The golden age began in 1977

Chapter 249 Investigation Launched: The Poisoned Bird's Nest Case

"Old Wang, Officer Liu," Qian Jin made a decision after considering it, "I'll accept the things."

Liu Dazhu suddenly looked up, his eyes bursting with unbelievable ecstasy.

“However,” Qian Jin’s next words were like a bucket of cold water, “this is not about accepting your gifts.”

"To tell you the truth, there's probably something wrong with this. As the director of the Foreign Investment Office of our city's Supply and Marketing Cooperative, I have to find out what this 'precious item' labeled by the Central Supply and Marketing Cooperative is all about."

His gaze swept over the two men's faces, which froze instantly: "The matter of the commando team should be handled according to regulations. Recommend those who should be recommended, and review those who should be reviewed."

"But there's a prerequisite, Officer Liu, are you from Taishan Road? Our labor commando team's full name is Taishan Road Labor Commando Team!"

Officer Liu tried his best to explain: "The child's mother is actually from Taishan Road..."

Qian Jin asked, "What about your son's household registration? Is it on Taishan Road?"

Officer Liu fell silent.

Qian Jin had no choice but to respectfully invite him out.

After seeing the two distraught individuals off, the living room fell silent.

Looking at her husband's furrowed brows and the glaring red box on the table, Wei Qinghuan sighed softly, "Are we really going to keep it? This is a hot potato..."

"It's hotter than it gets, so you have to hold it tighter," Qian Jin replied in an official tone, then winked at his wife, indicating that she didn't need to worry.

I know what I'm doing!
He returned to his study, sat down at his desk, and turned on the green-shaded desk lamp.

Instantly, a dim yellow light illuminated a small area on the table, making the blood-red cardboard box appear even more eerie.

He carefully opened the box, which was lined with cheap yellow crepe paper and held several dry, dark reddish-brown cup-shaped objects.

This is what is known as blood bird's nest.

The color of the bird's nest is not uniform at the edges; some areas are as dark as congealed blood, while others are light gray.

He picked up a lamp; it felt light in his hand. He examined it closely under the light; the red color seemed to float on the surface, the internal texture was blurry, and the light transmission was extremely poor.

He leaned closer and took a deep sniff. An indescribable odor, a mixture of slightly fishy, ​​earthy, and a faint, pungent smell similar to ammonia, entered his nostrils. It was completely different from the fresh and clean smell that any high-quality dried goods should have in his memory.

"Wife, can you help me look for any receipts or instructions that were tucked inside?" Qian Jin instructed while carefully examining the bird's nest itself.

Wei Qinghuan searched the box inside and out as instructed, and found only a small folded piece of paper under a layer of crepe paper. On it was a mimeographed "Instructions for Use" in both Chinese and English, with blurry handwriting and grammatical errors in the English part.

Qian Jin looked for manufacturers and production dates, among other hard criteria.

Nothing was gained.

"Looks like a high-end version of a 'three-no product' (product without manufacturer information, production date, or quality certification)

Qian Jin sneered, carefully broke off a tiny piece of debris, and put it into an empty medicine bottle in his desk drawer.

He needs more evidence, not just the packaging and appearance.

His intuition told him that this box of "blood swallow's nest" was like the entrance to a meticulously designed maze, and that unimaginable monsters might lurk deep within it.

He's a hero now, and he needs to fight monsters to level up.

So when facing powerful monsters, he was not afraid at all; on the contrary, he was looking forward to gaining as much experience as possible.

The data room of the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives is open to key business personnel like Qian Jin.

On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, the Foreign Business Office was still as busy as a battlefield, but Qian Jin took advantage of his lunch break and work intervals to plunge into the quiet space of the archives room, which was filled with the smell of old paper and ink.

He first reviewed copies of all internal reports and transfer notices from the supply and marketing system related to "bird's nest," "Malaysia," and "imported health supplements" over the past six months.

He ran his fingers over the lines of printed text, looking very carefully, but to no avail.

The All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives has not organized any large-scale imports of Malaysian bird's nests recently.

The claims made by Liu Dazhu about "introduction by the Central Supply and Marketing Cooperative" and "allocation by official documents" are completely fabricated!

That allocation document was either forged, or someone within the grassroots supply and marketing system was brazenly playing a trick of substitution.

This made Qian Jin both wary and angry.

The current supply and marketing system is the lifeblood of the country. People who did not experience the planned economy era cannot understand how important the supply and marketing cooperatives are to people's lives.

As a result, someone actually dared to mess around so blatantly?

