Chapter 46 — Cholera
The fire at Changshan Distillery was extensively reported in the newspapers, with bold, eye-catching headlines, instantly sparking widespread controversy.
Merchants in Heihe couldn’t wait and immediately went to Changshan Distillery to investigate the situation regarding the granaries and stored liquor. Having traded for years, they knew the seriousness of the matter. When they arrived at the distillery and saw a cold, unyielding lock on the gate, a cold sweat broke out on them!
Suddenly, someone shouted: “We’ve been deceived! Without grain, how can they make liquor? The machines are fake!”
As soon as this was said, the others quickly realized the truth. They pounded on the distillery gates demanding the workers inside to open up, while some cried out, creating chaos.
Meanwhile, the shopkeeper of Changshan Distillery, Sun Dajiang, had been detained at the Heihe precinct police station.
“Sun Dajiang, I’ll ask you again: does your distillery have grain and stored liquor? Why did you fabricate news claiming three tons of daily output, and where did you hide the silver you collected from selling the machines?!” The officers, having interrogated him all night, had lost patience. “You’d better be honest. We will conduct a thorough investigation into the fire at Changshan Distillery!”
Sun Dajiang repeatedly altered his testimony and refused to cooperate, claiming he was deceived.
“It’s all those Japanese people who harmed me! I don’t have a penny left, and the distillery burned down—that was my life’s work!” Sun Dajiang’s face was still smudged with yesterday’s ash, his white hair disheveled, his expression full of pain, all seemingly designed to elicit sympathy. “I only ask that you let me return to check on the workers, and after liquidating the distillery, at least compensate them first.”
His words were smooth, but soon, when the witnesses were brought in, his expression changed slightly.
The witness was Fang Ji’an. Upon seeing the officers, he immediately softened, losing all backbone. Despite his pale complexion and frail body, he was terrified, unable to stand when thrown into the hall. Half-kneeling, he spilled everything, word by word, like pouring beans from a bamboo tube, hoping for leniency and mercy.
Sun Dajiang stepped forward to kick him, but the officers restrained him. Struggling against them, he shouted: “This is unfair! Fang Ji’an must be holding a grudge!”
“Why would he hold a grudge against you?”
“Because I helped the Japanese buy his brewing formula, and his distillery was absorbed into mine. I… I was momentarily blinded when assisting the Japanese; I’m ashamed to say it…”
Sun Dajiang’s display of shame was a mix of truth and falsehood, and the more he spoke, the less the officers could extract any real information.
The officers pressed further: “Since you admit to colluding with outsiders, I’ll ask again: why did your distillery catch fire yesterday?”
Sun Dajiang knelt, murmuring after a moment: “Why did my distillery catch fire?”
His gaze fell on the pile of “evidence” presented before him. Beside it was the trembling witness, Fang Ji’an.
Sun Dajiang’s eyes shifted several times. He thought of various schemes to drag the Bai family into the mess, but before he could speak, new evidence was presented—several firecracker tubes. Unlike ordinary firecrackers, these were thicker, coated in a layer of dark-brown tar, igniting at the slightest flame.
After verification, the officers placed them before Sun Dajiang. “These were found around your distillery. The gunpowder inside exceeds ordinary firecrackers. If exposed to fire, they will explode and cause a blaze. Extremely dangerous. Why did you pour tar on them?”
Sun Dajiang felt like vomiting blood. Indeed, he had commissioned the firecrackers with a small amount of gunpowder, but the tar was not his doing! And he wasn’t stupid—why would he place such dangerous items around his own distillery? He knew exactly whose handiwork it was, but now he could say nothing. If he mentioned Bai Mingzhe, it would implicate even more people. Struggling, he muttered: “This… was naturally to test the machines.”
“Complete nonsense!”
…
Meanwhile, Bai Mingzhe gave his statement and was courteously escorted out by the officers.
Outside, a carriage awaited. The driver was a strong bodyguard. Xie Jing leaned against a large tree nearby. Seeing Bai Mingzhe emerge, he immediately approached.
Bai Mingzhe got into the carriage, and Xie Jing quickly followed. As the carriage moved, Bai Mingzhe noticed someone trailing on horseback, dressed in plain clothes with a straw hat, their face obscured.
Bai Mingzhe said from the carriage: “Little Xie, the police station was safe enough; there’s no need for such precautions.”
Xie Jing lowered his voice: “Lord Bai Jiu instructed to protect you thoroughly before leaving. My teacher isn’t here, so I feel safer with more people.”
