Chapter 142 The Poisoner

"This is Fatty Xu, the head chef in charge of the cafeteria. Just now, when Section Chief Huang from the Health Bureau was here, he even tried to bribe him."

Chu Feng found Fatty Xu and pushed him in front of Li Zeming. Fatty Xu looked up and saw a face he had previously only seen on television.

"Secretary Li, welcome to inspect the work here at the Air Force Hospital cafeteria." Fatty Xu was an old fox. After a brief moment of panic, he quickly composed himself and spoke to Li Zeming respectfully.

"Fatty Xu, the food today has already been tested by the Health Bureau. It is indeed poisonous. While it won't kill someone instantly, eating it over time will truly result in death. Let me ask you, where do you buy your rice?"

To trace the source of this batch of toxic rice, they first needed to find out where the hospital bought its rice. With a cafeteria this large, a huge amount of rice must be purchased every day.

"It's from a rice warehouse on Baxian Road. They supply hospitals all over the city, and we buy ours from there too. Everything is done according to regulations."

Hearing Li Zeming say that the food was poisonous, Fatty Xu was so scared he almost collapsed onto the ground. If anyone were to fall ill from eating it, he would be the first person to take the blame, seeing as he was the head chef of the cafeteria.

Every hospital had strict regulations stipulating that all purchased ingredients must come with proper receipts and traceable origins, prohibiting the purchase of toxic or pesticide-contaminated produce.

Just as Chu Feng and Li Zeming were questioning Fatty Xu about the rice, Bureau Chief Wang arrived with personnel from the Health Bureau. This time, a larger team from the Health Bureau had come to take all the remaining rice back for laboratory testing.

"Secretary Li, this is our test result. Please take a look." Bureau Chief Wang handed the inspection report to Li Zeming, who immediately passed it to Chu Feng.

Chu Feng took it and, upon reading it, discovered that the toxic substance found in the food was designated as XZ. This substance was typically mixed with certain Western medications to treat dizziness and headaches.

If ingested alone, XZ would cause nausea and vomiting. Prolonged use could induce conditions such as cerebral thrombosis, while patients with heart disease who ingested XZ would suffer a relapse, potentially dying before emergency rescue could arrive.

"Starting today, no one in the hospital is allowed to eat in the cafeteria. Tell them all to buy food outside. In addition, take all the rice, meat, vegetables, and bones from the cafeteria back for inspection."

Holding the inspection report, Chu Feng's heart felt heavy. If this substance had actually been consumed by the patients living upstairs, it was impossible to tell how many people might have died within a single day.

Although the dosage in the food today was relatively small, no one dared to gamble on what would happen if someone's heart disease or cerebral thrombosis were triggered. When that happened, the hospital would still have to shoulder the blame.

"Has anyone asked for leave or failed to show up for work today?" Chu Feng knew that meals in the hospital were prepared in advance, and normally no one stayed behind in the evening.

"There are two people. One is the assistant head chef. Yesterday, he suddenly called me to say he had an emergency at home, so he left."

"The other is the person specifically in charge of procurement. This morning, he suddenly said he wasn't feeling well and didn't come."

Fatty Xu thought back carefully and recounted the details of the two absentees to Chu Feng.

"Tell me where this procurement person lives, and also tell me where the assistant head chef's hometown is."

Chu Feng wanted to check them out. The assistant head chef had a lower probability of being the culprit, but that didn't mean he was completely innocent. Someone still needed to go to his hometown to verify whether there was truly an emergency.

The person in charge of procurement was the prime suspect because he knew where the rice was stored and where the chefs retrieved the rice during the day.

Fatty Xu retrieved the registration forms for the two men and handed them to Chu Feng, having ticked their information with a pen.

"Zhang Xiaoming, male, 33 years old, native of Dingzhou, phone number 158..." This was the assistant head chef, whose hometown was Dingzhou, fairly close to the capital.

"Niu Geng, male, 24 years old, local resident, living at No. 63 Baxian Road, Capital City." This procurement officer named Niu Geng turned out to be a local. It seemed he likely had connections with some of the hospital's leadership.

"Secretary Li, I'll go look for this person named Niu Geng first. This fellow is suspicious, though I'm not certain yet." Chu Feng informed Li Zeming, then drove off with Ziyan to Baxian Road in the capital.

Baxian Road was nearly five kilometers away from the Air Force Hospital, even farther than Han Xuefang's home, which was only about three kilometers from the hospital.

Upon arriving at No. 63 Baxian Road, Chu Feng asked an elderly man on the roadside and learned that Niu Geng's home was located in the alley just ahead.

After thanking the old man, Chu Feng and Ziyan jogged all the way to Niu Geng's front door. Niu Geng's home was an old-style house, and the door appeared quite weathered.

Chu Feng walked up to the door and knocked. A short while later, a middle-aged woman came and opened the door. This person must have been Niu Geng's mother.

"Hello, Auntie. I'm Niu Geng's colleague. Since he called in sick today, the leadership asked me to come by and check if he's feeling unwell."

When speaking, Chu Feng did not look around furtively and greeted her politely.

"So you're Xiaogeng's colleague! Come on in and sit down. Xiaogeng is indeed feeling unwell; he just went to our community clinic to pick up some medicine."

Niu Geng's mother invited Chu Feng and Ziyan inside, poured them water, and offered them fruit.

"How has our Xiaogeng been performing at the hospital? I noticed him looking distracted day after day and was worried he might have been criticized by the leadership."

Hearing what Niu Geng's mother said made Chu Feng even more convinced that Niu Geng was problematic. However, without evidence, Chu Feng could not yet conclude that he was definitely the one who poisoned the food.

"Xiaogeng usually performs quite well, and our head chef has never criticized him." Chu Feng sat for a while, making small talk with Niu Geng's mother. After a moment, seeing that Niu Geng had not returned, Chu Feng decided to leave first.

"Auntie, we'll be heading back now. Since Xiaogeng is fine, let him come to work tomorrow." Chu Feng stood up, bid farewell to Niu Geng's mother, and walked out with Ziyan.

Just as the two of them reached the doorway, they saw a young man holding two boxes of medication. This fellow must have been Niu Geng.

"Xiaogeng, why did you take so long? Your colleagues from work even came looking for you at home. Hurry up and talk to them so they don't dock your pay later."

Noticing Niu Geng's return, his mother hurried over, took the medicine from his hands, and led Niu Geng toward Chu Feng.