svetikya Page 132
Page 132
After all, it was just a recipe from an old braised meat shop. Although it contained opium, it didn't involve selling pig's head meat, so it doesn't count as a crime.
Er Yong also emphasized that when he sold the formula to Jia Dongxu, he was clearly informed that using opium was illegal, and that the formula was only for reference and could not be used in actual operation without removing the opium.
"Stop talking nonsense. You didn't mention opium when you gave me the formula," Jia Dongxu said angrily.
"Even if I hadn't said anything at the time, would you have been allowed to add more tobacco to the formula?"
“Even five or six-year-old children know that opium is poisonous and that no one should smoke it. Anyone who smokes it will be sent to compulsory detoxification. How can you blatantly add opium to the ingredients?”
Er Yong's counter-question left Jia Dongxu speechless. Yes, the most strictly investigated area right now is opium.
Slogans promoting drug rehabilitation are everywhere, and radio broadcasts frequently publicize the dangers of opium smoking.
Why did I impulsively decide to make a fortune and use opium as a condiment?
Ye Dapeng asked, "Do you now admit to using opium as a seasoning?"
“I admit it, I confess, I made all the braised meat, and I set off the fireworks. It has nothing to do with them.”
Jia Dongxu knew that bringing his master into this mess would do him no good; he'd be the one to go to jail, while his master could stay outside and take care of his mother and wife.
Then I might as well take all the blame myself.
We can't let our master, mistress, and wife suffer as well.
Now that Jia Dongxu had admitted it, things became much easier. Ye Dapeng arranged for the police to take new statements from everyone.
Ye Dapeng gave Eryong a stern reprimand, and then sent him home.
Yi Zhonghai was furious and said, "He sold a poisonous formula, why aren't you arresting him?"
Ye Dapeng said, "That recipe was indeed fine in the past; before liberation, all the braised meat vendors used that recipe."
"Moreover, when Da Yong sold the formula, he had already instructed Jia Dongxu that it contained opium and that he should not use it anymore."
"It's just that Jia Dongxu knew opium was poisonous, but he continued to use it. This has little to do with Er Yong."
"Isn't that too easy on him?" Yi Zhonghai asked.
Ye Dapeng said, "Then do you know that the formula contains opium?"
"I...I don't know!" Yi Zhonghai panicked.
Ye Dapeng said, "Alright, there are policies from above now. We will severely punish the ringleaders, but we will treat the accomplices who knew about the crime but did not report it leniently."
"Eryong is just selling a formula, so we won't pursue the matter further. Even if you know about it, it doesn't pose a significant threat, so we won't interrogate you. Understand?"
Ye Dapeng had already made his point so clear that Yi Zhonghai had nothing more to say.
Er Yong was just selling an old recipe; strictly speaking, he would only deserve a reprimand and a lecture, and that would be fine.
Yi Zhonghai and the others said they had no contact with the formula and did not know if it contained opium. They were just neighbors who helped sell it, so they did not pursue the matter strictly.
Jia Dongxu is currently insisting that only he knows the formula, so Yi Zhonghai cannot be convicted.
Yi Zhonghai and his two companions had nothing to say and left the police station first.
However, as he was leaving, he looked at He Yuzhu with immense resentment.
Ye Dapeng took a bottle of wine and ate it with the pig's head meat and offal he had just bought, inviting He Yuzhu and Eryong to have a meal together.
He knew in his heart that things were not as simple as they seemed on the surface.
However, He Yuzhu was the whistleblower who helped us solve a case and earn merit, so that's how it is, since he's one of our own.
Jia Dongxu has no one to blame but himself. He knew that the ingredients contained opium, yet he still insisted on adding it. Regardless of how the formula came about, his motive was questionable. The law is about who did the deed; who gave him the right to poison others?
It's quite close to the courtyard house here, so I went back to the courtyard house to rest that night.
The next day, when it was fully light, I woke up to a commotion outside. I opened the door, yawning, and looked out.
More than ten people gathered in the courtyard, surrounding Yi Zhonghai.
Stepping out the door and standing under the eaves for a while, I finally understood what was going on.
Because previously they only sold their products in the alleyways, their customers were naturally the surrounding neighbors.
Yi Zhonghai described the pig's head meat in glowing terms, and since it did smell really good, everyone supported him and bought pig's head meat several times.
Several acquaintances, having learned yesterday that opium had been added to the pig's head meat, came to Yi Zhonghai this morning at dawn to demand an explanation.
"Old Yi, we've known each other for decades. I never expected you to sell me poisonous pig's head meat."
"Yeah, Lao Yi, you're being really dishonest."
"Exactly, if you're going to scam people, scam outsiders, why are you scamming our own people?"
"Old Yi, you're shameless to do something like this. Tell me, how are you going to compensate me?"
"Listen to me, everyone! This isn't my fault. I didn't know it was poisonous!"
Yi Zhonghai said with a bitter expression, "Listen to me, everyone. I also asked the experts. Eating less is fine. If anything happens, you can come to me then, okay?"
"Besides, pig's head meat before liberation was always served with opium, and no one seemed to have any problems eating it."
