Chapter 122 The Loudspeaker

Under the sharp gaze of Liu Jianguo, Wang Dachui, standing in the corner, felt extremely uncomfortable.

Does he really think I'm a big speaker?

However...

He finally understood that the other party had misunderstood.

As the manager of the Li Family Toy Factory and the factory director's most loyal Big Smart One follower, he felt he carried a heavy mission at this moment.

That was—to clear his boss's name!

'Big Boss Liu must have misunderstood the factory director again.'

Wang Dachui thought to himself.

'The director was truly wronged this time. He clearly just wanted to smelt some steel balls to make some money, but he was bullied by those foreign devils. Now he's even being suspected by Minister Liu of hiding secret goods. No, I have to speak up for the director!'

Thinking of this, Wang Dachui took a deep breath, summoned his courage, and stepped out from the corner.

"Lead... Leader!"

He puffed out his chest and looked at Liu Jianguo with a face full of simple honesty and sincerity, speaking loudly:

"You've really misunderstood our factory director this time! I can testify that our director really isn't hiding anything this time! It's not like before... that phase of playing humble before showing off!"

Hearing this, Li Jiajun, who was standing nearby, was so moved he almost burst into tears.

This is what they call seeing true feelings in times of trouble! At the critical moment, Big Hammer is still the reliable one!

Wait, what did he mean by 'not like before, that phase of playing humble before showing off'? I didn't show off before, did I?

...

Liu Jianguo merely raised an eyebrow and didn't speak. He continued to look at Wang Dachui with that scrutinizing gaze, signaling him to continue.

Wang Dachui swallowed hard. To increase his persuasiveness, he spoke at a rapid-fire pace:

"This time, it really is just steel balls! And... and not only did our director not hide anything, he's also extremely thrifty! Actually... actually, once that furnace started, the production capacity couldn't be stopped. Our director originally told the outside world it was sixty tons, but that was actually for fear of scaring people. In reality... in reality, once that furnace went down, it smelted a hundred tons!"

"A hundred tons?!"

Not only Liu Jianguo, but even the Netizens in the livestream were shocked. Good heavens, this production capacity is truly terrifying.

"Then what about the remaining forty tons?" Liu Jianguo asked sharply.

"That's the key point I wanted to make!"

Wang Dachui had a face full of pride, as if he were recounting a glorious achievement:

"Because the remaining forty tons couldn't be sold for the time being, and he was afraid they'd rust and go to waste sitting there, the boss felt bad for the materials. So... so he had us put those forty tons of molten steel back into the furnace, add a few scraps, and press them into steel plates!"

At this point, his face wore a 'look at how well my boss manages the household' expression. He gestured as he spoke:

"The boss said our current staff dormitory is too old. We could just use these steel plates to build a few small buildings behind the factory area to use as new dorms! Or even build a new toilet! It's sturdy, rust-proof, and saves money!"

"Look, they're piled right over there! That black heap is..."

As Wang Dachui spoke, he confidently raised his hand and pointed toward the weed-choked corner of the factory's backyard.

Following his finger, everyone's gaze instinctively shifted over.

However.

When Wang Dachui's eyes landed on that corner, his originally non-stop voice suddenly came to a screeching halt.

"Gah?"

His entire body froze, maintaining his pointing posture as he stared blankly in that direction.

In front of that pile of steel plates meant for building a toilet, Professor Zhou—who should have been standing next to Liu Jianguo wearing his thick-lensed glasses—had run over there at some unknown point.

At this moment, this top domestic materials science Expert was sprawled over the pile of steel plates, completely disregarding his image.

His entire body was trembling violently. Holding a portable detector in his hand, his face was almost pressed against the cold metal surface.

"This... this..."

Professor Zhou made a strange sound, something like a sob.

Immediately afterward, he whipped his head around.

His refined face was flushed red, his eyes were bloodshot, and his expression was frantic.

He stared fixedly at Liu Jianguo, waving the detector that was already sounding an alarm, and let out a piercing roar:

"Liu... Director Liu!!!"

That shout gave everyone present a fright.

"This... this isn't steel! This is fucking Stellite memory superalloy!!!"

...

Liu Jianguo felt as if a thunderbolt had exploded in his brain.

Although he wasn't a materials Expert, he was all too familiar with the term 'memory superalloy'!

That was the core material for the country's next-generation stealth fighter, the 'Mighty Dragon' variant, currently under development!

It was a strategic-grade material used to manufacture the core blades of the vector engine code-named WS-20, as well as the key connection points for variable-sweep wings!

Heat-resistant, ultra-high strength, and possessing shape-memory functions!

