Lin Zhichao came to visit Fuhe House. This is a Central office building with only 300 square feet. It is a part separated by a second-hand landlord. As for the staff, there are only five people in total including the two bosses.
Of course, this does not mean that Fu Wo Hong only has five employees, because many employees and clerks at Fu Wo Hong are outside.
"It seems that Fuhe Bank's new business is on the right track. Everyone is very busy!" Lin Zhichao declined the seat. The place was too small and it was not easy to drink a glass of water.
Huang Tinggui said with a smile: "It can only be said that it is a difficult business. There are too many people doing the trade between the Mainland and Hong Kong, and the competition is fierce. But because there are so many people doing it, there is no risk, it is very stable, and it is a good business. "
The trade between the Mainland and Hong Kong not only did not become less because of the establishment of New China, but on the contrary became busier; because of the new country, many things (light industry) needed to be imported from Hong Kong; at the same time, a large amount of goods (agricultural products) etc.) and trade from China through Hong Kong.
Last year, the import and export trade between Hong Kong and the mainland accounted for about 20% to 23% of Hong Kong's total import and export; then this year, the figure should be about 30%.
Lin Zhichao would not instruct Li Gaofu to stock up on goods, nor would he instruct him to trade with the other side. With Li Gaofu's current wealth and status, he should have his own opinion on everything he does.
"Well, stability is good. By the way, I'm here to inform you that you need to establish a new shipping company and then purchase the Wanhe Shipping ship next month. Are there any problems with your funds?"
According to regulations, Fuhe Bank should give Lin Zhichao US$100,000 (or HK$565,000) to buy 50% of his shares.
The last time he paid the intermediary fee for selling a zipper rice arranging machine, Li Gaofu placed the commission in the name of the company "Fu He Xing", which impressed Huang Tinggui. Logically speaking, this money could be used as a personal commission, but Li Gaofu planned to use it as funds for Fuhe Bank to purchase a ship.
As for the 'Oriental Trader' account, it has already shared a profit of 200,000 Hong Kong dollars for the two partners; if it ends at the end of May, the two companies will still be able to share 40,000 to 50,000 Hong Kong dollars. Obviously, the operation is pretty good, and it has been less than two years. You can earn back a boat.
Li Gaofu immediately said: "There is no problem with the funds, we will pay them all on time!"
Lin Zhichao nodded and said nothing else. Fuhe Bank's funds must be tight, after all, they still have to do trade business. However, Li Gaofu and Huang Tinggui have their own assets, and banks can also provide loans to traders, so there is no problem if they are even a little short.
He doesn't need to worry about others, he just wants to get his $100,000 back. In this way, it seems that the ship also earned him 250,000 in profit dividends.
After that, Lin Zhichao left.
Huang Tinggui then said to Li Gaofu: "If we collect 565,000 Hong Kong dollars, Fuhe Bank will only have 70,000 to 80,000 Hong Kong dollars in assets. If the trade exhibition cannot be launched, at least another 100,000 Hong Kong dollars will be needed. In this way, we will inject another 100,000 Hong Kong dollars based on shares. The Hong Kong dollars came in, and I knew Brother Gao Fu didn’t have much money, so I borrowed 60,000 Hong Kong dollars first.”
Li Gaofu immediately patted Huang Tinggui on the shoulder and said, "Thank you!"
Huang Tinggui said with a smile: "Your agency fee is altruistically paid to the company, so it doesn't matter to me."
Afterwards, the two of them laughed. This kind of concerted effort can make the company go longer.
At this time, Fuhe Bank was on the right track in all aspects. If it took all the shares of "Oriental Trader", it would be equivalent to Fuhe Bank having two businesses. In the trading part, you can now earn about 120,000 to 150,000 yuan a year, and traders in the East can earn 40,000 to 500,000 yuan a year.
Both of them are very much looking forward to their next career, which is equivalent to finally stabilizing.
Lin Zhichao, who returned to Global Shipping, sat in his office and looked through the financial ledgers to calculate Global Shipping's funding situation.
He took back the dividends from Oriental Trader to Global Shipping as working capital, and there was still a lot left over; Oriental Trader was sold to Fuhe Bank in late May, and Global Shipping could get back US$100,000; Jin'an and Jinshan The account was operated until late May, and it looked like it could make a profit of 100,000 US dollars.
As a result, Global Shipping had more than 1 million US dollars in funds in late May, enough to buy two second-hand cargo ships of 10,000 tons.
Nowadays, Global Shipping has no strength and can only buy cargo ships.
Oil tankers are not something small companies can play with. The first is the risk. Once leaked, small companies will lose everything. The second is the investment. Oil tankers are more expensive than cargo ships. A 15,000-ton oil tanker is considered a small oil tanker and entry-level.
It is said that Lin Zhichao has no plans to get involved in oil tanker transportation yet, but he can make a big bet in 1955 and make a fortune the next year, with oil tanker freight rates soaring several times.
After closing the ledger, Lin Zhichao thought about going to London to buy a ship in late May.
In this way, Lin Zhichao's funds were occupied, and naturally he would not get involved in the supplies for the Peninsula Campaign.
It’s also a good thing not to make that money:
First, to avoid being said to be a profiteer. If you make more money, you are a profiteer. If you are accused of selling fake goods, you will not be able to clean yourself up even if you jump into the Yellow River. After all, Lin Zhichao does not have much ability to analyze goods.
