Perhaps it was to improve their relationship, or perhaps it was to tell Fang Zhao the story behind the "NaZ" brand, but Natiwuzi's calm voice rang out in the room.
"Our family's ancestor followed Great General Wu Yan to recover Yanzhou and made many contributions. During the Founding Era, that elder was conferred the rank of Major General and was one of the first antique collectors of the Founding Era. The Yanzhou Collectors' Association and the Yanzhou Museum were established by him..."
Natiwuzi first mentioned his family's history to let Fang Zhao know that his family was still very reliable. Although the "NaZ" brand was still young, it had a solid foundation.
Fang Zhao thought back carefully. He did have some impression of the elder who had followed Wu Yan to recover Yanzhou that Natiwuzi had mentioned. He had met the elder when he had led a team to recover a certain war zone. The reason he remembered him was because that child especially liked to collect things. He collected a lot of things, both useful and useless, especially things left behind from the Old Era. At that time, the war had not ended yet. No one could predict what the future would hold. Other than some daily necessities and equipment, most people did not pay much attention to other items, but that child was different. He seemed to have a hobby for collecting.
The first time Fang Zhao had met Natiwuzi's elder, he had still been very young, only in his early twenties. At the time, Fang Zhao had seen him as a child, a person who had truly been born and raised during the Period of Destruction.
Natiwuzi did not know what Fang Zhao was thinking and continued. "Speaking of which, after the Founding Era, the Cemetery for Martyrs was repaired. The government moved the scattered remains of the martyrs there. When Fang Zhao was buried, Old Master Natiwuzi was even present."
Natiwuzi was a man of few words. Previously, when he had been chatting with Fang Zhao, he had spoken very slowly. However, when it came to gossiping about antiques, his interest was suddenly piqued. His speech sped up quite a bit.
Realizing that what he had just said could easily cause a misunderstanding, Natiwuzi hurriedly explained, "I was not talking about you. Don't misunderstand. I was talking about the leader of the Period of Destruction, the martyr Fang Zhao."
Fang Zhao: "... I know. Continue. " He knew that Natiwuzi definitely had a reason for moving the tomb. He also wanted to know why Natiwuzi had specifically mentioned the tomb of martyr Fang Zhao.
"The blood of a collector runs in the veins of our family. That old man loved to collect and treasured the items he collected. But when the martyr Fang Zhao was buried, he placed a few items that he normally treasured in his collection. I think they were some gemstones or something. It is said that they were all items from two or three thousand years ago. Given the current market conditions, they can fetch quite a lot of money. On the black market, any one of them could fetch a sky-high price. It's not just him. There are many others who have done the same thing. People from Yanzhou and people from other continents. "
Probably because Natiwuzi spoke too little, he had already downed two cups of tea in this short conversation. However, he was in high spirits and did not show the slightest sign of irritation. Instead, he lowered his voice and continued gossiping. After all, this matter involved the leaders of the Period of Destruction. Even though there was no one else here besides him and Fang Zhao, out of respect, he did not dare discuss it aloud.
"Martyr Fang Zhao sacrificed himself before the founding of the Period of Destruction. Because of the restrictions at that time, his ashes were kept in storage until the war ended and a cemetery was built. In the central cemetery area, in the first row of graves, although Martyr Fang Zhao's grave was ranked second, in fact, his grave contained more funerary objects than the others. What I'm saying might sound disrespectful to the martyrs, but from a collector's point of view, the tomb of the martyr Fang Zhao is the most valuable in terms of the value of the funerary objects. At the same time, it is also the place that grave robbers have their eyes on the most. "
As the descendant of a collector, even though Natiwuzi's interest in other antiques was not as great as guitars, they were still antiques. Just talking about them made his heart itch.
Smacking his lips, Natiwuzi sighed. "No one knows how many priceless funerary objects were placed in Martyr Fang Zhao's grave. Those who knew are long gone, and there are no records of what happened. Only the notes left behind by those who participated might vaguely mention one or two things. In any case, up until now, no one knows exactly how many things were in Martyr Fang Zhao's grave. Martyr Fang Zhao's grave is the ultimate goal of all grave robbers. Therefore, our Yanzhou has more cemetery keepers than the other continents. On this point, even the cemetery in Huangzhou can't compare.
Fang Zhao: "..." Should he laugh or cry?
