In the summer of 1982, Mai Bairong stood at a crossroads in life, his university diploma in hand.
On one side was the “iron rice bowl” his parents had pulled every string to secure for him: a staff position at the Guojiu Mooncake Factory in Wuchuan. It was stable, but he could already see what his life would look like twenty years later. On the other side came the salty sea breeze from the South China Sea, carrying the restless energy and opportunities of “Reform and Opening Up.”
At the Guojiu factory, he witnessed the final glory of the planned economy and tempered his character amid the sweet aroma of mooncakes and the stubbornness of his master. When the wave of “going into business” swept across the country, he resolutely smashed his iron rice bowl and plunged into the sea of the market economy.
From Wuchuan specialties to markets across the nation, from a family workshop to a business empire. He faced the desperate crisis of a broken cash flow and was sabotaged by ruthless competitors, yet he always held fast to his belief: “Build a business with integrity, and trade with benevolence.”
This is no ordinary tale of entrepreneurship. It is a story of choices, courage, and perseverance. Watch as Mai Bairong rides the tide that began in 1982, transforming from a naive university graduate into a Confucian merchant who never betrays his original ideals, forged through forty years of ups and downs in the business world.
