Sichuan Cuisine Master
Ruijin, Jiangxi.
The surrounding earthen houses were quiet, with warm candlelight shining through, but the dining hall was bustling with the strong aroma of Sichuan peppercorns.
"Ouch! Watch out, it's hot! You little brat, go play somewhere else!" The cook, holding a plate of shredded pork with garlic sauce in one hand, shooed away the drooling children with the other. "Don't grab it! Oops, it'll spill! Get out of here, all of you, get out of here!"
The children, smeared with sauce, scattered and flitted around the tables, acting like dogs. The cafeteria lady serving the food couldn't stand it anymore, so she stomped her foot and cursed a few words in a local dialect meant to scare the children, and only then did they run away playfully.
After overcoming numerous difficulties, the shredded pork with garlic sauce was finally served on the table. The rich sauce coated the white granules, making it look very tempting.
One soldier took a bite, a look of enjoyment on his face: "Eat it! It's not spicy at all. Seriously! I'm telling you!"
"What? I don't believe you, my ass. What if the wound gets infected again? What am I supposed to do then?" The soldier opposite said he didn't believe it, but he still took a bite. "It really is! It's not spicy, it's even a little sweet, and it's crunchy and delicious. It tastes just like my mom's cooking."
Seeing that most of the red-skinned duck pieces on the plate had disappeared, someone angrily grabbed the chopsticks of the culprit: "Company commander, are you a starving ghost reincarnated? Leave us a drop of sweet-skinned duck, I haven't had any in ages."
"Get lost! All you know is eating, you're never enthusiastic about fighting." The company commander sternly stuffed all the duck meat into the aluminum lunchbox. "This is for Old Zhang. The old comrade is on night duty, and you young lads are eating and drinking here, you don't know any better."
When Secretary Deng, who was on patrol, saw someone taking out food, his eyes darkened for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure and said with a smile, "Comrade, please take some shredded pork with garlic sauce too. The cook knows that some soldiers are still recovering from their injuries, so he specially made it sweet."
"Okay, thank you, Secretary." The company commander said, picking up a few bites of shredded pork with garlic sauce and drizzling two large spoonfuls of broth on top.
The company commander got up to deliver the food, but Secretary Deng gave the guard a wink, and he followed the squad leader who was packing the food out of the canteen.
Be careful with fire! The weather is dry!
Startled by the uninvited guest, the mouse hopped into the outhouse on its short legs. A stench hit it, and it vomited repeatedly in the darkness.
The guard patiently hid in the corner. The wooden door creaked open, and the man looked up, took a deep breath, clutched his stomach, and slowly disappeared at the end of the alley.
Only after the alley returned to silence did the guard cautiously look around to make sure no one was nearby. He endured the stench and pushed open the door. When he turned on his flashlight, the filth was mixed with white particles, which looked like they hadn't been digested yet.
Ha, he can't even eat houttuynia cordata, yet he dares to pretend to be from Sichuan and Chongqing. The guard suddenly turned around and bumped into a cook.
The cook smiled憨厚ly, his hands, covered by white sleeves, awkwardly rubbing his apron. The guard, eager to return and report, nodded and quickened his pace to leave the latrine.
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Secretary Deng was brushing his teeth when he was interrupted by urgent shouts. He spat out a mouthful of foam and saw his guards rushing over.
"Secretary, something terrible has happened! The soldiers who ate at yesterday's banquet are all vomiting and having diarrhea, and several of them have even developed high fevers. They've already been taken to the clinic," the guard reported breathlessly, his brows furrowed in worry.
He grabbed a towel to wipe his mouth and immediately ordered the guards to find the head cook and seal up all the utensils and kitchen waste that hadn't been cleaned up yesterday, so as not to affect the cooks' normal work.
Then, five renowned doctors from the town were transferred to the health center for support. Antibiotics and other medications were to be used without hesitation. After hearing the order, the guards ran off as fast as they could.
A bombshell dropped early in the morning, and Secretary Deng's dry eyes throbbed with pain. He had only one thought in his mind—to find Zhao Fengnian.
As if on cue, Zhao Fengnian arrived just then, carrying a washbasin. He greeted him slowly, seemingly still half asleep.
"Come on! Follow me to the clinic." Secretary Deng grabbed Zhao Fengnian's arm and dragged him outside.
"Hey, even if you're in a rush, let me wash my face first." Zhao Fengnian broke free from the restraints, turned on the tap, and splashed water on his face twice.
