Chapter 484 - Chapter 484: Chapter 484: Ordinary and Unremarkable (1/2)
Chapter 484: Chapter 484: Ordinary and Unremarkable
While Liu Caifu was exchanging courtesies with Xiang Kun, Zhou Rui, standing at the entrance, suddenly noticed Professor Li Yang fiddling with the tea set at the stone table in the yard. He paused, then took a few steps into the courtyard and blurted out:
“Professor Li?”
Li Yang was taken aback, then turned to Zhou Rui with a smile, “Are you one of our students, did you take my class? I’m sorry my memory might not be very good due to my age.”
“It really is you!” Zhou Rui’s face lit up with joy, and he took another couple of steps forward, saying: “I’m not a student of your specialty, but I frequently audit your lectures, er… mostly I watch the online course videos. I am a big fan of your two books, read them several times, and I even thought about changing my major when I was a freshman… Oh, my undergraduate major was…”
Zhou Rui, like a little fan meeting his idol, began to pour out his admiration, then he introduced himself, including his time of enrollment, field of study, his collegiate experience, research topics during his postgraduate years, his publications, co-authored books, and so on. without a break.
Unconsciously, Zhou Rui now sat down next to Li Yang at the stone table, and Professor Li had even prepared a cup of tea for him with the tea set that Xiang Kun had just brought.
At this point, there was no need for Liu Caifu to introduce anything else. Xiang Kun invited Li Shibao and Ye Chong, who were standing at the door with puzzled looks, to come in and sit down.
Xiang Kun could judge Zhou Rui’s true feelings from his body language and various sensory cues, he and Old Xia were thoroughly familiar with this man’s character and style.
So Xiang Kun knew that Zhou Rui’s performance wasn’t disingenuous or deliberate. It was genuinely heartfelt.
Zhou Rui knew Professor Li Yang; Xiang Kun had conjectured this when he first searched for Li Yang’s information through the small clues he found in his dreams. The college that Zhou Rui attended for his undergraduate studies was the same place where Professor Li worked, and they were in the same school.
Later, when Alice gained control of the secret department of Divine Technology’s special line network, along with the electronic devices of all the members of Fang Pingfang’s investigative team, he learned that Zhou Rui had stored videos of Li Yang’s online courses on his computer. Zhou Rui’s JD purchase records included Professor Li Yang’s books. There was a chance that he could recognize Li Yang.
After speaking continuously for more than ten minutes and drinking three cups of tea, Zhou Rui finally brought the topic back to the research base under construction: “Professor Li, did you come here because of the aqua farm research base there? Is our school involved in this?”
“Oh, actually no. I came to Chongyun Village to bring my daughter to play with her friends. As for the research base you mentioned, it’s something this Brother Xiang here is working on…” Li Yang introduced Xiang Kun to Zhou Rui with a smile.
Xiang Kun chatted warmly with Zhou Rui, then assumed a knowledgeable posture, answering any questions Zhou Rui posed very “sincerely” and “meticulously.”
Xiang Kun would be making lots of “major moves” later in Chongyun Village, and since Fang Pingfang’s investigation team would be focusing on Chongyun Mountain and Wushu Mountain, it’s impossible that they’d overlook these “actions”. He needed them, Mr. Liang, and other people within Divine Technology who would notice his actions, to think as he wanted them to. Thus, he simply guided them to make “discoveries.”
In his conversation with Zhou Rui, Xiang Kun attributed the idea of the “aquaculture research base” to the Youlong Restaurant he and You Meng had partnered to open in Tongshi Town. Originally, it was just simply an aqua farm intended to supply the restaurant with high-quality, affordable rabbit meat; but then with his experience as an internet industry practitioner, some new concepts were integrated and new ideas sprang up. Upon encouragement from some friends, including Liu Caifu, the “research base” was born inadvertently.
When narrating these events, Xiang Kun intentionally limited his “knowledge database” to fit the range of a 30-year-old internet industry practitioner, programmer, cooking enthusiast, and “foodie”. When it came to concepts related to genetic engineering and molecular biology, he deliberately stated opinionated and biased viewpoints in a confident tone. With occasional corrections or endorsements from Liu Caifu and Li Yang on the side, his words seemed more believable.
