***** Vol.2 Chap.50 More interrogations *****
“Ah-Ching! May-Ling! Ah-Wen!”
Their conversation was rudely interrupted and abruptly ended by Ah-Ming. She was yelling for them to start the preparations for dinner.
“OK, Ah-Ming. We are coming.”
“We are having mantou tonight. May-Ling, get started on the flour and knead the dough thoroughly for steaming. Ah-Ching, we got fresh vegetables from the village today. Go wash the bokchoy and cut them.”
“OK, Ah-Ming.” They both replied and attended to their chores.
The rest of the afternoon passed by quickly. The men came back from the search empty handed and they were all grouchy and hungry. Of course, the Boss was steaming mad as well. He called for May-Ling to be brought to him, intending to make a show to please his men.
“Ah-Doc (he, he), tell me the truth. What is your true intention here?”
“Boss, I have no other intentions. I am a doctor and I want to research the diet of the people in the mountains. I heard that there is no violence among them.” May-Ling decided that the best thing at the moment is to tell the truth and to be as truthful as possible.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“I don’t believe you. You are really a spy sent by the government to find out about our operation here. How many other spies came with you to the mountain?”
“None.”
“None?”
“I am not a spy. If you have the time, I can tell you my entire life history.”
“I would like to hear that sometime. Right now, I want to know how many accomplices came with you.”
“I came alone.”
“No one can make it that far up the mountain without help.”
“It was difficult. But again, if you have time, I will recount the entire journey for you.”
May-Ling put on an honest face.
“Ok, tomorrow night during dinnertime, you can tell your entire story about coming up the mountain to the men and we will see if you are telling the truth or not.”
“Yes, Boss.”
“Now go back to your duties.”
“Yes, Boss.”
May-Ling left quickly. Ah-Ming saw May-Ling coming back to the kitchen and walked over to her.
“Have a meeting with the boss?”
“Yes.”
“What does the Boss want?”
“He wants me to tell the story to the men about how I came up the mountain.”
“Good. Here is a word of advice: Just tell the truth.”
“I have nothing to hide.”
“If you lie, the Boss will know and you will be executed on the spot as entertainment.”
“I will remember that.”
May-Ling hurried to her duties. As she was cooking, she reconsidered her situation and decided that for now, the best strategy still was to tell the truth. She also thought that she would make her story as interesting as possible. She would rather give the men some entertainment than to be a victim before a lynch mob.