The birth of the Hong Kong Island family

In mid-September, Lin Zhichao said goodbye to his family, made arrangements for the company, and officially started his European trip.

During this trip, he went to Germany to buy automatic zipper machines because he learned from some sources that there were two or three machinery factories in Germany that could produce automatic zipper machines.

This kind of news should be very accurate, because zippers are a necessity for the army. Since zipper clothes and shoes are easier to take off and put on, European and American armies purchase a lot of them. As the country that initiated World War II, it makes no sense for Germany not to even have automatic zipper machines, otherwise where would it purchase so many zippers?

However, there are also certain unknowns, because it is unknown whether these machinery factories have resumed production after Germany's defeat.

But Lin Zhichao decided to go to Germany for inspection instead of the United States. The reason is simple. If German machinery factories can produce, he intends to cooperate for a long time. Not only will the price be cheaper, but German machinery factories may be more willing to participate in improvements.

If you go to the United States to find a machinery factory to cooperate with, others may not like a Hong Kong businessman, and the price will definitely be higher. Only if there is no harvest in Germany, Lin Zhichao will transfer to the United States for inspection.

Lin Zhichao felt uneasy when he boarded the Douglas plane of Imperial Airways. Going out in this era was like leaving his life to others.

After the war, there were only three airlines flying to and from Hong Kong: Imperial Airways, Pan American Airways, and China Civil Aviation Company (with American capital).

As for Cathay Pacific at this time, it only had one aircraft, providing passenger and cargo charter services on routes to and from Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and the Mainland. And now the boss of Cathay Pacific is not Swire, but two Americans and an Austrian.

According to Lin Zhichao's understanding, the reason why Cathay Pacific Airways became a subsidiary of Swire Pacific was because of the crash of the Pan Am flight from Macau to Hong Kong next year and the crash of the China Airlines flight from Shanghai to Hong Kong. The two accidents in 1948 caused no Passengers, so Swire took advantage of it and took control of Cathay Pacific.

Sitting on the plane, I was surrounded by foreigners and only a few Chinese. The foreigners around me were believers and they gestured "God bless" as soon as they came up.

Lin Zhichao's mood has calmed down, because as a world businessman, he must fly overseas frequently, so if he doesn't have the courage, he might as well develop a life in Hong Kong.

There were foreign passengers around him. Everyone looked down on each other and did not chat. Lin Zhichao took out a book and started studying. It was an English book about machinery. Lin Zhichao is like a learning machine. As long as he is free, he will not waste time. What's more, there is no woman around, so what else can you do besides these!

It took two transfers along the way before arriving in London, and one more transfer before finally arriving in Germany.

Lin Zhichao came outside the Bern Machinery Factory and started negotiating in the broken German he had just learned.

"I am a Hong Kong businessman. I hope to buy an automatic zipper machine produced by your company. Please let me meet your person in charge, SIR!"

The man guarding the door listened to Lin Zhichao's unskilled German and said: "Our factory does not produce that stuff now, it now produces textile machinery."

Lin Zhichao was stunned and looked at the factory, which was still in some shabby condition and had not yet been repaired from the war. He couldn't help but feel a little anxious. Due to the congestion of information, it is so difficult to buy a machine.

Suddenly, Lin Zhichao blurted out: "Did the Bern Machinery Factory produce automatic zipper machines before?"

Only then did he remember that the old man said that it was not produced now, which meant that it had been produced before.

As expected, the old man nodded and said: "Congratulations, you got the answer right. However, we stopped producing it after the war and switched to producing the best-selling textile machines."

Lin Zhichao immediately said: "I also need to buy textile machinery. Please take me to talk to the person in charge."

The old guard looked left and right at Lin Zhichao. Seeing that although Lin Zhichao was Chinese, he could speak broken German and was dressed in such a stylish way, he no longer hesitated.

He took Lin Zhichao to an office.

