Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

First, we met with Lou Yufan to confirm the situation of the three shops in Mong Kok, Causeway Bay, and Yau Ma Tei.

How much incense money do the surrounding communities collect, and how much does the police take, especially regarding the tribute standards of cafes and tea restaurants?

After some investigation, it turned out to be alright. The main reason is that even if the turnover of ice room tea restaurants is high, it's still just so-so. Their main source of income is entertainment venues, factories, restaurants, docks, and so on.

But Zhang Dabiao's problem was that he didn't have any of his own people available.

So, after discussing with Lou Yufan, the Lou family, in dealing with the relationship between government officials and gangs, had established a certain connection since they had been operating here for so many years.

At least when something goes wrong, they know who to turn to and what the rules are, while Zhang Dabiao (Zhang Yaoyang) is completely clueless.

Opening a branch store rashly in such a chaotic place can easily lead to losing everything, leaving you with nothing.

The Lou family receives 30% of the profits, and all the tributes and incense are handled by the Lou family. Zhang Yaoyang is only responsible for production management and operation.

Lou Yufan was certainly willing. The main store of Mixue Ice Cream makes a net profit of around 1 yuan a month, and the three branches make around 3 yuan.

He takes 3%, and even after deducting the protection fees he pays, he can still make a net profit of about 1 yuan per month. Why not do it?

So they quickly rolled it out, completely replicating everything from the main store, from the decoration to the Snow King mascot costumes, music, advertising, employee training, uniforms, product pricing, formulas, filtration equipment...

The head office is also specifically responsible for employee training. Only those who pass the training here will be transferred to the branch offices.

The main staff is composed of villagers from Agongyan Village. In terms of recruitment, a few college students were hired, but overall, high school graduates are the majority.

Just the renovation of the three stores, plus employee training, raw material procurement, etc., cost Zhang Yaoyang another HK$5. But so far, Mixue Ice Cream has a stable cash flow. It's not a huge profit, but it's very stable and not too flashy.

It's not like an entertainment club or a money pit. Imagine a gang with a bad reputation constantly harassing a brothel and trying to make money off it. To put it bluntly, that's beneath them.

That's all there is to it. With three or four Mixue Ice Cream stores across Hong Kong, it's safe to say they won't even make a splash.

Disposable plastic cups have also expanded beyond Shau Kei Wan, but orders are actually not many, and people haven't yet developed the habit of using them.

However, in early August 1961, a cholera outbreak occurred in Hong Kong (the most serious public health event of the "gastroenteritis" category), which lasted for a full six weeks.

Taking advantage of this incident, Mixue Ice Cream and disposable plastic cups have once again become incredibly popular.

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Outbreak time: early August 1961, lasting about six weeks (until mid-September).

Pathogen: Vibrio cholerae (Eltor type), introduced to Hong Kong from the Southwest Pacific region;

Number of cases: Official records show approximately 30-40 cases and 5-8 deaths (the statistics at the time were incomplete, and the actual number may have been higher).

Outbreak areas: concentrated in densely populated, poorly sanitationd working-class areas such as Yau Ma Tei, Mong Kok, and Sham Shui Po in Kowloon, with sporadic cases also reported in Central and Causeway Bay on Hong Kong Island;

Transmission routes: Primarily water source pollution (unclean water storage containers during water rationing period, contamination of private wells), supplemented by cross-contamination of food (especially raw food and cold dishes) and contact transmission;

1. The key trigger for the outbreak—

The fatal impact of the water rationing policy: In 1961, Hong Kong had entered the dry season. The government implemented time-sharing water supply (4-6 hours of water supply per day). Citizens were forced to use large plastic buckets and wooden basins to store water. Insufficient cleaning of the containers led to the growth of bacteria.

Poor sanitation infrastructure: In working-class areas, water from private wells and ditches is often mixed with sewage systems; to save costs, restaurants often use unsterilized groundwater to wash vegetables and dishes.

