Chapter 1141: Chapter 429: “Big Shots” (Part 2)
“Mr. Zhou, this is Mr. Li from the finance business, full name Li Shengli…”
“This is President Shi Tian from the entertainment industry…”
“And this one, consider him half a fellow countryman, Zhao Zeyi, Mr. Zhao, who has quite a bit of investment in the Three Southwest Provinces…”
As they entered the private room, three well-dressed middle-aged men and women immediately came to greet them, and Jian Zhuoran quickly began introducing them.
“Mr. Zhou, truly young and promising…”
After a round of pleasantries, Zhou Wang warmly shook hands with the three enthusiastic individuals, taking it as an introduction.
The orange lantern resembling a Kōngmíng lantern hung from the ancient ceiling, and the layout of the private room was meticulously designed. The entrance area featured a tea table where a beautiful young woman gracefully demonstrated tea-making skills while brewing tea.
Regarding the classical Huaxia tea-making art, Zhou Wang consistently held an “I don’t understand it, but I respect it” attitude. Seeing the young lady eager to perform, he stopped to watch for a while, accompanied by the others.
After the young lady brewed a cup of tea, she elegantly stood up, approached Zhou Wang, and offered the tea with a bow. But as Zhou Wang reached out to take it, she shyly smiled and lightly evaded his hand.
Zhou Wang didn’t quite understand her intention, but Wang Lijia’s father, Wang Yan, laughed and said:
“Mr. Zhou, this is the welcoming tea at the entrance. It seems our tea artist wants to serve you personally; you mustn’t take offense… None of us received such treatment earlier.”
“Old Wang, you’re just stating the obvious. How can we old men compare to the elegant and dignified Mr. Zhou? President Shi, on the other hand, is in her prime, but as she’s a woman herself, she probably can’t enjoy the beauty’s grace.”
Jian Zhuoran laughed heartily, and the others followed suit.
Zhou Wang, listening to their flattery, found it somewhat amusing. After all, he usually interacted mostly with younger people and hadn’t heard such old-fashioned descriptions in a while.
Zhou Wang chuckled nonchalantly and let the tea artist feed him a sip of tea.
As the young lady considerately pulled out a silk handkerchief to wipe Zhou Wang’s lips, Lin Ran rolled her eyes dramatically, and Xu Wenqian couldn’t help but smirk as they exchanged glances.
After drinking the tea, they passed through a corridor imbued with classical charm, to find the main dining area behind a screen wall akin to white jade.
Zhou Wang quite liked this design, as it provided an extra layer of privacy.
But after rounding the screen and entering the main dining area, Zhou Wang couldn’t help but frown slightly.
It wasn’t that there was any problem with the environment in front of him, but the space felt a bit cramped.
In front of the window with a view of the Huangpu River nightscape, there was only a round dining table that could roughly accommodate eight people… Saying eight might be a stretch since there were eight dining chairs, but in reality, it was just a six-person table.
Looking at the environment of this private room from the outside seemed fine, but Zhou Wang didn’t expect it to be rather tight inside. Perhaps it was meant to be a small private room.
He himself, plus five other businessmen, along with Young Master Jian and Wang Lijia, made exactly eight people.
Perhaps noticing Zhou Wang’s hesitation, Jian Zhuoran quickly explained with a face full of remorse, “Mr. Zhou, our arrangements are inadequate. The Weijing Pavilion of the Waldorf Hotel is excellent in every way except for one: being a historical building, the layout is limited, and there are only two private rooms in the entire restaurant…”
“Yes, we originally planned to host Mr. Zhou yesterday, but because we couldn’t coordinate the rooms, we had to postpone until today. Unfortunately, the larger room was pre-booked, so we have to make do with this slightly smaller room. We hope Mr. Zhou will forgive us,” Wang Yan hastily explained alongside him.
Couldn’t you have picked a different place?
Although Zhou Wang silently complained in his mind, he didn’t voice it because he felt there might be some ulterior motive behind their insistence on hosting the dinner here.
“No problem, as long as there’s enough room to sit.”
Zhou Wang waved his hand and then asked, “What about my assistant, driver, and bodyguard…”
“Mr. Zhou, rest assured, we have reserved seats for them in the hall.”
“Alright.”
Seeing that at least Jian Zhuoran’s arrangements weren’t problematic, Zhou Wang nodded without further pleasantries, directly taking the main seat.
Zhou Wang positioned himself confidently because he was well aware of the purpose of the five business figures from various fields inviting him today.
Basically, they wanted to inquire about the news of Wangyuan Commerce settling in the Magic City. If they could get on board this big ship in advance, it would indeed be ideal.
But precisely because of that, it indirectly showed their lack of confidence. At least in a place like the Magic City, simply being a billionaire was quite ordinary.
In other words, this group was still a notch below, so Zhou Wang naturally took it more casually.
However, because they were not at the top level, they served as a manageable support, especially Jian Zhuoran, a local of the Magic City with business across various industries, essentially a local powerhouse. If utilized properly, he could help Zhou Wang navigate the complexities of the city.
This was also the reason why Zhou Wang chose to make an appearance here.
…
“Old Yu, why are you only arriving now? Come in, come in, we’ve been waiting just for you guys!”
Led by the waiter to the private room entrance, Yu Zetao and his family of four finally met Qi Kai after many days.