After the warehouse was sealed that night, Xie Dongcheng took Yu Zi home to take a good shower and change clothes. Then he drove him to the banquet hosted by the organizers.

Before attending this banquet, Yu Zi was quite confident. After all, he had handled so many brands of wine, and Shandai was one of the few products that had impressed him. But tonight, he suddenly felt a bit uncertain.

There were indeed many wine merchants attending the salon, not only domestic brands but also many overseas vineyards represented by their managers.

Yu Zi stood among the crowd, holding a wine glass, with various perfume scents mingling together. This was a familiar social scene for him, but for some reason, he felt a bit uncomfortable.

Wang Jing was more active than him, with acquaintances everywhere. Within half an hour, he had talked to everyone in the venue.

Yu Zi was lost in thought. Suddenly, Xie Dongcheng patted his shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” Yu Zi looked at him.

“Look over there.” Xie Dongcheng pointed to the side.

Yu Zi glanced over and saw Paul’s secretary, Li Xu.

“Why is he here?” Yu Zi wondered.

Before he could finish his sentence, he saw Paul walking over from the other side, chatting with a woman.

“Rejected our project and came here to find other brands?” Xie Dongcheng asked quietly.

Yu Zi shook his head, “Probably just here to socialize.”

At this kind of banquet, there were many investors, mostly wealthy and prestigious. No one would complain about having too few friends, and Paul was no exception.

Paul chatted with a few people, his smile still on his face, and then he saw Yu Zi and Xie Dongcheng standing not far away.

Their eyes met.

A hint of surprise flashed in Paul’s eyes. He glanced at them quickly, then turned away and didn’t come over to say hello.

Yu Zi felt uncomfortable and pretended not to recognize him, turning around and walking away.

The next day was the main competition. For fairness, the organizers did not allow participating parties to appear in any form at the venue. Only buyers and wine merchants with voting qualifications could stay in the main venue.

Yu Zi and his team could only wait for news in a nearby café.

For some reason, Wang Jing seemed nervous too, pacing back and forth in front of them.

“Can you stop pacing? You’re making me anxious.” Yu Zi glared at him.

“Hey, you’re really…” Wang Jing glanced at him and finally found a corner to sit down.

Around six o’clock in the afternoon, the judging ended. Everyone was called back to the venue.

The results of the Grand Prix would be announced by the secretary-general of the association.

The award ceremony was held in the lobby of the main venue. When Yu Zi and his team arrived, many media outlets were already sitting in the audience, cameras aimed at the stage.

“They’re here too.” Xie Dongcheng whispered to Yu Zi’s ear, “Fifth row.”

Yu Zi looked back and saw Paul and Li Xu sitting diagonally behind them.

The awards were announced starting from the bronze award, with a total of ten winners. The secretary-general opened the envelope and began reading the list.

One by one, the names of the wineries were announced, and cheers erupted from the audience. Most of the winners were domestic small wineries. Yu Zi had mentally prepared himself; even if he only won a bronze award, it would still be profitable, at least he would have stories to tell with investors in the future.

However, after the bronze awards were announced, there was no Shandai from Banyun Wanli.

Xie Dongcheng held Yu Zi’s hand and comfortingly patted it.

“It’s okay, it’s definitely at least a silver award.”

Soon, the list of silver award winners was also handed to the secretary-general. There were five silver awards.

Yu Zi stared at the lips of the secretary-general, trying to read the letter ‘B’ from them.

However, the first winner was still not Shandai from Banyun Wanli.

He counted silently in his heart, and when the second list began to be read out, three seconds later, Yu Zi’s brows furrowed again.

This busy trip, lasting more than a month, was likely to be in vain. He didn’t have the courage to turn around and look at Paul’s expression behind him. He just wanted to walk out of the venue aisle and leave as quickly as possible.

The last name on the envelope was about to be announced. Yu Zi impatiently stood up from his chair.

“The last recipient of the gold award is—”

The secretary-general stared at the line of words and cleared his throat, “From Banyun Wanli, Shandai.”

Wang Jing shouted loudly from the audience, “Holy crap!”

A wave of incredulous discussion erupted in the audience, voices getting louder, almost drowning out the microphone on the stage.

Yu Zi sat back down abruptly on his chair, rubbing his right ear.

“Am I sick again? Did I mishear?” he muttered to himself.

Xie Dongcheng quickly patted his back, “You didn’t mishear. Quickly, go up and accept the award.”

Half a minute later, Yu Zi stood on stage and received the heavy, golden trophy. Cameras flashed incessantly from the audience.