Bai Mingzhe asked: “Where is Zhang Huwei?”
“Still outside Changshan Distillery keeping watch,” Xie Jing replied, retracting his gaze and lowering the carriage curtain. “After the fire yesterday, Sun Dajiang didn’t leave the distillery until the police took him away.”
Bai Mingzhe thought for a moment: “This doesn’t make sense. He’s greedy. If the distillery caught fire, he would have taken the money and fled. Yet he stayed. Two days ago he received over a hundred thousand silver from several merchants. In Heihe, there’s little silver but plenty of foreign currency. He couldn’t carry it all, so staying behind either means hiding money or handling something more important.”
Xie Jing nodded: “Yes. Teacher said the same, so he went to watch.”
Zhang Huwei had trained alongside Lord Bai Jiu for years. Though rough and reckless in appearance, he was actually meticulous. He sensed something was off: Sun Dajiang seemed intentionally caught, stalling the police. Behind such recklessness, he must be hiding something extremely important.
Xie Jing lifted a corner of the carriage blanket, revealing a gun, which he handed to Bai Mingzhe. “Young Master, Teacher instructed me to give this to you. Take it for self-defense.”
Bai Mingzhe took it without hesitation, tucking it into his sleeve.
Two days later, Zhang Huwei single-handedly captured a Changshan distillery worker disguised as a ginseng digger. Covered in forest dirt, the man had gone far but couldn’t escape Zhang Huwei’s pursuit.
Bai Mingzhe recognized him as Sun Dajiang’s nephew, a minor manager at the distillery. After searching him, they found a tightly compressed “clay” cake.
Having worked at Heihe Distillery for years, Bai Mingzhe immediately recognized it. His expression darkened: “This is our distillery’s yeast starter.” He pried a corner to reveal a red mark. Sun Dajiang, unaware of its significance, had carried it carefully, thinking it useful. In reality, every four pieces could form a complete mark.
Zhang Huwei, weathered and bloodshot-eyed from days without sleep, reported: “I followed him all the way. He was heading to Manzhouli. Seeing no one came to meet him, I captured him directly. He only had this piece, nothing else.”
Bai Mingzhe saluted him. Zhang Huwei waved it off: “Young Master, no need. I’m Lord Bai Jiu’s man. I was instructed to do this.”
Bai Mingzhe said gravely: “This matter is vital to the Qinghe Bai family. You’ve worked hard; rest now. I’ll handle the rest.”
The yeast starter being stolen could only mean an inside job, by someone undetected.
Fortunately, the thief didn’t know the pieces bore marks, ruling out the core brewmaster staff—a misfortune yet a blessing.
After strict investigation, Bai Mingzhe quickly uncovered the truth.
Fang Yurou, along with a few senior brewmasters, never allowed outsiders near brewing. Only a handful could enter the yeast starter greenhouse, unchanged for over ten years. A few days prior, a window broke, and a carpenter was called for repairs. Dropping his tools, he shattered a yeast starter block, unknowingly losing a fragment.
Bai Mingzhe’s swift action led to seven or eight arrests that day, expelling anyone suspected. Outsiders trying to infiltrate wouldn’t be given a single opening—especially someone like Sun Dajiang, who would use underhanded methods. Publicly employing Fang Ji’an, no one suspected he had already bribed an insider to steal the yeast starter.
While the Bai family was purging the inside job, another major event occurred at the police station: Sun Dajiang escaped.
Detained for several days, he initially cooperated. One day, he disclosed hidden silver, hoping to redeem himself. The police found several boxes of silver as he described and believed him. However, Sun Dajiang exploited their weakened guard, fleeing overnight to the border. Without patrol soldiers, he might have crossed the river on a small boat.
At the police station, officers were on high alert, with armed border patrol soldiers nearby. Sun Dajiang, tied and wearing coarse cloth instead of silk, with disheveled grey hair, half-kneeling, half-sitting in the hall, appeared aged overnight.
After half a day of interrogation, he refused to answer, yet the evidence sufficed for conviction. The night before, Sun Dajiang attempted to flee with gold and silver. On the boat, dozens of gold bars and high-quality leather were found.
Sun Dajiang was imprisoned.
Two days later, he suddenly died.
The police acted immediately, but unexpectedly, three others sharing the same cell also died, including Fang Ji’an in the nearest cell. Alarmed, the police summoned a doctor, who, seeing the purplish skin of the victims, stepped back repeatedly: “It’s cholera!”
