Reporter: Pan Meiqi
When he first came to Cambodia in 2016, Li Qingdong was still working as a contract foreman in a construction company, engaged in engineering construction decoration. Today, the city of Olympia in Phnom Penh was built by him and many other workers.
At that time, the conditions were poor, and the language was not understood when he first arrived, so Li Qingdong hired an interpreter to help, but it was also difficult to communicate. And his subordinates are all Cambodians, and as the only Chinese, it is basically difficult for him to manage others, so he resigned after only half a year.
Li Qingdong thought that now that he is 40 years old, it is difficult to find a higher-paying job when he returns to China, so it is better to stay in Cambodia to continue his development, so he chose to start a business and opened a speaker store near Russian Avenue.
But the good times did not last long, and in 2019, Li Qingdong's shop was "ransacked". A group of drug addicts broke into the door store and secretly moved their belongings, and by the time Li Qingdong called the police to find them, they had already resold the items. Although Li Qingdong wanted to continue to investigate, they themselves were "indiscriminate drug people", and they did not pay attention to Li Qingdong, helplessly, he could only admit that he was unlucky, clean up the store, and close down.
This encounter cost him about $30,000. Disheartened, Li Qingdong originally wanted to join his sister who was also in Cambodia. But he and his sister have incompatible personalities, and the relationship between the two is not very good, and Li Qingdong, who has a strong personality, struggles to survive alone in Phnom Penh.
Coinciding with the epidemic, many places are not "treated" to Chinese, Li Qingdong said that he originally wanted to go to friends, but under the epidemic, everyone is at risk, and if they can, they will not meet. Going elsewhere, locals will also be "fearful" because he is a Chinese.
He did not have a rental house in Cambodia and usually lived in a store, but after the store closed, he had no place to live. In desperation, he could only sleep on a stone bench in a park in Phnom Penh. This stay lasted for three months, and the temperature in Phnom Penh was relatively stable and warm all year round, so even if night came, he would not be awakened. At that time, all that remained was a motorcycle and small items left behind by the opening of the shop.
Although such a day is embarrassing, he does not feel hard, and even feels that he is at ease. He was used to such unrestrained days, and he didn't even think about saving some money to buy a tent, because he thought sleeping stone benches were also good.
But the only thing that made him dissatisfied was that thieves were rife in the park, and when he slept at night, his mobile phone was touched several times. Even the cheapest second mobile phone was coveted by thieves, and back and forth several times, Li Qingdong also decided to leave.
(Photo courtesy of interviewee)
Once, he went to help others with housekeeping, hygiene, and met a few new friends. When they learned of Li Qingdong's situation, they were very sympathetic, so they paid for him to rent a simple rental house on the banks of the Mekong River in Dajin Ou, for only $40 a month, without a deposit. Although it was simple, it was enough to settle, and Li Qingdong accepted their kindness and survived like this.
Not long after, Li Qingdong got a job on a banana farm in Kampong Cham province and stayed for a year and a half. During this time, because his passport and visa were overdue, he also paid a fine of more than $1,000. But fortunately, the farm owner kept his promises, never delayed wages, and gradually gained some savings.
In 2022, Li Qingdong resigned from the farm and plans to return to Phnom Penh to do business business. Because he had no partner, he borrowed a little money from a friend.
(Photo courtesy of interviewee)
"After the domestic clothing season is over, it is always sold at a low price, so I want to send these clothes to Cambodia for resale." Li Qingdong thought that instead of this, it would be better to pack these clothes to Cambodia, so that the clothes are not only out of season, but also out of date, but also earn the difference.
In this way, Li Qingdong started a clothing wholesale business. Because the good popularity accumulated by opening the store before also attracted some scattered customers. But Li Qingdong wants big customers, that is, local dealers. So he practiced Khmer hard, and usually liked to wander around various provinces and cities in Cambodia, and met many locals.
As a result, he had his first stable customers. Until now, he has been in business for 3 years, and as the business has become bigger and bigger, the number of dealers has reached more than 20. "I'm basically just a local."
Being familiar with the Khmer language gives him a great advantage, not only to reduce the risk of being deceived, but also to know many things, and the business is getting better and better.
(Photo courtesy of interviewee)
Li Qingdong has a store in Phnom Penh and usually wholesals goods to distributors, while he himself is not idle, and occasionally goes out to set up stalls. Now there are warehouses in Phnom Penh, three stores, and one store in Seju province, and he plans to open a new store in Kampot province recently.
After several years of stall business, Li Qingdong is also familiar with the Cambodian market. "Wherever there are events, where there are rallies, where salaries are paid, go and set up stalls." Many workers in Cambodia like to consume after they are paid, so he usually pays attention to which factory pays when and when he pays, and then goes to the neighborhood in advance to set up stalls.
And he himself works fifteen or six hours a day, which is more tiring than the work of ordinary workers, so his current achievements are not only luck, but also his patience and persistence.
(This content is the original work of the "Cambodia Single Network APP" client, please contact customer service Xiaoqian for authorization, reprinting without permission, will be regarded as plagiarism infringement)
【Further reading】
There are about 180 casinos in Cambodia
#Daily International Vision##Cambodia##国际情报员 #
Pay attention to Cambodia to understand Cambodia, more Cambodia information, venture capital, compatriot community, you can download the Cambodia Single Network APP