Chapter 196: 【196】Zhou Bingrui’s Invitation_1
 

A group of antique shop owners and appraisers, after offering their congratulations to Tang Feng, all excused themselves one by one.

Pei Tianyuan seemed to want to speak a few times, looking as though he wanted to discuss the matter of switching jobs with Tang Feng, but ultimately, he kept his silence.

Clearly, he couldn’t make up his mind about offering Tang Feng the position of chief appraiser at Shengdingxuan Antique Shop.

The crowd quickly dispersed.

It could be anticipated that, after today’s events, Tang Feng’s fame in Zhonghai City’s Antique Street would reach a new peak.

At least from now on, when people mention the young generation of appraisers on the Antique Street, he would be the first that came to mind.

This also cleared the way for him to take over as the chief appraiser at Ya Garden.

Once everyone had left, the staff at Ya Garden all gave him a round of warm applause.

“Mr. Tang, your performance just now was truly splendid, you really scared those guys to death,” Ge Hui timely offered his flattery.

The other people also competed to shower him with praise.

“Yeah, Xue Yingjie is quite famous on Antique Street; I didn’t expect him to also end up as a defeated challenger under Mr. Tang.”

“After what happened today, I’d like to see who would dare to say Mr. Tang doesn’t deserve to be Ya Garden’s chief appraiser?”

“In my opinion, Mr. Tang’s appraising abilities are much stronger than those old guys.”

The last speaker was obviously one of those foolish types who wanted to suck up but didn’t have the brains, completely failing to consider that Zhang Jicheng could actually be counted among the “old guys” he mentioned.

It was only after someone reminded him that he realized what he’d said, and his face turned pale with fear.

But Zhang Jicheng had no intention of calculating with him and led Tang Feng into the back hall.

“Feng, next Wednesday is the National Antique Appraisers Qualification Certification day. Here’s a letter of recommendation I wrote for you. With it, you can gain entry,” Zhang Jicheng said as he handed over an envelope to Tang Feng.

Tang Feng scratched his head in confusion as he accepted the envelope, “I need a letter of recommendation too?”

“Of course. If there were no such requirement, any Tom, Dick, or Harry could participate in the assessment,” Zhang Jicheng replied.

“I see, Master,” Tang Feng responded.

“Feng, focus on preparing in the next few days. Aim to shine during the assessment; then, your master will give you a big gift,” Zhang Jicheng encouraged him.

“What big gift?” Tang Feng immediately became curious.

“Let’s talk about that after you successfully obtain the appraiser qualification,” Zhang Jicheng said with a mysterious smile.

Tang Feng felt a burst of curiosity clawing at him as he wondered what the big gift his master had mentioned could be.

But since the master wouldn’t say, he had no course of action.

Tang Feng had spent the entire day helping Zhang Jicheng take stock of the inventory.

Zhang Jicheng made clear which antiques were in the warehouse, which were confirmed as genuine, and which were still doubtful.

Tang Feng knew that his master was preparing for the handover.

Once he obtained his appraiser qualification, the master would give up his position as chief appraiser to retire in peace.

To be honest, the time the two had spent together had been quite harmonious.

Zhang Jicheng also took his responsibilities as a master to his disciple very seriously.

He was actually somewhat reluctant to let go.

It was near the end of the workday when Tang Feng suddenly received a call from Zhou Bingrui, saying that his father happened to be free that evening and would like to invite him over for a meeting.

After thinking it over, Tang Feng agreed.

Zhou Bingrui had helped him a few times, and last time, after exposing that pig-butchering scam, he had even taken more than ten million from him.

Now that the other party was seeking his help, it would be difficult for him to refuse.

He immediately got into his Ferrari F8 and headed to the meeting place he had agreed upon with Zhou Bingrui.

The location they had arranged to meet at was a five-star hotel owned by Zhou Bingrui himself, named Kaiyue Hotel.

The name sounded quite grandiose, but according to Zhou Bingrui’s explanation, the reason for choosing this name was that his father was named Zhou Kai.

To bring joy to Zhou Kai, the hotel was thus named Kaiyue.

When Tang Feng heard this explanation, he felt the class of the hotel dropped significantly in an instant.

In his mind, he had already sketched an image of a nouveau riche with a thick gold necklace around his neck, gold teeth, and a hand adorned with five large diamond rings.

But when he arrived at Kaiyue Hotel and was personally escorted to the VIP room by the staff, he knew he had been wrong.

The room contained a large round table surrounded by a circle of people, with Zhou Bingrui’s father, Zhou Kai, sitting in the central position.

Clad in a sharp black suit with a red tie and paired with a pair of gold wire-rimmed glasses.

Where was the vulgar display of wealth?

He was the epitome of a refined businessman.

Zhou Bingrui was actually quite good-looking, but compared to his father, he fell short by quite a bit.

Especially in terms of temperament, he had inherited none of his father’s refinement.

It couldn’t help but make Tang Feng wonder if there had been a mix-up at birth.

Besides Zhou Kai, who greatly surprised him, there was another person at the table who caused him to do a double-take.

It was none other than Mao Anyi.

However, her position there seemed to be quite low, sitting at the very end of the table.

Mao Anyi had clearly seen him too, and a flicker of astonishment crossed her face.

Clearly, she hadn’t expected to see Tang Feng at such an upscale dining event.

“Feng’s here? Come over, let me introduce you,” Zhou Bingrui, who was sitting next to Zhou Kai, hurriedly stood up and waved Tang Feng over.

Today’s event seemed to be attended by all the big shots from the business world, and now all eyes were on him, which put considerable pressure on Tang Feng.

But since he was there, he had to face it, so he toughened up and walked over.

Zhou Bingrui took his hand and turned to his father, “Dad, this is the Tang Feng I’ve told you about.”

“Don’t let his youth fool you, his prowess in antique appraisal and physiognomy skill is simply astounding.”

Then, he added an introduction for Tang Feng, “This is my dad; you can call him Old Zhou.”

“Mr. Zhou, hello.”

Tang Feng understood basic courtesy and wouldn’t let Zhou Bingrui lead him astray.

“So, you’re Tang? Rui has been mentioning you so often recently that I’ve nearly got calluses on my ears. Have a seat,” Zhou Kai stood up graciously, shook hands with Tang Feng, and then pointed to the seat next to Zhou Bingrui.

There was a chair conspicuously left empty, obviously reserved in advance for him.

Tang Feng didn’t pretend to decline and sat down next to Zhou Bingrui.

At the end of the table, Mao Anyi’s mouth dropped open in shock.

She hadn’t expected that the empty seat was reserved for Tang Feng.

It seemed that Mr. Zhou held him in high regard.