Chapter 429: KFC Arrives in Hong Kong and Doraemon Is Born
December 31, the last day of 1964.
Yang Wendong sat on the couch in his office, reading the newspaper. In front of him, a television was playing. Ever since the launch of TVB, a growing number of halfway-decent TV shows had started airing, and Yang Wendong had found a new hobby in watching them.
Knock knock knock.
Hearing the knock, Yang Wendong turned his head and saw it was Zheng Zhijie. "Come in," he said.
As Zheng Zhijie stepped inside, Yang Wendong reached for the remote to turn off the TV, but Zheng quickly said, "No need to turn it off, Mr. Yang. This is just a minor issue."
"Alright then," Yang Wendong sat back down. "This show's not bad. A few laughs here and there."
What was playing on the screen was a variety comedy show produced by TVB, heavily modeled after overseas formats. The content was different, but the structure was clearly copied. This was a common approach for many small regional stations—just mimic what worked abroad.
Zheng Zhijie nodded, "Yes, TVB's shows are way better than what Rediffusion was airing. And it's free. I've heard over 80% of Rediffusion's subscribers have canceled."
"Haha, I heard Rediffusion also applied to switch to free-to-air," Yang Wendong laughed. "In most cases, paid programming can't compete with free TV—unless the quality is vastly superior. But TVB's content is even better, so Rediffusion has no choice but to pivot."
In the original timeline, TVB launched in 1967 and immediately pushed Rediffusion into a corner. By 1971, Rediffusion had also switched to free broadcasting. But now, with Yang Wendong having invested massive resources—cinemas, professional talent, capital—TVB was hitting even harder.
Still, he didn't mind if Rediffusion bounced back. After all, competition was what led to better-quality productions. In his previous life, although ATV (formerly Rediffusion) never surpassed TVB, some of its shows were genuinely good—like the My Date with a Vampire series, which he'd loved.
And after ATV completely collapsed, TVB quickly followed. Of course, there were other reasons for that as well.
"It'll be much more convenient for me when I'm working in real estate to have our own TV station," Zheng Zhijie added.
"Absolutely," Yang Wendong agreed. "Local TV stations are actually the biggest boosters for real estate—same with cinema advertising."
The primary clients of regional media outlets—TV or newspapers—were always real estate companies. That's where the real local wealth was. Factories mostly focused on export; the domestic market was far too small.
"Exactly," Zheng nodded. "And also some service industries. Like Mrs. Yang's House of Serenity, or other chains that can cover all of Hong Kong.
Actually, the reason I came today is to give you an update on KFC."
"Ah, found a good location already?" Yang Wendong asked.
After acquiring KFC, Yang Wendong had no intention of directly managing operations in the U.S. or the rest of the West. That part would be left to the founder, Colonel Sanders, and a future professional team. A small supervisory team from Hong Kong would handle compliance and oversight.
But in Hong Kong, the local team would manage everything. Eventually, all of Asia would fall under the Hong Kong branch's jurisdiction—similar to the InterContinental Hotel model: regional teams managing operations under one brand or shared supply chains.
"Yes," said Zheng Zhijie. "I've selected eleven suitable properties from within our company's own real estate holdings. They're located in Central, Admiralty, Causeway Bay, and two more in Tsim Sha Tsui and Kwun Tong.
All of them are the right size, in great locations, and with heavy foot traffic—perfect for KFC outlets. Here's a map with the marked locations."
He unfolded a map of Hong Kong and showed Yang Wendong the circled areas.
"These are all premium spots," Yang Wendong remarked. "They must already be rented out?"
Changxing Real Estate had spent years acquiring street-level shops and storefronts. These were finite resources—unlike malls, which could be built anywhere and generate endless retail space.
Most of the acquired shops were not left empty. A few had been given to affiliated businesses like House of Serenity or Watsons; the rest were rented out.
"They are," Zheng replied. "But two of the leases will expire within six months. I don't plan to renew them. It just so happens that we'll need to send staff to the U.S. for training, so the timing works out well."
"Alright, let's start with two locations," Yang Wendong nodded. "Once the Hong Kong team can train its own staff, we'll expand."
KFC's operation didn't involve much advanced tech, but training still took time. Building the initial infrastructure would take a year or two anyway, which aligned perfectly with the expected real estate downturn in 1967—a year when property prices would crash. That would be the perfect time to scale up.
