Who would still be a social slave when they are so rich?

"Hahahaha~ Checkmate! Rook and horse, double checkmate!" Old Master Xiao looked at the pieces on the board and laughed loudly, "Old Jiang, now you have nothing to say, right?"

"Tch~" Looking at the smug look on Grandpa Xiao's face, Grandpa Jiang curled his lips speechlessly and said, "It's just one win, what's there to be so smug about? Come on... let's continue!"

As he spoke, he placed the red flag he had been eating on the chessboard, preparing to deliver a ruthless blow to Old Man Xiao in the next game and eat all of his pieces!

Unfortunately... how could Old Master Xiao grant his wish? They were old friends for many years, and they knew each other inside and out. He also knew that his chess skills were about the same as Old Master Jiang's, and he wasn't confident that he would win the next game.

Now that he had secured a win, he naturally decided to quit while he was ahead. His gaze involuntarily turned to Su Chen, who was watching from the side. Seeing Su Chen's serious expression, Old Master Xiao had an idea in mind.

"Oh dear~ As people get older, their energy decreases considerably. My back is so uncomfortable after sitting for a long time. Young Su, you must know how to play chess, right? Come on..." Old Master Xiao stood up, patted the chair he had just been sitting on, and said, "You play a few rounds with Old Man Jiang."

"Ah~ I'll play?" Su Chen pointed to himself, somewhat bewildered, then smiled awkwardly: "But... Grandpa, I don't know how to play chess. Why don't you let Grandpa Chen and Grandpa Jiang play? I happen to have something I'd like to discuss with you!"

Su Chen wasn't stupid, so he could see through it and knew what Old Master Xiao was thinking. But if he actually sat down to play chess with Old Master Jiang, that would be real torture.

With Su Chen's chess skills being only good enough to play against elementary school students, he'd probably be utterly humiliated by Grandpa Jiang, suffering greatly himself and not much of an experience for Grandpa Jiang either.

"Young Su, you're not just making excuses because you're afraid to play chess with me, are you? It's okay if your chess skills are a little lacking, I'll just give you a handicap of rooks, knights, and cannons!" Grandpa Jiang looked at Su Chen with a smile, as if he had already seen through him. As for Old Man Xiao running away after winning the game, he didn't say anything. After all, it was the birthday of the old man, and it was normal for him to want to be happy.

Upon hearing this, even Grandpa Xiao looked at Su Chen with curiosity.

Su Chen's expression turned serious, and he nodded, saying, "I really do have something to discuss with the old man!"

Upon hearing this, Grandpa Jiang nodded and said, "Alright, go and talk to Old Man Xiao! But... this afternoon you can't make any more excuses, you have to play thirty rounds with this old man!"

Su Chen clicked his tongue helplessly. Seeing Grandpa Jiang's serious expression, he could only nod in agreement, "Alright, I'll definitely play chess with you this afternoon, but you'll have to let me win!"

Watching Su Chen chatting and laughing with the two old men, Chen Yao was filled with envy and jealousy. If he could play chess with the two old men, Xiao and Jiang, everyone in the circle would be green with envy.

Chen Yao desperately wanted to stand up and shout, "Let me do it!"

"Young Su, come with me to the study!" Old Master Xiao nodded to Old Man Jiang and Old Man Chen, then turned and walked towards the study. Su Chen quickly followed him.
Inside the study, Old Master Xiao sat in a mahogany chair, gesturing for Su Chen to sit down. After Huang Feng brought in two cups of tea, the old man took a sip before asking, "What do you want to see me about now, kid? Didn't we already talk? Could it be that you're trying to back out?"

The regret that Old Master Xiao mentioned was naturally the super rare earth mine in Mozambique that Su Chen had told him about a couple of days ago!

"Old man, look at what you're saying. You know my character, Su Chen. I'm a man of my word!" Su Chen said, taking a big gulp of tea to moisten his already dry lips before continuing, "I should have told you this a long time ago, but I forgot about it while we were talking about rare earths!"

After a pause, Su Chen chuckled and said somewhat solicitously, "Grandpa, when I went to Hawaii with Brother Yao before, I saw our independently developed encrypted communication system, I think it's called the Beidou system. Could you open an encrypted channel for me?"

"Grandpa, you know that the business is growing bigger and bigger, and it involves many classified projects. If we activate the Beidou system, it can, to some extent, prevent the possibility of leaks of secrets, don't you think?"

