Chapter 73: Your Entire Family Is Not Ordinary

Chapter 73: Your Entire Family Is Not Ordinary

Su Taotao's family felt that there had been an unusually high number of coincidences by the time they sat down in Mr. Tang's house.

Mr. Tang's home was located in a lane not far from the central square, a standalone courtyard with an ancient charm.

The decoration and furnishings were simple, yet everywhere revealed the unique taste of an artist.

Nowadays, intellectuals and artists preferred to stay under the radar, and there wasn't a single antique or ancient painting in Mr. Tang's house. From the spring couplets at the main gate to the landscape paintings in the main room, everything was his own work.

Su Taotao had studied design in her previous life and had some foundation in painting, but she hadn't researched calligraphy and paintings much. At most, she could gauge the level of expertise, and Mr. Tang was truly an expert in this area.

There was also a mute helper in Mr. Tang's house, a distant relative from his hometown who had found Mr. Tang during a famine and had stayed with him ever since.

He looked quite old, with a kind face, slightly hunched back. He served tea to everyone with a smile and pushed a box of dried fruits in front of Chenchen and Fu Yuanhang, made a "please" gesture, smiled a few more times at Chenchen, and then left.

Su Taotao thanked him.

Chenchen wouldn't eat anything indiscriminately, so Su Taotao gave him and Fu Yuanhang each a hawthorn cake and let the children sit aside to eat.

Mr. Tang sipped his tea, stroked his goatee, and grew more satisfied with Fu Yuanhang.

"I haven't eaten or slept well this whole week, eagerly waiting for you guys to come. Finally, you're here."

Mr. Tang sipped his tea again. "You must have learned about my situation and are considering letting Yuanhang take art lessons with me, correct?"

Su Taotao didn't hide anything. "Yes, we've learned about it. We can only visit on weekends, but we can't guarantee we'll be available every Sunday."

Mr. Tang half-closed his eyes and stroked his beard. "What if I go to teach at your place?"

Su Taotao and Fu Zhengtu exchanged glances, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes.

They hadn't expected Mr. Tang to go this far just to take on a student.

Su Taotao said, "Mr. Tang, we don't live in the town. It's not very convenient to come and go."

Mr. Tang's old, dim eyes flashed with shrewdness. "Your entire family isn't destined to stay in one place. If I'm not mistaken, you're from the island across the way, right?"

There was no point in hiding it, so Su Taotao nodded. "Yes, so we can only come on weekends, and we have to return by 4:30 in the afternoon."

Mr. Tang said, "Then you don't need to come over. Just send Yuanhang on the bus. I'll pick him up at the central square and send him back at 4:00 in the afternoon."

Actually, Fu Yuanhang wasn't very young, and Mr. Tang's place wasn't far from the central square, so this could be a good solution.

But after today's incident, Su Taotao was still a bit uneasy.

Fu Yuanhang looked at Su Taotao anxiously. He actually wanted to say that even without pick-up and drop-off, he could manage on his own.

But he also thought of today's incident and knew that his sister-in-law wouldn't let him come alone.

Su Taotao didn't give a definitive answer right away, only saying, "Mr. Tang, today we're mainly here to visit you and understand the situation. We'll discuss a plan after we go back and give you a reply next week, is that okay?"

Since Su Taotao had already gone this far, Mr. Tang couldn't push further and said, "If you encounter any difficulties, please let me know. Yuanhang is a good seedling, and his talent must not be buried."

Su Taotao shook her head. "It won't be. Don't worry. I actually have a rather bold suggestion. What if, hypothetically, we asked you to teach on the island instead? Not just teaching Yuanhang, but also introducing art to the little ones like Chenchen?"

Su Taotao's mind was racing so fast that Tang Boyong couldn't keep up. He opened his mouth but couldn't get a word out for a long time.

Not just Tang Boyong, even Fu Zhengtu couldn't keep up with her train of thought.

Su Taotao felt a little embarrassed after speaking:

"I know what I just said was really abrupt. I only thought of it on the spot, and my husband doesn't know about it.

I originally planned to start a Yu Hong Class, but it's not even in the works yet. I haven't finalized any concrete plans, and my husband hasn't mentioned this to the organization. I don't know if it will work out.

But what if? What if it actually worked? Would you consider my proposal?"

This time, it was Tang Boyong's turn to fall silent. He had always been a lone wolf, marching to the beat of his own drum. Even though universities had invited him to be a guest professor, he had always declined. He had no interest in teaching, only in taking a final disciple.

But teaching young children—

He glanced at Chenchen, who was eating with his pink, chubby little mouth, his cheeks puffed up like a cute little squirrel. If he were to teach children like him, he found that he wasn't resistant at all, and even felt a bit of anticipation.

However, children with such talent as Fu Yuanhang were few and far between, a rare find even if you traveled far and wide.

It was better to just imagine it.

In the end, both parties parted ways, each lost in their own thoughts.

Once they left Tang Boyong's courtyard, Su Taotao turned to Fu Zhengtu and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't discuss this with you beforehand."

Fu Zhengtu thought for a moment and didn't dismiss Su Taotao's idea, only saying, "The base doesn't allow outsiders to come and go freely. Even if we were to invite a teacher, it would only be a family member of a staff member."

Su Taotao asked, "What if there isn't a suitable candidate among the staff family members? Wouldn't they consider external hiring? Before you all became researchers, you were also outsiders. Wouldn't someone like Mr. Tang be worth making an exception for?"

Fu Zhengtu couldn't refute this.

Just because there hadn't been an exception didn't mean one couldn't be made.

Su Taotao continued, "I know I'm being too idealistic, but I think most researchers can't do without a foundation in design, especially in mechanical fields. Weapons, aircraft, tanks, and ships—aren't they all designed and built from scratch?

The same goes for any other product. Isn't it all first designed, theoretically sound, and then put into practice?

The base emphasizes education. If we can start with the children, teaching little ones like Chenchen, even if they don't end up in those fields, at least the foundation will be laid, and they'll find it easier to learn anything in the future."

Su Taotao could teach them herself, but her heart wasn't in it.

Mr. Tang was retired. If he were willing, the base hiring him would be a win-win situation.

Fu Zhengtu looked at her with slightly lowered eyes, "What you said makes sense. If Mr. Tang agrees, we can try submitting an application. His background check would definitely pass."

By a twist of fate, they had already checked Tang Boyong's background last time.

Su Taotao said, "If we could get a master like Mr. Tang to teach the children at the base, it would be an incredible stroke of luck. I'd be the first to send Chenchen to school."

Fu Zhengtu reminded her, "Our son is only two years old."

Su Taotao pinched little Fu Haochen's chubby cheeks, "So what if he's two? My son can fold paper planes and tanks, play military chess, and has a photographic memory at two years old... Why can't he go to school? Right, Chenchen?"

Little Fu Haochen, unaware of his "cruel and unusual" future, answered in a milky voice, "Mama says it is~~ so it is~~"

Su Taotao grabbed his small, chubby hand and kissed it, "So cute~~"