The Morgan family members looked at each other. Charles Morgan, the patriarch of the Morgan family, waved at Fang Lang with a smile on his face and said nonchalantly:
"We are friends, so we don't need to worry too much about etiquette."
As he spoke, he actually handed over a beautifully packaged gift box and continued to say to Fang Lang:
"Today is your housewarming day. I hope you like this gift."
Fang Lang was stunned when he heard this. This was not in his hometown, and he had no intention of holding a housewarming celebration. He just wanted to hold a simple dinner to thank the partners of the Global Group and achieve his own goal at the same time.
Fang Lang was surprised to find that Charles Morgan would prepare a gift for him. No one else had prepared a gift for him, so it was very special for him to give him a gift.
This forced Fang Lang to look at Charles Morgan differently.
"Haha...thank you for your gift! I won't be shy about it then."
After saying that, he took the gift with great anticipation, and began to unwrap the gift in front of Morgan and the others. After quickly opening the package, he found that inside was a porcelain plate with a diameter of nearly 20 centimeters.
...
...
There are five peaches and three bats painted on the front of the plate, which symbolize good fortune and longevity. Turning over the plate, you can see another three peaches and two bats on the back.
If you count carefully, you will see eight peaches and five blessings, which has a very good meaning. The inscription on the bottom clearly reads "Made in the Yongzheng period of Qing Dynasty".
Although Fang Lang didn't know the name of this porcelain, he was sure that it was a genuine product and worth a lot of money. After playing with it for a while, he looked up at Charles Morgan and said:
"This gift from Mr. Morgan is so beautiful! I like it very much."
According to Western customs, when someone gives you a gift, you must open it in person and express your appreciation for the gift. This is different from what happens in my hometown.
After hearing Fang Lang's words, Charles Morgan said with a smile on his face:
"Haha... I'm glad you like it. This Qing Dynasty Yongzheng famille rose eight peaches and five bats plate was specially selected for me by a Chinese professional. It is said to have a good meaning."
Although this gift is very valuable, given the relationship between the two families, Fang Lang would accept it without any hesitation.
"Haha...thank you so much."
After saying that, he glanced at Lilith and Mr. Morgan's female companions, and said to Mr. Charles Morgan:
"Let's go in and talk! Mr. Marshall and Mr. Alvin Rockefeller are already here."
Charles Morgan was stunned when he heard this, and turned back to look at Eli Morgan and Harken Morgan calmly. They were not surprised that Marshall, whom they invited, appeared here.
Even though Fang Lang didn't greet them at the door, they guessed that he must be accompanying Marshall.
However, the existence of Alvin Rockefeller was obviously beyond the expectations of several people, which made them all feel alarmed. It seemed that the Morgan family had been dragging Fang Lang without responding for some time, and the other party was not waiting silently!
However, several people did not mind Rockefeller's existence. After all, although everyone supported different parties in politics, there was no hatred between businessmen.
For example, this European support plan is a feast for all American capital. The Morgan Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation will certainly work together to promote the smooth implementation of the plan.
Anyway, it is using taxpayers' money to buy goods from the consortium to support Europe's recovery. No capitalist would refuse such a good thing, right?
Hearing that only Marshall and Alvin Rockefeller were in the reception room, it was obvious that they were discussing serious matters. In this situation, the female companions brought by him and others were obviously not suitable to be there.
So, Charles Morgan patted his wife who was holding his arm and introduced her to Fang Lang. Ellie Morgan and Harken Morgan also introduced their female companions respectively. Fang Lang pulled Lilith over and introduced her to everyone.
After everyone had introduced themselves and got to know each other, Charles Morgan winked at his wife, who then took Lilith's hand and said,
"Ms. Lilith, the men have something important to discuss. How about you show us women around your estate?"
Hearing this, Lilith turned her gaze towards Fang Lang. After seeing Fang Lang nod with a smile, she said with a smile on her face:
"It's my pleasure. Madam Morgan, please follow me."