With the situation outside in dire straits, he was still dawdling. Secretary Deng took a deep breath, barely suppressing his impatience, and quickly reviewed the unexpected events that had occurred.
The rushing water stopped abruptly, and Zhao Fengnian blurted out, "Have you eaten?"
So what if he ate it? Secretary Deng admitted that he had only eaten a couple of bites of food, Mapo Tofu and Egg Drop Soup, and that he had left the precious meat for the soldiers. Suddenly he realized that he was fine, which at least meant that the vegetables and soup were safe.
"Besides the soldiers, who else has ever eaten meat and vegetables?" Zhao Fengnian wiped the water droplets from his face.
"Well, there were seven or eight kids who stole a few bites." Secretary Deng thought of the noisy children from last night and figured a few bites wouldn't be a big problem.
But Zhao Fengnian didn't think so. He put his arm around Secretary Deng's shoulder and insisted on going to the children's homes to check on the situation first. Secretary Deng couldn't persuade him otherwise, so he let Zhao Fengnian lead the way.
After the two finished their rounds of visits, it was already dawn. The streets were bustling like a market. Secretary Deng found it strange. Today was neither the first nor the fifteenth of the month, so why were there so many people?
"Hey, why are our soldiers lining up?" Zhao Fengnian pointed to two rows of soldiers that seemed to stretch endlessly ahead. They were covered in sweat, each holding an empty lunchbox and chopsticks. They waved their hands to shoo away the buzzing flies and insects, and refused to be fed by the enthusiastic villagers.
Just as the two were wondering, a burly man came running under the blazing sun. It was none other than Sun Dadan, who was basking in the heat. Sun Dadan took off his military cap and complained, "Secretary Deng, you've finally arrived! That kid Xia Lang has sealed off the mess hall, insisting there's a spy in the cooking squad. Our soldiers haven't had a drop of water since this morning. Isn't this disrupting their training?"
"Nonsense! Battalion Commander Sun, I'd like you to lead a squad and come with me to the mess hall to distribute breakfast," Secretary Deng said in a stern voice, as if he were about to spit out a spark.
"Okay," Sun Dadan nodded in agreement. Secretary Deng and Zhao Fengnian had already walked a hundred meters away. He hurriedly called his men and marched in a grand procession toward the canteen.
From a distance, smoke could be seen rising from the canteen, but the entrance was a mess, with straw and rotten vegetable leaves scattered on the ground. Villagers gathered in front of the canteen, looking this way and that, discussing something amongst themselves.
"Get out of here! How dare you touch my vegetables? I'll chop you to death!" the cook roared furiously.
A dull thud echoed, sending a shiver down everyone's spine. Secretary Deng knew something was wrong and forcefully pushed his way through the crowd into the canteen.
In front of the kitchen door, a defensive wall made of rice and flour bags had been erected. The head cook, holding a bloody chicken, brandished a cleaver. The chicken's head fell to the ground and was submerged in a pool of red, dying with its eyes wide open.
A group of soldiers stood at the very end of the line. Xia Lang, with his back to them, arrogantly threatened them with a megaphone that if the cooks didn't surrender, he would arrest them all as accomplices of spies.
"Comrade Xia Lang!" Secretary Deng called out in a somber tone.
Taking advantage of Xia Lang's momentary lapse in concentration, Sun Dadan led his team in from the side and shouted at the cook, "What are you standing there for? Look out the window and serve the food!"
The waiting team outside knocked on the kitchen window. The head cook seemed to wake from a dream and waved for the cooks to pass baskets of hot steamed buns out the window. Everyone passed the buns out in an orderly fashion, as if they had planned it beforehand.
"What are you doing? Don't post this! Who knows if their food is poisoned? It must be destroyed on the spot!" Xia Lang shouted, jumping up.
"What do you mean it's poisonous? You're the one who's poisonous! It's all from the same pot. I'm fine if I eat it, but they're fine if they eat it too!" The cook was furious, brandishing a cleaver. The cooks around him echoed his anger, since the cooks were the first to eat every day.
Seeing that the members of the Anti-Counter-Revolutionary Committee were about to rush in, the head cook took the lead, holding a cleaver in both hands and roaring uncontrollably: "I don't know how they dare to come over. Even if the sky falls, we'll eat first."
