Chapter 591: Don’t Talk About Work During a Meal
Xiao Peng gestured for Friedrich to sit down. "Why don't I see your beautiful assistant?"
"Her?" Friedrich didn't sit on the stool. His legs were broken at the knees, so he had to sit in a wheelchair and have his staff push it to the table. "I've fired her. Her negligence has caused my most respected partner to feel neglected and uncomfortable, and I couldn't help but express my gratitude."
Xiao Peng smiled slightly. Was it because of your assistant that he was ignored? You're really good at passing the buck.
Seeing that Xiao Peng didn't say anything, Friedrich didn't continue to dwell on this topic. Instead, he tilted his head and said to Zhao Shanhe, "My friend, I sincerely apologize for interrupting your party with Mr. Xiao. Do you mind having one more person?"
"Of course I don't mind!" Zhao Shanhe said hurriedly.
He couldn't face a prince with such indifference like Xiao Peng. Look at Johannes, he didn't know where to put his nervous hands.
Friedrich smiled and said, "Of course, I didn't come empty-handed." He waved to his men, and a waiter brought a delicate small black suitcase, placed it on the table, and opened it to reveal two bottles of white wine.
Friedrich explained, "This is a Schatzburg Riesling from Egon Miller's 1989 vintage. Egon Miller only produces wine in years with good natural conditions, and only a few hundred bottles each year. In the 1980s, they only produced wine for four years, and the 1989 vintage is the best."
Xiao Peng said, "Actually, I don't understand wine. I've drunk a lot, but I can't tell good from bad. To me, the only difference between wines is good and bad."
"You're so modest!" Friedrich smiled. "I can tell from the wine on your table that you're a good wine picker. '97 Palangtu Cabernet Sauvignon. That's a great year."
Xiao Peng said directly, "No, no, no, Wolfgang, you misunderstood again. I don't know how to choose wine at all. I just think that if something is expensive, there must be a reason for it to be expensive."
Friedrich smiled and said, "Now that you mention it, this bottle of Schatzburg Riesling is about the same price as your current bottle of Palentou. So it should be delicious too."
The two chatted, leaving Johannes and Zhao Shanhe dumbfounded. Zhao Shanhe, in particular, was particularly stunned. He was a prince! How could you address him by his first name? And the two bottles of wine Friedrich had brought out so ceremoniously were about the same price as the wine on our table. How much was a bottle of this wine, anyway?
Xiao Peng wasn't being stingy by treating himself to barbecue! He was just embarrassed, otherwise he'd really like to take a few photos and post them online to show off: Look at what the life of a real billionaire is like? Drinking expensive wine and eating skewers! Ever seen that?
When he was in China, he wanted to laugh whenever he saw those movies and TV shows that introduced the lives of the rich. Most of the descriptions of the lives of the rich were fantasies of people who had never been exposed to the lives of real rich people. China is not Europe. How many people can go out like Friedrich and bring waiters who are responsible for opening wine and serving meals?
Even Friedrich was like this because he was disabled, right? The lives of truly wealthy people are actually similar to those of ordinary people, with three meals a day and a good night's sleep, but they can enjoy better, more expensive options and more choices.
Zhao Shanhe felt that it was too much for him to eat steamed buns and drink Maotai at home sometimes, but it turned out that people here were even more amazing, eating skewers and drinking wine that he couldn't even name. Although he didn't know the price of this wine, but conservatively estimated that if converted into RMB, it would be at least hundreds of thousands of yuan per bottle, right?
Friedrich's messenger took out a decanter, poured the wine into it, put it back on the table, then stepped aside and waited for the wine to be decanted.
In movies and TV shows, those sophisticated people will pour the wine into a decanter before drinking it and leave it for a while to wait for the so-called "decanting", just like what Friedrich waiter did now.
Do grapes need to be decanted? Only two types of wine need to be decanted: one is wine that has passed its best drinking period, and the other is wine of too poor quality to drink.
In Europe, there is no concept of 'shelf life' for wine. When you buy red wine here, you will find that there is no 'shelf life' on the packaging like in China. Maybe in their eyes, wine will never spoil like honey. Here, wine only has a 'drinking period', which is the 'best tasting date'.
Over 95% of wines in the world are best consumed within two years, meaning their flavor deteriorates after that. High-quality red wines, on the other hand, can be enjoyed for up to ten years, and even the finest, top-tier wines should be enjoyed no more than fifteen years. Wines that have exceeded their optimal drinking period will have a negative impact on their flavor. Friedrich's two bottles are definitely past their prime, so they need to be decanted.
In fact, the Palentou Cabernet Sauvignon that Xiao Peng and his friends were drinking should also be sobered up, but Xiao Peng is not a red wine drinker so he is not so particular. He can't tell the difference between the two. As long as it tastes good, it is better than anything else.
Friedrich looked at Xiao Peng. He couldn't hold it in any longer and asked, "Did Fabian go to the Netherlands to look for the dredger because you made a discovery?"
Xiao Peng said, "Wolfgang, although this banquet at my house isn't as high-end as the one you hosted for me, we have one thing in common: isn't it nice for us to chat about romance instead of work during dinner? Or is a family banquet like mine unsuitable for your status?"
Friedrich was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "This is better. I feel much more relaxed. In fact, I used to have backyard BBQs all the time. Later, when I got older, I switched from outdoor to indoor. I actually prefer this kind of atmosphere."
He could tell that Xiao Peng was still dissatisfied with him. Didn't the last banquet he had hosted Xiao Peng seem like a way to "show his power" to Xiao Peng? What Xiao Peng meant by this was: I understand what you want to do.
After hearing what Friedrich said, Xiao Peng said to Khedira: "Khedira, please do me a favor and invite Wolfgang's friends to try our skewers together."
Walter said: “Boss, I’ll go.”
Xiao Peng shook his head: "Wolfgang is your old boss, please stay here for a while. I'm sure you two have a lot to talk about."
Friedrich finally realized that Xiao Peng was deliberately leaving him alone. Otherwise, why would he let Walter talk to him and he was too lazy to pay attention to him? What had he not seen in his life?
But he is not in a hurry now.
The fact that Xiao Peng didn't kick me out meant that this matter could still be discussed, but I didn't know what harsh conditions would be waiting for me next.
Thinking of this, he smiled and said to Xiao Peng, "You're right. I just smelled the aroma of this BBQ. Is this Chinese BBQ? It tastes very different from our German BBQ!"
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