This was a true pillar of the nation! A top-tier treasure that couldn't be bought no matter how much money one had!

"Old Zhou... are... are you sure?" Liu Jianguo's voice was trembling, and his legs felt a bit weak.

"I'll stake my head on it!"

Professor Zhou was so excited he was incoherent. He threw himself onto the steel plates as if they weren't cold metal, but his own father:

"This ratio, this crystal structure... it's even more perfect than the samples we produced in the lab! Even purer! This is simply a work of art!"

After saying that, he suddenly turned to look at the bewildered Li Jiajun, his eyes so feverish it looked like he wanted to eat him:

"You... what did you have that big guy say just now? You want to use this... to build a building?!"

"Build... build a staff dormitory..."

Li Jiajun was so scared he shrank his neck and answered instinctively, "I thought this stuff had high hardness and was rust-proof. Using it to build a toilet or a dormitory or something, it should last for hundreds of years without breaking..."

Pfft—

Professor Zhou felt a tightness in his chest, and a mouthful of old blood almost sprayed out.

Using materials meant for fighter jet engines to build a toilet?

This was no longer just a waste of heavenly treasures!

This was a crime! This was a desecration of science!

"You spendthrift! You absolute spendthrift!"

Professor Zhou clutched his chest and wailed in distress, "This kind of material is worth more per gram than gold! And you're using it to build a toilet? You... you're going to be the death of me!"

Meanwhile, Wang Dachui, who had been maintaining his pointing posture, finally snapped out of it.

He slowly lowered his hand, looked at that pile of sky-high priced scrap metal, then looked at the Expert who was about to faint from excitement. His mind went blank.

'Next-generation fighter jet material?'

'More expensive than gold?'

'Wait... didn't the boss say these were just plates pressed to avoid waste?'

Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.

He whipped his head to look at Li Jiajun, his eyes filled with resentment, admiration, and a hint of feeling wronged.

'I get it...'

'The boss was guarding against me! He was afraid I'd try to help him show off and steal his spotlight, so he deliberately didn't tell me the truth!'

'First, he makes us all think it's scrap metal, even making me say things like building a toilet to lower everyone's expectations, and then he uses the Expert's mouth to reveal the truth for a shocking reversal!'

'This wave of showing off... it's truly subtle and silent, far more advanced than my blatant style!'

'Brilliant! Truly brilliant! As expected of the boss!'

Having finished his self-rationalization, Wang Dachui's admiration for Li Jiajun was like a surging river, endless and overflowing.

As for Li Jiajun himself, at this very moment, he was truly dumbfounded.

His mouth hung open as he looked at the pile of steel plates, then at Liu Jianguo who was on the verge of exploding. He entered his signature involuntary voice-over commentary mode, muttering to the air:

"What a sin... this time I really just wanted to build a sturdier dormitory... and fix the toilet while I was at it..."

"At the time, I just felt it was a waste to throw it away, so I told Big Hammer to just toss in some leftover titanium alloy powder from making the 'elderly joy' vehicles... how did it become fighter jet material again?"

"Am I just cursed to be linked with the military industry? Great, now the toilet won't be built, and I'll have to pay a bunch of shipping costs..."

After a brief moment of silence in the livestream, the bullet comments suddenly erupted like a volcanic explosion.

"Hahaha! I knew it! I knew it!"

"Though it's late, it never fails to show up! The signature program is here!"

"Building a toilet with fighter jet materials? Main Streamer, you're a fucking genius!"

"Uncle Liu: Someone, bring me my quick-acting heart-saving pills! The large bottle!"

...

Liu Jianguo took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the urge to strangle Li Jiajun.

He looked at the troublemaker before him who looked completely innocent but managed to pull off a 'surprise' every single time, his gaze becoming extremely complex.

Fortunately.

Fortunately, he had the foresight.

Fortunately, due to years of psychological trauma, he never fought a battle he wasn't prepared for.

"Little Li..."

Liu Jianguo's voice was low, carrying a deep sense of exhaustion.

"Yes, Uncle Liu, I'm here..." Li Jiajun responded cautiously.

"Stop talking."

Liu Jianguo waved his hand, took out his phone, and in front of everyone, dialed the number that had been on an active call this whole time.

He looked at the pile of priceless steel plates, a bitter smile appearing at the corner of his mouth that said 'I knew it would be like this,' and said to the other end of the phone:

"Let the convoy in."

"Yes, those twenty heavy trucks parked at the intersection, bring them all in."

"I knew it. Coming to this kid's place, it's absolutely impossible to leave empty-handed!"