"Although Martyr Fang Zhao's gravestone is ranked second in the core region, whether it's extremists or grave robbers, they all like to target his grave. Even General Wu Yan's grave is not as attractive as Martyr Fang Zhao's. And in recent years, some people with bad intentions have deliberately released news that those precious antiques, which only have historical images but not actual objects, were placed in Martyr Fang Zhao's grave as burial objects. Anyone with a brain would not believe such rumors. After all, the cemetery is only so big. There are so many precious antiques with images but no physical objects. Many have also been confirmed by archaeological teams to have been destroyed during the Period of Destruction. How could they still be placed in a cemetery? Unfortunately, many people are greedy for money and go to dig up graves. They deserve to be shot dead by the grave keepers. They have also become pathfinders for some people. "
Seeing that Fang Zhao seemed to be deep in thought, Natiwuzi said nervously, "Don't get any crooked ideas. The cemetery's grave keepers are not just for show. They can shoot any suspicious person. Besides, robbing a martyr's grave is punishable by law! Every year, no less than 100 people are sentenced to death for intending to rob a grave. "
Fang Zhao: "... Don't worry, I have no intention of robbing a grave." He was just curious and wanted to see what was buried in his own grave. Was it an antique from a cemetery?
Natiwuzi eyed Fang Zhao suspiciously. "That's good."
He had mentioned all this to gain Fang Zhao's favorable impression. People always worshipped heroes, especially young people. Not to mention people with the same name and surname. Young people in the New Era worshipped martyrs with the same name and surname even more intensely. Natiwuzi also knew that Fang Zhao was not an easy person to persuade, but Fang Zhao was still young. Natiwuzi had talked about martyr Fang Zhao's deeds and his own ancestors. Seeing that Fang Zhao was clearly listening, Natiwuzi smiled to himself. There's hope!
After talking about his ancestors, Natiwuzi paused for a moment before mentioning his parents and himself.
Natiwuzi's mother was a businesswoman who owned a chain of hotels. She was the descendant of a wealthy family. His father was an archaeology professor at Yanzhou University. He was an academic figure and held an important position in Yanzhou's highest cultural and administrative authority.
Thus, Natiwuzi's development from a young age had been rather smooth. With the protection of his parents, it could not be said that everything had been smooth sailing, but it was much better than those without any foundation.
When Natiwuzi was six years old, he had seen his father and the archaeology team bring out an ancient electric guitar from a ruin. He had been hooked. It had really been love at first sight. In terms of talent, Natiwuzi also had it. Otherwise, among so many speed-strumming players, only the three of them had become great masters.
At 22, he had participated in an ancient instrument competition and made a name for himself. After that, his brilliant career had begun. The Natiwuzi of that time was unparalleled in the ancient instrument circles. He was truly the world's number one speed-strumming master. It was 20 years later that Jiminy became famous. Natiwuzi became the world's number one and became one of the two speed-strumming masters. After a few more years, Li Kasi also made a name for himself, and the number one speed-strumming master in the world became three.
Even if there were others who were good at speed-strumming, compared to these three, they were still lacking.
But Natiwuzi had always regretted that his talent in composition was not as high as his talent in technique. He had never had the chance to win some of the more prestigious awards in the industry. In terms of artistic achievements, he could not compare to those who had won awards. Because of this, Natiwuzi's old man from the Ministry of Culture had specially spoken to him a few times.
Now, at Natiwuzi's age, he had experienced many things and had seen things through. If his artistic achievements were not high, so be it. At the very least, he was still one of the three speed-strumming masters in the world and would leave a mark in history.
Natiwuzi and the others who played speed-strumming belonged to the technical side. Although it couldn't be said that "speed" was music, many people who weren't interested in ancient musical instruments loved to watch such performances. Therefore, in terms of popularity, Natiwuzi wasn't any less popular than the winners. On the contrary, his fan base far exceeded theirs. This was the choice that his old man had told him a few years ago. Whichever path he chose, he would gain something, but also lose something.
Later, as he grew older and his stamina could no longer keep up, Natiwuzi no longer performed in public. Instead, he used his background, connections, and popularity to become a businessman. He opened a shop, set up a company, and founded the "NaZ" brand of ancient instruments.
