Back to 1958: Creating a Century-Long Family Empire

chapter 29 – Business Expansion Once Again

For Yang Wendong, this deal marked nothing less than a turning point in his life.

Had he lost, his business might've been snatched away. It wouldn't have mattered whether the competition could do the job well—his hard-earned foothold would've been gone, and he'd be forced to start from scratch all over again.

But because he won, his business survived, thrived, and even expanded.

With more funding, more experience, and deeper connections, he now had options—options that could take him even further.

To Wang Zhixian and the people behind him, this contract might've just been a small detour—a side gig picked up while cruising comfortably. But to Yang Wendong, who had been walking this road on foot, it was a life-changing shortcut—the kind of chance that shaved years off his journey.

…

The next day, Yang Wendong returned once again to Tsim Sha Tsui.

Today, Wang Zhixian would take him around to each of the warehouses to get him familiar with the sites and introduce him to the staff.

"Take us to Linde Warehouse," Wang said to the rickshaw puller as he hailed one over.

Then, turning to Yang, he added, "We'll be running around a lot today. The sites are a bit far. Let's take the rickshaw—my treat."

"Alright," Yang replied, accepting the ride without hesitation.

In this era, taxis technically existed in Hong Kong, but they were rare and expensive, mostly operating only on Hong Kong Island. Only the rich or important officials used them.

In contrast, rickshaws were the go-to transport method for the middle class and working professionals—even in the city.

Yang had seen them plenty of times before, but this was his first time riding in one.

Soon, they arrived at Linde Warehouse.

"Wait here," Wang told the rickshaw puller. "I've got a lot of places to visit today. How much to hire you for the whole day?"

"Five dollars," the puller said after a moment's thought.

"Done." Wang handed him two dollars in advance and promised to pay the rest later.

Yang was slightly surprised. Five dollars for a day's hire was a solid income in 1958. But then again, this rickshaw was licensed—like a taxi—and the driver likely had to hand over a hefty cut to the license holder.

Inside the warehouse, one of the local staff members led them around, showing them the layout and explaining the warehouse's basic rules.

After half an hour, they left and boarded the rickshaw again.

On the way to the next location, Wang asked, "Everything clear so far, Mr. Yang?"

"No problems," Yang said with a smile. "Based on my experience, I already have a good idea of Linde's rat situation."

Over the past two months, with practical experience and knowledge he had studied online in his past life, Yang had become a true hybrid expert—part scholar, part field technician.

Rats were creatures of habit. Once he saw their nesting spots, the bite patterns on cargo, and gathered some information from the staff, he could already sketch out an effective plan.

Wang laughed. "Impressive. When we first got this contract, my boss and I were completely lost. We just figured we'd place more traps or throw in more poison.

"But it didn't work. And many warehouses store food, so poison isn't allowed. Eventually, we resorted to sending workers around to find rat holes and pour boiling water into them. It worked… briefly. But the rats always came back."

"Actually, what you did was the most effective method, but only in the short term," Yang said.

"Why?"

"Because it's expensive. Sending people around day after day takes manpower and persistence. But rats reproduce quickly, especially in spring.

"Warehouses are full of warmth, hiding spots, and—most importantly—food. You can't win with brute force unless you're willing to keep it up every day, with lots of people."

Yang knew from experience that many warehouses had tried large-scale rat-hunting efforts during infestation spikes. And they did see short-term improvements.

But the moment they let up? The rats returned.

Even in households, people often didn't bother catching rats. They simply got used to living with them.

"Hard to believe there's so much depth in something so small," Wang said.

"Catching any living creature is difficult," Yang replied with a chuckle.

"People hate mosquitoes and flies, but we can't kill them all—only keep them out with netting or sprays.

"It's the same with rats. Unless your building is made of materials rats can't chew through—and you keep food sealed—they'll keep coming."

…

Over the course of two full days, Wang took Yang around twenty-six warehouses, seven of which Yang had previously serviced before being pushed out during the contract shifts.

If he hadn't caught wind of this transition early, he might've been blindsided—and possibly lost his last few clients without even realizing what had happened.

On the third day, after hours of back-and-forth discussion and haggling, they finally settled on the deal:

26 warehouses700 HKD per week total

Wang's side would only pay the money. Everything else—planning, staffing, equipment, monitoring—was up to Yang.

Of course, if Yang needed help, he could ask. For small favors, they'd help freely. For anything requiring actual resources, they'd negotiate a price.

That afternoon, Yang gathered his core team.

He laid it out clearly.

"26 new warehouses?" Lin Haoyu nearly dropped his tea. He hadn't realized just how much had changed. He'd barely been keeping up, and now they were talking about numbers that didn't even seem real.

Yang shook his head. "Not quite. Seven of them are warehouses we used to manage. So we're taking over 19 new ones, which brings our total to 31 warehouses."

Zhao Liming raised his hand like a schoolboy. "I have a question! Since seven of them already knew us before, and we're now being paid more than before… won't they notice? Won't they complain about the price jump?"

Yang sighed. "Honestly? I don't know. Maybe they do know. Maybe they've agreed to keep quiet. Or maybe they just don't care.

"Either way, we don't bring it up. Not our concern."

"Right," Su Yiyi said, nodding. "For them, that cost is probably a drop in the bucket."

Yang smiled. "Nice idiom, Yiyi."

He had spent a lot of time teaching her and the others to read and write. For Su Yiyi, he'd also focused on numbers and ratios—basic math. Now, she was even using idioms correctly.

"All thanks to you, Brother Dong," she said, beaming.

"Alright," Yang clapped his hands. "Back to business. This expansion means we've tripled in size overnight. That brings up a few important problems we need to solve…"

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