"That is natural. The Wang family in the capital is no ordinary family, just like the Ye family in the south of China. They are also extraordinary. However, it’s alright, Teacher Wang. Please briefly describe it, and I will try my best to prepare. Whether your grandmother ultimately likes it or not, I will have done my best," Chen Feng replied sincerely.
Wang Ziwei felt very pleased upon hearing this. This man was indeed skilled in handling social situations, leaving no room for error.
"Since that's the case, I'll tell you a little. My grandmother has always loved collecting, especially the paintings of Dong Qichang. Although Dong Qichang is not as famous as other ancient Chinese painters, he painted very few works in his lifetime, making his paintings expensive and difficult to obtain... Of course, I'm just mentioning this casually, don't take it to heart," Wang Ziwei explained word by word.
"I understand, Teacher Wang. Tomorrow, I will give your grandmother a big surprise," Chen Feng said excitedly.
His luck had been truly good on this journey. First, he had encountered so many benefactors, and now he had such a good opportunity to impress. It turned out that when he was handling Meidao Pharmaceutical in the provincial capital before, he had accidentally acquired a painting by Dong Qichang. Many people had offered exorbitant prices to buy it, but he had refused. He never expected it to be useful today.
A night passed quickly. Early the next morning, Wang Ziwei took Chen Feng to the hotel. As soon as Chen Feng entered the hotel, he was stunned. Firstly, the seven-star hotel amazed Chen Feng. One had to admit that a seven-star hotel was extremely luxurious. All the tableware was made of gold! But that wasn't what shocked Chen Feng the most. What truly stunned Chen Feng was the caliber of people attending the event; it was blinding. There were top Chinese celebrities, leaders at the national minister level, and foreign envoys... As a deputy town mayor, he felt utterly insignificant.
"Teacher Wang, let's forget it. I won't go to the main hall. I'll go to wish your grandmother a happy birthday after the banquet," Chen Feng whispered to Wang Ziwei.
"It's lively with so many people now. It's fine, let's join the fun," Wang Ziwei said dismissively.
"Teacher Wang, you know that the main hall is filled with big shots. It's not appropriate for me, a grassroots official, to mingle among them," Chen Feng stated the truth.
"It doesn't matter, my grandmother is very approachable and doesn't care about these things," Wang Ziwei persuaded Chen Feng with a smile.
"Teacher Wang, although that's the case, I still cannot do it. As you know, my experience is limited to grassroots politics. The main hall today is full of big shots, the kind who appear on the national news. I definitely cannot handle it. Forget it, I'll chat and laugh with them when I come to the capital's political arena in the future," Chen Feng explained earnestly.
"Chen Feng, if that's how you feel, I won't force you. However, after the capital's political big shots leave, there will still be members of the Wang family. You need to be mentally prepared. My two elder brothers are not easy to deal with either," Wang Ziwei continued with a smile.
"That's fine. No matter how difficult your two elder brothers are to deal with, they are still your elder brothers. They will show you face, and even if I make some mistakes, they will be tolerant," Chen Feng replied truthfully.
"That's true. If that's the case, then you can go to the private room next door first. Those are all drivers for the big shots," Wang Ziwei pointed to the room next door.
Without a second thought, Chen Feng went to the private room next door. He sat there for nearly three hours and felt quite good. The drivers of the capital's political big shots were similar to those at the grassroots level. They gathered together without any airs, chatting about everything under the sun.
After three hours, the drivers left one by one. In other words, the big shots from the capital's political arena left one by one. It was at this moment that Wang Ziwei came to call Chen Feng. When Chen Feng entered the empty hall, the Wang family's eyes lit up. "Well, this young man is quite handsome."
"Young man, Ziwei mentioned that you are the deputy town mayor of Mingshan Town?" Wang Ziwei's grandmother looked at Chen Feng curiously. As a grandmother, she knew her granddaughter Ziwei very well. She had high standards, and ordinary men could hardly catch her eye. Therefore, she had remained single until now. She never expected a grassroots official to catch her granddaughter's attention. It had to be said, it was a rare occurrence.
"Grandmother, yes, I am the deputy town mayor of Mingshan Town," Chen Feng replied neither subserviently nor arrogantly. Chen Feng thought to himself that regardless of whether a family was rich or poor, no one liked a timid person. Therefore, there was no need to overthink; he should be as he normally was.
"Young man, you are quite confident. You can see that our Wang family is not an ordinary family. Do you think you can give Ziwei happiness in the future?" Wang Ziwei's grandmother seriously scrutinized the grassroots official before her. Strangely, although this man was only a grassroots official, the demeanor in his eyes was very profound. He possessed the spirit of a big shot from the capital's political arena.
"Grandmother, I am still young. With youth, everything is possible," Chen Feng continued to reply neither subserviently nor arrogantly.
"Chen Feng, can you stop boasting? What possibilities can a deputy town mayor have? He'll probably be stuck in a grassroots position for his entire life," Wang Ziwei's two elder brothers interjected. Wang Zihao and Wang Zishan usually showed off in front of others, so they couldn't stand Chen Feng showing off in front of their grandmother!
"My two elder brothers, you can't say that. Many big shots in China didn't have high status at the beginning. Some started as librarians, some as farmers, and some as lowly soldiers... Didn't they all become prominent big shots in the end?" Chen Feng replied calmly.
"Chen Feng, your logic is flawed. The big shots you mentioned are from the war era. In the war era, crossing class lines was very easy. As long as you weren't afraid of death, you could quickly cross class lines. But now it's a peaceful era, and class stratification is severe. For a deputy town mayor like you, at most, you can become a county-level cadre. Therefore, I advise you not to have any undue ambitions," Wang Ziwei's two elder brothers said with feigned seriousness. In fact, they didn't care at all who their sister Wang Ziwei married. No matter who their sister eventually married, it wouldn't affect them. A married daughter is like spilled water. The reason they were so unfriendly to their sister Wang Ziwei's boyfriend was, in plain terms, that their sister had requested it privately. The purpose was to test this young man Chen Feng's resilience.
"My two elder brothers, don't worry, I have no undue ambitions. Since I chose to be with Ziwei, I will work hard to give Ziwei what she wants," Chen Feng replied unhurriedly. Based on his sixth sense, he felt that the Wang family as a whole did not harbor any malice towards him. Everything was just a test, testing his resilience.
"You say nice things, but do you have any actual actions? For Grandmother's birthday this time, we all gave gifts. What do you plan to give?" Wang Ziwei's two elder brothers deliberately placed their gifts in front of Chen Feng. One was a diamond ring, and the other was a gold hairpin. Both were priceless items. Chen Feng didn't hesitate and directly took out Dong Qichang's painting.
"What? You have a painting by Dong Qichang? How is that possible?" Wang Ziwei's two elder brothers looked at Chen Feng with astonishment.
"Grandmother is a senior connoisseur. This painting by Dong Qichang that I have is an authentic work. Whether it's genuine or a fake, Grandmother will know at a glance," Chen Feng said, handing the painting by Dong Qichang to Wang Ziwei's grandmother.