Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 1641: Chang'an Random Thoughts (First update, please subscribe)
When night falls, the neon lights will light up the entire Chang'an City, turning the city into a city that never sleeps.

And this city that never sleeps is red, green, and blue.

This is the neon landscape that fascinates tourists from all over the world. Countless buildings interspersed with flashing neon lights, together with Taiping Bay and the skyline composed of tall buildings, form a colorful urban night scene, and also define the urban landscape of Chang'an.

The streets of Chang'an are very wide, with Zhuque Avenue being more than 100 meters wide, but the roads are also very narrow, with some narrow alleys only 10 meters wide, and these alleys are dazzling corridors of neon lights, where shops and restaurants do business under colorful signs.

Taiping Bay at night is like a mirror, reflecting everything. Chengji Tea House, not far from the bay, is the oldest tea restaurant in the city, and it has been operating here for half a century.

Even in the war-torn era, this place has always been open to the public. It is still the same now.

Sitting in the box on the second floor, looking at Taiping Bay outside the window, the man would occasionally cast his gaze towards Taiping Bay. He had just been discharged from the hospital a month ago, and now his diet was extremely light. He only had a simple meal and drank some tea for dinner.

Qian Mu looked at his friend who remained silent and asked:
"How is your recovery after surgery?"

“After this bypass surgery, my body feels much lighter.”

The man smiled and said:

"Sometimes I think about how magical this world is. In the early years, I relied on Jianmin's statins to lower my blood lipids and prevent the deterioration of coronary heart disease. Now I have undergone the heart bypass surgery invented by doctors."

"Heart bypass surgery is an innovation in the SEA medical community. Five years ago, surgeon Xu Daolin successfully performed the world's first coronary artery bypass surgery using the great saphenous vein. SEA has made many medical innovations over the years."

When Qian Mu finished speaking, the man nodded and said with emotion:

"This is all-round progress! Over the years, SEA's progress has been obvious to all, both scientifically and economically. When I was in the United States, I heard some people say that SEA might surpass the Soviet Union within 10 years and become the world's second largest economy. Your economic development speed is unmatched by any other country."

When the man heard people mention these things while giving lectures in the United States, he was extremely shocked. After all, these were heights he had never imagined, but here all of this was gradually becoming a reality.

“Maybe sooner.”

Qian Mu thought for a moment, and said with a slightly proud tone:

"The rapid economic development of SEA is not only due to scientific and technological reasons, but also to demographic factors. We have sufficient labor force, especially now, with the coming of age of the new generation. In the next five years, our adult labor force will even exceed the total of the European Community. With our technological leadership and abundant labor force, according to our own estimates, in about six years, we will surpass the Soviet Union and become the world's second largest economy.

Of course, there is still a gap between us and the UK and France in terms of per capita GDP. Our per capita GDP last year was $1599, the UK's was $2058, and France's was $2343, so there is still a gap between us and them."

When saying all this, Qian Mu looked proud. After all, in the past ten years or so, he had personally witnessed it all and participated in it, witnessed the changes here, witnessed the development here. How could he not be proud in his heart?

That is why, like many people, when he mentions this place, he always uses "us" to describe this land.

The man shook his head and said:
"That's not true. Your actual wage income is higher than that of France. Although your population is 3000 million, there are only about million working people, and the rest are basically minors. Therefore, your wage level is still very high."

Qian Mu took a puff of his cigarette and said:
"That's true. It's really amazing. Who would have thought that one day our income would be higher than that of the French and the British?"

"I heard a joke in the United States that there are three types of countries in the world. One is the American type, which wants to give everything you have to the country as taxes. One is the Soviet type, where everything you create is given to the country. The third is the SEA type, which wants to put money directly into your wallet."

The man's words made Qian Mu burst into laughter:

"Maybe, but we pay a lot of taxes."

"But you have a lot of benefits. I had surgery at Chang'an First Hospital and it cost me more than 7000 yuan, while the patient in the same bed only spent more than 600 yuan. These are your benefits."