Secretary Deng and Zhao Fengnian exchanged a glance, a wave of sorrow washing over them. The spies had thrown them into disarray with their little tricks; with such a grand display, even the most incompetent spies wouldn't dare show their faces.
"Stop making a scene. The mess hall is serving meals as usual. Once you've finished eating, go back to training. If there are any problems, come find me." Secretary Deng made the final decision. The members of the Anti-Corruption Committee turned to look at Xia Lang, but didn't dare to make a move.
"Pah! Can you even take that responsibility!" Xia Lang spat. "Is training more important than revolutionary cadres? What if those spies harm the leaders? Communist Party members won't starve if they skip a meal. No one is allowed to give them any."
“That’s right. The commander isn’t a Communist Party member. He doesn’t complain like a reactionary just because he’s missed a meal. The commander doesn’t even know what our Red Army’s full name is. Anyway, the commander should be well-fed while the soldiers should go hungry. Is that how reactionaries do things?” Secretary Deng said sarcastically, going along with his words.
"Deng Gangpao, what nonsense are you spouting again? You're not innocent either, you're involved in what happened last night," Xia Lang said viciously.
"I find this very strange. In this hot weather, food is prone to spoilage if not stored properly, and food poisoning has happened before. Why do you insist that there are spies?" Zhao Fengnian stepped forward and questioned.
Xia Lang shoved Zhao Fengnian away: "You don't know anything! I've been watching him for days. I received an anonymous tip from the public that our cook used to be a big boss who owned a restaurant in Chengdu. When he was the boss, he cooked for high-ranking officials and nobles every day and made a fortune. How could someone like that be genuinely loyal to us?"
Secretary Deng had heard a little about the cook's past. He had indeed run a two-story restaurant, but it was ruined by the Sichuan warlords' extortion and credit, and the restaurant was on the verge of bankruptcy.
The warlord even tried to take his youngest daughter as a concubine, but fortunately we rescued her. He made a tough decision, sold the restaurant, and took his entire family of eleven to join the Red Army. He worked diligently every day, and his son and daughter both joined the army.
Isn't this background clear enough? Secretary Deng walked over with a forced smile: "Comrade Xia Lang, how could you make such a basic mistake? Xie Gaosheng has a good background, three generations of poor peasants. Does that affect his ability to embezzle? The old man brought his whole family here. Does that mean his whole family are spies? This is clearly a divisive tactic used by the enemy."
"Why don't the enemy sow discord among others, but instead sow discord among them?" Xia Lang asked coldly. "You're still protecting that spy. If you don't want to go to the Anti-Counter-Revolutionary Committee, then come with me to search him."
"Wait a minute." Zhao Fengnian suddenly stopped Xia Lang. "Since Commander Xia is so sure there are spies in the cooking squad, we should search openly. Why don't we invite a few representatives from the masses to supervise?"
Xia Lang subconsciously turned around, his face ashen: "Who the hell do you think you are? How can ordinary people be involved in anti-espionage matters? What do they know?"
Secretary Deng was already fuming and had nowhere to vent, so he supported whatever Comrade Zhao said: "I think it's a good idea, Comrade Xia Lang. Don't you want to become detached from the masses? That would violate the Central Committee's resolution. I'll be the first to disagree with anyone who betrays the Central Committee's goodwill."
Xia Lang smirked and said, "Deng Gangpao, who are you trying to scare?"
"Oh ho, I'm not surnamed Xia, how dare I scare you?" Secretary Deng retorted.
Zhao Fengnian continued, "These past few days' banquets were all to honor the combat heroes and, incidentally, to let everyone taste the flavors of their hometown. Now that the good deed has been ruined, I must report to Comrade Wu Hao. Comrade Xia Lang, please be mindful of your investigative methods; he hates torture the most."
"You...you should stop making sarcastic remarks. Let the masses supervise, then supervise. The ones who should be trembling are...the reactionaries." Xia Lang swallowed and relented.
While the two were exchanging pleasantries, breakfast had already been distributed. Under Secretary Deng's assurance, the head cook stopped resisting, only urging Xia Lang and the others to hurry up and check, as the cooks still had cooking duties to complete.
As the news spread, passersby stopped and crowded around the canteen. Villagers eagerly raised their hands to sign up as community supervisors. Secretary Deng randomly selected three people, and Xia Lang also randomly selected three to ensure fairness.
With the candidate chosen, Secretary Deng invited Zhao Fengnian into the room, but Comrade Zhao seemed not to hear him, staring intently at a certain spot. Following Zhao's gaze, a pair of dark and indifferent eyes flashed across the crowd, too fast to catch.
