Rebirth in Hong Kong: From Dessert Shop to Industrial Empire

Chapter 25 The Storm Subsides (Please add to your favorites, vote for monthly tickets, recommend this book, and keep reading!)
Youtang Industrial Zone, Xinglong Electronics Factory.

The lunch break bell rang.

The workers surged toward the factory gate like a floodgate being opened.

Line leader Li Jiahua rubbed his sore neck and immediately spotted his fellow villager, A Ping, standing at the door, looking somewhat absent-minded.

"Ah Ping! What are you daydreaming about? Come on, let's go eat! Are we going to Chen Ji today?" Li Jiahua called out with a smile, and habitually walked towards the familiar red Chen Ji mobile food truck.

Aping paused, a hint of hesitation flashing across her face as she subconsciously thought of the bowl of sesame paste from yesterday.

Even now, thinking back on it, I still have a bitter aftertaste on my tongue, and my stomach feels a little uncomfortable.

A-Ping grabbed Li Jiahua's arm and lowered her voice, "Jiahua, I found Chen Ji's sesame paste a bit bitter yesterday. Let's eat something else today."

Li Jiahua suddenly realized, "You also felt that yesterday's sesame paste didn't taste right, didn't you? It wasn't as smooth and fragrant as before, and it had a slightly bitter aftertaste! I thought it was just my bowl that wasn't cooked properly. What, you tasted it too?"

"Hmm..." Ah Ping nodded, "Do you think that as Chen's business has grown, they've started cutting corners? Or did they change chefs and their skills have declined?"

My previous impression of Chen's Dessert Shop as "good quality, low price, and reliable" was instantly tarnished.

She even regretted spending the money yesterday, feeling like she had been scammed.

"Sigh, who knows? This is the worst thing for neighborhood businesses. They start off well, but once they become popular, things start to go wrong." Li Jiahua sighed, looking somewhat dejected. "How about we go to the noodle stall next door for some noodles?"

Just as the two were about to turn around, A-Ping's gaze was drawn to a group of people gathered around Chen's food cart.

Several workers were gathered around the side of Chen's food cart, pointing and discussing something.

"Huh? What's that posted over there?" Aping asked curiously, pulling Li Jiahua over.

On the side of the food cart, a very formal and beautifully printed red notice had been newly posted in the most prominent position.

The large title reads:

"To all our neighbors and friends who support Chen's Dessert: We sincerely apologize and make a solemn promise."

"."

The notice contained the reason for the bitter sesame paste incident and the outcome of its handling.

The bottom section details the compensation offered to customers who purchased the bitter sesame paste.

After reading the notice, a buzz of discussion arose among the surrounding workers:
"Wow! It was the water that was the problem! No wonder it tasted off!"

"You installed a water purifier? That must have cost a lot of money! Mr. Chen is really generous!"

"Look at this date! It's from yesterday! Ah Ping, Sister Hua, didn't you buy sesame paste yesterday? You'll get compensation!" A coworker said to Li Jiahua and Ah Ping.

"A free bowl of sweet soup and snacks? Not bad! That's quite generous!" Li Jiahua said in surprise, his dissatisfaction having dissipated considerably.

"So it turns out there was a problem with the water in Kwun Tong, which affected Chan Kee's sesame paste." Ah Ping suddenly realized, her tone full of understanding and relief.

“Yes! Their attitude is impeccable!” Li Jiahua nodded vigorously. “Aping, let’s eat here again today! Let’s try their sesame paste after they installed a water purifier!”

“Okay! Jiahua, let’s eat here!” Aping pulled Li Jiahua and rejoined the queue for Chen’s mobile food truck.

The workers saw sincerity, responsibility, and genuine respect for customers in Chen's Sweet Soup's handling of the problem.

In a society where everything is driven by self-interest, such qualities are truly rare and precious.

This sesame paste controversy did not damage Chen Ji's reputation. On the contrary, it added a layer of reliability and trustworthiness to the red-and-gold signboard of Chen Ji's sweet soup in the hearts of the workers in Youtang Industrial Zone.

Lin Xiaowei, a young reporter from the Hong Kong Island Commercial Daily, had just finished interviewing at a nearby electronic component factory and happened to be passing by.

After a busy morning, he was starving and looking for a place to have lunch.

Seeing a large crowd gathered around Chen Ji's eye-catching red food truck from afar, it seemed to be more than just an ordinary scene of people queuing to buy dessert, which immediately aroused his professional instincts.

"Huh? So many people are gathered around, what happened?" Lin Xiaowei asked curiously as he quickly walked over. He squeezed into the crowd, and his eyes were immediately drawn to a strikingly eye-catching, beautifully printed red notice on the side of the food cart.

