Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 381 Damn Ignorance

"Have the test results come back yet? Does this factory actually contain methanol?"

Nie Guoqiang didn't waste time arguing with Liu Shengyou and went straight to the answer.

"Unfortunately, not really."

Liu Shengyou shook his head and said, "The methanol and ethanol tests were quick; we got the preliminary results in just a few minutes. The experimental batches used for verification and production in the blending workshop, as well as their ethanol storage tanks, did not contain any methanol. In other words, although this factory is an old one, it has no problems in this regard. All their procedures are fairly standard. Although nitpicking might reveal some issues, they are basically irrelevant to this case."

Is this good news? Or did I make a wasted trip?

Nie Guoqiang gave a forced smile.

"There were four victims. More than ten minutes have passed since the fourth victim, and no new victims have been identified. I think that's good news. Old Nie, I feel like the guys in the city made the right bet. This case is unlikely to escalate much."

Liu Shengyou shook his head helplessly, unsure whether he should be happy or annoyed that he had made a wasted trip.

He and Nie Guoqiang both felt that Zhanghe Daqu Distillery was problematic, but the city leaders were hoping it was just a small workshop case. Although Liu Shengyou and Nie Guoqiang insisted that, given the prices of methanol and ethanol, the likelihood of a small workshop committing the crime was low, the current number of victims was certainly not something that could be caused by the volume of Zhanghe Daqu Distillery's shipments. If it were a problem with the distillery, the number of victims would likely be ten or even a hundred times greater.

"You've made a wasted trip. How about you come with me to check out any hidden workshops in the area? But the comrades in charge of searching the sales channels haven't reported back yet. The supermarkets seem to be getting their supplies legitimately. Damn it, isn't this a contradiction?"

Liu Shengyou cursed and smiled bitterly, feeling that the case was becoming increasingly complicated.

"Since there are no leads, there's no need to waste time. If you don't have anything else to do, come with me to check this winery again. By the way, why does it seem like their production hasn't stopped?"

Nie Guoqiang looked up and saw that the water tower was still humming as it worked to dissipate heat.

"After all, it's an established company with some standing in the city. The chairman is even a representative of the Zhangzhou Municipal People's Congress. We haven't found any problems, so how can we ask anything of them? But they're quite sensible; knowing that the problem occurred with Zhanghe Daqu liquor, the processes inside have basically stopped, and the workers are all there for us to question. As for the water tower, some processes definitely can't be stopped casually, because alcohol is flammable and explosive."

Liu Shengyou explained to Nie Guoqiang, then looked back at Lin Ge, who was following along looking around, and couldn't help but squat down and reach out his hand.

"Hey! Mimi, long time no see? I heard you've been hanging around my turf a lot lately? Heh! You come all this way but don't even bother to visit your old comrade at the police station. Are you looking down on us lowly beat cops now that you're famous?"

"Just talk, don't get physical!"

Lin Ge nimbly dodged Liu Shengyou's dirty claws, finding the pervasive smell of alcohol extremely pungent. Even without having drunk a drop, the mere aroma in the air made him feel slightly tipsy.

Seeing Lin Ge's expression, Liu Shengyou decided not to make things difficult for him.

Although the faint smell of alcohol in the air was negligible to Liu Shengyou, even less pronounced than the fermenting odor of sorghum or something similar, seeing the cat and the two police dogs from the city bureau who had arrived earlier both looking equally uncomfortable, he understood that the environment was quite tough for these police cats and dogs. Besides, since scientific methods had already ruled out the distillery as a suspect, there was no need to subject these little creatures to further hardship.

Several police officers, along with a few distillery executives, conducted another inspection inside, and found no problems with the simple bottling process.

Lin Ge didn't go in, but instead wandered over to the side and found the support team sent by the Municipal Bureau.

Lin Ge recognized many of the police officers, but couldn't recall their names. As long as they all recognized him, that was enough. Lin Ge let out a soft "Aww!" as a greeting to his colleagues, then slowly strolled over to Ying Yingxiong.

