If You Laugh Again, I'll Hit You Too

"Yes, but it might take some time."

Wu Chen said.

"All right, then can you mass-produce them based on the existing sample?"

Jiang Hongyue asked again, though he looked a little disappointed.

He understood that foreign products were good, of course, but the cost was too high.

Still, he had been fleeced like a fat sheep for so many years that he was used to it.

"No, I can't do that either."

Wu Chen shrugged.

"Huh?"

At that, not only was Jiang Hongyue bewildered, but Liu Yu and the others were puzzled too.

This kind of camera wasn't a chemical product that needed laboratory preparation converted into a production process.

Couldn't he just produce them according to the sample?

Wu Chen explained, "Because the core algorithm isn't stable yet. I still need to optimize it."

Of course, the real reason was that he could only redeem five samples at most right now.

Without the production line information, how could he possibly mass-produce them?

But Jiang Hongyue was in a hurry.

"Teacher Wu, production and research complement each other. You can make improvements through practice. Jiangdong Pharmaceutical Factory is willing to hire you as a consultant and devote all our efforts to developing this sorting and inspection system. We can treat it as your industry-sponsored project. What do you think?"

Industry-sponsored project funding...

Hearing those words, Wu Chen felt his anxiety genes stirring.

He remembered what Wang Hongfa and Liu Ping had done to him.

At a faculty meeting for the whole school, they had mocked him mercilessly for failing to secure sponsorship.

One thing they had said still rankled whenever he thought about it.

"If you can't secure an industry-sponsored project, it means there's something wrong with your character, and your research is completely worthless. It's garbage!"

Scenes from the past flashed before his eyes.

His old resentment surged back like the tide.

Revenge was important. He had to destroy everything Wang Hongfa, that murderer, had.

But he had awakened the Intelligent Manufacturing System. If he always treated revenge as his top priority, he didn't deserve to have such a powerful system.

Improving himself was what mattered most!

After thinking for a moment, Wu Chen spoke.

"Director Jiang, I'll sort out the algorithm as soon as possible, but I don't need industry-sponsored project funding for now. My rank is only teaching assistant, so I haven't given that any thought yet."

Only then did Jiang Hongyue remember that Wu Chen wasn't even a lecturer.

"But..."

"But!"

Wu Chen cut him off. "I'm planning to start a company, and I might as well make the system you need its first product. But I'd need you to put up some of the startup capital, around three million. Would that be possible?"

"Well..."

Jiang Hongyue didn't decide immediately.

Making a product meant setting up a production line, and that would take a considerable investment.

The cost was nothing like simply buying a few dozen finished units directly from Wu Chen.

And even if Wu Chen could quickly solve the core algorithm problem, all sorts of problems were bound to arise during mass production.

What if it didn't get off the ground?

If the overall climate had been what it was two years ago, or if Wu Chen were his son-in-law, Jiang Hongyue would have had no problem backing him.

But now, he really had to think it over carefully.

"Teacher Wu, I admit this product has very promising prospects, but I still need to discuss the three million. You'll also need to give me a detailed proposal telling me how the money will be spent. So could we discuss it again later?"

"Sure."

Wu Chen nodded.

Even in 2025, a three-million-yuan project was a major undertaking, let alone now.

A thorough, workable proposal was essential.

Reality wasn't a novel. There couldn't be domineering CEOs who could casually pull out hundreds of millions, and even if there were, he wasn't at a level where he could meet them now.

Although they hadn't reached an agreement for the time being, both the host and his guests enjoyed the rest of the meal.

Wu Chen left Little Jiang No. 1 at the factory for Liu Yu and the others to collect data and continue debugging.

Jiang Hongyue was also generous with smaller sums, transferring him twenty thousand yuan as a consulting fee for this job.

After the meal, Jiang Nan drove Wu Chen back to Xiaohe Mountain Apartments.

Wu Chen was in the passenger seat with his eyes closed, thinking about how to obtain startup capital, when Jiang Nan suddenly spoke from the driver's seat.

"Teacher Wu, why didn't you get your doctorate back then?"

Wu Chen opened his eyes and saw that Jiang Nan wasn't driving in the fast lane, but traveling at a moderate speed in the far-right lane.

"It was actually pretty simple. When I was at Northern Arizona, my advisor wanted to turn one of my senior fellow students into an academic star and give him my research results. I refused, so he held up my graduation. I didn't want to waste time, so I came straight back."

It was a very simple story, and a common one.

Jiang Nan was clearly a little surprised.

At home or abroad, applying for funding was an advisor's most important task, which was why everyone also called their advisors "boss."

As a boss, you had to bring in money to keep the lab running.

So what kind of boss found it easy to secure funding?

One who had an "academic star."

After all, if you were an investor faced with a choice between a lab with a big shot who had seven first-quartile SCI papers and one with nothing but ideas and no academic achievements, which would you choose?

Jiang Nan was in a direct-entry doctoral program at Xiaoheshan University of Technology.

Not only was she highly capable herself, but she was also the daughter of a local big shot, so her advisor had never made things difficult for her.

She knew that some advisors stole their students' research results, but Wu Chen was the first person she knew who had dared to walk away without his degree.

"The price was steep, but you're impressive."

Jiang Nan offered the brief compliment in an even tone. Her face was expressionless, and there was no telling what she was thinking.

Wu Chen didn't care what she thought, either.

But remembering how she had rebuked Lavrov that day, he added something.

"Of course, there was another reason. He insulted China, so I hit him."

He could put up with the curry smell on his dumbass advisor, but he couldn't stand him yammering in his curry-scented bird language.

For a moment, the air was silent.

Then, with a snort, Jiang Nan actually burst out laughing.

Wu Chen turned in surprise and saw Jiang Nan struggling to contain her laughter. She looked nothing like the icy beauty she had been before.

"What's so funny?"

Wu Chen was puzzled.

He had thought Jiang Nan would understand her. After all, in his previous life, whenever he told people about this experience, they had all called him "too impulsive" or said it "wasn't worth it."

"Sorry, but... I really couldn't tell you were the type to get into fights, Teacher Wu."

Jiang Nan finally managed to stop laughing and resumed her calm, unruffled expression, as though nothing had happened.

"Oh."

Wu Chen nodded. "If you laugh again, I'll hit you too."

"You..."

Jiang Nan was momentarily stunned.

In all her life, this was the first time anyone had dared say they would hit her.

Not even Jiang Hongyue had ever said that!

Then she laughed again, sounding like a wind chime.

Wu Chen didn't actually hit her. He just gave her a look as though she were an idiot, then turned to admire the scenery outside the window, too lazy to say anything more.

But the distance that had stood between them since their argument that morning had diminished somewhat.

Traffic wasn't too heavy that afternoon, and the car soon arrived at Xiaohe Mountain Apartments.

Wu Chen had just opened the door and was about to get out when Jiang Nan suddenly called him back.

"Teacher Wu, please wait."

Thoroughly exasperated, Wu Chen sat back in his seat, feeling that the scene was oddly familiar.

"Teacher Jiang, can't you say what you have to say sooner? You always call me back just as I'm about to get out."

"Sorry."

Jiang Nan felt like she had been apologizing all day.

She smoothed her hair and spoke with a serious expression.

"Teacher Wu, I don't have three million. I only have about 1.7 million in available funds, and I'd like to invest in your company. Would that be all right?"