nycdaug Chapter 166 The evidence is conclusive
Chapter 166 The evidence is conclusive
Seeing the puzzled looks on everyone's faces, the brother-in-law became anxious: "I really didn't eat any wood ear mushrooms! I didn't eat any at noon... Ah! Brother-in-law, why are you scratching me?"
Before the brother-in-law could finish speaking, Chef Sun suddenly scratched his arm, causing him to cry out in pain.
The head chef glared at him, signaling him to shut up.
The brother-in-law realized he had said the wrong thing and quickly shut his mouth.
But Li Jianjun and Tian Xiaohu had already heard the crucial information. They grabbed their brother-in-law's arm and asked anxiously, "Where did you eat lunch? Besides the cafeteria food, what else did you eat?"
The brother-in-law was startled by their posture and stammered, "I...I ate in the cafeteria, I didn't...I didn't eat anything else."
Li Jianjun and Tian Xiaohu exchanged a glance, convinced that their brother-in-law was lying.
"Why are you pressuring him?! How can you be like this? The patient just woke up, and you're bombarding him with questions like this. Don't you have any compassion?"
Seeing that his brother-in-law was too frightened to speak, Chef Sun quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
Brother Gao stopped Li Jianjun and Tian Xiaohu, signaling them not to press him for answers and to let his brother-in-law calm down.
The brother-in-law glanced at everyone, then at Chef Sun, and kept his head down, pretending to be mute.
At this moment, Brother Gao suddenly thought of something. He walked up to his brother-in-law and asked gently, "Young man, don't be afraid. We're here to help you. You just need to tell us truthfully what you ate for lunch, so we can help you find the cause of your illness, right?"
"I will cover your medical expenses. Just tell the truth and don't worry."
Brother Gao's words had an effect; his brother-in-law looked at him.
"I...I was thirsty at the time, so I drank some wood ear fungus water."
"My sister made that wood ear fungus soup yesterday, saying it could cleanse the intestines and detoxify, so I drank a cup. I never expected... I never expected it to turn out like this."
When everyone heard this, they suddenly understood.
The problem was actually with the water used to soak the wood ear mushrooms!
My brother-in-law got food poisoning because he drank water that had been used to soak wood ear mushrooms.
The wood ear mushrooms themselves are not the problem.
But what's wrong with the water? Every household soaks the wood ear mushrooms for a while before processing them, so how could it be poisonous?
Brother Gao asked his brother-in-law, "Who made the wood ear mushroom soup you drank? How long has it been soaking?"
The brother-in-law thought for a moment and said, "My sister made it. It's been soaking for about a day."
"One day? Does the water have any strange smell? Or has its color changed at all?"
The brother-in-law shook his head: "No, it looks just like regular water."
When the doctor came to make rounds, Li Jianjun grabbed him and asked, "Doctor, can drinking the water used to soak the wood ear mushrooms cause food poisoning?"
The doctor frowned, pondered for a moment, and said, "Generally speaking, it's not recommended to drink the water used to soak wood ear mushrooms, because bacteria or harmful substances may grow during the soaking process. However, saying it can cause food poisoning is a bit of a stretch, unless..."
Unless what? Everyone held their breath.
The doctor continued, "Unless toxic substances were added to the wood ear mushrooms during the soaking process, or the soaking water itself was unclean. Also, if the wood ear mushrooms are soaked for too long, toxic substances may be produced, such as bongkrekic acid, a bacterial metabolite that can cause food poisoning."
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately understood.
The reason my brother-in-law got food poisoning is most likely because he drank water that had been soaking wood ear mushrooms for too long!
The wood ear mushrooms themselves are not the problem.
This conclusion significantly reduced the suspicion surrounding Li Mu.
Chef Sun refused to listen: "I've been a chef for so many years, how could the water used to soak wood ear mushrooms be poisonous? How is that possible?!"
Although he said that, he was already starting to feel uneasy.
After all, he was the one who handled the wood ear mushrooms, so if the mushroom broth was indeed poisonous, he would also be implicated.
After realizing he was in the right, Li Jianjun launched into a tirade: "You fucking have the nerve to say that! If it weren't for all the trouble you and your lousy cafeteria caused, would Li Mu have been arrested?! The facts are right in front of you, what excuses do you have left?!"
Chef Sun was thoroughly berated by Li Jianjun and dared not utter another word.
Brother Gao glanced at him and said, "The matter has been investigated and cleared up; Li Mu is innocent!"
At this time, the police also arrived at the hospital. After understanding the situation, they asked the brother-in-law a few questions.
When did you start experiencing vomiting and diarrhea?
The brother-in-law thought for a moment and said, "It was around 2 p.m. I started feeling unwell not long after I drank the black fungus soup."
"You're going to start eating in five minutes?"
The police officer nodded, noted down the timeline, and then turned to Chef Sun: "What time does your cafeteria serve meals?"
Chef Sun felt uneasy under the policeman's gaze and stammered, "It's...around 1:30."
The police calculated the time: "Lunch was served at 1:30, and symptoms started appearing around 2:00. The timing matches up. Moreover, according to our understanding, the wood ear mushrooms that Li Mu delivered were not used immediately in your canteen, but were left for a period of time. During this period, the wood ear mushrooms remained in the kitchen and were not touched by anyone, right?"
Chef Sun had no choice but to nod: "Yes...yes."
The policeman looked at him and said, "Then the problem is obvious. The wood ear mushrooms themselves are fine; the problem lies in the soaking water. And your sister soaked the wood ear mushrooms in that water for a whole day, right?"
The brother-in-law nodded: "Yes, I soaked in it all day."
The police officer turned to Mr. Gao and said, "Mr. Gao, thank you for assisting our investigation."
"Based on the current situation, Li Mu is indeed a very small suspect. We will further investigate the source of the wood ear fungus soaking water and the soaking process to see if anyone tampered with it. At the same time, we will also take samples of the wood ear fungus soaking water for testing to determine the toxic components in it."
"Then why don't you release the person first?"
Brother Gao knows best what it's like in prison; going in once is like being skinned alive, especially since Li Mu is innocent.
"We will consider this, but we still need to wait for approval from above."
This is a classic case of trying to smooth things over without actually letting the person go.
Just as Brother Gao was about to use his connections to try and get Li Mu released on bail, a man in uniform walked into the ward.
The man walked straight up to the policeman, whispered a few words in his ear, and the policeman's expression instantly turned serious.
He turned to Brother Gao and said, "Mr. Gao, I'm afraid we can't release him yet."
Brother Gao frowned: "Why? Why?"
Even at this point, the police still refuse to release him.
"The water from the wood ear mushrooms has been removed, making it impossible to extract a sample for testing."
The police officer's words stunned everyone.
Brother Gao reacted the fastest: "What? The fungus water was washed away? Who washed it away? Why was it washed away?"
The police officer sighed: "It was the municipal canteen staff who cleaned it up. They said it was trash and cleaned it up. By the time we arrived, it was too late."
Brother Gao was furious: "This is destroying evidence! They're just guilty!"
The police were also helpless: "We know they are destroying evidence, but there is no conclusive evidence that they have tampered with it, so there is nothing we can do to them."
When everyone heard this, they fell silent.
This time, the trail went cold again.
Brother Gao was unwilling to give up: "What about the wood ear mushrooms? Surely the wood ear mushrooms Li Mu sent are still here?"
"The wood ear mushrooms are still there. We have taken samples for testing, but the results are not yet available."
But everyone knows the wood ear mushrooms are fine, so further testing is pointless.
What can we do?