Back to 1958: Creating a Century-Long Family Empire

Chapter 25 – The Beginning of Opportunity and Competition

Yang Wendong stepped forward, offering a polite smile. "Miss Elena, good afternoon."

He truly felt grateful to this woman—someone who had played a critical role at the very start of his business journey. Without her support, he wasn't sure how long it would've taken him to reach his current position—if he would've reached it at all.

Whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere, many people had talent and drive. But those who ultimately reached the top often did so through a mix of capability and opportunity. One without the other wasn't enough.

Elena looked at him with a warm smile. "I heard from Brian that your business has grown quite a bit recently. Congratulations. I knew back then—you were going to succeed."

Yang Wendong smiled modestly. "Still, I have to thank you, Miss Elena. I wouldn't call what I have now a success—not yet."

"Success depends on perspective," Elena replied. "Compared to the average Chinese citizen in Hong Kong, you're already well ahead. But it's good to have ambition."

Yang shook his head slightly. "It's not just ambition. In business, if you're not moving forward, you're falling behind. Others improve, too. Standing still isn't an option."

Elena's eyes lit up with admiration. "Spoken like a prophet."

"A prophet?" Yang chuckled, confused. "What do you mean?"

Elena leaned closer. "The Hong Kong government has been considering a coordinated policy to deal with the city's rodent problem. You already knew that part. What you didn't know is that you may have caused a shift in how they plan to handle it."

"Me?"

Elena smiled. "Brian submitted a detailed report outlining your work. He mentioned how much losses at the warehouse have decreased since you began your services. That's been passed up the chain, and now, the higher-ups are considering your model—professional rat control, as a public standard."

Brian, who had just walked over, laughed and added, "It's true. In just a month, we've seen a massive drop in product damage. I had to explain that somehow."

"I really had that kind of impact?" Yang was stunned.

He'd only been trying to survive. To think that his simple idea could ripple up to influence colonial government policy?

Elena chuckled. "Well, the senior officials don't know your name. But they know there's a young Chinese man out there providing a scalable solution."

"I did some research," she continued. "There are a few small factories in Hong Kong that make rat cages, poison, or snap traps. But no one—until you—has offered a complete professional service. You may very well be the first."

Yang nodded slowly. "That… actually makes sense."

Back in this era, most industries in Hong Kong lacked specialized talent. Even among the large number of immigrants from mainland China, literacy rates were low, and those who could read and write had plenty of job opportunities already.

Anyone with skills or education was more likely to go into manufacturing, shipping, or trading. Who would choose to kill rats for a living?

Elena went on, "You know better than anyone—rats don't just eat food. They destroy furniture, chew through packaging, ruin inventory worth hundreds or thousands of dollars. In a city like Hong Kong, a global shipping hub, that's a huge financial loss.

"Until now, people simply accepted those losses as unavoidable. But you've shown it's possible to control the problem."

Yang nodded. "So now the government wants all warehouses to follow my model?"

He had already heard about the government's interest in extermination policy. But that had seemed abstract, distant. Now it was feeling… real.

"It's still just a proposal," Elena explained. "The higher-ups like the idea. But it will be up to mid-level managers to carry it out."

She looked at him seriously. "That means, even though you were the first to succeed, you might not be the only one for long."

Yang understood immediately. "So someone else is going to copy my methods and take the government contracts?"

Elena nodded. "Yes. It's very common here. I just thought you deserved to hear it first."

Yang smiled. "Honestly, that happens everywhere. Not just in Hong Kong."

The relationship between power and profit was universal.

His business model was a new category, something that hadn't existed formally before. And because it was small and nimble—and backed by real expertise—he had been able to grow quickly.

But now? The government was involved. The pie had gotten bigger, and that meant new players would show up, trying to grab their share.

Technically, Yang had a knowledge advantage. But the traps he used weren't patented. The methods he developed could be imitated. There was no way to legally protect them.

Elena added, "Still, you have plenty of opportunity. The government only controls a portion of the city's warehouses. The rest are run by private companies—and those are fair game."

Yang nodded. "Thank you for the warning."

"I just thought you deserved a chance to prepare. It's not bad news—it just depends how you handle it."

"I understand."

On one hand, this was a great opportunity. The government would be encouraging the market Yang had pioneered. Demand would rise.

On the other hand, competition was inevitable. In Hong Kong, money always came first. And wherever there was profit, people with connections would barge in.

That night, Yang gathered his core team—Zhao Liming, Su Yiyi, Lin Haoyu—and laid it out clearly.

"From now on, when we train apprentices, don't teach them the full theory," he said firmly. "Don't do what I did with you. No long lectures. Just give them instructions and have them do the job."

Rat control might look simple, but in reality, it was a challenge humans had struggled with for thousands of years. The techniques Yang had developed in just a few months—through careful study and experimentation—were valuable. They represented a real competitive edge.

"Got it," Liming said. "Honestly, we don't really understand the science anyway. We just follow your instructions."

Su Yiyi looked concerned. "Did something happen?"

Yang nodded and explained the conversation with Elena.

After a pause, she asked, "Should we still keep expanding? If we don't train new workers properly, they might make mistakes—and that'll affect our reputation."

Yang replied, "Keep expanding as usual. But be careful. I want to wait and see who exactly the government hires. Then we'll plan accordingly."

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