Esteban seemed to have grown thinner, and looked slightly worn out, but was still in high spirits.
Like Darae he was filled with all the arrogance in the world.
The green-haired monster emerged in Mengliu’s mind, along with the robot, and the metallic flavour of that place. ‘I saw a green-haired monster,’ he confided in Esteban.
‘What …monster?’ Esteban asked.
‘A green-haired monster. Your spiritual leader.’
The academic report had ended. It was time for a short break.
On the round table sat a teapot with a spout that resembled the male genitalia. The golden glasses had long stems inlaid with diamonds, and mouths which resembled female genitalia.
The blonde girl picked up the teapot and appeared to pour out a stream of pearls. All that could be heard was a shrill tinkling sound.
Mengliu was thirsty, as if his whole body was on fire.
Before the start of the discussion, Esteban introduced Mengliu to the gathering, calling him a poet. He made particular mention of the fact that he was a carrier of excellent genes.
Still in a daze, Mengliu learned that the blonde girl’s name was Rania, and that she was one of Juli’s students.
Esteban finally introduced Darae, as the young artist who had crafted the naked sculpture of the spiritual leader.
Mengliu shook hands with Darae and was secretly amazed at how soft and smooth his hand was.
In a flash, he thought of Hei Chun, Bai Qiu, the years they had shared together, and the girls.
He sat down, feeling shaken.
‘Mr Yuan, you don’t look well. It seems you need a rest,’ Rania said. The syllables blew from her teeth and lips like a breeze over the valley. Behind her, the blue sea sparkled.
‘It’s like you’ve not quite woken up.’ Darae’s tone was suspicious.
Juli’s face was impassive as she looked at the bundle of papers in her hand, occasionally correcting a line with her pen. She appeared quite confident.
‘Let’s continue with the discussion,’ said Esteban. ‘As for crime, let’s say someone goes into another person’s garden and steals some peaches, or chickens, or perhaps even kills a person. Everyone would agree that these are crimes, and that the criminal should be punished. But when one country invades another, destroying their ancestral temples, snatching treasures, and killing millions of people, it is not considered a crime. On the contrary, it is celebrated. But the nature of these two acts is exactly the same. Both are unjust, both are crimes…’
‘Only people who are dissatisfied with the status quo are eager to rebel, and then dispossessed people make trouble, taking every opportunity to gain something from the chaos,’ Darae interjected. ‘Some governments will try to suppress the confusion by using torture, plundering and kidnapping, thereby reducing the people to beggars. If all the people in the country are beggars, then the whole nation becomes the private property of a small group or elite, much to the sorrow of the people.’
Mengliu’s mind was a little foggy. ‘You are all the private property of the green-haired monster!’
Rania hesitated for a moment, but did not alter the course of the discussion. ‘If the country is private property, it is an autocracy, like a person running his or her private business. No matter how many workers he has, the benefits all go to the business owner, and the workers are under the supervision of the owner alone. But if you look at it another way, it’s like a joint venture, and the people are the shareholders. As the company suffers losses or gains profits, the shareholders will be affected. Everyone has a right to have a say in the company’s operations, and everyone has the obligation to give to the company.’
‘You are all the private property of the green-haired monster. She told me so herself!’
Esteban suddenly turned to address Mengliu. ‘I hear that the crime rate in some of your cities is particularly high because of social dissatisfaction and hatred. What do you think of this situation?’
It seemed no one had heard what Mengliu had said. But he was still thinking of the green-haired monster.
‘Do you have hatred in your heart, Mr Yuan?’ Esteban asked, one hand playing with his teacup.
‘What hatred?’ asked Mengliu.
‘Maybe toward women, such as…’
‘No.’
‘I heard that your people like fancy clothes and elaborate dressing, but that very few think of their spiritual adornment. They never look up at the sun or moon or stars, but are entranced by the sparkle of jewels. Do you think this makes people more noble, Mr Yuan?’ Esteban continued.
As he listened to Esteban’s undisguised sarcasm, Mengliu’s blood was stirred.
‘Of course not. I don’t deny that there are a few who live in great luxury. We can’t expect everyone to live on bread and water. Since you find it impossible to see nobility in outer displays, then what does it matter if some dress freshly and brightly? You can wrap the same body in linen or silk, but it won’t change the spirit of the person. For me, I think a life written in blood is the most noble. Perhaps you want to say that people taking off their hats or bowing to you can’t really make you happy. They can’t cure rheumatism or correct vision either, but I think no one is really all that concerned about who wears a fur, or how they kneel before a diamond. After all, it is the person wearing these things that they pay respect to.’
He spoke quickly, like a burst of machine-gun fire. He suddenly felt that his own words were fresh, and nicely expressive of his thoughts. Because of the pleasure his own remarks gave him, he no longer felt that this sort of discussion was as ridiculous as talking about poetry in a meeting of doctors.
Esteban was very gentlemanly, but his words were oppressive. ‘When the state is rich, there are massive construction projects everywhere, money is spent, and things get done. The government has shown results, but poor taste. To put it plainly, the emphasis is on showing off wealth. If the whole country is this way, no wonder the people…’
‘There is indeed a phenomenon of the sort you speak of, but you shouldn’t generalise. In any case, the government is always there to serve the people, for the benefit of the people…’ Having said this, Mengliu’s voice grew noticeably weaker.
‘Serve the people?’ Rania laughed, leaning her head over. ‘Will those in power serve as nannies to the people? Do you really believe such a childish pack of lies?’
‘Mr Yuan, I’m also inclined to think you are joking,’ Darae said confidently, touching the buttons on his cuffs. ‘In democratic countries, you shouldn’t have to wash the people’s diapers.’
‘I think that the type of government should suit the type of citizens in a country,’ Esteban said.
Rania retorted, ‘No. The type of government determines what type of citizens a country has. What type of chicken you have determines what sort of eggs you’ll get.’
‘That’s also not necessarily the case. An ugly chicken may lay double-yolked eggs. Some chickens have beautiful feathers, are gorgeous and elegant, but they still lay small ugly eggs.’ Darae laughed smugly at his own development of the metaphor.