Chapter 305 - 224: I’m Going to Call the Anti-Fraud Center

Chapter 305: Chapter 224: I’m Going to Call the Anti-Fraud Center

"Xiaochu, I’m sure you’ve heard by now. Things are still up in the air, though. The different parties are still jockeying for position, so just hang tight for a bit."

Just before noon, Lin Chu received a message from Su Chaoyue.

His words were, of course, meant to be reassuring.

Lin Chu could vaguely sense his helplessness and frustration. It was, after all, a direct slap in the face. They’d just agreed to the terms last night, and now the old professor had been utterly humiliated. He must have been in a sorry state.

But higher powers had intervened. As the head of the lab, there was surely nothing Su Chaoyue could do.

Lin Chu could understand all of this.

Lin Chu casually replied, "I know, Professor Su. It’s alright. This is actually something we anticipated. My offer still stands. You hang in there, too. Don’t let things get too tense. Whatever the final arrangement turns out to be, as long as I can get the tech license, I’m willing to accept it—even if it means paying royalties."

’It looked like even if the deal fell through, the goodwill would remain.’

’A man has to be able to take things in stride. Even if the ideal outcome was out of reach, he could at least prevent the situation from spiraling into the worst-case scenario.’

Su Chaoyue: "Thank you for understanding. I get it."

At that moment, in his lab, Su Chaoyue let out a long sigh. His respect for Lin Chu’s character grew even more.

Scratching his thinning hair, he began to ponder the situation.

Lin Chu didn’t reply, but a playful idea popped into his head.

He tapped open his chat with Bian Gaige.

"Teacher Bian, I have a question I’d like to ask you."

’This was the "additional service" he had promised in class.’

’For a fee, of course.’

Bian Gaige’s reply came quickly.

"Hello, Lin Chu. State your question first."

’He obviously needed to gauge the question’s difficulty before setting his price.’

Lin Chu: "Peking University has a low-altitude aircraft lab with a complete set of core technologies. I want to get my hands on it, but this morning, city leaders and a bunch of business tycoons showed up and threw a lot of money at it... I don’t really have an edge. What should I do?"

After sending the message, Lin Chu couldn’t help but grin mischievously.

’Alright.’

’Master of brilliant ideas.’

’Paid brain trust.’

’Let me see what you’ve got.’

After a dozen or so seconds of silence, Bian Gaige’s message arrived: "Fee: one hundred yuan."

Huh?

Lin Chu was baffled by the price.

’So cheap?’

Still, he sent over a hundred-yuan payment.

Bian Gaige accepted the payment instantly.

"Are you just trying to mess with me? Why not ask how to top the Forbes list while you’re at it? This hundred yuan is my fee for the three minutes of my life you just wasted. On a practical level, there’s nothing I can teach you. I can only offer you one piece of advice: don’t wear pants bigger than your ass. Feel free to come again. Goodbye. Do not reply."

Lin Chu: ?

’The hell?’

’That... sly dog.’

’Did he just scam me out of a hundred yuan?’

’I’m gonna call the fraud prevention hotline!’

Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Lin Chu thought for a moment before sending another message: "I have a second question. If I have a billion on hand right now, what’s a good business to invest in this year?"

’As everyone knows...’

’What should you do when your stocks are down?’

’You double down, of course!’

’Lower your average cost!’

’Besides, this was a question he’d been pondering himself lately. A perfect chance to see what the old geezer thought.’

Bian Gaige: "Just for the general direction, ten thousand. No guaranteed results."

’Tsk.’

’He really has an easy way of making money.’

’I guess it’s true... knowledge is wealth.’

Still, feeling playful, Lin Chu transferred the ten thousand to him.

After getting paid, Bian Gaige’s answer was much more detailed this time.

"I have three plans for you, ranging from aggressive to stable returns. Plan A, the most aggressive with the least stability, is to get into the low-altitude aircraft business itself. Plan B, a balance of aggression and stability, is the low-altitude pilot’s license training industry. Plan C, not aggressive but super stable, is to manufacture related parts and components."

Lin Chu: ?

’You’ve got to be kidding me.’

’Although, the answer wasn’t complete nonsense. It was actually pretty practical.’

The "low-altitude pilot’s license training" idea in particular made Lin Chu’s eyes light up.

