Chapter 60: Planting Seeds for Big Dreams

Xu Zhiquan took a drag of his cigarette, a hint of relief and pride on his face.

“My son gets me. He knows I’m really not one for schmoozing.”

Xu Chen sipped his coconut juice and continued,

“Besides, the seedling business is bound by geography. You hit the ceiling and you can’t expand nationwide.”

“Without the right connections, it’d be a struggle even to leave Tiancheng.”

“Its ceiling is still low.”

“Sticking with seedlings, Dad could become the richest man in town without issue. But climbing higher? That’s another story…”

“Dad, your goals go beyond running a local enterprise, right?”

Xu Zhiquan inhaled another puff, smiling as he said,

“Ambition? Of course I have it!

When I was young, I naturally wanted to see how far I could go in life.”

Xu Chen cracked a smile.

It was time to paint a big picture for his father…

“Dad, I remember when you first opened the factory, you said one day you’d build cars.”

Xu Zhiquan laughed heartily:

“I was young and reckless back then.

But men are drawn to machines, right?

That’s why I wanted to start a casting factory in the first place.”

Xu Chen said,

“So consider the seedling venture as a way to build capital.

Eventually, Dad will do something you love with more room to grow.”

Xu Zhiquan turned to Xu Chen with a grin:

“Mr. Xu, do you already have an idea?”

“Yeah—making cars.”

Xu Zhiquan laughed again:

“Your old man knows his limits.

Car manufacturing has sky-high barriers: capital, technology, policy…”

Xu Chen said, “Just saying what interests you, Dad. I’ve thought it through.”

Xu Zhiquan replied, “Dad thinking about building cars is pointless. Dreaming’s fine.”

Xu Chen: “We can break it into steps. Start in related fields.

Build up over years, maybe catch the right technology or policy wave, and one day we’ll make cars!”

Xu Zhiquan stubbed out his cigarette:

“Son, you’ve obviously worked it out. Tell me the details.”

He picked up the coconut juice and poured two glasses—one for himself, one for Xu Chen.

Xu Chen smiled inwardly; clearly, his father’s expectations were rising.

As a man reborn, Xu Chen had plenty of ideas for the family business’s next direction.

But he also knew you can’t earn beyond your level of understanding.

Even if you luck into big money, you’ll lose it just as fast.

In the early 2000s, the internet and gaming were booming, but his father would never grasp that.

Old Xu’s connections, resources, and abilities would go unused.

Everything had to align with the Xu family’s own strengths and the current reality…

And one more thing:

You have to do what you love.

Xu Chen knew exactly what interested his father.

His maternal uncle, an Agronomy Institute graduate, genuinely loved seedlings.

But Xu Zhiquan saw them only as a money-making venture, not a passion.

A few years in, fine; ten or twenty years, it’d become torture.

A true career’s foundation has to be something you love.

When you love it, you’re willing to pour yourself in.

Even when difficulties come, you’ll fight to overcome them.

Entrepreneurship is hard.

Even with near-perfect forecasting, execution hits roadblocks.

You have to tackle them one by one…

Offering “car manufacturing” as the big vision was guaranteed to win Dad over.

Parents know their children—and children know their parents.

Of course, we’re not literally asking Dad to build cars—that sounds absurd.

But by entering the periphery of that industry, there’s still opportunity…

Xu Chen got to the point:

“A few years ago, streets were full of bicycles. Back then, we called China the ‘Kingdom of Bicycles.’

Then motorcycles arrived. Those with money bought them. I remember our factory even made motorcycle parts for a while.

But motorcycles never gained widespread adoption. They’re expensive, and local policies vary.

Due to safety and environmental concerns, many cities started restricting them…

Yet people’s need to ride remained huge.

Bicycles would gradually be phased out, but you can’t expect everyone to drive cars.

That leaves a massive user base and market gap.

A product is needed to fill it.

That product exists already but hasn’t achieved nationwide reach.

No single factory or company has formed a true monopoly or scale effect…

Xu Zhiquan listened silently, lighting another cigarette.

Xu Chen took his backpack off the chair and pulled out several newspapers.

He’d prepared these in advance, gathering research for weeks.

Besides persuading his father, he needed to understand the market and policy landscape.

He handed two newspapers to Xu Zhiquan.

His father looked down and saw they weren’t local papers but from two southern provinces.

【Green New Electric Vehicles Advocates for E-Vehicle Road Rights—Safe and Eco-Friendly…】

【Tokyo E-Ride Tech Introduced—Panasonic Lithium Batteries Adopted…】

【Experts: Electric Two-Wheelers Will Gradually Replace Bicycles Nationwide Over the Next Decade…】

【Will the Bicycle Kingdom Become an ‘Electric Bike Kingdom’?】

【Environmental Cuts, Motorcycle Restrictions, Encouraging E-Vehicle Growth—The Future Trend…】

…

“Dad, electric riding is still in its infancy here. No big brand dominates nationwide yet.

And the tech and capital barriers aren’t too high—motors, batteries, and controllers are all mature…

In our small county, e-bikes aren’t widespread yet, but in the provincial capital many have swapped bikes for e-bikes.

Even motorcycle riders tired of fuel costs are buying e-bikes.

The key is policy support—after all, it’s clean energy…

Going forward, the e-bike market will only grow.”

As someone reborn, Xu Chen knew the next decade would see electric bicycles penetrate cities and towns.

They would indeed replace traditional bikes, turning the ‘Kingdom of Bicycles’ into an ‘Electric Bike Kingdom.’

In later years, companies like Yadea, Aima, and Luyuan quietly cashed in.

Annual revenues reached tens or hundreds of billions.

They even expanded into Southeast Asia and overseas markets…

In his previous life, Xu Chen spent years in advertising and witnessed those e-bike firms’ lavish spending.

They treated endorsers like freebies—tens of millions in fees without batting an eye.

Hong Kong and Taiwan stars, international celebrities—they’d sign on for electric bikes.

Jay Zhou, Vin Diesel, Jackie Chan, Li Minhao, Hu Ge, Wang Yibo, Zhao Liying, Jackson Yee…

All of them did endorsements.”