New Gods of North America.

Chapter 746 The Card Game
Halfway through the banquet, it was time for the guests to socialize freely.
If Wayne's previous interactions with these young ladies and gentlemen were like a "rehearsal," then the ensuing social interactions were the real "performance."

The Randolph family's banquet tonight was more like a "family dinner" or "friends and relatives' dinner." Instead of having the ladies temporarily leave their seats, some entertainment was arranged in the hall, creating a more relaxed and free atmosphere.

Using a lively song and dance performance as a transition, and while the guests were watching and enjoying themselves, the waiters quietly and quickly changed the layout of the banquet hall. Many small round tables were moved and set with wine towers, fruit platters, dessert tables, and some were even turned into card tables.

Of course, whether it's arranging for the ladies to temporarily leave their seats or the current arrangement, it essentially follows the logic of "giving guests personal social space" in social settings.

Ladies can still tour the estate, find a quiet place for a private chat with their girlfriends, or admire the wardrobes of the host ladies if they wish. Men have a heavier social obligation and should not leave the banquet hall during this time in principle, but this is not actually mandatory.

—In many stories, some upper-class men and women can even have affairs or secret meetings at balls and banquets, because it is quite common for guests to disappear for a period of time in such social settings.

Without the constraints of seating arrangements, the differences in social status between people can sometimes become more apparent.

The ladies mingled together effortlessly, chatting about everyday matters or comparing their clothes and jewelry, neither paying attention to nor interfering with the conversations among these stinky men.

Young people, on the other hand, need to find ways to entertain themselves or actively seek opportunities to interact with important figures.
As for the "elders" or important figures, they were free to do as they pleased. Several people at the main table quickly gathered enough people to start a card game at a table on one side of the hall, while the others followed the usual procedure and stayed in the room to socialize formally.

Wayne's table soon dispersed, and Inessa, Lina, Miss Olivia, and a few others were warmly invited by Sofia Randolph to tour her room.
Richard Norton, a local Richmond playboy, knew everyone on the court. It felt no different than being at home. He was immediately surrounded by several young men who wanted to play pool. His resistance was futile; they insisted on winning back their previous losses.

Wayne, who was left alone, was initially wondering if he should slack off for a while, when he was beckoned over by George Randolph, who was standing by the card table.

As the host of tonight's banquet, George Randolph was not supposed to sit at the table according to etiquette, and could at most play a few rounds of games when he had time. So he seemed to be quite considerate of "new faces" like Wayne: "Wayne, is this your first time at our family's manor? Would you like to play a few rounds?"

Wayne was very understanding and responded with a smile, "I'll just watch from the side; it'll be a good opportunity for me to learn."

The innermost circle inherently possesses a "no unauthorized entry" attribute. If you are truly ambitious, you usually need to first chat with all the "outsiders" in this area, get to know them a little, and only then will you be qualified to linger in this area. You'll have to find another opportunity to strike up a conversation.

Being invited over here is already a courtesy to the newcomers; they're just being polite. It would be impolite to actually sit at the table.

And to be fair...

There were already enough people at the card table. These big shots probably called Wayne over to learn about the Auster family's will, and there was no extra room for him.

The old Mr. Basque of the Beaton family was very accommodating, gesturing for Wayne to stand behind him: "Wayne, come and take a look, my hand is pretty good, isn't it?"

The game played at the table wasn't "Texas Hold'em," but rather "Showdown," where each player is dealt one face-up and one face-down card, then players take turns raising or folding, and finally, the five cards are compared to determine the winner.
Wayne obediently moved closer and saw that Mr. Basque's hidden card was a pitifully small three of diamonds, while the other two face-up cards he had already received were the nine of spades and the king of hearts. They were neither of the same suit nor a pair, and couldn't even be connected. He instantly understood and raised his eyebrows, letting out a soft "wow".

Mr. Basque was very satisfied with Wayne's cooperation. He covered his cards again and pushed forward a small stack of $20 double gold coins that he had been using as chips: "I'm raising."

This actually set a certain tone, as if the old Basque gentleman was telling everyone present, "This young man is related to me."
Regardless of how effective this statement may be, at least in tonight's social setting, no one should deliberately ridicule or harass Wayne in public; they should at least give the Beaton family some face.

The guest of honor tonight, Adam Stephens, is also at the table. His current face-up hand is a pair of Queens: "Looks like Mr. Basque has a good hand too. I'll call."