Yuan Qu was patiently feeding the two Labradors water. The two dogs did look quite bad; the smell of the thermal power plant was too irritating for the animals, especially those visiting for the first time.

Of course, given the police dogs' tolerance and ability to adapt to their environment, they will get used to it in no time.

"Wow! You expressionless face, long time no see!"

Lin Ge greeted Yuan Qu with his tail wagging. This guy was like a smaller version of Nie Guoqiang, with a stern face that was rarely seen smiling. But unlike Nie Guoqiang, he always did stupid things and didn't trust Lin Ge enough.

I wonder if he's truly convinced of his own abilities now, after what happened last time.

"You're here?"

Yuan Qu looked rather awkward, seemingly unsure how to communicate with Lin Ge. Perhaps his previous embarrassing appearance had made him feel ashamed and embarrassed. He mumbled for a while before finally uttering a sentence, then, after thinking for a moment, handed the bottled water in his hand to Lin Ge.

"Mimi, would you like some water?"

"You're hopeless, you deserve to spend your whole life dealing with dogs."

Lin Ge gave this taciturn fool a disdainful look; he deserved to always be sent out to do chores. But at least this guy had stopped looking down on cats. Speaking of which, after what happened at the zoo, he wondered if he'd been ridiculed when he got back?

Hehehe... Getting up close and personal with a real leopard must be quite shocking for an ordinary person, right?

Lin Ge, of course, had no idea that Yuan Qu had been thoroughly annoyed by the heroes and villains those few days. The two clever guys envied Lin Ge's freedom, and because of Lin Ge, Yu Rong and Zhou Bo had become more lenient with Qi Qiguai and An Jingjing, while Yuan Qu remained as rigid as ever, which only fueled their envy and led to several rebellions. It was only because police dogs are trained from a young age that they are more obedient than ordinary dogs; otherwise, Yuan Qu would have suffered long ago.

"Wow~"

After resting for a while, Yingxiong Xiong was in much better condition and even knew to wag his tail and run to Lingo to lick him.

"Go away, I'm not in the mood to play with you guys right now."

Lin Ge impatiently dodged the two dogs' sneak attacks. Seeing the two silly things jumping around as if he were playing with them, he could only helplessly ignore their antics and turn his attention to the other side.

It was a small open space with beautiful flower beds on both sides. Unfortunately, the cold wind was blowing, and the flowers and plants inside looked limp and dying.

Based on his experience, Lin Ge discovered that a large portion of the plants had been planted only recently. He wondered which idiot manager at the factory had done something so foolish as to plant flowers and grass in the dead of winter in order to embezzle money.

In the open space, hundreds of people stood or squatted densely packed together, a sea of ​​heads. They were all wearing yellow hard hats, watching the police work and talking amongst themselves.

"Ok?"

Lin Ge glanced over and noticed that a few people in the crowd looked a little off. He didn't know if they had done something wrong or what, but the guilty look on their faces was similar to that of criminals caught by the police. Lin Ge recognized them.

"Some of the workers hired by this factory are villagers from the surrounding area. They come here to work during the off-season and go back to work in the fields during the busy season, which helps them supplement their household income."

Yuan Qu stood behind Lin Ge and explained in a low voice.

Seeing Lin Ge turn to look at him, Yuan Qu continued, "Because these kinds of workers rarely sign contracts, their wages are lower than ordinary workers, and they pay less for social insurance and housing fund or even just pay cash directly. This can reduce the winery's wage costs quite a bit, and when there's no rush to meet orders, they don't need so many workers to keep them idle. Anyway, this kind of thing is quite common here, and since it involves the farmers' resources, it's hard to say anything, so it's been going on like this."

"How did you know? And why are you telling me so much?"

