Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 2542 SEA Will Not Forget (Second Update, Please Subscribe)
arrogant?

It simply means that people no longer have room for opportunism.

Without those laws, the men and women here would become prey in the eyes of foreigners.

Some people with ulterior motives will stay here by getting married.

Of course, Li Kuiyong wouldn't say that, because saying such things would definitely make people dislike him.

He could actually understand why everyone felt that way.

It's not because of arrogance here, but because—they have no opportunity to take shortcuts.

Looking at the people in front of him, what was on Li Kuiyong's mind?

Back when they were in the city, they attended the best schools. When they were sent to the countryside, they only stayed there for a short time before joining the army.

When the college entrance examination was reinstated, these people may not have been admitted to university, but that didn't have any impact. They went abroad and became government-funded students.

They always have all sorts of opportunities.

But here, they have no chance.

Thinking about this, Li Kuiyong felt somewhat happy, after all, this was the first time he had experienced fairness.

Yes,

This was the first time in so many years that he had experienced fairness, but only in another country. Thinking about this, he felt a little uneasy.

That noon, he had lunch with them at the restaurant, drinking and chatting.

They didn't leave the restaurant until late afternoon, and after parting ways in front of the restaurant, they returned to their respective schools.

On his way back to school, Li Kuiyong looked at the passengers in the subway and at the smiles on their faces, and his feelings were mixed.

"I have no chance to stay here."

Once again, the same thought popped into Li Kuiyong's mind.

He knew he had no chance of staying here.

In fact, his third uncle had already told him this when he first arrived here.

"Thirty years ago, people were brought here by boat, one boat at a time, and every effort was made to get you here."

Twenty years ago, as long as you had a college degree, you could become a citizen here.

Ten years ago, you not only needed a university degree, but you also had to have a major listed in the talent registry to obtain a green card.

Now, only the most outstanding people can stay here.

My third uncle explained the immigration policies here over the past few decades in just a few simple sentences.

Although the SEEA is an immigrant country, it has established some of the strictest immigration policies in the world.

Even if a foreign woman marries a man from the SEA, she will not automatically acquire citizenship.

She can apply for a long-term residence permit, but naturalization requires meeting strict conditions and approval from the Ministry of the Interior.

Not only does it require a long-term marital relationship, but it also needs to comply with local social and religious norms. For some religions, this means conversion to Buddhism, Taoism, or Christianity, which are the local mainstream religions.

Furthermore, if you get divorced, not only will your long-term residency permit be revoked, but you may even lose your citizenship.

Furthermore, if the other party shows rejection or hostility towards SEA values, their long-term residency permit will be revoked immediately.

Even after a long 10-year wait and obtaining citizenship, their citizenship can be revoked if they show a refusal to integrate into local society and demonstrate hostility and rejection of SEA civilization.

Therefore, to be hired, one must truly become a SEA citizen, not just a citizen. It means genuinely integrating into this land, both cognitively and intellectually.

Therefore, it is extremely difficult, or at least very challenging, for foreigners to become SEA citizens.

Because he was fully aware of all this, Li Kuiyong never even considered staying here.

Because there was no opportunity.

What about other countries?
The thought flashed through Li Kuiyong's mind—Siam? Malaysia? Mindanao? Surabaya?

Obtaining citizenship in these countries is quite simple; all you need to do is graduate from university and find a job there.

"That means you have to find a job first."

Li Kuiyong pondered the path his third uncle had pointed out to him.

After graduating from university, I went to other countries in the Southeast Asian Free Trade Area.

You can apply for permanent residency as long as you sign a long-term employment contract.

Because he is of Chinese descent, he only needs to wait three years to apply for citizenship.

"Well, that's the only option."

Li Kuiyong nodded silently, having made his decision in his heart.

Perhaps this is what makes him different from others, because with someone to guide him, everything becomes very simple.

In this era where information is not yet transparent, at least it saves a lot of effort, preventing us from stumbling and groping our way to the future.

This can subtly change a person's future.

"As long as you work hard enough, you will become good enough."

Once again, while everyone else was enjoying their holiday, Sun Changjiu continued reading and taking notes in the library of Nanyang Ocean.

Unlike many others who enjoyed university life there, Sun Changjiu devoted a lot of time to studying every day—from 4:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., day after day, night after night.

They were either in the classroom, in the library, or on their way to or from either, to the point of neglecting to eat or sleep.

Like now, he has been staying in the library from noon to night, without even having dinner.

Isabel, the librarian, would occasionally glance at this young man. She had noticed him months ago; he was a student a few years younger than her youngest son.

"It seems like he hasn't eaten again. He's such a hardworking little guy."

Although Isabel had seen many students as hardworking as him in the library, students as hardworking as him were very rare.

Of course, he also needs to find time to work on campus—as an international student, he needs to earn his living expenses this way.

She's studying and working at the same time, and she's working so hard every day...

Thinking of this, Isabel couldn't help but feel sorry for the child; it was too hard for him.

Seeing the sandwiches on the side, she was hesitating about whether to eat them for dinner.

Or perhaps I should give it to him? Thinking this, Isabel took the sandwich, walked over, placed it on the table, and said:
"Hey classmate, you probably haven't eaten yet, why don't you eat this?"

Sun Changjiu looked up at the administrator with some confusion.

"Madam, I..."

"I've been hesitating about whether to eat it, and you can help me solve this problem."

Isabel smiled and said:

"Student, if you want to study well, you must first have a good life; at the very least, you need to have enough to eat."

The kind reminder warmed Sun Changjiu's heart, and he quickly stood up to thank him.

