35: Chapter 35 Gao Qiqiang: Section Chief Zhao, the source of this shipment is too unorthodox!

The scene of the thesis defense was somewhat dramatic.

Zhao Yang's master's thesis had bypassed the proposal phase and the Middle Stage defense, charging straight into the final defense session.

Although Professor Lin had done some groundwork in advance, the expressions on the faces of the attending reviewers were still less than pleasant.

They had made up their minds—even if the thesis was of passing quality, they would still make things difficult for Zhao Yang during the process.

People give a month's notice for a wedding, yet you hold this thesis defense so hastily. What is the meaning of this? Is it a lack of respect for the rules, or a lack of respect for us experts?

But after Zhao Yang finished his thesis presentation, none of the experts had any desire to nitpick.

Their tone shifted from interrogation to consultation, from judgment to discussion.

Zhao Yang's role also shifted from that of a student to that of a teacher answering questions and resolving doubts.

The defense had been going on for over two hours, yet the experts were all brimming with enthusiasm, their eyes filled with a thirst for knowledge as they fired questions one after another.

Finally, Professor Lin could no longer watch.

"Everyone, let me say a few words." He tapped on the table. "This is a master's thesis defense for student Zhao Yang, not an academic exchange meeting. Shouldn't we take care of the main business first? As for academic exchange, our Computer Science Department will organize a dedicated session later at our laboratory. You can see for yourselves how the theories proposed by student Zhao Yang in his thesis are implemented. How about that?"

The crowd suddenly realized this, exchanged glances, and all laughed.

The defense, which lasted nearly three hours, finally concluded. All the experts gave it the highest rating. Zhao Yang's defense also set a record for the longest duration—one that, apart from himself, would likely never be broken by anyone else.

As soon as Zhao Yang walked out, he was surrounded by Xu Shengnan and the others. Everyone clamored to treat Zhao Yang to a big meal to celebrate the Perfection of his defense and the fact that he would likely set a record for earning a master's degree in the shortest amount of time.

Unable to refuse their kindness, Zhao Yang did not decline and was ushered toward the school's small cafeteria.

During the meal, Zhao Yang suddenly noticed that the mobile phones belonging to Xu Shengnan and another Senior Brother were very new. A thought crossed his mind: "Did you get new phones? What brand are these?"

Xu Shengnan shook the exquisite rose-red phone in her hand: "A hongdou phone. Isn't this color pretty?"

"It really is nice. How is the performance? Where is it made?"

"The performance is no worse than the Nokia 8210! The call quality is excellent, the ringtones are great, and there are even several mini-games." She flipped through the phone. "According to the manual, it's produced in Jinghai. It's a new brand, domestically made!"

"How much?"

"The original price is 998..." Xu Shengnan smiled. "But mine came with a call plan, so it was actually cheaper than 998."

The topic shifted to mobile phones. After the two showed off their hongdou phones, the others who were interested in changing phones all declared that their next one would definitely be a hongdou—it was just too cost-effective.

After the meal, Zhao Yang returned to his dormitory and dialed Gao Qisheng's number.

"A Sheng, you're not being a good friend."

"Brother Yang? What did I do that dissatisfied you?" Gao Qisheng's tone carried a hint of trepidation.

In the investment of the mobile phone factory, Gao Qilan held the majority share. Although she did not participate in operations, she was still considered a controlling shareholder. Any enterprise she controlled was counted as a force established by Zhao Yang. Therefore, although the Gao brothers were considered family, they were also affected by the Seal of Hearts Return.

Zhao Yang smiled: "The hongdou phone has even reached the capital, yet you didn't send me one?"

"Ah? Brother Yang, I've been wronged! The hongdou phone only sells for 998, it's not worthy of your status!"

Zhao Yang laughed: "I'm just joking. By the way, how is the mobile phone export situation? I remember the materials I gave you contained quite a few voice packs."

"The resistance in Europe and America is significant, mainly because they don't trust our products. However, things are going smoothly in the Maozi Country and Ulan Country. My brother is currently in the Maozi Country; he said yesterday that over there, 'Once the Moutai is opened, everything goes smoothly.'"

