89: Chapter 89 Sha Ruijin: What? Really?

"Big Brother! You are truly something else!"

After Gao Xiaoqin left, Xin Quan gave a thumbs-up, his face full of admiration.

"That was so imposing! General Manager Gao of Shanshui Group, the attitude she had in front of you... tsk tsk, I've really seen something today!"

Shen Wang was amused by him and waved his hand: "Alright, the dishes are here, let's eat."

Just then, dishes that were meticulously prepared and beautifully plated were carefully brought up by the waiters.

Australian lobster, deep-sea king crab, two-head abalone... these were all top-tier ingredients that Shen Wang had only heard of by name but never seen before.

Shen Wang no longer stood on ceremony, picked up his chopsticks, and first took a piece of lobster meat into his mouth.

The meat was firm and bouncy, carrying the fresh sweetness of the ocean, and the accompanying sauce was the finishing touch.

He tasted the abalone next; it was soft, glutinous, smooth, and tender, rich in juices, and cooked to perfection.

"Tsk tsk tsk, this is truly excellent!"

"Hahaha, as long as you like it, Big Brother!"

Meanwhile.

Provincial Party Committee, Office Number One.

Behind a dark solid wood desk, Secretary Sha sat upright, his face wearing his usual calm composure.

But looking closely, his slightly leaning body and focused gaze revealed the extraordinary importance he placed on the matter at hand.

Sitting opposite him was an elderly man with graying hair and gold-rimmed glasses.

The elderly man was surnamed Wen, a specially appointed researcher at the National Museum, and was considered a leading authority in the field of modern and contemporary documents and calligraphy and painting appraisal.

Spread out on the table was the very letter of apprenticeship that Shen Wang had left behind.

Elder Wen carefully used his gloved fingers to lightly brush over the edges of the paper, then picked up a high-magnification magnifying glass to examine the "Brigade Commander" signature and the paper's fiber texture for a long time.

The office was quiet, with only the occasional faint sound of paper turning.

After a long while, Elder Wen put down the magnifying glass, took off his glasses, rubbed the bridge of his nose, and revealed an expression mixed with amazement and affirmation.

"Secretary Sha," Elder Wen said slowly, "this piece of calligraphy... is genuine."

"There is no need to do any... no need to gild the lily!"

"Elder Wen, are you sure?"

Secretary Sha raised an eyebrow, his body leaning forward imperceptibly.

He had invited Elder Wen here with the intention of using the other party's profound professional background and industry reputation to "endorse" this letter of apprenticeship, which had a somewhat "abrupt" origin.

To make it seem more "genuine"! Even if it meant using some methods!

But Secretary Sha never expected that the conclusion Elder Wen would give was one that required no "processing" at all!

"Absolutely certain!"

Elder Wen nodded affirmatively.

He then began to explain to Secretary Sha in the tone of a professional: "Secretary Sha, look—"

Elder Wen pointed to the paper on the table.

"This paper is typical coarse-fiber handmade paper that could be produced near the border region in the early 1940s; its craft characteristics and the raw material formula of that time match perfectly."

"Moreover, the degree of yellowing, the natural wear on the edges, and the state of fiber aging all point to the passage of about eighty years."

"It is definitely not something that can be perfectly forged by modern aging methods—at least with the technology I am currently aware of, it is impossible to be so seamless."

Elder Wen paused and pointed his finger at the most crucial part: "Especially the Brigade Commander's signature."

"To be honest, I have participated in the work of organizing relevant historical archives and have seen and compared many of the Brigade Commander's approvals and handwritten notes from different periods with my own eyes."

"The handwriting on this, whether it's the force of the initial stroke, the curvature of the turns, the habits of the continuous strokes, or even that unique hesitation at the final stroke, is exactly the same as the genuine works!"

"These characteristics, deeply rooted in personal writing muscle memory, are extremely difficult to imitate!"

Speaking to the end, Elder Wen himself shook his head, as if lamenting: "Secretary Sha, if this old man hasn't misjudged, this is indeed a genuine relic from that era!"

"I didn't expect that you and the Brigade Commander had such a connection!"

As people age, they become wiser; Elder Wen naturally knew what Secretary Sha wanted to hear. And he wasn't just flattering him, because this was indeed true!

Secretary Sha listened silently, his face still wearing that expression as calm as an ancient well.

"I understand. Thank you for your hard work, Elder Wen, and for making the trip so late."

"It's my duty, Secretary Sha, you are too polite."

Elder Wen stood up; he knew it was time for him to leave, and he also knew that what would happen next was not within the scope of his participation.

Secretary Bai appeared at the right moment and politely and thoughtfully escorted Elder Wen out of the office.

The office returned to silence, but the air seemed to have become somewhat different.

Secretary Sha did not stand up immediately, nor did he deal with the documents piled on the desk.

He just sat quietly in the large chair, his gaze falling back on the spread-out letter of apprenticeship.

However, the expression on his face was not as calm as it was just a moment ago! Genuine... it was actually genuine!

There was no need for him to use any resources or means to "embellish" or "confirm" it; this was a truly existing letter of apprenticeship!

This conclusion completely overturned his many previous assumptions and doubts.

"In other words..." Secretary Sha muttered to himself. "My uncle, whom I have almost no impression of and who sacrificed himself too early... did he really have such a connection with the Brigade Commander?"

It not only meant that Sha Zhenjiang's personal history needed to be re-evaluated, but it also meant... Thinking of this, Secretary Sha smiled.

To be honest, this man rarely smiled on a daily basis. But now, he actually smiled!

"That young man named Shen Wang..."

If all of this was true, then Shen Wang's arrival was by no means a simple "clinging" or "speculation"! He, Secretary Sha, needed to re-examine it!

After a long while, Secretary Sha straightened his body and pressed the internal intercom button.

"Xiao Bai, make arrangements! Tomorrow evening, I will host a simple dinner at home. You go and invite Shen Wang personally; just say... I am inviting him to my home for a simple meal to chat about family matters."

"...Yes, Secretary Sha."

Even for Secretary Bai, his heart was greatly shaken at this moment! Secretary Sha's family dinner—there were very few people in the entire Province qualified to eat it!

The next day. Shen Wang was still fast asleep when he was awakened by his mobile phone. "Who is it..."

He groggily reached for his phone, squinted at it, and saw that the family group "Lucky and Auspicious Family" had exploded. There were already 99+ messages.

At the very top was a huge red packet sent by Maternal Uncle. It was accompanied by a message: "Thank you all for your concern! Xiaotao is safe and sound, all thanks to the efforts of Daming @Zhou Ming!"

"Tomorrow night at six, Shanshui Manor 'Tingtao Pavilion' private room, my treat! The whole family, not one person is allowed to be missing! Must be present!"

Below followed a long string of messages: "Maternal Uncle is imposing!" "Shanshui Manor! Wow!" "Daming is truly capable!" "A true dragon has emerged in our family!" "That's right, Daming is a direct descendant of the Han University Gang!" "Will definitely be there tomorrow! Let's celebrate Daming's success!"

Shen Wang looked at the messages scrolling rapidly on the screen and twitched the corner of his mouth. He originally had little interest in such occasions, especially since the protagonist was his misunderstood older cousin; it would inevitably be awkward if he went.

Just as he was thinking about finding some excuse to decline, a call came through...