Chapter 1.7

CHAPTER 8

Xu Cheng went to the wholesale food store Dulce Aroma de Oriente, belonging to his main supplier and his lifelong friend, a man named Chew. Chew received him as usual with open arms. Both had shared many dangers before their arrival in Argentina, and Chen was also an important client with his kitchen specialized in certain dishes that were offered in select Chinese restaurants in Buenos Aires for true gourmets in the eastern community. The reason for Cheng´s visit to his business provider was the notice he had received about the arrival at the city of an important leader of the worldwide community of overseas ethnical Chinese. The visitor´s name was Cheung Gui and was a first magnitude member of the Chinese community in Vancouver, Canada. He was also a close friend of Chew and a person of unquestionable honesty.

After the introductory talks with the presence of Chew and other guests, the homeowner sought to be left alone with Cheung and Cheng , who already know the visitor from previous encounters. Cheng´s reputation as an I Ching expert had reached Canada, from where he sometimes received queries and requests for interpretations.

“Chew tells me that you have an issue that especially worries you.” Said Cheung as soon as they were alone.

Cheng carefully explained what he knew until that moment, starting with the email received from China, his inquiries to the I Ching and his fears. Cheung listened attentively and asked a couple of questions about the rulings of the book; indeed, being Cheung himself a cultivator of tradition, he took seriously the verdicts of the Book of Changes. Finally he meditated for a moment and then spoke.

“My dear Cheng, when I was in Canada it actually came to my ears the echo of the slaughter in Fujian. Xu being a fairly common surname in China I did not know they were your relatives. Nobody could explain in Vancouver what lay behind that horrible fact, although there was a general suspicion that this was an issue linked with drugs. I do not know if you are aware that your relatives were changing the nature of their business.”

“Not at all, what do you mean?”

“They were apparently leaving aside the trade in opium and its derivatives and trying to enter the precursors of synthetic drugs, particularly ephedrine produced in China, which is currently believed to be the raw material in the drug business of the future.”

“I had no idea Actually I left China and moved away from my family for my opposition to their illegal activities, including drug trafficking, which I find abhorrent. Where does such information lead us?”

“To thinking of some rivalry with bands that are or intend to enter into the traffic of ephedrine.”

“Have you got any clue about possible suspects.” Asked Cheng.

“No.. We also avoid contacts with criminal gangs.”

“And does the theme of the “eldest son” ring any bell?”

“No ... the only thing I can associate with it is murder a few months ago of one of the largest dealers of heroin from the Golden Triangle, particularly Myanmar, that is Burma, and Thailand.”

“Who was this leader.” Asked Cheng obviously interested .

“ A certain Xie Guang, head of a powerful triad of Fujian.”

“And is it known who replaced him?”

“At least I do not know.” Answered frankly Cheung. “ But on my return to Vancouver I will spread my nets and let you know what we find out.”

The conversation lasted a little longer until Chew came to interrupt because, as he explained, other prominent members of the Chinese community in Buenos Aires wanted to interview Mr. Cheung.

The truck rolled over the dusty path that alternated stripes of poor humus soil with others that were predominantly sand. The plantations were irregular and the shrubs were already the right size for harvest. The heat was stifling for Xie Fu who was traveling in a jeep marching ahead of the two heavy vehicles carrying each eight men armed with guns, supplies and bags and harvested Ephedra distachya. The few peasants watched the movement with a mixture of indifference and distrust and generally avoided crossing their eyes with the grim looks of the militia; they guessed that the presence of these people was bad news.

The convoy stopped in front of a very old and poorly maintained home, in front of which there were playing several children, who disappeared immediately upon seeing strangers. After a while a middle-aged man appeared.

“Are you Tong?” Asked Fu. As man nodded affirmatively he continued.

“I´m Xei Fu. You know what I come for.”

Tong nodded again and returned to the house followed by Fu, who had descended from the jeep. The men waited patiently in the trucks; they knew in advance how that trip would end.

The meeting took a couple of hours, after which Xei Fu left the house with a disgruntled gesture. He ordered the driver of the jeep to move forward a hundred yards down the road and stop. Fu got out and approached the trucks and gave some orders. The militiamen came down with their rifles prepared and began preparations to deploy throughout the surrounding countryside.

The shots were heard intermittently until they finally ceased; three bandits who had entered the house got out of it after heavy bursts of semiautomatic weapons and then threw grenades that shook the walls of the venerable building, which finally collapsed.

It was almost midnight and Xu Cheng was about to go to sleep. Suddenly he heard the hum of the computer announcing there was new email for him. Since he did not expect the news to be favorable he noticed that his hands were slightly shaking as he typed.

The message, sent in Chinese characters, was terrifying. The inhabitants of a small village of ephedra illegal growers in southern China were mercilessly massacred with a total toll of thirty-two victims including women and children. As there had been no survivors the authorities had no clues about what had happened or who had been responsible. The policemen were alarmed and had begun to make sweeps across the area still without results. The fact was associated with illegal trafficking of ephedrine, either for the Chinese domestic market or to smuggle abroad. Cheng recalled the words of the book: Thunder, causing commotion with his appearance. He had no doubt that the killing had occurred only for the purpose of spreading terror, because if all the Thunder wanted was simply removing an obstacle he only needed to kill the village chief and the rest of the peasants would have subordinated to him for fear.

Cheng sat down again by his computer and forwarded the mail received from China to Cheung in Vancouver, adding his own thoughts.

“ …I think both slaughters are associated … this seems to confirm that this whole issue has nothing to do with heroin and opium products but with ephedrine and design drugs.”

With one click he sent the mail. He knew that due to the time difference of four or five hours it would find Mr. Cheung still in full swing. He went to the kitchen to make a pot of tea, with the dual purpose of calming his anxiety through activity and stay awake until Cheung responded from Vancouver.

Three hours later the computer buzzed again, Cheng was partially asleep but woke up completely.

“We have the same assumption as you.” Briefly answered Cheung.“I´m warning to all communities in the Americas, which is my area of responsibility. With regard to the question that was left open during my visit, the son of the extinct opium Tsar Xie Guang is called Xie Fu. However no one has seen him and we have no pictures of him.”

Cheng thought for a moment and answered in chat mode.

“Xie Fu: Is this the eldest son emerged from the bowels of the earth?”

“If so, we will be prepared to receive him.” Answered Cheung.

Cheng pondered the tasks. The main thing was let his relatives know of what was happening since they may be endangered by this new avatar. He thought for a while about not unnecessarily scare them , but finally concluded that he had no right to keep them in ignorance being that the danger was real and lethal. The list was very short; Cheng´s relatives in Argentina included his niece Xu Huan and her two daughters Nancy and Ju Zhang. After a moment he decided that Ju was a child and he´d better refrain from terrifying her and let her mother Huan take care of her. He wondered if it was appropriate to include Huan´s husband that fool Hung, but immediately dismissed the idea. Finally, and without hesitation he included Lucas Colombo in the list.