Chapter 183: Fake Alcohol Harms People

In front of the distillery, a large crowd had gathered, forming multiple circles around the scene. The distillery's sign had been smashed to pieces, and several people were shouting and continuously kicking at the tightly closed iron gate.

"Just because so many people drank our liquor and ended up in the hospital, you think it's our fault? I think you're just trying to extort money!" Amid the shouts and the crowd's taunts, Old Zhu stood in the distillery courtyard, hands on his hips, hopping around as he defended himself.

"Fuck your ancestors!"

With this curse, a brick flew through the air, heading straight for Old Zhu's head.

By the time Li Xian arrived, barefoot, he saw Old Zhu clutching his head and lying on the ground with a groan.

"Dad!"

Seeing his father injured, Zhu Feng and Zhu Juan panicked!

Without waiting for Li Xian to stop them, the siblings fiercely pushed through the crowd and charged at the attacker, knocking him to the ground.

Before the troublemakers could react, Zhu Juan executed a swift and precise strike, disfiguring the man who had thrown the brick.

"Ah!"

Realizing the situation had completely spiraled out of control, Li Xian stomped his foot, pulled off his only remaining slipper, and rushed forward.

Just as he was about to confront the crowd with his slipper raised, a loud shout came from behind.

"Don't move! What's going on? Stop it!"

The police had arrived.

...

In the distillery courtyard.

Old Zhu had a large bump on his forehead, Zhu Feng's mouth was swollen, and although Zhu Juan wasn't injured, her two pigtails were disheveled, and she was crying non-stop.

On the other side, the five troublemakers all had battered faces, looking as if they had been scrubbed with steel wool.

Li Xian stood in the middle, brandishing his slipper, pointing at Old Zhu's family, and said angrily, "Officer, look at how these people have been beaten! This is outrageous!"

Deputy Director Xiao Ji, who had been called out from the police station, bent down slightly. He knew the new county chief was paying particular attention to this distillery. Otherwise, a case of public disturbance wouldn't have warranted his personal visit. Seeing the two groups of people both injured, he said in a deep voice, "Everyone, explain what happened."

Hearing the police inquiry, the troublemakers' anger flared up again. One man, about thirty years old, with a swollen cheek, stepped forward and pointed at Old Zhu, "Officer, I'm Gui Hu. You have to take responsibility for us!"

"What's the situation?"

"Two days ago, I visited my father-in-law's house and bought four bottles of Bangye liquor as a gift. Unexpectedly, after drinking it, my father-in-law collapsed under the table!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ji's face fell. "So he drank too much and got drunk. How is that related to the distillery?"

"Of course it's related!" Gui Hu glared. "Normally, the old man can drink two jin of liquor at a time, but after just two sips of this Bangye liquor, he fell to the ground complaining of a headache. We thought it was just the effects of strong alcohol and moved him to the bed, hoping he'd sleep it off. But when we got him to the bed, he was incoherent, rolling around and shouting that he was a disciple who had made a mistake. We asked him who he was, and guess what he said?"

Gui Hu clenched his fists, tears in his eyes. "He said he was the Monkey King! We saw something was wrong and rushed him to the county hospital, but by the time we got there, his eyes were blind! He was shouting that he had developed fiery eyes. The doctor checked and said it was methanol poisoning due to excessive methanol in his urine. He asked if we gave the old man fake alcohol. That's when we realized!"

At this point, Gui Hu pointed at the distillery's workshop, "Officer, tell me, isn't this their responsibility?"

Hearing the details, Xiao Ji was stunned. He smacked his lips, looked at Li Xian, "Mr. Li… what should we do?"

Understanding the background, Li Xian had regained his composure.

He put down his slipper and walked up to Gui Hu, "How is the old man now?"

"He's still in the hospital on an IV drip! His vision is still blurry, and my wife wants to divorce me. What do you think?!" Gui Hu's voice quivered as tears streamed down his face.

Li Xian extended his hand and patted his shoulder, "Let's not discuss whose fault it is right now. Get your family to transfer the old man to Bingcheng for treatment. The cost will be covered by our factory. But you can't go with him."

