Chapter 346: The Opportunity of Instant Noodles and Ham Sausages
"Shatin Food Base." Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, "In theory, it's doable. The group's resources are indeed abundant now. With mutual support across departments, we can definitely make it work.
But there are too many kinds of food products. We can't do everything. Do you have a more specific plan?"
Liu Huayu replied, "That's easy. Our Carrefour stores generate sales data for all food products every day. We can start by identifying the best-selling ones, analyze them, then cross-reference that with what the group can supply. Pick a few and try them out.
As long as we can produce them, Carrefour's own sales will guarantee a base volume. If sales go well here, it proves there's market potential abroad too. And as for distribution channels, well… we're not lacking those."
Yang Wendong asked again, "So which ones do you think we should start with?"
Liu Huayu answered, "I've been watching food sales trends at Carrefour, and I think instant noodles and sausages are the best starting point."
"Instant noodles?" Yang Wendong raised his eyebrows slightly. He had thought about this idea long ago.
But back then, his group had been focused on plastic and paper products. Jumping suddenly into a completely different field seemed risky. After all, he hadn't invented instant noodles. If he entered now, it would just be another brand fighting for a slice of the market—no unique advantage.
But now, with his retail chain gaining traction, and having his own logistics, grain imports, and broader supply chain infrastructure, the instant noodle business had become a realistic target, forming a closed-loop production model.
Liu Huayu explained, "Instant noodles were invented by a Japanese company in 1958. Also called 'quick-cook noodles,' they're made by processing flour into noodles, drying them using equipment, and packaging them with seasoning packets.
Anyone can eat them easily—just add hot water or even eat them dry. They've been hugely popular in Japan and are already being exported to Hong Kong, but the price is high, so few people buy them.
I've tried them myself—they're pretty good. If we can produce them in Hong Kong, they'll definitely sell, and we could even export them."
"I know about instant noodles," Yang Wendong nodded. "But don't they have a patent?"
Changxing Group was built on patented innovations, so Yang Wendong was particularly careful about intellectual property. As a large company, you had to play by the rules—many products required licensing to manufacture.
"They do have a patent," Liu Huayu replied. "It's held by Ando Momofuku, the founder of Nissin Foods. But he hasn't kept it exclusive—he's licensed it openly. Anyone who wants to produce instant noodles can apply for permission."
"That's good," Yang Wendong said. "Have you contacted them?"
"Well… no," Liu Huayu said. "If the group sets up a food production company, that's beyond my department. I shouldn't be handling that."
"Fair enough," Yang Wendong replied. "Your suggestion is solid, but you're right—it's not your role to execute it."
He paused for a moment and then said, "Here's what we'll do. Send me Carrefour's list of top-selling food products. I'll review it. In the meantime, research detailed information about the most promising ones. Pick a few and gather everything we'll need to know. In a few days, we'll call a strategy meeting and go over it with all relevant departments."
"Understood," Liu Huayu said. "I've already done some basic research. I'll tidy it up and send it over."
As a subordinate, when you suggest a new direction to your boss, it's your job to do your homework. Even if the boss only skims through it—or doesn't look at all—it's always better to be prepared than scrambling later.
That said, anything involving serious capital expenditure still required formal approval.
May 14 — Changxing Tower
A number of senior executives gathered for a high-level meeting.
When Yang Wendong entered the room, everyone stood.
"Take a seat," Yang Wendong waved. "Let's get right into it. Liu just proposed building food-processing factories in Shatin to produce four key products: instant noodles, sausages, biscuits, and potato chips.
First, these four products are currently the best-selling food items in Carrefour. If we can supply them internally, we'll reduce costs.
Second, all four have solid overseas demand. We can enter those markets easily—especially since we already have distribution channels."
Zheng Zhijie smiled. "I think it's a great idea. It's a win-win. We can fully utilize the group's resources. If you approve, Yang Sheng, I'll immediately talk to the Hong Kong government and secure land in Shatin.
The government is actively encouraging development in central New Territories. They'll be thrilled if we build a factory in Shatin. And if the scale is big enough, I guarantee I can push the land price way down."
"Mm. No problem on the real estate side," Yang Wendong nodded. "Even if we're talking big investments, we can do it gradually. No need to buy massive land parcels all at once."
Even if buying land in underdeveloped areas of Hong Kong wouldn't result in major losses when the 1966 real estate crash hit, it still wasn't worth it to waste money on unnecessary land banking.
"Understood," Zheng Zhijie said. "Just let me know what's needed."
Zheng Yuhua, who managed shipping, added, "No problem from my side either. Big ships, small ships—I've got them all. If the Shatin dock becomes insufficient, I can expand it. One factory's transport needs won't strain it."
"Good." Yang Wendong nodded. "Zhou, you're the expert in beverages. You probably know the food industry too. What do you think?"
"In terms of strategy, it's absolutely the right move," Zhou Haoran said after reviewing some documents. Then he turned to Liu Huayu and asked, "Liu Sheng, have you considered where we'll get the raw materials for these products?"
"Yes," Liu Huayu replied. "Instant noodles are mostly flour-based. Changxing Shipping already sources flour from the U.S.—it's cheap and reliable. As for the small chunks of chicken in the noodle packets, we can produce that ourselves. Each pack only uses a few grams of meat anyway.
Biscuits are similar—mainly flour and sugar. Sugar will come from Watsons' future sugar refinery. Worst case, we can still buy from Swire.
Sausages require pork—we don't produce that ourselves yet, so we'll have to source it. Same goes for the potatoes in the chips. We can just get those from China Resources."
Zhou Haoran laughed. "That works. China Resources' fast train shipments have brought meat prices way down."
The group was already aligning on the basic logic: leverage internal assets, fill the gaps through existing partners, and set up localized production.
