Chapter 266 Mr. Qian: Do I look like a swindler?

In the video call screen...

Elder Qian's signature gray hair looked a bit messy, a mark of long hours spent scratching his head in deep thought.

Looking at Liu Jianguo's slightly chubby face on the other side of the screen, his heart was actually filled with helplessness.

He even felt a deep sense of frustration.

This frustration didn't come from the carbon fiber composite material project that was making him go bald.

It came from social interactions.

Or more accurately, it came from that Little Factory Director Li whom he both loved and hated—Li Jiajun.

Don't be fooled by him directly asking Liu Jianguo for information now.

In fact, before this, as a titan-level figure, it wasn't that he hadn't thought about contacting Li Jiajun directly.

After all, last time at the Li Family Toy Factory in Baishui City, the two of them had hit it off quite well.

It was a case of "wishing they had met sooner."

He felt that he and that young man had already become friends despite the age gap.

So, when the project hit a bottleneck and urgently needed a breakthrough, the first person he thought of was that young man who always brought surprises (or scares).

Thus, he didn't put on any airs.

He directly obtained Li Jiajun's private WeChat ID through official channels.

At the time, Elder Qian even took the care to tidy his clothes; even when sending a WeChat message, he maintained the solemnity of an old-school scholar.

In the verification message for the friend request, he seriously typed out five words:

"I am Qian Zhengming."

After sending it, Elder Qian held his teacup and waited with a smile.

He thought to himself, "That kid will definitely be overwhelmed by the honor when he sees my name and will accept immediately, right?"

However...

Less than a minute later.

*Ding.*

The phone rang.

Elder Qian picked up his phone, and the smile on his face instantly froze.

It wasn't "The other party has accepted your friend request."

It was a formulaic system notification:

[The other party has rejected your friend request.]

At that moment, Elder Qian was completely stunned.

He held his phone and stared at it for a long time, his mind filled with question marks.

Rejected?

He actually rejected it?

This isn't how the script was supposed to go!

But being a researcher after all, his first thought when encountering a problem was to analyze the cause.

'Does this kid not know my name is Qian Zhengming?'

'That's right, everyone usually calls me Elder Qian or Engineer Qian. This kid might really not know what my full name is.'

'Not only does he not know, but seeing a verification message like this, he might even think I'm some scammer selling health supplements.'

Thinking of this, Elder Qian had an epiphany.

"Young people nowadays have a strong awareness against scams; that's a good thing."

Elder Qian comforted himself.

Since he had found the "reason," it would be easy to handle.

Thus, this big shot who commanded the winds and clouds in the aerospace field patiently picked up his phone again.

This time, to clarify his identity and appear friendly,

he specifically added his honorific in the friend verification message:

"I am Elder Qian, Qian Zhengming."

There shouldn't be any problem now, right?

This is laying all the cards on the table!

This is revealing his identity!

As long as he's not a fool, seeing the words "Elder Qian" combined with the name "Qian Zhengming," he should know who it is, right?

However...

Reality dealt the old scientist another heavy blow.

The very instant he sent it,

it was a near-instant rejection!

[The other party has rejected your friend request.]

Looking at that line of emotionless small text on the screen,

the corner of Elder Qian's mouth twitched violently.

He felt his blood pressure starting to soar.

This made him feel helpless, a bit curious, and even a little aggrieved.

He, a distinguished national-level scientist, took the initiative to add a young man running a toy factory, and he was rejected twice in a row?

If word of this got out, where would he hide his face?

'This kid...'

'Does he really take me for one of those low-end scammers impersonating celebrities?'

'Or does this kid have some quirk about not adding old men?'

Elder Qian was completely baffled.

He even thought about calling directly but was afraid the call would be hung up as a harassment call, which would be even more embarrassing.

So,

he was truly out of options.

That's why he had to take a roundabout approach and seek out Liu Jianguo.

On one hand, he really wanted to ask what the protagonist was researching lately to see if there was anything he could learn from.

On the other hand, and more importantly,

he wanted to ask through Liu Jianguo how on earth he could add that stubborn little rascal as a friend!

Is adding a friend harder than reaching the heavens?

...

The scene returned to the present.

In the video call,

Elder Qian forced down the depression in his heart caused by his inability to add a friend.

He pushed up the reading glasses on the bridge of his nose, looked at Liu Jianguo, and asked straight to the point:

"What has that Little Factory Director Li been busy with lately?"

"Has he come up with any new inventions?"

Hearing this,

the expression on Liu Jianguo's face became quite interesting.

He had roughly guessed what Elder Qian meant by making this video call.

However, he could only answer truthfully:

"Oh, Elder Qian, so you're asking about that."

"The kid does indeed have a new project recently."

"He's researching fishing rods."

"fishing rods?!"

Hearing those words,

on the other end of the screen, Elder Qian's eyes widened suddenly, and his voice rose several pitches.

His expectant expression collapsed instantly.

It was replaced by the anger of "hating that iron couldn't become steel," along with deep speechlessness.

He had been hoping this kid would develop some earth-shattering new material or some inconceivable new structure to provide inspiration for his fighter jet project.

And the result?

fishing rods?

What kind of technical content could that thing have?

What does that thing have to do with high-tech national defense?

This is simply a waste of talent!

It's like expecting Einstein to research relativity, only for him to tell you he's researching how to fry dough sticks better.

"Nonsense!"

Elder Qian slapped the table, his mustache twitching with anger.

"That kid has such a good brain and such heaven-defying comprehension."

"Why is he always doing these frivolous things?"

Elder Qian looked at Liu Jianguo huffily, almost laughing from anger:

"Can't you keep him in check?"

"Can't you guide him a little?"

"Can't you get him to research something our Air Force can use?!"

Facing Elder Qian's questioning,

Liu Jianguo, however, remained calm.

Even,

at the corner of his mouth, a faint, strange smile appeared.

Looking at the exasperated Elder Qian, he didn't rush to explain but instead slowly picked up his teacup and took a sip.

Then,

he said something that made Elder Qian completely lose his composure.

Only to hear...