The fourth and fifth courses clearly set off the climax of the dinner.

They couldn't wait to rate it after they had eaten it, and everyone was amazed with every bite, and then they toasted Prince Anderson and Albert to thank him, as well as to the other dignitaries.

The atmosphere of the dinner party has also changed from more formal and serious at the beginning to open and warm, and the topics discussed have also begun to become relaxed, and even jokes are made from time to time, telling some humorous stories and innocuous cold jokes.

When everyone mentioned the trade friction between China and the United States and Europe, after the president of BMW and the minister of industry each told a bad joke about Trump, the minister of economic affairs sitting opposite him looked at Xu Xincheng twice, and the meaning was obvious, asking him to tell a joke.

Originally, Xu Xincheng felt that on such a big occasion and in front of so many big people, it was better for such a small person as him to keep his mouth shut, so as not to make jokes, so he rarely spoke throughout the night. However, under the current circumstances, he can't keep a low profile. He had already been given an exam question, and he had to take it next.

His mind quickly turned several times, and immediately thought of a little joke about Trump, and he said lightly:

“One day， the chief of staff said to Trump:‘Mr. President， we are about to make a new list of Chinese goods that will face a new 25% tariff， we would like to hear your advice on it.’

Trump said:‘Well， that’s easy， as always， my only advice is that as long as you guys don’t put any goods that have the Trump trademark on the list， and then I am fine with it. As for the specific goods， as long as my business is not affected by the trade war， I don’t really care， do you?’”

("One day, the chief of staff said to Trump, 'Mr. President, we're preparing to develop a new list of Chinese goods subject to 25 percent tariffs, and we want to hear from you.' ’

Trump said, 'Well, that's easy, and as always, my only advice is that as long as you don't put products with Trump's trademark on the list, I can do that.' As for the specific product name, as long as my business is not affected by this trade war, I don't really care, do you care?'")

When everyone heard this, they all burst into laughter. The Minister of Economic Affairs laughed and said, "That's a good one." ("That's a good joke.") ”）

Xu Xincheng noticed that Deputy Prime Minister Knapp, who was sitting diagonally opposite, was also smiling, but there was still a hint of helplessness on her face. He thought of the several head-to-head confrontations between Germany and US President Donald Trump, and the fact that Germany and the European Union were also engaged in a trade war with the United States, and he understood why she showed such helplessness.

The dinner continued, with the sixth course being chicken braised in French wine and the seventh course being French oysters.

As the cups staggered, everyone continued to happily open the sky and chat, and everyone seemed to have a tacit understanding that everyone would tell a humorous joke or two every once in a while, and even Prince Anderson told two bad jokes about equestrian competitions.

Except, of course, Madam Knapp, Deputy Prime Minister Kernap and Lucy just listened attentively, and when everyone laughed merrily, they both smiled gracefully.

According to etiquette, ladies and hosts do not have to eat all the dishes, especially ladies, and Deputy Prime Minister Kernap and Lucy generally only eat about a third of each dish, but men, it is better for them to eat all the dishes as a sign of respect for the host's hospitality.

When he ate the seventh dish, Xu Xincheng was actually a little full, but seeing that the three presidents and the two ministers were still feasting, he had no intention of stopping, so he could only accompany them to continue eating, fortunately, each dish was delivered after a period of time, so by the time the next dish was delivered, he had already digested most of the previous dish, so he had more appetite and appetite to eat.

Other dishes were served one after another, the eighth dish was fruit sorbet, when looking at the menu, Xu Xincheng still didn't understand what "sorbet" came to, and only after the dish was served did he know that it was ice cream, a very delicious ice cream.

The ninth course is a salad, a fruit salad with several very fresh grapes, sweet and juicy, presumably freshly picked from the vineyard's trellis.

The tenth course is vegetables, the eleventh is a Black Forest cake, the twelfth is a French cheese ham sandwich with quail eggs, and the thirteenth course is a macaron marzipan.

The last few dishes are not large in portions, delicate and delicious.

This was the sumniest dinner Xu Xincheng had ever eaten in his life, and it was also the longest time he had eaten, and it took a total of three and a half hours from sitting down to eating the thirteenth course.

Of course, this is also the most painstaking and devoted to what he eats. The third course, French onion soup, is the biggest challenge, but the others are not easy, according to the highest standards of etiquette in a French meal, no matter when using a knife and fork, the knife and fork must not collide with the plate and other utensils, and this rule makes the fourth course white wine cream truffle salmon and the fifth course black mushroom foie gras steak also a big challenge. Especially when cutting steak, as long as you accidentally don't grasp the strength, as long as the knife is a little more powerful when cutting, the knife will have a violent friction with the bottom of the plate, and then produce a screeching sound.