Lin Ge was even more puzzled. Yuan Qu continued in a low voice, "I'm from Baoyuan New Village around here. The people you just saw are all from nearby villages, and I know most of them. They looked nervous not because they committed a crime, but because they didn't sign a contract. With so many of us here, they don't know exactly what happened, and they're just worried about being kicked out and losing their jobs. So Mimi, don't scare them if you don't have to. These days, it's not easy for farmers to make money."

"You're making me sound like one of those spoiled brats! Do I look like a cat that can bully people at will?"

Lin Ge glared at Yuan Qu with displeasure, increasingly convinced that the guy was out of his mind. It was true that he sometimes bullied people, but he only ever did it with people he knew well. He would never bully the weak or innocent.

So that's it! This guy's a complete idiot! He keeps dogs all the time, has he turned himself into a dog-brain?
Lin Ge complained angrily.

However, Yuan Qu himself did not think that his idea was wrong.

He was well aware of this cat's capricious nature, yet it knew so many important people. Sometimes, even when it was just being silly, it would be misunderstood by others and cause some trouble.

For example, in this incident, Yuan Qu heard that the winery's performance had been somewhat poor in the past two years, and the factory had been considering laying off workers without contracts. However, because these migrant workers had worked at the factory for several years, even more than a decade, and were mostly neighbors and relatives, there wasn't a clear excuse, so the matter was left unresolved. Today's incident has already caused quite a stir; if the cat's actions give the winery leadership a pretext, things could get really bad.

"Qu, what exactly is going on?"

Seeing several "high-ranking officials" enter the workshop accompanied by factory cadres, a worker in his fifties who seemed to be very familiar with Yuan Qu walked over cautiously, looking around.

"It's alright! Uncle Lin, these are just some tests, they have nothing to do with you."

Yuan Qu waved his hand, even putting on a stern face for an acquaintance. Of course, this man was just an honest old man from a neighboring village with only a slight connection to the family, and Yuan Qu knew that discipline wouldn't actually tell him what had happened that day.

"Really, it has nothing to do with us? Don't lie to me!"

Lin Youlu seemed worried about something, so he asked Yuan Qu again. As he asked, he kept looking around, afraid that his presence would be seen by the factory leaders.

But the man didn't seem afraid of the police, so Lin Ge accepted Yuan Qu's explanation and lazily hid to the side to avoid causing them any trouble.

Yuan Qu repeatedly emphasized that it was just a routine inspection, and finally managed to coax Lin Youlu back.

Back in the crowd, Lin Youlu, both satisfied and smug, told those around him what he had found out. Soon, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and they began chatting and joking without restraint. Several even took off their helmets and used them as stools on the ground.

"The distillery must be at a loss with these people, right?"

Lin Ge looked at the dozen or so people, then at the well-behaved but whispering group of regular workers, and the difference between the two was obvious.

The thought of becoming a 'local resident' popped into his mind, but he didn't pay much attention to it.

"As long as we're not caught adulterating the alcohol, it's no big deal. Humph! This month, we've outperformed them in both production and consumption. Let's see what reason the factory has to fire us!"

Suddenly, a boastful whisper reached Lin Ge's ears, making him twitch and turn his head to look in that direction.

Beside Lin Youlu, another middle-aged man who looked a few years older than him was chatting with three or four other people. These men were the most arrogant among the migrant workers, completely out of place with the other workers and the other honest migrant workers.

The word 'alcohol' they used touched a nerve with Lingo.

"Alcohol? What alcohol? Did these people taint the product? Is it related to production and consumption? Are they secretly adding other things to increase production, or are they using deceptive methods to reduce consumption?"

Several illegal ideas related to increasing production and reducing consumption immediately popped into Lingo's mind.

Normally, he would have simply stood by and watched. But right now, thousands of police officers, traffic police, doctors, and even government officials throughout the city were working tirelessly to investigate, disrupting countless families; and the case was still unsolved, with everyone's concerns stemming from something also called 'alcohol'. And this matter happened to be related to the distillery—how could Lin Ge ignore it?
"Could it really be them? To increase production and appear more capable than the other workers, they secretly put methanol into the finished liquor containers waiting to be bottled?"

