‘I’ll have a sip with you this evening, Yu. Our small restaurant has been doing great. Its revenue has surpassed a hundred thousand yuan this month.’

‘That’s something calling for celebration.’

Yu finished his cup of beer in three or four gulps. His mood seemed to have improved by the time she served the hot dishes and soup on the table. Sure enough, he opened up.

‘Like in an old proverb, the roof must get leaky again when it rains so hard,’ he started.

Of late, Yu had come to talk more and more like his father, Old Hunter, who was in the habit of frequently quoting proverbs as a prelude to the talk.

‘Don’t talk too much about your case over the meal. It won’t help with digestion,’ she said, smiling a knowing smile, adding another piece of bamboo shoot to his bowl.

Nothing’s like a good meal at home, she believed.

When Yu finished the last piece of fried small croaker with a satisfied sigh, Peiqin rose to clear the table. He tried to help, but she stopped him.

‘You just enjoy a cup of tea inside. I’ll join you in a minute or two.’

It was a fairly warm spring. When she stepped into the bedroom, he was sitting propped against a couple of pillows, holding a folder in one hand, hurrying to stub out a cigarette in the other. No teacup on the nightstand. For once, she chose not to say anything about it.

‘Another tough case for your squad, I guess, the way your inspector called me about the Shanghai Number One Noodles,’ she said instead, changing into a florid cloth robe she had made for herself in imitation of the fold-on style she had seen in her ‘educated youth’ years in Yunnan Province. The Dai minority women there made their robes like that. Memories of those years still lingered.

‘It’s not a case for our squad, but a tough one. In all appearances, it’s a serial murder case.’

‘Now tell me about it.’ She moved to sit beside him on the bed, taking up his hand as if examining the nicotine stain on his finger. ‘This afternoon you mentioned a video scandal online. I made a list of possible links to it in the restaurant – for you and for Chen. But when I tried to look into them, the content disappeared.’

‘No, I could not find any of them, either. But I’m not really surprised, I mean, at the disappearance of those posts.’

She slid in beside him under the large towel blanket. He draped an arm over her shoulder, like always, before telling her about things discussed in the bureau.

‘For a case not under the charge of your squad, you don’t have to worry too much,’ she said softly. ‘Just like in one of your father’s favorite proverbs: “People are not supposed to cook in other people’s kitchen.” ’

‘But according to Chen, with the date of the opening session of the People’s Congress drawing nearer, Li wants us to help and have the case solved as soon as possible. He’s now anxious for others to work in the kitchen.