Li Xian gritted his teeth, "Tell us where you bought that liquor."

...

The main component of normal white liquor is ethyl acetate, lactic acid ester, and ethyl ester from fermented grains. But according to Gui Hu, the old man suffered from methanol poisoning. This clearly indicated a case of fake alcohol.

So Li Xian didn't need to verify further; Bangye White had fake products circulating on the market.

He couldn't believe that a liquor with a retail price of just over two yuan would have counterfeit versions circulating so quickly.

While feeling a sense of unease, he was also relieved—if he had waited a few more days, Zhu Feng would have launched a large-scale promotion. By then, Bangye White's reputation and sales would have skyrocketed.

If fake alcohol cases had emerged at that time, the newly established brand might have collapsed instantly.

Now, although Bangye White was already well-known in the vicinity, it was still within a controllable range.

According to Gui Hu, the liquor was bought from a small shop. After the incident, he had gone to the shop, but the shopkeeper claimed the liquor was supplied by the distillery and told him to address the issue with the distillery.

This led to Gui Hu's ruckus at the distillery.

After understanding these details, Li Xian called Zhou Yong over, along with Xiao Ji and several police officers, and headed to the small shop.

On the way, Li Xian thought that since Gui Hu had already visited the shop, the seller must have noticed and it might be difficult to find evidence. So he asked Xiao Ji what to do.

Xiao Ji coldly smiled, "Does this case need evidence? Mr. Li, you'll see what we do. You don't need to worry."

As he spoke, he had one of the officers get out of the car to retrieve something from the police station.

Upon arriving, the shopkeeper was calm when he saw the police.

However, once inside, Xiao Ji immediately waved his hand, and the police officers restrained the shopkeeper.

In these small shops, the store is usually in the front, with the living quarters in the back. Facing the shopkeeper's evasive excuses, Xiao Ji simply ignored him and took a box of ham sausages from the counter, opening one with his teeth and offering it to the police dogs.

Perhaps feeling guilty or scared, the shopkeeper, Lao Wang, stayed silent as the sausages were distributed.

Faced with this bizarre situation, Li Xian was baffled.

He approached Xiao Ji and asked for a cigarette, "Deputy Xiao, what's your plan?"

Xiao Ji glanced at the wall clock blackened by smoke and smiled mysteriously, "If I can't solve this case, I've brought in an expert."

Hearing this, Li Xian was curious.

After smoking two cigarettes, the shop's door was pushed open. The person who entered was the same officer Xiao Ji had sent back to the station. But he wasn't alone; behind him was a large wolfdog with a yellow coat and black fur on its back, panting excitedly.

Seeing Xiao Ji, the dog rushed over, excitedly licking his leg.

Xiao Ji patted the wolfdog's head and grinned at Li Xian, "Mr. Li, this is the expert I mentioned."

Li Xian smacked his forehead and laughed at himself, "I really should have thought of this."

The wolfdog seemed fierce but had a gentle temperament. Inside the shop, it neither barked nor bit. Xiao Ji gestured to the recently arrived officer, who handed over a bottle of methanol.

Xiao Ji opened the bottle and waved it in front of the dog's nose. Once the dog had sniffed enough, he waved his hand, "Erchun, go!"

"Woof!"

The wolfdog responded and began sniffing the ground. After a short while, it located the counter, sniffed around it, and then moved towards the furniture door in the back room.

Finally, the dog stopped in front of a locked cabinet.

Seeing this, Xiao Ji looked at the pale-faced shopkeeper and coldly smiled, grabbing a handful of ham sausages from the counter, biting one open, and offering it to the dog.

"Well done, buddy."

Patting the wolfdog's head, Xiao Ji pointed to the cabinet and ordered the eager police officers, "Open it."

At that moment, the shopkeeper Lao Wang, who was standing by the fire wall, completely broke down, kneeling on the ground. "Officer, I confess! I'll tell everything! Does confessing now count as voluntary surrender?"

Xiao Ji smiled and pulled up a stool, sitting down beside the wolfdog.

"Speak up, and the more details you provide, the better. Whether it's considered voluntary will depend on how clear your confession is and how well you cooperate with us... to catch the real culprit!"