Rumors Spread Everywhere

As August arrived, Lingnan welcomed the hottest month of the year.

In the streets and alleys of the city, small vendors and farmers were selling lychees and longans, their hawking voices mingled with a flurry of rumors.

An old farmer from Guizhuling Township had set up two baskets of lychees at the corner of a small alley next to the vegetable market, fanning himself with a straw hat while trying to stay cool.

Suddenly, a young man walked up to the old farmer's two baskets of lychees and began picking through them.

"Handsome, these are all home-grown, no pesticides used. Buy some," the old farmer said as he grabbed a plastic bag and scooped up a handful of lychees to pack them.

Suddenly, the young man asked, "Where are these lychees from?"

"Guizhuling, all home-grown, don't you worry!"

"Guizhuling? You mean the place by the waste recycling plant? Forget it, I don't want them."

Huh? The old farmer's hand, which was reaching for the scale, froze. He hurriedly asked, "Handsome, I really grew these myself."

"It doesn't matter if you grew them yourself. Who would dare eat anything from near that waste recycling plant? They dump all that sewage directly," the young man said loudly as he walked away.

The people around the vegetable market began to whisper among themselves.

"Old Zhang, what's going on?"

"I don't know."

"It seems to be about Guizhuling. I heard there's a waste recycling plant there, and trash and sewage are everywhere."

"Is that so? Doesn't the district government do anything about it?"

"I heard the waste management was contracted out. My uncle's friend works at the Urban Sanitation Bureau..."

"Sigh, poor us common folk."

"These Guizhuling lychees definitely can't be bought."

A massive wave of rumors spread rapidly through the market, and after being passed around by aunts and neighbors, it soon became the talk of the entire city.

The unluckiest people in this situation were the Guizhuling farmers, who had no way to defend themselves; large quantities of their lychees, longans, and vegetables were being shunned by the citizens.

In the villages of Guizhuling Township, the farmers were filled with grievances.

In the small square of the ancestral hall, a middle-aged man holding a hoe shouted aggressively, "Old San, go call everyone over! We must make that waste plant give us an explanation."

"That's right."

"Damn them, I'll fight them to the death."

"I'll go call people too."

Just as dozens of villagers were heading toward the Guizhuling Industrial Park with hoes and rakes, a dozen or so sorters who had just finished their shift and were heading home happened to meet them at the corner of the entrance.

One of the sorters, a fellow villager, asked in confusion, "Dashan, what are you all doing?"

The middle-aged villager leading the group cursed temperately, "Fuhai, this is none of your business, get out of the way!"

Sensing that the situation was turning sour, Zheng Fuhai immediately grabbed two of his clansmen, "Xiao Lie, what is going on?"

The indignant young man explained incoherently while cursing. Zheng Fuhai caught a few keywords, felt a sense of dread, and hurriedly squeezed to the front of the crowd.

Zheng Fuhai roared, "Dashan, stop right now!"

His dozen or so coworkers also hurriedly stood by Zheng Fuhai's side. Someone ran back to the factory, and soon the factory security guards reacted, notifying the factory manager Huang Guotong while quickly calling the police.

At the scene, Zheng Fuhai, in order to prevent the situation from escalating, shouted rapidly, "Dashan, do you know what you are doing? This is a mass brawl! Have you thought about your wife and children at home?"

"You believe whatever others say; you're being used as a pawn and you don't even know it! The factory has already called the police. Now everyone disperse and put away your hoes and rakes!"

Stunned by Zheng Fuhai's roar, the crowd of villagers lost their initial aggression, and many began to have second thoughts.

However, Zheng Dashan, unwilling to lose face, continued to clamor, "I'm not leaving today! Let's see what you can do to me."

Just then, the factory manager Huang Guotong rushed over, "Fellow villagers, let's talk this over calmly. Don't be impulsive. Put away the hoes and rakes first, and pick a few representatives to come in and talk."

Zheng Dashan, unappreciative, shouted loudly, "We can talk right here! It's not like this is some shameful secret."

However, Zheng Fuhai's words had calmed many people down, and soon villagers from other villages began to gather as well.

On the other side, the Pubian Town police station also sensed the severity of the situation. They quickly requested reinforcements from the city and mobilized all available personnel to head toward the Guizhuling Industrial Park.

Worried about an incident, Huang Guotong pacified the villagers and had people bring out plastic chairs from the factory, leading the villagers to a flat area on the side of the factory.

The steady Zheng Fuhai pulled over a dozen fellow clansmen and called for a few respected elders, having them collect the hoes and rakes from the villagers to prevent any accidents.

A dozen representatives from various villages sat around a makeshift wooden table, and everyone began to voice their opinions one after another.

As Huang Guotong listened to their grievances, he realized something was wrong and asked, "Are you saying that people in the city are claiming the factory is dumping sewage and polluting crops, and now no one is willing to buy Guizhuling's produce?"

Zheng Dashan, filled with righteous indignation, slammed the table, "That's right! Your factory must give us an explanation for this, or we will go to the higher authorities. Even if we have to go to Beiping, we will fight you to the end!"

"There must be some misunderstanding. Our factory is designed to process waste; how could we possibly dump sewage into the surroundings?" Huang Guotong explained.

"Bullshit! I don't believe it!"

The police from the station arrived in a hurry, and seeing the crowd of hundreds, they dared not act rashly. Soon, the deputy district head, Cai Haiyi, also arrived at the scene in a rush.

Lin Baijie, Huang Xiuyuan, and the others who followed closely behind also arrived at the scene.

"Mr. Huang, this matter must be handled with caution." Cai Haiyi also wore a look of deep concern.

Huang Xiuyuan, however, remained calm and did not lose his composure: "District Chief Cai, our company will handle this matter properly, but I have a few small requests."

"Please speak. As long as it doesn't violate any principles, I will certainly do my best." Cai Haiyi also did not want this matter to escalate any further.

Immediately, Huang Xiuyuan whispered a few words into his ear: "..."

After listening, Cai Haiyi's eyes widened in shock: "Wouldn't that just cause even more trouble?"

"The innocent have nothing to hide. My factory has no issues, so why should I act like a thief with a guilty conscience? Wouldn't that just be like saying 'there is no silver buried here'?"

"Mr. Huang, are you certain there is no illegal discharge?"

Huang Xiuyuan countered with a question: "If I were discharging waste, why would I do this?"

With that, Cai Haiyi finally felt a sense of certainty.

Soon, under the mediation of Cai Haiyi and Huang Xiuyuan, a plan was quickly reached with the villagers.

The plan was for the local villagers to appoint 15 villager representatives, invite 15 random citizens from the urban district, and have the district send 5 environmental protection officials to form a joint assessment team specifically to evaluate the pollution issues at Guizhuling Industrial Park.

Additionally, to strengthen the scientific validity and authority of the results, the district and Suiren Company would jointly request that Lingnan TV Station provide on-site coverage.

Together with three third-party testing agencies, they would form a joint inspection group to conduct a comprehensive examination of Guizhuling Industrial Park, as well as the local crops, soil, water bodies, and the villagers of Guizhuling.

Faced with this resolution plan, the crowd of villagers suddenly had nothing more to say.

At the same time, Suiren Company also quickly reported the case to the police, hoping to investigate those spreading the rumors.

As a subsidiary, Shiguang Information also used Shiguang Blog to announce the causes and consequences of this incident to the public, along with a portion of the information.