Wang Fatty’s face turned ashen with anger. “These scumbags! Call the police! I’ll make sure each and every one of them gets what’s coming to them!”
Seeing the enraged Wang Fatty, the attending waiter couldn’t help but shiver.
One person mustered up the courage to speak, “Boss Wang, they don’t seem to be faking it. Several of them are frothing at the mouth.”
With such acting skills, they could win an Oscar. Performing here was a waste of their talent.
Wang Fatty’s vision went black. “Fetch Doctor Li from next door to take a look. These damned people… it’s a shame you aren’t out filming a movie.”
Upon hearing the news, Doctor Li, realizing the gravity of the situation, grabbed his medical bag and hurried over.
He was shocked by the scene upon arrival and quickly examined the people on the ground, kneeling down and flipping open their eyelids.
“Doctor Li, are they faking it? They’re putting on quite a show. How could so many people fall ill at the same time?” Boss Wang asked sarcastically.
Doctor Li’s expression turned grave. He said, annoyed, “Boss Wang, Wang Fatty, you’d best get them to a hospital. There are too many people here, I can’t possibly treat them all. If anyone dies, you won’t be able to bear the responsibility!”
Hearing Doctor Li’s stern words, Wang Fatty was terrified and immediately sat down on the ground with a thud.
“Oh my god, what have I done to deserve this? Why is this happening in my restaurant? Is someone cursing me…”
Seeing Wang Fatty’s reaction, Doctor Li wanted to wash his hands of the matter. However, looking at the collapsed individuals, he could only sigh.
“Someone, fetch some water, a basin of soapy water. Force-feed it to them, one by one.”
Upon hearing Doctor Li’s instructions, people sprang into action.
“Doctor Li, how much should we give them?”
“As much as possible, until they vomit.”
“Doctor Li, I can’t get this one to swallow.”
“Leave it there, let me. Open your mouth!”
Doctor Li strode forward. A mass poisoning incident could be fatal if not handled properly. This was no trivial matter. Why hadn’t the ambulance arrived yet? He couldn’t possibly save so many people here.
As the soapy water was administered, the fallen individuals began to vomit.
Doctor Li shouted, “Get these people to the hospital as quickly as possible, and lay them on their sides.”
After a period of chaotic commotion, Wang Fatty sat alone on the ground. What was going on? Why was this happening to him?
Wang Fatty pondered for a long time but couldn’t figure out what had happened. He felt that if anything were to go wrong, it should have happened to someone else.
Soon, officials from various departments arrived, including the police, commerce, and health bureaus.
Seeing the situation, they immediately sealed off Wang Fatty’s restaurant.
On-site staff affixed seals and collected evidence while the crowd murmured amongst themselves.
“Boss Wang must have served something impure.”
“Boss Wang is usually quite discreet. He’s smart but wouldn’t make such a basic mistake, would he?”
“Then how do you explain so many people getting food poisoning? It’s not like someone came to cause trouble, is it?”
“Didn’t Wang Fatty just say they were faking it, deliberately trying to cause him trouble?”
“Wake up, man. Do you really believe what Wang Fatty said? If it were a few people causing trouble, I might believe it. But this is over thirty people, men, women, and children. How is that possible?”
“That’s true. It seems Wang Fatty is in deep trouble this time.”
The health department sealed off all the ingredients in Wang Fatty’s restaurant.
The leading official stated, “All ingredients will be sampled and sent for testing to determine the source of the problem.”
The police took the pale-faced Wang Fatty away, leaving the astonished onlookers behind.
“I have a bad premonition. Crawfish are so popular these days, and almost every table ordered them. Could it be the crawfish that caused this?”
This statement ignited a wave of agreement. Everyone felt that this person’s reasoning was sound.
However, people had been eating crawfish for the past few days, either at restaurants or at home. Boss Zhang’s crawfish were indeed excellent. They were plump, tender, and delicious to cook at home, and most importantly, they were affordable.
Everyone present was stunned. If it was the crawfish, then the current booming crawfish market would be severely impacted.
Impure ingredients should not be served to customers; that was the most basic requirement.
…
In a small county town, secrets were hard to keep.
Gao Tianming ran over to Zhang Tianxing and said, “Tianxing, something big has happened. About thirty people at Wang Fatty’s place have food poisoning.”
Zhang Tianxing waved his hand. “Little Ming, I’m swamped right now. Get to the point. Why should I care about his poisoning?”
“According to reliable sources, so many people got sick because they ate crawfish. So, could there be a problem with our crawfish?”
Hearing this, Zhang Tianxing nodded. “I understand. I don’t know about other people’s crawfish, but ours are perfectly fine. Let me finish this batch of crawfish.”
Seeing Zhang Tianxing’s calm demeanor, Gao Tianming felt relieved. It seemed Zhang Tianxing had a plan. However, Gao Tianming couldn’t comprehend how such a mass poisoning incident could occur.
After Zhang Tianxing finished cooking the crawfish, he slowly walked out.
A group of diners looked at Zhang Tianxing. “Boss Xiao Zhang, you’re finally out. Can we still eat these delicious crawfish?”
“It would be such a shame if we can’t.”
Before Zhang Tianxing could speak, Boss Zhou from Hao Zai Lai rushed in. “Brother Zhang, what do we do now? Everyone says there’s a problem with crawfish. What should we do?”
Hearing this, everyone panicked. Boss Zhou had come all the way here, indicating the seriousness of the situation.
Zhang Tianxing said gravely, “Don’t worry, Boss Zhou. I didn’t supply the crawfish to Boss Wang. Besides, there have never been any problems when he used my crawfish before.”
“Boss Xiao Zhang, if I may ask a sensitive question, did Wang Fatty stop sourcing from you, and you orchestrated this?”
Zhang Tianxing chuckled, amused. What kind of logic could lead to such a conclusion?
“Everyone, think about it, is my business thriving or not?”
“Thriving!” Of course, with so many customers, how could it not be thriving?
“With such a booming business, do I need his measly crawfish? To put it bluntly, if a few more customers came, I’d have everything I need. If he doesn’t want my crawfish, someone else will,” Zhang Tianxing said with full confidence.
“Then Boss Xiao Zhang, you developed crawfish dishes yourself. Where do you think the problem might lie? Could it be the crawfish themselves?”
This was a good question. Zhang Tianxing secretly gave a thumbs-up. He was just looking for an opportunity to promote his crawfish.
“Everyone, it’s like this: the crawfish we eat now are wild. They are caught from fields, ditches, and ponds. We don’t accept just any crawfish; we reject any with black abdomens. Why? Because they could potentially cause problems.”
The crowd was stunned. Zhang Tianxing continued, “If you don’t believe me, you can visit my crawfish restaurant. All the crawfish there have white abdomens and show no signs of blackness.”
Boss Zhou suddenly realized, “So that’s it. Wang Fatty’s crawfish had black abdomens. He even said they were cheaper and tasted the same, and wanted me to source from him. He has no one to blame but himself. It’s a shame that his misfortune will affect the reputation of crawfish.”