Upon hearing this, Old Master Xiao raised an eyebrow slightly, tapping his fingers lightly on the armrest of the mahogany chair, and looked at Su Chen with a half-smile, "For communication security? Su boy, do you think I believe that? With your superb hacking skills, surely you could create a similar encrypted channel. It should be a piece of cake for you!"

"With your AI company called Future, you could easily create a program that covers all your companies, and if you want... you could monitor everything they do."

"But you didn't do that. Instead, you came to the old man asking for the encrypted channels of the Beidou system. If I'm not mistaken..."

Old Master Xiao's eyes instantly deepened, and he said, word by word, "It must be paving the way for your military industrial enterprise, right?"

He remembered that Su Chen had told him before that the first project of a military enterprise was drones. In addition to the technology required for drones themselves, the most important thing was accurate signal transmission in order to achieve the desired results.

Su Chen didn't have any satellites, so he naturally had no signal source. If he cooperated with those civilian companies, he couldn't guarantee that the drone's data wouldn't be leaked. At present, the only solution was the official Beidou system.

If an encrypted channel were truly opened for Su Chen, the confidentiality level would be at least Level 1 or even the highest level. Anyone with this access would be a tested individual, so there would be no need to worry about any risk of leakage.

It has to be said that Su Chen's plan was really brilliant.

Seeing that his little scheme had been seen through by Grandpa Xiao, Su Chen nodded with a wry smile and said, "In the end, I couldn't escape your sharp eyes, Grandpa! I really was paving the way for the future of the military industry."

"I've also thought about building satellites, but those things can't be built just because you want to. Time waits for no one!" Su Chen sighed unconsciously at the end.

It was this exclamation that made Old Master Xiao's eyes flicker slightly. There was a deeper meaning in those words; it was most likely the seemingly insignificant drone project that Su Chen had mentioned!
After a moment of contemplation, Old Master Xiao's fingers continued tapping on the armrest, and his gaze gradually softened. "You rascal... you've got this old man figured out!"

"The satellite issue is indeed not something that can be resolved overnight. You can go to the north and take a look; there are several private companies there with profound expertise in satellite technology! As for what you said about opening a encrypted channel for the BeiDou system... it's not impossible, but it would only be possible in your Zhengdao Industrial Park!"

Grandpa Xiao also received a report from his subordinates that Su Chen was initiating the relocation work, moving some production projects out of the park, retaining only the confidential research institutes, and using the rest as a future military industrial group!
Upon hearing this, Su Chen's eyes lit up, and he quickly sat up straight, saying sincerely, "Grandpa, don't worry, I will never abuse my authority. All the data will be kept strictly confidential and subject to your supervision!"

"If any advanced technology is developed in the future, and if you gentlemen need it, I can share some of the core technological achievements!"

"Some of the core achievements?" Old Master Xiao was amused by Su Chen's shamelessness. In the end, how many there would be would be up to Su Chen to decide.

"And only part of it... What's the difference between this and just making empty promises?" Old Master Xiao glanced at him and snorted, "You're such a stingy kid. If you're going to share, just share it all. What's the point of sharing only a part?"

"That won't do! The military industry is counting on this first project to make money!" Su Chen shook his head vigorously. His company was going to become the No. 1 military industry in the country in the future, how could he let someone else take advantage of it for free!
"You, you really are unwilling to suffer even the slightest loss!" Upon hearing this, Old Master Xiao pointed at Su Chen's nose and laughed and scolded him, speechless.

Although Grandpa Xiao was scolding him, a hint of appreciation flashed in his eyes. Although Su Chen was a bit cunning, he knew how to act with discretion and knew when to advance and retreat, which was exactly what he appreciated.

"Alright, this matter is settled then!" The old man picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said seriously, "However, let me make this clear from the start: the use of the encrypted channel must strictly adhere to the regulations. If any violation is discovered, it will be immediately cut off!"

"Don't worry, old man, you know how I do things," Su Chen replied with a smile.

Just then, Huang Feng strode in and respectfully said to Old Master Xiao, "Old Master, the kitchen staff have come to inform you that the banquet can begin at any time!"

Grandpa Xiao glanced at the time and saw that it was already twelve o'clock. He immediately nodded and replied, "Have the kitchen serve the dishes directly!"

