London, England, the world's famous financial center, was once the capital of an empire where the sun never set, and was also a world-famous foggy city. The winter weather here is very similar to that of Yanjing more than ten years later. Almost the entire winter is shrouded in thick fog. But London’s is water smog, while Yanjing’s is smog.
Wimbledon Stables is one of the five largest horse farms in the UK. It is located in the small village of Wimbledon in southwest London and has a history of more than a hundred years. It is a gathering place for many nobles.
As for the opportunity for British aristocrats, the first scene that people think of is a group of women with aristocratic temperament, wearing exaggerated tutu skirts and exquisite cloth hats.
Men were either wearing suits or knight costumes, and everyone was dancing on the grass from the last century, like a group of old-fashioned antiques immersed in the glory of the past.
But in fact, the gatherings of British nobles are very grand. But unless there are some grand occasions, it will not give people the feeling of the European medieval chivalry era.
They are formally dressed but not as old-fashioned as they look in videos and photos. Although ladies will also dress up to attend, tutu skirts will only appear on certain ceremonial occasions. Most of them are more concerned about their hats.
Having an exquisite, high-end and beautiful hat is very important for both men and women. A black coat, shiny leather shoes, a black hat, and a walking stick are the common men's attire on the streets of London in winter and early spring.
Women's hat styles are much more varied, and they don't wear them every day like men do. They only wear their favorite hats when attending banquets.
So at the aristocratic gathering at Wimbledon Stables on the weekend, maybe the knight's costume when riding a horse makes you feel like you are back in the Middle Ages. At other times, men are more like wearing very formal clothes when going to work, and women are wearing their favorite hats. An average outing.
Today is Saturday, Wimbledon Racecourse is holding a small gathering among nobles, and there is an equestrian show that everyone likes very much.
Moreover, the knights in the equestrian show are not ordinary professional riders, but young juniors among the nobles who are coming to the gathering. As a member of the aristocracy in the UK, whether you are serving the royal family, even as a doorman, or working in the government, even as an ordinary civil servant.
These are very decent jobs. You may not get a particularly high salary from such a job, but you can get a good social status.
If you want to be an actor or an athlete, your parents won’t object. But not the kind of star in a movie or TV show, but to be a very high-end opera or drama performer in their opinion.
For athletes, swimming or polo will do if they feel good and elegant. But the best ones are aristocratic sports like equestrian or snooker, and golf can also be used. Others are a bit unworthy in their eyes, and doing so would be a disgrace to their own status.
Yang Dongxu walked into the racecourse under the guidance of racecourse staff, followed by Maserati CEO Carlo Rossi. After several months of screening and contact, Carlo finally found a very suitable partner-the Spencer family.
People may feel unfamiliar when talking about the Spencer family alone, but when it comes to Princess Diana, everyone will probably know it. The Spencer family is Princess Diana’s natal family.
Compared with some people who join a wealthy family, the drama of their mother's chickens and dogs ascending to heaven is different. Princess Diana was able to marry a prince because, in addition to her own excellence, her natal family was also a member of the nobility and had a high status.
So although Princess Diana's resolution was sad, her death did not directly decline the family's side. On the contrary, the Spencer family is still strong and more influential than ever.
For example, they are related by blood to Charles II, the Duke of Marlborough, the Duke of Devon, the Duke of Aberconn, and even US President Franklyn, and Chicago gang leader Al Capone.
"Just came out. This is the youngest daughter of Wolf, the current head of the Spencer family. Dale Spencer is a master equestrian athlete. She once won the third place in the World Equestrian Masters. She is a member of the Spencer family. The status is somewhat special.
Although he doesn't control much property, and he doesn't plan to start a business in any industry, he is very popular with Wolf..." When the two people came in, the equestrian competition was about to begin.
So it's a bit impolite and very abrupt to go up and greet people at this time. Therefore, Yang Dongxu and Carlo came to the edge of the auditorium and sat down, as if they were spectators who came to enjoy the internal competition in the racecourse, while Carlo quietly introduced some important figures to Yang Dongxu.
Although BMW is very good in China, Maserati sports cars occupy a leading position in the world's sports car industry. But both BMW and Maserati are several levels behind the Spencer family, both in terms of assets and social status.
So when Carlo chose the Spencer family, the initial contact was not very smooth. However, after some hard work, he still came into contact with the Spencer family's most favored youngest daughter, Dale Spencer, through some connections.
