However, Alger only fluttered his eyelids slightly as if he’d already said hello, without the slightest desire to speak, and walked straight past with his people.

The ones who greeted him were left standing there, dumbfounded and confused, not knowing what was going on.

There were quite a few people like that; by the time Alger reached the doorway, he’d already run into three such groups.

Not a single one got even half a word in response from Alger.

But just as Alger reached the entrance of the banquet hall, a group of people happened to walk in from outside.

Their bearing and demeanor were completely different from business people; the aura they carried made it easy to see at a glance—these were all political figures.

The one at the head of that group was a very energetic-looking middle-aged man.

He was slightly balding, but didn’t look old at all; his cheeks were sharply contoured, with a hooked nose and eyes like lightning, a face that clearly didn’t smile easily.

When Alger saw this man, he froze for a moment. Not only did he drop the icy façade, he even forced out a smile and stepped forward to greet him.

"Mr. Wagg!"

When Mr. Wagg saw Alger, the originally somewhat cold face also showed a faint smile. "Alger, you came to this reception too."

"Are you leaving now?"

Seeing Alger looking like he was on his way out, Mr. Wagg asked another question.

"Yes, I’ve already finished talking business with someone and was just about to go." Alger glanced back in the direction of Bai Xiaosheng, then turned around with a slightly cold look in his eyes. "I’ve already ’finished’ talking with that Mr. Bai Xiaosheng."

Alger’s double‑edged words, together with his expression, all fell into Mr. Wagg’s eyes.

The latter didn’t react much, only nodded. "I’m also about to go and have a talk with that Mr. Bai Xiaosheng."

On hearing that, Alger immediately said, "You’re going to talk to him too..."

Then Alger’s expression shifted into a cold sneer. "That man is very arrogant, you know!"

"I hope you’ll have better luck than I did."

"Head on back, and give my regards." Mr. Wagg didn’t respond to the jab, only answered like that.

Alger nodded at once, stepped aside, and let him pass.

The people following behind Alger all put on even more respectful expressions and stood to the side.

This Mr. Wagg was the number two of Oshan’s Commerce Department, a genuine heavyweight in the political arena. Of course, he had another identity—

Alger’s own maternal uncle!

With that kind of status, how could Alger’s subordinates dare show anything but respect.

"Mr. Wagg!" "Mr. Wagg!"

As Mr. Wagg walked by with his entourage, Alger’s men called out one after another in low voices, each filled with deference.

All along the way, Mr. Wagg nodded slightly in return, counting it as a greeting back.

Only after Mr. Wagg had gone past did Alger call his own people to leave the banquet hall and head straight for the elevator.

But as they came around a corner, Alger suddenly noticed that not far ahead, a beautiful woman was leaning gracefully against the wall, a slender white jade hand holding a crystal glass as she sipped her wine at leisure.

When Alger saw clearly who it was, he was stunned for a moment and went straight toward her.

His subordinates were about to follow when Alger raised his hand slightly; they all stopped at once and didn’t go over to disturb him.

Alger walked right up to the beauty and smiled. "Miss Lisa, why aren’t you in the banquet hall and instead drinking over here?"

The beauty was Lisa, who had originally been in the hall.

Lisa looked at Alger with a smile in her eyes and countered, "Mr. Alger, you’re leaving this soon? Why not stay a bit longer."

If she hadn’t asked, it would’ve been fine; but once she did, Alger clearly looked irritated and snorted coldly, "Stay? Another minute here and I feel stifled!"

Lisa laughed lightly at that and said lazily, "I seem to have seen you go over to chat with that Mr. Bai Xiaosheng just now. Talking cooperation? Didn’t go well?"

That was really pressing right on the sore spot.

Alger let out a muffled "hmph." "Didn’t go well is putting it mildly. The head of the Huaxia Business Group really throws his weight around!"

Lisa took a sip from her glass and smiled. "Mr. Alger doesn’t seem happy. I’ll keep you company for a chat—there’s a lounge over there, and it’s nice and quiet. By the way, do you still have any wine..."

Lisa raised her empty glass. "I don’t have a single drop left."

