‘Finally you’re here, Melong. We are expecting you like the most welcome rain after a prolonged summer drought,’ Chang said in excitement, pouring out the tea for the two of them.

‘Today is all for my distinguished friend, Mr Chen. Tell you what, his presence is an unbelievable honor to your place. Do your absolute best tonight, Manager Chang.’

‘Don’t worry about it. Nothing but your favorites. Wild turtle steamed with Jinhua ham and rock sugar, Asian carp fried with green onion, the seasonal vegetable in the free-range chicken broth, and we have the Japanese rice, superior quality, that’s usually reserved for my own family only.’ Chang added, scratching his head with a suggestion of embarrassment, ‘What have you brought us today, Melong?’

‘Everything you can dream of. Live wild turtles, needless to say, live fish and fresh vegetables too,’ Melong said, casting a glance at the plastic bag at his foot. As if on some mysterious cue, something seemed to start twitching in the bag. ‘Far more than usual today.’

‘How can I ever thank you enough, my savior?’ Chang scooped up the bag in his hand. ‘Indeed you have saved my neck again. A super Big Buck has just called in, insisting on the Small River special – the real wild turtle.’

‘What’s all this about?’ Chen said, baffled with the dialogue between Melong and Chang as the latter moved out of the room carrying the plastic bag.

‘About the turtles in the bag. The real turtle, not farm-fed with drugs and what not. So there’s a whole world of difference in the taste. And in the yin/yang boost to your body system, too. Do you think I’m here for the stuff from the smelling fish market outside? No, no way. You know I know better. For all the stories about the organic food, people immerse shrimp in formalin for better color, feed rice paddy eels with antibiotics, and so on and so forth. All things are imaginable in China. Not to mention all the chemical waste in the rivers and lakes. It’s suicidal to eat such toxic food.’

‘But what’s the big deal between the restaurant and your black plastic bag?’

‘It’s a long story. Because of my mother’s lung operation, and thanks to your help, the good doctor in the East China Hospital successfully operated on her in time.’

‘Don’t mention that again, Melong. I just gave him a phone call.’

‘A phone call from the legendary chief inspector made all the difference in the world. Anyway, after the operation, she’s still frail and vulnerable, liable to infection because of her low immune system. With so many healthy people having respiratory problems because of the horrible air, I was worried about her. Thanks to the sum the government paid for the unannounced control of my web forum, I was able to buy the villa in the suburbs for her recovery. And I was lucky enough to have a large backyard attached to the property – between you and me – in return for a special favor I had done for the developer.’