The entrepreneurial spirit is strong Dalian. Anyone who wants to start up a little peddling business to feed their family can and it's much easier in China then most capitalistic countries.
If anyone in Canada wanted this job, and I have seen mobile knife sharpening trucks in Toronto, they would need some pretty big sharp scissors to cut through all the red tape and getting permits and tax permits. Oh the list goes on. I do have a registered business license in Canada, registered in Ontario so I do know what is involved with getting started.
But here in China anyone who has the drive to work the streets offering a service people need are in abundance. Setting a real business in a building with a sign is a different thing.
He's mobile too. I have seen him further up the street at some other restaurants. He just walks up and down the streets yelling with his voice, rather a microphone that some other peddlers use, and the shops hear him coming and call him in.
To be honest buying knives can be pretty cheap. When one of mine got dull I would just buy a new one. I didn't toss the old one I have them in a box under the sink. Maybe I can sell them for their weight in recyclable materials. Another peddler will come by and yell out they are buying plastic paper and metal. Another job if you need to make money quick, anyone can do it.
Begging and panhandling on the streets of Dalian is forbidden, I rarely see it. If you need money, you need to work. If you can't work there is a small social net to catch you. If you can work and choose not to then go hungry at your own choice.