Yamada Shinkaku was stunned by what he saw. He was just an ordinary person who, although he had enough to eat and wear, did not have much savings. He had never seen so much money before. Now, a whole box of banknotes was placed in front of him, which made him feel a little helpless.

He glanced at the other man, trying to read something from his face, but Matsui Keio still smiled and said gently, "This is only half the deposit, 50,000 yen. I'll give you the other half after it's done. What do you think, Yamada-kun?"

Yamada Shinkaku felt his mind go blank. He hadn't expected the other party to be so generous, offering 50,000 yen, and that was only half of the amount.

He reached into the box and felt the banknotes inside. After calming himself down, he finally spoke, "I'm just a chef. I don't know how I can help you!"

When Matsui Keio heard Yamada Shinkaku agree, he couldn't help but laugh and explained, "It's precisely because you're a chef that I found you."

It turns out that Shinkaku Yamada was a cook in the mess hall of the Japanese garrison. His mess hall was responsible for preparing meals for the Japanese soldiers. Since the mess hall was closest to the library building, it was also responsible for the meals for the staff and guards inside the library building.

Yamada Shinkaku was the head chef of this canteen, and also the most skilled chef. He was generally only responsible for preparing dishes and meals for high-ranking officers.

Based on the findings of Wang Hanmin and others' previous investigations, Ning Zhiheng observed for a few more days and finally set his sights on Yamada Shinkaku.

"What exactly do you need me to do? Just say it, but you must release my wife and children!" Yamada Shinkaku said again, his eyes fixed on Matsui Keio.

Matsui Keio smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Yamada-kun, I will take good care of your wife and children. As long as you do as I say, I will give you your family and 50,000 yen after it's done. I will never go back on my word!"

Seeing Matsui Keio say this, Yamada Shinkaku knew that the other party would not release his family so easily. The two looked at each other for a long time, and finally Yamada Shinkaku stopped insisting and nodded silently.

“Very good, Yamada-kun, your choice is wise. Now let me explain the specific requirements!”

Matsui Keio said softly, "As far as I know, the Special Higher Police have been ordering meals from your cafeteria all this time."

"Yes, that's true!"

Approximately how many people's meals were ordered?

"Not many, just enough food for about forty to fifty people."

"As far as I know, you're the one who prepares the meals for their officers, right?"

"It's me. I usually only get three servings, but three extra servings have been added three days ago?"

“Very good, Yamada-kun, I am very satisfied with your attitude. What I want to ask you is, did someone specifically ask you to prepare a teriyaki fish dish for the past three days?” After asking, Matsui Keio stared intently at Yamada Shinsaku, giving Yamada Shinsaku an invisible but imposing pressure.

Yamada Shinkaku's eyes widened, and he nodded in surprise, saying, "That's right. Every day at noon, they specifically request that a teriyaki butterfly fish fillet be prepared, and that the sauce be strong to mask the fishy smell. Only my dish meets their requirements, so I've been preparing it for the past three days."

Matsui Keio laughed heartily, gave Yamada Shinkaku a thumbs-up, and said approvingly, "Well done, that's exactly what we're going to do with this dish."

He took a bottle from his bag and placed it in front of Yamada Shinkaku.

Yamada Shinkaku reached out and took the bottle, looked at the seal, then opened it, smelled it, and said in surprise, "This is top-quality mirin. Are you trying to poison it?"

Mirin is a type of cooking wine used by Japanese people. It has a sweet taste and is especially used when cooking fish. Adding mirin can remove the fishy smell and enhance the flavor. It is one of the most commonly used seasoning wines by Japanese chefs.

Matsui Keio waved his hand, picked up a small wine glass from the table, took the bottle of mirin from Yamada Shinkaku, unscrewed the cap, poured a small glass, and drank it down in one gulp.

Yamada Shinkaku was confused by his actions. It was obvious that the mirin was not poisoned. He hesitated for a moment, then looked at Matsui Keio and asked again, "If it wasn't poisoning, why did you do this?"

Matsui Keio said in a deep voice, “You don’t need to know too much. Just follow our instructions. Every time you make teriyaki fish fillets, soak the fillets in this bottle of mirin for about twenty minutes. Then, add more mirin when you make the sauce at the end. In short, this bottle of wine must be used up within ten days. After that, don’t worry about anything else. We will send your wife and children, as well as 50,000 yen, to you. You see, it’s that simple. It’s just a piece of cake for you. There’s no risk involved. Don’t worry, this mirin won’t endanger anyone’s life, and no one will hold you responsible. You can easily earn 100,000 yen, enough for your family to live the life you want. Yamada-kun, not everyone can get this kind of opportunity!”

Yamada Shinkaku's eyes lit up. If it was really as Matsui Keio said, that these mirin drinks would not cause poisoning or death, then such a huge sum of money would be like finding a needle in a haystack. This was a great opportunity for him to change his life. Besides, his wife and children were still in their hands, and he had no choice but to accept the terms.

"I don't know if what you're saying is true or false, but I will definitely do as you say. I beg you, please spare my family, please!" Yamada Shinkaku knelt on the ground and kowtowed heavily to Matsui Keio, pleading.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!