Chapter 293: Patriotic Overseas Chinese

Since Dapeng happened to be free, he spent the next two or three days showing Laifu and the others around all of the capital.

Only after that did Zhou Yimin send the three little ones back to Zhoujiazhuang.

They didn’t want to go home at first. With Big Brother in the city, they were eating well and living comfortably. Back in the village, it was back to eating cornbread and simple fare. It’s easy to go from simple to extravagant, but hard to return from luxury to frugality!

After a few days of Zhou Yimin spoiling their stomachs, they would have to slowly readjust to village meals.

Meanwhile, Factory Director Hu had been running around busily. After acquiring the nylon, he began producing the final version of the product and started promoting it across the entire capital.

You have to know—what the capital has in abundance is officials. The moment they heard that this invention could greatly enhance safety, they all agreed at once to have seatbelts installed in their official cars.

Today, a prominent overseas Chinese was arriving at the Capital International Airport. Minister Gao from the Ministry of Commerce had sent his driver to wait at the airport for this patriotic returnee.

Soon, an elderly man wearing a suit and tie and glasses walked out of the airport. His presence alone gave off an extraordinary aura.

The driver recognized him at a glance—this was the man he was supposed to pick up. He quickly stepped forward and softly asked, “Mr. Li, hello! I’m here on behalf of Minister Gao to pick you up.”

This man was none other than a titan of Chinese business overseas!

Back in the late 1920s and early 1930s, when the world was reeling from the Great Depression, Li Guang maneuvered skillfully, helping his company survive the crisis. He then rapidly expanded production and distribution networks, extending business beyond Lion City.

As the largest shareholder of the Chinese Merchants Bank at the time, Li Guang spearheaded a merger with two other banks to weather the economic downturn together. This ultimately led to the creation of the powerful and influential Overseas Chinese Bank of Lion City.

Li Guang’s rubber plantations spanned a total of 18,500 acres, comprising 15 factories and 20 offices. He personally controlled one-eighth of the global natural rubber trade.

At the same time, Li diversified his business ventures—banking, pineapples, timber, printing, biscuits, oil pressing, and more.

By the mid-1930s, Li Guang had become the wealthiest Chinese businessman of his time, known throughout Lion City and Malaysia as the “Rubber King” and “Pineapple King.”

With a man of such significance, it was no wonder that the Minister of Commerce had arranged for someone to personally receive him.

“Hello, comrade!” Li Guang greeted.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do—even he couldn’t resist calling someone “comrade.”

The driver immediately opened the car’s rear door and thoughtfully shielded the metal frame with his hand, worried Li Guang might accidentally bump his head.

Li Guang appreciated the attention to detail. After getting into the car and sitting down, the driver closed the door and took his place at the wheel. Seeing that Li Guang hadn’t fastened his seatbelt, he reminded him, “Mr. Li, you haven’t buckled your seatbelt!”

Li Guang looked puzzled at the mention of a seatbelt.

Seatbelt?

Sensing his confusion, the driver quickly explained, “The seatbelt is a new invention here in the country. It’s meant to ensure the safety of drivers and passengers.”

He then demonstrated how to use it.

Buckling a seatbelt wasn’t difficult. After watching once, Li Guang understood its purpose.

Wasn’t this the very thing Ford Motor Company was currently researching? He was astonished—he hadn’t expected his homeland to have invented it first.

It truly was impressive—despite the domestic environment, China had managed to produce such an innovation.

Li Guang was well aware that, although the number of cars in China was currently small, the number abroad was massive. With the global economy recovering and people’s incomes rising, demand for cars was growing accordingly.

Technological advancements in car manufacturing had also improved production efficiency and reduced costs, which further boosted vehicle sales.

In some countries, policies had even been introduced to promote the automotive industry—subsidies, tax breaks, and so on.

The development of the automotive industry had created vast employment opportunities and stimulated related sectors, resulting in a robust and interlinked industrial chain that fueled overall economic growth.

It was a virtuous cycle, which explained why so many nations strongly supported the automobile industry.

In developed countries in particular, where cars were widespread, people placed great emphasis on safety.

Coincidentally, Li Guang had heard that Ford was developing a similar product.

After over an hour on the road, they finally arrived at the Ministry of Commerce.

The driver led Li Guang into the ministry building. Upon spotting the waiting secretary, he said, “Secretary Song, this is Mr. Li.”

Upon seeing Li Guang, Secretary Song quickly stood up, extended his hand, and greeted him with excitement, “Mr. Li, hello!”

Li Guang didn’t look down on him just because he was young. He naturally extended his hand for a shake and replied, “Hello!”

Secretary Song knew Minister Gao had been waiting for a while and didn’t dare chat too long. He led Mr. Li straight to the office door and knocked.

“Come in!”

Secretary Song opened the office door. Li Guang stepped inside.

He saw a middle-aged man sitting at a desk, still diligently working through paperwork. Only when he heard the door open did he lift his head.

Upon seeing Li Guang, he immediately put his work aside, smiled, and came forward. “Mr. Li, long time no see!”

Their last meeting had been a few years ago at the Canton Fair. He hadn’t realized how fast the years had flown.

“Minister Gao, yes, it really has been a long time,” Li Guang replied softly.

Then, remembering the safety belt from earlier, he asked, “Minister Gao, who invented the car seatbelt?”

He was well aware of the market potential. If grasped correctly, the future prospects would be immense. With the number of vehicles increasing every year, the market was only going to grow.

Minister Gao hadn’t expected Mr. Li to be so interested in the seatbelt but answered without hesitation, “It was invented by a team leader at the steel plant. It’s already being promoted across the capital.”

“Mr. Li, are you interested in the seatbelt? If you are, I can send a few sets to you when you return to Lion City,” Minister Gao offered.

Compared to all that Mr. Li had done for the country, a few seatbelts were nothing.

In the early days of the new nation, Mr. Li had seen China’s rebirth and his patriotic love for the homeland had only grown stronger. He donated huge sums to develop education in his hometown.

Now, in this time of national hardship, the country greatly valued patriotic overseas Chinese like him.

What many people didn’t know was that during the years of Western blockade, it was these brave overseas Chinese who took risks to secretly bring advanced equipment and technologies back to the homeland.

Otherwise, China’s development would have been even more difficult.

This time, Mr. Li’s return must be handled with the utmost hospitality. He must not be slighted.

(End of Chapter)