Chapter 348 Birthday Celebration Part 2
Tang Shuo was actually not interested in such banquets. Since ancient times, no matter what the matter was, there were always many people who added icing on the cake, but few who provided timely assistance.
If something really dangerous happens to the Wang family, how many of the nearly one hundred people in the living room and yard will come forward to help without reservation?
However, he had to admit that this was a very effective means of social interaction. Furthermore, the fact that this phenomenon persisted after so many years certainly had its benefits.
Just as Tang Shuo and Lu Wanqi were chatting quietly, someone suddenly called out, "Boss Tang is here too."
Tang Shuo turned his head and looked over, only to see Qiao Fan, dressed in formal attire, standing aside with a smile on his face.
He immediately stood up, shook hands with the other party and said, "I didn't expect Secretary Qiao to be here too. I thought I would have to go to Yanjing to see you."
Qiao Fan smiled and shook his head, saying, "What big secretary? I'm just serving the leader."
"You don't have to call me Boss Tang anymore. Just call me Tang Shuo." Tang Shuo asked with a smile, "Have you checked with that department?"
"It hasn't been decided yet." Qiao Fan replied, "It will be in the next two days."
Tang Shuo was about to speak when someone called Qiao Fan's name twice from behind. Qiao Fan responded with a chuckle. "Sorry, I'm busy."
"It's okay, go ahead and get busy." Tang Shuo replied, "We'll contact you when we get to Yanjing."
After Qiao Fan agreed, he turned around and walked over.
Tang Shuo smiled helplessly and sat back on the sofa.
After meeting Qiao Fan at the guild hall last time, Tang Shuo went to check the other party's information and had a basic understanding of him.
This guy's resume is actually very similar to that of Liu Yanzhe, whom he killed in Guangyue. But the difference between the two is that except for his slightly weaker family background than Liu Yanzhe, Qiao Fan is much better than Liu Yanzhe in terms of emotional intelligence and IQ.
Tang Shuo was very happy to make friends with such a person, and he was even willing to help the other person within his ability.
"Who is this person?" Lu Wanqi asked puzzledly.
"A friend, not very familiar with him." Tang Shuo replied.
“…”
Lu Wanqi raised her eyebrows and was speechless for a moment.
Just now, she saw that the two of them looked like a pair of brothers who had been separated for many years and were particularly close, so she thought that the two of them were very familiar with each other, but she didn't expect this answer.
Suddenly, a burst of warm applause broke out in the living room. Wang Qiuchen was seen walking down the stairs, supporting a withered old man with white hair.
At once, everyone in the living room gathered towards the stairs.
Tang Shuo then stood up with Lu Wanqi and moved towards the old man.
The withered old man accepted everyone's congratulations while smiling and nodding in response. He looked very friendly and had no airs at all.
When they reached the middle of the living room, the old man stopped and said, "Thank you all for your support. The Wang family's success in Mingzhu is inseparable from your support. Thank you all in advance."
Having said this, the old man bent down and bowed.
The Wang family's main business is the retail industry, which is indeed very complicated, so the other party's words were not overly exaggerated.
Then the old man said a lot of words of thanks, cut a cake, and went back upstairs on the grounds of his old age.
The banquet officially began from then on. Many guests who had been restrained at first picked up the drinks that had been prepared long ago and started chatting with each other.
After Mr. Wang left, Tang Shuo took Lu Wanqi to find another seat.
Not long after, Wang Qiucheng walked back to Tang Shuo's position. "My grandfather wants to see you."
Tang Shuo was startled for a moment, then nodded and said to Lu Wanqi, "Wait for me. We'll leave once I come out."
After Lu Wanqi agreed, Tang Shuo followed Wang Qiuchen and went upstairs again.
The two of them arrived at the door of a room upstairs. Wang Qiucheng knocked on the door, and after hearing a response from inside, he pushed the door open and walked in. "Grandpa, Tang Shuo is here."
When Tang Shuo walked in and saw what was happening, he couldn't help but gasp.
This is a study room with a very old appearance. One can tell at a glance that the exhibits inside are quite old.
What surprised Tang Shuo was certainly not these things. He saw that the withered old man who seemed to be unable to walk steadily just now was now holding a pen, standing in front of the desk and writing with ink.
Tang Shuo shook his head helplessly. If such a person is not considered an old fox, then who can be called one?
The old man put down his pen, smiled at Tang Shuo and said, "Your name is Tang Shuo, right?"
"It's me." Tang Shuo agreed and stepped forward to say, "I wish you a long life of happiness and prosperity."
"What a blessing!" The old man nodded with a smile and said, "Since you are here to celebrate my birthday, have you brought any gifts?"
“…” Low anti-garbage.
Tang Shuo was stunned. If he heard correctly, the old man seemed to be asking for a bribe!
When he came, he also thought about whether to buy something for the other party, and even Lu Wanqi asked this question on the way, but after thinking about it, he finally decided not to buy it.
With the Wang family's financial resources, they don't have anything rare, and ordinary gifts will definitely not catch the other party's eye.
If he bought something more precious, he would feel the pain, and there was no guarantee the other party would like it. After some discussion, Tang Shuo decided to come empty-handed, but with a sincere heart.
Of course, no one else can tell whether one is sincere or not, but this does not affect Tang Shuo's expression.
"I asked Qiucheng, and Qiucheng said that you are a man of high moral character and don't like these material possessions at all." Tang Shuo immediately made up a lie.
Wang Qiuchen, who was standing aside, grinned and shook his head helplessly. Even he would not believe such nonsense, so how could his grandfather believe it?
The old man smiled and asked, "Who said I don't like material possessions?"
