Chapter 1 A White Cloth Overhead: Can We Build Drones?

In June, the weather in Baishui City, Lu Province, was already somewhat sweltering.

Inside the workshop of the Li Family Toy Factory, it was even more stuffy, like a steamer, with an air filled with a mixture of rust, machine oil, and low-grade plastic—a scent unique to sunset industries.

Li Jiajun stood next to an old injection molding machine that was older than him, with utility bills and thick employee payrolls scattered at his feet.

It had been nearly a month since he inherited this toy factory on the brink of bankruptcy, the only legacy his cheap old man had left him. A month ago, he was just a slacker at an internet company, ready to quit at any moment. Then, a single phone call made him the director of the Li Family Toy Factory, which had over a hundred employees.

A director who couldn't even support himself.

"Young Factory Director Li..."

Li Jiajun turned around and saw several master craftsmen in blue uniforms standing not far away. Leading them was the factory's Master Craftsman, Wang Defa, also known as Master Wang. His hair was gray, his face was etched with the marks of time, and his calloused hands nervously rubbed the hem of his clothes.

"Uncle Wang, and the rest of you masters, what's wrong?" Li Jiajun forced a smile.

Master Wang and the other master craftsmen exchanged glances, their lips twitching as if they found it hard to speak.

"Director... well... will this month's wages be paid?" a slightly younger craftsman couldn't help but ask, but then felt it was inappropriate and quickly lowered his head.

The workshop fell silent instantly, with only the occasional sound of car horns from the distant road.

Master Wang glared at the talkative apprentice and quickly tried to smooth things over. "Director, don't listen to his nonsense. We just came over to take a look, it's nothing..."

Despite his words, the worry in his eyes was impossible to hide.

"That's right, Director. We've worked for the Old Director our whole lives; this factory is our home. We trust you," another Master Craftsman added, his voice filled with simple, honest trust.

This heavy trust made Li Jiajun feel the burden on his shoulders grow even heavier. He took a deep breath, puffed out his chest, and said in a feigned lighthearted tone, "Uncle Wang, don't worry everyone. I will definitely resolve the issue with the wages."

Even though he had no confidence in his heart.

After seeing the master craftsmen off, the smile on Li Jiajun's face instantly collapsed. He walked into his father's office as if possessed, wanting to find something but not knowing what.

Opening the bottom drawer, he found only a simple wooden box. Inside were stacks of yellowed drawing papers.

He picked one up and stood there in a daze.

On it, in childish strokes, was a drawing of an exaggerated 4WD car, with "A flying race car!" written crookedly beside it.

Flipping through them, he saw robots that could fire lasers, hoverboards with propellers... all sorts of imaginative design sketches, each filled with the purest passion and fantasy of childhood.

On the back of one of the sketches, he saw a line written by his father in pen: "My son is a genius! Our Li Family Toy Factory must dare to dream!"

A surge of warmth rushed to Li Jiajun's nose, and his eyes felt a bit sore. He remembered when he was a child, excitedly showing these "design blueprints" to his father, who would always seriously discuss the possibilities of making them a reality with him.

Li Jiajun stared blankly at the sketches in his hand, then looked down at the cookie-cutter short videos and live-stream interfaces on his phone.

An idea popped into his head without warning.

Live streaming! Others can sell lipstick and snacks, so why can't I sell toys? And instead of those generic ones, I'll make unique ones!

"High-end toys, custom-made!"

Once this idea emerged, it spread like wildfire through his body. He felt that this might actually have some potential.

No sooner said than done.

Li Jiajun dug out an old phone and a tripod from the warehouse and found the most "industrial-looking" corner in the workshop to set up his live-streaming room.

He gave his streaming account a plain and simple name—"Young Factory Director Li."

At 8:00 PM, the live stream started on time.

"Good evening, family! Welcome to Young Factory Director Li's live stream. This shop specializes in high-end custom-made toys. If you can dream it, I can build it."

One minute into the broadcast, the number of people online: 3.

One of them was his own alt account.

Two lonely bullet comments floated by.

"Who still watches this kind of live stream these days?"

"Streamer, can you customize adult toys? (Shy)"

Li Jiajun's lip twitched, feeling speechless.

Ignoring these trolling Netizens, he planned to demonstrate his technical skills. He pulled out a modified 4WD car and pressed the remote control switch. "Vroom—!" The 4WD car shot out like a bullet from a gun, then hit a distant wall with a loud "Clang," parts scattering everywhere.

It was fast enough, but it was a bit hard on the walls.

Number of people online: 5.

A few more bullet comments appeared.

"Hahaha, is the Streamer a comedian?"

"I could do that too; it's just reversing the battery polarity."

"Streamer, you should just customize adult toys; I'd love to see that."

He pulled out another simple robot made of building blocks. "Let's look at this, a programmable block robot..." The robot stiffly raised an arm, then twitched twice in place and stopped moving. Their factory's toy quality was actually quite good; it just seemed like luck wasn't on his side today.

Looking at the remaining 2 viewers on the screen and a bullet comment saying "Streamer, why don't you just dance?", Li Jiajun fell into deep thought.

'Could it be... that this path really won't work? Should I... maybe push some boundaries? For the sake of the wages and the factory, it's not shameful.'

His train of thought began to drift, and he started wondering whether to dance the "Subject Three" or just go straight to "Muscle Man New Treasure Island."

Just as his gaze began to wander and he was ready to go all out, a golden system notification suddenly flooded the live-stream room.

["A White Cloth on the Head" gifted "Super Rocket" x1]

["A White Cloth on the Head" gifted "Super Rocket" x2]

...

["A White Cloth on the Head" gifted "Super Rocket" x10]

Ten consecutive Super Rockets instantly set the freezing-cold live-stream room abuzz. One Super Rocket was two thousand yuan; ten was twenty thousand!

Li Jiajun was stunned by this sudden "artillery fire."

Before he could even say thank you, another ten rockets launched.

["A White Cloth on the Head" gifted "Super Rocket" x20]

Li Jiajun watched the rows of gift effects, his breathing becoming rapid. 'Forty thousand yuan in one go! What is this guy after?' A flash of inspiration struck him, and he "understood" instantly.

'Could it be... he wants to see what I was about to do but didn't get a chance to? Yes! He saw through my heart, which was ready to push some boundaries!'

Having realized this, Li Jiajun's mindset immediately shifted.

'Sigh, the happiness of the rich is just that simple and unadorned. Forty thousand yuan just to see a male Streamer dance. This isn't some vulgar transaction; it's support for the performing arts! For the factory and the workers' wages, I'll be an artist today!'

He stood up straight, an expression that was a mix of bashfulness and anticipation unconsciously appearing on his face. He didn't speak, just looked at the screen with expectant eyes, waiting for the big boss to give the "order."

However, on the screen, the whale-tier boss "A White Cloth on the Head" sent a bullet comment that no one expected.

"Can you make drone toys? I have relatively high requirements for efficiency and quantity."

(P.S. If you like it, feel free to add it to your library, everyone.)