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Secretary Tang left, Tang Cheng and Tang Feifei followed suit, and even Li Rui bid farewell to Qin Fang. Qin Fang guessed that Li Rui's visit was mostly due to Tang Cheng's influence.

However, it was a relief. After these people departed, Qin Fang felt much more at ease.

"So many people?"

Earlier, when he had stepped out to see off Secretary Tang and his family, Qin Fang hadn't paid much attention, as the entire lobby was very quiet, and he didn't feel it was crowded.

But now taking another look, wow, the large hall was already packed with people, and even the upstairs hall was full. There were some private rooms empty, not because there was no one to sit there, but people preferred to squeeze in with others. Yet, even so, Qin Fang roughly estimated, the number of guests was no less than three hundred... almost reaching Fang Feixue's maximum capacity.

"Boss, why don't you invite Bureau Chief Ye and his party to one of the private rooms..."

Xiao Qing also had a wry smile on her face. She had invited a few familiar customers, but these people had invited their own friends. Qin Fang on the other hand, was even brasher. Seeing Secretary Tang personally visiting, these bureau chiefs notified many colleagues and friends to come over. Not just officials from Ninghai City, but also quite a few from the provincial level had come.

It wasn't surprising. Secretary Tang was about to become Governor Tang, and those officials would soon become his subordinates. Naturally, they wanted to curry favor in advance...

Moreover, the rumors that "Governor Tang" was Qin Fang's father-in-law were getting more mysterious by the minute.

"Alright, I'll try..."

Qin Fang let out a wry smile, "Brother Qiang, I need your help with this..."

Luckily, Ning Weiqiang and Ning Yumo hadn't left. Their relationship with Qin Fang was different from the Tang Family, so there weren't too many reservations. Qin Fang didn't know these officials who had come on their own initiative, but with Ning Weiqiang standing in front, it was much easier for him to handle things.

"Haha, you kid... now you owe me a favor! Tsk tsk, later on, make me another portion of that dish to take back for the old man to try..."

Ning Weiqiang was not reluctant. Having received Secretary Tang's recognition, Qin Fang was now officially on the same level as them. Moreover, their relationship was already good, so it was only natural for him to agree, but he took the opportunity to make a small request.

"Absolutely no problem! In fact, what we served just now was only the first pot. There are still some smaller portions left for the outside... but now it seems pointless. Let's serve one to Bureau Chief Ye's table, and later I'll make another pot to take back for Uncle Ning!"

Qin Fang nodded. This was actually part of his previous plan, and making another portion wouldn't delay him much - the first time is always the hardest, the second comes easier!

In fact, after this first trial, Wen Yi was also learning throughout the whole process. Now, she could manage to cook it by herself, at most needing to experiment a couple more times.

Ning Weiqiang actually didn't do much. Most of these officials were gathered together, sitting in a prominent location, where Secretary Tang could easily see them.

Now, Ning Weiqiang simply picked a few people to discuss with, and soon these officials stood up one after another and went to the private rooms under Xiao Qing's guidance.

They were all government officials. When Secretary Tang was present, they naturally had to be more low-key, but now that Secretary Tang had left, it was good enough that they stayed. Asking them to continue sitting in the lobby was indeed inappropriate, let alone the fact that there were two groups of gangsters in the lobby. Moving to the private rooms was exactly what they wished for.

After a few rounds of this, basically all the officials entered the private rooms, freeing up several tables. The waitstaff immediately cleared the tables quickly, setting up new ones, inviting the squeezed-in guests elsewhere, which temporarily resolved the awkward situation.

"Qin Fang, this is Minister Li from the Provincial Party Committee's Publicity Department and also the head of the provincial TV station. If you want to advertise your restaurant next time, you can look for Minister Li. I believe he would never refuse, and he might even waive the advertising fee for you..."

Ning Weiqiang introduced the prominent figure with a grin, occasionally teasing him with a comment or two.

"Minister Li, hello, I'd like to propose a toast to you... I'll drink first as a mark of respect!"

Qin Fang was a bit surprised upon hearing this. The Minister of the Publicity Department of the Provincial Party Committee was a member of the Standing Committee. He hadn't expected even him to come personally.

However, while Ning Weiqiang was talking, he secretly gestured to Qin Fang, who then understood the implication—turns out this was a deputy role. But even as a deputy, being able to manage a provincial TV station meant this Minister Li was indeed the most powerful among deputies.

Qin Fang naturally did not dare to neglect and immediately raised his glass to offer a toast.

"Xiao Qin, not bad..."