He recalled the shoddy packaging, the contradictory labels, the absurd legends…

All of this points to a premeditated scam, and the reputation of the supply and marketing cooperatives and the country's foreign exchange reserves are likely under immense pressure!
The domestic information leads provided by the archives ended there.

Qian Jin pondered for a moment and quickly realized that to break through this scam, he had to break free from the reliance on insider information.

We need to start from the outside.

The Foreign Trade Bureau and the Overseas Chinese Federation should be able to provide him with some assistance.

After careful consideration, he decided to start with the Overseas Chinese Federation.

Because what he was looking for was the newspaper from outside.

The Overseas Chinese Federation has close ties with overseas communities and can help him obtain these things.

So after work that evening, he rode his motorcycle to the office of the Municipal Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese and found a deputy director surnamed Chen whom he knew.

The deputy director's full name is Chen Younan. He is a returned overseas Chinese from Southeast Asia and is well-informed.

"Director Chen, I need a favor." Qian Jin cut to the chase, offering a cigarette. "Have you been paying attention to the news from Malaysia lately about bird's nest, especially 'blood bird's nest'?"

"Or, is there any way to get hold of recent newspapers from that area?"

Chen Younan took the cigarette, lit it, and squinted through the swirling smoke: "What has bothered you, Qian Jin, this rising star? Bird's nest? This stuff has been quite popular in Southeast Asia these past two years, but it's hard to tell the real from the fake."

"You want to touch the blood bird's nest?"

Qian Jin shook his head and told him about his situation.

Chen Younan became serious: "Oh my, did the approval come from the central government level in your unit? That's definitely a big deal."

He hesitated for a moment, then said, "I do have some channels to find out about this. Wait a moment while I make a call."

Chen Younan has a very strong network of connections.

Two overseas calls yielded relevant information: "There is indeed a problem with a batch of so-called blood bird's nest in Malaysia. The specifics are unclear, but the Hong Kong-based Wah Kiu Yip newspaper has a special report on it."

"Okay, I'll get you a newspaper report about this, but it'll take a few days. I'll have someone bring it from the south. Are you in a hurry?"

"Urgent!" Qian Jin nodded vigorously. "It concerns a major issue that could endanger public health and disrupt the supply and marketing market!"

Chen Younan teased him, "It also relates to the important issue of your meritorious service."

Qian Jin shrugged: "Why would I care about that? For me, steady, step-by-step progress is the best..."

"I was just kidding with you, handsome guy." Chen Younan flicked away his cigarette butt. "Since you're in such a hurry, I'll help you find a way to get the newspaper faster."

He made two more phone calls and finally said, "I'll have someone bring it to you. A friend from Hong Kong is flying to the capital tomorrow, and he can bring the newspaper over, but it won't be until the day after tomorrow at the earliest to get it here."

Qian Jin was overjoyed.

This guy is awesome!

On the afternoon of the tenth day of the lunar month, a brown paper document bag was quietly placed on Qian Jin's desk.

He suppressed his racing heartbeat and waited until he got back to his study after get off work before carefully opening the door under the desk lamp.

Inside were several neatly folded newspapers, exuding the scent of ink and the distant ocean, in traditional Chinese characters and vertically formatted, all dated within the last month, from the Hong Kong-based "Overseas Chinese Daily".

He flipped through the pages quickly, making a soft rustling sound.

Social news section, economics section, supplements...

The last feature article in the economics section burned his eyes like a red-hot iron:
Shocking! Most "blood bird's nest" on the market is actually dyed and toxic; Malaysian exporters arrested for alleged counterfeiting.

This is it!

The feature article first quoted a news report from Kuala Lumpur:

The Malaysian bird's nest exporter "Banlong Kee" was recently investigated and dealt with by the local health and trade authorities for allegedly producing and selling chemically dyed fake "blood bird's nests" on a large scale.

It is reported that the shop used white bird's nest as raw material and had long used inferior industrial dyes and high concentrations of nitrites for dyeing and fumigation to counterfeit the distinctive red color of "blood bird's nest" in order to make huge profits...

Its products are mainly sold to Hong Kong, Taiwan, and parts of Southeast Asia...

Law enforcement officers seized a large quantity of dyes and semi-finished products at the illegal operation. Test results showed that the so-called "blood bird's nest" had dangerously high levels of nitrite, and long-term consumption could lead to poisoning and even cancer.

The shop's owner, surnamed Lin, and others have been arrested by the police, and the goods involved are being recovered. The health department urges citizens not to believe in the miraculous health benefits of "blood bird's nest" and to be wary of being scammed…

The report was very detailed, and Qian Jin read it carefully twice before continuing.

