With unbelievable ease, Abing had resolved Unit 701’s predicament and even relieved the immediate danger then facing the nation. In the span of a few months he had done more, and done better, than all of 701’s operatives’ achievements combined. Thus he ought to have received the reverence, love and respect due to him from Unit 701, as well as honour and decoration for his triumph. If it weren’t for the fact that, by its very nature, the work carried out in Unit 701 was secretive, Abing would have become a household name, a national hero even – his abilities and achievements would have received praise and acclamation from all. But the work he did was and is secret. The only other people beside those of us working for Unit 701 who even knew of his existence were the residents of Lujiayan. But what does this matter, really? For Abing, there were only two concerns, and these outweighed everything else: the first was the daily procurement of firewood for his mother. This was something he never forgot. The second involved the power and prestige of his listening abilities; no one should, in any situation, ever doubt his abilities.

It should go without saying that these two problems weren’t really problems any more.

After such a triumph, Abing’s life was one of considerable comfort. Occasionally he would be asked by his fellow work unit members to assist in ‘remedying a problem’, but other than that, he passed his time as he wished. The organization provided him with his own personal attendant, a man who used to be the orderly for the Bureau Chief, who was responsible for ensuring that Abing was looked after. Every day after breakfast the orderly would bring him along to the towering walls surrounding the audio surveillance division, where the guard on duty would escort him into the compound. Once inside, his duties were light. Essentially, he would deal with severe problems only if they arose, which was not really that often. Most of his time was spent studying Braille and listening to the radio. But, to be honest, he didn’t sit around too much in the office. In the afternoons he liked to go out into the communal grounds and pass the time. He especially liked spending time near the guards’ quarters, where he would sit by the playing field and listen to the young soldiers training, singing, competing in martial arts and generally just making a ruckus. Sometimes he would engage in ‘listening games’ with them. Once I discovered that Abing was frequenting this area, I made sure to give the young soldiers some very important advice: never be disrespectful to Abing and never make fun of him.