"Brother Qiang is doing well!" Zhao Yang laughed. "Maybe he'll bring you back a 'Mao sister-in-law' later, hahaha. Also, I have some technical data on mobile phone batteries here. Find a nearby battery factory and try to acquire it. We can't just be an assembly plant; we need to build our own supply chain, starting with batteries."

"Alright, Brother Yang."

"That's all. I'm going to call your brother."

Hanging up, Zhao Yang thought for a moment and dialed Gao Qiqiang's number.

It was an international call, and the sound quality was poor, but he could barely hear clearly.

"Brother Yang! Do you have any instructions?"

Zhao Yang couldn't help but rub his forehead. After the Seal of Hearts Return took effect, Gao Qiqiang also started calling him "Brother Yang." Wouldn't that mess up the seniority? Would Gao Qiqiang have to call Gao Qilan "sister-in-law" in the future?

"Listen, Old Gao, don't call me Brother Yang. If you don't know what to call me, use my rank. I'm a Deputy Section Chief now."

"Alright, Section Chief Zhao, what are your instructions?"

"I heard from A Sheng that you're doing quite well in the Maozi Country."

"Hmm... actually, the business environment here isn't great. But the people of the Maozi Country are quite generous; as long as the drinking is done right and you offer a few small favors, things get done quite quickly."

"Alright, just watch out for your personal safety. Besides our mobile phones, you can also do some trade on the side. Our country's light industrial products are in urgent need over there. Some of their heavy industrial products and specialty foods also have a market here."

"Alright! I'll get on it immediately." Gao Qiqiang paused. "By the way, since you mentioned this, I just remembered something. A couple of days ago, a Maozi who teaches at a university asked me if I wanted to buy scrap steel and scrap aluminum, saying his older brother is a leader at a research institute in Ulan Country and has a batch of goods he wants to sell privately. I looked at the email he sent, and I felt the path for these goods was a bit too wild. Please help me vet this and see if it's worth doing. I've checked the domestic prices for aluminum and steel, and there's definitely money to be made."

"Send it to me and let me take a look first."

Zhao Yang was also curious—what kind of goods could be so wild that even a grassroots hero like Gao Qiqiang thought they were extreme?

After chatting for a few more sentences, Zhao Yang hung up the phone.

Half an hour later, he received the email from Gao Qiqiang.

The email contained several sample pictures, which opened very slowly.

After seeing what was in the pictures clearly, Zhao Yang rubbed his eyes immediately and leaned close to the screen, fearing he might have misread it.

"Holy crap!"

He gasped.

They were truly a bunch of wastrels; they dared to sell these things as scrap?

Zhao Yang forced himself to calm down and sat in front of the computer, deep in thought.

In the original world, the greatest Cold War relic Dragon Country obtained from Ulan Country was the hull of that aircraft carrier. They had definitely never obtained these things—otherwise, the development of the aviation Domain would have been even faster.

If he could really bring these things back and hand them over to Dragon Country, he would effectively obtain a shining amulet for his future within the system.

He understood Gao Qiqiang's character; he wouldn't say things that were unreliable.

Then this matter... could be done!

Thinking of this, Zhao Yang immediately dialed Gao Qiqiang's number again: "Old Gao, drop everything now and turn all your energy toward the scrap steel and aluminum. Bring that Maozi to Jinghai as soon as possible. No matter what method you use, it must be fast!"

"Alright, Section Chief Zhao. Should I invite him to visit our mobile phone factory under the guise of an external expert?"

"Do that. Also, delete the relevant emails. From now on, do not use email to communicate about this matter!"

"Alright!"

Hanging up, Zhao Yang immediately exported all the pictures, printed them out, and then deleted the email.

Afterward, still feeling it wasn't safe enough, he went out to find an internet cafe with a fast connection. Using hacking methods, he used multiple proxy servers as bridges to enter the email server and completely deleted millions of emails—including those related to this matter.

In the following few days, he arranged his academic affairs in the capital for the time being, then flew straight to Jinghai.