"CAW!" Egg hadn’t seen Hah’Er for a long time and missed him terribly. The moment it saw him, it dove right at him, leaping into the air from over a meter away to try and tackle him. It was a game they often played back when Egg was still at the store.
However, the Hah’Er of today was a whole different animal. Back when Shi Gaofei was around, Hah’Er had watched him and Shen Yibin spar every day. Egg’s speed was nothing compared to Shi Gaofei’s. The instant Egg made its move, Hah’Er saw its follow-up attacks with perfect clarity. He didn’t even bother to put down the sign he was holding. With a simple sidestep, he let Egg pounce on empty air. THUD! The parrot crashed to the ground. Hah’Er then casually sat down, pinning Egg under his butt so it couldn’t get up.
In the past, Sakai Kaori would have panicked. ’How can you treat Lord Egg like that?!’ But having spent so much time at Shen Yibin’s store, she understood their relationship. She didn’t intervene, just stood there watching with a smile, seemingly wondering how Egg was going to get out of this one.
"Hello, I’m John Farrell." John Farrell walked up to Shen Yibin and introduced himself. He looked at Hah’Er curiously. "Is this the star of *Panda Hero*?"
"Mr. Farrell, hello. Welcome to Yunzhong City." Shen Yibin reached out and shook his hand. "Yes, that’s him. We’ll be heading to Shanghai soon to continue filming. You can call him Hah’Er."
Hearing Shen Yibin say his name, Hah’Er stood up and extended his right paw to shake John Farrell’s hand. Egg seized the opportunity to escape from under Hah’Er.
"Oh, Mr. Hah’er, hello!" John Farrell was flattered and a little overwhelmed. His children back home absolutely loved pandas, but in the United States, seeing one meant waiting in a long line at one of the few designated zoos just to get a glimpse from afar. There was never an opportunity for a close encounter, let alone a handshake. ’If I send a picture of this back home,’ he thought, ’the little ones are going to be so jealous of me!’
"Boss, it’s been a long time!" Sakai Kaori stepped forward with a beaming smile and gave Shen Yibin a deep bow. Poor Egg, not daring to provoke Hah’Er anymore, flew back to Sakai Kaori’s side, looking thoroughly aggrieved.
"So you two know each other!" John Farrell exclaimed, surprised yet again. After leaving the airport, they all got into Shen Yibin’s car.
"Mr. Farrell, should I take you to your hotel first?" Shen Yibin asked as he started the car. "Miss Sakai, are you planning on staying at the store? It’s expanded quite a bit since you left. You can have your own private bedroom now!" Of the four girls currently working at the shop, Gao Shu and Li Shiqing had been trained by Sakai Kaori, but she had never met Xia Shixuan or Xie Nannan.
"I actually miss the days of sharing a room with Sun and Sylvie," Sakai Kaori said, lost in nostalgia. "Could I stay with Shi Qing and Gao Shu?"
"No need for that. Please just take me to your store," John Farrell said solemnly, his heart filled with the reverence of a pilgrim. "I simply can’t wait to meet this master brewer!"
’Master brewer?’ Shen Yibin was completely confused. ’What the heck? Do I have such a magical being in my store? He couldn’t be talking about Xiaoliu, could he?’
"In Shanghai, I had the honor of tasting the exquisite wine you gave to... oh, no, it was Director Kong. I’ve come all this way specifically to pay my respects to the master who brewed it!" To be honest, John Farrell hadn’t even felt this anxious when he first visited Bordeaux.
"Er, alright. You’ll meet the brewer of that wine, but as for a ’master’..." Shen Yibin trailed off, a thought striking him. ’Considering Xiaoliu’s wine surpasses even Lafite and Moutai, maybe calling him a master isn’t so strange after all.’
Sakai Kaori, in the passenger seat, covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. ’Mr. Farrell is going to be so surprised when he sees Xiaoliu,’ she thought. Meanwhile, Hah’Er had retreated to the back row to continue his roughhousing with Egg. Maphario and Xiaoliu had stayed behind at the shop to work, so they hadn’t come along for the welcome party.
Before long, the car pulled up in front of the pet store. Sakai Kaori and Egg were both astonished to see how much the place had changed. With a few excited squawks, Egg charged inside and resumed its playful chase with Hah’Er in the bamboo grove. Shen Yibin led Sakai Kaori and John Farrell up to the second-floor terrace.
"I have to admit, this is the most wonderful pet store I’ve ever seen!" John Farrell felt that he’d had more than his share of surprises for one day.
However, an even bigger surprise was still in store. "You’ve arrived at the perfect time," Shen Yibin announced to them. "The next batch of wine will be ready in two days, and the flavor will be completely different from the last one." With the experience from the last two batches, Shen Yibin could now accurately predict when the Monkey Wine would finish fermenting.
"Oh? So the wine is brewed right here in the store?" John Farrell stood up and scanned the area, but he saw no brewing equipment, nor anyone who looked like a master brewer. Shen Yibin was far too young—winemaking was a craft that demanded years of experience—and the four young women were even less likely candidates. And yet, the faint, elusive aroma of wine hanging in the air told him that something was indeed fermenting nearby.
"Xiaoliu, come here!" Shen Yibin beckoned the monkey over. "The exquisite wine you tasted was brewed by him. This type of wine has a special name in China. We call it Monkey Wine."
The smile on John Farrell’s face instantly froze. ’You have got to be kidding me,’ he thought. ’That delicious wine, better than anything from Bordeaux, was actually made... by a monkey?’
Shen Yibin was prepared for this reaction. He brought over a ladder and had John Farrell climb up to inspect the tree hollows, which were packed with fruit. Only then did John Farrell finally accept that Shen Yibin was telling the truth.
For the next two days, John Farrell did nothing else. He moved a chair onto the terrace and simply sat there, staring eagerly at the tree hollows. He would check his watch every so often, as if counting down the minutes until he could taste the Monkey Wine again.
On the afternoon of the third day, after all the customers had left, Xiaoliu deftly scrambled up the large tree and chittered down at Shen Yibin. The third batch of Monkey Wine was finally ready.
Shen Yibin quickly brought over a jug and had Xiaoliu fill it for everyone to taste. John Farrell held the liquid in his mouth, savoring it for a long, long time. Then, he silently took out his phone, logged into his Twitter account, and posted a new message: "I have tasted the world’s finest wine. There is no longer any point in remaining in the world of wine tasting. It is time for me to retire!"