Hearing this, Jiang Cheng's brows furrowed instantly.
This was the first time he had heard Great-Grandfather speak about these things.
Jiang Cheng even saw a trace of shame and indignation on his face.
He hadn't known about this before, but after TikTok came along, he would occasionally come across moments of national humiliation from the past.
Jiang Cheng remembered that the ship was later surrounded by warships sent by the Pretty Country for over ten days.
At that time, the daytime temperature in that bay could reach over fifty degrees.
In the end, there was truly no other way but to humiliatingly allow them to board the ship for inspection to prove their innocence.
Although they ultimately didn't find what they were looking for, Huaxia became a laughingstock on the international stage.
Jiang Cheng spoke up to comfort him: "Grandpa, we in Huaxia aren't afraid of suppression. On the contrary, the more they suppress something, the more we can develop it. Looking on the bright side, isn't this a form of motivation? If they hadn't shut off the GPS back then, our own positioning system might not have been released so quickly."
Great-Grandfather looked at him, his eyes slowly lighting up, as if he saw his younger self, or perhaps hope.
"Yes, only after swallowing so much humiliation does one realize how heavy the word 'rise' is. I'm now just hoping that ship's sea trial will be successful, so it can do justice to the children who, like your Uncle Qiu two years ago, shed blood at sea."
Hearing this, Qiu Zheng's eyes couldn't help but turn a bit red.
"Uncle, please rest assured. All the grievances we've suffered over the years will one day be repaid to them twofold."
After saying that, Qiu Zheng looked at Jiang Cheng with some anticipation: "Xiao Jiang, how is the development of your lithography machine going?"
"The general design steps are already out. However, there are still some assembly materials and technologies that haven't been conquered yet. Because a lithography machine is composed of many steps, besides knowing how to assemble it, we also need to overcome some technical challenges in the manufacturing process."
For example, the issue of the light source; its precision is even more complex than building a fighter jet.
I can only say that with Jolins, we've avoided at least several years of detours in the general direction.
But we still need to find other ways for the rest of the talent, materials, and the machinery capable of producing lithography machines.
Jiang Cheng planned to poach people with high salaries from near the world's major lithography machine component manufacturing plants once the shorting of Facebook was completed.
If money really couldn't solve it, then he could only quietly deploy the power of the Security Team to see if he could bring over a few more Jolins-like people.
Qiu Zheng nodded, his tone full of trust: "With you here, we are at ease. As long as Huaxia has young people like you, there is hope."
Jiang Cheng felt a bit embarrassed by the praise and rubbed his nose: "I didn't do much, just put in some effort."
"That's enough." Great-Grandfather looked at him with pure gratification. Just as he was about to say something else, the phone in his pocket vibrated again.
He took it out and glanced at it, his expression darkening again. This time, he didn't even bother to hide it and just stuffed the phone back in.
"Grandpa," Jiang Cheng pressed.
Great-Grandfather shook his head and picked up his chopsticks, but didn't pick up any food: "It's nothing, let's eat."
Jiang Chenghong sighed and told the truth for him: "The sea trial of that ship seems to have been postponed again. Your grandpa has been waiting for news every day lately, fearing..."
"Fearing what?" Great-Grandfather suddenly raised his voice, then quickly lowered it, his voice carrying a tremor he himself hadn't noticed. "We made it through even when we had no one to rely on back then. Now that so many children are fighting for it, how could it not succeed? It's just... I always keep thinking that I want to see it sooner, so I can tell my old comrades who fought alongside me back then that our great ship can finally set sail."
Jiang Cheng reached out and held Great-Grandfather's hand, passing the warmth of his palm to him.
"Grandpa, it will. Our ship will definitely have a successful sea trial, and you will definitely see it."
According to Jiang Cheng's memory, it would be soon. It wouldn't even take a few years; not only this one, but they could even be mass-produced.
Great-Grandfather looked at him, nodded, and handed him the chopsticks: "Yes, it will. Let's eat. Try the braised meat you like; it won't taste good once it gets cold."
Sensing the heavy atmosphere, Qiu Zheng asked: "Xiao Jiang, how are things over in Chengdu? Your work isn't too exhausting, is it?"
Exhausting work was impossible.
Seeing the two grandfathers looking at him, Jiang Cheng rubbed his nose.
Qiu Zheng might not know his whereabouts in Shanghai, but his own two grandfathers certainly did.
Jiang Cheng felt a bit embarrassed by the question, rubbed his nose, and gave a vague, non-committal answer: "It's alright, not very busy."
Just as he said that, Qiu Zheng suddenly seemed to remember something: "Oh right, Xiao He stayed at your place when she went to Chengdu last time, and she hasn't properly thanked you yet."
His tone carried a hint of helplessness mixed with relief: "I was worried when I heard she was going to Chengdu, but my heart was set at ease once I found out she was staying with you."
Jiang Cheng took the opportunity to ask, "What has she been busy with lately? It seems like we haven't been in touch for over half a month."
"She's been incredibly busy," Qiu Zheng replied with a smile. "She was still handling matters in Shanghai yesterday and said she'd come to Kyoto tomorrow. You two will happen to run into each other then."
Jiang Cheng's heart stirred as he instantly recalled what happened at the sushi restaurant.
He also remembered the way they were intimate when she was dazed from a fever.
Thinking of this, Jiang Cheng took out his phone, wanting to send her a message.
His fingertip tapped open the contact list, found the familiar avatar, and clicked in.
However, with that click, a prompt suddenly popped up on the screen: "The other party is not your friend. Please send a friend verification request first."
???
What????
No, what does this mean?
After staring at those words for two seconds, Jiang Cheng finally realized.
He had actually been blocked by Qiu Yihe.
Seeing this, Jiang Cheng felt his brain momentarily short-circuit.
No way, Girl. I was even kneading you with my hand when you were horny.
How did I get blocked in the blink of an eye?
Could it be that she was unsatisfied?
Impossible. Not to mention I have the 'Milk Squeezing' skill.
Just Taka Kato's hand skills are enough to crush 99.99% of guys.
What else could she be unsatisfied with?
Could she be blaming me for not going in with 'live ammunition'?