Chapter 4210: Half a Host

Before long, everyone followed Bao Chengzhi's car to a large building. The building had the words "Hudong Mansion" on it. Bao Chengzhi's car pulled into the parking lot, and everyone else followed suit and got out.

Bao Chengzhi said to everyone, "I'm sorry, I don't come to the capital often and don't know any restaurants well, so I've invited everyone to dine at our Hudong Provincial Office in Beijing."

Hudong Mansion was the Hudong Provincial Office in Beijing. Every province had such an office, and everyone understood. Dining at such a place was the safest option; if they went to some luxury hotel, it wouldn't look good for students of this training class.

Dining at their own provincial office, however, was perfectly fine. Moreover, Hudong Mansion was itself a four-star hotel, so the experience would be no worse than at those luxury hotels.

Bao Chengzhi was the Municipal Party Secretary of Xiangzhou and a high-ranking official in Hudong Province. When he came to Hudong Mansion, the reception he received was naturally the best, and he could get a room whenever he wanted. Therefore, considering all factors, Bao Chengzhi decided to host the dinner here.

Everyone nodded and followed Bao Chengzhi inside. Bao Chengzhi's secretary, who was already staying there, waited in the lobby. Seeing Bao Chengzhi and his party enter, he respectfully led them into a private room on the second floor.

The room was quite large, several dozen square meters, and luxuriously decorated. It featured a wall-mounted LCD TV of at least a hundred inches, a circle of leather sofas, and a massive dining table in the center that could seat twenty people. The surrounding walls were adorned with works by famous Hudong calligraphers and painters.

Su Xinghui noticed a calligraphy piece by Qu Ziqing hanging on the wall directly opposite the door. It was a transcription of the great man's "Shuidiao Getou," written with magnificent momentum and excellence.

Bao Chengzhi invited everyone to sit and said with a smile, "Today, I'd like to treat you all to some Hudong specialties. Please don't mind if I'm being a poor host."

Zhang Chongshan laughed, "How could that be? I've never actually had Hudong specialties and am looking forward to trying them. Among the ten of us today, Secretary Bao and Secretary Su are both from Hudong, so you two can introduce them to us later."

Bao Chengzhi said, "Sure. Here at Hudong Mansion, Secretary Su and I can be considered half-hosts. I'll make sure everyone is satisfied today."

Su Xinghui nodded in agreement. Although he hadn't been to Hudong Mansion before, he knew that such provincial offices in Beijing always provided excellent hospitality to high-ranking officials from their home province, so this meal would definitely be top-notch.

Soon, a group of waitresses filed in, each carrying dishes and placing them on the table. They were all beautiful young women, authentic Hudong natives, and as they placed each dish, they introduced its name.

The first main dish served was a Yangtze River Huai fish hotpot. This dish was no simple matter; it was wild Yangtze River Huai fish brought in from Hudong, and it was fresh. This wild fish could sell for one or two hundred yuan per jin at the source, and with air freight costs, the price would at least double by the time it reached Beijing.

Since one wild Huai fish weighed at least two jin, the raw material cost for this hotpot alone was at least a thousand yuan.