High population density: In some areas of Kowloon, the population density reaches 10 people per square kilometer. Living space is cramped, and if one person contracts a disease, it can spread rapidly.

2. Typical symptoms:

Severe diarrhea ("rice-water stool", dozens of times a day), vomiting (projectile), rapid dehydration leading to wrinkled skin and sunken eyes;

Abdominal pain, muscle spasms, and decreased blood pressure; in severe cases, death may occur within 24-48 hours due to circulatory failure.

It is often misdiagnosed as "common gastroenteritis" in the early stages, which delays the opportunity for treatment.

3. Small to medium-sized food safety incidents: The "gastroenteritis chain reaction" during water rationing.

In addition to cholera, Hong Kong also experienced several mass food poisoning/gastroenteritis incidents in 1961, most of which were directly related to water supply and poor sanitation.

Then, Mixue Ice Cream's milk tea, along with the disposable plastic cups from its subsidiary "Catering Supplies Company," inexplicably became wildly popular.

It's all about hygiene again! Mixue Ice Cream's milk tea, including the water and disposable plastic cups, plus the staff's disposable gloves, anti-droplet masks, hats and aprons, and the cashiers not participating in the preparation and delivery—it's just too hygienic!

When the Hong Kong British government sent close contacts to the Chatham Road Quarantine Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui for 10 days of quarantine, Mixue Ice Cream was the officially designated food and water delivery provider!

Superintendent Hale's recommendation was a godsend!

Because there are very few cases of gastroenteritis in his jurisdiction!

Although the official sources didn't name it, the fact that staff in "Mixue Ice Cream" uniforms deliver meals every day indicates that this place is hygienic and safe!

As a result, Lou Yufan was overwhelmed by orders again, this time completely overwhelmed!

Because there are Mixue Ice Cream shops in Shau Kei Wan, Mong Kok, Yau Ma Tei, and Causeway Bay, people only recognize this brand and order disposable plastic cups, as well as corresponding protective equipment and milk tea capping machines in large quantities.

In these four places, not using disposable plastic cups means it's unhygienic and unsafe!

When the Hong Kong British government gave its report after the pandemic, it briefly mentioned Mixue Ice Cream's hygiene practices, praising them as a conscientious company, and the newspapers even published a small article about it.

In other parts of Hong Kong, there were also some orders coming in, but more importantly, many plastic factories were also transforming to do this because it didn't require much technical skill.

In this way, the brand effect of "Mixue Ice Cream" is brought out, and "Mixue Ice Cream" = officially recognized as hygienic and safe!

Lou Yufan took the opportunity to expand the factory's area and equipment, and also hired more workers.

I can't speak for other things, but based on these orders alone, it shouldn't be a problem to pay back the installment payments I need to make to Zhang Yaoyang this year by the end of the year.

But Cheung Yiu-yeung was still worried because he saw people still using unclean plastic buckets to store water on the streets of Mong Kok, and health inspectors turned a blind eye. He realized that cholera would not truly disappear until the water shortage problem was solved.

So, what's the next step? Bottled water? Mineral water? Home filtration equipment? Or... Xiangpiaopiao cup-packaged milk tea?

But the most fundamental problem is that Hong Kong is short of water. If this problem is not solved, no matter how Cheung Yiu-yeung wants to develop the business, it will be useless.

He can't possibly stand guard over the small apartment 24 hours a day, pouring tap water out. Even if he could, the water volume wouldn't be enough. The daily water consumption of a Mixue Ice Cream shop might not even be enough.

In addition, Lao Jin's two sons came looking for him.

The eldest son, Jin Youlai, graduated from Yenching University, is fluent in English, knows a little bit about everything, and is an excellent accountant;

The second son, Jin Youwu, graduated from high school and is interested in law and economics.

The couple came to Hong Kong with their wives and children, but they encountered various setbacks. During the pandemic, they lost their jobs, and their family members also fell ill.

Finally, having exhausted all other options, they went to the Mixue Ice Cream store in Shaoqi Bay, just as Zhang Dabiao had told them.