Hidden moth

Chapter 276: Slanting Wind and Rain
Qian, who hadn't eaten lunch at the restaurant, told He Kao after hearing about the incident that afternoon that he would be the one to investigate. The first suspect was actually quite easy to pinpoint: the restaurant's chef, surnamed Wang.

The restaurant has chefs and kitchen helpers. Usually the chef is responsible for cooking, and serving the dishes is the kitchen helper's job. However, when it gets busy, the division of labor is not so strict and anyone can lend a hand.

The chef personally brought the dish to the table right as Mei Guyu was passing by. Lily and peas are a rare dish, and the combination is a bit odd, but Mei Guyu loves it.

The restaurant inside the company is not a restaurant outside, but a small department of logistics management. The so-called chef has limited power and is just the one among several chefs who is responsible for formulating the daily menu.

Even the chef may not have full control over the menu, as purchasing power lies in the hands of logistics managers, who are the lucrative positions.

As for what ingredients to buy, the chef only had the right to make suggestions, and then decided what dishes to make based on the ingredients bought. Someone paid a large sum of money to bribe the chef to secretly mix two ingredients in and asked him to ensure that the dish could be placed in front of Mei Guyu.

Since they had this method, why didn't they just replace the ingredients secretly, and even bribed the insider? Maybe that wouldn't be controllable, and their purpose was just to test Mei Guyu.

Someone claimed to be Mei Guyu's admirer and paid a large sum of money to bribe the chef to do this, allegedly just to let Mei Guyu eat the flavors she liked...

This is a plot that could only appear in a domineering CEO skit, but Chef Wang actually believed it. It might be because he watched too many short videos, but the more important reason might be that he received too many benefits.

The chef checked the lilies and peas and found nothing apparently wrong, so he cooked as requested.

In his opinion, there is nothing to worry about even if there are problems, because he did not buy the vegetables, he is only responsible for cooking. If something really goes wrong, it cannot be traced to him, and the purchasing staff should be blamed.

But Qian was not here to solve the case, he was here to find out the truth. After understanding the situation, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

He handled the situation decisively. The next day, Chef Wang fell ill after returning home from get off work and died on the way to the hospital by ambulance... His symptoms were the same as Gu Yunteng's.

It was He Kao who killed Gu Yunteng in the first place. He poisoned him with a very special poison. Lao Qian specifically asked He Kao for the same medicine.

This surprised He Kao. He didn't expect that Old Qian, who was usually cautious, would react so strongly this time and get rid of the person so easily... This also shows the logic of the monks' actions.

If you just used potentially problematic ingredients and didn't cause any consequences, even if you call the police, they probably won't file a case. The only punishment the company can give is to fire the person.

But looking at it from another angle, someone secretly provided ingredients of unknown origin and asked Chef Wang to prepare a dish. How bold of a move! If this were poisoning, how serious would the consequences be?
Lao Wang had already deliberately poisoned the dish, but the poison wasn't that strong, and no one ate it. Qian not only didn't keep the chef, he didn't even keep the man.

On the evening of seeing Lao Wang off, Qian Guran sighed a little. The company restaurant actually had such a chef, and he, the big boss, felt ashamed.

Outsiders did not know the inside story of this matter, but He Kao knew it clearly. At this moment, He Kao was sitting opposite him. They were talking in He Kao's house in Guanliu Community.

He Kao: "Who bribed Lao Wang? Have you found out?"

Qian Guran: "There are only some clues, but no one has been found. Lao Wang was found by them and sent to die. They knew I would be able to find him, so there was no way they would let me find them smoothly."

Then he sighed and said, "I never thought Lao Wang would do such a thing. It was a close call..."

He Kao: "How much benefit did Lao Wang receive?"

Qian Guran: "It's only enough for him to buy a house in his hometown county. I asked carefully and found out that the other party didn't force him, he just bribed him. He is so greedy that he doesn't know his own life!

This is the kind of people in the world, stupid and evil. You can't see it normally, but once they get a chance, you don't know how big a mess they can make! "

He Kao: "If the other party has a fifth-level lover snatcher or a sixth-level illusionist, they can definitely take advantage of someone like Lao Wang who is stupid, evil, and obsessed with profit..."

