Chapter 25: The Storm Settles

Yau Tong Industrial Area, Xinglong Electronics Factory.

The lunch break bell rang. Workers surged toward the factory gates like water released from a sluice.

Assembly line supervisor Li Jiahua rubbed her aching neck and immediately spotted her fellow villager, A-Ping, standing by the gate looking somewhat distracted.

"A-Ping! What are you daydreaming about? Come on, let’s go eat! Are we going to Chen’s today?" Li Jiahua called out with a smile, habitually heading toward the familiar red Chen’s food truck.

A-Ping paused, a flicker of hesitation crossing her face. Instinctively, she thought of yesterday’s bowl of sesame paste. Even now, she could still taste a bitter aftertaste on her tongue, and her stomach felt slightly unsettled.

A-Ping grabbed Li Jiahua’s arm and lowered her voice. "Jiahua, the sesame paste I had at Chen’s yesterday tasted a bit bitter. Let’s eat something else today."

Li Jiahua looked surprised. "So you thought yesterday’s sesame paste tasted off, too? It wasn’t as fragrant and smooth as usual; it had a bitter edge! I thought it was just my bowl that wasn’t cooked right. Wait, you had that too?"

"Yeah..." A-Ping nodded. "Do you think that now that Chen’s business has grown, they’ve started cutting corners? Or maybe they changed the chef and the skill just isn't there anymore?"

The previous impression of Chen’s Dessert Shop as "high quality and reliable at a fair price" was instantly cast in shadow. She even felt a pang of regret for spending money there yesterday, feeling as if she had been cheated.

"Sigh, who knows? Neighborhood businesses fear this the most—starting off strong and then losing their touch the moment they get popular." Li Jiahua sighed, feeling somewhat disheartened. "Then... shall we go to the noodle stall next door?"

Just as the two were about to turn away, A-Ping’s gaze was drawn to a few figures gathered by the Chen’s food truck. Several coworkers were huddled around the side of the truck, pointing and discussing something.

"Huh? What’s posted over there?" Curiosity piqued, A-Ping pulled Li Jiahua over.

On the most prominent part of the truck’s side, a formal and beautifully printed red notice had been posted. The bold title read:

"To All Neighborhood Friends Who Support Chen’s Dessert Shop: A Sincere Apology and Solemn Commitment."

"..."

The content of the notice explained the cause of the bitter sesame paste incident and the steps taken to resolve it. At the bottom, it detailed the compensation for customers who had purchased the bitter sesame paste.

After reading the notice, the buzzing discussion of the surrounding workers began:

"Wow! So it was a problem with the water! No wonder it tasted wrong!"

"Installed a water purifier? That must have cost a pretty penny! Boss Chen is quite generous!"

"Look at the date! That was yesterday! A-Ping, Sister Hua, didn’t you two buy sesame paste yesterday? There’s compensation for you!" a coworker nearby said to Li Jiahua and A-Ping.

"A free bowl of dessert and a snack as compensation? Not bad! That’s a sincere gesture!" Li Jiahua said, surprised, her dissatisfaction largely dissipating.

"So it was the water in Kwun Tong that was the problem, and it affected Chen’s sesame paste..." A-Ping realized, her tone filled with understanding and relief.

"Exactly! You can’t fault this attitude!" Li Jiahua nodded firmly. "A-Ping, let’s eat here today! Let’s try the sesame paste they made after installing the purifier!"

"Okay! Jiahua, let’s eat here!" A-Ping pulled Li Jiahua, and they rejoined the back of the queue at Chen’s food truck.

The coworkers saw sincerity, responsibility, and the respect of truly putting the customer first in how Chen’s Dessert dealt with the problem. In a society where profit is often the primary driver, such quality is truly precious.

This sesame paste crisis did not damage Chen’s reputation; instead, it gilded the red-and-gold sign of Chen’s Dessert with a luster of reliability and trust in the hearts of the workers in the Yau Tong Industrial Area.

Lin Xiaowei, a young reporter for the *Hong Kong Commercial Daily*, had just finished an interview at a nearby electronic components factory and happened to be passing by. After a busy morning, he was ravenous and looking for a place to have lunch. Seeing a crowd gathered around the eye-catching red food truck in the distance—which didn't seem like a typical queue for dessert—he felt a spark of professional intuition.

"Huh? Why are so many people gathered there? What happened?" Curious, Lin Xiaowei hurried over. He squeezed into the crowd, his eyes immediately drawn to the eye-catching, beautifully printed red notice on the side of the truck.