The man's words were full of emotion, but there was always a hint of helplessness in his tone. After all, more than 7000 yuan was a huge sum of money for him. Although the medical expenses were paid by the government, he still couldn't help feeling a little heartbroken.

However, the man could understand all this. After all, he was a foreigner and had never paid a penny for insurance here.

The reason why he came here to treat his illness is because the medical conditions here are better and the medical techniques are more advanced.

What is advanced is not only the doctors' medical skills, but also the advanced medical equipment. After years of development, SEAs are leading the world in terms of medical level, attracting not only many Asians but also patients from Europe and America to come here for treatment.

Medical care has long become an industry here, but as an industry, it will definitely cost a high price for foreigners to come here for treatment.

In fact, even for foreigners, the charges are different. Patients in Europe and the United States are charged the highest. The same operation is at least 30% more expensive than in other countries.

But among these foreigners, if they are Chinese, they can enjoy a certain discount. If he is not Chinese, the treatment cost would probably cost tens of thousands of yuan.

It is for this reason that the man is very grateful. After all, even in such special circumstances, everyone here is still taken care of in every possible way.

Then the man said:

“In fact, when SEA was first established, I was not very optimistic about it. After all, this is Southeast Asia, and the North Borneo Company is a colonial company. In my opinion, this might just be the participation of a Western colony. What kind of development can a colony have?

But in the end, what you have created here is so magical, maybe..."

Turning his eyes to the newspaper in front of him, the man said:
“Perhaps this place is a little different from the place I dreamed of, but I have to say that you really did your best!”

As the man spoke, he looked at the news in the newspaper and the photo of the young man with blood on his arm, still fighting in the hail of bullets, and said:

"It's hard to imagine that his son, like an ordinary person, would be at the forefront of the war, fighting on the muddy battlefield like an ordinary soldier."

"It's hard to imagine, but..."

Qian Mu thought for a moment and said:

"Just as you said, Your Excellency - because this is SEA, so this is just a normal thing, why shouldn't he be on the front line? Perhaps, this is our biggest difference."

Although the two have been good friends for many years, they couldn't help but distinguish between "we" and "you" when talking, even they themselves were not aware of it.

When a man uses "you guys", in fact, he is aware of the difference here, and Qian Mu's "we" also distinguishes the past.

"You are different from us after all."

Qian Mu nodded, thought for a while, and said:

“In fact, there is no difference, except that we have taken a completely different path, just as Your Excellency said a long time ago - here you can choose to be an official, or you can choose to make money, but you cannot gain wealth by being an official.

You can choose to be a noble person or you can choose to be an ordinary person, but you cannot expect people to worship you like a saint and forgive you like an ordinary person.

He who only pursues power and refuses responsibility is a tyrant; he who only enjoys benefits and does not fulfill his obligations is a rogue! "

Qian Mu's words made the man nod in agreement and say:

"Thankfully, he both took responsibility and fulfilled his obligations, so you are lucky."

“So, we are lucky!”

"Yeah, you're lucky."

The man picked up the newspaper in his hand and said:

"He doesn't even want to publicize this matter, just because he thinks it is an obligation that people should fulfill. If it is an obligation, why publicize it?"

While speaking, the man paused for a moment, his eyes became somewhat complicated, and there was more of a certain emotion.

Qian Mu nodded and said.

“That’s where we got lucky.”

The two chatted and drank tea. After a while, Qian Mu occasionally mentioned some friends. Many of them were brought here by the man back then, and many of them ended up here.

"At that time, whether to leave or stay, no one knew what would happen, but..."

The man looked out the window at the bustling city and said:

"Here, you have indeed achieved things that we only dreamed of in the past, things that we even dared not think of."

"In fact, people like me can't make any contribution. A few days ago, Heshou gave lectures in the United States and received rave reviews from all sides. He once said that an old scholar like him has made no contribution here, but he is more grateful for the quiet desk he has been given here."

"It's good to have a desk where I can study quietly..."

The man nodded and said as if he had thought of something:

"Some people say that such a prosperous life is not suitable for studying, but without such prosperity, how can one study?"

As he spoke, the man once again looked out the window, at the bright lights and neon lights outside the window...

(End of this chapter)