"NaZ" was based on Natiwuzi's name. The brand logo was a capital "Z", and the diagonal line in the middle of the "Z" was made up of six strings.
The six-string electric guitar was what Natiwuzi most commonly used. However, the "NaZ" brand also produced four, seven, eight, and 12-string guitars of different models and finishes. Other than the electric guitar, they also produced folk, classical, and bass guitars.
If one wanted to expand their brand, they could not do without high-end customization. Li Kasi's guitar was 18 strings, and Ji Mini's had even more. Thus, there would be some nouveau riche fans who would follow the trend and custom-make similar models. However, on the brand logo, Natiwuzi still used six strings. The first ancient electric guitar he had seen had been a six-string one. Even though the archaeological team had discovered seven and eight strings, they could not replace the position of that first guitar in his heart. He himself also used six strings, and the middle line in the "Z" on the brand logo was also six strings.
When he had first met Fang Zhao, Natiwuzi had already had this idea. Later, he had looked up information on Fang Zhao and seen Fang Zhao's ability and potential in the music industry. Most importantly, he had seen the electric guitar instruction video that Fang Zhao had posted online and seen by people from all over the world. It had been called "the most formal ancient electric guitar instruction" by some veteran ancient instrument masters. Because the background of the video was "Space," and all the decorative electric guitars in "Space" were "NaZ," the "Z" on the guitars was very eye-catching. Just today, the number of people ordering "NaZ" guitars online had suddenly increased. This made Natiwuzi see a business opportunity.
"There is something that I won't hide from you. Before you came over, I had originally intended for you to speed play a segment and I would post it online to tell everyone that there was no insider trading at all. It was all based on your ability. But now, I have changed my mind. This video cannot be posted online now. At the same time, I hope that within a year, you will not play at this speed in other public venues. "
Natiwuzi looked at Fang Zhao apologetically, his gaze sincere. "I will give you more compensation. We can make a deal on this matter."
"Why?" Fang Zhao asked.
Natiwuzi's voice had become even more hoarse because he had spoken so much, but he had no intention of stopping. With a long sigh, he said, "Before this, I had thought that there would be a fourth speed-strumming master and that the Three Greats would become the Four Greats. But after seeing you play at full strength, I know that I was ridiculously wrong."
There were many people who could strum a broken string, but to be able to stop at that kind of speed in the first instance, Fang Zhao was the only person that Natiwuzi knew of!
"If you really make an appearance, the entire world will no longer have the Three Greats or the Four Greats. There will only be one! Me, Li Kasi, and Jiminy will all become a thing of the past! I will no longer perform in public. Being the world's number one or the Three Greats will no longer have much impact. On the contrary, I am more than happy to see you replace me and the others as the new speed-strumming master. I know Jiminy. He rarely gives concerts and loves to travel all day, so he won't mind too much. But! Li Kasi has been preparing for a global tour for 10 years and has just begun. If you appear now, his 10-year global tour will become a joke. Li Kasi also has a background and loves to hold grudges. There is no need to clash with him. Why not wait for his global tour to end before you appear? That way, the conflict won't be so intense. Of course, the most important reason I am saying all this is that I owe Li Kasi a favor. Back then, before I officially retired from the stage, during my farewell global tour, Li Kasi and Jiminy both sacrificed some of their own interests to make my farewell performance even more perfect … "
In order to return the favor from back then, Natiwuzi was willing to use other things in exchange for this agreement. Natiwuzi had no complaints about this.
"I won't hide it from you," Fang Zhao said. "I have no intention of focusing on speed-strumming and have no intention of publicizing it online."
Natiwuzi: "…" So you're saying that I brought this upon myself?!
However, seeing that Fang Zhao had no intention of doing so, Natiwuzi still disagreed.
"No, no, no. This kind of talent shouldn't be unknown. Fang Zhao, you only have one year. When that fellow Li Kasi completes his global tour and passes the buffer period, I will do my best to help you ascend to the throne of the world's number one speed-strumming master! I will let the whole world know that even without me, Natiwuzi, there is still someone in Yanzhou who can contend for the throne of number one! That is number one in the world! Fang Zhao, you can't imagine how many eyes will be watching you sitting in that position! How many spotlights will be shining on you! When that time comes, our NaZ brand will be known by everyone in every continent! "
Natiwuzi stood up and used his raspy voice to describe a grand blueprint. He believed that no one could resist the temptation of being "number one in the world!" Even he couldn't contain his excitement at the mention of being "number one in the world" and recalling his most glorious years. What more Fang Zhao, who was in his early twenties and had just graduated from school two years ago?
