Chapter 85: Remember to Treat Me to a Meal

Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Remember to Treat Me to a Meal

Li Beixing’s father was named Li Qiguang. Not many people might recognize his name, but when it came to Hongqi Agriculture, it held considerable renown in Jiangbei. For Li Qiguang to rise from a mere team leader in the North Transport Team to a multi-millionaire today, it took more than just riding the winds of his era and extraordinary luck—his own business acumen was nothing to scoff at. At the very least, compared to his peers, his foresight was exceptional.

The so-called North Transport Team originated from a time when the north lacked sufficient winter vegetable supplies. The team transported winter-grown vegetables from the south to sell up north. Back then, many farming villages in Jiangbei and its neighboring cities grew cash crops like chili peppers, bell peppers, and cucumbers. To guarantee freshness, farmers would wake up at two or three in the morning to harvest, then deliver their produce to the northern transport station by five to be weighed and loaded onto trucks on the spot. If they were even a minute late, the trucks would leave without their goods. Thus, everyone always aimed to be early rather than late.

Li Qiguang was not a highly educated man. After graduating from middle school and failing his high school entrance exams, he entered the workforce. His years with the North Transport Team were exhausting, but they broadened his horizons significantly. Eventually, he struck out on his own, remaining in the vegetable transport industry. He started with a single truck, slowly expanding to ten. From there, he signed long-term supply contracts with large local planters and even ventured into large-scale cultivation himself, studying the advanced, full-chain agricultural development models of other provinces and cities. Today, his company was an industry leader in Jiangbei. While there had been both profits and losses over the years, he generally earned more than he lost, and his wealth continued to grow.

He didn’t know much about business management. He merely remembered a piece of advice an old boss had given him years ago: "You work, I pay. You work well, I pay more!" Every time he distributed wages and bonuses, he did so in cash. His employees would line up and walk past a towering wall of money. Any odd amount less than a hundred was generously rounded up to a full hundred-yuan bill. Privately, everyone would praise him, saying, "Boss Li is a stand-up guy!"

Li Qiguang didn’t have many hobbies. Fishing was one, and calligraphy and painting—which had caught his interest in the past two years—were another. Fortunately, he was relatively restrained. He only purchased pieces under six figures, focusing primarily on aesthetic appreciation. He knew that the calligraphy and painting market was incredibly inflated. If he threw too much money into it, he could easily become a target for scammers working together to set him up. He was rich, but he refused to be slaughtered like a fat sheep.

Today, Li Qiguang came to the company as usual to check on things, hold a brief meeting, and handle some affairs. Afterward, he sat in his office, drinking tea and listening to an audiobook.

Just then, the boss of the neighboring Desheng Ecological Agriculture, Fatty Liu, came looking for him with a cheerful smile.

"Brother Guang! Come here, what do you think of my new calligraphy collection?"

Fatty Liu’s real name was Liu Deqiang, and he raised free-range chickens. Back during the bird flu epidemic, he nearly lost his shirt, but he stubbornly managed to turn things around and survive. Since then, his business had only grown larger. Although he wasn’t as wealthy as Li Qiguang, he was no slouch either, at least holding his own in Jiangbei. Like Li Qiguang, he loved fishing and collecting calligraphy and paintings.

Li Qiguang took a close look and said in surprise, "Not bad at all. Fan Baochong’s work? If it’s authentic, I’m afraid it wasn’t cheap."

Fatty Liu looked somewhat smug. "Brother Guang’s level of appreciation is improving very quickly."

Li Qiguang chuckled. "Sigh, after falling into a few traps, anyone would know they need to improve. Your standards are high, so I can’t fall too far behind. However, why does it feel like the brushwork in this piece is a bit sloppy?"

Fatty Liu smacked his lips. "Although Fan Baochong is famous, he produces a lot. Many of his works are just done as personal favors, so they are indeed a bit casual. But most people only value his fame anyway. Guess how much I got this for?"

