Chapter 2: Seeking Business Opportunities

Sham Shui Po, located in the northwest of Kowloon, is home to nearly 400,000 residents, making it one of Hong Kong's most densely populated districts. It is also among the poorest administrative areas in the city. The entire Sham Shui Po district encompasses neighborhoods such as Sham Shui Po itself, Cheung Sha Wan, Lai Chi Kok, and Shek Kip Mei, where numerous textile, garment, and hardware factories are concentrated. At its peak, there were over six thousand factories employing more than one hundred thousand workers, establishing it as the heart of Hong Kong’s manufacturing industry.

A chilly dawn in January greeted the streets of the district. Standing on the pavement, Chen Bingwen tightened his coat and took a deep breath. The salty, humid sea breeze instantly cleared his mind. Last night, he had been thinking about how to quickly improve the fortunes of Chen’s Sweet Soup Shop and earn enough to pay the rent. Relying solely on improving products or changing sales methods in conventional ways would hardly make a noticeable difference. He needed to find a new approach.

But before deciding on a course of action, he had to survey and understand the market first.

As daybreak broke, vendors were already setting up their stalls beneath the arcade buildings lining the street. Not far away, Old Fu, the newspaper seller, neatly stacked papers on his wooden rack.

“Ah Wen, where are you off to so early?” Old Fu called out.

“I’m just going for a walk nearby,” Chen replied.

“Young people should get out more. Your parents have the shop well in hand...” Old Fu smiled warmly as he spoke while Chen passed by.

Walking along, Chen was greeted by several acquaintances. The morning in Sham Shui Po was filled with the liveliness of daily life. Steam rose from street food stalls, and crowds gathered around breakfast vendors.

Chen followed Guilin Street toward Cheung Sha Wan. Shops lined both sides—hardware stores, fabric shops, and diners stood shoulder to shoulder. It was the rush hour; workers hurried along the streets, heading to their jobs.

Chen’s pace was steady and purposeful. He planned to center his exploration around Chen’s Sweet Soup Shop, covering every street and alley within a one-kilometer radius. Given current transportation, this was the best area the shop could realistically serve. Beyond that would be meaningless to count.

He wanted to gauge the business conditions of other sweet soup shops in the area, their product features, and also build a profile of the customer base. Only by understanding these details could he tailor improvements for Chen’s shop.

Otherwise, any ideas conceived on a whim would be castles built on air.

As he walked, he stopped to inspect anything that caught his interest. Passing open sweet soup shops, he would step in to order a bowl and sample their offerings.

The morning passed swiftly in this manner.

By noon, the streets grew noticeably busier. Groups of workers appeared, heading to nearby diners or food stalls for lunch.

“Brother Wen, what are you doing here?” a familiar voice called from behind as Chen prepared to follow the workers and see where they would have their midday meal.

Turning around, he saw Gao Zhenhai, a burly young man in work clothes, beaming with a wide smile — an old friend from his youth.

“Ah Hai!” Chen greeted happily, walking over naturally and playfully punching Gao’s shoulder.

Gao had been Chen’s closest companion since childhood. They were nearly the same age, classmates and partners in mischief. Chen was three months older and more thoughtful, earning Gao’s respect.

After high school, Chen stayed to help his parents run the sweet soup shop, while Gao took a job at a hardware factory.

“What brings you out for a stroll today? Aren’t you helping Chen’s dad with the shop?”

Seeing Chen on the street delighted Gao, who eagerly pulled him along, chatting nonstop.

“Business was slow this morning, so I came out for a walk,” Chen replied.

“Since you’ve got time, I just got paid today. Lunch is on me,” Gao said, patting his pocket full of cash, then dragging Chen toward a nearby diner without waiting for a response.

Chen smiled and let himself be led inside.

They found a seat by the window. Gao grabbed the menu and said, “Brother Wen, order whatever you want.”

Chen waved him off, “Just a plate of Yangzhou fried rice will do.”

Gao earned just over eight hundred dollars a month, so Chen didn’t want him to spend too much.

But Gao was insistent, thumping his chest confidently. “Brother Wen, it’s my treat today—no need to be polite! You have to celebrate when payday comes.”

Chen shook his head. “There will be plenty of chances. Besides, you still have to get back to work soon. Yangzhou fried rice is perfect.”

Seeing Chen’s resolve and knowing Gao had to return to his job, he gave up insisting and ordered a char siu rice set before handing the menu to the waiter.

“Brother Wen, you wouldn’t believe how crazy it’s been at the factory lately. Orders keep piling up, and we’re working overtime every day—even weekends are off-limits. Last night I worked until nearly ten, and I had to get up early this morning. I’m exhausted,” Gao said, unloading his frustrations as if pouring out a stream of words.

Chen nodded, smiling. “Working like that is tough. I came out today hoping to find a new way to boost the business at Chen’s Sweet Soup Shop.”

“I wish your shop was near our factory,” Gao said wistfully.

“Why do you say that?”

Gao sighed. “At the factory, we work for hours without a break, often too busy even to drink water. Lunch is only half an hour, so there’s no time to go to your shop for a bowl of sweet soup. We just grab whatever quick snack or street food we can.”

Chen nodded thoughtfully. “It takes over twenty minutes to walk from here to the shop. Yeah, that’s not practical.”

“Exactly. But we all feel like something’s missing without having a bowl of sweet soup. Many of my coworkers feel the same.”

Gao’s words made Chen realize that the numerous factories and vast worker population in Sham Shui Po formed a natural pool of potential customers. The demand for sweet soup was a huge untapped opportunity.

If he could seize that chance, Chen’s Sweet Soup Shop might truly be revitalized.

In that moment, Chen’s mind rapidly sketched out a plan. As Gao shared some factory anecdotes, Chen organized his thoughts.

Given the current situation, opening a shop near the factories was impossible. But from another angle, the workers’ main problem was lack of access to sweet soup. Solving just that pain point was simple.

All he needed was a small cart equipped with insulated containers for sweet soup and some utensils, which he could push to the factory gates or worker gathering spots during lunch and dinner hours for on-site sales.

This way, workers would have sweet soup available, and Chen’s business would expand.

Of course, this approach had obvious downsides: it could be easily copied by competitors, and bad weather or police inspections could disrupt sales.

But worrying about those issues before making any money was premature.

The immediate priority was to earn enough to have the right to consider these future challenges.