Sent to the countryside, I turned the health center into a top-tier hospital.

The man paused for a moment, then shook his head.

Chen Ping pointed to the exhaust fan and said, "You're expelling this toxic gas outside. The children down the mountain inhaled it and got poisoned. Last night, more than thirty children were sent to the clinic."

The man's face turned pale instantly, the wooden stick fell from his hand, bounced on the ground, and rolled to the side of the plastic bucket.

Chen Ping squatted down, picked up the plastic bucket containing white powder, unscrewed the lid, smelled it, screwed it back on, and put it aside.

He picked up another bucket containing a clear liquid, smelled it, put it down, stood up, and looked at Zhang Jianmin.

"Both of these medications are fine to use on their own, but mixing them together will cause a chemical reaction that releases toxic gases."

"Inhaling too much can damage the respiratory tract and nervous system. Mild cases may cause dizziness, nausea, and skin rashes, while severe cases can lead to coma or even death. The symptoms in children indicate mild poisoning."

Zhang Jianmin's expression changed. He looked at the man, his lips moved several times, and finally he took out his phone, walked to the side, and made a call.

The voice wasn't loud, and Chen Ping couldn't hear what he said, but he kept gesturing with his hands, clearly showing that he was very angry.

The man squatted on the ground, not daring to speak. He probably still didn't understand how killing a chicken and plucking its feathers could have poisoned someone.

Chen Ping stood in the courtyard and looked around again.

Several half-used medicine bags were scattered on the ground, with the manufacturer's name and production date printed on them. They were not prohibited products, but ordinary hair removal products from a legitimate manufacturer.

The problem is that the users don't understand and mix things that shouldn't be mixed together. Also, the exhaust fan is installed incorrectly, with the outlet facing the direction where children are picnicking down the mountain. When the wind blows, all the toxic gas drifts over there.

Chen Ping picked up the packaging bag, folded it, put it in his pocket, glanced at the man again, and said nothing more.

"Who...who are you people?" the man asked, looking at Chen Ping with a surge of courage.

"I am Chen Ping, a doctor from Siping Township Health Center. I'm here to investigate the child's poisoning," Chen Ping said.

"Dr. Chen, you really need to investigate this thoroughly. Is the children's poisoning really related to me?" The man stood up, looking at Chen Ping with a face full of doubt. "If this is poison gas, how come I'm fine? And I've been using it for a long time."

"The reason you're alright is, firstly, because you're an adult and have a strong immune system."

"Secondly, these toxic gases were expelled by the exhaust fan the moment they were produced, so you didn't inhale much of them."

"The reason you haven't had any problems for so long is because the poison gas is quickly diluted by the air after it disperses, and there's no one around."

"But yesterday, a class of children came here for a field trip, and the toxic gas happened to be directed towards the children. In addition, due to the weather yesterday, the toxic gas spread more slowly and accumulated at a higher concentration. All these coincidences combined to cause this incident."

Chen Ping analyzed the situation for the man in detail.

After hearing Chen Ping's words, the man squatted down again, his body trembling slightly.

"Dr. Chen, I...I'm afraid I'll go to jail?" The man was terrified.

An ordinary farmer, who made a living by slaughtering livestock and selling meat, had no idea that his unintentional actions had poisoned more than thirty children.

"I don't know either..."

Chen Ping shook his head, then turned and walked out, no longer looking at the man.

Although the men were pitiful, the children were equally pitiful, and there were some things Chen Ping couldn't judge.

What punishment a man will receive is not something a doctor can decide; the law and the government will make the judgment.

Soon, the sound of car engines could be heard from down the mountain; there was more than one.

Chen Ping stood on the hillside and looked down. Two vehicles drove up the dirt road. The first one was a white van from the police station. The blue and red lights on the roof were not on, but the vehicle was going very fast, bouncing along the bumpy road.

A black Santana followed behind; it was Zhang Jianmin's car, and he drove up as well.

The van stopped at the gate of the yard. The door opened, and Chief Zhou jumped out of the passenger seat. Two police officers followed behind him, one holding a camera and the other carrying an evidence collection box.

Zhang Jianmin got out of the car behind him, walked to Director Zhou's side, whispered a few words, and pointed to the plastic buckets and exhaust fans in the yard.

Director Zhou listened and nodded, his expression grave.

Several people walked into the courtyard.

Director Zhou glanced at the man squatting on the ground, then at Chen Ping, nodded, said nothing more, turned around and said to the police officer holding the camera, "Take a picture."

The flash went off a few times, and I photographed every single thing: the plastic bucket, the exhaust fan, the medicine packaging bags scattered on the ground, and the exhaust fan switch on the wall, from far to near, from the overall picture to the details.

Another police officer squatted down, took some white powder from the plastic bucket, put it into an evidence bag, sealed it, wrote a few words on the bag, took some liquid from another bucket, sealed it in the same way, and attached a label.

The man squatted on the ground, hugging his knees, watching the police officers busy in the yard, watching them pat his bucket, his exhaust fan, his plastic ladle, and his wooden stick.

His lips were trembling, his face was shaking, and sweat was streaming down his temples, dripping onto the ground, drop by drop.

Director Zhou walked up to him, took the handcuffs off his belt, and the clanging of metal was particularly crisp in the quiet courtyard.

The man's body jerked violently. He raised his head, his face no longer pale but ashen, his eyes red-rimmed, and he opened and closed his lips several times before finally managing to squeeze out a single sentence.

"Comrade, I...I didn't mean to...I really didn't know..." the man explained.

Director Zhou squatted down to meet his gaze and said calmly, "Brother, come back with us first and explain things clearly. Whether it was intentional or not, we will investigate, and the law will give you a fair result. Your cooperation will be beneficial to you."

The man's tears fell silently, without a sound.

He stretched out his hand, very slowly, as if once it was out, it would never be taken back.

The handcuffs clicked shut, the iron rings tightened around his wrists, his hand trembled slightly, then stopped moving.

Director Zhou helped him to his feet. His legs were shaking and he couldn't stand steadily. He had to hold onto the car door to get into the car.

Another police officer and an auxiliary police officer disassembled the plastic bucket, medicine packaging bags, and exhaust fan motor, and loaded them onto the vehicle one by one.

When the exhaust fan was removed, the hole in the wall was exposed, and the wind rushed in from the outside, making a whooshing sound.

Chen Ping stood in the yard, watching the people busy themselves, watching the goods being loaded onto the van, and watching the white van start up.

Director Zhou greeted Zhang Jianmin, then the van turned around and drove down the mountain.

The taillights flickered in the shadows of the trees, then disappeared around a bend.