Thank you, ma'am.

He then took the sandwich to the library's tea room for a late-night snack.

Although there weren't many people in the library at that time, rules still had to be followed, so he drank plain water and ate a sandwich.

Occasionally, I would glance at the library, where there were only a dozen or so people reading or studying.

"Aren't you curious why everywhere else, even restaurants, is closed, but libraries aren't?"

It was Isabelle who came to make coffee; she could see Sun Changjiu's question.

"I am a little curious, ma'am."

"Actually, this is Nanyang University."

Isabel poured herself a cup of coffee from the coffee machine, took a sip, and said:
"Although there's a tradition here of not working after 8 PM, the country was actually quite competitive back then. In the beginning, people worked more than ten hours a day, including my husband and his family. And the students here..."

Holding her coffee cup, Isabelle seemed to be thinking about the students.

“They study here until midnight every day. At that time, the library is full of people. The more holidays there are, the more people there are. It seems that they don’t do anything else except study. So, unlike other places that are closed for holidays, even if the restaurant is closed, the library will not close for holidays.”

Everyone worked very hard at that time.

After a slight pause, Isabel turned her gaze to the young student beside her and said:
“You’re a bit like them, but you’re much luckier than them,”

"Lucky? Why is that?" Sun Changjiu looked at the woman in front of him with some doubt.

"Because at that time, they studied hard to catch up on their studies and the time lost due to the war. They wanted to learn the latest knowledge so they could go back and rebuild their country. Of course, this would have to wait until after their contracts expired, since their tuition and living expenses were covered by the company; everyone had signed a ten-year contract. And in the end..."

Isabel thought for a moment, then said in a regretful tone:

"In the end, they all stayed here, so in a way, they didn't get what they wanted. Of course, it's undoubtedly good for the country. The development of SEA is directly related to those students. Later, they all joined the company and became the backbone of the company, achieving outstanding success in various fields. Among them, there are even more than a dozen Nobel Prize winners."

Even after so many years, Isabelle's tone is still full of admiration when she talks about those people.

After all, she had witnessed firsthand the efforts those people had made. It could be said that the achievements this land had made were directly related to their hard work and dedication.

"Ah, so that's it..."

Sun Changjiu was stunned for a moment. He opened his mouth as if to explain something, but in the end, he didn't.

He couldn't very well say that he was working so hard because he hoped to get a long-term employment contract with a big company after graduation.

Only in this way can he obtain a green card for SEA. Of course, this is only the first step; his ultimate goal is to become a SEA citizen, which is difficult, but not impossible.

If you are good enough, you will have opportunities.

Therefore, he has to work harder than others.

"Yes, so you are luckier than them. Many of them only had the opportunity to return to their hometown and reunite with their families in the last year or two."

Isabel still had a smile on her face. She had met many people at this school, and they all had many regrets.

After thinking for a moment, Sun Changjiu asked:
"So... has anyone gone back?"

"of course."

Isabel nodded, and then said:

"Definitely. Back then, some students, shortly after graduation, used the excuse of traveling to transit through the Philippines, and from there they took a ship or a plane to Hong Kong Island, leaving to go back and build their countries. I heard from a professor at the university that he received an exchange visit invitation from an old classmate from Nanyang University last year."

At this point, Isabelle suddenly seemed to have thought of something and smiled again:

"However, this also leads to another possibility: the company may very well sue that professor."

"what!"

Sun Changjiu was stunned.

He looked at the woman with some surprise, never expecting such a turn of events.

"What, what's going on?"

"Because he breached the contract!"

Isabel looked at the other person with a surprised expression and said:
“Didn’t we say before that their tuition, living expenses, and even their boat tickets were all covered by the company? According to the contract, they should have served the company for ten years. After completing the ten-year contract, they could have left on their own. However, they chose to breach the contract, so of course they have to pay a penalty.”

Sun Changjiu knew absolutely nothing about contracts or penalties for breach of contract; he simply responded with a nod.

"Oh, I see. So much time has passed, and the company is still arguing about it. How petty of them."

“This isn’t being petty; it’s about the spirit of a contract. Besides, besides… they live in poverty; how could they possibly afford to pay compensation?”

Isabel shook her head and explained:
"But once you sign a contract, you have to abide by it. If you break it, you will naturally have to pay the corresponding price. This is the meaning of the law. If you don't have to bear responsibility for breach of contract, then is there any need to make laws?"
This is also the responsibility of the company's legal department—to make those who breach contracts pay the price for their actions!

Hearing such heartless words, Sun Changjiu realized that this was another country, a completely different place.

But... is it appropriate to do this?

He had no answer in his heart, but he heard Isabel say there:
"Of course, this is just the opinion of some people outside the company. Whether or not to sue and pursue their breach of contract liability will ultimately depend on the company's decision."

"They've all had a tough time, I don't think the company will sue them."

Hearing Sun Changjiu say this, Isabel shook her head and said:
“I don’t think so. The law is the law. Maybe they don’t have money, but that doesn’t mean the company will give up for that reason. After all, the purpose of making laws is for everyone to abide by them. If we don’t sue them for some reason, is that fair to those who have kept their contracts and stayed here for decades without being able to reunite with their families?”

Isabel's visit left Sun Changjiu speechless. He didn't know how to answer because he had no idea what the law was.

To some extent, he didn't even know what was so important about the contract.

Is that thing really that important?

Decades have passed, why bring up old stories again?

Sun Changjiu had no answer in his heart, but looking at Isabel, he felt that perhaps this place would really investigate all of this.

(End of this chapter)