The somewhat disillusioned Guo Bing accompanied Zhou Wang back to the bar in a daze and sat down. The woman with an elegant makeup quickly stood up and extended her hand proactively towards Zhou Wang.
"Hello Mr. Zhou, my name is Qiu Yao."
"Hello."
Zhou Wang nodded at the woman with a warm smile but didn’t shake her hand, merely sat down by himself.
Qiu Yao’s smile didn’t falter despite the cold treatment. Instead, she wrapped her arm around Guo Bing’s and whispered something in his ear.
Guo Bing’s eyes lit up, "Really?"
"Of course, since you call me sister, why would I lie to you?"
Qiu Yao blinked as she spoke.
Guo Bing’s spirits lifted instantly but he seemed a bit embarrassed by Qiu Yao’s words. He glanced sideways and saw that Zhou Wang showed no expression, which reassured him.
Expressionless, Zhou Wang secretly criticized in his mind; within this brief interaction, he already sensed that Guo Bing might be taken in by this woman named Qiu Yao!
Guo Bing was somewhat gloomy earlier, but it was unclear what Qiu Yao said that instantly cheered him up.
This was not a good omen in Zhou Wang’s view.
However, as one drinks water, only one knows its warmth or coldness; Zhou Wang refrained from interfering in Guo Bing’s decisions at this moment.
This woman named Qiu Yao likely knows her boundaries to some extent. Even if she doesn’t, it’s alright... Zhou Wang believes Brother Guo will step in.
"Mr. Zhou, would you like something to drink?"
"Rum and Coke, with extra ice."
Responding to Xiao Ai’s inquiry, Zhou Wang casually replied and then curiously glanced at the horse racing live stream on the big screen.
"Where is this broadcast horse race taking place?"
"Hong Kong."
Qiu Yao said with a smile, "Our club has a deep collaboration with the Happy Valley Racecourse in Hong Kong, so everyone calls it ’Horse Race Club’. Are you interested in placing a few bets, Mr. Zhou?"
"I rarely find enjoyment in such activities."
Zhou Wang shook his head.
"Betting isn’t the only offered service here. If Mr. Zhou is interested in raising horses, you can select one here. Professionals from the racecourse will manage it for you, and if you visit Hong Kong later, you can even see your favorite horse in person."
After a pause, Qiu Yao explained further, "This is a relatively quick route to joining the Hong Kong Jockey Club through our introduction. Mr. Zhou, you must be aware of what kind of entity the Hong Kong Jockey Club is, many billionaires can’t even gain entry..."
Listening for a while, Zhou Wang understood that many members were keen on this due to its unique introduction channel.
Subsequently, Zhou Wang flipped through the handbook Qiu Yao retrieved from the bar, primarily about introductory knowledge on raising horses at the Jockey Club; after all, this hobby remains rather niche among Mainland billionaires.
Upon browsing through, Zhou Wang was slightly surprised, how expensive is raising horses?
Merely purchasing a horse costs tens of thousands at the start, with the highest reaching millions.
Additionally, there are transport, insurance, quarantine expenses, and if you include costs for horse trainers, jockeys, stable rent, and management fees, annual expenses easily reach millions.
Even more extravagant than maintaining a million-dollar supercar.
Given that these costs are ongoing, if Zhou Wang were to spend that money now, he wouldn’t have much pressure.
But there’s no necessity.
Firstly, he wasn’t inherently interested; secondly, he didn’t need to integrate into the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s circle. Even if he genuinely wanted to blend in, it would be on his terms, not through painstaking networking.
Therefore, Zhou Wang briefly skimmed through, getting a basic understanding of horse raising to enrich his knowledge and then set the booklet aside.
"Mr. Zhou, would you and Mr. Guo like to move to our trading market for a look?"
"Trading market?"
Zhou Wang was momentarily startled.
"It’s also on this level of the club, a place members particularly like to visit, where you might discover unexpected transactions. If you and Mr. Guo are interested..."
"Then let’s go and have a look."
Having not blended into the scene here anyway, Zhou Wang stood up immediately.
Guo Bing naturally had no objections, and under Qiu Yao’s guidance, the two left the Horse Race Club, walked down a corridor lined with cigar rooms and private guest lounges on either side, and through a hidden door, entered a spacious hall.
Though it’s a hall, the lighting design intertwined bright and dim areas, reminiscent of an AmbréCie Po Restaurant Zhou Wang visited in Hang City, being slightly far away made it hard to see other faces clearly. On both sides, there were semi-private booth-style seating with very discreet viewpoints.
The entire hall was arranged almost like a café, with some waiters carrying trays shuttling around, each table having a lit tablet screen, seemingly for ordering.
On the small stage in the corner, a girl was playing the violin, with melodic music lingering in the air, one could see a sparse crowd of ten or twenty people sitting throughout the hall. Although more than half the seats were vacant, there were indeed more people than at the previous Horse Race Club.
Bear in mind it’s nearing midnight twelve, considered rare for this many members to gather in this communal space of Building Nine Club, predominantly comprised of older members.