Chapter 125: Playing Dirty

"Elder Cheng, this isn't three hundred or three thousand; this is three hundred million! Even if you sold me off, I wouldn't be worth that much. I’m just the head steward holding the keys; I have to verify these things clearly, or how am I supposed to answer to the higher-ups?" Lin Zheming gave a bitter smile. These big shots spoke of money as if it were nothing.

He had to be responsible for the national budget. He needed to confirm everything and ensure the procedural verification was complete before he could authorize the release of funds.

"Then hurry up, make it faster. We're waiting for the rice to get into the pot! The T4 titanium-aluminum alloy has already burned through the remaining research budget I had. All the material we produced was taken away by that kid Lu Xiao, and my materials research institute is currently at a standstill!" When asking for funding from superiors, one had to play the part of being pitiful.

No matter how upright Cheng Huanan was, he had truly gained experience when it came to begging for funds.

He wasn't lying, either. The laboratory’s funding had specific sources. Because the matter was of such great importance, he had temporarily diverted all the institute's resources to focus on the reproduction of T4, which had indeed exhausted his reserves.

Without additional funding, the projects in his hands really couldn't move forward. Materials research had always been a massive money pit.

Whether there was fruit or not, one had to take the opportunity to shake the tree a few times.

Before even settling the funding for Wu Tong, he was now facing this new expenditure from Elder Cheng. Lin Zheming felt his head throbbing. However, this was a problem he had to face.

"All right, Elder Cheng, we will arrange a meeting for discussion immediately to confirm the project initiation. As for the funding for your side, we'll supplement it from the project initiation funds once approved!"

He would get whoever caused the expense to pay for it. He wasn't a money tree, and he wouldn't let anyone treat him like a fool.

"Director Lin, how stingy! Asking a teacher like me to exploit the funding of my own student? That's not honorable!" Cheng Huanan’s eyes widened. He hadn't been waiting for Lin Zheming's call to be asked to do something immoral. "You figure out the funding for my lab. Either way, without funds, things will definitely come to a halt. If that delays any project progress, there's nothing I can do!"

When it came to being unreasonable, who couldn't play that game? The old man had never lost to anyone.

"And there's my kid. She’s made such a huge contribution for the country, hidden her name, and couldn't receive the honors she deserves. Shouldn't other practical rewards be provided? I can swallow my pride as an old man, but the child is still young. Whatever we do, we cannot treat the child unfairly!"

After dropping these words, Cheng Huanan hung up the phone directly.

A crying child gets the candy. He had suffered enough from his own clumsy tongue in the past and would never let his little apprentice fall into those same pits. Those storms and rains—he, the old man, would help her weather them first, allowing her to grow peacefully into a towering tree.

"Sigh... this Elder Cheng!" Lin Zheming looked at the disconnected phone and let out a heavy sigh, his headache worsening. This Elder Cheng—when he got stubborn, there was really nothing he could do. He knew exactly where the pressure points were. If there were real delays, it would indeed be his own fault!

"Please invite Academician Lu, Chief Engineer Zhan, Academician Zhang... for a meeting!"

An hour later, the high-level meeting of the Aviation Group began. In addition to the core executives of the Aviation Group, the attendees included several heavyweights—academicians in materials science and the chief engineer of aviation.

"Director Lin, we were busy. What is the sudden urgency for this meeting?" Chief Engineer Zhan was an impatient man. He led the bomber division and was always in a rush.

Lin Zheming said nothing, instead passing the printed documents in front of him one by one. "Before we begin, according to the confidentiality regulations, let's all sign the non-disclosure agreement first!"

"Non-disclosure agreement?" Upon hearing these words, everyone present immediately realized the gravity of the situation. No one wasted any words; they promptly signed the agreement. They were all veterans; everyone had a sense of duty.

"Did one of our colleagues in the materials sector make a major breakthrough?" After signing the agreement, Academician Lu couldn't help but ask out of curiosity. If it weren't a matter of great importance, their security clearance wouldn't require such a formal procedure.

"I invited everyone here today to discuss the project initiation audit and funding approval for a major national key project. For the details, I will ask Elder Cheng to explain!" Lin Zheming opened the meeting and gestured toward Cheng Huanan, who had arrived and retreated to a seat in the back, closing his eyes to rest.

Since it was the old man who asked for the project and the funding, he should be the one to step up and convince these big shots. Once the amount was settled, he, the steward holding the keys, would approve the full amount.

"Heh? Old Cheng, this involves you? What kind of 'great satellite' did you launch? Tell us, let us help you review it. No wonder you came in and curled up in your seat to rest; I thought you were pulling all-nighters to catch up on progress. So, you’re just confident and composed?" Everyone turned their eyes to Elder Cheng, who finally sat up straight. Chief Engineer Zhan raised an eyebrow.

A major national key project—the funding would probably need to be measured in hundreds of millions to be worthy of that title. What did Old Cheng get up to this time? Polymers? Or something else? Asking for such a huge amount of funding in one go?

The Aviation Group was wealthy, but it wasn't bottomless. It involved many sectors, all of which were money pits and all of which needed funding. Everyone wanted a share.

If they approved such a large amount for Old Cheng, the funding for everyone else this year would shrink and become tight! However, Old Lin was never one to release the hawk until he saw the rabbit. If he could preside over this meeting, it proved there must be something substantial on the table to discuss.

"Hold on, let me fiddle with the projector connection!" Cheng Huanan took out a flash drive he carried with him. This was a new gadget; he kept up with the times and knew how to use it, though not very skillfully. Usually, his assistants or students would do it for him. However, given the standard of this meeting, ordinary assistants and students couldn't participate, so he had to fumble with it himself.

Although Cheng Huanan wasn't very proficient, he wasn't incapable. With the impatient Chief Engineer Zhan getting up to help him, the conference room projector was soon turned on. The name, performance, and partial test data of the T4 titanium-aluminum alloy—excluding specific ratios and preparation processes—appeared before everyone's eyes.

"Hah..." Every attendee who saw the data clearly gasped. This Elder Cheng had truly launched a world-shaking "satellite"!

"Old Cheng, is this data real? You didn't fake it, did you?" Chief Engineer Zhan’s mouth hung open, disbelieving. Titanium-aluminum alloy, tensile strength directly doubled to 1470 MPa, and high-temperature performance was even better? This wasn't a joke, right? "We don't do the 'Great Leap Forward' anymore; we have to be realistic!"

This was the sentiment of almost every materials expert present. It wasn't that they doubted Elder Cheng's character or suspected him of fraud; it was simply that this data was too astonishing—so astonishing that it was hard to believe.

It even made them wonder if they had collectively traveled through time and were now years in the future. Such high-performance aviation material would start a new era for titanium-aluminum alloys!

"Go to hell, 'Cannon' Zhan! When have I ever played with fakes?" Elder Cheng shot a glare at him. "Once the material is produced, I'll hold onto your requisition order and give it to you last. How about that?"

That would teach him to fire off his "cannons"!