Chapter 64 The Bad-Tempered Eccentric Grandpa

Professor Liang's face is now as black as the bottom of a pot.

He hated two kinds of people the most in his life: one was the foreign devils who looked down on China's shipbuilding technology, and the other was the laymen who pretended to know everything and caused trouble.

The little girl in front of him, with her hair still tied in a topknot, was practically jumping around in his sensitive areas.

"Commander Zhao!" Professor Liang tucked the blueprints under his arm and shouted, "Please leave immediately, right now, with your guests!"

"This is a shipbuilding center, not a daycare! And certainly not a place for some rich young lady to run wild!"

His words were so harsh that even the technicians who hadn't dared to say anything felt it was a bit excessive, but no one dared to intervene.

Once this old man gets stubborn, not even ten oxen could pull him back.

Lin Jianguo originally intended to endure it.

After all, he's a great expert and an intellectual, while I'm just a roughneck. I can just put up with it.

But the old man kept targeting his daughter, even saying she had "a lack of family education," which really stirred up a hornet's nest.

Lin Jianguo's eyes, which had been honed on the battlefield with a murderous aura, narrowed instantly.

He strode up to Professor Liang, his tall frame blocking out the sunlight like a wall, completely shrouding the small Professor Liang in shadow.

"Chief Engineer Liang, right?" Lin Jianguo's voice was low, but it carried a chilling aura that sent shivers down one's spine. "You are a great expert in shipbuilding, and I respect you."

"But if you dare to point fingers at my daughter again, or say anything unpleasant, don't blame me for being rude to you!"

"I, Lin Jianguo, am a rough man. I only know that I will be good to whoever is good to my daughter; anyone who tries to bully her is going against me!"

The atmosphere froze instantly.

The surrounding air seemed to have frozen.

When Zhao Tiezhu saw this situation, his scalp tingled.

These two are like a stubborn mule and a fiercely protective tiger. If they really fight, how will he explain it to his superiors?

"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing! Calm down, both of you!" Zhao Tiezhu quickly stepped between the two, pushing Lin Jianguo aside while giving Professor Liang a forced smile.

"Old Liang, calm down. Jianguo is just protective of his daughter. Don't take it to heart."

"And you, Lin Jianguo! How dare you speak to an expert like that? Stand at attention!"

Although Zhao Tiezhu was reprimanding Lin Jianguo, it was obvious to anyone with eyes that he was taking sides.

Professor Liang was trembling with anger, his finger pointing at Lin Jianguo shaking: "Fine...fine! This is the 'expert' you brought? This is your attitude?"

"Fine! Since you look down on us techies, then I'm leaving!"

"I'm not building this crappy ship anymore! Whoever wants to build it can build it!"

Professor Liang was also a man of strong character; he turned around and was about to leave.

Just then, Chen Zhiyuan, who had been silent all along, slowly took something out of his bag.

It was a small spinning top wrapped in straw paper.

It was the very same "miracle device" that Zhao Di had carved out with a knife, the one that solved the problem of the gyroscope in the Dongfeng missile.

"Old Liang, don't rush off yet." Chen Zhiyuan adjusted his glasses and said with a smile, "Haven't you always been curious about who that genius who solved the missile accuracy problem is?"

Professor Liang paused in his steps.

As a tech person, he was naturally extremely curious about that legendary "genius".

But he turned around and looked at Chen Zhiyuan with a suspicious expression: "Old Chen, what do you mean?"

Chen Zhiyuan pointed to Zhao Di, who was leaning on the railing, staring blankly at the large ship hull.

"Far away, yet right before my eyes."

"That genius is her."

Professor Liang seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world.

He glanced at Chen Zhiyuan, who had a serious expression, and then at the little girl who seemed to have nothing to offer except cuteness.

Finally, he let out a cold laugh.

"Old Chen, did you get your brain blown out of shape in the desert?"

"Missile manufacturing is about aerodynamics, while shipbuilding is about fluid mechanics and materials science! These are two completely different things!"

