1631 Going home
This trip to the United States was longer than Zhang Zian had expected, but for an unemployed person like him, it didn’t affect him much. On the bright side, by the time he returned to Binhai city, the summer heat had basically subsided. There was a cool breeze in the morning and at night, and there was a faint taste of autumn.
After uploading the video in the seaside town, he took a bus back to San Francisco that day and booked the earliest flight back home. Why was he in such a hurry, not even taking a break? it was because he didn’t know if Peter Lee would mention his name during the interrogation. He didn’t want to stay and cooperate with the investigation. How long would it take to investigate such a big case?
As for the car he drove here, he would leave it to the car rental company.
During this period, he learned about what had happened in the outside world while he was isolated from the world, while quietly waiting for the video to develop.
Xiaoxue had indeed called the police. Without her help and supervision, the rescue might not have come so quickly. Under the pressure of the China Embassy, the local police had to pay more attention.
Melgen was saved. The touching scene of her and her mother hugging each other and crying could be seen on the television. The charges of illegal detainment, kidnapping, and murder that she had accused made the local prosecutor announce the launch of relevant investigations. As more details were disclosed by the media, the impact of the incident became greater and greater. It even attracted the attention of the mainstream media. The focus of the investigation shifted from suspected criminal behavior to the suspicious organization that Peter Lee had established.
Peter Lee might be able to buy over the local police, but it was hard to buy over a District Attorney. He and the other heads of the suspicious organization tried to sneak out of the country, but they were quickly intercepted by the Coast Guard. There were rumors that their ship was blocked by the whales, but this kind of news from the tabloid was obviously not taken seriously.
At present, Peter Lee and his men had been arrested, and what awaited them was a protracted investigation and trial. Peter Lee was rich and could afford a good lawyer. He kept on appeal, so it could be imagined that these lawsuits would take several years to come to a conclusion.
Several animal protection and environmental protection organizations in the United States received anonymous emails on the same day, including The Deer Hunter Association. All of them received a video of Peter Lee’s slaughterhouse using sick deer to process venison, as well as a list of farms that transported sick deer to the slaughterhouse.
The internal relationship between the slaughterhouses, Leshi dog food producers, and Peter Lee needed to be further excavated. However, the Western reporters had finally gotten a big piece of news, so they would obviously pursue it to the root. They believed that they would soon find clues.
Compared to the series of felonies such as murder and kidnapping that Peter Lee faced, Leshi dog food was not the focus of the investigation, nor was it the focus of people’s attention. However, it was still inevitable that the police and Food Safety Department would come to the door and take away the relevant people responsible. As a new brand, Leshi dog food’s sales in the United States, which was not high to begin with, had fallen. It was also rejected by distributors in large numbers, and it was about to close down.
The influence of Peter Lee’s incident quickly went beyond the scope of a County, a County, and a state. Even the FBI was involved in this matter. The series of events were still in the early stages of brewing, and the black material that had been exposed so far was only the tip of the iceberg. He believed that as the investigation progressed, a huge criminal gang would be brought to justice.
In China, on the other side of the ocean, the reaction speed of the news media was a few beats slow. The related news basically only appeared on the online media, and the larger print media only briefly mentioned it in the corner of a piece of tofu. After all, the destruction of such a suspicious organization was not suitable to be publicized, especially when the leader was suspected to be a Chinese.
On the other hand, the problem of Leshi dog food had caused a lot of shock in the pet Circle in China. Whether it was for the purpose of attracting attention or to attack competitors, many internet celebrities, spontaneously or incited, published related articles on Weibo and public Accounts and began to criticize Leshi dog food. Some of them had insight, and some of them fanned the flames. It could be said that everyone would push the wall when it fell. However, in the eyes of those with discerning eyes, wasn’t this a wise man after the fact? What were you doing earlier?
There were more and more people raising cats, dogs, and fish, but it was undeniable that pets were still a minority in China because most people raised them blindly. They fed cats with leftovers, fed dogs with chocolate, bought blue-ring octopuses out of curiosity, and slept with cats in the summer with a mosquito scent. When pets were sick, they were left to fend for themselves and were reluctant to bring them to a Pet Hospital. The source of pet knowledge was from articles forwarded on WeChat moments. Pets that were really well taken care of were only the minority.
The proportion of owners who would spend time learning about pets, willing to take their pets to the hospital for treatment, and willing to spend money on high-end pet food was not high, but the value of their pets could not be underestimated, and their education level was often higher. They heard that the imported dog food that they spent a lot of money on had such a big scandal. Once their beloved dog ate Leshi dog food, even if it was not sick at the moment, it might still have the possibility of getting sick in the next few years. How could they bear this?
In order to protect their legal rights and interests, refunds and claims for compensation were the least they could do. But the problem was that the United States headquarters of Leshi dog food had closed down, the general agent in China had run away, and the customs had announced a ban on the import of Leshi dog food. Who could they seek compensation from? Then he could only follow the principle of whoever sells it should be responsible and seek compensation from the seller of Leshi dog food.
Some dogs died for various reasons after eating Leshi dog food. To be honest, most of them had nothing to do with Leshi dog food. Some died of old age, and some died of other diseases. However, as long as it was not an accidental death, it was inevitable that the owners would suspect that it was Leshi dog food. Of course, there were many scammers, but it was also a fact that flies did not bite seamless eggs.
It was the same in the United States all the owners of their dogs who had eaten Leshi dog food had joined forces to file a collective lawsuit and seek compensation against the manufacturer of Leshi dog food. China could not catch the manufacturer, so they could only find trouble with the seller.
In short, even though the mahogany forest incident was over, it was only the beginning.
After a long flight and a domestic transfer, the plane finally arrived at Binhai City Airport.
Zhang Zian dragged his suitcase out of the airport, looked at the long line of cars, and took a deep breath of the familiar exhaust.
He didn’t feel it when he was in the primitive forest, but in fact, his lungs had been spoiled by the rich oxygen and negative ions in the forest. They couldn’t adapt to the fog and haze in the city.
In any case, life had to go on. At least, he had to earn back the expenses of this self-funded trip.