The Republic of Wine

‘My job is to prepare public announcements.’
    ‘What about your dissertation?’ Mo Yan asked. ‘Is it finished?’
    ‘That can wait. I’m better suited to this kind of work. News releases are closer to creative work.’
    ‘Sounds OK to me.’ Mo Yan said.
    ‘Draw a hot bath for our guest, Miss Ma,’ Yu Yichi said. ‘Let him wash that sweaty, smelly body of his.’
    With a terse acknowledgment, the bespectacled young woman went into the bathroom, from which the sound of running water soon emerged.
    Yu Yichi opened the doors of the liquor cabinet, in which dozens of bottled liquors were displayed. ‘What’ll you have?’ he asked Mo Yan.
    ‘None for me, not at this early hour,’ Mo Yan replied. I’ll wait.’
    ‘What do you mean, wait?’ Yu Yichi asked. ‘Having a drink is a visitor’s first responsibility after arriving in Liquorland.’
    Td prefer a cup of tea.’
    ‘You won’t find any tea in Liquorland,’ Yu Yichi replied. ‘Liquor is our tea.’
    ‘When in Rome, Sir,’ Li Yidou urged Mo Yan.
    ‘Well, all right.’
    ‘Come here and choose your poison,’ Yu Yichi said.
    The array of bottles filled with the finest liquor available nearly made Mo Yan’s head swim.
    ‘They tell me you’re a class-A drunk,’ Yu Yichi commented. ‘Is that right?’
    ‘To tell the truth, I’m not that good at holding my liquor, and my knowledge of the subject is severely limited.’
    ‘Modesty does not become you,’ Yu Yichi said. ‘Besides, I’ve read all the letters you wrote to Li Yidou.’
    Mo Yan flashed an unhappy look at Li Yidou, who rushed to his own defense: ‘General Manager Yu is one of us. There’s nothing to worry about.’
    Yu Yichi took out a bottle of Overlapping Green Ants and said, ‘After a night on the train, you’d better try something on the mild side.’
    ‘Overlapping Green Ants is an excellent choice,’ Li Yidou said agreeably. ‘One of my father-in-law’s creations. It’s distilled from sorghum and mung beans. To that is added a dozen or more rare, aromatic medicinal herbs. Drinking it is akin to listening to a classical beauty play a zither, a magically conceived rendition that has you pondering things from the remote past.’
    ‘Enough already,’ Yu Yichi cut in. ‘You and your quack sales methods.’
    ‘Now you know why I was transferred to the Department of Propaganda. Publicity is what we need for our Ape Liquor Festival, and I am, after all, a Doctor of Liquor Studies.’
    ‘Doctoral candidate,” Yu Yichi said mockingly.
    Yu Yichi took three crystal glasses out of the liquor cabinet and filled them to the brim with a disturbingly green liquor.
    Before coming to Liquorland, Mo Yan had read up on the topic of liquor, and knew a thing or two about the rules of tasting. Raising his glass, he touched it with the tip of his nose and sniffed it; then, with his hand, he fanned the aroma that clung to the skin. After that he held the glass directly under his nose and inhaled deeply, then held his breath, closed his eyes, and assumed the look of a man deep in thought. After a while, he opened his eyes and said, ‘Not bad, you were right. It has the smell and taste of antiquity, refined and solemn. Not bad at all.’
    ‘Well, I’ll be,’ Yu Yichi said. ‘You do know a thing or two, after all.’
    ‘Mo Yan is a natural-born connoisseur of fine liquor,’ Li Yidou chirped.
    Mo Yan smiled somewhat smugly.
    The bespectacled girl returned just then. ‘The bath is ready, General Manager.’ she reported.
    ‘Bottoms up.’ Yu Yichi said, clinking Mo Yan’s glass with his own. ‘Take a bath and get some rest. You can sleep for a couple of hours, since breakfast isn’t served until seven o’clock. I’ll send one of the girls to wake you.’
    After tossing down the liquor in his glass, he tapped Li Yidou on the knee and said, ‘Time to leave, Doctor.’
    ‘You two can sleep here.’ Mo Yan said. ‘We can squeeze three into a bed.’
    With a wink, Yu Yichi said, ‘Rules of the house don’t permit men to share a room.’
    Li Yidou was about to add his opinion when Yu Yichi gave him a shove. ‘I said, let’s go!’
    Now, finally, I was able to shed my Mo Yan shell I yawned, spat into the spittoon, and took off my shoes and socks. There was a soft knock at the door. Hurriedly pulling up my trousers, which were down around my knees, and straightening my shirt, I went to open the door. The bespectacled Miss Ma darted past me.
    She was smiling broadly, and