Chapter Seven - Bibi KapoorOn the twenty-second of January, Frau Henckel announced that she was leaving Shanghai.
It was the day before the start of the Chinese New Year celebrations and her staff had been called to a meeting where she imparted the news. Xu Wei listened forlornly as his employer explained that she would be moving back to Germany at the end of the month, an unexpected move she said, but nevertheless a shock to those who stood listening to her impeccable Mandarin.
“I have prepared a red envelope for each of you,” she smiled, handing out the traditional hong bao one by one, “And my secretary has managed to find new positions for you all, the least we can do considering your hard work and discretion. Thank you.”
There was a brief chatter of voices as the small group receive