The other two female companions also smiled at the men, bowed, and then left with Lilith.
Seeing this, Fang Lang smiled and said to the Morgans again:
"Come in!"
The butler Zolf Henry at the side pushed open the door of the reception room, and several people walked in with smiles on their faces. After the door was closed, Wan Chongxin nodded to the butler Zolf Henry, turned around and went downstairs to watch the banquet scene.
At this moment, the butler Zolf Henry was truly shocked. He knew that Fang Lang had invited people from the Morgan family to attend the banquet, but he did not expect that three people from the Morgan family would come.
Although he didn't know the identities of these people, judging from the situation, one of the older men might be the patriarch of the Morgan family.
He had never heard of the old patriarch of the Morgan family bringing his lover to attend a banquet, and more importantly, he brought a rare antique porcelain to his new boss.
With his knowledge of Chinese antiques, he could roughly estimate the value of this porcelain with just one glance. This was definitely a valuable collection.
Could the person who could get the patriarch of the Morgan family to personally present a gift be a simple person?
At this moment, the image of Fang Lang, the new boss, in the mind of the butler Zolfo Henry was once again elevated. With the presence of such big figures, what the boss said about inviting the president to attend the banquet would definitely not be empty talk.
Even in the United States, where capital is king, Fang Lang, who can casually invite the heads of the two largest American conglomerates, may be the kind of person that the president wants to curry favor with!
At this moment, the butler Zolfo Henry who was standing at the door straightened his back. With such a master around, his self-confidence instantly increased, and his whole temperament seemed to be sublimated.
Even standing by the door waiting for the host to call him became something he felt honored to do. It took him a while to realize that he should go in and prepare tea for the guests.
When he knocked on the door with tea, the people inside had already finished their greetings and sat down as host and guest.
The crowd did not show much reaction to his arrival, but continued to chat casually. Mr. Morgan, with gray hair, said to Marshall casually:
"I haven't had time to congratulate you yet, Mr. Secretary of State!"
Fang Lang was also stunned when he heard this. He didn't expect that Marshall would be appointed Secretary of State at this time. No wonder he came back from China. It seems that he didn't return because of the failure of his mission in China.
In response, Marshall just smiled and waved his hand indifferently:
"It's too early to congratulate me now. It will only take effect after Mr. Truman officially appoints me. If that time really comes, I will need the strong support of all the bosses."
Everyone in the reception room smiled knowingly after hearing this.
"Of course, of course! Our project also needs Mr. Marshall's full support, doesn't it?"
Even Alvin Rockefeller, who supported the Republican Party, chimed in at the right time.
Butler Zolfo Henry listened to the conversation between the few people with a calm expression on his face, but a huge wave of emotion had already risen in his heart. It turned out that Mr. Marshall was not just a retired general, but a heavyweight figure who would soon serve as the US Secretary of State.
This news, which has not yet been known to the outside world, is actually already known among the bigwigs, and it seems that some extraordinary plan is being promoted.
Obviously, his boss was one of the important participants in this plan, which made him gasp. After quickly pouring tea for several people, he politely gestured to everyone and quickly left the reception room.
Knowing that what everyone in the reception room was discussing must be a major project, he handed the tea utensils in his hand to a servant without hesitation and cleared all the people nearby out.
After all, for such an important matter, the fewer people who know about it, the better. If a disobedient servant hears it and spreads it, it will cause a big mess.
At this time, he only trusted himself, so he stood far away in the corridor outside the reception room, making sure that he would not hear anything and not allowing anyone else to approach the reception room.
Of course, everyone in the room didn't know, and they didn't care. After all, if they discussed things on Fang Lang's territory and spread the news, Fang Lang would be responsible.
If Fang Lang, as the head of the family, cannot even control his own servants, he will not be qualified to participate in their gathering.
