Chapter 209: Fame on the Rise
April 10 — Ming Pao and Ganghua Daily both ran an eye-catching front-page headline for the first time:
"Exclusive Interview: The Post-it King Yang Wendong on His Journey and Vision for Hong Kong's Future."
Admiralty, Hong Kong Island:
A car pulled up next to a newsstand. A balding middle-aged man stepped out and said to the newsstand owner, "Give me a few papers."
"Got it, Mr. Jia. I picked out the best ones for you," the owner replied, already prepared.
He knew Mr. Jia well—a regular customer who never missed a day. To keep his business, the vendor always handpicked the most valuable papers and avoided wasting Jia's time.
Mr. Jia took the newspapers, left behind five dollars, and waved off the change before returning to his car.
"Post-it King?" he muttered with interest as he scanned the front page.
The middle-aged woman sitting next to him leaned in. "Yang Wendong? He's been all over the news lately—every paper has something on him."
"Haha, of course," Mr. Jia chuckled. "That Industrial Park in Kwun Tong? Incredible. If we had factories like that when we were young, life wouldn't have been so hard."
"Yeah, let me see," the woman said, reaching for the paper.
"There's the same article in both Ming Pao and Ganghua Daily. Take Ming Pao—you like Jin Yong's stories anyway," Mr. Jia said with a grin.
"You just want to read Gu Long, huh?" the woman teased.
"It's not that—I just didn't care for The Young Flying Fox. The Eagle Shooting Hero and Return of the Condor Heroes are solid though," Mr. Jia replied.
The two didn't bicker further and quickly got absorbed in reading. After a while, Mr. Jia commented, "This Post-it King really dreams big. He says he wants to create jobs for tens of thousands. That's more than Jardines, Swire, or Wheelock have!"
"So what if it is?" the woman retorted. "Who says Chinese businesses can't beat British ones?
It's a blessing for us to have someone like him. If he really creates tens of thousands of jobs, maybe more people can move out of squatter settlements."
"Yeah. Coming from a squatter hut himself, and now working to lift others out too—he's better than any of us were back in the day," Mr. Jia said, visibly moved.
The woman giggled. "You want to compare yourself to Yang Wendong now?"
"Why not? We share the same heart. Just didn't have his talent," Mr. Jia shrugged. "But hey, the article says he sees a future in electronics. Radios are selling like crazy right now—should we give it a shot?"
"Why not? Just buy the parts and assemble them," the woman nodded.
"Alright, let's go scout things out," Mr. Jia said, starting the car and leaving the newsstand enveloped in exhaust.
Kwun Tong – Squatter Area:
A man stood on a rock, speaking loudly to a group of young people. He held a notebook filled with scribbles and names.
One squatter youth raised his hand. "We can't read or write—can we still get jobs in the factory?"
"Of course you can," the man shouted back. "This is a benefit specially provided by Changxing Group for people in the squatter settlements.
You can work as porters or on simple assembly tasks—basic manual labor.
It'll be tiring, but it's better than working the docks or warehouses. Plus, wages are always paid on time, and you get food and a place to sleep."
"A place to sleep?" someone in the crowd asked, stunned.
"Yes," the man replied. "There are dorms next to the factory. Each person gets a bed and a small cabinet—better than living in a hut, and you won't have to worry about wind or rain.
But there are strict rules, especially around safety. If you break them, you're out."
The crowd murmured in excitement.
"Help spread the word, alright?" the man added as he stepped down.
"Liming?" a familiar voice called out behind him. Zhao Liming turned and smiled. "Haoyu, how's your area?"
"Got through to some people," Lin Haoyu said. "But this squatter zone is huge. No way we finish in one day."
Zhao nodded. "Yeah, it's even bigger than the old place we lived in Tsim Sha Tsui—this is the expansion after last year's fire."
Lin said, "East-ge was totally right. No matter how much the newspapers report it, most people in the squatter areas don't know what's going on."
