Liu Yifeng had a hunch that something was wrong with the vegetables from the past few days, and that problems tended to arise when selling in large batches.
The quality was definitely not an issue; he was just worried someone had tampered with them. He reassured everyone:
"Don't worry for now. I'm heading over from home right away. Don't panic, calm everyone down, and leave the rest to me."
Despite the urgency, he needed to understand the situation first.
He quickly called Lu Fei to ask what had happened, so he'd be mentally prepared:
"Lu Fei, what's going on at the greenhouses today? I just got home and the fruit farmers are already bombarding me with calls."
To his surprise, Lu Fei sounded flustered on the other end. Lu Fei could usually handle minor issues at the vegetable garden.
Hearing his panicked tone, Liu Yifeng knew it couldn't be good news.
Lu Fei explained:
"Don't even mention it. We used to supply vegetables to the big hotels without any issues. But after expanding our network, problems have kept popping up. Today, someone reported an issue with our vegetables, saying customers got food poisoning after eating them."
Food poisoning? That was impossible. They only grew organic vegetables and never used pesticides.
They even used a specially developed growth stimulant, which was top-tier for vegetables. How could this happen?
Liu Yifeng's intuition told him this was sabotage, but he couldn't pinpoint who would be so malicious.
He quickly made arrangements:
"Put that aside for now. Is anyone at the vegetable garden? Are the people who saw our produce there?"
He needed to know who was present to deduce who might be responsible.
Lu Fei reported the situation:
"It's not just one establishment. Besides the big hotel, about thirty other restaurants and department stores purchased our produce. Ten of them are now reporting this issue."
This was a serious problem. If the affected areas were widespread, it meant someone was indeed plotting against them.
Liu Yifeng's expression turned stern:
"Alright, I understand the situation. I'm heading over now. You try to calm everyone down first."
Liu Yifeng didn't go directly to the greenhouse but called Zhang Jin first.
Zhang Jin had been extremely busy with hotel matters lately and couldn't always answer his phone.
Liu Yifeng wanted to confirm if their hotel had experienced any issues.
If their hotel had no problems, then this was definitely a man-made incident.
Zhang Jin hadn't mentioned any problems to him, which made him even more certain that this incident was understandable.
"Compensate us! What kind of vegetables are these? You said they were of excellent quality, how could this happen?"
"Exactly! Everyone says your vegetables are of top quality and look beautiful, which is why we chose you. How could you betray everyone's trust like this!"
"I won't leave until I get an explanation. My customers who ate your vegetables got food poisoning. Some just had upset stomachs, others were hospitalized. Who will compensate us for our losses?"
...
The scene was chaotic. Lu Fei, alone, struggled to manage the situation, and his attempts only seemed to worsen it.
Lu Fei shouted:
"Everyone, please calm down for a moment. I understand that your customers had problems after eating your produce, and it's normal to have questions. But I must say, there are absolutely no issues with the vegetables from our garden."
Fortunately, Tongtong had been foresightful and installed comprehensive surveillance cameras when she met Cai Peng.
All operations could be reviewed, with a storage duration of three years, allowing the entire growth process of the vegetables to be observed:
"If you don't believe us, we can review the footage. The entire process of our food's growth is recorded under surveillance. No one has tampered with anything. We have video evidence to prove our innocence."
They had sold to over thirty establishments, but only ten had shown up today. They knew very well who was causing trouble.
"I don't care. My customers who got food poisoning demanded compensation, and I had to pay it out first. Who will cover these expenses for me?"
"Yes, you say you can prove your innocence and that the vegetables are fine. But the vegetables that were sold are already gone, so how can you provide proof?"
"Exactly. We're all businessmen, don't play games with us. A mistake can be forgiven once. As long as you compensate us, we're not unreasonable people."
This made their intentions even clearer: they were here solely for money.
Whether it was truly food poisoning or if the customers actually had problems was hard to say, and they couldn't investigate each case individually.
Lu Fei stated confidently:
"I've already made it clear that our garden's produce is absolutely fine. We are willing to go through any legal process you wish, and we will not back down. Our manager will be here shortly, and he will explain everything."
The crowd grew silent, realizing they weren't in the right. They had come with unreasonable demands, taking advantage of the fact that Liu Yifeng wasn't present and there were many of them.
They thought they could get away with it, but they didn't expect Liu Yifeng to be on his way back.
At this moment, someone in the crowd whispered:
"Didn't we come because he's not supposed to be here at this time? Why is he coming back now?"
Lu Fei's sharp ears caught this, but since they knew, they decided to play along.
"Indeed, it seems the information wasn't accurate. They're using us. But we took their money, so we have to do their bidding. Let's continue the act."
These people were conspiring, but they didn't know who was behind them. They needed to find a way to extract that information. Liu Yifeng, on the other end, had heard this segment of their conversation clearly.
Liu Yifeng and Lu Fei had already established a voice call, and this segment was being recorded in its entirety, making any deception impossible.
Liu Yifeng had likely gathered enough information about these individuals and suspected a connection to the source of the vegetables.
There were no issues with Zhang Jin, but he worried about information leaks from that end.
To reassure Lu Fei, Liu Yifeng said:
"Lu Fei, keep them occupied for now. I'll be there soon."
While driving towards the greenhouse, he also urgently contacted Zhang Jin. Zhang Jin's involvement would resolve this matter immediately and help identify the person manipulating things from behind the scenes.
Most of these purchasers were introduced by him. He knew them, but not intimately, so it made sense to bring him in.
Zhang Jin was not busy that day, and his hotel was not far away; it would take only ten minutes to arrive.