[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981":3,"chapter-that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-chapter-813":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","That Year, the Flowers Bloomed in 1981",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2295231,4489,"Chapter 813: You Don","that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-chapter-813",813,"\u003Cp>At around ten o’clock in the morning, Li Ye and the others finally arrived at Mitsubishi’s manufacturing plant in Aichi Prefecture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone in the delegation, except Li Ye, was stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The endless workshops stretched like rice paddies across a vast plain, disappearing into the distance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ma Zhao’s face was calm, but his voice trembled as he asked: “Is this really just one branch factory of the Mitsubishi Group? Director Liu, are you sure this isn’t the entire Mitsubishi conglomerate consolidated here?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Muhang stared at the scene before him, uncertainly saying: “I’m not sure if it’s only Mitsubishi Motors—definitely not the whole Mitsubishi Group,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>because Mitsubishi Shipbuilding must be by the sea, and Mitsubishi Steel and Mitsubishi Chemical should have towering smokestacks.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Jингang frowned and said: “You don’t even know? Then just ask them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t ask. This is Mitsubishi Motors alone. Toyota’s plant is in Tanen City.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye interrupted Xiao Jингang’s suggestion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Asking Liu Muhang whether this was just one Mitsubishi factory? Would that reveal how unworldly we are?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I, Li Ye the Emperor, have seen the world. Don’t make me look foolish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Gu Jianqi spoke sternly: “Are you really that certain—or is it just your pride, afraid to admit the gap between us?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come on, there’s obviously a gap—we’re here to find it. Why be so timid?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exactly. If we clamp our mouths shut, do you think they won’t see our ignorance?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye looked at the few “easygoing” fellows, his gaze growing cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Incompetent and destructive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Senior colleagues, I think you’ve misunderstood. Regarding the gap between us, I understand it better than any of you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye said coldly: “What you’ve seen is only Mitsubishi Motors’ factory in Japan. Mitsubishi Motors also has factories in the Lamp.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And Mitsubishi Motors is only a small part of the Mitsubishi Group. The group’s total assets are at least tens of billions, possibly hundreds of billions. Is that answer satisfactory, senior colleagues?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone froze. The staggering number and Li Ye’s icy tone left them unsettled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Li Ye had a reputation for being hot-tempered, since leaving Jingcheng he’d maintained the demeanor of a humble junior—this was the first time he’d shown his temper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Zhizhang noticed the uneasy expressions and quickly blurted: “Li Ye, when you say hundreds of billions, you mean yen, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye slowly shook his head: “No. Dollars.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Whoa~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hundreds of billions of dollars? That’s a joke. How much money does a country even have?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What was our country’s foreign exchange reserve this year? This is… unbelievable.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those who had just urged Li Ye to admit the gap now refused to believe it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Li Ye was telling the truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mitsubishi Group was founded in 1870, originally just a shipping company. As it grew, it expanded into shipbuilding, banking, and insurance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later, it acquired numerous subsidiaries—in aviation, papermaking, steelmaking, even oil. Once its businesses spread everywhere, even the Japanese themselves didn’t know what kind of giant it had become.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to statistics, in the future, Mitsubishi Group’s total assets reached 20 trillion RMB—fifty percent larger than that so-called Samsung Universe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But unlike Samsung, its structure was looser: eighty percent of companies bore the Mitsubishi name, twenty percent were unverifiable, and they competed with each other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regardless, Mitsubishi Group was a massive economic entity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Decades later, the decline of Mitsubishi Motors gave the illusion that the entire group was dying—it was merely a small part of the Mitsubishi brand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Jianqi looked at Li Ye and said gravely: “Whether Li Ye is right or not, no one joke around. Remember—we represent Huazhong. Stay dignified, neither humble nor arrogant.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone’s faces turned blank. The leader was always right—even if he’d been doing somersaults and sticking out his tongue a moment ago, he could now scold you for being unsteady.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mitsubishi Motors’ reception staff arrived. Their rank was unclear, but their posture was courteous, bowing at least forty degrees, which eased the delegation’s nerves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet once inside the workshop, their expressions turned uneasy again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone muttered: “This production line is even more modern than Volkswagen’s in West Germany—I personally inspected the Santana line in Hushi.