By ALWYN GRAHAM TOMORROW heralds the start of the Chinese Year of the Ox.

And according to forecasts the twelve months, like the animal which is its astrological symbol, will be unimpressed by flighty posturing and will favour a lifestyle of paced effort.

It is a year when diligence and hard work will be rewarded - as indeed has proved the case for Wing Yip, born under the sign of the ox and a deservedly successful businessman.

And if Boltonians are unfamiliar with the name, they have almost certainly eaten Wing Yip's groceries, for he is the biggest importer and distributor of Chinese foodstuffs in the UK and has, arguably, done as much to develop the tastebuds of the British as any other living man. He came over to England from Hong Kong in 1959 and began a tiny shop, hoisting his sacks of rice and other imports himself. He now has a huge food emporium occupying eight-acres in Birmingham, another in Croydon, one in Cricklewood, London, and a two-acre-plus site in Manchester's Ancoats which has now become too small for the needs of the North-west.

Wing said: "We have outgrown this site and we are looking to relocate."

His success began when he saw the burgeoning need for authentic produce as Chinese people established their eating houses, and it continues with his policy of governing his empire shrewdly: "If my establishments are running smoothly, I leave them alone."

Part of his success comes from his ability to make produce available, under the same roof, to both families and businesses; whether the requirement is a packet of prawns to stir-fry for tea or a tonne or two of the succulent pink beasties to serve up in a restaurant, the need is met.

And another part of his success comes from good business practice.

He does not himself run restaurants - though that would have seemed to follow on from importing the ingredients of the cuisine: "I am a supplier and friend, not a competitor."

The work ethic is a compelling force among the Chinese; where an Englishman will say he "goes to work", a Chineseman will tell you he "returns to work".

As Chinese families and Manchester's Chinatown restaurants prepare to welcome the Year of the Ox, they are almost certain to seek out the shelves of Wing Yip, where the oriental treats range from cheap chopsticks and soy sauce to exotic pottery and swallows' nest soup at £93 a packet. Work is an integral part of life, not an occupation to be grudged, and while many ethnic groups only exist happily in concentrated masses around a religious centre, the Chinese will happily mingle with the indigenous community and are freer than most of hard-line religious bigotry.

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