Chapter 430: A Talk with the Old Master

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Zhou Chao drove his Rolls-Royce Phantom smoothly into the courtyard.

Standing at the doorstep with two bags in hand, he took a deep breath before pressing the doorbell.

The feeling of visiting his father-in-law’s house was even more nerve-wracking than facing the bloodshed in the stock market.

In less than 10 seconds, the door was opened, and it was none other than his father-in-law, Jiang Youdao.

“Dad!” Zhou Chao called out with a smile.

“Come on in, we’ve been waiting for you to start the meal!” Jiang Youdao opened the door and then turned and walked back.

As he stepped inside, Zhou Chao saw his grandfather sitting on the sofa, which was a bit unexpected. Why was the old man here today?

“Xiao Chao, you’re here. Come and sit down. Youdao, go to the kitchen and help with serving the dishes,” Old Master Jiang waved to Zhou Chao.

Jiang Youdao, on the other hand, looked surprised and gave Zhou Chao an annoyed look before reluctantly heading to the kitchen.

“I’ve received everything you had Xiao Yang send over before. I must say, I proudly showcased them in front of the folks at the estate. You wouldn’t believe how Lao Yang’s eyes lit up when he saw my hundred-year-old ginseng. He’s been pestering me daily to share my health tea!” Old Master Jiang said happily.

“Old Master, do we still have some at home? I brought several more over today, and the quality is just as good as before.” Zhou Chao said, handing over the bags he had brought.

When Old Master Jiang took a look, he was impressed. There were four or five excellent wild ginseng roots lying in the bag.

“You’re considerate.” Old Master Yang looked at Zhou Chao with a kindly expression.

“Dad, dinner is ready!” Jiang Youdao called out, holding bowls and chopsticks.

“Let’s go, it’s time for dinner!” Old Master Jiang stood up first and headed towards the dining table, and Zhou Chao quickly followed.

Upon arriving at the dining table, Zhou Chao saw eight or nine dishes already laid out. However, when he saw the dishes on the table, he was taken aback. Five of them were his favorite dishes, and they were all specialties from Fog City.

“Go ahead and try them. Your mom made some Jianghu-style dishes specifically for you. She even watched video tutorials to make sure they suit your taste,” Jiang Youdao said softly.

Hearing this, Zhou Chao’s nose tingled, and his eyes welled up with a hint of red. He forcefully held back his emotions and said, “Mom’s cooking is definitely delicious!”

Seeing Zhou Chao’s emotional state, everyone at the table understood that they had touched upon a sensitive topic earlier. Old Master Jiang, with a hint of annoyance, glanced at Jiang Youdao and said, “Let’s eat, Zhou Chao, you should enjoy your meal too.”

“Sure!” Zhou Chao replied, regaining his composure, and everyone at the table began to eat.

Watching Zhou Chao relish his meal with such joy, the elders exchanged glances and also began to pickup their chopsticks.

“Why didn’t Jiang Li come back with you?” Jiang’s mother asked Zhou Chao softly.

“Mom, I flew directly to Jingdu from abroad this time and haven’t gone back to Modu yet. 1’11 return with her after finishing things over here!” Zhou Chao put down his chopsticks and explained.

“Oh? What’s so urgent that made you come back?” Jiang Youdao asked as he realized that Zhou Chao hadn’t even visited home and had flown directly to Jingdu, there must be something important.

Zhou Chao then proceeded to explain the events that had taken place in Eagle Country. When he mentioned that several national treasures were returning to China from the Eagle Country Museum, Old Master Jiang was excited and pounded the table, saying, “Well done!”

Old Master Jiang’s excitement caught Jiang Youdao off guard.

“Dad, you should be more reserved. What if you scare Xiao Chao?”

Unexpectedly, when Old Master Jiang heard this, he looked at Zhou Chao indignantly and said, “What’s wrong? Is there something wrong with the old man being happy about such an important matter? And it seems like it’s you who got startled!”

For a moment, Jiang Youdao was left speechless by the retort and could only focus on eating his meal.

The pleasant dinner quickly came to an end. After the meal, Zhou Chao was pulled by Old Master Jiang to the study for a chat, while Jiang Youdao was tasked with doing the dishes, and his wife wasn’t allowed to help him.

In the study, Zhou Chao and Old Master Jiang sat at a tea table. Zhou Chao expertly brewed tea and served a cup to the elderly gentleman.

“I heard that your research team is currently working on lithography machines. How’s the progress?” Old Master Jiang asked as he took a sip of tea.

“I haven’t been there for a while, but with the support of the nanoscale industrial mother machine, 1 believe we’ll make quick progress!”

“Well done. We also need the design blueprints and related information for your industrial mother machine. We’ll provide you with a patent fee, although it won’t be a significant amount. 1 hope you understand,” Old Master Jiang said with a heavy tone.

“That’s not a problem. You know 1 don’t make money from this. When the time comes, you can send someone to collect it, but 1 hope it will be you or Old Master Xiao who personally sends someone,” Zhou Chao replied. He didn’t mind sharing the technology, but he wanted it to benefit their own country.

