Chapter 159: Imprisonment Crisis

In just a few days, Old Zhu's liquor, thanks to its wall advertisements and catchy slogans spread by children, became a best-seller in Bangye County.

By bypassing the usual route from distillery to wholesale, then from wholesale to small shops, and instead directly linking the distillery with small shops, the profit from selling Old Zhu's liquor was quite impressive.

This further fueled the interest of sellers in Old Zhu's liquor.

Additionally, the quality of this low-end liquor quickly converted the traffic brought by the innovative advertisements into loyal customers. Many people who had previously heard about it became devoted fans of Old Zhu's liquor after trying it.

In just over ten days, a liquor that had only gained modest fame after more than a decade in Hailin had firmly established itself in Bangye!

This left the already struggling Bangye Distillery in an even more awkward position, as it was on the verge of bankruptcy.

Inside the Bangye Distillery, Factory Director Feng Xifeng was furious with the head of his business unit, Lao Wang.

"Lao Wang, Lao Wang, what should I say about you! I asked you to investigate that Old Zhu's liquor, and look at you! Drinking it in broad daylight while you're supposed to be working!" Feng Xifeng exclaimed, his nose red with anger. "Look at what you've drunk!"

Lao Wang, whose nose was also red, stared blankly, and said with a silly grin, "Hic… Director, I was just, you know, investigating. If you don't experience it yourself, you can't really talk about it. So I bought two bottles to try. Hic… It's really good liquor! Smooth on the palate, hits the throat, and after three or five cups, you wouldn't want to leave! I strongly recommend that our factory introduce this type of liquor, Director… Hic…"

"Ugh! Just get out of here!" Feng Xifeng pushed Lao Wang away and retreated to his office.

After a moment, he picked up the phone and called the Industrial and Commercial Bureau.

"Hello? Director Xing? This is Director Feng from the distillery. I need to report something…"

…

Li Xian felt that he was in big trouble.

That night, to get a bunch of kids to stop bothering him and go home quickly, he used the ghost story of the cat-faced old lady. Unexpectedly, a strange person with a heavily powdered face and red rouge appeared, scaring the children to death, adding to the eerie atmosphere from the night before.

Li Xian himself was quite scared that night. When he returned home, he didn't dare sleep alone and stayed in the same room with Wang Qinghe and the others. He didn't hear the commotion outside.

The next morning, he learned that after he had closed the big door the previous night, four children had panicked and accidentally fallen into a cesspit, almost drowning. Seventeen children had come down with high fevers, and almost all the children in the neighborhood hadn't dared to go to school the next morning.

But this wasn't the worst outcome. The most severe consequence was that, among the children's shared stories, even the adults in Pig Hair Village believed in the cat-faced old lady.

The rumors about the cat-faced old lady spread throughout the neighborhood by morning, and every household had pasted yellow papers with red cinnabar writing "Urgent Orders" on their doors, creating a rather grand scene.

This phenomenon, centered on Pig Hair Village, quickly spread to the county. Even the nearby County Three Elementary School held an emergency meeting, canceling a class for upper-grade students in the evening to allow kids living far away to get home before dark. Class teachers also held urgent class meetings, advising children to walk to and from school in groups and to have their parents pick them up if possible.

Even during school breaks, the principal nervously suggested that all students prepare red strings to ward off evil spirits—no one knew which school leader came up with this idea.

For a while, Pig Hair Village was in a state of panic. At night, every household stayed indoors.

Fortunately, the daytime was less affected, and it didn't impact the distillery's production.

However, Li Xian still felt uneasy. If the authorities investigated and found out that the rumors about the cat-faced old lady originated from his place, wouldn't he end up in detention?

And if it spread outside and caused a commotion similar to the 1995 incident…

"Iron bars, iron doors, iron chains, holding onto the iron bars, I look outside, outside life is so beautiful, when will I return to my homeland~~~~"

Beside him, Zhu Feng, who had served five years in prison, sat on the doorstep counting money and humming a mournful prison song.

The song was out of tune, but it was filled with an indescribable sadness and longing for a better life.

Li Xian couldn't help but shiver!

"Hey! I've made over ten thousand this week! Xianzi…" Zhu Feng, having finished counting the money, was so pleased that his mouth wouldn't close. Just as he was about to report the recent achievements to Li Xian, he noticed that his financier's face had turned pale.

"Xianzi, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Zhu Feng put away the money and patted Li Xian's shoulder.

"Ah!" Startled by the sudden pat, Li Xian, who had been imagining himself in shackles in prison surrounded by hungry and desperate inmates, shivered again.

"What's wrong?"

Facing Zhu Feng's inquiry, Li Xian's eyes darted around as he stammered, "Uh… The cat-faced old lady story that's been circulating these days is quite frightening. I feel uneasy staying here. You handle the distillery's affairs. I'll head back to Beilin for a while."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Feng also shivered, "Yes, indeed. The story the children are spreading is quite scary. They say that many children saw an old woman with a pale face and blood on it that night. Xianzi, they say they saw her right at your door. Didn't you see anything?"

Clang!

Inside the distillery, Zhu Juan angrily threw down the basket she was holding. She wanted to say something, but after her chest heaved several times, she stomped her feet, grabbed her long braids, and ran off.

Li Xian quickly shook his head, "No, no. If I had seen her, I wouldn't have survived."

Zhu Feng scratched his head, "That's really strange…"

Just as Zhu Feng wondered why so many children had seen the cat-faced old lady but Li Xian hadn't, a motorcycle engine roared outside the distillery.

Soon, a group of uniformed industrial and commercial enforcement officers, led by a middle-aged man, stormed in.

Seeing the busy scene in the distillery, the officers immediately drove out the people working inside and sealed the doors with red tape.

Zhu Feng, seeing this, panicked, "What are you doing?"

"What are we doing?" The lead officer walked up to Zhu Feng with a cold smile. "You're privately making and selling counterfeit liquor, and you dare to ask us what we're doing?"

"We have a business license!" Zhu Feng hurriedly ran to another room and brought out the license.

The officer took it, looked at it, and coldly smiled before handing it to the enforcement team.

"Comrade, this is a Hailin license and isn't valid here. We received a public complaint reporting that you're privately mixing and selling liquor for profit. Are you the person in charge of this distillery? Come with us for an investigation."

With that, he directly grabbed Zhu Feng's arm.

Having experienced it once before, Zhu Feng shuddered at the sight of the familiar uniforms and cold, unfeeling eyes.

Seeing this situation, Li Xian furrowed his brows. He stepped forward and placed his hand on the officer's arm.