Lin Ge found this somewhat unbelievable, mainly because it was quite outrageous. Even if these people didn't know methanol was toxic, there was absolutely no need for them to go to such lengths to bring methanol in from outside, just to increase production and make themselves seem more capable than the other workers, right?
Even counterfeiters make money! What are they after? Avoiding getting fired?
"We've basically run out of alcohol. Youfu, can you still get any from Wang Mazi? To be honest, how long are we going to keep going like this? The alcohol he steals is cheap, but it's not worth it for us to keep doing this!"

Lin Youlu asked with a pained expression.

“Wang Mazi was in charge of the tank area at that chemical plant. He would pump out seven or eight barrels from each tank, and no outsiders would know. As long as we paid him, he could help us get half a ton every few days.”

Lin Youfu chuckled, reassuring his companions. Glancing around to make sure no leaders had come out and the other workers weren't paying attention to them, he lowered his voice and said, "It's alright, let's hang in there for another month! It's not much money, a barrel is only the price of a pack of cigarettes! Last month we only used a little over a ton, which is only a little over a hundred yuan per person, nothing! Compared to that, our work is more important! At the end of this month, I'll report our output to the company leaders and see if we can get a couple of foreman positions. But it's a deal, you have to bribe me! Anyone who wants a foreman, prepare ten or twenty thousand yuan and I'll help you pull strings..."

"Ow!!"

Before Lin Youfu could finish speaking, he was suddenly interrupted by a sharp, piercing howl.

Lin Ge's furious howls continued incessantly. His suppressed rage made him want to tear these bastards to pieces, but for now, he could only vent his anger through constant roaring.

"Aww! Aww~"

He was truly filled with murderous rage! These stupid and damned bastards didn't even deserve to share his surname!

"Wang! Wang Wang!"

When Ling Ge barked, Ying Xiong, though unaware of what was happening, also barked loudly in response. The commotion caused by the two dogs and the cat stunned everyone around; hundreds of people stared in astonishment, wondering what had just occurred.

The main problem was that, despite the bright streetlights on this dark night, the cat's small figure, reflected in the light, exuded an eerie aura.

"Hey! What's wrong? What happened? Yingying! Xiongxiong! Sit down! Sit down, do you hear me?"

Yuan Qu, at a loss, gripped the leash of Ying Xiongxiong tightly, trying his best to command it, but to no avail. The two dogs continued barking along with Lin Ge, making the commotion even more pronounced. Yuan Qu struggled to control the two police dogs, preventing them from slipping out of his grasp, then turned to Lin Ge, utterly bewildered. He didn't understand why the cat had suddenly gone berserk; it had been crouching motionless the whole time, so why was it suddenly howling so shrilly?

"What happened?"

Nie Guoqiang, Liu Shengyou, several criminal police officers from the municipal bureau, and a few accompanying cadres all rushed out.

Seeing Lin Ge's angry expression from afar, Nie Guoqiang and Liu Shengyou were startled. They exchanged a glance, both understanding the situation, and without hesitation, turned on their walkie-talkies to summon all the surrounding police officers.

Soon, with a sound of running, more than twenty police officers, along with personnel from the fire department, safety supervision department, and other government departments, all gathered behind Nie Guoqiang, watching Lin Ge glare angrily at the few migrant workers in the crowd whose expressions were not good.

Yuan Qu suddenly realized what was going on, and his face immediately turned extremely ugly. But he still joined the police force without hesitation, ready to take action and arrest the suspect at any time.

"You...you..."

Those around Lin Youlu and Lin Youfu quickly distanced themselves from the five or six people. The Lin Youlu and Lin Youfu themselves, under the lamplight, all had faces paler than snow.

(End of this chapter)