Chili sauce tycoon went from poverty to riches

Founder of Old Mama brand sold noodles on streets before setting up a company worth $600m

Reporters stirred when a woman with gray hair strolled into the meeting room. Wearing a red sweater and a deep purple jacket trimmed with sequins, she looked more like she was going square-dancing rather than attending a meeting during the two sessions, the annual gathering of the country's top legislators and political advisers.

She ignored the flashes of whirring cameras and microphones thrust close to her face and quietly sat behind a table with a name tag that said Tao Huabi, the name of a legendary entrepreneur and an illiterate multimillionaire.