"Mr. Gauss, this customer wants to buy a textile machine, and I brought it to you!"

Gauss was a young man in his thirties. He was worried about business difficulties and I was in jail. Seeing that Lin Zhichao was Chinese, he stood up to greet him in a friendly manner.

"Sir, where are you from?"

Lin Zhichao said confidently: "A businessman from Hong Kong! I heard that the Bourne Machinery Factory used to produce automatic zipper machines. I wonder if the factory still has them in stock. I am more interested."

Gauss was stunned for a moment, then he was overjoyed and said quickly: "Yes, yes!"

Lin Zhichao deliberately said: "The uncle just said that you have switched to the production of textile machines. Could it be that those automatic zipper machines were produced during World War II?"

Gauss secretly scolded the old man for being troublesome, but he still said honestly: "That's true! But I can guarantee that these machines can all operate normally. I remember there are three in total. Although they are more than three years old, they are almost brand new. "

Lin Zhichao was not in a hurry to check the machine, but continued to ask: "So, does your company still have engineers for automatic rice rowing machines?"

This is very important. If there is any problem, Lin Zhichao will definitely ask someone from Bourne Machinery to come to Hong Kong for repairs.

Gauss said: "Of course! In fact, we still have the ability to produce automatic zipper machines, but, to be honest, automatic zipper machines are not easy to sell now, so we switched to the production of textile machines."

Thinking of this, Lin Zhichao was already filled with joy. He thought that his start was unfavorable, but in fact it was a God-given opportunity.

Next, Lin Zhichao asked Gauss to take him to see the machine, and Gauss arranged for engineers to go there.

When Lin Zhichao saw the running status of the machine, he was very happy, but he still looked the same.

"Manager Gauss, how much does this machine cost?"

Gauss is a sincere young man. His father was sentenced to three years in prison for producing war weapons, but the government needed to resume production. After efforts, the machinery factory was returned to Gauss, and of course the weapons production business was cut off.

This situation abounds in Germany. For example, the boss of Krupp, Germany's largest weapons manufacturer during World War II, was also sentenced to four years, but later returned part of the machinery company's business to the family; Within ten years, it has become one of the top ten machinery factories in Europe, and its shipbuilding, truck and other businesses are among the top in Europe.

"Mr. Lin, I can sell you these three automatic zipper machines for US$30,000 each. The total price is US$90,000. This price is almost the price of second-hand machinery. I know you have come from afar. Must be hoping to take them away.”

Lin Zhichao immediately said an exaggerated "Oh" and said in shock: "Oh my God, are you here in the United States? You can buy a brand new one in the United States for this price. Mr. Gauss, you need to think about it again!"

Gauss was shocked. In fact, he was very worried about these three machines, so he also posted their information in the magazine, but no one came to discuss the purchase.

"This is 28,000 U.S. dollars. This price is really reasonable. We Germans will not intentionally shout out a sky-high price when doing business. Mr. Lin, you need to know this."

Lin Zhichao said at this time: "Mr. Gauss, I will inspect your factory for a few days first. First, I need your engineers to teach me how to use and simple maintenance; second, I will need a large number of textile machines in the future. So I will check it out here. You may not know that because of the war in China, many textile and garment factories have gone to Hong Kong, where the demand is huge."

Gauston was immediately delighted and said: "Of course there is no problem. Mr. Lin and I hit it off right away. If your time permits, you can visit my factory for a long time."

Lin Zhichao stretched out his right hand and said: "It's a pleasure to cooperate."

In fact, Lin Zhichao's idea is to understand the operation and working principle of the automatic zipper machine, because there are the best teachers here. At the same time, if you inspect other people's factories and learn from the factory's experience, you will definitely be able to return with a rewarding experience.

As for the inspection of textile machines, Lin Zhichao is not just talking about it. He is engaged in the zipper industry, and he will be involved in the textile industry. Although he will not dabble at the beginning, he will definitely develop in an all-round way in the future.