Back to 1958: Creating a Century-Long Family Empire

Chapter 30 – Dreams for the Future

Yang Wendong looked at his team and said, "The first issue we're facing is manpower. We're just eight people now. I estimate we'll need at least 15 to 20 to handle everything."

Zhao Liming responded quickly, "Brother Dong, manpower won't be a problem. You're famous now in the shantytown. Plenty of people have been asking me if you're still hiring. If we just put the word out, we'll have more applicants than we need."

Yang nodded. "Alright. I'll leave that to you. But only hire from within the shantytown. Don't bring in outsiders."

While he personally didn't think the connected elites would bother with something like pest control—it seemed beneath them—there was no reason to take chances. The recent scare over the South African plague outbreak had temporarily put Commonwealth nations on edge.

In business, you don't decide based on what you think others will do. You base decisions on what they're capable of doing. And if someone has capability, you avoid provoking them if you can help it.

Hiring locals from the shantytown at least ensured some familiarity and social loyalty. Sure, they might eventually be bought out, but at least for now, it gave Yang some control.

Zhao Liming nodded again. "No problem."

Yang continued, "Second issue—we now have 31 warehouses. That means we're covering a much wider area. It's physically impossible for us to visit them all every day like before.

"From now on, we'll need to work in teams. Each team handles a cluster of warehouses—just like how the four of us used to handle everything in the beginning."

Zhao Liming frowned slightly. "Brother Dong, I get the structure… but are we sure our people can catch rats as effectively as you?"

Yang smiled. "That's not a problem. I've already arranged with Wang Zhixian: we won't take on all 19 new warehouses at once. We'll start with five per day, for four days.

"I'll go with each group on the first day. We'll scout the layout, review the site, and set traps in high-traffic zones. Once we take out the initial wave of rats, maintenance becomes much easier."

As long as their extermination rate outpaced the rats' reproduction rate, they would steadily regain control—unless, of course, the nests were connected to the city's sewer system. That would be far more difficult to manage.

"That's a solid plan," said Lin Haoyu, who was always quiet but thoughtful. "If we had to tackle them all at once, we'd be overwhelmed. You thought of everything, Brother Dong."

Yang laughed. "I have to. In the early stages, it's going to be tough on everyone, especially with all the walking between sites.

"Yiyi," he turned to Su Yiyi, "later we need to buy durable shoes, and also restock rat traps, cages, and buckets. Come with me later."

Although they hadn't officially registered a company yet, the way they were operating was already functionally equivalent to one. The only reason they hadn't made it official was because they still couldn't afford to rent office space.

"Okay," Su Yiyi nodded.

"Haoyu, you'll be in charge of training the new hires—teach them the basics."

"What about trade secrets?" Haoyu asked, raising an eyebrow.

Yang shook his head. "We'll keep a few things to ourselves, yes. You don't need to teach them everything you know—just the steps they need to follow. If someone's sharp and asks thoughtful questions, use your judgment."

He paused, then added, "We've got relationships now. We've signed contracts. The orders are stable. It's not like before when we had to guard every secret. Our priority now is doing the job well."

"Got it, Brother Dong," Haoyu said. "These are all shantytown folks—we can trust them not to betray us too easily."

"Hard to say," Yang said with a half-smile. "But it doesn't matter anymore. What does matter is that if we endure this hard phase, we can finally leave the shantytown."

"Really?" The three others stared at him, eyes shining.

Yang nodded. "I can't promise we'll buy property just yet. But we can definitely afford to rent a place—even if it's not fancy. Even just renting a cheap brick house nearby would be a huge step forward."

It had been almost three months since Yang transmigrated to 1950s Hong Kong.

And yet, here he was—still living in a wooden shack, full of holes, leaks, and mosquitoes. Rain meant flooding. Wind meant drafts. Washing up was a nightmare. The toilet? A hole with a tin can.

Lately, the mosquitoes were back in full force. He had taken the suffering with a clenched jaw—but enough was enough.

"I'll work as hard as I can," Lin Haoyu said, voice trembling with excitement.

Yang smiled. "We're all in this together. I dream about leaving the shantytown every night."

"We will!" the group shouted together, a chorus of hope.

In his previous life, Yang had also clawed his way up from nothing.

He worked retail during university. Did sales after graduation. Eventually, he started his own online business. He wasn't a billionaire, but he had tasted success.

That experience now served as his compass.

Each person in the team had a role. Within three days, Zhao Liming brought in ten new recruits—teenagers from the shantytown eager to prove themselves. Yang secured supplies. Haoyu ran training sessions.

By the end of March, Yang Wendong had already laid the groundwork.

The contracts with Wang Zhixian's company would go into effect in early April. Starting that day, Yang and his teams would officially take over inspections and extermination efforts at the new warehouses.

Thankfully, Wang was flexible, and since Yang had built up a strong reputation, he even received half a week's deposit upfront. After that, they'd settle accounts weekly—a system that gave Yang some breathing room financially.

On April 1st, the team of just under 20 people was split into three squads, each assigned to a different section of warehouses to minimize wasted travel time.

"You see this cabinet?" Yang pointed. "Move it aside. There's likely a rat hole behind it."

The teens quickly obeyed, pushing the cabinet back. Sure enough, there was a rat burrow carved into the plaster.

"Brother Dong, you're amazing!" one of them exclaimed.

"Not every nest is this easy to find," Yang said. "Since we found this one, check if there's any boiling water nearby. Let's flush them out."

"Got it!" Several boys scattered, eager to follow orders.

Yang smiled.

They were eager, energetic, and hungry for success. All of them were hoping that by working under Yang, they might just escape the same fate that loomed over every shantytown youth: poverty and obscurity.

He remembered taking them to a warehouse for lunch once—just a regular worker's meal. They had nearly cried. That was the power of hope.

And at that moment, Yang Wendong realized something with a grin:

"I guess I'm a capitalist now."

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