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Chapter 1142: Chapter 1000 Taishang Laojun
Half an hour later.
The meeting ended.
Tang Qing came to the reception room to record an interview.
"Dialogue" focused on the film industry, Sina Finance was more inclined towards business miscellany, and Comet Video’s interviews leaned towards lifestyle, which was why Tang Qing only agreed to three companies.
If a question was asked repeatedly,
it would be very annoying.
Tang Qing actually admired Ma Yun a bit.
He was always giving speeches everywhere.
And he never seemed to tire of it.
However, it had to be said that Ma Yun’s talent for public speaking was fully developed, stirring people’s hearts, and although it somewhat seemed like filling their souls with chicken soup, chicken soup was still soup, after all.
Take a sip.
At least it would lighten the mood a bit.
In an impatient society, where people are ill-tempered, utilitarian, and low on happiness, there was a need for someone like Ma Yun to encourage spirits and bring hope.
Approaching eleven.
The interview finished, Tang Qing could finally return to Sanya to enjoy some sunshine. A typhoon was nearing the sea surface, and the weather forecast predicted a week of rain in the Shanghai Stock Market area. Tang Qing had already booked a flight for that afternoon.
"Director Pu, I’ll be leaving now. Call me if anything comes up," Tang Qing told Pu Chaodong as he bid farewell in his office.
Pu Chaodong quickly stood up, "Chairman, let me see you out."
"No need, I’m surely not going to get lost," Tang Qing waved his hand and laughed.
"Yes."
Although he verbally agreed,
Pu Chaodong still escorted Tang Qing to the elevator.
...
Afternoon.
Three-thirty.
Tang Qing boarded the airplane heading to Sanya.
First class cabin.
With nothing much to do, he flipped through a book—Journey to the West. Lately, when he had nothing to do or think about, he would flip through classic works, absorbing each sentence.
But not foreign classics.
He really couldn’t appreciate those from abroad; instead, he’d rather read 300 Tang Poems and other Chinese literature. He had no interest in foreign novels.
Next to him,
Lin Jiaxue was following suit, except she was flipping through Dream of the Red Chamber.
"Young man, you like Journey to the West as well?"
Not long after takeoff, a middle-aged man next to him started a conversation. Tang Qing looked up; without even looking, just from sensing, he could tell the man had peeked at him more than a dozen times and had hesitated to speak several times.
Presumably,
the man knew who he was.
"Yes, just reading randomly for fun, quite interesting," Tang Qing responded.
The middle-aged man smiled. "Heh, young man, you have quite a unique taste—I have to say, the charm of Chinese characters is truly formidable. It’s hard to imagine how people centuries ago could reach such heights of imagination."
"That’s true, the charm of characters withstands the test of time," Tang Qing nodded.
"Who is your favorite character in it?" the middle-aged man asked with a smile.
Tang Qing thought for a moment.
"Taishang Laojun, I suppose."
The middle-aged man was taken aback.
That was quite a novel answer.
Young people usually favored Sun Wukong, but considering the man before him, standard logic didn’t apply, so he asked curiously, "Why do you like that... uh... old man?"
Tang Qing looked at the middle-aged man and smiled, "I just like his role as a chess player; Sun Wukong, on the other hand, is a bit too tragic—completely manipulated from beginning to end."
"Clap, clap," the middle-aged man applauded. "Well said."
Different people read the same book.
They all have different interpretations.
And Tang Qing had been looking at it from the perspective of a "chess player" from the beginning, no wonder at such a young age, he had achieved so much, the way he saw issues was different, Taishang Laojun, haha, interesting.
"Indeed, Taishang Laojun, one of the Three Pure Ones, the founder of Taoism, whose power reached the skies, yet he kept a low profile, even had a wife and children, cuckolded the Bull Demon King, really living a carefree life, haha," the middle-aged man laughed loudly.
"And you?" Tang Qing counter-asked.
"Piggy," the middle-aged man said without hesitation.
"Why?" Tang Qing asked.
The middle-aged man explained.
"Fools have their own kind of fortune, other than turning into a pig, he didn’t suffer much from start to finish, plus he could transform into a human, ranked as the Heavenly Marshal, wielding great power and authority, and even after descending to the mortal realm, he lived a carefree life.
Not only did he own the Nine-toothed rake, but he also married twice, having two wives, and in the end, he mixed into the scripture-fetching team and became a cleaner of the altar, although the position conferred by Buddha in the end wasn’t high, his life overall was smooth."
"That makes sense," Tang Qing nodded.
People have different aspirations.
Some hope for a stable life; others desire overwhelming power and influence.
And this person before him.
Based on what was just said.
Tang Qing guessed he was a rich generational heir, yearning for wealth and status to steadily pass down, a fact that closely matched his guess, as information about this person from the command room revealed he was an overseas Chinese.
Named Zu Anzheng.
His ancestors had conducted business in countries across Southeast Asia, involving rubber, grains, aquatic products, timber and the like, quite the fourth-generation rich, he returned to his homeland this time to meet some old friends and was currently on his way to Sanya for a meeting.
Assets worth several billions of RMB.
Neither too high nor too low.
"Zu Anzheng."
He handed over a business card.
Tang Qing took it and glanced at it.
--- Chairman and General Manager of Zu Treasure Group.
"As for me, you should have guessed," Tang Qing looked up.
Zu Anzheng laughed upon hearing this, "It seems you’ve known that I know you."
"Pretty much," Tang Qing said.
Zu Anzheng continued, "I grew up in Indonesia, and we didn’t have many Chinese writings at home, but those we did have included some of the famous Chinese novels and historical texts, with ’Journey to the West’ being my favorite.
As a child, I was fascinated by that bizarre world, hoping to be like Sun Wukong, but later I realized, Sun Wukong is still a monkey, played by people clapping their hands, whereas Piggy is more endearing."
"Mr. Zu, your surname is really advantageous," Tang Qing said with a light laugh.
"Haha, many people say that, if you don’t mind, just call me Uncle Zu," Zu Anzheng laughed loudly, Zu was a rare surname, if called Director Zu, it would sound like ’ancestor’.
"Sure," Tang Qing nodded.
Information about Zu Anzheng flashed before his eyes, showing that he was quite decent, had some influence within the Chinese community in Indonesia, and was known for his kindness, with no dark history.
The overall evaluation report showed.
A harmless person.
Otherwise.
Tang Qing wouldn’t bother talking more with him.
"I wonder, if I could invite you for a meal?" Being able to chat with Tang Qing was also a rare fortunate event for Zu Anzheng.
Tang Qing thought for a moment.
Nodded in agreement.
"Sure, how about the day after tomorrow? You pick the place."
"Sounds great."
Generally, Tang Qing wouldn’t agree to dine with someone he just met, but this Zu Anzheng was an exception. Although Zu Anzheng was a legitimate businessman, his cousin, however, was a major underworld force in Indonesia. 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝔭𝔲𝔟.𝖈𝖔𝔪
With over a thousand men under him.
Even though he was relatively weak in Tang Qing’s eyes, over there he was considered a formidable force, but he never engaged in bullying or domineering businesses, always using his influence to protect the relative safety of the local Chinese.
For such a person.
Tang Qing also had some admiration.
