‘Well, it’s a calculated risk. The website people can claim that they know nothing about its contents, and it’s simply put on there by somebody unknown to them. So it may not necessarily spell too much trouble. Besides, it’s not just me alone doing that. My associates are taking care of the remaining major websites. When the documentary appears simultaneously on each and every major website, plus the instant forwarding and reposting among the netizens all over the country, it will be such a national hit, the government may have a really hard time dealing with it.’

‘I see. Like in an old Chinese saying: the law may not be able to punish too many people. Still, it’s so generous of you to do so.’

‘It’s no waste of money as far as my product line goes. The commercials have to appear somewhere anyway. Why not for the movie? Imagine my company name shown at the end of it – to be seen by millions and millions.’

‘Are you also involved in the process of the documentary making?’

‘No, not exactly. Shanshan has a free hand with the production, but she sees to the effective communication and discussion among all of us. We are encouraged to express our opinions about it. For instance, some of us want to make sure that the film does not go too far, lest it might not be able to come out, or even if it did, it would get instantly banned. Then it would amount to a waste of effort and money. Needless to say, none of us wants to get ourselves into serious troubles with the government. We have to do business in the system.’

‘Yes, all of us have to walk a tightrope in the system.’

‘You can say that again, Chief Inspector Chen.’ Bian added after a short pause, ‘In fact, there will be a meeting at the Oriental Club tomorrow afternoon. It’s in the New World, you know.’

‘Oriental Club, I know. So it’s tomorrow afternoon – are you going there, Bian?’

‘We don’t have to attend each and every one of those meetings. Occasionally, we send our representatives there. So we’ll have some ideas about how things are moving along.’

‘How about,’ Chen said, draining the cold coffee in one gulp, ‘sending me there as your representative tomorrow? I’ll simply sit there and listen without saying a word, that much I can promise you. No one will pay any attention to me.’

‘I think that may work, but I just want to say it once again: it’s a good, much-needed project, that documentary about the air pollution in China.’

‘I cannot agree more,’ Chen said emphatically. ‘Let me give you my word again: no harm will happen to her, or to the documentary.’

Detective Yu was still poring over the pictures when his special phone rang.

‘We have added the noodles stirred with fried green onion oil and dried shrimp to the list of the Shanghai Number One Noodles,’ Peiqin said on the phone. ‘You have to come. So delicious, you would bite your tongue off.’