Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 2753 SEA's products are just great (First update, please subscribe)
enthusiasm!

Throughout the rest of the journey, Zhang Xu deeply felt the warmth of returning to his hometown.

Local foreign affairs office personnel accompanied them throughout the trip, showing them great hospitality.

As the car entered the rural area, it didn't head straight home. Instead, the foreign affairs official took them to the township government first. In the office, he held Zhang Xu's hand and, in front of a group of local officials, solemnly and repeatedly instructed them to take good care of Zhang Xu, to make them feel at home, and to let them experience the warmth and thoughtfulness of their hometown people, without any slights.

His words were filled with concern for his fellow villagers and respect for guests from afar.

After carefully explaining all the matters, the foreign affairs official left with peace of mind. Before leaving, he tightly grasped Zhang Xu's hand and said sincerely:

“Mr. Zhang, no matter what happens, just call me. Please don’t hesitate to do so. Serving you, our relatives and guests from afar, is my job and my honor.”

Watching him hurriedly leave, Zhang Xu was naturally moved. How could one not be grateful for such warmth from a stranger?

Afterwards, Zhang Xu took a jeep arranged by the township government to his home. Pushing open the dilapidated wooden door, his grandmother and uncles, whom he had never met before, were already waiting at the door, their faces full of awkward yet genuine smiles, calling out, "You're back!" and "Quick, let me see the third brother's family..."

The intimacy between family members instantly brought them closer together.

Grandma held his hand tightly, reluctant to let go. Her eyes were full of joy and concern as she looked at him. The uncles and aunts were also smiling as they watched their nephew who had come from afar.

Sitting in the courtyard, looking at the mud-brick house where his grandmother lived, Zhang Xu felt a pang of sadness. He held his grandmother's hand and whispered:
"Grandma, before I came here, my dad told me to look into building a new house for the family. What do you think..."

Before he could finish speaking, Grandma quickly waved her hand to decline:
"No need, no need, child. Tell your father not to waste this money. I'm old and used to living in this old house. There's no need to build a new house; it's a waste of money. Let your father save the money so he can get married and live a good life in the future. That's better than anything else."

Zhang Xu quickly smiled and said to his grandmother:
"Grandma, don't worry, building a house won't cost much. Your comfort is more important than anything else. This is also my father's way of showing filial piety."

The uncles and elders standing nearby also chimed in:

“Kid, you have a good intention, but building a house isn’t just about having money. You need a permit from the township government to get things like bricks and cement. Without a permit, you can’t buy them even if you have the money.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than the secretary who had accompanied him spoke up:

“What’s so difficult about that! Mr. Zhang is thousands of miles away, yet he still thinks about his family. His filial piety is commendable. As his fellow villagers, we should support Mr. Zhang’s filial piety. It’s just a few tens of thousands of bricks. What’s so difficult about that?”

As he spoke, he turned to his staff and instructed them to immediately coordinate a solution to the brick problem.

The staff member looked troubled and said in a low voice, "Secretary, this is probably a bit difficult. The brick factory in the township is in a severe shortage of bricks recently. Many places in the township are waiting for bricks. The supply and marketing cooperative is expanding, the health center is being renovated, and the school is building classrooms. They all urgently need bricks. We have submitted reports several times, but it is really difficult to squeeze them out."

The township secretary frowned and said directly:

“No matter how tight it is, we have to squeeze it out! Mr. Zhang, your filial piety is rare. If we can’t even help with this little thing, what kind of people are we? We can’t let our relatives from afar feel disappointed! Go and talk to the brick factory again. No matter what, we have to get tens of thousands of bricks first. We can wait on the rest. It’s just a matter of a few houses. If we can wait, we can give priority to building a house for Aunt Zhang’s family.”

Hearing the township secretary's instructions, Zhang Xu felt a surge of warmth in his heart and quickly stood up to express his gratitude.

At this moment, he once again deeply understood why his father and the others had such a good impression of this place.

How could a place be good if it could anticipate your needs and address your urgent concerns?
Just like the official in front of you, you are complete strangers, but how can you not be moved by his enthusiasm?
Overwhelmed with gratitude, Zhang Xu quickly took out a delicate thermos from his bag after a moment's thought, and presented it to Old Li with both hands, saying sincerely:

“Secretary, I know you all serve the people and don’t accept gifts, but you must accept this. It’s just a thermos, a teacup, it’s not worth much. It’s just a small token of my appreciation.”

The thermos flasks were a special gift they brought on this trip. It's unclear when exactly, but double-walled glass thermos flasks made in SEA have become incredibly popular here, especially among government officials. These flasks, with their long insulation time, are perfect for rural trips; they're also shatterproof if accidentally dropped. Naturally, they're well-received.

This is why giving a cup as a gift has become the best way to bring two people closer. A seemingly inconspicuous double-walled glass thermos can open up a relationship between two people.

Of course, since this is a rural area in Anhui Province, this local official is not very familiar with the "power" of this thermos.

Thinking it was just an "ordinary teacup," Old Li quickly waved his hand in refusal, a smile on his face:

"No, no, Mr. Zhang, this won't do! Fulfilling your father's filial piety is what I should do, how can I accept your things? Take them back immediately, this is against the rules."

Zhang Xu stubbornly refused, and then handed the cup back to him:
"Secretary, this is just an ordinary thermos cup, it's really not worth much money. Please accept it, otherwise I'll feel bad about it."

