The majority of construction site canteens are not particularly standardized.

On smaller construction sites, it’s often just one or two people managing the cooking, or sometimes even just one person.

The so-called canteens are usually just a few prefab buildings put together.

To save costs, construction site canteens often employ the family members of some workers.

The canteen at the crime scene was relatively large, serving meals for about 100 to 200 people daily.

Lunchtime, in particular, was the peak period for the canteen.

Such a canteen could generate considerable profits each month.

Zhang Hui and Wang Fengjun were the first to gather information there.

"The canteen on the site is run by Wu Guichun. He got the contract through his brother-in-law."

"Is his brother-in-law your boss?"

"No, no. Wu Guichun’s brother-in-law is Zhang Jiang, the head of supervision for our site. If he says something, our boss will surely give face."

"Originally, the site canteen was managed by people appointed by the boss, but this time, the folks from supervision suggested it, and since it wasn’t much money, it was contracted out."

"Don’t be fooled by how much they earn in a day. It’s pretty tough work, and most of the profits have to be handed over to the company; the contracting fee is quite expensive."

"What’s Wu Guichun’s reputation like on the site? Has he ever had any conflicts with anyone?"

"Old Wu... He’s alright. Runs the canteen well, doesn’t cut corners. Although the food isn’t that delicious, for a construction site canteen, he does a decent job. Everyone knows Old Wu is reliable and has a conscience."

"As for conflicts... Can’t say there are none at all. Sometimes workers get less or more food, and a few arguments happen occasionally."

"You just said that people were appointed by the boss to manage the canteen at previous sites. Who were these people?"

"The boss’s nephew, named... Zhou Chunsheng, yes, that’s the name."

"He’s the boss’s direct nephew, and he hires people to do the work."

"Do you think Zhou Chunsheng might have a conflict with Wu Guichun over the canteen contract?"

Wu Guichun got the canteen contract through his brother-in-law who works in supervision, which likely blocked Zhou Chunsheng’s financial opportunity.

From a benefit-related perspective, Zhou Chunsheng has the motive to poison the canteen.

After all, such a big incident has ruined the canteen’s reputation, and it might not survive.

If Wu Guichun can’t continue, Zhou Chunsheng might have a chance to take over.

"I don’t think so. Zhou Chunsheng is currently managing a canteen at another site. Our boss’s business is big and not limited to just this site."

"Besides, since Wu Guichun took over the canteen, we haven’t seen Zhou Chunsheng causing any trouble. He doesn’t need to; he’s the boss’s nephew. He wouldn’t oppose what supervision suggests, right?"

Meanwhile, at Aihui Farmers’ Market.

Aihui Farmers’ Market is the largest farmers’ market within a two-kilometer radius.

The crime scene is located in the North City New District, surrounded by many developing housing projects. The canteens of these housing projects source their supplies from this farmers’ market.

"I’ve been working at this market for 30 years. When it comes to rice, noodles, grains, and oils, I’m second to none."

The supplier of buns to the canteen at the crime scene also runs the largest rice, noodle, grain, and oil shop at Aihui Farmers’ Market.

The rice, grain, and oil for the crime scene’s lunch and dinner were all sourced from here.

"The canteen run by Wu Guichun isn’t very large, but it’s relatively stable, with about two to three hundred buns needed every morning. Initially, I didn’t want to deliver to him. But since he buys rice and oil from me at noon, I end up delivering the buns without making any money."

"Do you have any enemies or conflicts in the market?"

"Enemies? Haha, in business, competitors are always rivals. But there’s nobody particularly jealous of my business here, I don’t think so. There are 18 other grain and oil shops in this market; they all want to poach my clients."

"But enemies... not really. We’re here to do business and make money peacefully, not to create grievances."

At another vegetable store.

"Officer, the poisoning incident at the site has nothing to do with me. We deliver our vegetables by purchasing them early morning from the wholesale market and then retail them."

"If it was our problem, why didn’t others who bought our vegetables fall ill? It’s definitely not related to us."

"Who delivered the vegetables to the site this morning?"

"We hired a casual worker... a guy’s wife... goes by the nickname Erbao."

Chen Erbao, his real name is Chen Baojun, looks to be in his early twenties, has a buzz cut, and a keen look in his eyes.

"Chen Baojun, were you the one who delivered the vegetables to the construction site today?"

Chen Baojun nods: "I deliver to the nearby construction sites that buy vegetables from us. I handle all the orders."

"You do all the deliveries?"

"Yes, there are six construction sites ordering from us, and I deliver to each every morning."

"Are they all getting the same vegetables?"

"More or less, the morning veggies are pretty much the same. They mostly use them for vegetable soup."

"So the variety is similar for each, just differing in amounts slightly."

Chen Baojun hesitated for a moment and continued: "Officer, you’re investigating the poisoning incident, right?"

"Oh? Do you have any leads?"

"No, no, no... I don’t have any leads... I just meant that it can’t be related to me. The vegetables I deliver are randomly picked from the storage; every site’s delivery is identical. The others didn’t have issues, only their site did, so it can’t be connected to my delivery."

Two hours later.

Sun Jun’s action team had mostly completed the investigation and began compiling the information from their visits.

"I don’t think there’s much of an issue with the grain and oil shop. They didn’t only deliver buns to the crime scene; they supplied other places, too, without any incidents."

"Yeah, and I checked their delivery records. The people making the buns and those delivering them have been serving nearby sites for over a year, even two or three years."

"From a motive perspective, they have no reason to do something like this." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"As for the other competitors, the possibility of poisoning is low because the delivery person left very early in the morning and didn’t encounter anyone else en route. The buns were only handled by the delivery person."

"Also, the grain and oil supplier for the crime scene is the largest and most reputable in Aihui Farmers’ Market. We asked several other merchants, and they spoke highly of them."

"So, the possibility of an issue from that side... isn’t high."

Sun Jun nodded and looked at another group: "How’s the investigation at the vegetable store going?"