"After the equestrian competition, she will go to the back to change clothes, then have a drink, and then come out to interact with her friends. We only have less than ten minutes of contact time when she drinks." Carlo continued Said.
"Does she have any other hobbies besides equestrian?" Yang Dongxu asked.
This is when you approach someone with caution, and you are there to accompany them throughout the process so as not to make them angry. How long has it been since he did this kind of thing?
It seems that since the disintegration of the former Soviet Union, although he didn't make much money from it, but he got a lot of favors from high-level officials by virtue of the connections he established in advance, he hasn't asked anyone for help.
"Clothing design, fashion, jewelry, and yes, food. In addition to winning third place in equestrian and being a master equestrian, she is also her own food critic and a special honorary critic invited by Michelin."
"Is it delicious food? This can be something to write about, even if I don't know how much she knows about Chinese food?" Yang Dongxu touched his chin.
If someone like Michelin can be recognized as good by the world, they naturally have their own abilities. Otherwise, why is it not Midonglin or Mixilin who gives the food the same rating?
However, he reserved his opinion on Michelin’s rating of Chinese cuisine. Chinese and Western food have their own merits. If you insist on Western food standards and require Chinese food, it is totally wrong.
Therefore, when a Michelin honorary reviewer discusses food with him, a senior Chinese foodie, he needs to exercise some discretion. After all, this time he is in a strong position and he cannot make it too embarrassing.
"I should know a lot about it. In fact, when many aristocratic families in the UK choose full-time chefs if their conditions permit, Chinese chefs rank high in their selection. There are also Chinese chefs in the Queen's professional chef team.
However, compared to the authentic Chinese food you eat in China at BOSS, foreign Chinese food has more or less changes, so you need to pay attention when talking about it. By the way, British people like to drink tea. "Carlo warned.
"You know, black tea, right? We can talk about this." Yang Dongxu nodded, but still frowned slightly.
Because the contact time is too short, whether you are talking about food or tea in less than ten minutes, it will give people the feeling of being too blunt, and it is very likely that everyone in the conversation will be embarrassed.
Even if we can talk about something very interesting, if we talk about things like hobbies and interests for less than an hour or two, it means we haven't talked about it. If we just feel a bit of atmosphere here, and then the time is up over there, it will be even more embarrassing.
Carlo picked up the important things and continued to give instructions. Yang Dongxu looked at the racecourse and his mind was running rapidly. If you are doing something boring, you will feel that time passes very slowly. For example, Yang Dongxu knows nothing about equestrian. What he likes is galloping horses, and he has no appreciation for equestrian performances.
But if you are in a hurry, you will find that time flies. For example, Yang Dongxu hasn't figured out how to maximize the effect of these ten minutes, and then the equestrian show is over.
Amidst a burst of applause, Dai'er first led the horse back to the stable, and then went to the back to take a shower and change clothes. During this period, Yang Dongxu still had nearly four minutes of thinking time, but the forty minutes passed by in the blink of an eye.
"The big boss of Maserati is actually a Chinese, which surprises me." Just as he was sitting on the chair and thinking, Dai'er, who had changed her clothes, had already come to him and sat down gracefully.
Because the distance was too far outside on the racecourse just now, and because Daier was wearing a knight's uniform and protective gear, Yang Dongxu didn't pay too much attention.
Now when he faced Dai'er and Yang Dongxu, he realized that this girl was nearly 1.8 meters tall, with long brown wavy hair that was the hallmark of a British girl, and a pair of charming sapphire-like eyes.
The smile makes people feel very friendly, without the arrogance or condescending look of a young noble. But there is a sense of distance in the intimacy, as if the Queen of England smiles at you again, looking very kind. But you can't run over and give this old man a hug.
"If you didn't know this information in advance, I think our work is not good enough." Yang Dongxu smiled lightly.
This sentence was a bit unclear, but Dai'er obviously understood it. If she didn't know in advance that Maserati's boss was Chinese, it would mean that she had not done any research on Maserati before.
There are only two reasons why there is no investigation. One is that Carlo's work was not done well. Even if he got such a ten-minute contact time, other work still needs to be further strengthened.
The second reason is naturally that Daier has no interest in cooperating with Maserati, and naturally doesn't care who the other party's boss is, so she only gave this opportunity to get in touch, maybe because she was a little curious, or to kill herself. Minutes were a bit of a boring time.