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I haven’t been to Hushi, but Beijing’s 212 and Cherokee can’t compare to this…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In mainland China, the Santana was the most advanced production line. But even Hushi Volkswagen’s line looked pitiful next to Mitsubishi’s small truck line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Santana production in Hushi began in 1985. Before that, “Made in Hushi” was a prestigious brand, representing the pinnacle of mainland mechanical manufacturing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But how was the Santana made?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Volkswagen produced semi-finished vehicles in West Germany, shipped them in crates along with parts to Hushi Volkswagen, where final assembly occurred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the time, every part of the domestic Santana was “Made in W.Germany.” The assembly line was abysmal—no conveyor belts at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But here, Mitsubishi’s truck production line was fully automated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sorry, no photography. Please hand over your cameras to us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A cold command snapped the group back to reality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did they realize Zhong Secretary had brought a camera, intending to take photos of Gu Jianqi on-site.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Muhang quickly explained to the staff and ordered Zhong Secretary to surrender the camera.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wasn’t it clearly stated that photography is forbidden? You’re risking our visit being canceled…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I didn’t photograph the equipment. Japanese visitors take photos in our mainland factories. So stingy…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhong Secretary still defended himself, but eventually had to hand over the camera.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye glanced at Professor Zhao, who gave a slight nod—a silent “no problem.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why had Professor Zhao brought this “favorite student”? Because the kid had a photographic memory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye could achieve photographic memory through his biological hard drive, but he didn’t recognize the equipment here, nor could he reconstruct the process details afterward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now Li Ye watched only the young man named “Xiao Zheng,” whose eyes never blinked as he scanned everything, hoping the professor’s praise was true.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After viewing the mini-truck production line, Liu Muhang, per Li Ye’s instructions, requested to tour the passenger car production line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To everyone’s surprise, the Japanese readily agreed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh, these little guys are generous!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yeah, we represent the nation.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The delegation happily moved to the passenger car workshop—only to be struck again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The production line here was even more advanced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After their explanation, the mini-truck line turned out to be outdated equipment from the 1970s—ten years behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then how far behind are we?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With this question in mind, and under Japan’s enthusiastic invitation, they toured the production line for the Pajero SUV—their flagship product.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, everyone fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the technical authorities sipping tea in the office had seen mainland auto plants. The vast gap filled them with dread.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some now realized: their generous invitation was meant to crush their spirits, to make them kneel and worship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Lamp had used this tactic to subjugate the Japanese. Now the Japanese used it against Li Ye and his team.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the return ride, everyone sat lost in thought. Only Xiao Zheng muttered to himself, rapidly sketching diagrams and symbols in his notebook.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhong Secretary suddenly asked: “What’s the point of drawing all this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Zheng looked up at Zhong Secretary, then returned to his sketching, ignoring him completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhong Secretary’s face darkened—until Li Ye said: “The point of his drawings is to learn, to catch up, to surpass.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhong Secretary blinked, then burst into a laugh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A mocking laugh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye’s face was stone-cold, utterly calm: “You don’t believe me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one answered. No one spoke to Li Ye. Even Professor Zhao sighed deeply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gap of the 1980s was truly despairing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catching up was one thing—but surpassing? Are you dreaming?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps Professor Zhao once believed it in his youth. Now, he was lost, uncertain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Muhang suddenly slapped Li Ye’s shoulder and smiled: “I believe you. I believe you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye smiled too, but it was bitter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, someone believed him—and it came as a joke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Xiao Zheng looked up again and said firmly to Li Ye: “I believe too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yes. Having someone walk beside you—felt good.\u003C\u002Fp>",1344,"2026-06-20T05:05:02.628Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","b277f8a8549b0101453a8a7ecbeaabaf18f29af414aaf0c4f244d06154f3a7d9","that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-chapter-814","that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-chapter-812",884,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthat-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-cover.jpg"]