124 King Li Daniu of Tuvalu Gains Followers in the Chinese Community

In this world, China is remarkably similar to Li Daniu's homeland in terms of both its history and its level of development. The only difference lies in the shifts in several key figures.

When Li Daniu’s private jet arrived at the capital's airport, he was greeted by officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After some brief pleasantries, Li Daniu boarded a domestically produced Hongqi—the most luxurious car China has to offer. While these cars may not sell well abroad, the opulence of the interior impressed him; it was not far off from a Rolls-Royce.

However, China had a late start. Many of its key technologies were still imported, and it was no secret that in many major sectors, the country relied on imitation. Of course, while China has a long history, it is a young nation as a modern state. Li Daniu believed that in the near future, this situation would be reversed, and "Made in China" would ultimately evolve into "Created in China."

The car carrying Li Daniu had no police escort, accompanied only by two support vehicles. This was directly related to Tuvalu’s current international standing. Despite Li Daniu’s immense fame and millions of fans worldwide, his nation’s actual power remained at the very bottom of the global hierarchy. To put it bluntly, aside from his own personal prowess, Tuvalu’s military consisted of only a hundred police officers and twenty sidearms—any small gang could easily take over the country.

The reason China sent a vice-premier-level official to receive him was primarily due to the country’s ongoing efforts to strengthen relations with other nations. As a land of etiquette since ancient times, China would certainly not treat him with the dismissive attitude of a mere low-level official, as New Zealand had done.

As the car traveled along the main roads of the capital, the accompanying official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs noticed Li Daniu looking intently out the window and began to offer a tour. Li Daniu listened attentively. Although the buildings outside were not significantly different from those in his past life, being back felt like a long-awaited homecoming, and his guide was a figure he once could only look up to from afar.

The journey was filled with laughter, and Li Daniu was soon ushered into the State Guest House. The officials suggested he rest, as the meeting with the Vice Premier was scheduled for the evening. Li Daniu was in no hurry; as the party in the weaker position, he could not expect others to rush to meet him.

While resting in his room, Li Daniu turned on the television to watch local variety shows. His own company, TC Entertainment, would eventually need to break into this massive market, so understanding the competition was essential. In Tuvalu or the United States, for reasons that need not be detailed, he had only limited access to Chinese television channels, and even the internet was subject to certain obscure restrictions. It seemed that, just as in his past life, the international community held China in high regard.

Burns, sitting nearby, felt quite confused. The people on television spoke Chinese, which he could not understand at all. Why was his King laughing so heartily? Was he faking it? Burns dared not expose his King’s pretense, so whenever he saw Li Daniu laugh, he would force a laugh as well, pretending to understand.

"Burns, do you understand Chinese?" Li Daniu asked, laughing at a familiar sketch, only to notice Burns chuckling along.

"Uh, no, I don't," Burns replied awkwardly.

"Then why are you laughing?"

"Well, if Your Majesty finds it funny, then the program must be funny."

Why did this flattery feel so satisfying? Still, seeing Burns's discomfort, Li Daniu didn't want to force his Prime Minister—his most important subordinate—to keep pandering to him. "Go discuss the planning and tonight's agenda with the German," he said.

"Certainly, Your Majesty," Burns replied, relieved, and headed off to work.

Left alone, Li Daniu finished browsing the television channels and opened his laptop to explore the Chinese internet. Aside from the absence of Weibo and the dominance of a localized version of "EyeBook," the digital landscape was not much different from his past life. The pop songs on streaming platforms were all unfamiliar, and the films and variety shows were only similar in style, never identical.

"What a massive cake this is," he thought. The mere idea of the Chinese songs and movies stored on his hard drive filled him with excitement. As for the variety shows, the blueprints were already in his head. He knew exactly how lucrative some of those formats were. Without exaggeration, if he could successfully transplant those shows to this world’s China, earning billions of yuan annually would be trivial.

However, the timing was not yet right. A rash move would only lead to him being crushed by local powers, turning his golden ideas into failures.

As dusk fell, an aide arrived to inform them that dinner was ready. The Vice Premier would host a state banquet, followed by a thirty-minute meeting. One should not underestimate those thirty minutes; for Tuvalu, this was an unprecedented level of high-spec treatment. For a former nobody like Li Daniu, it was something he had once never dared to imagine.

The state banquet was not the extravagant feast of rumors; the ingredients were common, though the tableware and preparation were exquisite. China has long held a duality: the custom of discussing business at the table, yet the rule of silence while eating. Throughout the banquet, the Vice Premier’s entourage focused only on hosting Li Daniu and ensuring he enjoyed the food, never once mentioning business. Li Daniu, having missed authentic Chinese cuisine for so long, poured his heart into the meal.

When the banquet ended, Li Daniu, still slightly hungry, didn't dare ask for more. The next thirty minutes were the most critical of his trip.

According to the *China Daily* report the following day, the meeting went as follows: Our Vice Premier formally received the King of Tuvalu at the State Guest House. This was the first official visit from Tuvalu since the founding of the People’s Republic.

Before the meeting began, the King of Tuvalu praised Chinese culinary culture in Chinese, expressing his fondness for the food and his desire to hire an authentic Chinese chef. King Tarek of Tuvalu is a world-renowned bestselling author who studied computer science at Harvard University. During his studies, Tarek also taught himself Chinese and adopted the Chinese name "Li Daniu." He is the first foreign leader in history to give himself a Chinese name.

During the meeting, the Vice Premier expressed formal welcome and gratitude for the visit. King Li Daniu expressed his honor and laid out his request. He explained that the construction of New Tuvalu was at a critical juncture, and due to a lack of population and infrastructure capacity, he hoped for China's assistance. He expressed great confidence in China's construction capabilities.

The Vice Premier, after thanking the King for his trust, stated: "China’s construction prowess is visible to the world, and we spare no effort in supporting third-world nations. We are honored to have the opportunity to help build New Tuvalu and will never betray the trust of the Tuvaluan people."

Talks between leaders always focus on the direction; the details are left to subordinates. The Vice Premier would naturally select the most capable construction teams, a fact Li Daniu didn't need to worry about.

By the next day, the Chinese side had arranged several capable construction firms for him to choose from. After reviewing their past landmark projects, Li Daniu quickly selected one. The rest was left to Burns and the German. All Li Daniu had to do was earn the money.

He had come in a hurry and left in a hurry. He had wanted to stay and explore China, but there was no time; his film was about to be released, and he needed to head to the United States for promotion.

When Li Daniu departed, the *China Daily* report went public. Upon hearing that a foreign King could speak Chinese and had given himself a Chinese name, Chinese netizens were thrilled. They flocked to Li Daniu’s EyeBook page. When he posted a video of himself speaking fluent Chinese and shared a classic joke from his past life, his fan count skyrocketed.

After dropping off Burns and his team in Tuvalu, Li Daniu flew to the United States. In that short span, his fan count surged from 12 million to 38 million, with the growth showing no signs of slowing down.

"Is this what they call 'fan farming'?" he wondered.