The birth of the Hong Kong Island family

On Monday morning, Lin Zhichao came to Tsuen Wan Cheung Kong Industrial early.

Walking into the spacious factory building (30,000 square feet), workers have already started work. Due to the continuous flow of orders, Yangtze River Industrial operates 18 to 20 hours a day. Each worker needs to work for an average of 15 to 16 hours. They work in the factory except for sleeping and eating.

These conditions are the same as outside. It is not that Yangtze River Industry is doing something special to squeeze these workers. On the contrary, the overall salary level of Cheung Kong Industrial is about 20% higher than that of the manufacturing industry, and benefits are paid during holidays.

Regarding the issue of working hours, as some new machines will arrive in Hong Kong at the end of December, Cheung Kong will reduce the daily working hours and workers' working hours according to the situation.

After all, if it wasn't for factory orders to be rushed, why would Lin Zhichao make these workers work so long?

"Boss, we have sorted out the installation positions of ten automatic zipper machines and three slider punching machines. You see, it is still very ample." Wang Liang, deputy general manager and production manager, reported the layout situation seriously.

Lin Zhichao quickly said with satisfaction: "Okay! The machines will be delivered in two batches this time. Five automatic new-style zipper rice arranging machines and two slider punching machines will arrive in Hong Kong in late December, and the remaining machines will be delivered next spring. "

Considering the early delivery and the growth rate of orders, Bourne Machinery recommends delivery in batches like this.

Lin Zhishenshan would not have any objections, and this arrangement was very reasonable.

"OK!"

Next, Lin Zhichao should worry about orders. After all, the new automatic rice arranging machine is fully twice as efficient as the old one, and five machines are equivalent to ten old ones; even if the running time is reduced, it is at least 1.5~1.8 times.

To open up the European and American markets, you will definitely need capable people to develop the market. Although the products and quality are guaranteed, if you don't promote them, how will others know about it? And Lin Zhichao also has to personally take charge of the sales department. His career has just started, and he has to handle everything big and small.

Lin Zhichao looked at Bao Chunlai on the side and asked, "Why did you lose weight? Didn't you get enough travel expenses for your business trip?"

Bao Chunlai was stunned. He didn't expect that the boss's gaze was so focused that he could see such details. He recently traveled between Singapore and Hong Kong, studying factory management in Hong Kong, supervising factory construction in Singapore, and handling sales in Southeast Asia.

The travel expenses must be sufficient, but he saved some living allowance and was forced by debt.

"It's enough, maybe I haven't managed my life well! Don't worry, boss, I won't affect my work." Bao Chunlai said cautiously.

After losing this job, he still had to be forced to death by debts. It was because of this job that his group of relatives and friends did not push him too hard.

Lin Zhichao seemed to understand something and said, "If you have debt, borrow money from the company first. This way the pressure may be less."

Lin Zhichao will not turn a blind eye to anyone who has a difficult time.

What's more, you can network with people's hearts without spending any money. How can you be a boss?

Bao Chunlai immediately expressed his gratitude, and Lin Zhichao asked Wang Liang to handle the matter and supervise the financial arrangements.

After this incident, Lin Zhichao immediately said: "Since there is no pressure in life, let's give you some work pressure. Now you concentrate on expanding the zipper market in Southeast Asia, whether it is direct sales or seeking an agent. I ask you to make a decision as soon as possible. Good results go to the company. It’s just a few thousand dollars in debt, and I’m never stingy with the sales team’s commission.”

Bao Chunlai can be an agent for zippers in Shanghai and does it on a large scale, so he will definitely achieve great results by expanding the market in Southeast Asia. In this way, Yangtze River Industrial has ensured a basic market, because Southeast Asia has a large population, but the industrial level is very poor, and the products are not worried about sales.

Before the mid-1950s, Hong Kong's industrial products were mainly marketed in Southeast Asia. It was not until the mid-to-late 1950s that they entered the European and American markets.

Bao Chunlai suddenly became very motivated and said: "Don't worry, boss, I will definitely achieve results!"

Lin Zhichao was very satisfied. As the saying goes, a big reward must be a brave man.

"While sales in Southeast Asia are doing well, there is also supervision of factory construction in Singapore. In short, you are responsible for the affairs there."

"no problem."

At this time, Wang Liang understood that the boss meant to transfer Bao Chunlai to Southeast Asia and then take charge of the Singapore factory.

Later, Lin Zhichao said to Wang Liang: "There are a lot of people who have taken refuge in Hong Kong recently. These people have many high-level talents. You recruit some mechanical talents, management talents, and financial talents for me. To expand the scale of Cheung Kong, the talent team must be We need to keep up, and since we are engaged in industrial manufacturing, we need to start increasing the number of technical talents.”