“You have the right mindset. After all, the country urgently needs this technology now. And it seems to me that your focus isn’t entirely on this. I guess you want to manufacture our own country’s chips, right?” Old Master Jiang’s eyes sparkled with an inexplicable light.

“Yes, everything is ready, we just need the lithography machine to reach mass production, and I’ll start researching and manufacturing chips!” Zhou Chao didn’t hide anything, as they were family, and he respected Old Master Jiang’s expertise in technology. Any advice would be helpful.

Old Master Jiang nodded but soon realized something, looking at Zhou Chao with surprise, he asked, “Did you just say chip manufacturing?”

“Yes, chip manufacturing,” Zhou Chao said casually.

“Are you planning to make chips of what size? i6nm or 7nm?” Old Master Jiang asked casually.

Zhou Chao shook his head and said, “I plan to make mm chips!”

“Wow, mm! What? Did you say mm chips?” Old Master Jiang looked at Zhou Chao in excitement, not even noticing that he had spilled tea on his clothes.

“Grandfather, the tea spilled.” Zhou Chao quickly grabbed some tissues to help Old Master Jiang wipe them off.

“Oops, it’s still a bit hot!” Old Master Jiang realized as he regained his senses, and his chest was soaked with tea. He took the tissues and wiped it off quickly, luckily the tea had cooled down a bit, or he might have burned himself.

After wiping it off, Old Master Jiang looked at Zhou Chao with astonishment, and after a while, he said, “How many surprises are you planning to give me, boy?”

Zhou Chao chuckled but didn’t say much. Old Master Jiang also didn’t press further and changed the topic.

It seemed that Old Master Jiang had thought of something. He looked at Zhou Chao and said, “By the way, the higher-ups have confirmed that your technology company in Peng City is now designated as a key protected entity. They may send personnel to be stationed there.”

Zhou Chao frowned as he contemplated the possible implications of this decision on him.

“Don’t overthink it. The person they’re sending this time is that annoying kid, Xiao Yang, whom you can completely trust.” Sensing Zhou Chao’s concerns, Old Master Jiang explained with a smile.

Zhou Chao nodded with a smile.

“About the industrial mother machine, I’ll have someone head to Peng City in the next couple of days. But please, make sure there are no mishaps or blunders during that period!” Old Master Jiang advised with a grin, well aware of Zhou Chao’s inclinations.

“Don’t worry, Grandfather!” After all, the technology was well understood now, and with patent protection, Zhou Chao felt confident.

The two of them continued chatting until well past io o’clock in the evening, and Old Master Jiang began to show signs of fatigue, so he allowed Zhou Chao to leave.

As Zhou Chao descended the stairs, he realized that his father-in-law was still sitting on the sofa, probably waiting to discuss something with him.

“Dad!” Zhou Chao walked up to him and whispered.

“Yeah, you’ve been chatting with Old Master for quite a while. I suppose you’ve covered most of the things.”

“Hehe, more or less,” Zhou Chao replied somewhat sheepishly, noticing that Jiang Youdao had been waiting for him on the sofa.

“You and Jiang Li have been together for over half a year now, but there’s been no news. I was hoping we’d have a grandchild this year!” Jiang Youdao said, sounding slightly reproachful.

“Dad, I’m working on it!”

“Yeah, by the way, have you not been involved in the steel plant in Fuxing recently?”

Zhou Chao was taken aback by the question and quickly said, “Has something happened over there?”

“No, nothing has happened, but things are getting quite ambitious lately. We’re competing with several large steel plants for market share. 1 didn’t realize that your insights were so sharp. A secretary has turned you into a manager of a large company. Not bad, not bad!”

“It’s fine as long as it’s healthy competition, as long as it doesn’t lead to unethical practices,” Zhou Chao replied.

“Yeah, but I still want to remind you, competition is fine, but avoid cutthroat competition.”

“Don’t worry, it’s under control. After all, they are people from Uncle Ye, and we can trust them in this regard.”

Jiang Youdao nodded and said, “It’s getting late. You should go back and rest. Remember what 1 told you, try to give me a grandchild this year!”

Zhou Chao smiled wryly but nodded.

“Dad, 1 and Jiang Li will do our best!”

Jiang Youdao didn’t say anything more and stood up from the sofa, heading upstairs.

By the time Zhou Chao returned home, it was already past 11 o’clock. As soon as he entered, he saw his pet, Shoufu, curled up on the sofa sound asleep. Zhou Chao noticed this and couldn’t resist a mischievous smile. He tiptoed over to Shoufu and shouted loudly, “Shoufu, wake up!”

The Shoufu immediately leaped up from the sofa, doing a couple of somersaults in mid-air before landing on the ground. He looked around with his big head, and upon seeing his owner, he meowed loudly and rushed to Zhou Chao, scratching his pants with his claws.

“My pants are almost torn by you, why are you still angry?” Zhou Chao laughed, crouching down to pick up the Shoufu. To his surprise, the Shoufu turned his head away and refused to look at him.

Zhou Chao found the scene amusing and burst into laughter.

“All right, don’t be mad anymore. I won’t scare you in the future. How about it? Let’s go sleep together tonight.” Zhou Chao said as he carried the Shoufu and headed upstairs..