***

As a reporter for the finance and business section, Lin Xiaowei had seen far too many businesses handle customer complaints. However, a formal, transparent, and cost-defying apology notice like this was almost unheard of at the street vendor level. He immediately took out his notebook and pen and began interviewing people on the spot.

...

Chen Bingwen was unaware that his actions had attracted the attention of a reporter. He was currently at the laboratory of the Department of Applied Science at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University with Gao Zhenhai, listening intently to a gray-haired professor wearing thick glasses.

"…Mr. Chen, your deduction was extremely accurate."

Professor Zhou adjusted his glasses and pointed to the test report that had just been generated on the lab bench. "We compared the water samples you sent from Cheung Sha Wan, the water samples from Kwun Tong, the residual samples of the problematic sesame paste from yesterday, and the newly produced samples. The results are very clear..."

Professor Zhou spoke for a while using professional terminology and data. The final conclusion was that the cause of the bitterness was indeed due to the water quality in the Kwun Tong area. However, the water quality did not exceed the standards for ordinary drinking water.

This result meant that all the losses from the twenty-plus buckets of sesame paste and the subsequent series of expenses would have to be borne by Chen Bingwen.

Looking at the professional data and charts on the report, the weight in Chen Bingwen’s heart finally lifted. At the very least, the product quality issue was an objective one that had simply been triggered by the sesame paste.

"Professor Zhou, thank you very much for your professional analysis!" Chen Bingwen said sincerely. "This report is crucial to us. It not only confirms the root cause of the problem but also gives us a more scientific basis for quality control in the future."

"It’s all in a day's work." Professor Zhou smiled gently. "Mr. Chen, to be honest, your near-obsessive dedication to product quality and your respect for scientific evidence are rare in the business world, especially for an entrepreneur of your age. We will issue a formal document for this report."

As he spoke, he shifted his tone and probed, "Mr. Chen, food quality and safety are a complete, worthy methodology of quality management. I can see that you have deep thoughts on the industrialization and standardization of food production. Would it be convenient for you if I came to visit your factory to exchange ideas some other day? I am very interested in how you convert experience into parameters and then use equipment to produce stable output."

The Hong Kong Polytechnic College was one of the institutions with a comprehensive range of disciplines in Hong Kong, and the Department of Applied Science was well-equipped to carry out food and related research. Chen Bingwen knew that if Chen’s Dessert wanted to truly break through the limitations of the streets and alleys, go further in the food industry, and develop new products that were as convenient and standardized as bottled drinks—products that could enter every household and convenience store—Professor Zhou and the academic resources behind him would be indispensable.

Hearing Professor Zhou’s initiative, Chen Bingwen’s eyes lit up instantly. This was exactly what he had been hoping for! Establishing a connection with an institution like the Polytechnic College would have immeasurable significance for Chen’s future technical upgrades, new product development, and talent cultivation.

"Of course, you are welcome! It would be an honor for Chen’s to have you visit and provide guidance, Professor Zhou!"

Chen Bingwen responded enthusiastically. "We are ready to welcome you at any time. Regarding standardization, we have accumulated some basic experience and data; although it is still very rudimentary, the results are significant. I look forward to this opportunity to seek advice from you and the experts, hoping to receive more professional optimization suggestions. We have also been thinking about how to use new technology to allow traditional desserts to break through the limitations of 'made-to-order' and go further."

At this point, Chen Bingwen changed the subject and pointed directly to the biggest bottleneck in the dessert industry: "Professor Zhou, as you said, the charm of traditional desserts lies in their freshness, but they are also constrained by it. The 'made-to-order' model is like an invisible ceiling, severely limiting its sales range, consumption scenarios, and market scale. We have been thinking about how to use modern food technology to break the shackles of 'made-to-order' while retaining the essence of the traditional flavor as much as possible. For example, could it be put into bottles or cans like soda, to be stored safely, transported conveniently, and satisfy consumer needs anytime, anywhere?"

This was not only a development direction for future fast-moving consumer goods, but also a key issue in whether Chen’s could transform from a successful dessert shop into a truly modern food brand. Chen Bingwen had been keeping an eye on this, but he had been struggling because he lacked professionals in this field. Now that he had the opportunity to communicate with Professor Zhou, he naturally would not let it pass.

After listening, Professor Zhou nodded excitedly. "Mr. Chen, the question you raised is one of the most core and challenging propositions in the field of modern food engineering: how to overcome the limitations of time and space in the process of industrial processing and storage to lock in flavor and retain freshness! If possible, we can cooperate in this area and conduct research and development together."