"Of course," Zhao replied. "Think about us three years ago—we couldn't read, barely had food. You think we would've spent money on a newspaper?
East-ge could read, but he used to pick up papers that other people threw away."
Lin sighed. "It's true. We were just like them not long ago… feels like another life now."
"No time for nostalgia," Zhao said. "East-ge's goal is to make sure every family in these settlements has at least one member employed. Thinking about that gets me fired up."
"Me too," Lin agreed. "Looking at how big this place is, I'm worried even the industrial park won't be enough to hire everyone. And we can't just hire from here—only give a bit of preference."
"One step at a time," Zhao said. "Didn't you read the paper? East-ge plans to scale up even more. It could really happen."
"Haha, you're right," Lin said with a laugh. "Let's go. East-ge trusted us with this job. The more we do, the happier I get."
Looking at the kids and young men around them—people who reminded them of themselves just a few years ago—gave them a profound sense of pride.
"Oh, by the way, Yiyi-jie is due soon, right?" Zhao asked.
"Yeah, probably next month," Lin replied. "We should prepare a gift."
"Absolutely."
The Industrial Park's popularity continued to skyrocket, fueled by both news coverage and word of mouth.
The newspapers informed the literate population across Hong Kong. Meanwhile, people like Zhao Liming and Lin Haoyu helped spread the news among the illiterate squatter population—ensuring that even the lowest classes were informed.
By the end of April, Changxing Industrial completed a 10,000-square-foot reception center at the future factory site in Kwun Tong. Large-scale job interviews began.
The announcement drew massive crowds. Every morning, over a thousand people swarmed the gates. Eventually, Changxing had to enlist help from the local police to maintain order and prevent stampedes.
The interviews were divided into several categories:
Skilled workers and literate candidates were prioritized for key factory positions and technical jobs.Unskilled labor was drawn primarily from the poor, especially from squatter areas. Young, able-bodied individuals were given preference.Because illiteracy was common, the interview teams used physical indicators as a rough filter—such as weight and build.
"All documents must be real. Anyone caught forging will be fired on the spot!" a man with a megaphone shouted. "If you can't read, our staff will help you fill out forms. Journalists on-site may also assist."
In a small place like Hong Kong, with dozens of newspapers in circulation, even the tiniest event could spark coverage.
So with thousands of job seekers appearing daily, the media was all over it.
A young reporter stood on an elevated platform, snapping photos. A colleague said behind him, "This is insane. Feels like there are thousands of people here every single day."
"No doubt," the reporter nodded. "Even the Ten-Thousand-Person Park isn't enough."
"There's probably a bunch of repeat visitors, too," the colleague added.
The reporter replied, "Totally normal. Changxing Industrial's team has been telling people they only need to come once. On the first day around noon, one of the higher-ups saw some people hadn't eaten in a while and handed out some steamed buns. The next day, the crowd nearly crushed the gates, so they had to stop."
"A steamed bun? I don't even know whether to laugh or cry," the man behind him sighed.
The reporter nodded, "Yeah… but still, things are way better than they used to be. I'm planning to interview a few people. All the coverage about Yang Wendong so far has been from way up high, you know? I want to write a piece from the perspective of ordinary people—how the Ten-Thousand-Person Industrial Park is changing lives. What do you think?"
"Great idea," the man behind him said with admiration.
"Alright, I'm off," the reporter said, setting off to find interview subjects.
The influence of the Industrial Park continued to expand. After Jin Yong's exclusive interview, more journalists began reaching out to Changxing Group requesting interviews.
Yang Wendong chose to accept two additional interviews—both from major outlets. One was Sing Tao Daily, a paper with even greater reach than Ming Pao, and the other was the English-language South China Morning Post.
The content of the interviews was essentially similar to the Jin Yong piece, though each one had a different emphasis and breadth depending on the paper's audience.
After both were published, Yang's name recognition in Hong Kong skyrocketed. It became clear that he was quickly ascending toward the peak of the Chinese business world.
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