"Comrade, may I ask where the white powder was placed and for how long? Is there any dust on it? As you know, I've just opened for business. If there's dust, it means the white powder has been there for a long time. If not, it was placed there recently. It's possible someone put it there yesterday during the chaos, or perhaps it was just placed today. I hope the comrades can investigate this clearly and give me justice."
Zhang Liunian did not confess his guilt, only stating he wanted justice.
The crowd onlookers heard this and were filled with suspicion. Could it be that he wasn't selling the white powder after all?
But regardless, the discovery of the white powder here made them worry. What if they ate something laced with white powder here and became addicted?
"Do you think he's innocent?"
"Who knows?"
"It's a fact that white powder was found here. Aren't you afraid of eating this stuff?"
"Afraid, who isn't?"
"I can't believe such a large department store would actually sell this kind of thing."
"They've lost all conscience, selling this harmful stuff. Spit!"
"..."
All around them were murmuring voices, most of them condemning Zhang Liunian and his store for selling white powder. Whether Zhang Liunian truly sold it or not, their good impression of the department store plummeted.
Zhang Liunian knew that if this matter couldn't be resolved quickly, the department store's reputation would be irreparable.
"We will confirm this," the police comrades exchanged glances, and someone continued the confirmation.
Seeing someone checking whether the white powder was placed there previously or recently, Zhang Liunian added, "Comrades in the police force, my family has been poor peasants for three generations. I only started as a self-employed individual this year and have always been a law-abiding citizen. I don't know how the white powder appeared here. I implore you to give me justice."
Zhang Liunian naturally knew the white powder was planted by someone else, and he suspected it was the Zhu family.
Among his enemies, only the Zhu family dealt with white powder. But he had no evidence, so knowing was useless.
"Whether you are innocent or not requires further investigation. For now, you just need to cooperate with our investigation," the police said and then took Zhang Liunian away.
After Zhang Liunian left, the department store erupted in chaos. Everyone pointed fingers and cursed the department store for doing such a thing, then they all rushed out. The business that was originally booming instantly turned cold.
"Xiao Zhou, where is the boss?" Manager Gu rushed downstairs but only saw Xiao Zhou standing at the entrance with a troubled expression.
"The police took him away," Xiao Zhou replied in a deep voice.
"What? They actually found white powder?"
Manager Gu couldn't believe it. "Impossible. We were receiving and stocking goods all day yesterday. There couldn't have been white powder. We watched those goods being brought in with our own eyes. There's no way that stuff could have been mixed in?"
"White powder was indeed found, that's an undeniable fact. As for how it got in, it might be a change that occurred yesterday. Don't forget, all those people were temporary hires we found; they weren't our own people."
Xiao Zhou had supervised the receiving and stocking with Manager Gu yesterday, so he knew it was impossible for white powder to be there. But they had indeed found white powder earlier, and although the quantity wasn't much, it was two catties.
"It seems someone deliberately framed us. What should we do?" Manager Gu now deeply regretted not keeping a closer eye on those people yesterday, which allowed them to bring in the white powder, thus harming the department store and the boss.
"I don't know, but the boss asked us to handle the department store's affairs. But as you can see, as soon as people heard there was white powder in our department store, they all disappeared." Xiao Zhou had never encountered such a situation and was now at a complete loss, not knowing how to handle it.
"Alas, it's all my fault. If I had watched more closely yesterday, it wouldn't have harmed the boss. I'll go find someone to think of a solution." Manager Gu was extremely self-blaming. He turned to find friends to see if they could help.
Seeing Manager Gu like this, Xiao Zhou turned to the place where the white powder was found. He discovered that the white powder had indeed been placed there recently, as the dust around it proved everything. This made him even more certain that it was brought in by those people from yesterday.
With this thought, he immediately began to investigate the temporary workers who helped them move goods yesterday.
These people were all found on the street. A hundred of them were hired together, a rather large number. He still meticulously checked the information of these people and questioned them. By the end of the day, he had only verified thirty of them, but unfortunately, he found nothing.
"Did you find anyone?" At five in the afternoon, Xiao Zhou met Manager Gu and immediately asked about the progress of the matter.
Manager Gu sighed and said, "Alas, don't ask. I've asked around, and they all say they can't help."
"Tomorrow, come with me to find those movers and see who put the white powder there. As long as they admit it, the boss can naturally be rescued." Xiao Zhou was also quite disappointed that Manager Gu, like him, had worked in vain.
"Find the movers?" Manager Gu was reminded by his words. Yes, why didn't they start from the root cause? As long as they found the person who planted the white powder, all problems would be solved.
"We just need to find the person who put the white powder to prove we didn't sell it."
"Will they admit it?"
"..." This would depend on whether they could discern who was lying.
"Never mind, maybe they'll slip up. Tomorrow we'll go and check them one by one." Manager Gu held onto a hopeful thought, looking forward to finding the person who planted the white powder tomorrow.
However, ideals are beautiful, but reality is stark. The next day, after they questioned the remaining seventy movers one by one, they still found no suspicious individuals.
Xiao Zhou had no choice but to call Gao Lijie, hoping he could help Zhang Liunian.
"Don't worry, as long as your boss is truly innocent, he'll be fine," Gao Lijie's voice came from the other end of the phone, his tone giving away no emotion.
"Two catties of white powder, and it was placed there by someone yesterday during the chaos. The boss truly hasn't had any dealings with this stuff," Xiao Zhou knew the white powder was planted by others and was very certain of this.
"This requires evidence; it's not enough to just say it. As long as you find the person who planted the white powder and framed you, everything can be resolved."
"..." Of course, he knew that. But they had questioned all one hundred movers from yesterday, yet not a single one showed any abnormal or nervous demeanor, giving them no clue.
"I understand."
Xiao Zhou hung up the phone and turned to face Manager Gu's expectant gaze. "He told us to find the person who put the white powder there."
Xiao Zhou was helpless. If they could find this person, would they have needed to make this phone call?
"I heard the boss was arrested. Is that true?" Just then, Uncle Yi walked in with his men, his expression anxious.