Chapter 69: So It Was "Discernment"

"I still think your idea is better—to start with a teahouse and then expand the business..." Zhou Sen believed it was best to start from reality.

"Now that we have the capital, opening just a teahouse would be a waste. I think we can open a restaurant as well, just as you described in your proposal—an open kitchen design. As long as our dishes reach a certain standard, we’re sure to attract customers." Although Bai Yulan thought Zhou Sen’s proposal was hard to realize for now, there were plenty of innovative ideas worth adopting.

"Alright. You’re more experienced in business than I am, so I’ll listen to you." Zhou Sen nodded—coming up with ideas was one thing, but he was worlds apart from actually running things.

"Aren’t you afraid I’ll squander all your money?"

"If we make a profit, we split it half and half. If we lose, just consider it my betrothal gift to you." Zhou Sen looked at Bai Yulan as he spoke.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course."

"Mm. Then you should head back early. I don’t serve dinner here," Bai Yulan said, her lashes trembling slightly.

"I’d like to sit a while longer. There’s nothing much to do at home anyway," Zhou Sen grinned. Bai Yulan hadn’t refused him outright; that was progress.

"Stay if you wish, but don’t go into my study," Bai Yulan drew a clear line.

"Alright, I understand."

Bai Yulan didn’t believe Zhou Sen would keep to the rules, but after she entered the study and heard no sounds from outside for a while, she opened the door to check.

She found Zhou Sen was already gone.

Curiosity got the better of her. She went downstairs and heard laughter from the kitchen below—who else but Zhou Sen and Ah Xiang?

"Ah Xiang, let me tell you, the key to making lion’s head meatballs is the filling. You have to choose pork belly with the right balance of fat and lean, and when you cut it, follow the grain..."

"Brother Sen, how does a young master from a wealthy family know so much about cooking?" Ah Xiang asked in awe.

"I’m a true gastronome. My skills may not match the imperial chefs, but at least I’m not worse than the average cook. After eating so much, you naturally start to learn how it’s made, and in time, you pick it up," Zhou Sen replied without batting an eye.

"How many delicacies must you have tasted?" Ah Xiang asked, curious.

"Countless! There must be at least a few hundred dishes in my head—Sichuan, marinated foods, Huaiyang, Cantonese—you name it, and as long as you have the ingredients, I can make it. As for the standard, well, at least at the level of a top chef at Virtue & Fortune Restaurant!"

"You’re boasting. The head chef at Virtue & Fortune is a direct disciple of a palace chef who has served a Manchu-Han Imperial Feast," Ah Xiang scoffed.

"Manchu-Han Imperial Feast? The Empress Dowager’s been dead for decades; I doubt he’s even seen a real one."

"Have you?"

"I haven’t either, but I do know all the dishes in the feast. These days, it’s hard enough just to gather the ingredients, let alone eat the whole thing," Zhou Sen chuckled. "Let’s not dwell on that. If you learn everything I teach you, you’ll be the head chef at our Ningxiang Pavilion Restaurant."

"Me, the head chef?"

"Why not, should it be me?"

"No, Brother Sen, how could I possibly..."

"No one’s born with skill—it’s all learned and earned through hard work. You have talent. As long as you learn well, if I teach you three dishes a day, think how many you’ll master in a month, or a year?" Zhou Sen encouraged her while mixing the meat.

Listening to their conversation from outside the window, Bai Yulan fell into deep thought.

In fact, Zhou Sen knew Bai Yulan was outside. Though he appeared to be speaking just to Ah Xiang, he was actually speaking to her as well.

In the end, Bai Yulan didn’t knock. She listened for a while and then returned upstairs.

...

Sipping the fresh mushroom soup, Bai Yulan asked Ah Xiang, "He’s gone?"

"Brother Sen said since you didn’t invite him for dinner, why would he stay?" Ah Xiang nodded.

"Why was he so obedient this time?"

That stumped Ah Xiang. The way these two talked, always so roundabout—how could anyone else possibly guess?

"Did he teach you to make this steamed pork?"

"Ah..."

"Ah what? In the future, when he teaches you, pay attention and learn properly. Don’t fool around. Understood?" Bai Yulan scolded.

"Oh, so you heard it all. Jealous, are you?" Ah Xiang teased.

"You cheeky brat, looking for trouble, are you..."

...

Back at home, Zhou Sen shrugged off his coat, kicked off his shoes, and collapsed onto the sofa. He was exhausted, especially after learning that old man Anthony had taken part in the notorious top-secret assassination mission, "Operation Bear". His peace of mind was gone.

Damn, he’d landed himself in a pit with no bottom.

