A Loyal Character Dancer

about Deda? It is close to the hotel. We can talk there.”
     
    Deda was a two-story restaurant on the corner of Nanjing and Sichuan Road. Its European-style front formed a sharp contrast to the Central Market beside it.
     
    “During the Cultural Revolution, it was called Workers, Peasants, and Soldiers Restaurant,” Chief Inspector Chen said. “Now it has changed back to the original name, Deda, meaning ‘Great German’.”
     
    There were quite a number of young people on the first floor, smoking, talking, stirring desires or memories into their coffee cups. He led her to the second floor, where food was served. They chose a table by a window overlooking Nanjing Road. She ordered a glass of white wine, and he, coffee and a wedge of lemon pie. At his recommendation, she also had a Deda special, a piece of chestnut cream cake.
     
    “You have a reason for everything, Chief Inspector Chen. You were like a fish swimming in triad waters—at the Dynasty.”
     
    “It takes time to crack a hard nut like Gu. Time is what we cannot afford. So I tried a different approach.”
     
    “Your performance was impressive, making friends, and exchanging favors.”
     
    “I’ll let you in on a secret. One of my favorite genres is the kung fu novel.”
     
    “Like the Western in American literature. People know it’s a fantasy, but they still enjoy it.”
     
    “You might say that the present-day triad world is a poor imitation of the more glamorized one in the kung fu novels. Of course there are differences but they share values. For one, yiqi. An ethical code of brotherhood, of loyalty, with emphasis on the obligation to reciprocate favors.”
     
    “Is yiqi so important in China because the legal system is flawed?”
     
    “You could say that,” he said, impressed by her acute observation. “But yiqi is not necessarily negative. My father was a Confucian scholar. And I still remember an old saying he taught me. ‘If somebody helps you with a drop of water, you should repay him by digging a spring for him’.”
     
    “You have made a special study,” she said, taking another small sip of wine.
     
    “Gu is a shrewd businessman. Yiqi does not come out of nowhere. If he sees some future benefit, he is more likely to cooperate. It would not hurt him to talk a little—in a private room—to a chief inspector. That little is all I need.”
     
    “Oh, Gu has more than that I think,” she said. “Mr. Diao, the Hong Kong visitor, may have not left his phone number, but Gu can find him. It really depends on how much he wants his parking lot.”
     
    “You are right. I’ll have a talk with my former secretary at Traffic Control.”
     
    “The visitor could be a Flying Ax. They may have a branch in Hong Kong.”
     
    “As far as I know, the gang does not have a branch in Hong Kong. And a Fujian accent would be hard to cover up. Besides, I don’t see why a visitor should try to conceal his identity from Gu.”
     
    “Why not, Chief Inspector Chen?”
     
    “There’s a gang rule—’declaring the mountain door.’ One has to make clear his organization background and rank so others will deal with him.”
     
    “That’s a point,” she said, nodding. “But if he’s not a Flying Ax, who is he?”
     
    “I don’t have the answer.”
     
    “You mentioned the other case to Gu, the body in Bund Park, with all the ax wounds. Could there be some connection between that killing and Wen’s disappearance?”
     
    “It’s probably a coincidence. A lot of gangs use axes.”
     
    “Don’t the triads use guns at all?”
     
    “Some do, but in gang fights, they prefer knives and axes. There is very strict gun control in China.”
     
    “Yes, your government refused my request to carry a gun.”
     
    The waiter came to their table with a dessert cart.
     
    “In the tradition of kung fu novels,” he resumed as soon as they were left alone, “it is necessary to apologize by making a banquet. This is no banquet, but I am sincere in making my apologies.”
     
    “What are you apologizing for?” She was surprised.
     
    “Inspector Rohn, I want you to know that I’m sorry about my overreaction in Qingpu. I should not have associated my defense of my government’s birth-control policy with the issue of illegal immigration to the U.S. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
     
    “Let’s put it behind us. You pushed your defense too far, and I went overboard, too. We’re both to blame,” she said. The fact was