ed him to see a patient. Initially, Dr. Yue wanted to refuse but learned that it was President Zhou who had sent for him, and the place where he needed to treat was in Capital City Hospital. He knew t...Chapter 553: Leadership Arrives

Throughout history, only a few people have entered the realm of sainthood in calligraphy. Those who can reach such an extreme and attain the legendary realm of sanctity are unparalleled in their time; figures like the Calligraphic Sage or Cursive Script Sage were among them.

What about Xiao Yu At his young age, if he truly reaches the height of a master, there is a great possibility that he could enter this realm.

Currently, Xiao Yu has merely infused his essence into calligraphy. Once he can establish a school of thought, he will reach this sanctified master's realm. However, among the countless masters throughout history, only a few have been able to establish their own schools, indicating how challenging it is.

Every person who reaches the sanctified master's realm not only needs extraordinary talent but also an attitude of diligence. If Xiao Yu truly achieves the level of a top master now, his talent would be frighteningly formidable. However, if he becomes complacent and lazy, he might never reach the realm of a sanctified master in his lifetime.

"Master Xiao, may I ask for one of your calligraphic works!" After hearing what Xiao Yu said, Old Wu bowed to him and solemnly requested.

Although he inwardly knew that what Old Hu said might be true, without personally seeing it with his own eyes, he could never feel at ease.

"This... " Upon hearing Old Wu's words, Xiao Yu hesitated.

He didn't know much about Old Wu, so he was unwilling to easily give away his calligraphy. Unlike prescriptions and Spring Festival couplets written by Xiao Yu, works of calligraphy usually bear the writer’s seal; Xiao Yu had only one such piece in Grandpa Song's place. If someone uses his calligraphic work for something with karmic consequences, it would burden him heavily due to his unique identity.

Seeing Xiao Yu's expression, Old Wu felt somewhat embarrassed. Although Xiao Yu is a top master, being so old and having his request rejected still made him feel uncomfortable in his heart.

"Old Wu, as a top master, it’s rather difficult to ask for a calligraphic work like that," said Old Hu upon noticing Xiao Yu's expression.

"Right, right, I was too abrupt!" Hearing what Old Hu said, Old Wu quickly responded.

After hearing Hu Lao's words, Wu Lao suddenly realized that he had been a bit impetuous. A single piece of calligraphy from these top masters was worth tens of thousands in gold. For him to just blurt out his request for a piece so abruptly wasn't quite appropriate.

Xiao Yu didn't care what they thought as long as they weren’t asking for calligraphy from him, and so everyone steered away from the topic and started talking about other things.

Although Wu Lao continued to ponder whether Xiao Yu was one of these top masters or not, it really didn’t matter much to him either way. Moreover, Xiao Yu had never claimed himself to be a top master and there was no need for him to prove anything. Therefore, Wu Lao felt reluctant to ask again.

Of course, if he were truly one of these top masters, that would have been better, but what if not Wouldn’t his actions then amount to forcing others to eat humble pie So upon seeing Hu Lao change the topic, Wu Lao didn’t say anything further. Plus, in his heart, he had already concluded that Xiao Yu was definitely not one of these so-called top masters.

Time passed by, and gradually more and more people arrived. Initially, Xiao Yu thought this competition would only have elderly participants, but there were actually quite a number of children as well as middle-aged adults in attendance too.

As they entered the room, these individuals greeted Hu Lao and the other two from time to time, clearly very familiar with them.

The people who came to participate had all found their spots and taken out their writing sets, waiting for the competition to begin.

Slightly after eight o’clock, this room was already full of participants, but new arrivals still kept coming. Seeing that there wasn't enough space, the other two organizers were momentarily stunned before they quickly got in touch with people.

Fortunately, the venue here was spacious and long tables were readily available too, so shortly after hanging up their calls, a few young men carried several tables inside.

They placed about twenty more tables around the room to ensure that everyone had space. Although all participants had arrived, they couldn't start the competition as district-level leaders hadn’t come yet.

At 8:30 AM, the district’s leaders still hadn’t shown up; by 8:40 AM, they were still missing in action. Not until 8:50 AM did three people finally walk in from outside.

After being informed by Hu Lao, Xiao Yu learned that these three individuals were the leaders of this activity center.

"Director Sun, when will the leadership arrive" The elderly man Hu asked one of the three people who had come in, specifically the middle-aged man leading them.

