Back to 1958: Creating a Century-Long Family Empire

Chapter 61: The Principle of Small Profits and Quick Turnover

With no established export channels at the moment, Yang Wendong could only focus on making a strong mark in the local Hong Kong market first.

As long as he performed well in the domestic market, those results might attract the attention of trade merchants with overseas connections.

As for trying to secure pest control contracts with the government, aside from the income the service itself could bring, there was another important benefit — indirect promotion of his glue board products.

If Hong Kong government departments started using his products, it would become a key selling point and a mark of quality assurance. Even if he ventured into export later on, being able to say that the product was used by official agencies would be a valuable advantage.

Whether the government needed such a service wasn't even a question — they absolutely did. Even decades later, with the rigorous hygiene standards of mainland China, many office buildings still required regular pest control.

…

A week later, Elena called to invite Yang Wendong to the Social Welfare Department where she worked.

He happily accepted, and the next morning at 9 a.m., he arrived at the building.

Once again, the guard at the entrance stopped him. Someone from inside had to come escort him in.

After a while—

"Mr. Yang." Elena's voice came from ahead.

"Miss Elena, hello," Yang Wendong greeted her with a smile.

Elena walked up to him and said, "Come on in."

"Alright." Yang nodded and followed her inside the compound.

The last time he was here, he'd only caught a glimpse of the interior from the gate. Now that he was actually walking inside, he realized the place was huge, with gardens and green lawns spread across the grounds.

The main office building was up ahead. As they walked together, Yang commented, "This place is really spacious."

Elena smiled. "Yes, it's a bit old, but its biggest advantage is the size — almost 60,000 square feet. Our actual office building only occupies about 10,000."

"This kind of environment must make working here quite pleasant," Yang said with a laugh.

In the 1950s, Tsim Sha Tsui — and really the whole Kowloon Peninsula — was still considered a rough, undeveloped area. It was mostly docks, warehouses, and poverty-stricken housing.

The true economic center of Hong Kong at that time was on Hong Kong Island. Unless you had to live in Kowloon for work, it usually meant you were poor.

Elena laughed. "I really like it here too. But in a little over a year, we'll have to move to Hong Kong Island."

"You're moving?" Yang asked. "To the Island?"

"Yes," Elena said with a nod. "The government has built several new buildings there, and we're being relocated. I'm not too keen on the move, to be honest. There are more people in need here, and the commute will waste a lot of time. But we don't have a choice."

Yang smiled. "As long as you have the heart to help others, you can do good work anywhere."

"Let's hope so," Elena nodded, falling quiet.

Yang remained silent as well. He glanced around at the large piece of land and already understood how valuable this property in Tsim Sha Tsui would become in the future.

For now, though, Tsim Sha Tsui was only slightly better than the rest of Kowloon. Most rich people still weren't interested in this area.

Once inside the office building, Yang was led to a private room.

Elena smiled and asked, "Coffee?"

"Yes, please," Yang replied — it had been a long time since he'd had any.

Soon, Elena returned with two cups of freshly brewed coffee and sat across from him. "Try my brewing. I really enjoy making coffee, and I love sharing it with others."

"It's very good," Yang said after taking a small sip.

"Thank you." Elena smiled, set down her cup, and said, "Mr. Yang, I've spoken with my superior. He's agreed to give you the rat extermination contract for this entire building."

"Really?" Yang was delighted. "Thank you so much."

"There's no need to thank me," Elena said. "Initially, my boss wasn't very interested. But just two days ago, our building suddenly lost power. After calling in an electrician, we found the short circuit had been caused by a rat inside the electrical box."

Yang nodded. "Yes, rats can cause serious problems with electrical systems."

Back in his previous life, Yang had seen similar cases — factories where rats had chewed into breaker boxes and gotten electrocuted, or dead rats found in car engines during maintenance.

These pests were everywhere, and even when they weren't directly in contact with people, they could cause massive damage behind the scenes.

"So, how do you want to price the job?" Elena asked.

Yang quickly calculated the size of the building in his head and replied, "Ten Hong Kong dollars per week."

There was no standard market price for this kind of work — his company was the first professional extermination service of its kind in Hong Kong.

"So cheap?" Elena was clearly surprised.

Yang smiled. "Office buildings aren't like warehouses. There are definitely far fewer rats, and even if we take the contract, it won't require daily visits like the warehouses did. After the initial treatments, a couple of visits per week should be enough."

Elena nodded. "That makes sense. Still, I'm surprised by the price. Can you actually make a profit doing business like this?"

Yang explained, "Instead of chasing short-term windfall profits, I'd rather build long-term partnerships. As long as I can maintain a modest margin, I can work with many government departments, companies, and factories for years."

Elena considered this. "That's an unusual business approach."

"It's called small profits and quick turnover," Yang said with a grin. "It's a common concept in manufacturing, but not so much in the service industry. I think it can work here too."

In the future, this business model would be a cornerstone for companies like Coca-Cola. But even in this era, some sharp entrepreneurs were already applying it — like Bao Yugang.

In the volatile shipping market of the 1950s and '60s, freight rates could skyrocket one month, making shipowners rich, and crash the next, plunging them into debt.

Most shipowners signed short-term or per-trip contracts with shipping companies, leading to an industry known for its high risk and high reward.

But Bao Yugang took a different route. He pursued long-term leases at stable rates, ensuring consistent cash flow and eventually becoming one of the world's shipping magnates.

Now, with pest control being virtually nonexistent as a formal industry in Hong Kong, Yang Wendong planned to take the same route. It wasn't that he had complete confidence in the model — but he knew that if he priced himself too high, customers would vanish once the rats were gone.

Constantly replacing clients would only drive up operational costs. Instead, why not go low-price and long-term? As long as the rates were affordable, most large companies and government offices wouldn't hesitate.

"Interesting," Elena said thoughtfully. "Alright, I'll report this price to my supervisor. I don't think it'll be a problem."

Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.

Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/johanssen10