Chapter 114

Being able to display rice paper and a goat-hair brush in an office is a clear sign that one’s calligraphy skills are by no means inferior. To affect a refined and cultured air is often the specialty of merchants and social elites. For an elite at the level of Chairman Xu, delving into and immersing oneself in the study of calligraphy is practically a prerequisite. Well, were it not for the fact that Zhao Qian, the coal tycoon from Jinxi, was essentially uncultured—having not even finished middle school—he would certainly have grappled with calligraphy by now. It was only his lack of formal education that kept him from taking up the brush; he didn't want to make a fool of himself unnecessarily. Unlike the rough-hewn Zhao Qian, Chairman Xu was a genuine scholar. When it came to refinement, he lacked none of the cultivation of a traditional man of letters. Therefore, Ye Chen’s compliment—calling it "magnificent and imposing"—was no mere flattery; Chairman Xu’s calligraphy truly possessed a degree of substance.