"This..." Tang Shuo opened his mouth, but for a moment he really couldn't think of how to refute the old man.
The old man seemed a little dissatisfied with the words he had just written. He took them off the table and beckoned to Tang Shuo, saying, "How about this? You can write a second copy for me."
"My calligraphy isn't worthy of being presented in a formal setting, so please don't show off your talent." Tang Shuo said immediately, "Next year, I'll definitely bring you a valuable gift to make up for it."
The old man smiled and shook his head, saying, "You are such a good person, Tang Shuo. No wonder Qiu Cheng, who is usually so cautious, fell for your trick. Even an old man like me can't tell which of your words are true and which are false."
This kind of procrastination tactic might be of some use to most people, but for Wang Qiuchen's grandfather Wang Kangning, there was no way he could believe it at all.
"How can you say that, old man?" Tang Shuo said shamelessly, "I always keep my word."
Wang Kangning pointed to a calligraphy hanging on the wall and said, "Take a look for yourself."
When Tang Shuo came in, he just glanced at the wall quickly without paying much attention.
When he looked over at this time, he saw that the other party was pointing at a piece of cursive script, and this cursive script was written by him!
This calligraphy was written when he first came to Yanjing to attend an auction and was about the "Lang Tao Sha Ling" by Li Yu, the last emperor of the Southern Dynasties.
At that time, this calligraphy was sold at a high price of three million. Later, when Tang Shuo learned that the person had no problems, he did not pursue the matter.
I just didn't expect that this calligraphy would appear here.
"If calligraphy like this isn't worthy of being presented in a formal setting, I'm afraid half the calligraphy association will have to retire." Wang Kangning said with a smile, "Although the calligraphy is good, the lyrics aren't to my taste. Hurry up and write a new one. I'll consider it your birthday gift."
"Mr. Wang, how come this calligraphy is here with you?" Tang Shuo asked in confusion.
"Someone gave it to me," Wang Kangning replied. "I only recently found out you wrote this calligraphy."
Wang Qiucheng was also stunned, just like Tang Shuo. Even he himself didn't know the truth. He only knew that his grandfather was interested in calligraphy and painting, but he had no idea that there was a piece of Tang Shuo's calligraphy in his grandfather's book.
Tang Shuo nodded, walked to the desk and asked, "What does Mr. Wang want?"
"Write a poem called 'Poetry of Breaking the Formation' by Xin Qiji." Wang Kangning thought for a moment and said.
"I don't think this calligraphy is suitable for Mr. Wang." Tang Shuo frowned, picked up the brush and dipped it in ink, then immediately began to write quickly.
Wang Qiucheng, who was standing at the door, took two steps forward out of curiosity and stood aside to watch. He had been forced by his grandfather to practice calligraphy for a while since he was a child, but because he didn't have much passion for it and his talent was limited, he didn't continue.
Although he couldn't tell the difference between the two, he could still understand some of the tricks.
When Tang Shuo finished his last word, Wang Kangning shook his head with emotion and said, "You are indeed not an ordinary person. Go sit down first."
Tang Shuo smiled and immediately sat down on the sofa. Wang Qiucheng looked at his grandfather in confusion, not even understanding the riddle the two men were playing.
Wang Kangning stared at the words with great joy for a while, then looked up at Wang Qiucheng and said, "You don't understand!"
"No!" Wang Qiuchen said very honestly.
Wang Kangning laughed, but didn't explain anything. He walked over to the sofa next to Tang Shuo and said, "What kind of cooperation did you and Qiu Cheng talk about? Let me hear it."
Tang Shuo knew that this was actually the other party's purpose, so he didn't dare to be careless and told his plan to the old man.
Wang Kangning was silent for a while, then said, "This matter is indeed beneficial to the Wang family, but I can't give you enough support now. Only after you have achieved certain results can we continue to discuss this matter."
"Of course." Tang Shuo nodded and said, "I'm just giving you a heads up."
"I really don't know who taught you this kid." Wang Kangning shook his head and said, "Go down and have fun. Don't worry about me, an old man."
Tang Shuo stood up and told her with a smile, then immediately walked downstairs.
After Tang Shuo left, Wang Qiuchen asked, "Grandpa, what's going on?"
He found it difficult to understand the communication between his grandfather and Tang Shuo just now. He felt that his IQ, which had always been higher than that of his peers, was completely insufficient.
Wang Kangning smiled, stood up, and walked back to the table. "I was writing when you came in just now. Did you notice what I was writing?"
Wang Qiucheng was stunned and shook his head, "No."
"But he observed that I was writing this painting 'Nian Nujiao, Remembering the Past at Chibi' at that time," Wang Kangning said.
"When he asked me what calligraphy I liked, I already had an idea in mind," Wang Kangning continued. "When I mentioned 'Pozhenzi', he subtly flattered me and, after confirming my preference, wrote down the calligraphy."
Although the poem "Poetry of Breaking the Formation" is majestic, it gives people a feeling of a hero in his twilight years. Tang Shuo bluntly said that this poem is not suitable for him, which made Wang Kangning feel very comfortable.
At this time, Wang Qiuchen felt that his IQ was really not enough. Tang Shuo's level was no longer just a sinister one.
"Let's get to know him better in the future," Wang Kangning said. "This young man has great ambitions."
"Yes, Grandpa." Wang Qiuchen agreed immediately.
This was the first time in all these years that he heard his grandfather speak so highly of someone else.
Boom boom boom…
Just when Wang Qiuchen wanted to ask Wang Kangning about his opinion on cooperating with Tang Shuo, the study door was suddenly knocked again.
Wang Qiucheng frowned and opened the door, only to see a man in a suit gasping, "Sir, there's a fight outside!"
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