Another three years passed, and the university campus was finally completed.
All the planning came from Tang Guo. She even supervised the construction herself, and many of the calligraphy and paintings displayed in the university were done by her personally.
But outsiders didn’t know this. During the construction phase, the campus was closed to the public. Only those who were around Tang Guo every day knew she had such beautiful handwriting and artistic talent.
However, Tang Guo felt that her own calligraphy didn’t carry enough weight here. This was to be a university campus, and she was too young and not well-known. So she specifically contacted Elder Yuan, Song Ye’s grandfather, and invited him to write the inscriptions. There was another reason she invited him to Tang County.
Elder Yuan not only came, but also brought along a group of his friends, a gathering of great literary figures who were still alive.
When they saw the future university buildings, they were all a bit stunned. And when they saw the calligraphy written by Tang Guo, they gave Elder Yuan a thumbs up. “Your granddaughter-in-law is truly remarkable.”
Elder Yuan laughed proudly. “She’s indeed remarkable. Back when she came to the capital, I already knew Xiao Guo wasn’t an ordinary girl, but I didn’t expect she’d be hiding such depth.”
Her calligraphy was completely distinctive. Who would believe she was still under thirty?
Now he finally understood how his grandson must have felt when he complained that people kept looking down on his wife and how much that hurt him.
Clearly she was a rare gem, but everyone thought Tang Guo had gotten lucky. No wonder his grandson felt uneasy about it.
“Come on now, old fellows. Xiao Guo invited us here not to relax, but to get to work.”
Whether it was Elder Yuan or the literary greats he brought, they all had a premonition that this campus would one day become a world-renowned university, a place students from countless countries around the globe would dream of attending.
The thought that such a prestigious institution would be born from their own hands filled everyone with excitement. With trembling hands, they picked up their brushes and began writing, pouring their passion into each stroke.
Half a year later, Tang County was successfully promoted to city status. The mayor, who had once maintained a close relationship with the Tang family, had been transferred to the provincial level a year earlier and now held the position of second-in-command. If nothing unexpected happened, he would be the next top leader.
This second-in-command had experienced a rather legendary rise. He hadn’t done anything particularly grand, he had simply continued to support Song Ye. Countless people envied him. His promotion was both honorable and smooth. He conducted himself steadily, avoided corruption, and left no weaknesses to be exploited. He frequently proposed policies that benefited the people and the country. He was considered a highly popular official.
To this day, he still marveled at how simple promotion could be. Do good things, manage the development of the cities under you, and you’d be promoted.
Of course, he also understood that none of this would have been possible without Song Ye or the Tang family.
The university application had also been approved. In truth, no one would have dared to reject it. With Song Ye’s current status, who would dare cause him trouble?
Moreover, Elder Yuan and the others had been retained by Tang Guo under various pretexts six months ago. With this group of literary giants around, everyone had seen the signs. They would surely become professors at this university.
Later on, their instincts proved correct.
The first president of Tang City University was Elder Yuan, and the renowned literary figures who came with him all became professors at the school. Usually, at the initial stage of establishing a university, the teaching staff was bound to be insufficient. Large-scale recruitment would have been necessary, and it might not have attracted high-quality teachers, let alone filled student enrollment.
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