According to traditional Chinese banquet customs, Tang Yijin, as the host, should personally go to each table to toast the guests. However, today's host is too old, so these small matters can only be done by the younger generation—the younger generation refers to the brothers Tang Ke and Tang Rui.

As Duanmu Ci watched Tang Rui and Tang Ke go from table to table toasting, he heard Tang Yijin's voice in his ear, "I know your father's identity is sensitive and he can't come in person. I'm already very grateful that he sent you. Please go back and thank him for me." He was speaking to Liu Qiancheng.

Liu Qiancheng responded humbly, "Grandpa Tang, what are you saying? It's only right for me to do this. Besides, my father also has some news he'd like to share with you, Grandpa Tang."

"Oh? What news?" Tang Yijin became serious. The news that the mayor personally wanted to convey could not be ignored by him. In fact, not only him, but everyone else sitting with him also pricked up their ears.

"My father said that the government may introduce some new policies soon to deal with the current economic situation, and he hopes that everyone can prepare as soon as possible. After all, you are all elites of Haishan's business community, and to a certain extent, you can also represent Haishan's economic achievements."

Liu Ruopeng, who is in charge of the retail industry, then asked, "It seems this is not good news?"

Liu Qiancheng **** head.

Han Wusheng frowned slightly. "Although we don't know what will happen, let's prepare in advance to avoid heavy losses." He wisely refrained from asking what the policy was, because regardless of whether Liu Qiancheng knew or not, he would never tell, as it involved a matter of basic discipline for an official.

After silently keeping this matter in mind, everyone started to discuss it further.

The most common casual topics are things like, "I bought a yacht in London last year and had a champagne party on it, it was awesome!", "I'm hooking up with the hottest model at Paris Fashion Week this year!", and "I'm planning to buy some land in Australia and build a villa complex!"

The slightly more serious topics are things like, "You opened a property development in Central last year and made hundreds of millions," or "Business has been bad lately and you've lost tens of millions."

This experience gave Duanmu Ci a deeper understanding of why Chinese people have seating arrangements; people from different social classes simply can't have a conversation! Can you expect a white-collar worker to talk about things like "British yachts are better than German ones" or "the weather in Paris this summer might not be suitable for a vacation"?

They're clearly from different dimensions...

We simply can't have fun together...

Just as the guests were clinking glasses and chatting animatedly, Tang Jingchang's phone suddenly rang. When he saw the caller ID, a flash of joy crossed his eyes, and then he went out of the lobby to answer the phone.

A moment later, Tang Jingchang returned to his seat. Facing his father's questioning gaze, he said calmly, "It was a call from Nordin, the heir of the Greek Orseya family. He said he would be coming to the hotel to celebrate my father's birthday."

Seeing that the crowd still didn't quite understand what the surname Orseya represented, Tang Jing explained, "The Orseya family are descendants of the Greek royal family. Although Greece is now a republic, the upper class in Europe still generally recognizes the baronial title that was once on the Orseya family's coat of arms."

Descendants of Greek royalty, upper-class European society, baronial titles on family coats—these key terms essentially present the image of a traditional European aristocrat to everyone present.

Even the tranquil mind that Old Master Tang had cultivated for many years couldn't help but be slightly disturbed.

Although this era marked a general decline in royal power, with court nobles confined to their estates to reminisce about their ancestors' achievements, their brilliance still shone brightly. Even world-dominating politicians and businessmen would approach them with a sense of superiority.

As a wealthy man who rose from poverty, after making enough money, Old Master Tang's mind was constantly focused on how to make the Tang family appear more like a prestigious family than a mere tycoon. A family with depth and refinement cannot be built simply with money; it requires cultivation in many other aspects.

For example, social circles.

A family's heritage and status largely depend on the families it associates with. For example, the Shandong gentry during the Sui and Tang dynasties always chose their spouses from among the "five surnames and seven families," repeatedly choosing from these same few families, which even the emperor looked down upon.

Similarly, European royal families are also like this. Although the current atmosphere is more open-minded, and there are many commoner princesses and princesses marrying into royal families, if you go back a few centuries, you will find that the nobles who turned Europe into a mess were actually related. Among them, Queen Victoria of England, known as the "grandmother of Europe," is the most prominent. Almost all of the main figures who caused the world to fall apart during World War I were her descendants.

The same logic applies to the Tang family. If the Tang family can befriend this Greek nobleman, they will essentially receive an invitation to European high society—an invitation that is priceless. Moreover, this involves more than just face; it also involves economic matters. Cultivating good relations with the Orsia family might open up access to European high society, which is what truly excites Old Master Tang.

Moreover, this involves more than just a matter of face; it also involves economic issues. Cultivating good relations with the Orsia family might open up markets in European high society, which is what truly appeals to Old Master Tang. Although the Duanmu family is a powerful Western family, their unique identity as Chinese and their low-key approach mean they can't offer the Tang family any truly meaningful assistance in expanding their overseas empire.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!