“She says, why do I waste my time growing a cheap vegetable when I could be growing truffles?”So to the question. Our trials show that 55 per cent of bacterial activity takes place in the hood covering the first pair of leaves [the cotlydon], and 30 per cent in the thin root.”He delicately plucks the cotlydon from the leaves He snaps off the root. They have recently opened six pounds 5m bean- sprout factories built to his specifications.A mighty achievement, you might think “My wife doesn’t,” smiles Mr Pao. So it comes as no surprise to discover that he has been exporting his technology to Japan. But handling must be precise, for if the main shoot is broken it will trigger its bacterial activity (low though it is, 15 per cent).It’s becoming clear that growing bean sprouts is but a by-product of Mr Pao’s engineering genius.

He explains that the vigorous washing process is devised to do just this. After harvesting, the sprouts starve to death if deprived of air Over- exposed to air, they also die. His solution is to pack them in bags of micro-porous film.”We have to minimise bacterial activity. “The aim,” he gleams, “is to grow a uniform shoot (known as the hypercotyle) to a length of 5.5 cms to 6 cms long, and 4mm in diameter.” Since he started his life’s work, he has been able to increase the length and diameter of the bean sprout by 30 per cent, effectively increasing growing time from four days to six.Supermarkets look to ways of extending shelf-life, which is a problem. “Achieving the perfect bean is a black art,” says Mr Robinson mysteriously, leading me to meet the wizard himself, Mr Pao, who is now the chairman.In a darkened control room at the heart of these wetlands, beaming behind his thick glasses, surrounded by thousands of pieces of blinking electronic gadgetry, stands Chairman Pao – more like a Dr Who, though, or perhaps a demented scientist dedicated to dominating the world by breeding this new life form.He indicates the specimens of the would-be master race, fat white shoots with curling tendrils and tails of spermatozoa Botany lesson. After six days, a heaving mass of shoots bursts from the top, a bushy hat like neat topiary.The contents of each bin are tipped into a deep tank of water, churned vigorously to shake off the bean husks.

They move along conveyor belts for further stages of rinsing and washing under jet sprays, finally dropping into a miniature waterfall with a force that snaps off their slender roots, like so many tadpole tails.Each stage is as precise as an electronics engineer can devise. Green mung beans from Thailand are spread inches deep on draining trays at the bottom of four-foot deep plastic containers, aerated from below. The tanks, 60 to each darkened room, are showered with tepid water at intervals. The bean shoots generate ectothermic heat, increasing the warmth and humidity in which they thrive. In our wellies we paddle across lakes and rivers, evading showers and waterfalls that feed the germinating system. “We are the third major user of water in the area, after Guinness and Fullers, I believe.”The process is simple enough. Suddenly all their ads featured bean sprouts.”Mr Robinson takes me on a tour of the factory.