It was already close to nine o'clock. Not only were those preparing for the competition below waiting anxiously, but even Hu and his group were starting to feel impatient. Since this was purely a grassroots initiative, they originally planned to meet at seven in the morning when people usually start work, yet due to the leadership's visit, they postponed it to eight thirty, and now nearing nine o'clock with no sign of their arrival, everyone felt anxious.

"They'll be here soon; just now, the secretary already called. They will arrive shortly!" After hearing what Hu said, this middle-aged man chuckled and replied.

Though he was referred to as a leader in this community center, these elderly people weren't under his jurisdiction since they were retired at home. He could only manage the community center’s affairs; thus, for these folks, he had no sway over them either. In fact, he rarely visited himself but today's situation forced him to do so.

After about ten minutes, two people appeared at the entrance of this room. Seeing their arrival, the trio who just arrived immediately hurried towards the door.

"Secretary Liu, how are you We're honored by your presence in such a busy schedule! Please come in!" The three quickly ran to the side of these two individuals, tightly shook hands with the leading middle-aged man, and said excitedly. After that, they made an inviting gesture towards the podium.

Director Sun introduced Secretary Liu to Xiao Yu and his group after reaching the podium.

The secretary carried a formal smile throughout the introduction period, shaking each of their hands briefly while asking how they were doing. Hu, Wu, and the other two all wore expressions of excitement. Though both Hu and Wu were university professors, their status was quite different from that of this district party chief, so they felt excited now. The other two organizers were common folks; when had they ever seen such a high-ranking official

Even though Beijing is said to be filled with numerous bureau-level officials, a full-fledged district chief wielding power in the capital still carries considerable weight and authority among civilians, hence why everyone was so excited upon meeting Secretary Liu.

Xiao Yu did not show any unusual behavior but calmly shook hands with Secretary Liu and asked how he was doing.

"Director Sun, wait a moment!" Before Director Sun could say anything, he was halted by a young man standing behind Secretary Liu.

“What’s up, Zhang” Seeing the young man call out to him, Director Sun quickly whispered back in an urgent tone!

"Wait a moment, the people from the TV station are right behind us!" The young man also said in a low voice. After hearing this, Director Sun nodded understandingly.

The contestants waiting below had been here for an hour and were starting to get impatient, so they began chatting among themselves.

"Alright, Director Sun can start now!" At this moment, two people appeared at the doorway of the room, one of them carrying a camera. Seeing these two people, the young man whispered to Director Sun.

After hearing what the young man said, Director Sun took the microphone and said, "Everyone please calm down. Today is the first day we are hosting our calligraphy competition at this activity center. We need to thank the Party and the government for giving us such a good life... However, today, we especially want to thank the district leadership's strong support of our event. The District Committee Secretary Liu has come in his busy schedule to cheer on the contestants! Now let's welcome Secretary Liu to give us a speech!"

"Clap clap clap..." After Director Sun finished speaking, he looked at Secretary Liu and clapped enthusiastically; soon after, not only did he applaud, but even his two subordinates and that young man began to applaud as well.

Hearing this enthusiastic applause, the contestants waiting below also joined in the applause.

Secretary Liu's face showed a satisfied expression upon hearing all these warm applauses. The camera recorded the moment when the crowd enthusiastically welcomed Secretary Liu's speech.

Secretary Liu lowered his hands to signal everyone to stop clapping; seeing this, people immediately stopped their applause. In fact, they had been waiting impatiently for quite some time and felt embarrassed not to clap, so upon seeing his gesture, they quickly ceased the applause.

Seeing that things were quiet now, Secretary Liu cleared his throat twice and began giving a formal speech.

This speech continued for about twenty minutes before stopping; in fact, it couldn't continue any longer as those waiting to participate in the calligraphy competition had been there for over an hour and were already restless. Hearing Secretary Liu's endless official language without substance made them sleepy one after another, even Xiao Yu closed his eyes on the chair to rest.

"Now I declare the competition officially open! Please have the judges announce the rules!" After Secretary Liu stopped speaking, he nodded at Director Sun, who saw the signal and loudly announced.

"The first round is a unified writing of four characters 'Dragon Soars Phoenix Dances'. You can write it in your most proficient style! We will choose twenty outstanding individuals to advance to the next round!"d, Zhou Cheng asked Xiao Yu."Wait..." Upon hearing Zhou Cheng's question, Xiao Yu looked at the antique city before him and spoke softly.Although Zhou Cheng was puzzled about what exactly Xiao Yu was...