"Two hundred and fifty thousand?"

"Close. A little bit more."

"If you like it, it’s not expensive. Fan Baochong’s calligraphy has a clear market price."

Two big bosses—who between them couldn’t even scrounge up a single university diploma—sat together, sipping tea and admiring calligraphy. To outsiders, it might look like a pretentious display of culture, but it was also a genuine sign of their eagerness to learn and improve. If they didn’t enjoy the money they made, wouldn’t they have earned it all for nothing? As long as they stayed away from gambling and drugs, and didn’t rashly dabble in unfamiliar fields, their rate of spending was far from ruining their families.

"Dad!" Li Beixing called out, knocking on the door before entering.

"Oh, isn’t this Beixing?" Fatty Liu said in surprise.

Li Beixing grinned. "Hello, Uncle Liu. Long time no see."

Her family had known the Liu family for many years. She also knew Fatty Liu’s daughter, and they were on fairly good terms.

"Yeah, it’s been a while," Fatty Liu said with a hearty laugh.

Li Qiguang asked, "Beixing, what brings you here?"

Li Beixing’s eyes narrowed into happy crescents. "Didn’t I mention a couple of days ago that I got a piece of calligraphy for you? Uncle Huang finished mounting it, so I brought it straight over to you today."

Hearing this, Fatty Liu immediately became interested. "Oh? Which famous master’s work is it?"

Li Beixing hurriedly waved her hands. "It’s not by a famous master, just a friend. I thought his handwriting was quite good, so I asked him to write a piece for my dad."

Fatty Liu looked a bit envious. "Such a filial daughter. Brother Guang, your girl is much better than mine. The one at my house only knows how to ask me for money."

Li Qiguang chuckled. "Are you really lacking that little bit of money? Besides, if you don’t let her spend yours, be careful some man out there doesn’t start spending on her instead."

Hearing this, Fatty Liu felt a sharp ache in his jaw and quickly deflected, "Let’s look at the calligraphy, let’s look at the calligraphy."

Under their watchful eyes, Li Beixing quickly brought out the artwork to display.

Fatty Liu immediately let out a gasp of surprise. "This calligraphy... is quite interesting."

At first glance, it seemed ordinary, but upon closer inspection, it brimmed with a profound charm. The structure and intent of the brushstrokes were entirely unique, rivaling even contemporary masters. It really had something special to it.

Li Qiguang had seen it before and felt it suited his tastes perfectly back then. Now that it was properly mounted, it felt even more flawless. It was, at the very least, far superior to the piece currently hanging in his office. He instantly puffed up with pride. "Right? I think it’s pretty good too."

Fatty Liu’s expression grew a bit more serious. "It’s more than just pretty good—it’s incredibly good! How much did it cost?"

"Twenty thousand."

"Not bad, not bad at all! That’s a great deal!"

"How does it compare to your Fan Baochong?"

"..."

One was from a high-end assembly line, and the other was custom-made in a small workshop. Fatty Liu’s expression twisted in conflict as he smacked his lips. Actually, the moment he found it hard to choose, Fan Baochong’s work had already lost. After all, this calligrapher was just an unknown, ordinary person, whereas Fan Baochong was world-renowned. But as the saying went: it didn’t matter if you couldn’t judge the goods, so long as you could compare them side by side.

He originally thought he had picked up a massive bargain by snatching a piece from the contemporary master Fan Baochong for 270,000 yuan. Who would have thought that a piece of calligraphy a daughter gifted to honor her old man would rival a master’s in sheer quality? It made him lose quite a bit of face.

And the kicker was, it only cost 20,000 yuan! Twenty grand! At that price, what more could he possibly ask for? He and his friends sometimes spent more than that on a single dinner! Buying it to hang in the office would keep him in a good mood for days—wasn’t that a far better deal than a fleeting dinner party?