"Even if she did manage to stumble upon something by sheer luck over there, it doesn't mean she knows how to build ships!"

"Don't you understand the saying, 'Every profession is like a mountain to climb'?"

Chen Zhiyuan wasn't angry; he simply said, "Old Liang, you spoke too soon. Some people's talents are beyond your comprehension."

"Talent? What talent?!" Professor Liang completely exploded. "Shipbuilding is science! It's about rigorous data! It's not something that can be conjured up out of thin air by some kind of talent!"

"Unless the sun rises in the west today, I will never admit that this kid knows how to build ships!"

Just when the tension was high and neither side was willing to back down.

In Zhao Di's mind, the usually lazy system voice suddenly became somewhat excited.

[Ding! High concentration of arrogance detected.]

[Temporary side quest issued: Subdue the stubborn old man.]

[Task Description: This old man may have a bad temper, but he's actually quite skilled. The host needs to win him over and recruit him.]

[Mission Hint: Point out a fatal flaw in this wrecked ship.]

[Task Reward: One pack of White Rabbit Creamy Candy (Giant Edition)]

Milk candy! And it's giant!

Zhao Di's eyes instantly lit up like searchlights.

Stubborn old men and great experts are nothing in front of giant candy!

She immediately stopped feeling wronged and angry.

She released the railing and, with small, indifferent steps, walked briskly to Professor Liang.

Professor Liang was in a bad mood. When he saw the little girl coming over, he snorted and turned his head away.

Zhao Di didn't mind. She stretched out her chubby little hand and pointed to the lower side of the huge ship.

That's where the keel and sidewalls connect; it looks unremarkable, even less rusted than other places.

"Strange Grandpa," Zhao Di called out in her childish voice.

Professor Liang's lips twitched. "Bastard Grandpa? That's an awful way to address him."

“There’s a big hole there,” Zhao Di said seriously. “If you don’t plug it up, water will gurgle in as soon as the boat goes into the water.”

"And then it really sank to the bottom and became the turtle's food!"

Professor Liang was taken aback at first, then seemed to have heard some absurd joke, and was so angry that his beard almost stood on end.

"Nonsense!"

"That location is the connection point for the keel reinforcement, and it's made entirely of the finest special steel plates! How could there be a hole there?"

"There isn't even a weld seam there! It's a one-piece casting!"

"You little rascal, there's a limit to pretending to know what you don't!"

The technicians around him all shook their heads.

They had inspected that spot countless times; it was the sturdiest part of the entire ship, without a single hole, let alone a pinhole.

This little girl has really run into trouble this time.

Although Lin Jianguo didn't know anything about shipbuilding, he trusted his daughter unconditionally.

He looked at that spot, his brows furrowing slightly.

If my daughter says there's a hole, then there must be a hole.

"Chief Engineer Liang, how about... we take a look?" Zhao Tiezhu tried to smooth things over, "It's just something I can do on the side anyway."

"What kind of inspection is this!" Professor Liang waved his hand dismissively. "A waste of time! A waste of manpower!"

"I can guarantee with my integrity that there's absolutely no problem with that position!"

Zhao Di looked at the stubborn old man and sighed helplessly.

She took out a regular milk candy that she hadn't finished eating from her pocket, unwrapped it, and put it in her mouth.

"Grandpa, if you don't believe me, let's make a bet."

"If there really is a hole there, you have to buy me candy."

"If I don't have any, I'll... I'll give you this candy."

Zhao Di generously held up the candy wrapper she was holding.

Professor Liang looked at the crumpled candy wrapper, feeling both angry and amused, yet also inexplicably saddened.

How could a chief engineer who had returned from studying abroad be reduced to betting with a three-year-old child?

But he couldn't swallow this insult!

He wanted to show these laymen what scientific rigor is!

"Alright! Let's bet!"

Professor Liang gritted his teeth, turned around, and roared at the technician behind him.

"Go! Bring me the flaw detector!"

"Scan that area thoroughly, inside and out!"

"Today I'm going to make you all admit defeat!"