be easy to bully, but we are also reasonable people."
His words were met with approval from many people.
Wang Yuqing, standing at the back of the crowd, also gave him a thumbs up.
Someone spoke up: "Yeah, what does it have to do with us? Don't drag us into something so shameful."
He Guangliang was already embarrassed, and Wang Shuo next to him added in a loud voice: "We are militiamen, not your private slaves. Besides, it was their fault for making people sick by selling snails. They should compensate and apologize as appropriate."
Hua Gui whispered to the people next to her. They insisted that there was nothing wrong with the snails they were selling, and even countered by saying that the people in front of them were jealous of the money they made.
An elderly woman in her eighties suddenly sat down on the ground and cried: "Oh, you heartless people, how can you be so heartless? You are so cruel! My grandson and granddaughter-in-law are in excruciating pain because they ate your snails, and we don't have enough money to go to the commune clinic... You made them unclean and poisonous, and you still have the nerve to complain?"
Another child, around ten years old, cried loudly, "My sister and brother also ate your snails, and they've had diarrhea ever since. They feel terrible..."
Hua Gui felt a little guilty, but she still maintained a cold expression and stubbornly denied it: "Who told you to eat it? Didn't you buy it voluntarily? Besides, how can you prove that their diarrhea was caused by eating our snails? Did you go to the health center for a checkup? Did you go to the county hospital for a checkup? Show me the proof! I don't know anything about it! You just want to freeload, and now that we've made money, you want to take it back."
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