Back to 1958: Creating a Century-Long Family Empire

Chapter 57: Industry Comes First

"Really? Dong-ge?" Lin Haoyu and Zhao Liming were so excited they almost threw themselves at Yang Wendong.

Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Of course. Isn't making money all about improving our lives? Now that we're earning, what's the point if we don't spend it on our families?"

"Great! I'm going back to the squatter hut right now to tell my mom and dad!" Lin Haoyu said hurriedly, but just as he turned around, he caught sight of the flypaper on the table and froze for a second.

Yang Wendong waved him off and said, "It's alright. This can wait a day. Go on."

Zhao Liming also stood up at once. "Alright, I'll go back too."

"Mhm." Yang Wendong nodded and then turned to Su Yiyi. "Yiyi, let's go check out some places nearby this afternoon. It's time we all moved into proper houses."

It had been nearly six months since he crossed over, and at this point, the factory's operations were running smoothly. That finally gave him peace of mind to arrange proper housing for his people.

Once Zhao Liming and Lin Haoyu had left, Yang Wendong took Su Yiyi to a nearby residential area.

On the way, Su Yiyi asked, "Dong-ge, do you think we'll eventually be able to live like Hong Kong's rich people?"

Yang Wendong chuckled. "Someday, yes. But for now, not quite. We're just about to start living like moderately well-off Hongkongers."

In the Hong Kong of today, just being able to rent a brick house with electricity and running water — and not being strapped for cash — already put you above the majority.

In the 1950s, Hong Kong had extreme wealth inequality. The British colonials and some wealthy people from the mainland held the majority of the city's wealth. It was a tiny group that controlled a massive share of resources.

There were success stories like Yang Wendong's, sure, but they were rare. And among those, most were already rich to begin with. For instance, someone like Bao Yugang had come from the mainland with tens of thousands of US dollars.

Compared to other entrepreneurs and capitalists of the time, Li Ka-shing could truly be considered self-made. Throughout human history, those who truly built something from nothing were incredibly few and far between.

Su Yiyi nodded. "Even this is enough to make me really happy. And besides, even after you've made it, you still look after the people in the squatter huts… and Liming and Haoyu, too."

Yang Wendong laughed. "Liming and Haoyu are my brothers. We grew up together, fighting back to back as kids — this is nothing in comparison.

As for the folks in the squatter huts, I'll do what I can to give them formal jobs. But realistically, the positions I can offer right now are just a drop in the bucket."

"It's alright. It's only been half a year," Su Yiyi said encouragingly. "Who knows? In a few years, you might be like that Li… um…" She frowned. "The guy you mentioned before, the one who made plastic flowers."

"Li Ka-shing," Yang Wendong filled in.

"Yes, that's it," Su Yiyi said. "I saw in a newspaper the other day that he's already known as the King of Plastic Flowers in Hong Kong. He has 7,000 employees, two whole industrial buildings in North Point, and produces plastic flowers day and night. That's seriously impressive."

"He is impressive," Yang Wendong agreed with a nod. "I also hope my factory will have 7,000 workers one day."

In the 1950s, Hong Kong's industrial boom reached its peak, and Li Ka-shing stood at the very top of that wave. With just one product — plastic flowers — he directly provided jobs for nearly 0.3% of Hong Kong's population, pulling in annual profits in the millions of HKD.

That success laid the foundation for his future empire.

Unfortunately — or perhaps fortunately, depending on perspective — he had sharp insight and realized that Hong Kong's manufacturing would never be as profitable as real estate. So later, he shifted his focus entirely to the property market.

Su Yiyi laughed. "A factory with 7,000 workers… I can't even imagine it. My mom would probably go crazy just trying to cook for them."

"Have you heard of the emperor's golden hoe?" Yang Wendong asked with a smile.

Su Yiyi shook her head. "No, what's that?"

Yang Wendong explained, "Back in the old days, some peasants used to wonder what kind of tools the emperor used for farming. They assumed he used a hoe made of gold. What do you think? Does that sound right?"

"Probably not? I mean, would the emperor even be farming?" Su Yiyi replied with a tilt of her head.

"Exactly," Yang Wendong nodded. "Same thing here — if we have a factory with 7,000 workers, you think I'd still have your mom in the kitchen?"

"True. That was kind of silly," Su Yiyi said, a bit embarrassed.

"But I'll work hard," Yang Wendong continued. "I want even more than 7,000 people working in my factories one day."

Even though he knew that real estate would become more lucrative than industry in Hong Kong, he wasn't going to give up on factories. In fact, for the next ten years, they would remain his main focus.

Forget about in-depth market analysis — just looking at the data made things clear. Hong Kong's property boom wouldn't truly take off until the 1970s, and the rise of Chinese capitalists in real estate didn't happen until the 1980s.

There were many complex reasons behind that, but one thing was clear: in the 1960s, even though real estate was profitable, it still couldn't beat the returns from various industries.

Throughout the '60s and early '70s, the most well-known Chinese tycoons in Hong Kong were all "kings of industry" or shipping magnates.

That's why "industry comes first" remained the guiding principle for Yang Wendong's development.

Right now, Yang Wendong had a bit of money, so renting a place wasn't an issue. But finding several adjacent vacant houses was proving tricky.

After asking around, he found out that since the start of the year, more people had flooded into Hong Kong, pushing up rental prices and causing a shortage of available housing. Even property prices had begun to rise.

Yang Wendong realized that a new wave of Hong Kong's property boom was just beginning — though in hindsight, it would seem like a minor uptick compared to the booms of the '70s and '80s.

That afternoon, they didn't find anything suitable. Over the next two days, they visited many more places. In the end, Yang Wendong decided to rent two small standalone houses that were right next to each other — essentially small villas.

Soon after, Zhao Liming and Lin Haoyu's families also moved in.

Four families in two houses — it wasn't crowded at all.

Time quickly moved into June. Yang Wendong spent a good amount of money registering a patent for the flypaper.

The business at Changxing Pest Control Factory was booming more than ever.

After just two weeks of operations, Yang Wendong calculated that the net profit had already surpassed HKD 1,000. Feeling generous, he invited An Yongqiang and Zhao Chenguang to a grand dinner at the most luxurious hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui.

"Mr. Yang! Hahaha, business is thriving, huh?" Zhao Chenguang burst out laughing as he entered the private room with An Yongqiang.

Yang Wendong stood up and replied with a grin, "Same goes for you, Mr. Zhao. If my business is doing well, that means Mr. Zhao and Mr. An's businesses are also doing well."

An Yongqiang chuckled. "That's right. The three of us are in this together now."

"Please, have a seat," Yang Wendong said warmly.

Once seated, the three of them chatted casually while enjoying the delicious spread. About an hour later, as they were nearly finished eating, Yang Wendong said, "Gentlemen, I invited you here today not just to thank you for your cooperation over the past few months, but also to discuss two more things…"

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