"Nian’an, Nianhua, why are you back?" Ji Ying was arranging the unopened chili sauce bottles by production date into boxes when she suddenly saw a group of people approaching, especially her own son and daughter, and almost dropped a bottle of chili sauce on the floor in surprise.
"Mom, we were worried, so we specially took leave to come back," said Xu Nian’an with a smile, and before Ji Ying had a chance to ask further, he promptly pushed Xu Yong forward and said, "Mom, this is Reporter Xu Yong from South City TV, who wants to do an interview about the chili sauce that killed someone."
"Nonsense, when has our chili sauce ever killed anyone?" Ji Ying’s eyes widened as she looked at the camera hanging around Xu Yong’s neck, and she earnestly explained, "Our chili sauce is very clean; there’s absolutely no such incident of killing anyone."
"Then they are..." Ji Ying’s gaze fell on the group of people behind them, who were looking around everywhere; mostly older men and women, but also some middle-aged individuals, a variety of people were present.
"They’re all customers who bought our chili sauce from South City. They wanted to see how our Chili Sauce Factory operates and how the chili sauce is made," Xu Nian’an explained with a smile, while urging, "Mom, quickly take everyone to see the Chili Sauce Factory."
"Oh, hello everyone," Ji Ying, not understanding why people would come from South City to the county to see the factory, but since her son had spoken, she no longer had time to chat with her daughter and led the visitors toward the factory, introducing as they went, "Later, everyone will need to put on clean clothes and shoes."
As Ji Ying introduced them to various parts of the factory – the production area, the bottling section, and the warehouse –
the factory had always kept a good supply of clean protective clothing, which health inspectors had worn when they came to check; today, they came in handy once again.
Xu Yong didn’t say a word, just held his camera and snapped photos from time to time.
The visitors from South City almost had their eyes popping out; the factory appeared extremely clean.
From the large production room where the chili sauce was made, especially the bottling area, everything was spotless. Just looking around gave a sense of cleanliness and comfort.
Many thought their own kitchens at home weren’t even half as clean.
Such a clean chili sauce, could it really cause death?
They didn’t believe it.
Causing diarrhea? They were even less convinced.
No wonder their chili sauce was so fragrant and delicious. When they returned, they decided to buy more, not only because it was affordable and the amounts were generous, but most importantly, it tasted great.
At noon, Ji Ying and others invited them to a nearby restaurant for a lavish lunch.
"Can we go see the person who got sick?" Xu Yong asked.
Xu Nian’an nodded, "Of course, we can. Brother, do you know where it is?"
"I do," Xu Nianji replied, getting ready to take everyone to the hospital immediately, but Xu Yong said, "Not his house, the hospital."
Xu Nianji paused briefly, then led Xu Yong and the rest to Li Jianbin’s home. Not only Xu Yong went, but also the visitors from South City tagged along; they figured they’d seen the factory already, so they might as well go see the person who got sick, treating it as a spectacle.
Xu Yong reached Li Jianbin’s home first. Li Jianbin was in the hospital, and his wife Hu Aimei was home with their two children, planning to cook some bone soup to take to the hospital when she unexpectedly saw a crowd of people coming to her home, which startled her so much that she hurriedly locked the door.