After several rounds of polite refusals, Old Li, seeing Zhang Xu's resolute attitude and unable to refuse his hospitality, had no choice but to accept the thermos with both hands, put it in his pocket, and said:

"Then I'll accept it. Thank you so much, Mr. Zhang. If you ever need any help in the future, please don't hesitate to come to me. I'll do my best to help you if it's within my power."

As he spoke, he glanced around the Zhang family's low, dilapidated mud-brick house, his brow furrowing slightly, his tone concerned:
“Look at the conditions at home, they are indeed a bit poor. Conditions are better abroad, and you may not be used to it.”

So, I'll have the driver stay here. If you're not comfortable or at ease in your accommodations, you can have the driver take you to the county guesthouse, where the conditions are better and you can get a proper rest.

And also, Xiao Xu…

He then instructed the driver:

"For the time being, you just stay with Mr. Zhang. Don't worry about me. Just make sure you serve Mr. Zhang well, understand?"

The driver quickly responded:
"Yes, Secretary, please rest assured, I will definitely serve Secretary Zhang well."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xu was deeply moved and quickly thanked the township secretary again: "Thank you so much, you've thought of everything so thoughtfully. I'm really sorry to have troubled you."

Old Li waved his hand and said with a smile:

"No trouble at all. It's rare for your family to be together, so I won't disturb your reminiscing any longer. I'll head back to my hometown first."

After saying goodbye to Zhang Xu and the Zhang family, he turned and walked out of the courtyard. He borrowed a bicycle from a village official, got on, and hurriedly headed towards the township.

After returning to his hometown, he had just parked the car and was getting out when the thermos in his pocket fell to the ground with a "clatter," crashing heavily onto the red brick floor in front of the office.

"It's over..."

Old Li's heart tightened, and he thought to himself that something was wrong. He thought the cup was about to break, so he quickly jumped off the car. When he looked closely, the cup was actually rolling around on the ground perfectly fine.

He quickly walked over and picked up the rolled-off cup—the glass thermos was surprisingly intact!

"Hey, it's actually working perfectly..."

Several cadres who were chatting in the corridor also came over, their voices full of surprise:
"Old Li, this cup of yours is really something! It fell from such a height and it's completely undamaged. Is it made of glass?"

"It should be made of glass..."

Old Li, also looking on with surprise, held the thermos in his hands, examining it repeatedly, his tone filled with admiration:

"But this glass is really sturdy! I didn't expect things made by foreigners to be so durable. It's different from what we usually use."

As he spoke, he carefully unscrewed the lid and examined the double-layered inner liner. Looking at the exquisitely crafted teacup, he couldn't help but sigh:

"Look at the workmanship, it's even double-layered. It's so much better than the canning jars we used to use. This thing is really good."

Looking at the glass thermos in his hand, Old Li liked it more and more.

Two days later, Old Li went to a meeting in the county, making sure to carry that thermos with him, showing it off whenever he had a spare moment. During a break, he held up the thermos and approached the other officials, saying proudly:

"Look at this, it's a double-walled thermos made by SEA. Not only does it keep things hot, but it also keeps tea warm all day long. It's also very sturdy; it won't break no matter how you drop it. It's a really great product!"

A cadre standing nearby scoffed, retorting with a face full of disdain:
"You're just bragging! Unbreakable? What cup is unbreakable? Is it made of iron? If it really is unbreakable, I'll punish you with three cups tonight!"

As he spoke, he stomped his foot hard on the cement floor of the county committee compound, his tone becoming increasingly smug:

"If you break it, then Old Li, you'll have to punish yourself with three drinks!"

Well, someone's sticking up. Old Li, who's over fifty, isn't going to give in either. Without saying a word, he raised his hand and smashed the cup on the cement floor.

"Old Li, you actually fell!"

Everyone immediately gathered around, their eyes fixed on the cup—with a loud crash, the cup bounced a few times on the ground, spun around, and came to a stop, completely undamaged, without even a scratch.

Everyone present was stunned and crowded around to take a closer look.

"It really, it's not broken."

"Is this...is this made of glass?"

The crowd's reaction made Old Li proudly say:
"How about that, Lao Xu? You're dumbfounded, aren't you? How about it? Let's get things arranged tonight. You'll have to drink three cups as punishment first, you guys are all witnesses..."

Just as Old Li was feeling smug, a cadre in a black woolen Zhongshan suit walked over, and people around him were calling him "Secretary Zhao." He snatched the cup from Old Li's hand, looked at it, and said:

"SEA double-walled glass thermos?"

"Yes, it's all thanks to Secretary Zhao's extensive knowledge and experience..."

Seeing that someone recognized his worth, Old Li was naturally quite pleased with himself. He even looked around with a smug expression, as if to say, "You guys are so ignorant."

"I saw the provincial leaders use it when I went to a meeting in the province last time. It's a good product."

The other person responded with a sound of reproach, and said in a feigned tone:
"Old Li, Old Li, you don't even know how to cherish good things! Such a nice cup, you just smash it like that? I'll take this cup and use it first, so you won't waste it."

Old Li paused for a moment, watching the secretary's retreating figure as he put his cup away, and could only smile helplessly. All around him, laughter filled the air.

"Fine, you old Li, you've got your comeuppance now, you've been 'beaten up' by the rich."

It looked sarcastic, but his face was full of envy. Old Li was straightforward and said directly:
"If we're going to beat up the rich, we'll beat you too. How about it? You're definitely not getting away with those three drinks tonight."

(End of this chapter)