It wasn't a revolutionary plan—but it didn't have to be. It was exactly the kind of integrated, scalable growth a conglomerate needed. And Yang Wendong could already see it:
The foundation of a regional food empire.
"Alright then, since everyone agrees there are no major issues, this project is approved for initial development," Yang Wendong nodded. "We'll first build a mid-sized food factory in Shatin to start trial production. Future expansion will depend on market demand."
One reason Japan and South Korea developed into economies dominated by large conglomerates wasn't just due to political factors. A key reason was that their domestic markets were small, forcing them to rely on imports—which raised costs significantly.
To reduce those costs, major conglomerates had no choice but to develop full-scale internal supply chains and optimize every link. This was different from the situation in the mainland in Yang Wendong's previous life.
If Carrefour could source ultra-cheap food supplies within Hong Kong, there would be no need to invest upstream. The same applied to Changxing Industrial. In the early days, if foreign firms hadn't monopolized the plastic industry and driven prices up at will, Yang Wendong might never have decided to build his own version of the "Formosa Plastics Group."
"Understood," Liu Huayu nodded. "What should we name this food company? And which subsidiary will oversee it?"
Yang Wendong thought for a moment. "Let's put it under Watsons. But since Carrefour is the primary customer, both sides will need to work closely together."
"Got it," Zhou Haoran and Liu Huayu replied in unison.
Yang Wendong continued, "I'm not a food industry expert, so I won't micromanage. But I do have a suggestion—hear me out."
"Of course, Yang Sheng," Zhou Haoran quickly responded.
When the boss speaks, unless the idea is truly absurd, it's almost always carried out. And given Yang Wendong's track record over the past few years, no one would question his intuition.
Yang Wendong continued, "Out of the four products—instant noodles, sausages, biscuits, and potato chips—I'm not optimistic about biscuits and chips. Yes, the demand is huge, but competition is also extremely fierce. Plus, their production and logistics costs are relatively inelastic. We don't have a significant advantage there."
Zhou Haoran agreed. "Yes. At best, we'll rely on Carrefour sales for now. Then we can test demand elsewhere and try to export later."
"Exactly. You all figure out the specifics," Yang Wendong said. "What I want to emphasize is that I'm very bullish on instant noodles. This product is still relatively new—it's high in calories, salt, and oil, which makes it ideal for lower-income areas. So I want our resources focused here."
In the 21st century, instant noodles were vilified as junk food. But for anyone born in the 1970s or 80s, it was once considered a luxury. Kids would crave just one bite.
The core truth? Instant noodles weren't inherently bad. They were just calorie-dense, salty, and oily. In a well-fed, modern world, eating too much of that could lead to high blood pressure, cholesterol, or diabetes. But in impoverished areas or disaster zones, it was practically a miracle food.
And at this time, billions of people across Asia were still living below the poverty line. Their consumption power was low, but the market potential for instant noodles was undeniably massive.
"Understood," Zhou Haoran nodded.
Yang Wendong then asked, "The instant noodles sold in stores now—they're all in bowls, right?"
"Yes, the packaging is paper-based bowls," Liu Huayu replied.
"Old Wei," Yang Wendong turned to Wei Zetao, who had been silent until now, and smiled. "I asked you to come today because I have an important task for you."
"Yes, Yang Sheng?" Wei Zetao straightened up. He had been wondering why he was brought into this meeting—clearly, something was up.
Yang Wendong explained, "The paper-bowl packaging of instant noodles has high material and transportation costs. I want to try packaging them in sealed plastic bags. Changxing Industrial has made good progress in plastic tech, so we'll need to rely on your expertise."
In Yang Wendong's previous life, bagged noodles sold for a third the price of bowl noodles, even though they contained roughly the same amount of food. That was due mainly to the high cost of bowl packaging and shipping inefficiencies.
Given the lack of containerized transport and the less-developed trucking industry of this era, shipping costs were even higher. The cost of flour itself was trivial.
"Plastic bag packaging?" Wei Zetao thought for a moment. "Yes, that should be doable. I'll have someone start testing right away."
"Good. Whether our instant noodles take off across Asia depends on you," Yang Wendong said with a grin. "And don't forget—register a packaging patent."
Once cheap, bagged instant noodles hit the market, they could easily become the dominant product. At the very least, they'd be ideal for people who traveled often. They took up little luggage space, could be eaten dry, and provided quick, high-calorie, high-sodium energy. They were almost the perfect food.
In fact, they'd be useful in military rations too.
"No problem," Wei Zetao replied confidently.
"Alright," Yang Wendong nodded. "Zhou, the food factory is in your hands. The first priority is acquiring the Japanese patent. It may not seem urgent, but it's the foundation of everything we're doing."
"I'll head to Japan tomorrow," Zhou Haoran replied. "Nissin has already licensed the patent to several companies. The price isn't outrageous. If it's too expensive, people just work around it or go to court, and then it's a mess for everyone."
"Good. Get it done quickly." Yang Wendong nodded again, then said, "Next up—sausages. I'm not optimistic about this either, but I have a different idea. I want to create a new sausage-like product. I'm calling it 'ham sausage.'"
Most people didn't know that ham sausage wasn't invented until the 1980s. Before that, traditional sausage dominated the market—and it was made entirely of meat.
"Ham sausage?" Zhou Haoran asked. "What is that?"
"Not everyone wants or needs a sausage made purely of meat," Yang Wendong explained. "What most people need is a little meat with a lot of starch. My idea is to mix the two and shape it like a sausage.
Right now it's just a concept, but I think this kind of sausage will be softer, less greasy, and appeal to a broader market."
"Meat + starch?" Zhou Haoran mulled it over. "That's worth experimenting with."
"Then let's prototype it," Yang Wendong said. "It'll take time to find the right formula."
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