Li Na’s eyes turned bloodshot as she rose from the ground, hearing the murmurs of the crowd. She then spoke with a gap-toothed mouth, “Nonsense! You can’t escape responsibility with just a few words. What evidence do you have to prove I used swill oil? I think you’re just holding a grudge because I took your business, so you’re deliberately splashing dirty water on me. Chen Lishu, don't forget we're relatives. If something happens to me, how will you explain it to Li Xiulan!”
Threatening her? Chen Lishu sneered and shook her head. If she had indeed done something wrong, she wouldn’t be able to explain it at home, but the key was that Li Na had initiated this. Li Xiulan was not an unreasonable person. Chen Lishu’s thin lips parted as she spoke leisurely, “Why can’t you understand? As a relative, I already warned you in advance, but you didn’t take my words to heart. Now that something has happened, you naturally have to pay the price for your actions. It’s not that I won’t let you go, but why should these victim families let you go? You said I splashed dirty water on you? Fine, I’ll call the police right now. I’m sure we’ll have a verdict within two hours.”
With that, Chen Lishu indifferently picked up the phone and skillfully dialed the police. Seeing this, Li Na’s eyelids twitched, and a sense of foreboding washed over her. She shouted angrily, “Chen Lishu! You’re so heartless. Do you really dislike our family so much? We worked so hard to earn a little money to give our children a better life, and now you’re pushing me back to square one. If my husband and I go to jail, what will happen to our child? You’re pushing our entire family to a dead end!”
Now she cared about her child? Were other people’s children not their parents’ darlings? Chen Lishu remained unyielding, “Your mother can take care of the child. If that’s not feasible, they can stay at my place for a few days.”
Hearing this, Li Na felt as if all her strength had been drained. She slumped to the ground powerlessly. Once she was jailed, she would lose all face, and how could she continue to do business in Chengxi? What was face compared to this? At this moment, nothing else mattered. Li Na crawled to Chen Lishu, grabbed her hand, and said with pain, “Sister, I know I was wrong. Can you help me? After all, you’re the boss of a large enterprise. Why don’t you take the blame? I believe with your influence and money, you can surely get out of this predicament. But I’m different; I’m just an ordinary person. You just have to go to jail for a while, and I promise I’ll take good care of your mother-in-law and children.”
Hearing such shameless words, Chen Lishu quickly pulled her hand away. Li Na intended to say more to make Chen Lishu change her mind and save her, but at this moment, the police arrived. “Comrade Chen?!” The person who arrived was the same young officer from before. Upon seeing Chen Lishu, he slapped his thigh in realization. “Alright, someone come and brief me on the situation.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the victim families immediately surrounded the young officer, each recounting their hardships. After the statements were mostly recorded, the young officer squeezed out of the crowd. He looked into Chen Lishu’s eyes and asked, “Miss Chen, this matter involves too much. The evidence must be sufficient, otherwise, it might alert the higher-ups.”
Chen Lishu calmly replied, “Isn’t the evidence right here, in these two pots of oil, along with the purchase records? I believe normal households wouldn’t stockpile so much cooking oil. You can conduct a surprise inspection right now and see whose oil is problematic.”
“Understood!” After inquiring with Chen Lishu, the young officer turned to Li Na. “Miss, do you have anything else to add?” Li Na was already pale with fear from the police. Let alone adding anything, she didn’t even have evidence to prove her innocence. The two barrels of swill oil were right in her backyard. If the police investigated, her consequences were predictable.
About half an hour later, the police quickly arrived at the scene with the evidence. Looking at the evidence handed over by his subordinates, the young officer’s face grew darker. The place where the swill oil was made was horrifying, with rats and even some excrement floating on it. Thinking that Li Na actually used this oil to feed children, he said with indignation, “Men, take these two people to the police station! I need to interrogate them thoroughly!”
“Yes!” With that, Li Na, her face ashen, was escorted away by a group of police officers. As they left, the young officer did not forget to say, “Ms. Chen, you are truly an honest businesswoman, willing to use good oil to fry sausages. After I finish my work, I’ll come to your stall when I have time. It should taste great!” Chen Lishu nodded and smiled, “Okay, you’re always welcome.” With that, the group left the scene.
As the police departed, the student parents began to discuss, “It seems Li Na’s stall really had the problem. I knew it! How could a sausage be so cheap? The cost alone was twelve cents, and they still had to use oil to fry it for us. How could a vendor make no profit at all?” “I said that when I ate that sausage, there was a taste, an indescribable flavor. I wish I hadn’t been greedy for small savings and bought these unhygienic things, only to make myself sick.”
Listening to the discussions, Qian Feier came to Chen Lishu’s side and couldn’t help but chuckle, covering her mouth. “It seems I was wise enough not to be tempted by a few cents. If these people knew what swill oil looked like, they’d probably vomit all the food they’ve eaten in the past few days!” Chen Lishu glanced at the still somewhat bewildered crowd, placed a hand over her mouth, and said as a reminder, “Let’s keep this matter confidential for now, otherwise, the scene will become chaotic.”
With Li Na arrested and imprisoned, people knew Chen Lishu was a conscientious vendor, and many would patronize her stall. However, the incident of frying sausages had too great an impact. Many, having been bitten once, feared the wellrope, and dared not buy fried sausages anymore. Instead, several cans of candy were sold out. After selling her goods, Chen Lishu took her two children home. Opening the door, a wail was heard. Following the sound, she saw Li Xiuli firmly holding Li Xiulan’s hand. Chen Lishu frowned at Li Xiuli’s dramatic display. “Xiulan, my life is so hard! We set up a stall just to earn a little money and support our families. Why do you have to make things so ugly, turning the situation into this? Nannan has no parents, so I, this old woman, have to raise him? I’m already so old…” At this point, Li Xiuli paused, her brows filled with exhaustion.