"Grandpa," Geng Jun said rashly, his resolute tone hinting at a plea, "Today is Zhou Xia's first day of work. Even if she has any shortcomings, you should tell her in private, right?"
Zhou Xia's father's eyes flashed, and he looked at Geng Jun with some doubt. Perhaps it was because Geng Jun emphasized that today was Zhou Xia's first day of work, and as Zhou Xia's father, he seemed moved and did not refute.
Geng Baishan also kept silent. The spectators at the scene had different interpretations of this silence and began to whisper and discuss among themselves.
At this time, Zhang Moyan was very uneasy because of the appearance of Chen Guanfu. If Zhou Xia was afraid of exposing her relationship with Geng Jun in front of her parents, then she was also afraid of exposing her relationship with Chen Guanfu!
Especially since Xiao Xingyu is coming.
Although she was worried about Zhou Xia and Geng Jun, she herself was in a difficult situation.
She quietly sneaked up to Xiaowa and patted his shoulder.
"Sister Mo Yan?"
Zhang Moyan made a gesture to him, and Xiaowa and she retreated out of the crowd together.
"Xiao Wa, you know about Zhou Xia and Dean Geng, right?"
"I know, I know," Xiao Wa's face wrinkled. "But Zhou Xia's parents don't know about them yet. What if it gets out now?!"
"It's good that you know. Xingyu will be here soon. If the situation gets bad later, you must find a way to hold on until Xingyu arrives!"
"What what what!" Xiao Wa pointed at himself doubtfully, "I drag it? How can I drag it? I don't know how! Sister Mo Yan, you..."
"I have to leave now!" Zhang Moyan retorted.
"You want to leave?" Xiao Wa immediately stopped him with both hands, "No, Brother Yu will be here soon, why are you leaving?"
Zhang Moyan: "I have something urgent to tell you later!"
"What's the urgent matter? I'll help you with it," Xiao Wa used his muscular body to block Zhang Moyan's way, "Brother Yu, what can I do if I can't see you when I come here?"
"Xiao Wa, listen to me..."
However, before Zhang Moyan could finish her words, Geng Baishan's voice rang out over the loudspeaker, addressing Geng Jun: "If Miss Zhou can't handle criticism from just one person, how will she handle criticism from others in the future?"
Geng Jun was stunned by the question.
Geng Baishan's words were quite obvious. On the surface, he was talking about Zhou Xia's work, but in fact, he was talking about Zhou Xia and Geng Jun's marriage. If he couldn't even withstand the opposition from Geng Baishan alone, how would he face the opposition from countless people from the Geng and Xiao families in the future?
"You can say whatever you want. Our Zhou Xia is not afraid!" Zhou Xia's mother stood in front of the pale Zhou Xia like a valiant and proud fighting cock. "It's her blessing to be able to listen to Mr. Geng's teachings!"
"Grandpa..." Geng Jun still placed his hopes on Geng Baishan.
Geng Baishan just glanced at him and turned to Zhou Xia, "Miss Zhou, your talent is already quite outstanding for someone your age. I'm sure you've heard a lot of praise, right? So I might as well say something a little different, but don't think too much about it. I just hope you can make further progress."
Zhou Xia looked nervous but still forced a smile: "I understand. I am honored to receive your guidance!"
"Tsk!" But her words made her mother very dissatisfied, and she glared at Zhou Xia angrily.
Zhou Xia lowered his head, not daring to look at anyone again.
Zhang Moyan watched her, feeling an indescribable pain well up in her heart. Zhou Xia was such a brilliant and proud woman! And now, to be with the descendant of a family enemy, and for the sake of the child she was carrying, she was so wronged and afraid. Even if no one was blaming her yet, she felt like she had committed an unforgivable crime.
"Ms. Zhou's work has beautiful shapes, vivid curves, and bright colors. It's a rare masterpiece," Geng Baishan began to comment on Zhou Xia. "But overall, it looks more like a work of art. I was just looking at your work, and a question kept coming to my mind: didn't Xiao Guotao teach you a basic principle? 'It's important to have a sense of antiquity in craftsmanship; without that, even the workmanship is useless.' Your work shows that you haven't studied the works of the ancients enough, and your foundation isn't solid enough. This makes your work, while innovative, look more like a work of art."
Geng Baishan's words fell silent. This seemingly pertinent advice not only humiliated Zhou Xia, but also hurt Xiao Guotao.
"Mr. Geng, I think you've misunderstood," Zhou Xia said with difficulty. "I'm not even qualified to be considered the successor of Mr. Xiao Guotao, so the lack of ancient charm in my work is entirely due to my own dullness."
In the Xiao family, even in outsiders like Zhou Xia, Xiao Guotao is a god-like existence that cannot be desecrated. So even though Zhou Xia is now on the verge of collapse, he still does not forget to speak out to defend Xiao Guotao.
Zhang Moyan closed her eyes tightly, feeling the same torment as Zhou Xia. Looking at the miserable Zhou Xia, she even had the thought that "if I don't speak up for her, it would be like watching her die without helping her."
How she wished someone could support Zhou Xia at this time, but perhaps Geng Baishan did hit the nail on the head. Perhaps Zhou Xia really didn't practice much of the ancients' works, so Zhou Xia's parents were unable to react and were speechless for a while.
Geng Baishan, who was in control of the overall situation, stood up, glanced at Geng Jun, then looked at Zhou Xia: "Ms. Zhou, you are very outstanding, but it's a pity that I can't appreciate everything about you. I think you should understand what I mean."
"That's enough!" Zhou Xia's father clenched his fists. "Just because a businessman can't appreciate it, does that mean it's bad? For an elder to openly express his opinion like that, isn't that quite disgraceful?"
Zhou Xia's mother was also indignant: "He is not suppressing Zhou Xia, he is suppressing the Xiao family of Ruzhou. He is jealous that the Xiao family has such an outstanding younger generation who can hold an exhibition in Shenhai, while no one in their family can show off!"
To be honest, Zhou Xia's mother was so angry that she spoke without thinking. Everyone who heard her words was stunned at the same time. How could she condemn everyone with the same brush? What's more, she was talking about other people's descendants!
"Oh?" Geng Baishan was immediately annoyed. He snorted coldly and said rudely, "Since our Geng family's children are so unsuccessful, why would Miss Zhou still..."
"Mr. Geng, I have a different opinion!"
Just as Geng Baishan was about to say something like "Why would Miss Zhou marry my grandson?", Zhang Moyan interrupted him at the critical moment.
All eyes at the scene were focused on Zhang Moyan. Zhang Moyan kept his right hand raised high, his heart pounding in his throat. It was so close, he almost couldn't stop it!
"Miss, do you have any different opinions?" Geng Baishan said in a lukewarm voice.
Zhang Moyan adjusted her breathing, lowered her hand, and quickly searched her mind for ideas. As she thought, she said, "Mr. Geng, although learning from and respecting the ancients is the mainstream of porcelain making, I don't think we should go to extremes. For example, the Song Dynasty calligrapher Zhao Mengfu strongly advocated learning from the ancients and using ancient methods. As a result, calligraphers at the time rushed to emulate Wang, Su, Mi, and Huang. This made the calligraphy world stagnant and extremely monotonous. There were many people who excelled in running and cursive scripts, but no one could master regular script, preventing a flourishing of all styles."
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