Strange Meat

Huang Xiaotao called the police station to report her discovery. Before the police could arrive, she flashed her police badge and ordered the owner to stop selling the buns. The owner was dumbfounded and asked what was going on - had someone gotten sick from eating his buns?

Nearby residents waiting to buy buns were also confused, murmuring questions about what had happened. I was about to explain when Huang Xiaotao signaled me not to say anything. I realized she was right - human meat buns would surely cause public panic.

Huang Xiaotao told the residents, "Sorry, the police suspect the owner is connected to a case."

"What case? Why arrest him now?"

"Master Tang is such a good man. How could he have broken the law? You police must be mistaken."

"You can arrest him later. First let us buy our buns - we already paid!"

"Yes, our families are eagerly waiting to eat Master Tang's famous buns!"

It was clear these residents truly loved eating at this shop. Facing their barrage of complaints, Huang Xiaotao looked to me for help. I stepped forward and said, "We suspect his buns contain meat from diseased pigs. You'd better not eat them or you'll get sick."

Hearing this, the crowd grew more agitated.

"Diseased pigs? Are you sure?"

"I eat here every day - will I get sick?"

Some were nonchalant: "No big deal, we've eaten gutter oil and Sudan red dye before. Why worry about diseased pigs?"

Quite a few voices agreed. Although Chinese people joke about being immune to toxins, accumulated poisons in liver and kidneys will eventually ruin your health.

The distraught owner pleaded, "Officers, don't spread rumors! My meat comes through legal channels, not diseased pigs. I'm a law-abiding businessman - don't try to ruin me!"

The residents stayed to watch the drama, surrounding the shop. With the crowd looking on, Huang Xiaotao didn't want to say more. She told the owner, "Please close up for now. We'll talk when the forensic team arrives."

The owner sighed deeply as if resigned to his bad luck, and started closing his shop.

I called Wang Dali and asked him to bring my kit - just in case we found a body during the search.

After hanging up, Huang Xiaotao asked, "Do you think the owner is guilty?"

I shook my head. "He seems innocent. Something fishy is going on, but there's a tiny chance..."

"What?" she asked curiously.

"That he's a complete psychopath, unafraid even of the police!"

"From your tone, I'd guess he's innocent," Huang Xiaotao said. "What luck we found a case during our day out. Are you certain it's human meat?"

"Of course! The forensics team can do DNA tests if you're unsure."

"That's a required step," she agreed. "Human meat buns remind me of an old case in Macau."

I knew the one she meant - the infamous Eight Immortals Restaurant homicide case, also called the Eight Immortals Restaurant Massacre. The killer had slaughtered the restaurant's nine residents and used their meat to make sweet barbecued pork buns, which he then sold.

The case was later adapted into the film 'The Untold Story' starring Anthony Wong. I saw it in grade school - it provoked such outrage that local steamed bun shops lost business for a month. Under pressure from bun and butcher shop owners, the film was pulled from theaters.

Huang Xiaotao swore under her breath, "Disgusting. Knowing what was just in my mouth makes me want to vomit. At least I'll lose a few pounds."

"You're not fat," I said.

"How do you know without touching?" She gave me a look.

I blushed crimson at her words.

Soon police cars arrived, cordoning off the rubberneckers while I saw a familiar face - my old friend Xiaozhou from forensics. He joked, "Inspector Huang, you look so nice today - out on a date?"

"No!"

"None of your business!"

Huang Xiaotao and I blurted out simultaneously, embarrassing Xiaozhou. "Anyway, let me get some samples for analysis back at the lab," he mumbled.

Huang Xiaotao dispatched an officer to question the owner while we searched the kitchen. No hacked-up body parts or pools of blood greeted us - just clean countertops, freshly wrapped buns, flour sacks and bags of frozen meat filling.

I tore open some buns and peeked inside the raw meat. Then I sniffed carefully. "Well?" asked Huang Xiaotao. "Find anything?"

"It's all human flesh," I replied. "Also a strong herbal scent - medicinal ingredients for making broth."

"No wonder it smelled so good..." She gagged and retched. "Wait, you haven't actually eaten human meat before, have you? How did you realize something was wrong?"

"Of course not!" I said. "Just a process of elimination. It's not pork, beef, lamb, donkey or dog meat. My first thought was rat meat - some shops secretly add it for better texture. But my instincts said something more sinister was afoot."

Huang Xiaotao looked at me curiously. "You have such a keen sense of taste?"

"Smell and taste are linked. A sensitive nose means sensitive taste buds. Most flavors we detect are actually smells. Try this: eat a pear while smelling an apple, and it'll taste like apple." I explained.

"No wonder you noticed a scent on me earlier - I was puzzled since I didn't apply perfume. Probably my shower gel from last night?" She seemed impressed.

"Um..." I said awkwardly. Actually it was her natural fragrance, but no way would I admit that!

With nothing left to investigate, we went to find the owner, who was pleading with the questioning officer: "Comrade policeman, I swear I know nothing about human meat! I run a humble shop to make ends meet - how could I do something so immoral?"

Huang Xiaotao dismissed the other officer and took over the interview.

Mr. Tang was 48 years old, a rural migrant who left his wife and kids back home. He started out as a helper, learning to make buns and dumplings before renting his own place. He worked long hours selling buns, sending his hard-earned money to his family.

As for the meat, Tang said it came daily from a meat processing plant. He had always assumed it was pork. Desperate to prove his innocence, Tang exclaimed, "My buns are made with care and conscience - no additives! I eat them myself!"

While Huang Xiaotao questioned him, I watched his expressions. Tang seemed truthful - the meat plant was likely the culprit!