In addition, although the seats have backrests, no one leans their backs on them, and everyone sits up straight at all times. He immediately realized that this should also be one of the requirements of table manners, so he also straightened his waist throughout the whole process, fortunately, Xu Xincheng followed the teachings of his ancestors since he was a child, and took "standing like a pine, sitting like a clock, and walking like the wind" as the highest criterion for his standing, sitting and walking posture, so although the three-and-a-half-hour dinner was a huge challenge, he finally overcame the challenge excellently.

This is Xu Xincheng's most enjoyable food in his life, although there are many challenges, but he still smoothly coped with the past, his trick is to always maintain a state of mindfulness throughout the whole process, carefully experience his every action, grasp the amplitude and strength of each use of knives and forks, chew slowly throughout the whole process, fully open his vision, smell, taste, experience every bite of food with his heart, appreciate every dish with a grateful heart, and spend every minute and every second with mindfulness.

Xu Xincheng only knew that there are eight major cuisines of Chinese cuisine, but he did not know that other countries also have excellent cuisines that are completely comparable to Chinese cuisine; he only understood the vastness of this world at the level of physical space, and only understood the beauty of this world at the visual level; now he knows that he can also feel the wonder and beauty of this world through smell and taste.

He suddenly had a new realization. The Germans put their wisdom and mind into automobiles and other products to create the most advanced and high-quality products; the French put their wisdom and mind into food to make the most delicious and exquisite food; any thing and any product, as long as we use our wisdom and mind on it, we can do things to the extreme, and we can make products to the extreme.

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At 21:50 p.m., Prince Anderson, Albert, Lucy and Hui Xincheng saw off Deputy Prime Minister Madame Kernap and five other guests at the gate, and they thanked Prince Anderson and Albert repeatedly for their hospitality before getting into the car and leaving, and after all the cars had driven out of the gate of the castle's outer wall, the four of them walked back.

Xu Xincheng could see that Prince Anderson was very satisfied with the dinner, he was in a very happy state all night, as the host, he treated every guest with courtesy, unreserved, and his every move, word and deed can be said to be the highest example of Western etiquette.

Xu Xincheng suddenly remembered four idioms that could describe Prince Anderson very well, "Humble gentleman, gentle as jade, reverence for virtue and reason, and courtesy in the world." ”

Xu Xincheng said to himself: "In the future, when receiving VIPs who come to the company as guests, I will also demand myself with the highest etiquette standards, and I will also demand myself with these four idioms." ”

Arriving at the elevator entrance, Prince Anderson and Albert said goodnight to Lucy and Xu Xincheng, escorted them into the elevator, and kept smiling at the door until the elevator closed.

Lucy asked Heo, "Steve, you're doing really well tonight, you've had a French meal before, right?"

Xu Xincheng smiled, confessed to Lucy, and told the truth, saying that he was actually cramming at the door, and he had to check the table manners and other information of the French meal before the dinner to know how to deal with it.

Lucy smiled after hearing this: "It's very good, I don't know that I thought you often eat French food." In case of trouble, I know how to make a lot of preparations in advance, learn quickly, learn and use it now, and use it very well. Of course, I think your usual table manners and hospitality etiquette are very good, and you still have a good foundation, otherwise, you would not have been able to have such an outstanding performance when you suddenly encounter such a big occasion. ”

"Thank you, but I know I still have a lot of room for improvement, and I was still a little reserved the whole time, especially when I drank the French onion soup, it was a big challenge for me, I almost drank myself sweating profusely, and most importantly, I couldn't pick up a lot of topics that we talked about, and I couldn't express any high-level and in-depth opinions and opinions. ”

"That's pretty good, but, as you said, there's still some room for improvement. In the future, there will definitely be more and more opportunities to attend similar dinners, so you should and can do better. I will arrange for you to be taught by a master of etiquette so that you can improve as soon as possible and reach the highest level as soon as possible. ”

"Master of Manners?"

"Yes. We will talk about this matter in detail after returning to Guangzhou, and then make arrangements. ”

"Oh. Good. Xu Xincheng immediately realized that Lucy was really well-intentioned for him and for him to be able to improve as soon as possible in all aspects, and he hurriedly and sincerely said: "Thank you!"

Lucy just nodded slightly, smiling softly.

While talking, the two had come to the fork at the end of the corridor, Xu Xincheng said good night to Lucy, and then walked in the direction of his room, and the nerves and body of his whole body that had been tense all night could finally relax.

Xu Xincheng went back to the largest room he had ever lived in, took a shower in the bathroom of more than 30 square meters, and then lay down on the largest and most luxurious bed he had ever slept in in his life.

He thought back to what he had been through today, and thought that he was living in a castle at the moment, and felt that he should be in a dream, in a beautiful dream.