Growth-type Super Rich

Chapter 340 - 239: Romanée-Conti

The tangy lemon tone in her voice was so heavy that even the surrounding trainees couldn’t help but shiver.

Yet, this time, no one spoke up to stop her, as in their hearts there was inevitably some jealousy towards Wu Xuanyi.

...........

In the grand banquet hall, the oval table was already covered with various hors d’oeuvres, yet two maids were still busily serving exquisite snacks.

The banquet hall was resplendent and luxurious; an elegant European chandelier hung overhead, with massive candle holders placed at both ends of the oval table. Six milky white candles were lit, creating an exceptionally graceful atmosphere in the hall.

The previous owner of this villa being from Eagle Country, the hall’s style was decorated according to traditional European aristocracy, which Gu Bai didn’t quite like but couldn’t change in a short time—they’d just renovate the unsatisfactory parts after a while.

Two white male servants stood at the entrance to the hall and smiled respectfully at Wu Xuanyi when she was led in by the maids.

She had glimpsed the scene in the hall from outside the door, and her heart couldn’t help but tighten.

Compared to most people, her family conditions were indeed quite good, but she had never been to such a high-end banquet hall, and for a moment, she felt her forearms trembling a bit.

The oval table was already filled with guests; Gu Bai sat at the head, which was the central position upon entering.

Xu Beibei, initially chatting with Gu Bai, saw Wu Xuanyi at the entrance and immediately stood up to wave her over: "Xuanyi, come over here!"

No one dared to be so bold at a banquet aside from Xu Beibei.

Wu Xuanyi quickened her pace and came to Xu Beibei’s side.

"Xuanyi, why don’t you sit next to me?"

Xu Beibei asked Wu Xuanyi aloud.

Wu Xuanyi looked at the seating arrangement: on Gu Bai’s right was Cao Xianzong, the highest-ranking person in the program group that night; on the left was Xu Beibei, and the spot Xu Beibei wanted her to sit in was equivalent to the deputy seat.

Glancing at the others, Wu Xuanyi quickly refused: "That’s not appropriate; I’ll just sit with Chao Yue."

"Ah?"

Xu Beibei was a bit stunned by Wu Xuanyi’s refusal; she didn’t understand these subtleties, only feeling that Wu Xuanyi had the best relationship with her, hence invited her to sit beside her.

Gu Bai calmly glanced at Wu Xuanyi and immediately understood her thoughts, softly saying, "Since Beibei wants you to sit here, just sit. It’s not a formal dinner anyway—just a casual meal, no need to worry about seating arrangements."

With Gu Bai’s approval, Xu Beibei was unconcerned and directly pulled her to sit down, and though Wu Xuanyi appeared helpless, inwardly she was quite delighted to sit down.

Though seating didn’t represent much, being qualified to sit in such a seat was enough to excite her.

Seated across from Gu Bai were star mentors like Xue Ziqian and Zhang Jie, and among the trainees, only Wu Xuanyi and Yang Chaoyue were invited by Xu Beibei.

"Since everyone is here, notify the kitchen to start serving the main course."

Gu Bai slowly instructed Tino Rodlin behind him.

"Alright, sir."

Tino Rodlin gave a signal to the male servant at the entrance, who immediately understood and went to inform the kitchen to start preparing the main course, while the maids, without being told, cleared the barely touched hors d’oeuvres from the table.

Tino Rodlin also poured the already decanted red wine from the decanter for everyone.

"There are still quite a few bottles of red wine in the cellar, right? Did you take some out to serve the trainees and staff outside?"

Gu Bai turned his head to ask Tino Rodlin.

The wine in the cellar was all left by the Grosvenor Clan; Gu Bai wasn’t concerned.

"After the order, I already had it done."

Tino Rodlin respectfully answered.

Gu Bai nodded, then turned to lightly swirl the wine glass in hand and laughed: "The weather’s so cold, yet the program’s being filmed outdoors—it must be tiring. The program still requires your extra effort; I’ll toast everyone here to express my gratitude."

Gu Bai raised his glass, and nobody dared idly stand by, promptly raising their glasses to reciprocate.

Cao Xianzong: "Chairman Gu, you’re too kind; taking money for work—where’s the hardship in that? It’s all as it should be."

Xue Ziqian and the other stars politely returned the toast.

As for Yang Chaoyue and Wu Xuanyi, they didn’t interject but also raised their glasses with a smile.

Gu Bai didn’t dwell on politeness, lightly chuckling: "Then cheers."

Following Gu Bai’s action, everyone raised their glasses, except for Xu Beibei, quietly drinking juice.

Meanwhile, the maids, along with the Changfu Palace kitchen team, entered in a line, placing various exquisite dishes in turn on the table.

Cao Xianzong, noticing the bottle of wine Tino Rodlin had set aside, looked on in shock and asked curiously: "Chairman Gu, was the wine we just drank from this Romanée-Conti bottle?"

Gu Bai, prompted by the question, looked and slowly nodded: "Indeed."

Upon receiving Gu Bai’s response, Cao Xianzong was immediately regretful: "Frankly, I’m also a lover of wine, sometimes enjoying a drink alone, but it’s my first time tasting wine of this level."

As he said this, he couldn’t help but gently sniff the remnants in the wine glass, saying again: "I drank too casually earlier and didn’t appreciate its worth—such a waste."

Upon hearing this, Gu Bai was first stunned, then laughed heartily: "Is it really a waste? Since Director Cao likes it, there are still two bottles in the cellar—might as well drink those. No matter how precious the wine is, it’s meant to be drunk.

And if I hadn’t told you just now that this wine was Romanée-Conti, how much difference could you have tasted?

We’re not professional tasters anyway; it’s just about enjoyment. Value is merely what people assign."

Cao Xianzong shook his head with a wry smile: "Words like that can only be said by someone of your stature, Chairman Gu; we wouldn’t even have the eligibility to agree..."

Xue Ziqian curiously asked Cao Xianzong: "Director Cao, is this wine really expensive?"

Cao Xianzong, speaking without the courtesy reserved for Gu Bai, calmly replied: "This is a 1990 Romanée-Conti, with only a few hundred bottles left in the world, most of them in the hands of collectors. It’s truly a case of drinking one less bottle, its value beyond monetary measure. But if you really want to know its price, I’d say there’s no firm price.

However, at the Sotheby’s auction in ’15, one bottle was sold for a whopping 158,000 US Dollars. Converted by exchange rates, it’s around 1 million RMB."

Upon saying this, apart from Gu Bai’s unchanged expression, everyone else’s faces showed surprise.

Among the star mentors, Taiwanese stars Cai Yilin and Tian Fuzhen exchanged glances, and Cai Yilin couldn’t help but exclaim: "Doesn’t this mean that just one sip equaled tens of thousands of RMB?"

"Talking value is pointless; I just said we drink for enjoyment—let’s have our meal."

Gu Bai didn’t elaborate much; wine worth 1 million might be seen as a rare luxury by ordinary people or even these stars, but at Gu Bai’s level, it didn’t hold much significance.

It’s like how Hugh Grosvenor transferred the villa to him, leaving all the wine in the cellar as a gift to Gu Bai.

Yet the same item in the eyes of people on different levels becomes perceived differently.

Gu Bai wasn’t interested in flaunting in front of them.

It’s a very simple principle—it’s not worth it.

An emperor might feast with ministers but won’t boast about how well he eats.