The following content is accompanied by black and white photos:

The warehouse was piled high with boxes of bird's nest, their packaging style quite different from the one on Qian Jin's desk. But packaging is the easiest thing to deal with.

Qian Jin slammed his fist on the table, estimating that the so-called high-end, precious bird's nest that had entered the domestic market was the same counterfeit product that had been seized in Malaysia.

It's not just counterfeit goods.

It's not just about passing off inferior goods as superior ones.

It was poisoning!

To put it bluntly, this is a case of profiting at the expense of Chinese consumers and causing their deaths!

Whether it's what Liu Dazhu said or what's written on the packaging, these are all Malaysian delicacies imported by the Central Supply and Marketing Cooperative. However, the source of these delicacies turns out to be a black market workshop that has been shut down and dyed with poison.

Then comes the problem.

How did this toxic bird's nest bypass regulations, disguise itself as a "legitimate import," and flow into the country, even ending up in the hands of leading cadres?
However, there is one advantage to this.

We won't cheat ordinary people!

Now that the source is roughly known, Qian Jin still needs to conduct actual testing on this blood bird's nest.

Bird's nest has a long-standing drinking culture in China and is considered a precious Chinese medicinal material. So, he inquired these past two days and found that to know the quality of a bird's nest, one must consult a Chinese medicine practitioner.

There is a medicinal materials company in Haibin City, which is a subsidiary of the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives.

Qian Jin made a phone call and found out about Zhou Bingkun, a highly respected retired pharmacist.

Mr. Zhou came from the local century-old brand "Hongjitang". Before the liberation, he was a famous Chinese medicine master. He was an expert in health conditioning, so he knew a lot about various tonics and precious Chinese medicines.

The old man is now retired from his job, but he still mentors his apprentices.

His house was in a quiet alley, and the air from the doorway to the inside of the house was filled with a strong aroma of medicine.

Qian Jin brought a copy of a comprehensive dictionary of Chinese medicinal herbs published during the Republic of China era as a gift when he visited.

This is a pirated book he found in the online store.

The genuine product is worth hundreds of thousands!

However, he guessed that the old man didn't have the original book, so the pirated book was only different from the original in terms of paper, and the content was not much different, so there was no problem.

Old Zhou was giving a lecture to a few middle-aged people when he heard about Qian Jin's identity and purpose of visit, so he quickly invited Qian Jin into his study.

When Qian Jin brought out the gift again, the old man took off his reading glasses, held the book up to his eyes to examine it carefully, and excitedly slapped the table with his palm.
"It's this book, it's this book! When I first started as an apprentice at Hongjitang, my master used this book to broaden our horizons..."

"So many years, so many years... I never thought that as I'm about to be buried, I'd see old books again..."

With such a generous gift in hand, the old man naturally did his best to help.

After listening to Qian Jin's account, his expression became extremely grave:
"Director Qian, please show me the bird's nest. Your dedication to the country and its people is truly admirable. I have no choice but to do my utmost to serve you!"

Qian Jin displayed the blood-stained bird's nest.

The old man immediately got up, washed his hands, took out a set of special white porcelain plates, tweezers, and a magnifying glass, and turned on the desk lamp.

He gently placed the dark reddish-brown bird's nest into a white porcelain plate, carefully moving and turning it with tweezers, repeatedly observing its texture and translucency under the light.

Then, using a specially made fine needle, they gently pried open a small part of the structure at the edge and examined it closely under a magnifying glass.

Throughout the entire process, Mr. Zhou remained silent.

The only sounds in the room were his steady breathing and the occasional soft clinking of porcelain.

After a long while, the old man put down the magnifying glass, opened another small porcelain bottle, poured out a little colorless liquid into the plate, and used tweezers to hold a small corner of the blood bird's nest cup, gently immersing part of it into the water.

Slowly, a faint, eerie pink tinge appeared around the edge of the clear liquid!
Old Zhou's brows immediately furrowed into a knot.

Qian Jin understood what was going on and asked, "Grandpa, what kind of magical potion did you use?"

“It’s not a potion,” the old man laughed. “Where would you find so many magical potions? This is distilled water!”

"But you could say distilled water is medicine, that's fine too. Back in the day, where could you find water this pure and free of impurities? Only this kind of water is truly accurate when used to test certain things!"

He gestured for Qian Jin to come closer, then used tweezers to pick up the wet part, brought it close to his nose, and took a deep, slow breath.