As a reporter covering the financial and business section, Lin Xiaowei has witnessed far too many scenes of businesses dealing with customer complaints.

But such a formal, transparent, and cost-in-the-way apology is almost unheard of at the level of street vendors.

He immediately pulled out his notebook and pen and began conducting random interviews on the spot.

Chen Bingwen was unaware that his actions had attracted the attention of reporters.

He was leading Gao Zhenhai in the laboratory of the Department of Applied Science at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, listening intently to a professor with gray hair and thick glasses giving a lecture.

"Mr. Chen, your prediction is very accurate."

Professor Zhou adjusted his glasses and pointed to the test report that had just come out of the lab, "We compared the water samples from Cheung Sha Wan and Kwun Tong that you sent, as well as the problematic sesame paste residue sample from yesterday's production and the newly produced sesame paste sample. The results are clear."

Professor Zhou, holding the report, used very professional terms and data for a while, and finally concluded that the bitterness of the sesame paste was indeed caused by the water quality problem in the Kwun Tong area.

However, the water quality was within the acceptable range for ordinary drinking water.

This outcome means that Chen Bingwen will have to pay for all the losses, including the twenty-odd buckets of sesame paste lost by Chen's Sweet Soup and the subsequent expenses.

Looking at the professional data and charts in the report, Chen Bingwen felt a huge weight lifted from his shoulders.

To some extent, the product quality issues that have arisen this time are objective problems, but they were triggered by the sesame paste.

“Professor Zhou, thank you very much for your professional analysis!” Chen Bingwen said sincerely. “This report is of great importance to us. It not only confirmed the root cause of the problem, but also gave us a more scientific basis for quality control in the future.”

"It's my duty." Professor Zhou smiled gently. "Mr. Chen, to be honest, your almost obsessive dedication to product quality and your respect for scientific evidence are truly rare in the business world, especially among entrepreneurs your age."

We will issue you an official document of this report.

Then, he changed the subject and tentatively asked, "Mr. Chen, the issue of food quality and safety is a complete and worthwhile quality management methodology to study."

I can see that you have a deep understanding of industrialized food production and standardization. Would it be convenient for me to visit your factory another day for a discussion? I'm very interested in how you translate experience into parameters and then use equipment to achieve stable output. The Hong Kong Polytechnic is a comprehensive institution in Hong Kong with a wide range of academic disciplines, and its Department of Applied Science is particularly capable of conducting research in food and related fields.

Chen Bingwen knows that if Chen's Desserts wants to truly break through the limitations of street stalls and go further in the food industry, and develop new products that are as convenient and standardized as bottled drinks and can be found in every household and convenience store, Professor Zhou and the academic resources behind him will be indispensable help.

Upon hearing Professor Zhou's overtures, Chen Bingwen's eyes lit up instantly; this was exactly what he had been hoping for!
Establishing connections with institutions like Hong Kong Polytechnic University will be of immeasurable significance for Chan Kee's future technological upgrades, new product development, and talent cultivation.

"Of course you're welcome! It's an honor for Chenji to have Professor Zhou here to provide guidance!"

Chen Bingwen immediately responded enthusiastically, "We are ready to serve you anytime. Regarding standardization, we have accumulated some basic experience and data, which are still in their early stages, but the results are significant."

This is a good opportunity to consult with you and the experts, and I hope to get more professional optimization suggestions.

We've also been thinking about how to use new technologies to help traditional sweet soups break through the limitations of being made-to-order and go further.

At this point, Chen Bingwen changed the subject and directly pointed out the biggest bottleneck in the current sweet soup industry: "Professor Zhou, as you said, the charm of traditional sweet soup lies in its freshness, but it is also constrained by its lack of freshness."

The on-site production and sales model acts like an invisible ceiling, severely limiting its sales scope, consumption scenarios, and market size.

We have been thinking about how to use modern food technology to break the shackles of making and selling food on the spot while preserving the essence of traditional flavors as much as possible.
For example, how about making it like soda, bottled and canned for safe storage and convenient transportation, meeting consumer needs anytime, anywhere?

This is not only a future development direction for fast-moving consumer goods, but also a key issue for whether Chenji can transform from a successful dessert shop into a truly modern food brand.

Chen Bingwen had been keeping an eye on it, but he was frustrated because he didn't have any professionals in this field around him.

Now that I have the opportunity to communicate with Professor Zhou, I certainly won't let it pass.

Professor Zhou nodded excitedly after hearing this: "Mr. Chen, the question you raised is one of the most core and challenging issues in the field of modern food engineering: how to overcome the limitations of time and space, lock in flavor, and retain freshness during industrial processing and storage!"
If possible, we can collaborate on this area and conduct joint research and development.