How was he supposed to play this hand? The man was dead, leaving a mess behind, and then there was this "Pastor"—these secret organizations never ended well for anyone involved.

It was enough to drive anyone crazy.

"Young master Vasim, what would you like for dinner?" Irina came over to ask.

"Anything. Just make me a bowl of noodles," Zhou Sen replied, realizing he didn’t have much appetite.

"Very well." Irina didn’t ask more. She merely followed her young master’s orders.

Zhou Sen searched his memory for everything he knew about "Operation Bear": it was a Japanese intelligence operation, dispatching an assassination team into Soviet territory by way of a third country.

They entered a seaside villa through a drainage pipe, intending to carry out the assassination in the bathroom. But the Soviets had already gotten wind of the plan.

The team was surrounded by border troops before they even crossed into Soviet territory. The mission failed; some made it back alive, others were shot dead on the spot.

If Akihama no Suke hadn’t lied, then old Anthony was one of those killed in action.

Afterwards, the Japanese concluded that the mission had failed due to an internal leak, with a Soviet mole among the White Russian members of the team.

In other words, someone had tipped off the Soviets.

No one knew who this person was, not even the Japanese intelligence agency. Thus, both the survivors and the dead were under suspicion.

Though Anthony was dead, he too would fall under suspicion by the Japanese. If Anthony was the Soviet mole, he couldn’t have acted alone. He must have had a handler or a subordinate in Harbin, and anyone close to him would be suspect.

As Anthony’s adopted son, Zhou Sen was the prime target. With a convenient police identity, he was ideally placed.

Zhou Sen knew that, in reality, Japanese intelligence had investigated for a long time but never found the supposed Soviet mole. The true leak was in Tokyo, not Manchuria, much less Harbin.

It was the infamous "Ramza" group.

In fact, there may not have been a Soviet spy in "Operation Bear" at all. It was likely a fabrication or a deliberate leak by the Soviets to send Japanese intelligence off track.

That was entirely possible. To protect their own strategic assets, the Soviets could have planted false information through secret channels—a standard counterintelligence move.

The senseless kidnapping, then sudden release...

The original Zhou Sen might have believed the Japanese story, but now, not a word of it made sense. For all he knew, old Anthony was still alive, undergoing Japanese scrutiny.

If Anthony was alive and the Japanese claimed he was dead, that meant they were watching and investigating Zhou Sen himself. Did they suspect he was the leak?

That would explain the bug in the study’s chandelier.

No one but the Japanese could have planted it.

Perhaps they hadn’t noticed anything unusual about him yet, but those two nights he’d listened to Russian radio...

Now that was trouble—listening to Russian broadcasts late at night, and for two nights in a row. No explanation would clear him.

The more he tried to explain, the more suspicious it would seem. Since they hadn’t confronted him immediately, there was no need to bring it up in the future.

But that parable—it sounded like it was meant for him. Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence?

If the hunter and the wolf referred to Anthony and himself, then with the hunter dead, the wolf lived.

But in the story, the wolf died to save the hunter. The wolf died, and the hunter lived.

In other words, one had to die for the other to live. Anthony’s death ensured his survival.

Was he overthinking things? Was there really such a hidden message?

But if the hunter was dead, how could he still send him a message like that? Unless...

If that were so, didn’t it mean Anthony was still alive?

"Young master Vasim, the noodles are ready. Would you like to eat now?" Irina came over, bending down to ask.

"Yes, alright, I’m coming."

He wasn’t used to eating noodles with a knife and fork and preferred chopsticks. Once he’d eaten his fill, Zhou Sen went straight upstairs.

Back in his room, he closed the door and returned to his earlier thoughts.

He reviewed every detail of his life since awakening in the Ningxiang Pavilion, leaving nothing out.

Any detail that seemed abnormal or illogical, he wrote down in pencil, marking the time.

He also included things he’d never told anyone—being followed, and finding the bug in the house.

Tracing this line, Zhou Sen realized there was an invisible hand orchestrating everything.

From the moment he’d been abruptly promoted to lieutenant, his life had veered from ordinary reality into turmoil.

Although Zhou Sen hadn’t had professional special training, his predecessor had some experience, and his own years of work had honed his logical reasoning and analytical skills beyond the average person.

The Japanese had pulled all sorts of tricks—assigning him cases, arranging surveillance, bugging his home. Wasn’t their aim obvious?

They suspected Anthony was a spy in "Operation Bear" and wanted to find a breakthrough through Zhou Sen, or perhaps they suspected him directly.

This was a special kind of vetting.

Zhou Sen tossed his notes into the fireplace and burned every last scrap, then lay down on the bed.

How should he respond next? Would the Japanese continue to test him?

Zhou Sen found himself unable to sleep...