Huang Feng gave a slight bow and quickly left the study. Only then did Old Master Xiao stand up and pat Su Chen on the shoulder: "Let's go, let's eat first! Old Man Jiang is waiting to torment you this afternoon!"

Su Chen stood up with a wry smile: "Grandpa, I really don't know how to play chess. How about you cover for me this afternoon?"

"That won't do. Old Man Jiang specifically asked to play chess with you, and I can't stop him. But you can look online for some 'heretical' chess techniques to catch Old Man Jiang off guard. Even if you lose, it's better than having your head shaved!"

A glint flashed in Old Master Xiao's eyes; he was secretly looking forward to seeing Old Man Jiang suffer a setback at Su Chen's hands.

Upon hearing what Grandpa Xiao said, Su Chen immediately came up with a solution: to have Grandpa Jiang play chess with a software program. However, the challenge was to figure out how to do it without anyone noticing!
"Come on, what are you still standing there for!" Old Master Xiao, who had already reached the door of the study, immediately called out when he saw Su Chen still standing there.

Coming to his senses, Su Chen responded and temporarily put this unsolvable solution out of his mind. If he couldn't think of a solution, he would. At worst, he could let Grandpa Jiang give him a good beating in the afternoon, and next time he visited Grandpa Jiang's house, he could take more of Grandpa Jiang's stock.

……

West wing, dining room!
"Old man Xiao, what are you and Su boy plotting in the study? Huang Feng has been calling you for so long, and my stomach is growling!" Old man Jiang shouted as soon as he saw the two of them enter.

While saying he was hungry, his eyes kept darting between Grandpa Xiao and Su Chen, trying to glean some information from Grandpa Xiao about what they were talking about.

How could Old Master Xiao not see through Old Man Jiang's scheme? After he sat down in the main seat, he smiled and said, "Old Man Jiang, you're just curious about what I talked about with Su boy. Why bother asking in such roundabout ways? Just ask directly!"

Grandpa Jiang raised an eyebrow, sensing something was off about Old Man Xiao's smile, but he couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked, "Then tell me, what confidential matters did you and young Su discuss? Maybe I can help you out!"

"Hehe~" Old Master Xiao's lips curled up slightly as he chuckled, "I'm not telling you!"

"Uh~" The smile on Grandpa Jiang's face instantly froze. He knew he had been tricked by Old Man Xiao and glared at him in annoyance.

Watching the two old men, Xiao and Jiang, bickering like two old children, Su Chen and Chen Yao tried their best to hold back their laughter.

After a burst of laughter, all the dishes on the table were served. Old Master Xiao's expression became much more serious. He raised his wine glass and said, "Today is my birthday. Thank you all for coming. I won't say any more. Drink this glass and let's start eating!"

Everyone picked up their two-qian wine cups, drank them down in one gulp, and then picked up their chopsticks to eat.

The atmosphere in the restaurant quickly became lively after a few drinks, mainly consisting of the three old men, Xiao, Jiang, and Chen, chatting and reminiscing about the past. They were having a great time.

Su Chen and Chen Yao could only act as qualified listeners, occasionally offering a few words of encouragement or adding wine and food, which they enjoyed.

After several rounds of drinks and dishes, perhaps the conversation touched the hearts of the old gentlemen, who unusually drank a few more glasses, their faces turning red.

Su Chen quickly called Huang Feng in and asked him to arrange for someone to take the three old men back to their rooms so they could rest. He also asked Huang Feng to tell the kitchen to make some warming hangover soup.

Unexpectedly, Grandpa Jiang refused to rest and insisted on dragging Su Chen along to play chess for three hundred rounds, even saying he would give Su Chen half a piece.

Finally, after much persuasion, Su Chen agreed to let him play chess after he woke up, and then escorted Grandpa Jiang back to his room.

After finishing his work, Su Chen leisurely lay down on a recliner in the middle courtyard. Chen Yao followed suit, bringing out a recliner from the house and lying down next to Su Chen.

"Old Su, you're not really planning to wait until Grandpa Jiang wakes up before playing chess with him, are you?" Chen Yao asked curiously as soon as he lay down.

"What else can I do?" Su Chen said with a wry smile. "If I secretly ran away, do you believe he could come looking for me at the courtyard house?"

"Uh..." Chen Yao couldn't help but laugh when he thought of such a scene.

Just then, Su Chen's phone rang. (End of Chapter)