The waiter dealt the cards to the next player, who casually placed the corresponding chips in front of him, but his gaze fell on Wayne: "You're Wayne Constantine? I think I sent you an invitation to the ball before the Bishop of Tyrell was ordained, but I don't recall you attending."

Ah… Wayne recalled briefly that the detective agency had indeed received quite a few ball invitations around that time, some of which were even on the same day. If it was limited to the “big plantation owners,” it must have conflicted with the ball hosted by the mayor of Richmond, whose name was Leo Clark.
However, it would be extremely rude to mispronounce someone's name, so Wayne didn't dare to take the risk and could only honestly explain, "Our detective agency was quite busy at that time, so we probably just missed it."

The old Basque gentleman came to the rescue: "It seems I didn't attend that ball you hosted, Leo. At that time, there was a change of bishops, and Richmond's top priority was maintaining order and stability. Wayne was probably assisting the city hall?"

His last sentence was asked while turning to Wayne. Now that the names matched, Wayne nodded slightly to the other man in a gesture of apology: "That's true. If there's another opportunity next time, I will definitely accept Mr. Clark's invitation first."

The other party nodded in agreement and didn't dwell on the matter. Instead, Adam Stephens, who was standing next to him, took the opportunity to start a new topic: "I heard that Wayne, you've recently partnered with the Fisk family to open a cannery? What exactly is the collaboration?"

Wayne gave a brief explanation: the detective agency was responsible for technology and production, and the profits were split between the two parties according to a set ratio.

Adam Stephens' gaze remained fixed on the card table. After listening, he shifted his gaze slightly and turned to look at Andrew Pryor, who was sitting on the other side of the card table: "The Pryor family has extensive experience in business. Andrew, do you have any advice for the young people?"

This man, who sounds like the Secretary of State's father, was looking at his cards at the moment. After a moment's thought, he said, "Since it's a collaboration with the Fisk family... you have to be careful about the risks in the food business. Fresh meat doesn't have a long shelf life, and market prices can fluctuate a lot. It's best to keep an eye on things in advance."

“That makes sense.” Adam Stephens looked at him again. “Wayne, did you hear me clearly?”

Well……

Wayne immediately nodded in agreement, and the topic was dropped. The bigwigs' casual conversation then drifted to other topics.
If you don't care, you can just take these few words as polite remarks, but since they were deliberately brought up, it doesn't feel like they were just making things up. Wayne took a moment to think about it and quickly figured out the meaning behind it.

Overall, food in the southern states of the United States is actually "quite abundant yet relatively scarce."

Although most plantation owners had their own plantations, in addition to major cash crops such as tobacco and cotton, they would also produce fruits and vegetables, staple grains such as wheat, and by-products from raising poultry and livestock, which they could not possibly consume every year.

However, a significant portion of these items never entered the "market." Apart from daily consumption, the rest were "self-digested" through balls, servants, and even slaves on the plantation, essentially being produced and consumed by the plantation owners themselves. Some of these items were "bartered," representing the exchange of goods among the plantation owners, which was also unrelated to outsiders.

For ordinary citizens and even the poor who rely on market transactions to obtain food, the supply in the market is limited.
Agricultural products from other regions are not so easy to come in, and the quantity of local agricultural products sold to other regions is basically stable. So, if the supply remains unchanged but the price fluctuates, it is very likely that there is a problem on the "demand" side.

Wayne considered several possibilities.
Either someone else wants to start a business similar to a workshop or cannery, leading to an increase in both purchase volume and price.
Either someone will be unable to afford the current prices of these items, leading to a drop in both purchase volume and price,
Alternatively, someone might be selling products at a low price, for example, if they are in a hurry to get cash, which would cause the price to drop.

However, considering recent events, speaking so mysteriously yet being able to predict events with such certainty in advance...
The most likely explanation is that this is a chain reaction caused by the large families taking action against Mr. Schwartz, the banker.

And they're about to make their move.

Because the workshop has already begun using meat from Kansas, which provides a relatively reliable source, and because the cannery's intended sales destination is not Richmond, Wayne hadn't given these considerations much thought before.
But now that he suddenly thought about it, even Wayne couldn't help but feel a little scared—if this "in and out" wasn't handled properly, even businesses like the workshop that were completely unrelated to this matter might be implicated and go bankrupt.

Thinking of this, Wayne's gaze involuntarily drifted to Governor Leitcher in the crowd.

The latter was socializing with several men at the time, and her expression looked friendly and cordial.

(End of this chapter)