Nevermind Zhou Rui, even Li Yang, Liu Caifu, and Xia Tianhuo, who were listening nearby, all felt that these were Xiang Kun’s real thoughts.
Zhou Rui had not had contact with Xiang Kun, unlike Liu Caifu and Li Yang, who naturally perceived him as reliable, steady, and capable. No matter what he did, they would view it through a lens of “reliability”.
So merely from this brief casual chat, Zhou Rui felt that Xiang Kun was an idealist with enthusiasm, ideas, and creativity, but lacked sufficient understanding and knowledge reserves for the tasks he intended to undertake.
However, Xiang Kun seemed not to lack money, and could hire professionals to do the work when the time came. Such a research base would definitely collaborate with relevant academic institutions for its approval. Moreover, Xiang Kun was a friend of Li Yang, so they had these connections, and there was no need to worry. Of course, in case they could not continue their work in the future and were acquired by “Divine Technology,” becoming their backup lab for related tasks in the Chongyun Mountain region, that would be pretty good too.
After learning that the “Youlong Restaurant” was also run by Xiang Kun and his team, Zhou Rui’s fondness for them had increased significantly. He only hoped that this aquaculture research base would not consume too much of their finances and not affect the operation of the restaurant. He was too fond of the rabbit meat there, and whenever he had the time, he would entice Dr. Fang to hold team meals at the “Youlong Restaurant” using public funds.
As they had to continue into the mountain, Zhou Rui and the others did not stay there too long. They stayed for about an hour and then excused themselves. But before leaving, Zhou Rui added Professor Li Yang and Xiang Kun on WeChat.
While Xiang Kun was chatting with Zhou Rui, Li Yang, and Liu Caifu over tea, Yang Zhen Er, Tang Baona, and Xiao Pingguo were playing cards on the other side of the courtyard. The courtyard was large, and they were far enough apart not to disturb each other.
The deck of playing cards they were using was specially made with touch-sensitive markers on one corner of the face of the cards, allowing the visually impaired to join in. Tang Baona had bought this on Taobao after learning that Xiao Pingguo was coming, and it had just arrived yesterday morning.
When taking turns to play cards, they would also verbalize the card information to facilitate Xiao Pingguo’s decision-making – even though Xiao Pingguo could now “see the cards” with the help of Alice through the courtyard’s camera.
Upon seeing Zhou Rui and the others leave the courtyard, Yang Zhen Er murmured, “I suspect those three people are hiding something.”
Tang Baona found this strange, asking, “What’s wrong? Isn’t that one person Professor Li’s student? He doesn’t seem problematic, does he?”
“Haven’t you noticed? The way Brother Xiang talks to them so seriously, isn’t it exactly the same as when he’s trying to fool me?” Yang Zhen Er said in a whisper, squinting her eyes.
Tang Baona chuckled, “I didn’t notice.”
“Nana, you’re still too young, too naive~!” Yang Zhen Er shook her head, looked at Xia Libing sitting at the door of the living room, and said, “Not just Brother Xiang, didn’t you notice? When those three guys walked in, Old Xia was looking at her tablet and didn’t even lift her head!”
“So what? Even if it wasn’t Old Xia, I also don’t usually greet strangers …” Tang Baona laughed, “haven’t we also been playing cards?”
“It’s not the same. In the past when we took Old Xia out, although she didn’t talk much, she would definitely observe anyone new quietly. So when I want to know about someone, I just ask Old Xia. But these three, Old Xia didn’t even bother to look at them. Either she’s already familiar with these three and has them figured out, or these three are problematic! Old Xia definitely couldn’t know these three, so it can only mean these three are problematic!” Yang Zhen Er’s brow was furrowed as she spoke in a tone that suggested she had seen through everything.
“Your logic is flawed. If she felt those three were problematic, wouldn’t Old Xia observe them more carefully?” Tang Baona countered.