’The old guy did have some skills after all.’

’Still, wasn’t it a bit too... by the book?’

’He clearly didn’t want to do any original thinking.’

"I wasn’t asking just about the low-altitude aircraft sector, but the entire domestic market... That’s not a third question, by the way! You can’t charge me again."

Bian Gaige didn’t argue the point, simply replying: "Plan A: a monopoly. Plan B: a business catering to the rich. Plan C: high-tech."

Lin Chu: ...

’He was starting to feel like that ten thousand yuan was also about to go down the drain.’

"I’m seriously going to call the cops. The anti-fraud center, and I’m reporting you to the university. This is outrageous, so lazy. Are you messing with me? 😂"

Lin Chu replied with a laugh, trying to put some pressure on him.

’Put some effort into it!’

’Come on, put some actual thought into it for me!’

Bian Gaige’s end went silent for at least a minute before he suddenly sent a long voice message.

The voice was indignant, yet comically so. "Are you an idiot for asking me?! If I had a billion, would I still be some lousy university teacher? I’d have retired ages ago to travel the world! How the hell would I know how to spend a billion! Do you think my paid Q&A service was designed for *you*? You’re a big-shot boss, don’t you have a fucking clue? Go figure it out yourself! And when you do, you can take me under your wing—I’ll roll with you! The money’s non-refundable. Absolutely non-refundable. I wouldn’t give it back if you beat me to death! Consider it a lesson: it’s better to rely on yourself than to pray to the gods. Big Boss!"

Reading this message, Lin Chu finally lost it and burst out laughing.

’Alright.’

’He’s really something else.’

’But he wasn’t wrong.’

’The old man really was a character.’

"Speaking of which, I actually have a pretty good project going myself. Interested in an annual membership to a golf club?"

Lin Chu mused, then sent another reply.

Bian Gaige: "I can refer clients to you. What’s the commission? I won’t do it for less than 20%."

Apparently, he already knew Lin Chu owned a golf club.

"Sure, no problem. Bring in more than five, and I’ll give you a 30% cut."

Lin Chu replied with a smile.

’I have to make my money back, even if it’s just ten thousand one hundred yuan.’

Bian Gaige: "Deal. Just you wait."

’This old guy...’

Lin Chu couldn’t help but smile again. The man was certainly interesting, a real character.

"Last question. I want to build a Chinese luxury brand on par with Louis Vuitton. What are your thoughts on the startup phase? It should be buy-two-get-one-free, right? I’ve already paid for two questions, so throw this one in for free."

Bian Gaige: "Acquire Louis Vuitton. Then stick their logo on your product. Done."

Lin Chu: "Wow, thank you so much. You’re a real genius."

The message was dripping with sarcasm.

’This old guy should be a stand-up comedian. Why is he teaching at a university?’

The old man evidently got the hint and didn’t reply.

...

"President Chen, I just had a brand-new idea about the low-altitude aircraft industry. Interested?"

Lin Chu ended his chat with Bian Gaige and sent a message to Chen Yuanxing.

Chen Yuanxing: "Alright, I’m listening."

Lin Chu: "Send me a ten-thousand-yuan consulting fee. That’s what it just cost me."

Chen Yuanxing hesitated for a moment, but then sent the ten-thousand-yuan transfer to Lin Chu. He might be short on cash, but he certainly had that much.

Lin Chu casually screenshotted Bian Gaige’s "three plans for low-altitude aircraft" and sent it over, making sure to crop out Bian Gaige’s profile picture and name.

"Hmm?"

"The pilot’s license training idea... that’s really good. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. A great idea."

"This angle is really quite good. It’s a fantastic point of entry."

"Let me think... I need to give this some serious thought..."

Chen Yuanxing replied with considerable excitement.

For Lin Chu, a business like this felt a bit lackluster—not much to it.

But for Chen Yuanxing, the scale was just right. It wasn’t too big, and it offered a chance to get involved in the entire industry chain.

Lin Chu: "Alright, you think it over. Talk later."

’Broke even!’

’Sure enough, happiness is relative.’

’When you have less, your capacity for happiness is greater, your sense of accomplishment is stronger, and your drive to succeed is more powerful.’

’Just like Jack Ma said, you’re happiest when you’re making twenty or thirty thousand a month.’

’Bullshit!’

...