Chapter 351: Large Amount of Poppy
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Chu Qingzhi thought for a while before asking, “Do you know how to contact Tao Pengnan’s subordinates?”
The old man didn’t want to say it, but when he looked at Chu Qingzhi, he actually had the strong urge to speak the truth. “Light a red lantern in the tallest attic of the Tao residence. When they see it, they will gather.”
Chu Qingzhi smiled. This time, the plan could be implemented. “You contributed greatly.”
Everyone looked at Chu Qingzhi with respect. They could not open the old man’s mouth no matter what, but when she asked, the old man confessed. Impressive, really impressive!
Chu Qingzhi waved at Chu Xujin and said, “Third Brother, continue asking.” She retreated to the side and began to perfect the plan in her mind.
Chu Xujin walked up to the old man and asked with a frown, “Why did Tao Pengnan fake his death?”
“The higher-ups asked him to do this. The fake death medicine was also given by the higher-ups.” The old man gritted his teeth and thought to himself that he must be possessed. Why did he speak everything despite not wanting to?
Chu Xujin felt his heart skip a beat. “Are the higher-ups referring to the people in the capital?”
The old man nodded. “Someone code-named “Jiu” from the capital has been in contact with Tao Pengnan, but we haven’t seen his true face. His face is covered all the time, and only his eyes are revealed.”
This gave Chu Xujin some clues. “Is ‘Yun’ the name of the faction “Jiu” belongs to?”
The old man shook his head. “I don’t know. I only saw him once in the study.”
Chu Qingzhi suddenly asked, “How do we contact this ‘Jiu’?”
The old man shook his head. “Only Pengnan knows.”
Tao Pengnan was already dead, and this clue was gone.
The head constable walked over and stared at the old man. “Who killed the three merchants?”
“Our Tao family is only responsible for receiving goods. We don’t know anything else.” After saying this, the old man felt like his entire body had been emptied.
At the mention of the goods, Chu Qingzhi still had a question in her heart. “Third Brother, where are the goods from the merchants? 1 want to take a look again.”
Chu Xujin said, “I’ll take you there.”
Following Chu Xujin, Chu Qingzhi came to the door of a room in the county office. The room was locked and there was someone specially guarding it.
There was only one key, and it was on Chu Xujin.
Chu Xujin opened the door. “Fifth Sister, the goods are all here. No one touched them.”
Chu Qingzhi nodded and walked straight to open the five large boxes of salt. Why would they come all the way here to transport five boxes of salt? Furthermore, there was no lack of salt here. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that something fishy was going on.
Chu Xujin did not notice anything. “Fifth Sister, is there a problem with the salt?”
“Let me take a look first.” Chu Qingzhi picked up the salt and tasted it. It was indeed salt. After a pause, she put her hand in the salt. It felt wrong. There was something under it.
She grabbed the thing out and her face immediately darkened. “Poppy!”
Chu Xujin did not know what poppy was, but when he saw Chu Qingzhi’s expression, he knew that it was not something good. “Fifth Sister, what is this?”
Chu Qingzhi said solemnly, “This thing is addictive. Third Brother, don’t tell anyone.”
Poppy must not appear in the world. Otherwise, it would definitely be a disaster for the people.
Addictive? That was too scary! Chu Xujin replied solemnly, “Fifth Sister, I won’t tell anyone.”
Chu Qingzhi said, “Third Brother, go find a few people and get a sieve to take out the poppies. We’ll destroy them later.”
Chu Xujin nodded. “I’ll go right away.”
Chu Qingzhi stood at the side and stared at the salt in the box. The poppy smelled of ammonia. The smell was strong, and salt could block this smell very well. The other party was very smart.
Chu Qingzhi looked at the large amount of poppies. They weighed about 350 kilos. If this batch was transported to the other party, who knew how many people would be harmed!
“Third Brother, find some bags and pack these things. Then, move them to a small boat.”
“Alright, I’ll arrange for someone to do it immediately.”
The river was behind the county office. A group of constables quickly placed bags of poppies on the small boat, filling it up.
Chu Qingzhi took the kerosene and poured it on the poppies. Then, she took out a match and threw it over to light it.
Using this method to destroy the poppies would not leave a trace.
The constables stood at the side. Someone could not hold back his curiosity. “Miss Chu, what is this? Why did you burn it?”
Chu Qingzhi said seriously, “This is a poison. After eating it, our bodies will be damaged. If we eat it for a long time, we will die. It’s a scourge. We can’t keep it.”
Everyone trusted Chu Qingzhi very much. After hearing her words, no one said anything else.
Other than Chu Qingzhi and Chu Xujin, no one else knew about this, including the county magistrate.
The situation was too complicated now. They could not be sure if the county magistrate also worked for the other party or if he was also playing a certain role. In short, the fewer people who knew about this, the better.
After dealing with the poppies, Chu Qingzhi brought Wu Yaqing to the Hundred Flowers Tower.
In the hall, Ge Lihua was already having a headache from the interrogation. Moreover, some girls only knew how to cry. It was annoying.
When she saw Chu Qingzhi coming over, it was as if she had seen her savior.
Her entire face lit up. “Qingzhi, you’re finally here.”
Chu Qingzhi looked at Ge Lihua’s dispirited expression and asked with concern, “What’s wrong? Did you encounter a problem?”
Ge Lihua complained, “It’s too difficult to interrogate. Not only do they not know anything, but they also keep crying. I’m running out of patience.”
Chu Qingzhi comforted her. “It’s getting late. Let’s go back and rest early later.” Ge Lihua nodded.
After glancing around, Chu Qingzhi asked, “Lihua, where’s that girl?”
There were many girls in the hall. They were all from the brothel. They stood together in groups of three to five, looking uneasy.
However, Chu Qingzhi didn’t see the one she wanted to see.
“She’s in the room. I’ll bring you there.” Ge Lihua brought Chu Qingzhi upstairs. “Qingzhi, did you find any clues?”
“I have a guess, so I came to verify it.” Chu Qingzhi paused and asked, “Did that girl take a shower?”
Ge Lihua was suspicious. “No, she’s under arrest. She didn’t even wash her face.”
Chu Qingzhi said, “When I see that girl later, I should know how the merchant was poisoned to death.”
Ge Lihua wanted to ask Chu Qingzhi how she knew, but she swallowed her words. She would know when she saw it later.
They pushed the door open and entered the room…