That's an idea, though it might not be cozy enough. Because you have a big place, you can add a few Southeast Asian elements onto a foundation of simplicity. Put in some sculptures or plants, and in no time at all the feeling will be organic and cultured.

That's right. Online shopping has become a norm. There are so many professional platforms. For more general things, you can buy all kinds of goods on internet platforms, like Taobao and Tmall; For more niche things, there are web platforms selling specialized goods, such as the 517 huangjiu website. When I give my friends authentic vintage Shaoxing huangjiu, nuerhong and huadiao, they're all bought there.

In the Repulican Era, most of the literati of Shaoxing were fond of the local huangjiu, and took deep pride in it. People like Zhu Ziqing, Xia Mianzun, Liu Dongyu and Zhu Guangqian used to gather around the Baima Lake regularly for drinking sessions. And Cai Yuanpei couldn't have a meal without a drink. Lu Xun meanwhile took sipping on the sweet Huadiao variety of Shaoxing huangjiu, also referred to as Nuerhong, as a lifetime habit. Xiao Hong once wrote, "Lu Xun likes to drink a little wine, but not too much, he takes half of a small bowl or a bowl." No wonder his works are often so redolent with the heady scent of Shaoxing wine.

The brewing of traditional Shaoxing huangjiu essentially respects the rules governing "the difference in the seasons and in the local environment, the quality of material and the level of skill in any craft," as referred to in the Book of Rites. They use pure white glutinous rice, top-grade wheat and unpurified water from Jian Lake as raw ingredients. In the seventh month of the lunar year they make the brewer's yeast. Then in the eighth month of the lunar year they make the wheat yeast or "qu". And in the ninth month they ferment the glutinous rice wine, and it is not until the start of winter that they put in the grain to start the brewing process, using the traditional Shaoxing compound fermentation craft for over ninety days. At the start of winter in the following year, they start to press it, then heat the alcohol, then they seal it in jars with clay and store it away. Only after several years, or even several decades of aging, do you get a high-quality alcohol like the Huadiao, Nuerhong or Shanniang varieties of huangjiu.

Shao Xing Yellow Wine

Yellow Wine Chicken

Of course I saw them! I went to Harbin Ice and Snow World and I saw a bunch of ice sculptures and snow sculptures.

Did you see the ice sculptures?

These sculptures are very interesting, dear. Do you want to take a picture with this one?

Now before us we can see a large statue. This is the Monument of the Unknown Heroes. Next to the Monument are the remains of countless, nameless martyrs. They didn't leave behind their names and they didn't leave any writings for their families. However, they are in our hearts; they are “heroes”!