Madame Rida must have been a very beautiful woman in her youth, and she still maintained her long and slender figure, and her pale blue cashmere robe made her appear more and more slender, and her breasts were full. The bodice and short cuffs are trimmed with white lace, revealing two arms and a slender neck. The hair was held high on the top of the head, and on the neck socket, a bunch of playful slight curls were swayed, like a light golden cloud pressing on the neck stem.

Her eyes are sky blue and meet the ultimate standard of a blonde beauty. Her nose is delicate and delicate, and it is the favorite nose shape of French novelists, but her slightly flared nose wings, according to the French, represent a strong desire for a certain desire. Such a type of woman, every line on her face exudes a unique charm, as if containing a deep meaning; Every action seems to express something, but at the same time it conceals it.

While Gao Yi lamented Rida's good luck in marrying such a beautiful wife, he inevitably added a thick layer of green color to his head on the top of his head.

Compared to Mrs. Rida, John's wife, another Mrs. Rida, looked more like a country girl. She has full cheeks and a pointed chin, but she has a square set of gum bones. Gao Yi called this face shape "apple face", and he used to see it on campus when he was in the United States. But this is a face shape that needs to be youthful and moisturized, and without a ruddy complexion and flying look as decoration, this kind of face will immediately become dull.

However, her complexion is excellent, as white as magnolia. A pair of light green eyes, not mixed with a hint of brown, the corners of the eyes are slightly upturned, and a circle of black and long eyelashes is straight at the roots. It's a pity that there is Mrs. Rida standing next to her, and all the brilliance is hidden by the other party.

"My husband often mentions you in his letters, and I'm glad to have you here for a light meal today." As she spoke, Mrs. Rida asked Gao Yi to hold her arm quite intimately, just like an elder to a junior.

But Gao Yi could clearly feel that he was being looked at, scrutinized, examined, admired, and savored by two women from head to toe. He had become accustomed to this kind of gaze lately, and even in the old virgin heap of Chinese and Western women who devoutly dedicated themselves to the Lord, he could often find such a gaze.

This was a treatment he had never enjoyed in his later life. The extra ten to fifteen kilograms, the rougher skin, and the slightly darker complexion all made him appear in the eyes of a woman as a more oppressive, dangerous, and aggressive male, rather than a delicate teenager to be seen.

A door hidden behind a curtain was opened by a servant who was also hidden behind the curtain, and several guests had already arrived in the drawing-room.

"This is Mr. Harry de Gray." Mrs. Rida introduced. De Grey, who is less than forty years old, short and fat, short, round, but not a man of appearance, is a newly elected director of the board of directors of the Ministry of Industry this year.

Ever since he decided to become an Englishman, Gao Yi has been concerned about the superstructure of the concession. Originally, when he read the newspapers and saw the relevant news of the Ministry of Industry and Bureau, he would only see whether the policies introduced were beneficial or disadvantageous to him, but now he has become concerned about the people hidden behind these policies.

For example, the De Gray in front of him, Gao Yi knows his details quite well. He was a French-American, born in 1866, and was 37 years old, far less old than he looked. He runs a company called "China and Japan Trading Company", which is known as "Nippon Shoko Co., Ltd." in Japanese. Probably because of his French origin, he belonged to the Hartung faction on the board of directors - Hartung had served as a public director in the French Concession for 10 years, and had only been elected as a director of the Ministry of Industry since the year before, so his influence in the French Concession was far greater than that in the Public Concession.

"This is Mr. Cecil Hollid." Hollid was in his forties, tall and had two conspicuous white beards. He is the current commander of the International Merchant Order, wearing a uniform and a ribbon.

"Mr. David Landale." This one is even more famous, his mother is the daughter of the seventh Baron of Jardine, and one of the founders of Jardine is William Jardine of the Jardine family. He will be the thirteenth generation of Jardine Matheson in the future, as well as the chairman of HSBC, and there will be a street called Landale Street in Hong Kong in the future.

The reason why Gao Yi is so familiar with this Landale is because he had previously worked at NR Holdings for a while, and the name of the direct boss at that time was Margaret Helen Landale, who was the great-grandchild of Landale.

Although Landale is not as glamorous as he will be in the future, he is already a director of the Ministry of Industry. It's just that he is a bit of a director of the board, because as an unspoken rule, Jardine Matheson will have a representative seat on the board of directors of each Ministry of Industry Bureau, and he is the representative of this year's session.

"Mr. William George Bain." Mrs. Rida brought Gao Yi to an old man with a hooked nose and introduced.

If he was just a director just now, he would have been promoted to chairman this time.

Bain has been chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bureau of Industry since last year, and he is re-elected this year. He was not a rich man, but the secretary of the board of directors of an insurance company called "North China Insurance", and his fame lies in the fact that he is considered one of the best amateur actors in the East, a long-sleeved Reagan-style politician.

"Mr. John Porandis."

is also the chairman of the board of directors of the Ministry of Industry, but he doesn't want to do it after half a year, because his other identity is more important - the chairman of the Yesson shipyard.

The high standard of today's dinner can be said to be completely beyond Gao Yi's expectations, he did not expect to meet so many heavyweights for the first time when he was introduced to a formal social setting. However, it is relieved to think about it, Rida himself was elected as a director of the Ministry of Industry, and the friends he made naturally belonged to the same class, and at this time, the total number of permanent residents of the West in the public concession was only 5,000 people, and the large circle was already small, and the choice of the small circle was naturally more limited.

"Pastor Edward Selby Leade."

This middle-aged man in a black priest's robe, Gao Yi noticed it as soon as he came in, he never expected it to be Li Deli, if any of these guests is the one he wants to have the most good relationship with, I'm afraid it is Li Deli, this guy is simply a cheater who deals with me in the Qing Dynasty. It's a pity that he is now the general manager of Bunemen, and it is not his small role that can be moved.

"Mr. William Henry Purto."

Finally seeing an unknown person like himself, Gao Yi breathed a sigh of relief. According to Mrs. Rida, this is a juror of the trial office, which is a court that hears Chinese-related litigation cases in the concession, and if the case involves a foreigner or a Chinese servant hired by a foreigner, a foreign party needs to participate in the trial. In purely Chinese cases, the Chinese judge is at the discretion of the judge.

"Mr. Pierre-Joseph de Messier."

De Messier was a handsome young man with long shoulder-length hair, black hair and blue eyes, a well-proportioned figure, unusually well-dressed, with a thick hard chest, shiny lacquered shoes, and tight trouser legs, which perfectly accentuated the two legs. When he spoke, he didn't forget to roll the popular two mustaches with his hands from time to time, and he was in style.

De Messier seemed to be very familiar with the environment, sitting and standing casually, and there was a tacit understanding with Madame de Rida. Gao Yi understood the relationship between them after a few glances, and in this era, for a family of this class, the existence of such a relationship seems inevitable, especially for someone who has married a French wife.

An Indian servant silently stood in a visible position for Mrs. Rida, as if there was something to report. By this time, another Mrs. Rida, the wife of John Rida, had returned to the waiting room to wait for the next guest. So de Messier said:

"Hand this lad over to me, and I'll introduce him to the ladies." It's as if he's the master here.