"Got it. I'll execute accordingly," Zheng said. "I've already selected over a dozen people for the training trip to the U.S. They'll depart early next month."
"Good. Make sure the U.S. side prepares housing for them," Yang Wendong said. "And since they'll be spending Chinese New Year over there, give them some extra care."
"No problem. I'll thank you on their behalf," Zheng said with a smile.
Having a boss who treated employees well made life easier for managers too. It motivated the staff to work harder.
Yang Wendong asked, "Did you research the flavor profile? Will Hong Kongers like American KFC?"
This was a critical point. When entering any new food market, localization was key. You couldn't just transplant a successful foreign recipe and expect it to work.
In his past life, many international brands that succeeded in China had adjusted their flavors and ingredients. Americanized Chinese food was also a good example—popular only after being modified for local tastes.
Zheng Zhijie replied, "We brought some KFC meals back from the U.S. and did a small test run. Some Hong Kongers liked it, others didn't. The sample size wasn't large enough to draw conclusions.
But I believe we'll need to tweak it. I've already tasked someone with finding seasoned chefs in Hong Kong who specialize in fried meats. We'll develop the recipe together."
"Good. Handle it as you see fit," Yang Wendong nodded. "The key is the seasoning. Coordinate with Watsons—their instant noodle team has been working on spice blends for over a year. Some of their results might not work for noodles but could be perfect for fried chicken."
In this era, there was no "tech-enhanced flavoring"—seasonings were mostly agricultural in origin. Things like MSG and chicken powder were derived from grain processing.
"Understood," Zheng replied.
Yang Wendong added, "You won't be too busy with real estate these days. I'll leave KFC's early-stage development entirely in your hands. Get the whole team built as soon as possible—they'll operate independently in the future."
Within the group, KFC wouldn't fall under any subsidiary. It would be a standalone operation. Yang Wendong had bigger plans—to model it after PepsiCo's restaurant division in the future.
There was still no team in place, and the early phase would require heavy real estate investments. So Zheng was the logical choice. Step one: acquire all the prime retail spots that could serve as future KFC locations. Once they owned the real estate, even mediocre operations would be hard to fail.
"No problem," Zheng said.
"Alright, keep me posted on any developments," Yang Wendong said.
This business wouldn't grow quickly in its early stages. Compared to manufacturing, food service scaled more slowly. So for now, a light touch would suffice.
After Zheng left, Yang Wendong continued watching TV for a while. Soon, more visitors arrived.
"Mr. Yang," greeted Zhang Zhiyuan and Wu Hailin from Changxing Culture as they approached, holding a stack of documents.
"Take a seat," Yang Wendong said.
The two men sat and placed the files on the table.
"Mr. Yang, these are our character sketches for Doraemon and the supporting cast," Wu Hailin said. "We also brought the scripts for the first few episodes."
"Let me take a look," Yang Wendong said, grabbing the drawings.
The first image was a big-headed, blue, humanoid cat. "Not bad," he said. "This is much better than the last version."
The other characters didn't matter much—even if they didn't match the originals perfectly. But Doraemon's design had to be close. It didn't need to be identical, but it needed that familiar feel.
Over the past few months, Yang Wendong had reviewed several iterations of the character designs, offering detailed feedback each time. Gradually, the design was aligning with the version in his memory.
"We're glad you're satisfied," Wu Hailin said. "Please have a look at the story drafts."
Character design was always subjective—everything depended on the client's preference.
"Alright," Yang Wendong said, flipping through the storyboards.
He'd provided some basic input on the plot, though he couldn't remember the exact storyline from when Doraemon first debuted. This version was set in a future where humanity had advanced far in technology. A boy from the future sent a robot cat back to 1965 Hong Kong to help his ancestor, a young boy named Jiahao.
Jiahao was initially shocked but eventually grew close to Doraemon, leading to a series of adventures with his friends Huilin, Yangyang, and others.
All the names had been Sinicized to reflect a fully Chinese cultural background.
The comic already had three episodes finished. It took Yang Wendong ten minutes to read through them.
"Looks good to me," he said. "The story's solid, and the artwork is almost there. So are we ready to launch?"
He didn't concern himself with too many small details—so long as the product wasn't terrible, it was good enough.
"Yes," said Wu Hailin. "The first few episodes are fully illustrated, and the printing equipment is ready. Once we get your approval, we can begin printing tonight—we can produce tens of thousands of copies in a single evening."
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