Chapter 4 Section 3 at the reception

"If I knew you were coming, I would definitely increase the size of this reception by ten times! A full ten times!!" Wenzel just reported his name, John Baines: The host of today's reception immediately held his hand excitedly—as if he was an old friend who had known him for many years. "I often read reports about you in the newspapers - 'There is no case in Liberty City that Wenzel can't solve', this statement is no exaggeration!", he said with a sincere and serious look on his face . Hearing such a formal flattery, even our detective couldn't help but smile a little smugly—in order not to let the master misunderstand that he was too proud, he quickly waved his hand to deny such a statement, and said in the following words Added an additional tone of humility:

"Such an exaggeration! Mr. John, you know: the most frequent thing I have ever encountered was to be deceived by clever prisoners and alcoholic drinks - congratulations on the title of best sommelier!" He shook John's hand, showing the same excitement as his master for the sake of politeness—then, the two excited people smiled at each other, and at first glance, it seemed that they were really good friends whom they hadn't seen for many years, miraculously. It's normal to meet again. Taffy Nico could ignore the courtesies between her boss and the host of the reception.After hastily shaking hands with John, she picked up a glass of Margarita and went to chat with Amy who came to the reception hall early in the morning.

(Author's note: Margarita, one of the most common South American cocktails, uses tequila as the base wine. It is characterized by a circle of salt grains deliberately stained along the edge of the glass, which tastes unique.) Fortunately, this The exaggerated pleasantries of the first meeting did not last long.After the lady left, the conversation between the detective and the host of the reception also became normal. "Mr. Wenzel, please forgive my misunderstanding all the time—but I thought you were a teetotal ascetic! Then, can I, who is barely an expert, know that you What kind of wine do you usually like to drink?"

"Nothing special," Wenzel picked up a Mojito (Mojito) from the serving bar. "As for cocktails, this is my favorite." (Author's note: Mojito Mojito, this famous rum-based cocktail that also appeared as an important supporting role in the dialogue at the end of "Erinyes", was "invented" by Cubans between 1910 and 1920. Specifically The preparation method will be introduced in detail in the next section.) "Ha, Mojito!", the host of the reception smiled knowingly, "A good choice without a doubt - this is a perfect match for the spicy taste of white rum It’s best to reconcile it.” John seemed to think for a moment, and then took the cup of mojito that was not wet in the detective’s hand, and took a sip of it on his own.After thinking about it for a while, he pursed his lips and put the cup aside rather dissatisfied:

"Nicholas' bartending skills are beyond praise? Look, this glass of bland stuff is totally unsuitable for your entertainment - you are my guest of honor!" "It shouldn't be too bad?" Hearing John's complaint, Wenzel whispered in embarrassment - although he had never taken a sip, judging from the handling of mint leaves, crushed ice and olive branches, This drink also seems to do well. He is not willing to accept VIPs who have no wine to drink. The host of the reception smiled, and at the same time made a gesture of "please follow me": "If our Mr. Detective is willing to wait for a while, I can make you a cup of mojito that is absolutely unique in the world!" John promised confidently, "This is a real VIP. What about the treatment - I haven't used my private bar in ages?", he winked at our detective.

Such a rare invitation! Our detective is considering how to respond politely.At this time, there was a thin young man who stepped up diagonally from Wenzel's back very quickly.He tilted his body as if on purpose, and bumped the detective hard.Wenzel was completely unprepared, staggered, and almost knocked down the wine table. "Seals!" John pulled the guy away from Wenzel fiercely, "What are you going to do again?" The young man ignored the questioning from the host of the reception, and let him drag his clothes—several guests nearby also gathered around when they saw this, wanting to know what happened here.

"You have to apologize this time!" John pulled the man's clothes harder, "I knew it was like this, I knew it was like this a long time ago? I really shouldn't have invited you here today!" "It's nothing? He might just be careless." Wenzel straightened his collar and waved to the host of the reception. "You don't know?" Before John could finish his sentence, the young man suddenly pushed away the hand of the reception host, turned around and left without saying anything. Several guests seemed to want to stop him, but John held the shoulder of the front guest rather helplessly:

"Let him go?" he said to the guest. "It's no big deal." Then he said apologetically to our detective: "I'm really sorry—you know, obviously: he must have had too much to drink?" "It's okay." Wenzel smiled—he just happened to think of a suitable and polite answer now: "Now, may I have the honor to accompany you to your private bar—tasting a Mojito made by the best sommelier in our city is a beautiful thing I am very willing to do." "Of course!", John resumed his smile, and patted the detective on the shoulder, "This way, please?"