After speaking, he looked at Wang Liang seriously to see if this subordinate had any ideas.

Opportunities are equal. If Wang Liang does a good job, he will naturally be qualified as the deputy general manager of Cheung Kong. Lin Zhichao will not blindly believe that education is everything. Of course, Lin Zhichao believes that people with academic qualifications have an advantage.

Wang Liang said immediately: "Okay, boss." His expression didn't change much. On the contrary, he looked happy.

Probably he believed in his heart that if Yangtze River Industrial expanded its scale, he would also have development potential.

In the morning, Hu Zhaoxu also came to Tsuen Wan and reported the details of the land acquisition to Lin Zhichao. The land surrounding Cheung Kong Holdings totals 310,000 square feet, which would cost about HK$1.25 million based on market price.

At present, only 120,000 square feet of land has been obtained, costing 500,000 Hong Kong dollars; as for the remaining two lands, no progress has been made, and the owner's asking price is too high.

"That's it. Wait until they come to you later." Lin Zhichao said decisively.

Maybe the price will still be higher than the current price in the future, but he is even more unwilling to be ripped off by others now. After all, he is also short of money now, and he can use this money to make more money instead of wasting it on reserve land.

As for the future, there are many opportunities.

"OK!"

Hu Siu-hsu did not swear again. After all, land prices in Tsuen Wan were already on the rise, and the boss was only willing to pay HK$4 per square foot.

In the end, Lin Zhichao told Hu Zhaoxu: "Changjiang Real Estate is just waiting for an opportunity to suspend investment in real estate projects, so your marketing department should take advantage of your free time to familiarize yourself with Hong Kong's property and land information."

Hu Zhaoxu nodded seriously and said, "Well, we understand."

To be honest, some people in Yangtze Real Estate are panicking now. The boss is not doing new projects anymore, and everyone is worried that the boss will not be able to support so many people. In fact, Lin Zhichao has no intention of laying off employees at all. He can temporarily transfer some idle employees to the property management company. The engineering department will always have work to do.

Before getting off work in the evening, Lin Zhichao came to the Yangtze River Bank. This was his working habit. He usually came to the Yangtze River Bank in the morning and evening to pay attention to the situation. In fact, he still puts his energy on Yangtze River Holdings, even Yangtze Real Estate spends more energy on it.

It is true that gold speculation makes money, but it is only a temporary solution. Cheung Kong Holdings and Cheung Kong Properties were Lin Zhichao's great undertakings.

Lee Shau Kee reported happily: "As expected by the boss, the buying power was very strong this time. The average price we cashed out was HK$468.5 per tael, with a total profit of HK$116,800."

The total profit from gold speculation (short-term) has exceeded 1.05 million Hong Kong dollars, and 450,000 Hong Kong dollars have been earned in the last quarter, with one month left.

There is no difference between gold speculation and stock speculation. Lin Zhichao has taken making money for granted because he and Lee Shau Kee are the best combination.

"Yeah. But when do you plan to buy?"

Lee Shau Kee immediately said: "The buying power is almost exhausted, and the selling has gained the upper hand. But this time, a lot of selling has been consumed, so the price will not drop much. I think, below 460 Hong Kong dollars, we will start to absorb in batches." .”

He already believed Lin Zhichao's words that gold would exceed HK$500 per tael in the last month, so he was worried about selling high, but he did not buy low.

"I think it's good, come on! In short, it's important to buy it as soon as possible. There will be a big market for gold in December. It's better to make less than to miss it."

"Okay, I understand."

Lin Zhichao remembered one thing. The British were going to expose Baldhead's shipment of gold to Taiwan next month (December).

Doing this doesn't mean that the G Army has been defeated and is thinking of a way out. Then, the rich people in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai should not go crazy and exchange gold, and then run away.

Gold merchants are responsible for bringing gold to the mainland and selling it to the rich at high prices. The rich sell all their assets, exchange them for gold and US dollars, and bring them to Hong Kong.

Don't think that gold merchants are ridiculous or ignorant.

Not everyone has foresight!

for example:

Later, Lu Xiaopei, the big construction boss in Hong Kong, bought all the 150 taels of gold he had earned so hard on the eve of JF in the Shanghai stock market into properties in the Shanghai stock market; because at that time, the rich were eager to escape, and the properties in the Shanghai stock market were extremely cheap Lu Xiaopei thought it was a good opportunity to pick up the slack.