"Old Yi, stop making excuses. You sold us poisonous pig's head meat, and you still think you're right?"
"What's there to say? Hurry up and pay up."
"That's right, we'll lose money."
More than a dozen people surrounded Yi Zhonghai, shouting for him to pay compensation.
The outer circle consisted of the neighbors in the courtyard, dozens of them standing at a slightly distance to watch the commotion.
They pointed and whispered among themselves, cursing Jia Dongxu for being a scoundrel who sold poisoned pig's head meat to his neighbors.
Seeing that arguing was useless, Yi Zhonghai had no choice but to take out his savings and pay each person a small amount of money before he could send them away.
Seeing that Lao Yi had gone to entertain the outsiders, Yan Bugui also asked:
"Old Yi, what about the people in our courtyard? They all bought some pig's head meat, didn't they?"
"Have you ever bought pig's head meat?" Yi Zhonghai asked in return.
In his memory, Yan Bugui did not seem to have bought it.
“Who says I haven’t bought it? You just don’t know it. I’ve bought pig’s head meat from Jia Dongxu.”
Anyway, Jia Dongxu has been arrested, so Yi Zhonghai can't question him. Even if he does, as long as he insists that he bought it, Jia Dongxu won't remember too clearly.
Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, I'll still pay."
Yi Zhonghai still wanted to continue being the caretaker of the courtyard; he couldn't let his neighbors down. Since the outsiders had all paid compensation, his own neighbors in the courtyard should also have to pay.
Aunt Yi sighed, saying that she had spent several hundred yuan over the past few days.
The 500 yuan for the formula was paid by their family; Jia Dongxu didn't contribute a single penny.
Later, he did make money selling braised meat, but he still needed to buy more stock, and Jia Dongxu hadn't started paying back the money yet.
He himself had to pay compensation to the villagers and clean up Jia Dongxu's mess.
Why is it that everyone here is losing money, inside and out?
After watching the commotion for a while, He Yuzhu realized that Yi Zhonghai had to spend a lot more money to finally resolve the issue of the poisonous pig's head meat.
After watching the excitement, I locked the door and went to work.
Upon seeing He Yuzhu, Xu Huizhen asked, "What happened in your courtyard? This morning, someone said while having breakfast that the pig's head meat sold by Jia Dongxu in your courtyard is poisonous?"
"This is a long story. Let's go inside and I'll tell you slowly."
He Yuzhu recounted the whole story, and Xu Huizhen exclaimed in surprise, "You mean they wanted to get our formula?"
"Yes, so I played along and gave them a formula for using opium, and who knew they would actually fall for it."
"You're such a con artist! Now you've landed that person in the police station. Aren't you afraid he'll come after you when he gets out?"
"Who told him to try and scam us? He deserves to go back to jail."
He Yuzhu and Xu Huizhen exchanged a few words, and then He Yuzhu pushed his tricycle out.
It's early summer now, and various fruits and vegetables are coming to market one after another. He Yuzhu often pushes his tricycle to buy groceries.
Take the opportunity to send the purchased items into the space, store a large amount of fresh vegetables, and save them to sell in winter.
Last year, we only sold a little over 1000 jin (500 kg) of vegetables before the Spring Festival. This year, we want to expand the scale and sell more greenhouse vegetables.
Summer passed in the blink of an eye. This summer was much better than last year. With the large blocks of ice we collected, we could place one in our room when we slept, which would keep the room temperature at around 20 degrees Celsius, allowing us to get a good night's sleep.
Autumn arrived quickly, and He Yushui was now in second grade. She was no longer the skinny little girl she used to be. Over the past year, the food she had been eating had made her gain a lot of weight, and her face and arms were chubby and very cute.
After school that day, he said, "Brother, can you buy me a rabbit figurine?"
The Rabbit God is the Jade Rabbit that Chang'e holds in the Moon Palace.
"Rabbit God" is a traditional seasonal toy in old Beijing and one of the symbols of the Mid-Autumn Festival customs in old Beijing.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, people invite the "Rabbit God" out and offer fruits and mooncakes as a sacrifice. After the sacrifice, the "Rabbit God" is transformed into a toy for children, and a new "Rabbit God" is then invited into the home.
It is said that this custom originated in the late Ming Dynasty and has continued for many years. The clay sculpture of the "Rabbit God" in Beijing is a national intangible cultural heritage representative project.
In the old days, the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival in Beijing was not just about enjoying mooncakes and admiring the moon, but also about worshipping the "Rabbit God".
The worship of the "Rabbit God" reflects the fervent hopes of people in the past for a better life. The "Rabbit God sitting on an elephant" symbolizes good fortune, as "elephant" is a homophone for "auspiciousness". The "Rabbit God sitting on a tiger" symbolizes prosperity, as the tiger is the king of beasts. The "Rabbit God sitting on a gourd" symbolizes double blessings of fortune and prosperity, as "gourd" is a homophone for "good fortune and prosperity".
After the 15th day of the seventh lunar month in autumn, stalls selling Rabbit God figurines appear everywhere, from the Five Archways at Qianmen to the Drum Tower at Houmen, Xidan, Dongsi, and other places.