Chapter 630: No Wind, No Waves

"Fuck your mother." Cai Yunsong cursed wildly in his heart. Originally, he had felt a bit of gratitude toward that young man.

It turned out he was being played for a monkey, especially when the alcohol was applied to the wound—that kind of pain was something he would never forget in his life.

Jian Minglang's mouth twitched, and he cursed "idiot" in his heart, patting Cai Yunsong on the shoulder: "Let's go, go buy a bottle of iodophor."

"By the way!" The old expert said: "Don't wash your face for a week. When the wound scabs over, don't pick at it with your hands. If it falls off naturally, there won't be any scars."

"Thank you, doctor." Cai Yunsong thanked him.

Jian Minglang and Cai Yunsong had just walked to the door of the hospital room when Jian Qiu came out of the room with a thermos. She didn't even look at Jian Minglang and passed by him.

Jian Minglang's face turned black instantly, but there was nothing he could do.

Don't look at him as Jian Qiu's cousin; in fact, he knew very well that this cousin of his had no weight in Jian Qiu's heart at all.

Jian Qiu fetched a pot of hot water and returned to the hospital room, seeing Zhou Andong sitting cross-legged there, looking at the newspaper she had just bought, holding an apple in his hand, biting it with a crunch-crunch sound.

"Any news?" Jian Qiu put down the thermos.

Zhou Andong said: "Just the news about Pepsi lowering prices, nothing else."

"Tap, tap, tap..."

The hospital room door was knocked on, and Jian Qiu said: "Come in!"

With a creak, the door was pushed open, and a young man of twenty-four or twenty-five, wearing glasses, not tall but looking spirited, walked in.

"Chairman, Chairman Jian!" The young man said nervously: "President Man asked me to come."

Zhou Andong nodded: "Come, sit!"

Jian Qiu brought a stool, placed it by the bed, and said with a smile: "Sit and talk!"

The young man sat down, and Zhou Andong asked: "What's your name?"

The young man stood up with a whoosh: "My name is Gao Guanglu, and I'm a salesperson at the Zhumadian office."

Zhou Andong said with a smile: "Don't be nervous, sit down and talk."

Gao Guanglu sat down again, and Zhou Andong asked: "Tell me about the investigation process."

Gao Guanglu took two documents and a stack of photos out of his briefcase.

"This is the test report for the polluted river water and the OEM factory's well water, as well as photos of the paper mill discharging sewage at different times. There's also a video, but I didn't bring it."

Zhou Andong didn't look at them and put them aside: "First tell me about the investigation process, did you encounter any resistance or danger?"

"Yes!" Gao Guanglu said: "I almost didn't make it back."

Zhou Andong narrowed his eyes: "Did you go alone?"

"Two people, me and Deng Xiang." Gao Guanglu said: "Our OEM factory is in Qian'guan Town, Pingyu County, right next to the Kangshui River, and that paper mill is upstream of the Kangshui River, less than two kilometers away from the OEM factory."

"We smelled a pungent odor about 100 meters away from the paper mill. But we couldn't find the drainage outlet, so we went to the nearby Xiaowan Village."

"At first, when we asked, everyone hid, as if they were very scared. Later, I told a lie, telling the villagers that we were reporters. That way, two young men took Deng Xiang and me to their home."

"Then they drew a bucket of water from the well in their courtyard for us. The water quality was turbid and white, with a foul smell. They told us that three years ago, the groundwater in their village was still clear, transparent, sweet, and cool."

"Then I asked them to take Deng Xiang and me to see the paper mill's drainage outlet. They said that because they had caused trouble a few times, the paper mill now discharges sewage at night, and it's irregular."

"We waited for three days, and finally, that night, we waited for it. The sewage was discharged directly into the river from a hidden drainage pipe on the east wall of the factory area. The stench emitted, mixed with unpleasant waste gas, choked people so they couldn't breathe."

"Deng Xiang was recording with a video camera, and I was taking photos with a camera. I didn't expect the paper mill to have patrols. The camera's flash attracted them over, and there were also four or five wolf dogs."

"If it weren't for those two villagers being prepared and bringing people over, we really wouldn't have made it back."

Saying this, Gao Guanglu still had lingering fear on his face. It seemed that what happened that night was definitely not just that simple.

Zhou Andong asked: "The villagers caused trouble, did the local government not handle it?"

Gao Guanglu said: "They handled it, with fines and detention, but they just wouldn't seal the factory. It was painless, just like not handling it at all."

Zhou Andong touched his chin: "It seems that the boss of this paper mill has a lot of energy locally."

Gao Guanglu said: "The villagers also said that the paper mill director is named Huang Maoqi. It is said that he is a relative of a big leader in the county, but whether it's true, they aren't clear."

"No wind, no waves!" Zhou Andong pondered and said, "In the last two years, have any villagers gotten serious illnesses?"

"Yes!" Gao Guanglu said: "In just these two years, seven people in Xiaowan Village have gotten cancer, and five have already passed away."

Zhou Andong's spirit lifted: "Little Gao, I'll give you a task."

"Chairman, please speak." Gao Guanglu was happy in his heart.

Zhou Andong said: "You contact the patients' families, and also contact the families of those who have passed away. Tell them that getting cancer has a great relationship with the paper mill's pollution. We will invite lawyers to help them file a lawsuit, sue the paper mill, and demand compensation."

Jian Qiu said: "This matter is very difficult to clarify, and it's also very difficult to find evidence. Can we really win the lawsuit?"

"Whether we can win doesn't matter; what I want is the influence." Zhou Andong chuckled: "As long as we help the villagers sue the paper mill, it will definitely cause a sensation. At that time, we will be the righteous ones, and the paper mill will be the evil one."

"Whether it's beverages or Jiang Xiaobai, the brand value will definitely go up another level."

Jian Qiu said: "What about the OEM factory's polluted well water? Our losses are so great, aren't we going to sue the paper mill?"

"What does our loss have to do with the paper mill?" Zhou Andong said with a smile: "We signed a contract with the OEM factory. Causing such a great loss is the OEM factory's responsibility. So, if we want to file a lawsuit, it's the OEM factory suing the paper mill, not us."

Jian Qiu frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and then laughed: "The OEM factory is a Pingyu County enterprise, and the paper mill has a deep background. They are both local snakes. Letting the two of them fight is better than us stepping in personally."

Zhou Andong said with a smile: "There's one more point. If the OEM factory wants to continue cooperating with us, they must pay us every cent of the compensation. Can they eat such a big loss? They will definitely find trouble with the paper mill and get this batch of compensation back."

Jian Qiu asked: "What if they no longer cooperate with us?"

"Impossible!" Zhou Andong said decisively: "If they don't cooperate, how will the hundreds of workers in the factory drink the northwest wind?" ===== CHAPTER 631 =====