As a result, in 1950, Lu Xiaopei realized the reality and had to come to Hong Kong alone with 5 Hong Kong dollars to find a job. Fortunately, a friend borrowed 500 Hong Kong dollars, otherwise a generation of "descendants of the royal family (self-proclaimed descendants of King Qixuan)" would have fallen into the streets. Later, his wife also arrived in Hong Kong with her children. It took the family more than ten years to save HK$130,000 to start a business.

Therefore, until the eve of the Shanghai JF, mainland gold merchants will still extract gold from the Hong Kong Gold and Silver Exchange and sell it to the mainland. After that, gold merchants and financiers in the Shanghai stock market chased after gold one after another, thinking that it was a disposable asset, and they could use Hong Kong as a springboard to flee overseas at any time.

December begins.

At the YKK zipper factory, Tadao Yoshida looked at the three American automatic zipper rice arranging machines that had just arrived. His mood was self-evident, as if he saw not three machines, but thirty or three hundred machines.

In June, he only had one machine. At that time, his idea was to make money and buy more machines quickly; at that time, he still had a sense of urgency, after all, a machine was not very competitive.

But now, he already has four 'automatic rice arranging machines', and he immediately feels that his mood is different, and it is not an exaggeration to describe it as heroic.

He feels that YKK zipper already has the strength to compete with Cheung Kong Industrial, and even has the strength to lead the Japanese market and monopolize the Japanese zipper market as soon as possible.

Keita Masataka was also happy for his boss at this time. You must know that his boss had thousands of zipper workers at his peak in 1944. He produced 80% of the zippers for the RB Navy and 30% for the Army.

There was such a peak boss, after being bombarded by shells, he disappeared immediately.

Now, his boss is about to return to the top, which deserves his heartfelt joy.

"President, at what price do you plan to sell, I can visit the presidents and quickly fill orders for the company!" Keita Masataka immediately said confidently.

He knew that the price quoted for YKK zippers was slightly higher in the past because: first, there was enough market capacity; second, YKK zippers needed to withdraw funds.

Things are different now. YKK Zipper has four automatic zipper machines. What we should consider is how to seize the market and grab other customers.

Tadao Yoshida laughed and said: "Of course I will visit the presidents in person, so that I can be more sincere. You have to supervise the production in the factory. We must provide quality and maximize production. As long as the machine can not stop, it will be more sincere." Non-stop!”

Keita Masataka reminded his boss: "But this will shorten the life of the machine!"

Tadao Yoshida said with a smile: "I can use a machine for up to three years! I even want to cooperate with RB's machinery factory to develop our own automatic rice arranging machine, and it will be better than the American machine."

He believes that although RB lost the battle, its industrial base and talents are still there after all.

Keita Masataka immediately admired his boss again - ambitious! Have vision!

"How much does the president plan to quote?" Masataka Keita asked curiously.

Tadao Yoshida said confidently: "This time, we don't have to worry about funds. As long as there is a market, not only banks are willing to lend more, but also machinery factories allow us to use the machines first and then repay the money. Therefore, the quotation is 80 yen ( 22 cents, 0.88 Hong Kong dollars), of course if the quantity is larger, it can be cheaper.”

At this time, YKK zippers are just like the cost level of Cheung Kong Industries at the beginning of the year, which was about 0.55 Hong Kong dollars, and the cost has hardly been reduced.

The so-called costs include labor, machinery, raw materials, etc.:

In terms of labor, the current labor costs in Hong Kong are similar to those in RB, but still a little lower; after the mid-1950s, labor costs in Japan will increase rapidly.

In terms of raw materials, currently everyone needs to purchase aluminum alloys from overseas. Hong Kong’s tax rate is low and there are no foreign exchange controls; but in the future, if Tadao Yoshida produces aluminum alloys himself, the cost will inevitably be reduced, but it is impossible to achieve within five years.

In terms of machinery, Yangtze River Industry has more advantages, and German-made machinery is cheaper; at the same time, Yangtze River Industry is about to adopt new mechanization, and due to a doubling of efficiency, the cost price will be further greatly reduced. It is expected that after the adoption of new machinery by Yangtze River Industry, the cost of each zipper will be only 3.5 to 4 cents.

Keita Masataka immediately said happily: "In this case, those agents may give up zippers in Hong Kong because the profits are too thin."

Tadao Yoshida said confidently: "Not bad! We will first gradually eat into their market in RB. When the time is right, we will then carve up the Southeast Asian market. Finally, we will use the new machine produced by RB to compete with the world's zipper giants."

This is not empty talk, but a person’s confidence, and it is all relatively ‘easy to achieve’.

With such a mood, Tadao Yoshida embarked on a sales trip to Japanese merchants. This time he was no longer as cautious and meticulous as before. On the contrary, he sought cooperation from above with confidence and sincerity.