It seemed as though the people at Unit 701 couldn’t wait, because the afternoon of the day after we arrived, Unit Director Luo summoned all the relevant personnel for a get-together in her office. Among those present were Chen Erhu, one of the Deputy Directors of the unit, and a cryptography Bureau Chief; Comrade Jiang, the manager of the calculations division; and Comrade Jin, the manager of the analysis division, all of them mainstays of Unit 701. This was described as a get-together, but in fact it was intended to be a mobilizing meeting, since we not only had to swear oaths and sign our names right on the spot, but we also opened the steel suitcase that I had been carrying to discover its secrets (which turned out to be a commercial encryption machine invented by Sivincy, three books of mathematical theory that she had written, and a black folder containing a list of the names of all KMT army officers above the rank of major, senior government ministers, and police officers above the rank of chief superintendent), and created a little special working party of which I was the head, having selected ten top-class people from the calculations division and five from the analysis division to assist us in our work. Comrade Jiang and Comrade Jin both volunteered to join the special working party, and I naturally expressed my warmest welcome. I invited Chen Erhu to join as well, but he didn’t want to, so I couldn’t force him. He mentioned a couple of good cryptographers to me and suggested that I go and meet them and get to know them a bit. Anyone that I wanted, he would transfer to me. I said that would be fine. Huang Yiyi then took it upon herself to start bickering with him. ‘And if we want you?’

Comrade Chen said coldly, ‘I accept whatever the Party demands.’

As the meeting went on, I could clearly feel that Comrade Chen was unhappy about Huang Yiyi. I felt that this was her fault – after all she had only just arrived and shouldn’t speak so rudely to anyone; and when the person concerned was Comrade Chen, she really should be modest and polite, given that he was not only one of the most important people in the unit, but also one of our best cryptographers. At least, before Huang Yiyi arrived in our unit and after she left, he was the very best cryptographer. But in Huang Yiyi’s dictionary there was no such word as modest. That was her problem.