He then shared his own guess, suspecting that Wei Digao's unusual behavior was influenced by the magic of the spirit, but it was only a suspicion and there was no solid evidence.

Lao Qian's face also became gloomy. He certainly didn't want this guess to be true, but he had to consider this possibility.

He Kao continued, "Forget about the illusionist. Even a high-level sorcerer would have a way to tamper with the food in the restaurant. There's no need to bribe Old Wang.

If they really do that, the result might be more than just a mild allergy, and I can’t always be on guard in the restaurant, so I’m afraid it’s impossible to prevent it.”

Qian Guran was shocked again and stood up and said, "How could they do such a cruel thing? Their purpose was just to test Elder Mei, how could they poison so many innocent and unrelated people?
They are sorcerers, not madmen!"

Perhaps realizing he had lost his composure, Old Qian sat down again and said, "This kind of thing is unlikely. No matter who did it, the nature of it is completely different. The clan law hall will definitely hunt them down to the ends of the earth."

He Kao: "But they have already done it this time."

Qian Guran analyzed, "It's still a little different. They just used problematic ingredients to test it out, and the result was just a mild allergy, which was gone the next day... Even if you hadn't stopped them, it wouldn't have caused much trouble.

The ingredients suitable for this recipe are hard to find, and it’s not easy to tamper with them. Even if you send them for testing, no problems will be found. Only you can discover it... I only felt sure after asking Lao Wang.

If they had poisoned him directly, Elder Mei would have discovered it, and the other party wouldn't have achieved their purpose of testing him. Furthermore, they didn't do it themselves, but bribed Lao Wang, an ordinary person, simply to avoid being discovered.

In fact, even if I can't find it out, someone else can. I have secretly collected samples of the problematic dish and sent them privately to Lingxi Sect. There will definitely be more clues!"

He Kao: "When and where did you collect the samples?"

Qian Guran: "It was yesterday afternoon. I did it as soon as I received your message. I quietly went to look through the garbage... Actually, you should have done this. You are familiar with Deacon Wei."

I didn’t expect that such a dignified CEO like Mr. Qian would actually do something like secretly picking up trash.

He Kao: "The situation I just hypothesized is unlikely to happen, but after I said it, did you break out in a cold sweat?"

Qian Guran touched his chest and said, "I've broken out in a cold sweat. If a large number of employees in the company suddenly developed allergic symptoms, it would be a big deal for me. Fortunately, I have you this time."

He Kao pressed on, "If something really happened, would you think it was Mei Guyu's fault? If she continued to stay in the company, would you be unable to sleep or eat, and would you feel resentful?"

This sentence actually silenced Qian Guran, who remained silent for a long time. He didn't need to hide anything in front of He Kao, but some things were hard to say. This was a true test of human nature, testing not only Lao Wang but also Lao Qian.

If something really happened, what would Qian Guran think of Mei Guyu? In fact, there were already a lot of troubles, such as Wei Digao being injured and Chef Wang losing his life.

There were also so many monks dispatched by the clan law hall who had to conduct such tedious investigations into someone violating the gag order, and they didn't have a good year.

If Mei Guyu had not insisted on going to Qiyuan to "experience" the life of an ordinary worker, none of this would have happened!
If it was because she had not considered it carefully at the beginning and did not expect this to happen, then now that these things have happened, if she still insists on her own opinion and continues to stay in Qiyuan, isn't she deliberately causing trouble for everyone?

What is this, a disaster? Even if many people don't say it out loud, it's hard to guarantee that they won't think so in their hearts.

The reason why the two did not return to Sesame Apartment but ran to Guanliu Community to meet was that a lot of things they wanted to say involved Mei Guyu, and they might be very unpleasant.

Qian had also specially arranged a magic circle that could block prying eyes.

After a long while, Qian Guran finally spoke: "If some things were to be made public, it might be very detrimental to Elder Mei's reputation. Even if you and I don't say anything, someone will spread such rumors.

If something happens to Elder Mei in the future, some people will privately say that she has brought it upon herself."

He Kao: "Yeah, why wouldn't she just go back to the cave and practice? Why did she cause so much trouble? No matter who caused the trouble, there will always be people who think it was her fault, but she didn't do anything wrong."

