Chapter 225: Meeting Liu Dong, Envisioning the Future (Part 1/4)

“Tang, what’s this about? Why did the hotpot restaurant’s owner ask you to write an inscription?” Zhang Liang was somewhat puzzled.

“It’s obvious! It must be because of Tang’s status,” said Wang Wenqing, the deputy director of the research center.

“That makes sense. After all, Tang is the chief designer of our Beidou Phase Two project. For the owner of the hotpot restaurant, this status is indeed very prestigious,” Zhang Liang nodded thoughtfully.

“Let’s not talk about this for now! Come on, let’s eat,” Tang Feng called out.

After the meal, the owner had prepared the four treasures of the study, respectfully asking Tang Feng to write an inscription.

Tang Feng casually wrote down the three characters for “Dong Lai Shun.”

Wang Wenqing was astounded by the calligraphy Tang Feng wrote!

He had been learning calligraphy since he was young and considered his skill to be decent.

He had even joined the Chinese Calligraphers Association a few years ago!

Initially, he thought the hotpot restaurant owner had asked Tang Feng for an inscription solely because of his status!

But now, it appeared that was not the case at all!

Tang Feng’s calligraphy, compared to his, was like the difference between clouds and mud!

“Mr. Tang, if I may ask, who did you learn your calligraphy from?” Wang Wenqing asked cautiously.

“I taught myself. Mainly by copying the works of famous calligraphers,” Tang Feng replied.

“Self-taught?” Wang Wenqing was visibly stunned!

“Director Wang, don’t you believe it?” Tang Feng asked with a smile.

“It’s not that,” Wang Wenqing quickly explained, “I just find it somewhat incredible.”

“To tell you the truth, calligraphy is just a hobby of mine,” Tang Feng said nonchalantly.

“Mr. Tang’s calligraphy is indeed very well written! The first time I saw Mr. Tang’s handwriting, I was amazed! I never thought that one day, I would see the person himself in my own hotpot restaurant!” the owner couldn’t help but exclaim.

“If I may ask, where did you see my writing?” Tang Feng asked with interest.

“I saw it at an auction. At that time, one of my friends wanted to attend the auction. He didn’t want to go alone, so he dragged me along,” the owner replied.

“I did entrust someone to auction off a few pieces of calligraphy and painting. Mainly because I was a bit short on cash at the time, otherwise, I wouldn’t have sold so many,” Tang Feng said with a smile.

“Mr. Tang, I would like to ask, how much is the fee for this inscription you wrote?” the owner was somewhat nervous.

After all, he had witnessed the prices of Tang Feng’s calligraphy works at the auction.

If it were priced similarly, even though he could afford it, it would still hurt.

“I haven’t really thought about it. How about this? Let’s just use this piece of work to cover the cost of today’s hotpot, how does that sound?” Tang Feng suggested.

“That won’t do!” the owner quickly refused, “A hotpot meal isn’t worth much, it can’t compare to your calligraphy works.”

“The few characters I wrote for you just happen to be the name of your hotpot restaurant. Aside from your personal interest in collecting it, others might not be interested. So, it probably isn’t worth much. Let’s just leave it at that!” Tang Feng finished speaking and prepared to leave!

“Mr. Tang, this really isn’t acceptable. If you don’t accept payment, I will feel quite uneasy,” the owner insisted on paying.

“If you feel uneasy, when our research center’s colleagues come to dine here, you could offer them a discount,” Tang Feng suggested.

“That’s no problem!” the owner agreed very readily.

Then, he brought over a hundred membership cards.

“Mr. Tang, to be honest, with so many employees at your research center, it might be difficult to recognize them. These are our hotpot restaurant’s membership cards. You can distribute them to your colleagues. Each membership card has already been preloaded with some money, and when dining, simply pay with the membership card to receive a 20% discount on all expenses,” the owner said, stuffing the cards into Tang Feng’s hands.

“In that case, I’ll thank you on behalf of the colleagues at the research center,” Tang Feng said with a smile.

“Mr. Tang, you’re too polite! If you have time, you’re always welcome to visit our restaurant. Our hotpot restaurant will always be free for you!” the owner made a solemn promise.

“Alright! We have other matters to attend to, we’ll talk another time!” Tang Feng said, then returned to the research center with Zhang Liang and the others.

“Director Wang, please distribute these membership cards to everyone later. I’m not sure how much money is on these cards, so let me know when you go to spend, so I have an idea,” Tang Feng instructed.

“Okay,” Wang Wenqing nodded and left.

“Mr. Tang, I really didn’t expect your calligraphy skills to be so high! It’s truly beyond my expectations! I must say, you excel in many fields!” Zhang Liang said, unable to help but give a thumbs up.

“You flatter me! For me, whether it’s calligraphy or singing, they’re just hobbies. My main focus is still on scientific research. I hope to do my best to push forward the development of science and technology in China,” Tang Feng said with a smile.

“Your approach is correct! The arts like music, chess, calligraphy, and painting can only generate high economic value when everyone’s basic needs are met. And for those needs to be met, we rely on technology,” Zhang Liang replied.

“Time is pressing, let’s get back to work!” Tang Feng said, and quickly busied himself.

Seeing this, Zhang Liang didn’t idle either and swiftly got back to work.

By then, Wang Wenqing had already distributed the membership cards Tang Feng had given to the colleagues.

“Mr. Tang is really generous! To give us this!”

“Dong Lai Shun’s membership card, and it’s preloaded with money! But it seems the amounts vary.”

“We can call the hotpot restaurant and ask them to check for us!”

“Wouldn’t that be inappropriate? If Mr. Tang finds out, he might not be pleased.”

“Mr. Tang isn’t the type to be petty. Knowing exactly how much is on the card will help us when we go to spend.”

“I think Jianing makes a good point! Let’s call and find out!”

Soon, the colleagues learned exactly how much money was on the membership cards Tang Feng had given them.

Each card had ten thousand yuan!

Meaning, the batch of membership cards Tang Feng handed out was worth over seven hundred thousand yuan!

“My goodness! Mr. Tang is really lavish! To spend so much at once!”

“The money didn’t come from Mr. Tang. These membership cards were given to Mr. Tang by the owner of the hotpot restaurant,” Wang Wenqing explained.

“Ah? How come? Why would the owner of the hotpot restaurant give Mr. Tang so many membership cards?”

“Mr. Tang wrote a few words for the owner of the hotpot restaurant,” Wang Wenqing said.

“Just a few words are worth so much? It’s really unbelievable!”

“It’s unexpected how valuable Mr. Tang’s identity is! If these were words by Master Sun, wouldn’t they be worth even more!” the colleagues couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement.

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