Who knew that Natiwuzi's voice would turn hoarse, and his face would tremble from the intense fluctuations in his emotions. In the end, when he turned his head, he saw Fang Zhao calmly pouring him a cup of tea. "Moisten your throat."
Natiwuzi: "… Can't you give me a reaction?"
Fang Zhao looked at him quizzically.
"Number one in the world!" Natiwuzi said through gritted teeth.
"I know."
Natiwuzi: "…"
Natiwuzi stared at Fang Zhao for a few seconds before the agitated expression on his face faded. He sat back on the sofa and stared at Fang Zhao. "You aren't willing to cooperate? You don't want to cooperate with me? I can sponsor your performance. There's no need to wait for a year. We can start preparing now. I can use all my connections to help you arrange it. When the time comes, as long as Li Kasi's global tour ends, you'll be number one in the world! Don't just count on Silver Wing! "
Fang Zhao's expression didn't change under Natiwuzi's probing gaze. Instead, he calmly said, "I also know that cooperating with you in this aspect is a very good choice."
Natiwuzi's expression softened slightly, but he was also waiting for Fang Zhao to say "but."
Fang Zhao stared straight at Natiwuzi. "Next year, I will be doing my military service."
Natiwuzi: "…"
Once again, a cracked expression appeared on Natiwuzi's weathered face. He squeezed the words out from between his teeth. "Military service? You have already graduated for more than a year, and you still haven't done your military service?! "
There was really no way around the matter of military service. Even if it was for his future, he couldn't fake his military service. At most, he could use his connections to serve in a more relaxed place.
When he had looked up information on Fang Zhao, he hadn't really paid attention to whether or not there was any mention of military service. When he had been planning for the future, the term "military service" simply hadn't crossed his mind.
But a military service could delay his plans by more than a year, and that was still a short delay. If something happened midway, it might be delayed even longer. If he was unlucky, he might not even be able to carry it out!
"I can help you arrange it." Natiwuzi started thinking about who he could seek help from.
"Thank you, but I already have a plan."
"Right, Silver Wing will help you on this no matter what." Natiwuzi felt a little more at ease. If Silver Wing were to make arrangements, surely nothing major would happen. But he wasn't completely at ease. Even if Fang Zhao pointed out the problem with a finger, his plan could forget about succeeding.
"You must protect your hands!"
Natiwuzi repeatedly exhorted Fang Zhao to take care of his hands. Not a single finger could be injured.
"I will do my best." That was all Fang Zhao could reply.
Even if Natiwuzi was angry, there was nothing he could do. There were too many uncertainties about military service. For others, even if their fingers were broken, they could be regenerated with current medical technology. But Natiwuzi also knew that for people who practiced extreme speed strumming, even if their fingers were regenerated, they might not be able to reproduce the same effect as before. Even if they could, it would take an unknown amount of time.
What a headache!
Natiwuzi wanted to upload the video of Fang Zhao's speed strumming, but when he thought about Li Kasi's help back then, he sighed dejectedly.
Forget it. The world's best speed strumming and whatnot, it was better to push it back. However, this didn't mean that he had changed his mind about asking Fang Zhao to be his spokesperson.
"Let's put speed strumming aside for now. Right now, we can still cooperate in other ways. How are your folk guitar skills? "Natiwuzi asked.
"Not bad," Fang Zhao replied.
Natiwuzi raised an eyebrow. "That's good." He wasn't used to playing that anyway. If Fang Zhao could play it, that would be perfect.
Natiwuzi had already prepared for both possibilities.
Even though Natiwuzi was one of the three great speed strumming masters, not everyone liked his style. His influence was on the wane, and people who really wanted to play ancient instruments might not necessarily like acoustic instruments. Thus, to open up the market, especially for school students, Natiwuzi had long planned to expand the production of a batch of folk guitars.
Primary and secondary schools had interesting courses. Universities had more freedom and more clubs. Natiwuzi had no intention of giving up on this market. Although he liked the acoustic guitar, he was also a businessman. He couldn't demand that others share his tastes.
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