Swimming with Asian Sharks - Business Secrets from the Pacific Rim

Chapter 9: Hong Kong Sharks, Round 4 - Don't Look a Gift "House" in the Fridge

We set off on July 17. My uncle had an apartment that he agreed to let me rent for “Tea money” as the Chinese say, which means next to nothing.  Rent in Hong Kong is one of the most expensive in the world, with one bedroom costing several thousand dollars, depending on the district.  The apartment had belonged to my grandfather, my mother didn’t want us to live there because someone had committed suicide in one of the rooms. This didn’t prevent the place from being rented to a very nice couple, both of them investment bankers.

The place was two bedrooms, about 650 square feet—massive by Hong Kong standards.  The washroom had mould from ceiling to floor, with white mould that extended out to the windows from years of water damage and neglect.  Both the kitchen and washroom ceilings were swelling with water droplets.  The room Mr. Mineral and I shared had previously been occupied by my grandfather’s second wife.  She had passed away a few years earlier, and no one had bothered to throw away her stuff.  There was a bunk bed, with a couch and a few dressers and tables. She also had a fridge in her unit, which had either rusted or glued shut.  There was a fridge in the common area, but the couple who were living there had stocked it full.  I decided that to be less imposing on the existing tenants, we would try to get the fridge in our unit working.

A bit of a backstory first: the unit in which Mr. Mineral and I were going to has been the Hong Kong landing site for various relatives in the past.  The unit is unoccupied for eight or nine months at a time, reserved for the family’s use whenever we visit Hong Kong, which explains the state of the apartment and the fridge.

Knowing that the place had been unoccupied for a few months, I knew that if there were any food left in the fridge, it would be in a bad state.  I dropped by a supermarket downstairs, to equip myself with gloves and cleaning agents.  Upon returning, I tried to open the fridge to no avail.  Mr. Mineral had to assist me, and together we managed to pry it open.

As it opened and the smell hit us, my life flashed before my eyes.  The smell, if it could be called that anymore, was like a fish that had been mummified using week-old gym socks.  The smell brought tears to my eyes, and both Mr. Mineral and I gagged. We quickly closed the fridge and placed one of those folded tables in the way to prevent the demon we had resurrected from escaping.  We quickly opened the doors and turned on the AC unit.  It took several hours for the place to be aired out. Months later, when my dad came to visit, he actually cleaned this monster of a fridge, for an unknown reason.  Thankfully, I was in Korea at the time, but Mr. Mineral unfortunately was roped into helping him. 

Despite the mold, collapsing, and smelly accommodations, I would not trade that experience for anything.  It was the first time I had taken advantage of my relatives’ kindness.  Having a place, even in the state that it was, saved us a lot of money, and the location was fantastic, a five-minute walk from our office. I made it a point to not complain at all about the accommodations to my uncle, and assisted him on errands related to the property because he was in Canada and could only rely on the relatives in Hong Kong so much. The lesson is, be thankful for the help you can get.  As a wise entrepreneur once told me, don’t be afraid to beg and borrow your way to success.