Vice Minister Li didn't look down on Qin Fang for being young; when Qin Fang drank, he also tilted his head back and followed suit, drinking the entire cup and giving him a lot of face.

"This one is Director Xu from the provincial Public Security Department..."

Ning Weiqiang introduced another person, and naturally, Qin Fang drank another cup.

"This one is Director Tao..."

"This one is Director Fang..."

"This one is..."

Like this, Ning Weiqiang would introduce someone, and Qin Fang would immediately toast with a cup. Going around like this, ten people in a private room equaled ten cups, and after several rooms, Qin Fang had consumed quite a bit of alcohol.

To tell the truth, Ning Weiqiang knew a lot of people. Practically all the presentable officials at the event, he knew—that is to say, those department-level and above. He neither had the time nor the desire to know those below that rank.

But now these people also became known to Qin Fang. Although they were not familiar with each other, at least it counted as an acquaintance. After one round, Qin Fang collected a pile of business cards, and each person expressed that if Qin Fang needed anything, he should call and they would help if possible.

Qin Fang wasn't a naive newcomer to society; he knew these were just polite words, and their reliability would depend on the closeness of his relationship with Secretary Tang.

If one day Secretary Tang indicated that he had no relation to Qin Fang, chances are these people would immediately turn their backs on him. Compared to that, the speed of officials turning their backs could be much faster than flipping a book.

After toasting to all these officials, Qin Fang naturally also had to pay attention to the others outside, and so, leading Xiao Qing, he went from table to table to toast each group.

For familiar friends, like those of the Qin, Tang, and Xiao families, more drinks were in order. Especially when it came to Tiger's table, at least ten cups were consumed before they were willing to let him go.

For those he wasn't familiar with, Qin Fang just made do with a simple toast, one cup and done—having a second cup was already a lot of face.

For privileged young masters like Ye Xiang and Xiao Liang, Qin Fang accompanied them for a few drinks and made that first-time connection. Although these young masters could only be considered third-tier in Ninghai, with a few like Ye Xiang being second-tier, they still held some power. For some small matters, there was no need to trouble very high-level figures; turning to them was more than suitable.

After making a round and toasting at every table, Qin Fang had drunk quite a lot. If not for his Props Box having sufficient capacity, he might have fallen over by now, but even so, he had genuinely consumed no less than three jin (1.5 liters) of liquor.

In the end, Qin Fang was pulled back by Ning Weiqiang to Minister Li's private room, where only department-level officials were sitting—only they were worthy of the personal company of Ning Weiqiang and Qin Fang.

"Xiao Qin, I hear your restaurant is going to participate in the food festival competition held by Ninghai?" Minister Li asked with a smile, evidently having gotten the news from Ning Weiqiang.

"Yes, Minister Li!" Qin Fang affirmed, although he didn't understand why Minister Li was asking.

"It's a good thing I heard about this and warned Minister Li in advance; otherwise, you probably wouldn't even be able to enter the competition..." Ning Weiqiang chuckled, almost as if he was explaining the nature of the competition. "Although it's under the guise of the Ninghai Food Festival, the actual competition is co-organized with the provincial government. The teams participating are well-known catering enterprises from all over Jiangnan Province, and they need invitation letters issued by the Propaganda Department of the Provincial Party Committee... Of course, if you're not aiming for any ranking, then just ignore my meddling..."

"Co-organized with the provincial government?" Qin Fang was surprised; Feifei had been handling the food carnival matters, and Qin Fang didn't inquire further, not knowing about these details and appearing very astonished.

But he wasn't foolish. Ning Weiqiang had already said it, and Minister Li had taken the initiative to ask, so he clearly understood, "Minister Li, I'll have to drink a few more cups with you today. You'll have to open this backdoor for me..."

"Ha ha... I'm very serious about this, and I won't be opening any back doors for anyone. Everything is done according to the rules, according to one's strength! However... the strength of Fang Feixue is indeed formidable, how could it lack the qualifications to compete?"

Minister Li spoke with a jovial laugh, but at the same time, he essentially agreed, which relieved Qin Fang quite a bit.

But the drinking didn't continue in the end—after two rounds of toasting, everyone had drunk a lot, especially Qin Fang, who had imbibed considerably more. A cup for them meant nine for him. As these officials all had high positions, and knowing Qin Fang was Secretary Tang's prospective son-in-law, they naturally didn't dare to make him drink too much. Later on, they stopped letting Qin Fang continue.

Regardless, Qin Fang had developed a relationship with these officials, which facilitated his business dealings and also secured his ticket for the upcoming Ninghai Food Carnival competition. Otherwise, it would be incredibly disappointing to lose the chance to compete due to insufficient preparation.(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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