Captain Lu was aloof again today.

Chapter 115 Food
Ge Taining successfully caught the attention of the police, and the case made new progress.

Lu Jingming dispatched police officers to keep a close watch on Ge Taining 24 hours a day, ensuring that no move he made escaped the police's notice.

Director Wang acted swiftly, issuing a document in conjunction with various departments and units. To be on the safe side, he even expanded the scope more rigorously, removing all Xunji food products sold in the city from shelves.

Xunji Dim Sum Shop was ordered to suspend operations. Although the person in charge of Xunji was very reluctant, there were already analysis posts from mystery enthusiasts online, strongly claiming that the poisoner was targeting Xunji. In order to protect the reputation of Xunji Food, the person in charge had no choice but to comply.

Meanwhile, on various forums, "insiders" kept posting that Xunji Foods used cheap and inferior raw materials, which seriously violated the Food Safety Law, but consumers had no way to complain.

These posts were quickly compiled, went viral, and even trended on social media.

In just one day, more than 100 consumers have stood up to defend their rights.

As evening fell, Xiao Song came running in from outside, panting: "I went to the 'Breeze' restaurant and confirmed with the owner and staff that Ge Taining was indeed an employee of their restaurant a month ago. Because of a mistake at work, the food he served was not cooked properly, which caused a customer to have diarrhea. This led to a dispute with the restaurant, and he was fired. He also did not receive his salary and his deposit was withheld."

"Deposit?" This touched on a blind spot in Wei Qingsong's knowledge.

She had never heard of wages requiring a deposit before.

"Yes, their restaurant has a rule that new employees have one month's salary deducted as a deposit, which will be fully refunded when the employee leaves normally," Xiao Song hurriedly gulped down a mouthful of water and explained.

Wei Qingsong frowned slightly: "Doesn't this seem to violate labor laws?"

Lu Jingming replied casually, "Be more confident, and remove the 'seems' part."

This clearly violates the provisions of the labor law.

In fact, many small companies openly or secretly deduct employee benefits and exploit legal loopholes, but many workers are not familiar with the legal provisions and have no idea how to protect their legal rights.

Moreover, some companies have a whole set of procedures to avoid illegal activities, and some even have professional legal teams. Even if you sue them, it is very likely that you will suffer more losses than gains.

Even if the company has clearly committed illegal acts, employees may not know how to obtain evidence, and the hassle of protecting their rights may lead them to choose to remain silent.

"He didn't receive his monthly salary, and his deposit was withheld. In other words, because of one mistake, he worked for free for two months." Wei Qingsong went through the process and clarified his thoughts.

Based on her previous analysis, Ge Taining has certain antisocial personality tendencies, and given his character, he could indeed go to extremes.

Chen Jin also came in from outside and called out, "Captain Lu, Sister Wei, we've made a major discovery!"

“I checked Ge Taining’s personal information, and guess what? He was actually a top student in the Chemistry Department of Tangzhou University, but he dropped out after studying half of it.”

"After dropping out of undergraduate studies, he worked as a warehouse manager in an electroplating factory. He did this job for quite a while until two years ago when the electroplating factory went bankrupt due to poor management. He then went on to learn to be a chef. A year ago, he applied for a job at the 'Breeze' restaurant. He started as an apprentice and worked his way up to the position of sous chef. He was about to be promoted when he was fired."

All the clues have been connected.

Wei Qingsong murmured softly, muttering to himself, "Xunji's food safety issues, and Ge Taining's motive for poisoning... By the way, why did Ge Taining make a mistake that day?"

Xiao Song was stunned for a while before realizing that she was being asked, "Oh, the restaurant staff said he seems to have eaten something bad and suddenly has a stomachache."

“That makes sense. Ge Taining must have eaten Xunji’s pastries, which caused his stomachache and triggered a series of chain reactions. Have you confirmed this with Xunji’s employees?” Wei Qingsong’s mind cleared, and all the fog that had been obscuring things gradually became clear.

Xiao Song sighed: "Don't even mention it, all the employees at Xunji are like they've all been given the same script beforehand."

"They denied having any conflict with customers and insisted that Xunji Foods are all handmade on the same day. If they spoil, it must be because the customers left them for too long. They do not admit to using inferior ingredients."

"If it were just one or two food safety incidents, it might really be as they say, that the customers themselves stored the food improperly. But now hundreds of consumers online have presented irrefutable evidence to condemn Xunji. What excuses do they have left?" Wei Qingsong sneered repeatedly, showing great disdain.

She suddenly thought of something and smiled coolly: "I can give the Market Supervision Bureau a suggestion. If they want to verify whether there are food safety issues with Xunji, they can take a bag of Xunji bread that costs three yuan on the market and compare it with the exquisite and high-end Xunji pastries in the shop window. They can do a random inspection and comparison, and everything will be clear."

After understanding her meaning, Chen Jin was dumbfounded: "So, Sister Wei, you suspect that Xunji's pastries that cost several hundred yuan and the three-yuan mass-produced bread use the same batch of raw materials?"

"It's just an idea," Wei Qingsong shrugged casually. "We'll only know the result after they investigate. In short, don't have too high expectations. There aren't many conscientious businessmen left."

There are too many businessmen who prioritize profit, and Yan Jiqian is one of them.

He built such a huge business empire that the whole of China would tremble with a single stomp of his foot.

Only he knows for sure what percentage of his money is clean.

"Holy crap." Chen Jin couldn't help but swear. "This is outrageous!"

Wei Qingsong neither agreed nor disagreed.

Lu Jingming casually reminded, "That's the job of the Municipal Market Supervision Bureau. The most urgent task is to find evidence that Ge Taining poisoned the animals."

Everything we're talking about now is just their reasoning, reasoning without evidence; it's all just empty talk.

Even if the logic is rigorous enough, it's useless if no evidence can be found.

Chen Jin, on the verge of tears, grabbed a handful of his nearly bald head: "Looks like I'll be watching the surveillance footage all night again."

Xiao Song patted his shoulder sympathetically: "Don't be afraid, Brother Chen, I'll go bald with you."

"Thank you..." Chen Jin wailed weakly.

The criminal investigation team routinely works overtime and stays up late, which everyone is used to.

In the latter half of the night, as the night deepened and the dew grew heavy, a chill permeated the air.

Wei Qingsong was still intently staring at the computer screen when a black trench coat was gently draped over her shoulders, and the owner of the coat carefully adjusted it for her.

Lu Jingming said gently, "Actually, you don't need to work overtime with us. It's too tiring."

"As long as I'm with you, I'm not tired." Wei Qingsong turned her head slightly and smiled brightly at him. Her extremely beautiful eyes seemed to be filled with stars, shining brightly.

"You," Lu Jingming gently stroked the tip of her nose, his eyes full of tenderness, "I know you're strong-willed and won't listen to anyone's advice, but please, be a fool who will speak up. If you're cold or hungry, just tell me."

Wei Qingsong playfully raised her hand and bowed: "Yes, my captain."

(End of this chapter)