It is widely known that people in Hong Kong do not eat spicy food.
However, there is another truth: once one opens the door to spicy food, it becomes addictive!
Have you not seen how Sichuan and Hunan restaurants are now open all over the country? It's not because Sichuanese people are working everywhere.
If you really want to talk about migrant workers, who can compare to Henan? Are over a hundred million people just for show?
Yet, the prevalence of Henan cuisine is far less than that of Sichuan cuisine. The reason is not that Henan cuisine is not delicious, but that the flavors of Sichuan cuisine are more mainstream.
Heavy numbing, heavy spiciness, heavy oil. Simply put, it's numbing, spicy, fresh, and fragrant. Eating it makes you sweat profusely, your mouth water, and it gives you an intense burst of satisfaction.
Of course, whether your stomach can handle it afterward or your anus can endure it is another matter, but it feels great while you're eating it.
Although Chen Yang's fermented rice fish is not made in the Sichuan style, it incorporates some characteristics of Sichuan cuisine. First and foremost is the aroma. The fragrance of fermented rice combined with sesame oil can be smelled from afar as soon as the lid is opened.
A small amount of chili oil is added. For people from Jiangxi, Hunan, and Sichuan who can eat spicy food, this might be nothing. But for people in Hong Kong who don't eat spicy food, it's just one word: intoxicating!
This is a taste they rarely try. It's too spicy for them to handle, but this mild spiciness is just right. It makes them sweat but doesn't overwhelm them, instead stimulating their desire to eat spicy food and opening a new world for them.
In his previous life, Chen Yang had seen many people from Guangdong and Hong Kong who loved the nine-grid hot pots of Sichuan and Chongqing. The first time they ate it, their mouths were numb and swollen from the spice.
They ate it by rinsing it in water, yet they were so overwhelmed by the spice that they questioned their life choices.
But later, after the first time, the second time, the third time... they ate it with such relish that they wished they could live in Sichuan and Chongqing and have hot pot every day.
A mouthful of tripe, a sip of wine, a mouthful of aorta, another sip of wine. It was simply delightful.
"Brother, this boss is even more amazing than the mall buyer. Although it's just a small wholesale store, he ordered five thousand cans at once without even bargaining."
A can of fermented rice fish for five Hong Kong dollars is not expensive, which is only equivalent to seventy US cents. However, for Chen Yang and his companions, they wouldn't convert it from Hong Kong dollars to US dollars.
"Don't get too excited. This is just the beginning. We've finally made it to Hong Kong, so let's try to secure more orders. This will also make it easier for us to get permits."
Coming to Hong Kong is not easy. If Chen Yang doesn't achieve something, how can he account for himself to Zou Chenguang, and how will he get the permits later?
Since converting Hong Kong dollars to US dollars is at a loss, he won't convert them. He will just use Hong Kong dollars directly.
In the future, Hong Kong dollars will have a relatively strong circulation in the mainland, as many wealthy individuals from Hong Kong will come to the mainland to build factories.
Even if they don't build factories, Chen Yang can use this money to purchase goods directly in Hong Kong.
Converting to US dollars is at a loss, so Chen Yang can directly import raw materials from Hong Kong to make up for this deficiency. After all, his main goal is to acquire a television production line.
Although Hong Kong's manufacturing industry started late, it is far more advanced than the mainland's current state. Except for large state-owned enterprises, most factories cannot compare to those in Hong Kong.
Moreover, Hong Kong has developed water transportation. Because it is currently managed by foreigners, a large number of foreign investments are establishing factories here. Hong Kong's electronics industry will develop rapidly in the next decade, almost doubling every year.
For example, the television production line that Chen Yang wants to acquire in the future. Components like picture tubes, circuit boards, and various electronic parts have a complete industrial chain in Hong Kong.
Since the 1980s, Hong Kong's electronics exports have grown significantly.
Products like color TV game consoles, color televisions, TV parts, and computer parts are exported in large quantities.
However, the export of traditional electronic products shows a downward trend. For example, large electronic computers, small electronic computers, tape recorders, radios, and electronic watches are all experiencing a decline in exports.
This is due to the saturation of the US market for televisions, radios, record players, and electronic watches, while the demand for VCRs, large-screen projection TVs, and high-end record players continued to grow.
This is something Chen Yang pays close attention to. These industries that are stagnating in Hong Kong are still relatively scarce in the mainland. For example, electronic watches were used by many people in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Before ten years ago, tape recorders were a learning tool for many students in the mainland to study English. Companies like OPPO and VIVO, which are now major mobile phone manufacturers, started with tape recorders and learning players under the name BBK.
Radios are gradually being phased out, but tape recorders and electronic watches can still be popular in the mainland for another twenty years or so. Chen Yang can completely acquire some of the tape recorder and electronic watch industrial chains that are about to be phased out here.
Then, build a factory in the mainland and start production!
While acquiring and producing in Hong Kong would be convenient, Chen Yang has no such benevolent intentions. His factory will definitely be built back home. This way, it can drive industrial development in the mainland and create employment for farmers around the factory.
It will also contribute to tax revenue for the government. As for acquiring and developing Hong Kong's economy in place, Chen Yang has no interest in that. Hong Kong is still managed by foreigners, so it has nothing to do with him.
If he can directly acquire two color television production lines from Hong Kong this time, it would be even better. That way, he won't need to deal with US dollars.
It's perfectly fine to accept orders in Hong Kong dollars. Hong Kong dollars are also foreign exchange. The country can import some much-needed raw materials from Hong Kong.
After all, Hong Kong is now the largest transportation port in the East. Before Shanghai's reform and opening up, Hong Kong had always been the world's second-largest super port, second only to Singapore.
Even after Shanghai overtook it, Hong Kong remained firmly among the world's top three largest ports. If they can't buy foreign goods with US dollars, can't they exchange them for Hong Kong dollars? How many contraband goods are processed in this port?
There are many hidden dealings here. Others may not know, but Chen Yang certainly does.
Next, Chen Yang, with Zhang Weiyang, went from one wholesale store to another. Some owners ignored them, and some owners cursed them with vulgarities like "pou gai jai" and "yaat si laa lei" after being assaulted by the spiciness.
But there were also some owners, like Boss Zhao from the beginning, who were amazed after tasting the fermented rice fish and then placed their orders.
By the end of the day, Chen Yang and Zhang Weiyang had visited eighteen wholesale stores and secured orders for a total of 30,000 cans of fermented rice fish.
Just the ten percent deposit they received amounted to 15,000 Hong Kong dollars, which made Zhang Weiyang extremely motivated. The feeling of signing orders and receiving money was simply exhilarating.
Chen Yang smiled as he watched Zhang Weiyang, who was already practicing a few Cantonese phrases he had learned on the road while eating.
Cantonese is notoriously difficult to learn, but he believed in Zhang Weiyang. Judging by the current situation, matters in Zhejiang might have to be put on hold.
However, in Guangdong and Hong Kong, Zhang Weiyang needs to stay and establish himself quickly. They must gain a firm foothold here as soon as possible to seize opportunities and become the "pig on the wind."