All through those days our little team kept circling Huang Yiyi’s office. I went to talk to Unit Director Luo about getting her the very highest grade of food, then I went every day to the canteen to personally arrange the menu they would cook for her. Comrade Zha and Comrade Fei were responsible for data transfer; Comrade Zha would pick up the data from her office and give it to Comrade Fei, who would then take it to the Calculations Office; he would then take the results they had come up with back to Huang Yiyi. In the end even Chen, who had consistently loathed Huang Yiyi, got sucked into the job of data transfer – running backwards and forwards from our office building to the Calculations Office along with Comrades Zha and Fei; running until he was sweating freely and his breathing was stertorous. One time Chen even came to my office to talk about how hard Huang Yiyi was pushing herself. He said – and he really was concerned about her – ‘I really hope she cracks this bloody RECOVERY soon, and stops working like a demon, because otherwise she’s going to break down!’

By day fourteen, even Unit Director Luo was on tenterhooks, and she came to me to find out what was going on. ‘What’s happening; is there any news?’

I shook my head. ‘She won’t see anyone other that Comrade Zha. She’s avoiding us.’

‘Maybe she’s worried about losing concentration?’

I nodded. ‘Her train of thought is now like gossamer – a breath of wind could break it, and then we’ll be in trouble.’

‘So what do you think?’

‘I don’t know … it’s difficult to say …’

Unit Director Luo sighed. ‘She really is a strange creature: one moment we’re all worried because she’s not working, but now she has gone to work she’s going flat out, which is going to ruin her health if she’s not careful.’

‘There’s nothing we can do about it, that’s just the way she is. Once she’s caught up in something, she doesn’t care about anything else.’

Unit Director Luo looked at me and said, ‘I really hope she succeeds this time. Then you can lay Xiaoyu to rest, and I can have a bit of peace and quiet myself. You have no idea what it’s been like. Headquarters keep writing us warning letters, telling us to stop protecting her.’

I thought about it, and then I said seriously, ‘I’m sure she can do it.’

Unit Director Luo laughed and said, ‘I believe you.’

25

The day we had been waiting for for so long finally dawned.