Rebirth in Hong Kong: From Dessert Shop to Industrial Empire

Chapter 11 Loan
The following day, Wing Lung Bank Kowloon branch.

Chen Bingwen had been waiting in the lobby for nearly thirty minutes.

The young salesperson who initially greeted him briefly registered his purpose and then led him to the waiting area, after which no one paid him any attention.

Chen Bingwen was not impatient; he simply sat quietly with a steady gaze.

It was January 11th, just nine days before the bidding for the Victoria Park Lunar New Year Market was scheduled to begin.

Considering the loan approval and disbursement time, Chen Bingwen dared not delay even for a day.

Ten minutes later, finally, a middle-aged man came out of the office.

The man was dressed in a sharp suit, with a name tag that read "Credit Department Manager" pinned to his chest.

"Mr. Chen?"

Chen Bingwen stood up and nodded slightly.

"I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting."

The newcomer wore a professional smile, but his eyes held a hint of scrutiny. "I am Zhou Mingzhe from the credit department. Please follow me."

Chen Bingwen followed him into a small conference room, and the door closed gently behind him.

After Zhou Mingzhe sat down, he didn't rush to look through Chen Bingwen's file. Instead, he poured Chen Bingwen a glass of water before speaking:
"Mr. Chen, would you like to apply for a loan?"

Chen Bingwen nodded and pushed the brown paper bag over.

"Yes, HK$50,000 will be used for bidding and operation of stalls at the Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair."

Zhou Mingzhe opened the brown paper bag, took out the documents, and carefully looked through them.

After a while, Zhou Mingzhe put down the documents, tapped his fingers lightly on the table, and frowned slightly.

“Mr. Chen, your dessert shop’s turnover has indeed increased significantly in the last two weeks.”

Zhou Mingzhe adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses. "As you know, banks look for long-term, stable cash flow when making loans, not short-term bursts."

Chen Bingwen had anticipated the bank's concerns, as Chen's Dessert Shop's business had been so poor that it only generated around 100 yuan in revenue per day.

The changes in the workflow only started recently, so it's understandable that Manager Zhou has some doubts.

Therefore, after Zhou Mingzhe finished speaking, Chen Bingwen calmly took out another document and pushed it in front of Manager Zhou.

"Manager Zhou, you make a very good point. Here are our dessert shop's recent detailed operating data, as well as our cash flow forecast for the next three months."

Chen Bingwen paused for a moment, then added, "The latter part is the complete business plan for the Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair."

Zhou Mingzhe opened the document and found that it was a business plan, from how to set up locations in the industrial park, to how to attract workers to spend money, and how to deal with the competition from competitors.

From cost accounting and profit forecasting to risk control, even the strengths and weaknesses of competitors are analyzed and corresponding countermeasures are provided.

Zhou Mingzhe became increasingly shocked as he looked, his gaze gradually shifting from scrutiny to astonishment.

In his experience, this plan can be described as a textbook example of a business plan.

Zhou Mingzhe took off his glasses, rubbed the bridge of his nose, and said solemnly, "Mr. Chen, your plan is even better than that of a professional consulting firm."

Chen Bingwen smiled slightly: "Manager Zhou, you flatter me. I'm just systematically organizing the experience I gained in the factory area."

Moreover, we have already validated the mobile stall business model in the Sham Shui Po industrial area, where the profit margin has remained stable at around 50%.

Zhou Mingzhe nodded, his attitude clearly softening: "Mr. Chen, your business plan is indeed impressive. However, the competitive environment of the Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair is completely different from that of the factory area. How do you plan to deal with it?"

Chen Bingwen opened the second half of the plan and explained, "For the Lunar New Year market, I will focus on selling convenient and easy-to-make semi-finished products to reduce on-site production time and increase sales speed."

As Chen Bingwen explained, the Victoria Park Lunar New Year Market only has four cooked food stalls. To increase sales, they certainly cannot choose foods that take a long time to prepare.

As Chen Bingwen explained, Zhou Mingzhe's doubts gradually dissipated, replaced by a strong interest.

Suddenly he closed the file and looked directly at Chen Bingwen: "One last question, what if we lose the bid and don't get a booth?"

"If I lose the bid, I will contact the winning bidder and try to reach a cooperation agreement with them to use our Chen Ji dessert soup."

To be honest, Chen Bingwen never considered the possibility of failing the bid.

Because of the unique nature of the Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair, vendors bidding for stalls cannot invest too much money in it.

If one bidder is determined to win, the others will inevitably back down.

Chen Bingwen has made full preparations and is determined to win the cooked food stall at the Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair.

Zhou Mingzhe pondered for a moment, then suddenly changed the subject: "Mr. Chen, how old are you this year?"

"I just turned 18," Chen Bingwen answered frankly. Seeing the other person's surprised expression, he added, "But I grew up in a dessert shop and have a special understanding of this business."

Selling sweet soup in the factory area recently has given me a deeper understanding of market demand.

Zhou Mingzhe nodded and smiled, "Mr. Chen, your loan application has been approved. HKD 50,000, annual interest rate of 11%, disbursement will be the day after tomorrow."

"Thank you, Manager Zhou." Chen Bingwen stood up, but added, "However, could you increase the limit to 80,000? That way we can bid for four booths at the same time."

Zhou Mingzhe raised an eyebrow: "Reason?"

“Economies of scale,” Chen Bingwen replied immediately. “Operating four stalls simultaneously can reduce raw material and labor costs by 30%.”

For Zhou Mingzhe, Chen Bingwen's business plan had already proven its investment value; whether it was HK$50,000 or HK$80,000, it made no difference to Wing Lung Bank.

Moreover, the more loans are made out, the greater the final return will be.

After hearing Chen Bingwen's explanation, Zhou Mingzhe laughed heartily and readily agreed, "Okay! Eighty thousand Hong Kong dollars, it's settled!"

Chen Bingwen shook hands with Zhou Mingzhe solemnly: "It's a pleasure to cooperate with you, Manager Zhou. You will see that this investment will bring substantial returns to Wing Lung Bank."

As Chen Bingwen stepped out of the bank, he took a deep breath on the steps.

HK$80,000 was not a small sum in those days; it was enough for him to bid for four food stalls at the Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair at the same time, and he would still have the extra money to purchase equipment and raw materials for Chan Kee.

It was nearly noon when I returned to Chen's Dessert Shop. Gao Zhenhai's modified tricycle was parked in front of the shop, indicating that he had returned from the Lai Chi Kok Industrial Area.

As soon as Chen Bingwen entered the shop, before he could even tell his mother the news of his successful loan, he noticed that the atmosphere in the shop was a bit strange.

Neither Mom nor Gao Zhenhai had the usual joy on their faces.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

Chen Bingwen looked at Gao Zhenhai and asked.

"Brother Wen, another dessert stall has appeared in the Lai Chi Kok Industrial Area today!"

(End of this chapter)