"I would be more than happy to!"

Chen Bingwen’s voice was filled with irrepressible excitement as he responded to Professor Zhou’s enthusiastic proposal.

***

This "more than happy" was not just a polite social nicety; it was a heartfelt expectation. Although he possessed memories from beyond his era and understood the general direction of future food industry development, even being able to clearly outline the key path to solving the "fresh-locking and shelf-life" problem, these were ultimately macro directions. To truly turn them into reality—to convert concepts into implementable, quantifiable, and replicable industrial production processes—every step required solid scientific experiments, rigorous data support, and countless times of tedious optimization and debugging.

And this was precisely the core value of Professor Zhou and his team at the Polytechnic College.

"Good! Mr. Chen, with your determination and open attitude, I am full of confidence in our cooperation!" Professor Zhou reached out and shook Chen Bingwen’s hand firmly. "I will arrange a time as soon as possible to bring my team to your factory for a site visit! Let us start with a small bowl of dessert and explore the infinite possibilities of industrializing traditional delicacies together!"

The trip to the Polytechnic College not only clarified the specific situation of the processing water at the Kwun Tong factory but also found technical support for the future development of Chen’s Dessert. This put Chen Bingwen in an excellent mood.

"Brother Wen, we can finally breathe easy!" Gao Zhenhai let out a long sigh. "Professor Zhou is really amazing; he explained everything so clearly."

Chen Bingwen laughed. "He is an expert in applied science research in Hong Kong, after all. There will definitely be many times in the future where we need to ask for Professor Zhou’s help..."

It was already afternoon when they returned to the Kwun Tong factory. As soon as the taxi stopped, Gao Zhenhai pointed to the entrance of the factory and said to Chen Bingwen, "Brother Wen, look! Is that a reporter? He's even carrying a camera!"

At the factory gate, a young man wearing a reporter’s vest with a camera hanging around his neck was standing on tiptoe, peering into the factory area while holding a notebook.

Chen Bingwen’s heart skipped a beat as his gaze swept over the figure in the vest. The appearance of a reporter was unexpected—was it a blessing or a curse? Countless possibilities flashed through his mind: was someone continuing to target them because of the negative incident? Or was there another purpose?

"Brother Wen? Should we..." Gao Zhenhai’s face showed clear vigilance, and his hand even instinctively reached toward the car door handle, as if he wanted to get out and stop the man to ask what was going on. His thinking was simple: they had just settled the trouble, and now a reporter had shown up; it couldn't be anything good!

"A-Hai," Chen Bingwen’s voice rang out steadily, stopping him in time. "When soldiers come, use generals to block them; when water comes, use earth to cover it. We are doing things upright and honorably, so there is nothing to fear. Let’s go, let’s see what he has to say."

He pushed open the car door, strode toward the factory gate, and proactively asked, "Hello, sir. Who are you looking for?"

Hearing the voice, the young reporter turned around immediately, a professional smile on his face. "Hello! I am Lin Xiaowei, a trainee reporter for the business section of the *Hong Kong Commercial Daily*."

As he spoke, Lin Xiaowei took out his business card and explained his purpose quickly. "It’s like this: today, I saw the apology notice and the handling plan at your factory in the Yau Tong Industrial Area, and I thought it was very unique. This type of approach is rare in the Hong Kong business world, so I took the liberty of coming here to request an exclusive interview. I wonder if it would be convenient?"

"So it’s Reporter Lin, nice to meet you."

Chen Bingwen took the business card and said generously, "I am Chen Bingwen, the person in charge of this factory. An interview is no problem. Although this incident was an accident, it did indeed expose shortcomings in our management and prompted us to make some substantive improvements. If your report can help more citizens understand our persistence in quality and our attitude toward handling problems, then it can be considered a blessing in disguise."

He gestured to the side. "Reporter Lin, what aspect would you like to know about? Shall we talk as we walk? It just so happens that you can take a look at our factory’s production."

He did not take Lin Xiaowei to the office but led him directly to the brand-new industrial-grade water purification equipment that was humming away.

"Reporter Lin, please look," Chen Bingwen pointed to the interlocking pipes of the water purification equipment. "This is where the crux of the problem lies, and it is also the core of our rectification this time."

After saying this, he gave a wink to Gao Zhenhai, who had been following him.

Gao Zhenhai understood immediately and took the water quality test report stamped by the Hong Kong Polytechnic College out of his bag and handed it to Lin Xiaowei.