Chapter 255 Returning Home

Chapter 255 Returning Home

Chapter 255 Returning Home
It was the day after the snow and the sky had just cleared up. On the Lingdong Expressway which had just been reopened to traffic, a black Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicle was speeding from southeast to northwest.

In the car, the person responsible for driving was Luo Minzhi, and in the back seat sat An Rushong and his sister An Rubin. Their destination for this trip was their hometown in Gangwon Province. After all, tomorrow was the Gregorian New Year, and they had to go back to participate in the ancestor worship ceremony at home.

Rubin sat by the window on the right, with earphones in her ears and her eyes looking out the window, lost in thought. Next to her, An Rusong sat with his legs crossed, flipping through a newspaper with great interest.

This is a JoongAng Ilbo, and its front-page headline is a policy plan released by President-elect Lee Min-bok, in which Lee Min-bok formally proposed his so-called "747 Economic Development Plan." According to the promise of this plan, after he takes office, the economy of the Republic of Korea will achieve a leap-forward growth, to be more specific, the average annual economic growth will not be less than 7%, and within 4 years, the Republic of Korea will be among the world's seven major economic powers.

It can be predicted that with the announcement of this policy plan, there will be cheers in South Korea again. After all, the majority of people support Lee Min-bok. On the Internet, there are even popular petition messages demanding that President Roh step down quickly so that President-elect Lee Min-bok can take office early.

What does it mean to be the popular choice? This is the popular choice!
But what is interesting is that in this so-called policy plan, An Rusong only saw the promises made by President-elect Lee Min-bo to the people, but did not mention what specific measures he was prepared to take to fulfill this promise. In other words, he just made a wish to the people, but he did not say how to realize this wish. But those who support him seem to believe it firmly, as if as long as Lee Min-bo made a promise, it would definitely be realized.

Hey, if people can elect a good president just by looking at promises, An Rushong feels that he can also run for president. He can propose a "141 Development Plan" to develop the Republic of Korea from the world's number one power to the universe's number one power in four years. Isn't this vision even more powerful?
After driving for two and a half hours and entering the Gary Mountains, Ru Bin became visibly nervous. She took off the earphones on her ears, hesitated for a moment, and then stuffed the iPod nano2 that Sun Manzhu had bought for her, as well as the mobile phone she had used for some time, into her schoolbag. She was worried that she would be scolded if her parents saw these things.

An Rusong had taken a nap before and was in high spirits. Seeing his sister's uneasy look, he smiled, rubbed her head with his hand, and said, "Why do you hide everything? Are you afraid that your parents will scold you? It's okay. If your parents scold you, you can blame everything on me. I will back you up."

Rubin grinned at him, but it seemed a little forced.

An Rushong did not try to persuade her anymore. Some things have to be experienced by oneself. Whether it is setbacks or injuries, they are all part of growth.

As I was thinking about this, the cell phone in my pocket rang and a call came in.

An Rushong rubbed his sister's head again, then took out his cell phone and looked at the caller ID on the screen.

The call was from Bai Jinjun. An Rushong did not dare to delay and quickly pressed the answer button.

"Rushong, have you arrived home?" Bai Jinjun's voice sounded warm and kind on the phone. Perhaps because of his old age, this guy always has a kind of temperament that makes people feel approachable.

"Uncle Jin Jun, I just entered Jiali Mountain," An Rusong replied with a smile, "I should be home in ten minutes."

"Did you have a smooth journey?" Bai Jinjun asked.

"Thank you for your concern, Uncle Jin Jun," An Rusong said as he switched the phone to his other hand, "I hope everything goes well on the way."

"That's good," Bai Jinjun said, "Well, I have a good relationship with Councillor Lee Shouliang of Sokcho City. I called him before. If you need any help in your hometown, you can contact him directly. We are all family, so don't be polite."

"Thank you Uncle Jin Jun," An Rushong hurriedly thanked him. To be honest, he was really moved after hearing what Bai Jinjun said.

Whether it was Li Minbo or Bai Jinjun, they were intentionally trying to win over An Rusong, and An Rusong himself could understand this. Fundamentally speaking, the reason why they were trying to win him over was not because they really liked him, but because they valued the NGN company he controlled, and An Rusong was also very clear about this.