Secretary Deng cleared his throat and reminded him, "Ahem, Xiao Zhao, if the enemy doesn't move, we won't move either. Let's take care of the matter at hand first. We can discuss other things later."
Zhao Fengnian then came to his senses; intelligent people understand the importance of strategic resolve.
Under the dual supervision of Deng Zhao and the masses, the soldiers meticulously inspected the area. The mass supervisors also pointed out some errors in storage methods and other matters.
After all the investigation yielded no results, Secretary Deng conveniently classified last night's events as food poisoning caused by the hot weather. The squad leader received a disciplinary warning and was told to be more careful with food storage in the future.
Since there was no testing equipment, the matter couldn't be clearly explained, and Xia Lang, unable to refute it, stormed off in anger.
After getting rid of the troublesome person, Zhao and Deng rushed to the clinic to visit the patient. By the time they returned to the county committee compound, it was almost dusk. Zhao Fengnian said guiltily, "It was my negligence that allowed the spies to take advantage of the situation. It will definitely not happen again next time."
Secretary Deng patted him on the shoulder to comfort him: "War is not like a boxing match, it's also a turn-based system. When we send out troops, the enemy is also sending out troops. The most common situation is that we fight each other without any distinction, completely locked in a stalemate. Fortunately, we are not without any gains."
Zhao Fengnian nodded in affirmation, "Yes, the enemy's actions seem to have cleared them of suspicion, but in reality..."
Secretary Deng immediately retorted, "This is like trying to hide something obvious."
Haha, the two of them laughed at the same time. Secretary Deng was concerned about what to do next. Should they just arrest people?
Of course not! Even if we can confirm he's impersonating someone else, we can't prove he's a spy, let alone that he's Agent Zero. We must catch him red-handed while he's committing the crime.
As he spoke, Zhao Fengnian pulled a thumb-sized bottle out of his pocket. This was the bottle that their investigation team had found in the kitchen waste. After being confirmed by the doctor, it turned out to be rat poison, which was also the culprit behind last night's food poisoning.
This method was too unprofessional; it didn't seem like something the cunning Zero would do. Therefore, Zhao Fengnian suspected that this person was a newly developed informant for Zero.
Secretary Deng took the bottle knowingly. All the children who had stolen food yesterday were fine. They had eaten almost everything except for the sweet-skinned duck served last. Several soldiers with mild symptoms also admitted that they had eaten very little sweet-skinned duck.
So the situation is clear: the sweet-skinned duck was poisoned with rat poison, and the person who had access to the production of the sweet-skinned duck was indeed in the cooking squad.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Secretary Deng's mind: "Oh right, how did you know it was Zero who ordered the poisoning? What if it was some other spy?"
“This is a mission assigned to Zero by his superiors. He has no choice but to do it,” Zhao Fengnian said with a smile. “Zero launched this attack rashly without being fully prepared. It seems he is under a lot of pressure. Hehe, that’s good.”
"But I always feel that his reconnaissance this time is to prepare for a bigger conspiracy," Secretary Deng said worriedly. Even if he poisons several companies of soldiers, it won't weaken our army's strength.
“A few companies of soldiers are not enough to satisfy him. His real target is the 62nd Division, which will be back to rest in two days,” Zhao Fengnian said calmly.
"The 62nd Division is our elite force; he's got quite an appetite," Secretary Deng said dismissively, narrowing his eyes.
“It’s just a small-scale operation, not something Zero from the Deep Sea can handle. So we must take this opportunity to uproot Zero’s deep-seated roots.” Zhao Fengnian made a pulling motion.
Secretary Deng glanced at Zhao Fengnian a few times and sighed helplessly. This matter is easier said than done. When you're keeping an eye on the enemy, you also have to guard against your own people. One wrong move and you'll lose the clues. It's really a headache.
"Is Section Chief Zhao here?" Chunmei's anxious voice came from the courtyard. She was panting heavily, as if she had run over from somewhere.
"Yes, what's wrong?" Zhao Fengnian said as he opened the window and leaned half his body out.
"Section Chief, Section Chief, come with me to see Lu Wei. He still has news to say. I finally managed to get it out of him." Chunmei said with her hands on her hips, looking smug.
"Let's go." Zhao Fengnian's eyes lit up, and he disappeared into the distance in no time.
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