Qian Guran: "You can empathize with Elder Mei quite well."

He Kao: "Actually, I had that thought at first, but later I realized that this was her cultivation. If she just came here to work peacefully and hide in the sect's cave when anything happened...how could cultivation be so simple?

Now, perhaps all of this is what she has to face, otherwise she will not be able to get through this hurdle.

Speaking of empathy, I can really relate to you. Think about how you were here at the beginning, so many people came to cause trouble, and you were one of them. Aren’t there enough problems?

Because of Lin Hualei's death, Senior Lin Qingshuang came to hold him accountable. Because of the disappearance of Zhao Huanzhen and Yu Lianhong, two deacons of the Shu sect, Wan Zhongle and Yu Shangzheng, came to cause trouble.

What have I done wrong? I'm just an honest employee in this company, just wanting to go to work and come home peacefully, just like today's plum rain..."

These words made Lao Qian feel a little embarrassed. He coughed and said, "You really understand. This should be the practice of you and me."

He Kao: "I don't understand either. What exactly do these people want to do? Even if they succeed in dealing with Mei Guyu, what meaning would it have in it for them?"

Even though he had already set up the magic circle, Old Qian subconsciously used his spiritual sense to gather the sound and said, "I suspect, just a suspicion, that Elder Mei might be a bait thrown by the clan law hall, and she volunteered to be the bait."

The Patriarchal Hall might be trying to catch a big fish, a fish we can't even imagine how big it is. Currently, these movements are just minor ones, but when the time comes, it could be a major event!

This is just from my mouth, but it's only for you. I haven't even told Yao Shaolan, and I don't want her to know too much and worry about it. I just hope she doesn't get dragged into this. It seems like it's already difficult for the two of us to stay out of this."

He Kao: "What you said—is there any basis for it?"

Qian Guran: "There is no basis, it's just suspicion."

He Kao: "So when will this big event you mentioned happen?"

Qian seemed very hesitant, but after thinking for a while he said, "According to my guess, nothing should happen in the next month and a half, at least nothing big will happen.

If something serious were to happen, it would take about a month and a half. Therefore, Elder Mei will definitely not leave during this period. She will continue to work in our company, so you should be mentally prepared.

He Kao: "One and a half months? You're so accurate, even with the exact number, it can't be something you don't have any evidence for, right?"

Qian Guran shook his head repeatedly and said, "It's really just my personal guess. As for why, I have no evidence to support it, so I can't say anything."

When Lao Qian said that he couldn't talk nonsense, there should be two meanings. One is that he didn't make up the time, and the other is that he couldn't tell the reason for his guess.

He Kao was once again impressed by Lao Qian's tight-lipped nature. No matter how much he pressed, Lao Qian refused to explain his guess. He was already quite considerate enough to share his guess with He Kao.

**
　The title of this chapter is "Not Much to Say in the Wind and Rain", but I didn't expect that I would have to say a few words, because I saw that the debate in the chapter was quite heated, mainly targeting the plot that Qian Guran killed Chef Wang.

　　It is normal to have controversy, because a living character has his own personality and way of doing things, and has complex layers.

　　The author's task is only to describe the conflict. What each character does is determined by the character, based on his or her situation and purpose at the time.

　　He or she may have done something wrong, right, inappropriate, or excessive. Every reader can analyze and evaluate it, and this is the meaning and value of literary works.

　　We can all discuss whether Lao Qian and the chef's behavior was right or wrong, and then analyze why they each did that - this is normal.

　　Even if the characters have their own explanations, they may not make sense, and we can analyze and criticize them.

　　But you cannot demand that the words and actions of a character or even every character in the book must completely conform to your ideas. This is ridiculous.

　　I don’t like old money very much either, but money is money, it is neither you nor me.

　　When I read "Water Margin", I felt that Li Kui was a perverted murderer, but I would not ask him not to be so, nor would I ask that there should not be such characters or such behaviors in the book.

　　When I read "Dream of Red Mansions", I also disliked Aunt Xue's family, but the boundaries of judgment cannot be confused.

　　It is even more absurd and unacceptable if such criticism is turned into an attack on the work or even a personal attack on the author.

　　Some people may not like the characters or the work, but please don’t change the concept and lead the tone like this!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)