At 11:00 a.m., the Hilton Hotel was bustling with people. Waiters pushed back and forth with carts filled with silver platters, and guests began to straighten the collars and cuffs of their suits, preparing to take their seats.

Bu Tongxun stood at the entrance of the banquet hall, gazing into the distance at the end of the golden corridor, waiting for Duanmu Ci.

The moment the crowd appeared, Bu Tongxun recognized her family member at a glance.

Even amidst a sea of ​​men in black suits, Duanmu Ci stood out from the crowd. Anyone who looked at him would immediately lock onto this man, not for any other reason than his face that seemed to freeze time.

Duanmu Ci walked over and naturally took Bu Tongxun's hand. "Let's go, the banquet is about to begin."

The Tang family invited many guests, and one banquet hall was not enough. So, the wealthy Tang family demolished the wall between two banquet halls and combined them into one, which provided enough space.

This seemingly minor detail reveals the Tang family's extraordinary confidence. Otherwise, no matter how wealthy you are, the Hilton Hotel wouldn't allow you to tear down the wall.

The banquet hall was decorated in a traditional style, with dozens of large round tables arranged neatly and orderly, each covered with a bright red tablecloth. The waitresses were all dressed in peony-patterned cheongsams, and red "longevity" characters were pasted on the walls. For a moment, Duanmu Ci, who had become accustomed to Western banquets over the years, felt as if he had been transported back to a banquet in the Republican era.

The Chinese have always valued seating arrangements, and seats have never been assigned arbitrarily. The Records of the Grand Historian contains detailed accounts of seating arrangements. In the well-known Feast at Hongmen, it is clearly recorded that "Xiang Yu and Xiang Bo sat facing east, Fan Zeng sat facing south, Liu Bang sat facing north, and Zhang Liang served facing west." This demonstrates the importance the Chinese place on seating arrangements.

The banquet hall now has dozens of tables, and naturally, one cannot sit haphazardly. Those of lower status sit at the back, and those of higher status sit at the front. Each table is marked, corresponding to the position on the invitation.

Duanmu Ci opened his invitation and saw that it was marked "Section A, Class A". Judging from the two "A"s, Duanmu Ci's seat was undoubtedly the best, and Bu Tongxun, as his female companion, would naturally follow Duanmu Ci's position.

The position of "Section A, Class A" is not something to be taken lightly; it's not something just anyone can get. Even Tang Luoluo, who is very favored in the Tang family, has only been assigned to "Section C, Class A" at this time.

When Duanmu Ci arrived at the "First Class, First Seat" seat, it was already occupied. Based on the information Bu Tongxun had provided him over the past few days, Duanmu Ci recognized these people: retail tycoon Liu Ruopeng, transportation tycoon Han Wusheng, and a young man with a youthful appearance whose background he did not know.

Duanmu Ci sat down next to the young man, nodding to each of the people seated there, being polite but not introducing himself.

The young man beside him seemed quite curious. He smiled at Duanmu Ci and said, "My name is Liu Qiancheng, the second son of the Liu family. May I ask who you are..."

"Duanmu Ci." While speaking concisely, the person was also secretly pondering which family's "Liu" in "the second son of the Liu family" referred to. However, the answer was obvious, because there weren't many important figures with the surname Liu in Haishan, especially those qualified to sit here. Therefore, this "Liu" must refer to the "Liu" of Liu Qingyun, the mayor of Haishan City…

Moreover, the fact that he only said he was "the second son of the Liu family" without revealing his father's official position shows that he was a calm and composed person, not the kind of arrogant and domineering fool.

So, since Liu Qiancheng is the son of a local official and represents his father, he is qualified to sit in this seat.

Duanmu Ci never imagined that while he was commenting on whether others were qualified to sit there, they were also secretly judging whether he was qualified to be among them. A cold, aloof face sitting among the titans of Haishan, beside the mayor's son—how could anyone not feel uneasy?

Soon, the banquet hall gradually quieted down, and the guests found their seats and waited for the main event to begin.

Sure enough, not long after, the front door of the banquet hall opened wide, and the brothers Tang Tingshu and Tang Jingchang helped their father into the hall, one on each side. Behind them followed a group of younger family members, including Tang Ke, Tang Rui, and Tang Luoluo, who filed in one after another, making the family appear very prosperous.

Finally, Tang Yijin stood in front of the microphone and said, "This old man is turning eighty, and I am grateful to all my relatives, friends, and colleagues from all walks of life in Haishan for taking time out of their busy schedules to attend my humble birthday banquet. I, Tang Yijin, thank you all!" As he spoke, he tremblingly prepared to bow.

The huge banquet hall was filled with humble voices, and Tang Tingshu quickly helped his father up.

Tang Yijin said, "I'm just an old man, not some leader, so I won't waste any more words. Everyone, let's start eating!"

The guests chuckled in response, echoing the old man's rather unfunny joke...

However, Liu Qiancheng's expression was rather strange, because his father was the highest-ranking leader in Haishan...

Tang Tingshu and Tang Jingchang helped Tang Yijin sit at Duanmu Ci's table. Tang Ke and Tang Rui, as the most valued juniors of the third generation of the Tang family, also earned the right to sit here. It seems that everyone is almost here.

As soon as Tang Yijin sat down, he said to Duanmu Ci, "I really like the gift you gave me. It's so thoughtful." The old man spoke in a tone of praise for the young man.

What Duanmu Ci actually presented was a Duan inkstone from the Northern Song Dynasty. Although it was of high quality, its value and significance were not as great as the painting and calligraphy by Dong Qichang that Tang Ke possessed. Moreover, Duanmu Ci himself did not want to overshadow Tang Ke.

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