Chapter 2258: Dealing with the Greenhouses
Editor: Atlas Studios
Time was of the essence and this was an important task, so Qiao Mei did not stand on ceremony with Xia Wen. They had to find the real culprit as soon as possible, otherwise Li Gui would really have to spend the rest of her life in prison.
Before Qiao Mei hung up the phone, Chi Ze suddenly rushed into the room. Qiao Mei did not fault him for this. Chi Ze and his guys had worked for her for many years and these people knew her habits. Chi Ze would not act so impulsively unless it was something important.
“Bad news, Sister-in-law. Something has happened!” Chi Ze said in a trembling voice. His hands also could not stop trembling and he was drenched in sweat, looking as if he had just been fished out of water.
Only Xia Wen and Xia Mao would have news about Xia Zhe. The only urgent issues that Chi Ze could encounter was related to the company. As long as her family members were not affected, everything else was secondary. Even if the company went bankrupt, she was fine with it.
Qiao Mei poured a glass of water for Chi Ze and said, “Take your time to speak. Don’t be anxious.”
“Our vegetables in the suburbs are all dead! All the vegetables wilted overnight and much of the land cannot be used anymore. Someone has put poison in the soil as well! It’s hard to say if we can still grow vegetables in the future!” Chi Ze said.
Xia Wen could also hear what Chi Ze said on the other end of the phone. He immediately said, “I’ll go to the vegetable fields to take a look. You should rest well at home. You have just returned home, so you have to take care of your health.”
“I’m fine. Eldest Brother, you should go and investigate the matter which we just discussed. I’ll handle this issue,” Qiao Mei said with a smile.
She had been worried just now about what to do if she could not get any useful information from the memories of the plants. She now had what she needed. If the vegetable fields had just been poisoned, the memories of the plants must be very fresh and clear.
Qiao Mei drove Chi Ze to the vegetable fields. Before Qiao Mei even entered, she already saw Sun Tian standing anxiously at the door. Even before she could speak, Sun Tian knelt in front of Qiao Mei and wailed loudly.
“Boss! I’ve let you down! My entire family has let you down!” Sun Tian knelt on the ground and cried out.
He knew best how good the profits from these vegetable fields were. All the accounts were handled by him. Moreover, in order to let him work in the capital without any worries, Qiao Mei had even rented a house for him. She also hired his entire family to work in the vegetable fields and gave all of them very high salaries so that they could have a stable life in the capital.
Now that such a big thing had happened, money was still not the biggest issue. They supplied vegetables to the government and some well-known companies. If they could not deliver the goods according to the schedule, they would face a huge penalty for breaching the contract and their reputation would be damaged.
“Get up first. This matter is not so serious yet. I still have land elsewhere and we can supply our customers from there. Don’t worry,” Qiao Mei said.
“Really?” Sun Tian said as he looked at Qiao Mei expectantly.
“Yes, really. Why will I lie to you?” Qiao Mei said.
Sun Tian got up shakily from the floor. As he led her to the greenhouse to take a look, he told her about what he knew so far.
“The vegetables are all gone. We’ve checked and the source of the poison is the reservoir. Fortunately, this reservoir is only for use by our vegetable fields. If it’s shared with the villagers, the consequences will be unimaginable,” Sun Tian said.
As the reservoir took up a big area, Qiao Mei did not extend the fence to enclose it within the boundary of the vegetable fields. Because of that, many villagers would secretly come to Qiao Mei’s place to get water.
“Tell the surrounding villagers about this matter. If they suffer any losses, let’s note it down and pay them off first. All the claimants must leave their thumb prints and photos as evidence so that we can ask the real culprit for compensation later,” Qiao Mei said.
To her, the losses in the vegetable fields were not a big deal. It would only affect her for a short period of time. However, to the villagers, it was a devastating piece of news. Qiao Mei was willing to pay first, but she intended to make the real culprit pay back double the amount to her.
“Alright,” Sun Tian said.
“Let’s suspend business for now and tabulate how many orders we have to fulfill.” Qiao Mei waved her hand and Chi Ze immediately came forward. She continued, “Work with him to transport the vegetables from the south as an emergency measure.”
“Yes, alright,” Chi Ze said.
Qiao Mei looked around and then said, “Chi Ze, ask my brother-in-law to send some people here to expand this place for us. Buy all the land nearby and make this whole area exclusive to us. In the future, outsiders are not allowed to enter this area anymore.”
“I understand. I’ll do it immediately.” After saying that, Chi Ze went to the office to make a call to make the arrangements.
“Uncle Sun, are there any outsiders recently? Or suspicious people?” Qiao Mei asked.
“There are many outsiders. Every day, there are many people who come to deliver stuff, as well as the delivery men who come to pick up the goods. There are also… there are also some young and beautiful girls from the nearby villages,” Sun Tian said embarrassedly.