But...how to say it, people with high emotional intelligence can do things that make people feel comfortable, very comfortable, and whether it is Li Minbo or Bai Jinjun, they are obviously people with high emotional intelligence. At least An Rushong feels that it is much more relaxed and comfortable to get along with them than with Councillor Kong, Nan Xuyu and others.

Of course, feeling is one thing and choice is another.

Although An Rusong has a good impression of Li Minbo and Bai Jinjun, and is willing to choose to stand in the other side's camp when appropriate, he will never tie himself to the other side's chariot. His position is that as long as Li Minbo stays in the presidency, he will support him for one day, and when the other leaves office, he will leave office, so why would he need support from NGN? Isn't that a waste of resources?

"I've already said, don't be polite, we're not strangers," Bai Jinjun said with a laugh, "Okay, that's it, if you have anything to say, come back and talk, I won't bother you anymore."

"Okay, Uncle Jin Jun," said An Rushong.

After the call was hung up, An Rushong did not put the phone away. He held the phone in his hand, turned his head to look out the window, but in his heart he was thinking about things in his previous life.

In his memory, in the world of his previous life, when Lee Min-bo came to power, his public support was indeed very high, and he was known to have created history in South Korea. However, soon after he took office, his once high public support plummeted. The direct reason seemed to be the signing of the US-South Korea Free Trade Agreement, which involved the issue of beef imports.

In recent years, mad cow disease has been a serious problem in the United States. As a major beef consumer, South Korea has imposed import restrictions on beef from the United States since three years ago.

During the years when President Roh was in power, he was not good at managing the economy, politics, and anti-corruption work. In short, he had very few achievements to show for it. But on diplomatic issues, the Blue House did very well, including easing relations with the North and relations with the United States.

Take the issue of beef imports for example. President Roosevelt has been resisting various threats and pressures from Washington and has never lifted the import restrictions on American beef.

After Lee Min-bo came to power, it took only seven days to completely lift the restrictions on American beef imports that President Roh had insisted on throughout his entire term.

This incident triggered a large-scale demonstration in South Korea that lasted for 40 days and was participated by nearly one million people. Lee Min-bo was called the "modern Lee Wan-yong" and the number one traitor by the Koreans, and his foreign policy toward the United States was also called humiliating diplomacy.

Affected by this incident, Li Minbo's public support plummeted from 50% to a little over 15% just three months after taking office. In the end, even though he apologized for the American beef incident, he was still unable to recover his plummeting public support.

However, what can we say about public support? It cannot be said that it is unimportant, but there is really no need to take it too seriously, especially for Lee Min-bo now. As long as the Grand National Party still holds an absolute advantage in the National Assembly, the so-called public opinion will not be able to do anything to him. Therefore, in An Rusong's view, it is still very necessary to hold on to Lee Min-bo's thigh in the next few years.

At the northern foot of Mount Jiali, after the Mercedes-Benz got off the highway, it jolted for another seven or eight minutes. In front of the narrow and bumpy road, a rusty iron sign appeared standing on the side of the road. The words "Yuantongli" could be vaguely seen on the iron sign.

Just a dozen meters away from the iron sign, a blue Lexing tractor was parked on the side of the road. Two young men in thick cotton coats were carrying whole heads of cabbage out of a square little house on the side of the road.

Although South Korea's per capita GDP has exceeded 2 US dollars, the phenomenon of unbalanced economic development still exists in this country. Just like Wontong-ri, it belongs to Sokcho City, but it is nearly kilometers away from Sokcho City. It is an absolute rural area, the so-called poor and remote area. In the past few years, the rapid development of South Korea's economy does not seem to have brought much change here. Looking at the village from the intersection, all you can see is a gray and dilapidated house.

Seeing the two young men carrying cabbages, Ru Bin lowered the window, poked his head out and called out, "Brother Cheng Yu, Cousin Cheng!"

Hearing her shout, the two young men stopped what they were doing and looked towards the car. However, when they saw Ru Bin in the car, there was some confusion on their faces. Obviously, they did not recognize Ru Bin.

Come to think of it, when Ru Bin first arrived in Seoul, she was a completely unsophisticated girl. She didn't even need to speak. Just standing there, people could tell she came from some backward area. But now, she is completely different from the original An Ru Bin, no matter from her temperament or the way she dresses. How could the two young men recognize her?

When Rubin greeted the two young men, An Rushong also saw them. From the memories left over from his previous incarnation, he could find information about the two young men.

(End of this chapter)