Five minutes passed, unhurriedly.
*Knock, knock.*
The living room door of the villa suddenly rang with a knock.
"Just a moment!"
Hearing the sound, Jiang Ning quickly walked to the door and opened it. Aunt Wang, Tang Xiachuan, and the old butler, Zhang Haichen, stood outside.
"Master Jiang, we meet again," Tang Xiachuan said with a broad smile.
"Quick, come in and sit down!" Jiang Ning urgently stepped aside, inviting Tang Xiachuan and Zhang Haichen inside.
At that moment, Su Yunlong and Liu Mengyan, drawn by the commotion, came over from another room.
"Hello, Chairman Tang," Su Yunlong said, his face beaming as he stepped forward and extended his hand for a handshake.
"Mr. Tang, this is my father-in-law, the former CEO of Su Group..."
Before Jiang Ning could finish his introduction, Su Yunlong interrupted.
"Chairman Tang, please just call me Yunlong."
Su Yunlong shot Jiang Ning a glare before turning back to Tang Xiachuan with a radiant smile. "And this is my wife, Liu Mengyan."
Tang Xiachuan smiled in response, "Chairman Su, you're too kind. We're among friends here."
"No, no, no," Su Yunlong quickly waved his hand, looking particularly humble. "Before Chairman Tang of the Tang Group, I wouldn't dare address you as Chairman."
"How about this? I'll call you Brother Yunlong, and you can call me Brother Xiaochuan. What do you say?"
"I know you've already handed over the management of the Tang Group to your daughter. As for me, I've passed the company to my good-for-nothing son. We've both retired to the sidelines to enjoy our leisure. From now on, let's drop the formalities and address each other this way. What do you think?"
"Sounds good, Brother Xiaochuan!" Su Yunlong exclaimed, his voice filled with excitement.
No wonder he was excited! The Tang Group's total assets were five times those of the Su Group, and their connections and influence far surpassed the Su Group's. Moreover, the Tang Group's headquarters was located in the capital, right at the heart of power.
The Su Group was confined to operating in Cangnan City. Now, the former chairman of the Tang Group was offering to be his brother. Who wouldn't be thrilled by such an offer?
Tang Xiachuan was naturally pleased as well. Building a good relationship with Jiang Ning's father-in-law would smooth many things in the future. "Brother Yunlong, and hello to Sister-in-law."
"Brother Xiaochuan, please come in," Su Yunlong said, gesturing for him to enter.
"Brother Yunlong, after you."
The two men were polite and the atmosphere was cordial.
Before long, everyone had settled in the living room, and Jiang Ning was tasked with making tea.
Su Yunlong smiled. "Brother Xiaochuan, Jiang Ning told me you bought three villas in this neighborhood for the Culinary God Competition. Who would have thought we'd become neighbors! My wife and I plan to live here permanently for the time being, so we'll have to visit each other more often."
Tang Xiachuan said half-jokingly, "Really? That's wonderful! I was just wondering where to go. I've been so bored in the villa, just writing calligraphy or playing the *erhu*."
Su Yunlong's eyes lit up. "Playing the *erhu*? So, the *erhu* Jiang Ning brought back was really a gift from you, Brother Xiaochuan? How could I be so thoughtless as to take something you cherished? No, Brother Xiaochuan, you must take it back later."
Tang Xiachuan quickly waved his hand. "Brother Yunlong, don't say that. With Master Jiang's *erhu* skills, he's the only one worthy of this instrument."
"That two-stringed erhu is just being wasted on him. I was so happy to give it to Master Jiang."
Su Yunlong looked puzzled. "Oh? Is Jiang Ning's erhu that good? And by the way, Brother Xiaochuan, from now on, let's just call him Jiang Ning. Stop always calling him Master Jiang. He's still a junior."
"No, Brother Yunlong, Master Jiang is a grandmaster in cooking, calligraphy, and erhu. Especially with the erhu, he's reached the grandmaster level. He absolutely deserves such a title."
Su Yunlong, being the dominant one, made the decision. "How about this, Brother Xiaochuan? At home, Jiang Ning is still a junior, so we'll call him Jiang Ning. But when we're out and need to address him as Master Jiang, we'll do so."
Tang Xiachuan nodded in agreement. "That works. At home, we'll call him Jiang Ning, but we'll show him the proper respect when we're out."
Su Yunlong continued, "Brother Xiaochuan, you mentioned you're fond of calligraphy. I'm also quite interested. I'll have to ask you for some pointers in the future."
Tang Xiachuan quickly replied, "Brother Yunlong, please don't ask me for pointers. I'm too embarrassed to even claim to like calligraphy in front of Jiang Ning, let alone show you my clumsy attempts."
Su Yunlong nodded, his heart swelling with pride. After all, this was his son-in-law, and it made him look good. "You're right," he said. "I don't know how he learned it, but his calligraphy is so good, and his cooking is amazing too. As for the erhu, I haven't heard him play it yet."
Tang Xiachuan quickly interjected, "Brother Yunlong, you haven't heard Jiang Ning play the erhu? His erhu playing is truly exceptional—it's on the level of a grandmaster!"
Su Yunlong showed little interest in the erhu. He was more impressed by Jiang Ning's culinary and calligraphic skills and didn't really care how well he played the erhu.
"Erhu, grandmaster level?"
Su Yunlong thought to himself, *The sound of the erhu can't compare to how beautiful my wife Liu Mengyan's piano playing sounds.* That was his honest thought at that moment.
Tang Xiachuan nodded. "Yes, that's right."
Liu Mengyan, who loved painting and playing the piano, was delighted by this.
Although she had always played the piano, she was quite interested in other musical instruments. After all, they were all related to music, so she naturally paid more attention. "Jiang Ning," she said, her voice filled with anticipation, "could you play a piece on the erhu for Mom?"
"Mom, how about I play the erhu later tonight? I've already played one piece at Old Master Tang's house earlier, and Mengmeng is drawing right now."
As Jiang Ning spoke, he glanced at Mengmeng.
She was hunched over the balcony desk, engrossed in her drawing. Seeing her focused expression, Jiang Ning couldn't bring himself to disturb her.
Liu Mengyan followed his gaze to Mengmeng, who was still at her drawing, and nodded in agreement. "Alright."
The group continued chatting casually for a while.
"Dad, it's almost time. I should head to the kitchen to prepare dinner. What do you think?" Jiang Ning asked with a playful smile.
"Ah, oh, then you go ahead and get started, Jiang Ning. I'll ask you to teach me later."
Su Yunlong shifted uneasily. He was eager to join Jiang Ning in the kitchen but felt it would be rude to leave Tang Xiachuan and his old butler alone in the living room.
Tang Xiachuan seemed to read Su Yunlong's mind. "Oh, Brother Yunlong, you're quite interested in cooking?"
"Ahem, not really, not really. It's fine, I can learn from this little one later," Su Yunlong waved his hand, trying to downplay his enthusiasm.
Jiang Ning quickly interjected, "Don't worry, Dad. I'll record the entire cooking process in a video, with detailed explanations of every step. You can just watch it a few times whenever you like."
Su Yunlong's face lit up with a radiant smile. "That's wonderful!"
-----------------------
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(End of Chapter)