Seeing Liu Xiaoyuan's directness, Li Chenggong didn't mince words and said, "Mr. Liu, my teacher would like to meet you. I wonder if you have time this morning?"
"Your teacher?" Liu Xiaoyuan had heard that Li Chenggong's teacher was Zhao Qianhai, who was also the president of the provincial calligraphy association and was very famous in the calligraphy world.
“Yes, Mr. Liu, it’s my teacher, Mr. Zhao Qianhai, who wants to see you!” Li Chenggong said.
Liu Xiaoyuan asked, "Why does your teacher want to see me? I'm going back to my hometown today!"
Upon hearing this, Li Chenggong said anxiously, "Mr. Liu, please make sure to spare some time for us today. We won't take up too much of your time. We hope you can agree."
Seeing how sincere and anxious Li Chenggong was, Liu Xiaoyuan thought for a moment and decided that it would be fine to go see Li Chenggong's teacher, since it wouldn't matter if he went back a little later.
“Okay, where shall we meet?” Liu Xiaoyuan asked.
Upon hearing that Liu Xiaoyuan had agreed, Li Chenggong on the other end of the phone seemed very excited and said, "Mr. Liu, where do you live? We'll drive over to pick you up!"
Wow! This is pretty good treatment, so Liu Xiaoyuan gave Li Chenggong his address.
After hanging up the phone, Liu Xiaoyuan called Tan Wanyi and said that he had something to do in the morning and if she wanted to go back, they could meet in the afternoon.
Tan Wanyi said on the phone that Bai Feifei invited her to stay in the provincial capital for a couple more days and told Liu Xiaoyuan to take care of anything.
At nine o'clock in the morning, a black Audi A6 stopped in front of the Jincheng Hotel. Li Chenggong got out of the driver's seat and dialed Liu Xiaoyuan's number.
"******, how could I possibly let you be my driver?" Liu Xiaoyuan said with a smile after getting into the car.
Li Chenggong said, "It is my honor to be the driver for a calligraphy master like you, Mr. Liu!"
Holy crap! I've actually become a master!
Thinking about it, it makes sense. When I was writing yesterday, I summoned Emperor Huizong of Song. Emperor Huizong was a foolish emperor, but when it came to calligraphy and painting, he was an absolute master, a person who could establish a school of thought.
Therefore, it's no wonder that Li Chenggong calls himself a master; this is not surprising at all!
Li Chenggong drove Liu Xiaoyuan to an upscale residential area and stopped in front of a villa. Li Chenggong got out of the car and pressed the doorbell of the villa's large iron gate. Soon, a nanny came out and opened the door.
Li Chenggong drove slowly into the villa, parked the car, and led Liu Xiaoyuan inside.
The villa is exquisitely decorated, beautiful but not extravagant, grand but not dainty, making it a rare masterpiece of interior design.
"Teacher, Mr. Liu is here!" Li Chenggong said as he entered the room to an elderly man in his sixties who was sitting on the sofa reading a newspaper while wearing reading glasses.
This person is Zhao Qianhai, Li Chenggong's teacher and a famous calligrapher in China!
Upon hearing this, Zhao Qianhai immediately put down the newspaper in his hand and jumped up from the sofa.
When Zhao Qianhai saw Liu Xiaoyuan's face, he was stunned. Although his student Li Chenggong had told him that Liu Xiaoyuan was a young man, Zhao Qianhai was still stunned when he saw Liu Xiaoyuan's true face.
He never expected that this young man could write such beautiful and skillful characters; even Zhao Qianhai himself was impressed.
Last night, after returning from the Jincheng Hotel, Li Chenggong did not go straight home. Instead, he took Liu Xiaoyuan's calligraphy and went directly to his teacher Zhao Qianhai's place.
After listening to Li Chenggong's words, Zhao Qianhai felt that his student had exaggerated. No matter how profound a young man's calligraphy skills were, it was impossible for him to reach the same level as Emperor Huizong of Song.
However, when Zhao Qianhai saw the four characters written by Liu Xiaoyuan, he was dumbfounded and quickly took a magnifying glass to carefully examine every stroke.
The more Zhao Qianhai looked at the calligraphy, the more astonished he became. He had a deep understanding of the Slender Gold style of calligraphy and had the illusion that the calligraphy was not written by anyone else, but by Emperor Huizong of Song.
However, the Xuan paper and the ink marks told Zhao Qianhai that the calligraphy was a modern product.
Zhao Qianhai believed that his imitation of Emperor Huizong of Song's "Slender Gold" calligraphy had reached a level unmatched in China, but after seeing the name Liu Xiaoyuan, he felt ashamed of his inferiority.
Zhao Qianhai originally wanted to invite Liu Xiaoyuan over that very night, but then he thought it was too late and it would be better to do it the next day!
So, early this morning, Li Chenggong called Liu Xiaoyuan and brought him over.
Zhao Qianhai never expected that this young man, who looked to be in his early twenties, would have such profound calligraphy skills, even surpassing his own decades of experience in the calligraphy world!
"Master Liu!" Zhao Qianhai stretched out his hands and excitedly grasped Liu Xiaoyuan's right hand, appearing very excited!
Wow! Being addressed as a master by a man in his sixties, Liu Xiaoyuan felt a little flattered!
"Grandpa, you can just call me Xiao Liu!" Liu Xiaoyuan said with a smile.
Zhao Qianhai said, "There is no age limit to learning; those who are accomplished come first. Master Liu's calligraphy skills are beyond my reach, even for an old man like me. Calling him a master is not an exaggeration!"
To be honest, Liu Xiaoyuan felt a little embarrassed after hearing Zhao Qianhai say that, because he was able to write such good characters entirely because of cheating.
"Grandpa, I feel embarrassed to stay here if you keep calling me that!" Liu Xiaoyuan said.
Even with his thick skin, Liu Xiaoyuan felt a little embarrassed being addressed as "Master" by a man in his sixties.
Upon hearing Liu Xiaoyuan say this, Zhao Qianhai quickly said, "Master Liu... no, Mr. Liu, please, don't go. I won't call you that anymore. Is it alright to just call you Mr. Liu?"
"Okay!" Liu Xiaoyuan nodded with a smile.
After sitting down, Zhao Qianhai immediately asked Li Chenggong to make tea. Holding the teacup, he smelled the aroma of the tea. It smelled wonderful!
Liu Xiaoyuan took a small sip. Although he didn't know much about tea, he felt that Zhao Qianhai's tea must be good. It left a lingering fragrance on his lips and teeth, was bitter at first and then sweet, and the light tea aroma was unforgettable!
Just then, Zhao Qianhai's wife returned from grocery shopping, carrying a basket in her hand. Zhao Qianhai immediately said to his wife, "Honey, this is the Master Liu I told you about last night—no, Mr. Liu!"
Zhao Qianhai's wife was also shocked by Liu Xiaoyuan's age. She never expected that the master her husband had been talking about all night was actually a young man. It was truly astonishing.
Zhao Qianhai's wife knew his abilities and personality. Over the years, her husband had not respected many people in the calligraphy world. There were very few people who could make him sincerely call him a master.
Moreover, and more importantly, Liu Xiaoyuan is still so young, which shocked Zhao Qianhai's wife even more!
"So you're Master Liu! My wife was talking about you all night last night. I never imagined you were so young!" Zhao Qianhai's wife said with a tone of amazement.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