Fatty Liu looked at the signature and asked curiously, "How come I’ve never heard the name Chen Jingle? Is he the new disciple of some big shot in the calligraphy circle? Where is he from?"

Li Beixing beamed. "He’s not a disciple of any big shot. He practiced all on his own. He’s one of us Jiangbei people."

"Jiangbei actually has hidden dragons and crouching tigers like this?!" Fatty Liu’s eyes widened.

Li Qiguang chuckled from the side. "You’re underestimating people. With a population of over two million in Jiangbei, isn’t it perfectly normal to produce a few talents? Even Han Gaozu started with a core group from a single county, and didn’t he eventually conquer the whole world?"

"Hmm, that makes sense." Fatty Liu nodded. He looked at Li Beixing, smiling like a big-bellied Buddha. "Say, Beixing, could you help Uncle Liu ask your friend if he has any other works? As long as they aren’t any worse than your dad’s piece, that’s fine. The price is highly negotiable."

Li Beixing first glanced at her dad. Seeing him smiling silently, she blinked and said, "Sure, Uncle Liu, I’ll ask him for you later and see if he can custom-make one for you too."

"That’s great, that’s great!" Fatty Liu rejoiced. "I remember you teach at No. 8 Middle School, right? Later, Uncle Liu will have the Crocodile Ecological Park send over enough tickets for two classes. If you have time on the weekend, you can bring the teachers and students for a group autumn outing. I’ll even arrange buses to pick you up and drop you off!"

Li Beixing was pleasantly surprised. "Thank you, Uncle Liu!"

Fatty Liu waved his large hand dismissively. "It’s a small matter. Having students around brings good popularity and lively energy. It’s exactly what I want!"

While the two elders continued chatting in the office, Li Beixing stepped out into the corridor. She sent a message to Chen Jingle: "Someone is bringing you money."

"Huh?" Having just finished lunch, Chen Jingle stared at the message in a daze for two seconds, thinking she had texted the wrong person.

Li Beixing explained, "It’s about the calligraphy! Someone is willing to spend twenty thousand yuan to buy a piece of your calligraphy, and they’d even accept it if it were a bit more expensive."

Chen Jingle was stunned. He thought, "Twenty thousand?! Holy crap, is this for real? Has my artwork already opened up the market? And the price is negotiable?"

Finding it hard to believe, he replied, "Teacher Li, are you sure you aren’t pulling my leg?"

Li Beixing found it both exasperating and amusing. "Would pulling your leg get me a free meal?"

Chen Jingle pondered for a moment. "Actually, yes." After all, if she was introducing business to him, shouldn’t he treat her to a meal?

The corners of Li Beixing’s mouth curled up slightly. "Alright then, remember to treat me to a meal after this is done."

"If it’s true, I definitely have to!" Although Chen Jingle was thrilled, he didn’t let it go to his head. "Tell me what the requirements are first."

Li Beixing felt a bit embarrassed; she had been too busy being happy. "I forgot to ask. The buyer is a middle-aged man in his fifties, the boss of Desheng Ecological Agriculture, who runs a free-range chicken business. Originally, he just wanted to ask if you had any other works, but I took the liberty of saying you could do a custom order. You don’t blame me, do you?"

Chen Jingle didn’t mind at all. "Custom orders were always an option. Since they’re paying, I’ll write whatever the client wants."

"That’s good." Li Beixing secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She hurried back into the office. "Uncle Liu, my friend says it’s doable. Do you have any requirements for the content or the size of the piece?"

Fatty Liu pondered for a moment. "The specific content doesn’t matter much. The calligraphy just needs to have an imposing presence. The characters should be legible enough for ordinary people to understand, and artistic enough for cultured people to praise. Your dad’s ’Heaven Rewards the Diligent’ is very nice. A similar size to that one will do."

"Okay, I’ll pass that on for you."

Li Beixing relayed Fatty Liu’s exact words.

Chen Jingle looked at the message, deep in thought.

"Alright, I understand."