Immediately, he shook his head vigorously: "Director Qian, your judgment is correct. In the parlance of traditional Chinese medicine, this thing is an extremely inauspicious object!"

He pointed to the blood bird's nest soup on the plate and continued to shake his head: "Look at this red, it's stiff and lifeless, lacking the gradations and dynamism that natural mineral dyeing should have, it's just like..."

He paused, as if searching for a fitting metaphor, before finally uttering two chilling words: "Paint!"

"Then why did I say it should have natural mineral luster and color? Director Qian, where does this blood bird's nest come from? Don't believe the rumors written on it, that's nonsense, that's blatant lies!"

"As far as I know, blood bird's nests are mostly produced in limestone caves. After the bird's nests come into contact with the rock walls containing minerals such as iron and manganese, they oxidize and change color, forming an orange-red to brownish-red hue."

“I can provide proof of this, because I have visited the production site of blood bird’s nest in southern Fujian to investigate and learn. The closer you are to the depth of the cave and the higher the temperature and humidity, the deeper the red color of the blood bird’s nest.”

Qian Jin suddenly realized: "So that's how it is."

Old Zhou nodded: "Also, this blood bird's nest has extremely poor light transmission; the texture is obscured by the red color. Natural blood bird's nest shouldn't be this cloudy, especially the smell..."

To ensure the accuracy of his answer, he smelled it again, and a strong look of disgust appeared on his face:

"Normal bird's nest, whether white or blood bird's nest, has only a faint, almost imperceptible, protein-like fishy smell when dried. But what about this?"

He pointed to the pink and wet area in the water dish, "It has a pungent, fishy smell, mixed with a musty, fermenting odor, and... and an indescribable, choking smell, like chemical liquid!"

"The fact that the water turned red just now is irrefutable proof. Let me tell you, Director Qian, natural bird's nest will only have a slight yellow tint after soaking; it's absolutely impossible for it to turn this red."

"In my opinion, this color is dyed, and the speed at which it fades and the way it spreads are definitely not plant-based dyes. It's most likely an industrial dye!"

Qian Jin clapped.

An expert will know if there is one as soon as he takes action.

The old man's words overlapped with the information reported in the newspaper.

Old Zhou picked up the small tweezers on the table, gently tapped the dark red cup, and said in a deep voice, "The hardness is also wrong. It has been pickled with chemicals. It will definitely fall apart easily after soaking."

"And that pungent, strange smell... Director Qian, let me be clear, this stuff is 100% artificially dyed, and it's definitely not made with good materials."

"Why do I call it a highly ominous substance? Because in my eyes, it's not a tonic, but a slow-acting poison!"

Qian Jin nodded with a gloomy face.

He told the old man about the origin of the bird's nest and the contents of the newspaper report.

The old man had experienced the brutality of the old society and the struggles and education of the first twenty years after the founding of the People's Republic of China, so he was very sensitive.

He said, "These things aren't sold to ordinary people, they're sold to leading cadres, and who knows, they might even be given as gifts among high-ranking officials."

"Then you need to be careful, this could be a clearly defined and shocking poisoning chain!"

Qian Jin was stunned when he heard this: "Is it that serious?"

Old Zhou said earnestly, "Young comrade, only those who have personally experienced the cruelty of class struggle can understand it."

"Do you know what we traditional Chinese medicine doctors did during the War of Resistance Against Japan and the War of Liberation? We were poison masters!"

"Why was I given important positions by the Party and the organization after the founding of the People's Republic of China? Because from 40 to 45, I carried out continuous poisoning operations against some Japanese naval officers stationed on the coast for many years."

“The method I used back then was similar to this,” he patted the blood bird’s nest, “but back then I used to extract toxins from plants and minerals to poison it!”

Qian Jin said gratefully, "Mr. Zhou, you have given me a new direction for my doubts. Thank you."

"The situation is urgent, I must report it immediately!"

He was about to leave when the old doctor stopped him: "I'll give you a report, and these days everything is about science."

"You should also send it to the laboratory at the Municipal People's Hospital for testing. This is easy to handle..."

He went out and called out, and a gentle-looking middle-aged man came in: "Master, what is it?"

Old Zhou explained the situation and handed him a sample of bird's nest: "Take it to your hospital's laboratory for detailed testing. Be quick! Get the results accurate!"

The middle-aged man nodded.

Qian Jin only realized after shaking hands with him that he was actually the director of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department of the Municipal People's Hospital.

He's a big shot.

He quickly exchanged contact information.

These are all very useful connections.

The head of the Traditional Chinese Medicine department quickly took his contact information.

These are incredibly useful connections!

(End of this chapter)