Alger gave this Western beauty a once‑over, then smiled. "I brought plenty of fine wine. Miss Lisa can drink to her heart’s content!"

The two of them walked toward the lounge one after the other. Alger also gestured to the people behind him, telling them to follow and bring the wine along.

As Lisa walked ahead, she said slowly, "Mr. Alger, you’re letting an outsider get you so upset? This is your home turf. People can say that Bai Xiaosheng of the Huaxia Business Group has an unusual status and can’t be touched by just anyone, but for you, don’t you have all sorts of resources to make him and his people suffer, even to the point where they have to come begging you for mercy in the end."

When Alger heard Lisa say that, he turned to look at her right away. "What do you mean by that? Miss Lisa, do you have a way...to help me vent my anger?"

Lisa glanced back over her shoulder with a captivating smile. "If Mr. Alger wants to hear it, I’ll explain it properly in a bit. And I guarantee this matter will never implicate you, nor will it implicate your family. You’ll be able to toy with that Bai Xiaosheng and his Huaxia Business Group in the palm of your hand!"

Alger’s eyes instantly lit up. He strode up to Lisa and laughed. "You Westerners have always been masters of intrigue. I’ll have to ask Miss Lisa for good instruction later!"

"Instruction is no problem," Lisa’s eyes glinted. "As long as Mr. Alger is willing to part with some of your fine wine!"

"Fine wine for a fair lady—why would I be stingy!" Alger laughed loudly.

As they spoke, the two had already reached the lounge. Alger personally opened the door and invited Lisa in first, then glanced back in the direction of the banquet hall, his eyes flickering as if saying—

Bai Xiaosheng, just you wait!

While Alger was meeting Lisa, Mr. Wagg was leading his people around the banquet hall, greeting the guests.

In the face of this number‑two figure from Oshan’s Commerce Department, the business tycoons present all showed unprecedented enthusiasm.

Mr. Wagg also wore a smile and greeted them one by one.

When it came to Huaxia businessmen like Dong Tianlu and Lu Tiandao, his smile grew even warmer and his tone gentler.

But all the meetings were just brief pleasantries; the direction Mr. Wagg was heading with his people was toward Bai Xiaosheng’s side.

Sitting in the corner, Bai Xiaosheng only noticed Mr. Wagg when they were already quite close.

Lin Weiwei and Lei Ying had noticed earlier that some big shot seemed to have arrived and had gone ahead to "scout" the situation; now they hurried back and whispered in Bai Xiaosheng’s ear.

Bai Xiaosheng also learned of Mr. Wagg’s identity and immediately stood up with a smile to go meet him.

For this welcome to the Huaxia Business Group, Oshan Chieftaincy had put up quite a grand show. Even Asgar, son of the Great Chieftain, had made a personal appearance, but the number one and number two of the national Commerce Department were absent.

Bai Xiaosheng had specifically looked into it. This month the Oshan Commerce Department, according to routine, had to report to the government, with a pile of planning reports. He believed they were busy with that.

Although Oshan’s political situation was stable, in recent years its Commerce Department had never satisfied the public. Two consecutive administrations had been impeached and forced to resign en masse during their terms. So this term was under tremendous pressure; otherwise, they wouldn’t possibly have missed such an important external event as the welcoming ceremony.

But Bai Xiaosheng also believed that the number one and number two of Oshan’s Commerce Department would definitely show up to meet him and would even behave very proactively.

The reason was simple: they would definitely hope the Huaxia Business Group could bring them huge results, delivering inspiring news from the national level down to the departmental level.

It was just a pity that, for now, Bai Xiaosheng and his group’s cooperation scale was limited.

Still, Bai Xiaosheng had already decided that if the Oshan Commerce Department was willing, he would do his best to build connections for them.

At this moment, Bai Xiaosheng and Mr. Wagg finally came face to face.

The two of them greeted each other with smiles; before they even spoke, their hands were already clasped together.

"Hello, Mr. Bai Xiaosheng!"

"Hello, Mr. Wagg!"

The warmth on both sides was like that of old friends.