108: Chapter 108 The Singularity Banquet Becomes a Delicious Treat
The banquet hall on the top floor of the Jiangcheng International Hotel was adorned with dazzling splendor. Crystal chandeliers refracted flickering light, casting it onto the long tables covered in ink-colored velvet.
The champagne tower bubbled, waiters in crisp formal wear moved between the guests, and the air was filled with the scents of high-end perfume and gourmet food.
This banquet belonging to Singularity Technology had been destined for greatness from the moment preparations began, and at this moment, it had gathered almost all the celebrities of Jiangcheng.
When Singularity Technology first prepared for this banquet, it was intended to be a "small but refined" pragmatic signing event.
There were only two core objectives: first, to finalize the contract for "star path" with an overseas game agency, and second, to use the fact that the Song family was injecting 50 million to send a signal to the investment circle that "Singularity is stable," without needing a grand spectacle.
At the time, the guest list drafted by Zhou Yurou focused solely on "key stakeholders": upstream and downstream partners in the gaming industry, such as art outsourcing teams and distribution channels—familiar faces they worked with regularly.
As for the government side, they only invited Director Li from the university incubator and the deputy district head in charge of the digital economy, thinking their presence would prove that Singularity aligned with local industrial policies, without needing to disturb higher-level officials.
Friends in the investment circle were connections accumulated by Zhou Yurou over many years, mostly heads of VCs (venture capital) who could pave the way for Singularity's subsequent financing.
From the Gu Corporation side, Gu Jingshen originally only intended to have the director of their core business department come to support the event; after all, they were "family," so there was no need for formalities.
Even Song Zhiwei hadn't held high expectations when she first mentioned it to her father. She had just casually mentioned it during a video call: "Dad, I helped Zhang Fan's company secure investment, and there's a signing banquet in a few days," thinking that since her father was busy with international trade abroad all year round, he would at most have an assistant send a congratulatory gift or send a remote video message of blessing, which would be giving enough face.
But after hearing this, Richest Man Song on the other end of the phone was silent for a few seconds before suddenly asking, "What day is the banquet? Send me the address; I'll make time to return to Jiangcheng."
Song Zhiwei was stunned at the time and confirmed repeatedly, "Dad, are you really coming back? This is just a normal signing event; there's no need for you to make the trip yourself."
"Why is it not necessary?" Richest Man Song's tone was undeniably serious. "My daughter is helping someone secure resources seriously for the first time; as her father, I must go to support the occasion. Besides, for a company that makes you care so much, I have to go see what kind of person the founder really is."
After hanging up, Song Zhiwei hurriedly told Zhang Fan and Zhou Yurou. The group was in the conference room checking the banquet procedures, and upon hearing that "Richest Man Song is coming in person," they almost dropped the pens in their hands onto the table.
Zhou Yurou, whose process schedule was already on its third revision, immediately decided to scrap it and draft a new one: "We need to add security measures; Chairman Song's entourage will be of high status. We also need to adjust the position of the signing stage to leave enough space for media photography. We also need to supplement the guest list; we must quickly send invitations to the municipal leaders and financial titans we didn't dare to invite before, otherwise it would be disrespectful."
Gu Jingshen was even more direct. That same day, he contacted the Jiangcheng International Hotel and upgraded the originally scheduled medium-sized banquet hall to the largest pillarless hall on the top floor, and added more than twenty security personnel: "My mother asked me before if she should help coordinate hotel resources. Now it seems it's fortunate that we upgraded early; otherwise, when Chairman Song arrives, we wouldn't be able to hold the scene."
No one expected that a signing banquet originally intended to be "low-key" would, because of Richest Man Song's one sentence, "I'm returning to Jiangcheng," completely turn into a grand event that moved half of the Jiangcheng business world.
The news that Richest Man Song would personally stand on stage for Singularity Technology's 50 million capital injection banquet spread like wildfire overnight, reaching every circle in Jiangcheng, big and small.
From investment bank managers on Financial Street to entrepreneurs in industrial parks, to old entrepreneurs chatting in tea houses, everyone was discussing this. Once the news fermented, the most sought-after item instantly became the invitation to Singularity Technology's banquet.
Director Li from the university incubator, who had spoken to Zhang Fan a few days ago about park subsidy policies with a polite but distant tone, now specifically took a detour to the Singularity office, held Zhou Yurou's hand, and laughed, saying, "We can be considered old acquaintances," beating around the bush to ask her to save a few spots.
Even Qin Xue became a "connection," though she was much more direct than Director Li. As soon as the call connected, without beating around the bush, her tone was crisp and unrefusable: "Gu Jingshen, arrange two... no, three spots for me! Our director wants to go, and two other leaders in the bureau also want to take this opportunity to talk to Chairman Song. You must save them for me."
There wasn't a hint of "begging" in her words; it sounded like she was assigning work, yet it revealed her trust in Gu Jingshen, knowing he would definitely get it done.
Not to mention the main leaders of the sub-district, district committee, and even the municipal committee, who rarely called business heads personally, but this time they called Gu Jingshen and Zhou Yurou one after another.
There was no way around it; many companies in the district were envious and wanted to build a relationship with Richest Man Song, but since they were in catering or retail, completely unrelated to the tech field, they had no reason to directly ask Singularity for an invitation, and were as anxious as ants on a hot pan.
In the end, with no other options, they could only rely on the government, hoping the leaders could help coordinate—after all, being able to talk to Richest Man Song might win the company a cooperation opportunity, and even if it was just handing over a business card, it would be a huge benefit.
In Jiangcheng circles, this invitation almost became synonymous with a "resource admission ticket." If one didn't get it, it wasn't just a loss of face; it was more like being excluded from Jiangcheng's core resource circle.
Some joked privately, "Nowadays in Jiangcheng, if you don't have an invitation to Singularity's banquet, it'll be difficult to discuss cooperation or expand your network in the future; it's no different from being an 'industry outsider'."
Tang Wanqing of the Gu Group was even more overwhelmed by this. Her office phone didn't stop from morning till night; long-term clients and business friends with distant connections would open with, "CEO Tang, I heard Gu Group invested in Singularity Technology; can you help me coordinate an invitation to the Singularity banquet?"
At first, she had her assistant politely decline, but later, unable to bear the annoyance, she simply drove to the Singularity office herself. When she saw Gu Jingshen, she slapped a list onto the table: "Get me twenty invitations immediately; these are all important partners of Gu Corporation. If you don't give them to me, my office is about to become a 'ticket request center'."
Gu Jingshen looked at her, laughing and crying at the same time, and also looked helpless: "I don't even dare to turn on my phone now; everyone is contacting me for invitations. Mom, do you think we need to strengthen security even more?"
Tang Wanqing rolled her eyes at him: "Absolutely! How about this: on the opening day, I'll arrange for Gu Corporation's security to fully intervene. But you'd better report it again to the police system."
She paused and added, "Right, leave me two more as spares; who knows, someone might come asking for one later."
Gu Jingshen nodded with a smile and asked Zhou Yurou to get the invitations. The receptionist in charge of registering the invitations leaned over and whispered, "CEO Gu, we don't have many invitations left. Two representatives from listed companies just came to ask, and I could only say 'wait for notification'."
This "invitation craze" caused by Richest Man Song made everyone see one fact clearly—relying on the Song family's capital injection and this banquet, Singularity Technology had completely leapt from a "start-up" in Jiangcheng to a "new tycoon" capable of moving half of Jiangcheng's business resources.