Paul and Li Xu, sitting in the fifth row, exchanged a glance, then discreetly left the venue after a while.

No one had expected that such an unknown winery from Bai Cheng could win the gold award on their first try. Visiting journalists inquired everywhere if this winery was an investment by some conglomerate, but the truth surprised them all.

The winery hadn’t accepted any institutional investment, nor did it have a big group backing it up.

Banyun Wanli’s name was now known by many. Yu Zi was reluctantly detained in the venue, accepting interviews from several media outlets. Eventually, he seized the opportunity during the tea break to escape from the venue.

After slipping out of the crowd, Yu Zi’s first action was to call Wei Yunli to share the good news.

After three rings, the call was answered.

Yu Zi relayed the good news to her in full, still unable to hide his excitement.

However, Wei Yunli simply responded with an “Mm” and calmly said, “I already guessed.”

Wang Jing muttered to himself on the side, “Tsk, such an act.”

Hearing Wang Jing’s voice on the phone, Wei Yunli retorted, unusually high-pitched, “Wang Yuhua! Dare to come to Bai Cheng now, and I’ll shave your head!”

The next morning, Yu Zi received several calls. These calls were from venture capital firms to which he had previously submitted business plans. None of them were willing to communicate with him before, but now they somehow found his contact information and their attitudes had softened, saying they could find time to discuss future plans.

Yu Zi responded to each call but didn’t give a definite answer.

“What are you waiting for?” Xie Dongcheng asked as Yu Zi hung up the fourth call.

“I’m waiting for that person,” Yu Zi said, placing his phone on the desk, waiting for it to light up again.

Sure enough, fifteen minutes later, the phone buzzed.

Xie Dongcheng walked behind him and glanced at the screen, which displayed three big characters: Xuyang, Li Xu.

Yu Zi smiled and looked back at him, “Here he comes.”

Two hours later, Yu Zi and Xie Dongcheng walked back into Xuyang’s general office.

It was already autumn, but the air conditioning was still on full blast. However, Li Secretary adjusted the air outlet, diverting the cold air to the ceiling before letting it circulate a few times to lower the room temperature.

“In the first round, we can invest 10 million,” Paul walked out from behind his desk and sat on the sofa opposite the two.

Yu Zi didn’t respond, seemingly waiting for his next words.

“I’ve read your business plan from last time, and there are some good ideas. We can continue to push forward,” Paul said.

“Mr. Paul,” Yu Zi interrupted him.

“What’s wrong?” Paul intertwined his hands and looked up at him.

Yu Zi shook his head gently, “I didn’t say I wanted to accept Xuyang’s investment.”

Paul didn’t expect him to say that, his eyes dimming slightly, “What do you mean, Young Master Yu?”

“We’ve already communicated with four VC firms, and one of them is willing to invest directly with 20 million. Xuyang’s 10 million… doesn’t seem sincere enough.”

Paul’s expression changed at the words, “Taking advantage of the situation.”

Yu Zi picked up the water glass in front of him, the water swayed, reflecting the glaring sunlight from outside the window. The light flickered across Paul’s face, making him squint slightly.

“I know Xuyang has many high-end chain restaurants. I want Banyun Wanli’s wine to be included in their menus,” Yu Zi said.

Paul’s face changed at the statement, “…That’s asking for too much.”

Yu Zi put the water glass back on the coffee table, making a crisp sound as the bottom hit the surface. He slowly stood up from the sofa, “Alright, I understand your meaning now. I won’t take up any more of your time today.”

Xie Dongcheng stepped forward to the door, opening the heavy bronze door.

The hinges made a long, dull sound as if waiting for a reply.

Paul signaled to Secretary Li with his eyes. Secretary Li hurriedly followed and stopped the two.

Paul stood up from the sofa, standing behind the two. After a moment of consideration, he spoke, “Which restaurants do you want to enter? List them for me.”

…

Five minutes later, the two walked out of Paul’s office again, and the deep bronze door slowly closed. Paul’s gaze followed them until their figures disappeared into the gap.

The first round of ten million investment was secured. Banyun Wanli was about to enter more than fifty Western and Chinese restaurants in North China.

The two walked to the end of the long corridor, autumn sunlight streaming in through the glass windows, casting light on their faces.

Yu Zi hooked his arm around Xie Dongcheng’s shoulder, saying, “A favorable wind accompanies us.”

Xie Dongcheng patted his lower back and said, “I’ll take you to the top.”