Riding the wind of rebirth

"President, what this gentleman said is absolutely right!" While Zhou Zhi was introducing, Mai Xiaomiao had already begun using the forum administrator's authority to create statistical curves in the background. The functions he used stunned the maintenance team, and the final statistical curve also stunned them.

"Then let's not explode it right away. Let's cooperate with the police for the next few days and we can talk about the public opinion in a few days." Richard Riel is a person who is superstitious about data. After reading Mai Xiaomiao's tracking and analysis of some hot discussions in the forum, he completely believed Zhou Zhi's words.

"What sir? This is our boss, one of the first important initiators and major shareholders of the Digital Alliance, Mr. George." Margaret scolded.

Zhou Zhi waved his hand to indicate that it was not necessary to worry about it, and then said: "This big news is enough to change public opinion. The next thing is up to you. Xiao Miao and I can go sightseeing in New York City."

"Mr. George has helped us a lot." Margaret stood up and thanked Zhou Zhi: "Now we are completely confident, please wait for our good news."

"I will report the progress to you every day." Tony Huang was much more relaxed when he was with Zhou Zhi: "It's a rare opportunity to come to New York, so you guys should enjoy your visit."

……

On the outskirts of New York, Zhou Zhi and Mai Xiaomiao drove to a place called Lyme.

This place is far away from the city and very quiet. The car drove slowly along a leaf-covered path and a clear stream.

After the car passed a fence gate, it entered a small valley. Zhou Zhi looked around and exclaimed: "The Tang Dynasty poet Wang Wei once bought a valley called Wangchuan, where he built a villa. He took advantage of the local conditions and built pavilions and houses according to the beautiful forests and springs, places for rest, places for viewing, and places for borrowing scenery. He created a natural garden that is both full of natural interest and poetic and picturesque. The beauty of the mountains, waters and forests is more concentrated and prominently displayed. Now this small valley has a bit of that meaning."

Mai Xiaomiao smiled and said, "Same as Suihuaxuan?"

"Sui Huaxuan's traces of chiseling are still a bit exaggerated." Zhou Zhi said: "I dare not whitewash it for my senior. After all, Huaxuan's youngest cousin's grandfather was born into a nouveau riche family. His background and accomplishments cannot be compared with those of the old-school literati."

"This area has a bit of oriental landscape charm. Mr. Weng is quite good at finding places."

While the two were talking, the car crossed a small bridge and stopped beside a clear pond. They got out of the car, walked along the pond, turned a small corner, and a Western-style villa building on the slope came into view.

Zhou Zhi's brows slightly wrinkled, which was keenly caught by Mai Xiaomiao, who took his arm and laughed: "Why, are you still hoping to see a garden like Huanhua Tower, Wuhou Temple, and Du Fu Thatched Cottage?"

Zhou Zhi had taken Mai Xiaomiao to these places when the two were in Shudu. Mai Xiaomiao liked Huanhua Tower and Baihuatan very much. With Zhou Zhi's explanation, Mai Xiaomiao was no longer a novice in oriental architecture. Of course, he also knew what Zhou Zhi wanted to see, so he made fun of him.

Zhou Zhi was relieved: "Everyone has their own ideas, we just need to appreciate them. This is also a combination of Chinese and Western cultures. Mr. Weng has a broad mind and can be at peace with the world. This is not easy."

“Now it seems to be more and more similar to Suihuaxuan.” Mai Xiaomiao said with a smile.

What Mai Xiaomiao said was right. Suihuaxuan is a hillside peninsula sandwiched between two small rivers. Suihuaxuan is a mansion-style building that combines Chinese and Western styles and is located on the top of the slope. It is quite similar to the Western-style villa on the hillside now.

On the lawn in front of the villa, an old man and three middle-aged people were already waiting there. When they saw Zhou Zhi and Mai Xiaomiao coming down the slope, the three middle-aged people stood up to greet them. Zhou Zhi led Mai Xiaomiao up the stairs and came to the lawn to apologize to them: "The scenery along the way is so beautiful, it reminds me of Wang Mojie's Wangchuan Villa. I walked a little slowly and kept you waiting for a long time. I'm really sorry."

"Little boy, do you like the scenery here too?" The old man who was sitting still said with a smile, "My wife and I liked it when we came here. We also bought this place because of the name of the town outside."

"So that's how it is." Zhou Zhi suddenly realized: "Mr. Weng bought this place because he saw that this landscape resembled the "Thousand Miles of the Yangtze River" and the name of the town coincided with the name of his hometown. This stream is called Lai Creek, which was also a name changed later, right?"

"Hey? Little boy, are you the descendant of an old friend? Did you hear the elders say so?"

"That... not really, but the name of your family is very famous in China, it's called Caiyitang, which is taken from the story of Lao Laizi entertaining his parents with colorful clothes. Filial piety and Taoism are the family traditions. The town outside is called Leiden, which just happens to have the word Lai in it. Plus, the scenery is beautiful, with jungles halfway up the mountain, and the momentum of the hills and valleys is similar to the "Wanlitu", so I was attracted."

"Hahaha...you are quite clever, kid!" The old man was none other than Weng Wange, who said with a smile, "Your knowledge of anecdotes is top-notch as well. Come and sit down and have some tea."

Guan Shuning finally got the chance to introduce Zhou Zhi: "Elbow is more familiar with Mr. Weng's family background than I am, so there's no need for me to introduce him further, right?"

Zhou Zhi stepped forward and bowed, saying, "I have long heard of your great name, Mr. Weng. Your book, The Palace Museum Peking, was my extracurricular reading material when I was studying English in high school. No need to introduce it."

But he was secretly surprised. The old man came to the United States to study in 1938 and started working in New York in 1940. To be able to buy hundreds of acres of land in a small town near New York and build a big villa at that time was not only possible with money, but also with power and at least connections with the upper class.

The descendants of two generations of imperial teachers do have a pretty impressive background.

While he was thinking, he heard Guan Shuning start to introduce: "This is Mr. Weng's nephew, Weng Yijun, who is currently a professor at Princeton University, majoring in Eastern philosophy and art history."

“This is Wang Shaofang, the son of Mr. Wang Fangyu. He is now the director of the Asian Department of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.”

"Nice to meet you." Zhou Zhi shook hands with the two men. "My name is Zhou Zhi, and this is my girlfriend Lily."

"Mr. Zhou and Miss Lily are a perfect match." Wang Shaofang said with a smile, "I heard that you are here for a lawsuit?"

"Yes, there are some mundane matters, but today is a gathering of elegance, so I dare not disturb you all." Zhou Zhi asked, "I have also heard a lot about Mr. Wang. Is he in good health?"

Wang Fangyu was born in Beijing in 1913. He graduated from the Department of Education of Fu Jen Catholic University in . He received his master's degree from Columbia University in . He began teaching at Yale University in and later served as the head of the Department of Asian Studies at Seton Hall University.

In the past few years, I returned to Yale University to teach about Bada Shanren's life and art, and borrowed from important public and private collections at home and abroad to hold an exhibition of Bada Shanren's calligraphy and painting. I co-edited the exhibition catalog with Professor Ban Zonghua and Ms. Shi Wenhui. (End of this chapter)