"my pleasure!"

Chen Bingwen's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement as he responded to Professor Zhou's enthusiastic suggestion.

This "I would be delighted" was not just a polite remark, but a heartfelt expression of anticipation.

Although he possesses a memory ahead of his time, knows the general direction of the future development of the food industry, and can even clearly outline the key path to solving the problem of "preserving freshness and quality".

However, these are ultimately macro-level directions. To truly turn them into reality and transform concepts into feasible, quantifiable, and replicable industrial production processes, each step requires solid scientific experiments, rigorous data support, and countless tedious optimizations and adjustments.

And this is precisely the core value of Professor Zhou and his Hong Kong Polytechnic University team.

"Great! Mr. Chen, with your determination and open-mindedness, I am full of confidence in our cooperation!" Professor Zhou extended his hand and shook hands firmly with Chen Bingwen. "I will arrange a time as soon as possible to bring my team to your factory for an on-site inspection!"

Let's start with a simple bowl of sweet soup and explore together the endless possibilities of industrializing traditional cuisine!

The delegation from Hong Kong Polytechnic University not only investigated the specific details of the processing water used at the Kwun Tong plant.

This also provides technical support for the future development of Chenji Dessert.

This made Chen Bingwen very happy.

"Brother Wen, I can finally relax!" Gao Zhenhai breathed a long sigh of relief. "Professor Zhou is really amazing; he explained it so clearly."

Chen Bingwen smiled and said, "That's an expert in applied scientific research in Hong Kong. We'll definitely need Professor Zhou's help a lot in the future."

It was already afternoon when they returned to the Kwun Tong factory. As soon as the taxi stopped, Gao Zhenhai pointed to the entrance of the factory area and said to Chen Bingwen, "Brother Wen, look! Aren't those reporters? They're carrying cameras!"

At the factory gate, a young man wearing a reporter's vest and a camera around his neck was standing on tiptoe, peering into the factory area while holding a notebook in his hand.

Chen Bingwen's heart skipped a beat, and his gaze swept over the figure in the vest.

The reporter's appearance was unexpected; was it a blessing or a curse?
Countless possibilities flashed through his mind in an instant: Was someone continuing to attack him based on the negative events? Or did they have some other purpose?

"Brother Wen? Do you want to?" Gao Zhenhai's face showed obvious vigilance, and his hand even subconsciously reached for the car door switch, as if he wanted to get out of the car first, stop the person, and ask him clearly.

His thinking was simple: he had just dealt with the trouble, and now reporters were coming; it couldn't be anything good!

“Ah Hai,” Chen Bingwen’s calm voice rang out, stopping him in time, “When soldiers come, we will block them; when water comes, we will dam it.”

We're doing things openly and honestly, so we have nothing to be afraid of. Let's go and see what he has to say.

He opened the car door, strode towards the factory gate, and proactively asked, "Hello sir, who are you looking for?"

Upon hearing the voice, the young reporter immediately turned around with a professional smile: "Hello! I am Lin Xiaowei, a trainee reporter from the business section of the Hong Kong Island Commercial Daily."

As he spoke, Lin Xiaowei took out his business card and quickly explained his purpose, "It's like this, today I saw your factory's apology notice and handling plan in the Youtang Industrial Zone, and I found it very special."

This approach is rare in Hong Kong's business community, so I'd like to take the liberty of coming here for an exclusive interview. Would that be convenient?

"So it's Reporter Lin, nice to meet you."

Chen Bingwen accepted the business card and said confidently, "I am Chen Bingwen, the person in charge of this factory."

There were no problems with the interview. Although this incident was unexpected, it did expose shortcomings in our management and prompted us to make some substantial improvements.

If your report helps more citizens understand our commitment to quality and our approach to problem-solving, then it might be a blessing in disguise.

He turned to the side and gestured "please," saying, "What would you like to know, Reporter Lin? Let's talk as we walk."

This is a good opportunity for you to see our factory's production process.

Instead of taking Lin Xiaowei to his office, he led him directly to the brand-new industrial-grade water purification system that was currently humming and running.

“Reporter Lin, please look,” Chen Bingwen said, pointing to the crisscrossing pipes of the water purification equipment. “This is the crux of the problem, and it is also the core of our rectification efforts.”

After saying that, he winked at Gao Zhenhai, who had been following him.

Gao Zhenhai immediately understood and took out the water quality test report with the seal of Hong Kong Polytechnic University from his bag and handed it to Lin Xiaowei.

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(End of this chapter)