Charles Morgan glanced at Alvin Rockefeller, then casually glanced at Fang Lang, who was smiling and seemed to have everything under control, and then slowly spoke to Marshall:
"I heard that there is a project that no one is taking over right now, right? Since we are all friends, Mr. Marshall, if you need any help, please let us know and we can all discuss it."
As soon as these words were spoken, Alvin Rockefeller's gaze first fixed, and his eyes stayed on Fang Lang's face for a moment. After noticing that Fang Lang also had a frown and a vigilant expression, he turned his gaze to Marshall again.
Fang Lang naturally noticed the other party's gaze. He understood Alvin Rockefeller's concerns. After all, he was invited to attend the banquet by Fang Lang.
Originally, Alvin Rockefeller just wanted to establish some connections with Fang Lang. Unexpectedly, he directly met several members of the Morgan family and the incoming Secretary of State.
The current US government is governed by the Democratic Party, which was supported by the Morgan Consortium, just like the relationship between the Republican Party and the Rockefeller family.
Marshall, who was about to take office as the Secretary of State of the Democratic Party, was naturally a loyal ally of the Morgan family. In this case, Charles Morgan's words sounded like a trap to Rockefeller.
Fang Lang, who invited him this time, naturally aroused his suspicion.
Fang Lang was naturally aware of this, but at this time he could only smile bitterly. After all, his purpose in inviting Alvin Rockefeller was to put pressure on the Morgan family.
I didn't expect Marshall to suddenly come to this dinner. Now it seems that his arrival must have been intentional by the Morgan family.
Fortunately, I invited Rockefeller, otherwise I would have to face the powerful pressure from both the political and business circles in the United States alone.
Marshall was slightly stunned when he heard Morgan's straight-to-the-point words, but he quickly reacted and glanced at Fang Lang and Rockefeller's expressions.
As a politician, he did not want to offend two other powerful capital parties at the same time. But now the topic brought up by Morgan was indeed a problem he urgently needed to solve.
After a moment of hesitation, Marshall gritted his teeth, forced out a smile and said:
"That's true. Since you are all here, I will talk about it. If you have any good ideas, please feel free to share them with me."
Neither Alvin Rockefeller nor Fang Lang said anything. They just looked at Marshall with a smile on their faces, as if waiting for his next words.
Morgan Company Chairman Harken Morgan laughed loudly and said:
"Mr. Marshall, please feel free to ask for your help if you have any difficulties. We here will give you our full support."
This sentence directly represented both Fang Lang and Rockefeller, but no one spoke at this time. Everyone just waited quietly for Marshall to speak.
Seeing this, Marshall knew that there was no need for him to remain reserved. He coughed lightly and said slowly:
“I believe everyone is very clear about the purpose of this European aid plan, so there is no need for me to elaborate on it here.
According to our previous contacts with European countries, in addition to solving the problem of food and clothing for the local people, we also need to find ways to quickly restore the local economy.
If we want to restore the economy, we now face a difficult problem. The bridges and roads in European countries have been severely damaged by the war, and almost only one in ten remains.
If we want to quickly restore the local economy, we must solve the traffic problem. But the local government is no longer able to invest in these infrastructure.
And our US government cannot invest huge amounts of money to build these infrastructures for other countries. This will drive taxpayers crazy, so we need someone to step up and take over the work of restoring road traffic in Europe. "
His meaning was very clear. The European aid plan needs to take into account the attitude of American taxpayers. It is impossible to invest American taxpayers' money in Europe to help them build infrastructure.
This will make American taxpayers rebel. And this kind of infrastructure project is obviously a thankless task. Now no one is willing to take it over, so the government is now very troubled.
But when Fang Lang heard this, he felt a little confused. What was going on? Why was road traffic construction such a thankless business?
Think about the various road and bridge companies in my hometown in the future, which ones are making a lot of money. Those toll road or highway companies, which ones are not rich and powerful, they can collect money just by sitting there.
Could it be that European and American countries didn't have toll roads at that time? That was impossible! As far as he knew, toll roads had already appeared in European and American countries a long time ago!
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