Ying Xiaoya was sipping tea when she saw Cheng Su return and quickly stood up to ask, "Is everyone gone?"
Cheng Su nodded, "The inspection can be set aside for now. I don’t think Director Xu and his team will give us a hard time anytime soon. Let’s first find out what’s actually going on with this batch of goods. Where are the items?"
Ying Xiaoya pointed and said, "The goods from Prosperous, I’ve had their owner take everything down."
"I’ve already instructed Old Liu and Little Li to bring them back!" Zhu Lifen added.
Wang Bo knew the situation was serious, and although it wasn’t the area he managed, they were all from the same company, sharing both prosperity and loss. So, he rushed over as soon as he received the news.
"President Cheng, the labels are ours, and the jars are the same, but the color of this jam is paler than ours," Wang Bo said, comparing the jam on the office display with the ones Ying Xiaoya had brought back.
"It couldn’t have really gone bad, could it?" Mai Yanmei muttered to herself from one side.
Cheng Su gave her a sharp glance, and Yanmei, feeling uneasy, lowered her head.
Cheng Su picked up the jam and examined it carefully. The label was indeed theirs, with a clear anti-tampering mark, and the jar was identical to theirs, but the jam...
The color was paler, its consistency was thinner, and when she tilted the jar, it was watery. Just by its appearance, the quality couldn’t possibly match the jam produced by their company.
Cheng Su unscrewed the lid, and a sour smell assaulted her senses. The flesh of the fruit inside was all mushy, almost like it had been turned to juice.
"Get a spoon."
Mai Yanmei immediately took a spoon from the cabinet and handed it over, then placed a small glass bowl on the table.
Cheng Su took it and scooped a large spoonful of jam into the glass bowl.
"Ah!"
"My God!"
"What on earth is this!"
Everyone exclaimed in shock.
Cheng Su’s complexion turned a sickly pale, and her skin beneath her clothes got goosebumps. It was a testament to her experience in handling tough situations that she didn’t just throw the jam out of her hand. But looking at the contents of the glass bowl, she had to forcefully suppress the nausea rising in her chest.
In the glass bowl with the jam, there were a few black thread-like worms wriggling and stretching in the watery substance, a sight so disgusting and terrifying that it made everyone’s scalp tingle.
"Quick, throw it away," Zhu Lifen, her face pale, instructed Yanmei.
Yanmei, equally pale, glanced at Cheng Su, and seeing her nod, took it away to dispose of it.
Cheng Su then opened a second jar, and then a third, but didn’t find any black worms.
She hesitated for a moment, then took another spoon and brought a little towards her mouth.
"President Cheng!"
"Susu!"
The others called out again. Surely she wasn’t going to try it?
"How can we know if this is our product or not if I don’t taste it?" Cheng Su said calmly, looking at them.
"But what if it’s spoiled and you get a stomachache?" Ying Xiaoya was worried. "Your illness only cleared up a few days ago!"
"It’s fine, just a small taste," Cheng Su said, thinking about the black worms, feeling revolted but aware that no one knew their products better than her, the founder.
Closing her eyes tightly, Cheng Su used the tip of her tongue to taste a bit of the jam. The others looked at each other with complex expressions.
After a moment, Cheng Su spat the jam in her mouth into the trash can and rinsed her mouth twice with water handed to her by Ying Xiaoya. Wiping the corner of her mouth with a napkin, she finally said with a grave voice, "It’s not our jam."