Chapter 1286: Chapter 1285: Who Poisoned the Chicken Soup?
"So, how did you know there was something wrong with our chicken soup?" Boss Fang also stared at the man.
Everyone’s eyes focused on the man for a moment.
The man immediately felt the pressure and said, "How would I not know? I saw my little sister drink the chicken soup with my own eyes. She was fine before, but something happened after she drank it. So, it must be the soup."
Lin Fan said, "Only she drank the chicken soup among your family? Why didn’t the rest of you drink it?"
The woman said, "It’s like this, we are tourists, we were out playing all day, and we came here for dinner at night. After ordering, we went to the restroom while waiting for the food. When I returned from the restroom, I found my sister poisoned."
Lin Fan said, "Did your whole family go to the restroom?"
The woman said, "No, we were afraid someone would take our seats, so we deliberately left one person behind."
Lin Fan said, "Who stayed behind?"
The woman glanced at the man and said, "My husband did."
Lin Fan nodded and looked at the restaurant manager, "Which server brought the soup to their table?"
The restaurant manager was about to answer when a nervous waitress walked over and said, "It was me."
Lin Fan then asked the waitress, "When you served the dish, was there no one at their table?"
The waitress said, "No, when I served the dish, this gentleman was there."
Lin Fan made a sound of acknowledgment and looked again at the man, "So, after the chicken soup was served, only you were at the table, and then the young girl came back from the restroom, drank the soup, and got poisoned, followed by the others returning, correct?"
The man said, "That’s right, what are you trying to say?"
Lin Fan said, "I want to ask you, when the chicken soup was served, you were the first to come in contact with it, why didn’t you drink it?"
The man was furious, "What are you trying to say? What do you mean? I didn’t drink because I know manners. I wanted to wait for everyone to come back and drink together, is that not allowed? My sister was too hungry, so she drank first. A little girl is fine, and I having good manners is wrong?"
The woman said, "Dr. Lin, how exactly did my sister get poisoned?"
Lin Fan said, "The problem does indeed lie in this pot of chicken soup. The soup is poisoned."
"What?"
Everyone’s expressions changed. Lin Fan confirmed it was the chicken soup that was poisoned!
"I told you, it’s the chicken soup’s problem, it’s the restaurant’s responsibility, you better be prepared for compensation!" the man shouted defiantly.
Boss Fang’s face turned very unsightly; could the man be right that someone from the restaurant poisoned it? If indeed someone from the restaurant did it, then there are two possibilities: one, a kitchen staff mistakenly spilled pesticide into the soup, or two, someone intentionally tried to harm others!
"Mr. Lin, are you certain it’s our chicken soup?" Boss Fang asked unwillingly.
Lin Fan said, "It certainly is. Even if you hand it over to the police for testing, the conclusion will still be that it’s your chicken soup. The question now is, who poisoned it? From selecting ingredients to serving, each step could have issues. Boss Fang, would you mind introducing your food preparation process?"
The restaurant manager said, "I can answer that. Our chicken soup is stewed with local free-range hens, uniformly sourced from the local large-scale chicken supplier, the Chen Family Corporation. After being slaughtered by the Chen Family Corporation, it’s directly delivered to us. Our staff clean it before sending it to the kitchen for the chef to make chicken soup. Other ingredients are also purchased from our standardized suppliers. Each pot of chicken soup is individually stewed in clay pots and then served by the waiter."
Lin Fan said, "Have there been any similar poisoning incidents before?"
The restaurant manager immediately said, "No, absolutely not. This is the first time! We pay a lot of attention to hygiene, every step is strictly controlled!"
The man chuckled, "Strict control, I doubt it. You boast about it, so explain why the chicken soup has poison?"
Lin Fan said, "Well then, in your opinion, which step had the problem?"
The restaurant manager said, "I can’t be sure about that, is it possible this chicken itself was poisonous?"
Everyone will choose what’s in their best interest; the restaurant manager saying this intends to shift the blame to the supplier. If the chicken itself had issues, the restaurant could absolve itself of responsibility.
Lin Fan walked over, picked up a ladle, stirred the soup a few times, and examined it carefully.
Everyone was watching his actions.
Boss Fang couldn’t wait and asked, "Dr. Lin, did you find anything?"
Lin Fan said, "I can confirm it’s not the chicken. This chicken isn’t a poisonous one, so the supplier’s suspicion can be ruled out. Then there’s the cleaner: if the cleaner played a part, the pesticide isn’t odorless or tasteless. The chef couldn’t possibly miss it while handling the ingredients. The same goes for the utensils; if the utensils had pesticide on them, the chef wouldn’t miss it either, which largely eliminates the cleaner as a suspect. Now, there are only three suspects left."
Boss Fang quickly asked, "Who are the three?"
Lin Fan said, "One is the chef, who might have added the pesticide during preparation. Another is the waiter who could have poisoned it during serving."
"Not me, it’s not me!" the waitress quickly defended herself, turning pale, realizing she had become a suspect and needing to clear her name.
Lin Fan looked at the waitress, "Which chef made this pot of chicken soup?"
The waitress said, "Old Xu did."
On hearing this name, Boss Fang immediately said, "Old Xu? It’s absolutely impossible for him. Old Xu’s wife just had a big, healthy baby boy a few days ago, a happy family. I even gave him money specially. I can’t think of any motive for him to commit a crime, besides, our chefs work in the same place and there’s surveillance; everyone can see them. Would he dare commit a crime under surveillance? Who’s the third person you’re referring to, Mr. Lin?"
Lin Fan raised his eyes to the man and said, "It’s him, the victim’s brother-in-law."
The man’s face drastically changed, filled with extreme anger, "Damn you, don’t talk nonsense! How could I possibly poison anyone! Aren’t you a doctor? What, are you a detective too?"
Lin Fan said, "Do you know that it takes time for the pesticide to mix with the chicken soup? I just checked, the pesticide was added after the soup was fully prepared, and it’s not fully mixed yet."
The man’s eyes widened, "So what? What does that prove?"
Lin Fan said, "When the pesticide and chicken soup haven’t completely mixed, the soup’s aroma will carry a pesticide smell. This pot of freshly made, steaming chicken soup, placed in front of you, and you didn’t smell anything unusual?"
The man said, "I wasn’t paying attention, so what?"
Lin Fan said, "Of course, you may not have paid attention, but what about this waitress?"
The waitress said, "I can be sure, when I brought it up, I didn’t smell anything foul!"
Lin Fan said, "If the chef was the culprit, the waitress would’ve noticed the foul smell. So, the chef’s suspicion can be ruled out. This pot of soup was poisoned after it left the kitchen, leaving only two suspects. I’ve been paying attention to the waitress’s behavior and am certain she hasn’t lied. So, the question arises, why did you try to harm your sister-in-law?"
Lin Fan looked at the man, his gaze turning cold.