Second, Lin Zhichao is worried about being sanctioned by the United States. This is very important. If he could not become a world businessman, how would he invest in the motherland in the 1980s? So it is very important to protect yourself.
Therefore, it is better for him to make money steadily.
If we talk about contribution, he also supports a potential big smuggling business. Li Gaofu and Huang Tinggui don't have much money now. They have a thousand-ton ship that can ship towards the peninsula. They are also familiar with Hong Kong and Macao trade and can smuggle goods to Austria. Both are ways to make money, but the chances of taking risks are still very high.
In the three years of airship's transportation career, he only earned 3 to 4 million Hong Kong dollars. The freighter "Oriental Trader" owned by Fuhe Bank only needs to make one trip to the north, which is a profit of about 100,000 to 120,000 US dollars. After two trips, it is the price of one ship.
Of course, there is a problem with running a ship. For example, if the value of the goods on the ship is 100,000 US dollars, you will have to pay a deposit of the same amount. After you successfully transport the goods, the deposit will be returned to you and the freight will be settled.
As for the airship type, the cost of shipping from Hong Kong to the mainland is generally 5 to 20% of the price of the goods; the freight of black iron sheets can reach 20% of the goods, and that of western medicine is only 5% of the goods.
After getting rid of the envious thoughts in his mind, Lin Zhichao finally calmed down. With his wealth, there was no need to take risks.
Mid May.
Lin Zhichao came to the warehouse of Cheung Kong Industries and looked at the mountains of raw materials, and he suddenly felt very good.
All the raw materials purchased for HK$3 million have been moved into warehouses. In addition to the Tsuen Wan warehouse, there are also three warehouses on Paterson Street in Causeway Bay.
Of course, it seems that there are a lot of raw materials, but in fact it is only enough for one year, or even less than one year. Because of this, Sing Tao's factory is particularly important. It is a key step in importing and exporting raw materials and exporting zippers to the United States.
At the same time, until the first half of next year, Lin Zhichao will not be able to use the funds on the books of Yangtze River Industries, because as long as there are excess funds, Yangtze River Industries will need to continue to purchase raw materials.
After it is confirmed that the Xingdao factory can import raw materials, funds will be withdrawn to hunt for the bottom of the real estate industry.
"Uncle, you have to take care of these materials. You can't keep the accounts unclear and withdraw them at will, and you can't keep them improperly, causing damage to the goods." Lin Zhichao said to his uncle Lin Yunjie beside him.
Lin Yunjie is Lin Zhichao's biological uncle. He is in his early forties. He attended private schools for many years and worked as a bookkeeper, and later became a rich farmer in the countryside.
Lin Zhichao's father, Lin Yunchu, died of illness in the late stages of the Anti-Japanese War; above him, Lin Zhichao also had two aunts, whom he did not discuss about marrying outside and had little contact with.
Lin Yunjie has two sons and a daughter, and is currently sent to Kowloon by Lin Zhichao to study. Originally, Lin Yunjie was doing well in the mainland, but it was Lin Zhichao who took the initiative to write letters to persuade him to come to Hong Kong.
When he arrived in Hong Kong, he just worked at Cheung Kong Industries with a monthly salary of 150 yuan. He lived in a 300-square-foot cubicle rented by Lin Zhichao. He didn't have any special care, but he took care of their family. This was Lin Zhichao testing Lin Yunjie's personality.
If Lin Yunjie is aggrieved, he regards himself as Lin Zhichao's uncle in Cheung Kong Industries, engages in cunning and cunning, and speaks ill of him behind his back. So I'm sorry, Lin Zhichao can fire you directly, it doesn't matter whether you recognize this family or not.
"Zhichao, don't worry. I will act in accordance with the company's rules and regulations. I will not delay production and manage the warehouse reasonably." Lin Yunjie said seriously.
He never complained about what his nephew did. On the contrary, he was already grateful for just sending his three children to study. He never thought much about his nephew supporting a distant cousin. He himself planned to work steadily for the rest of his life. He placed his hopes more on his children.
Of course, recently, my nephew talked to me and said that he had performed well and that he would be appointed as the person in charge of warehouse storage, and his salary would be increased to 260 yuan. Naturally, he was very happy and felt that he had a heavy responsibility.
Lin Zhichao encouraged: "I feel relieved to have you in charge of this department! In your spare time, if you study more and read more, I will definitely give it a priority if you can use your own family."
There are also a lot of things in the warehouse. Lin Yunjie has been training for a year, and Lin Zhichao has been observing.
Lin Yunjie instantly ignited hope. His nephew's career was so big, and if he continued to make progress, he would not stop being the person in charge of the warehouse. Although he wanted to work for the rest of his life, there were naturally high-level part-time workers.
"Yeah" Lin Yunjie replied seriously, without any meaningless guarantee.
Afterwards, Lin Zhichao walked towards the office, and Lin Yunjie also returned to his post.
Sham Shui Po once again welcomed John, a South African clothing wholesaler. This time he was finally caught by Lai Xin Garment Factory. Lin Baixin quickly invited him to inspect the factory.
At this time, news had spread among the Hong Kong garment industry that the Yangtze River Garment Factory had doubled in size with orders from Africa.
How could Lin Baixin not be envious of this!
Of course, there are still many stubborn garment factories that feel that African merchants are just taking a long-term view and fishing for big fish.
However, Lin Baixin has always believed that orders from Africa are definitely a window for breakthroughs in Hong Kong's garment industry; and as long as an African businessman chooses Hong Kong's garment manufacturing, more and more African orders will fly to Hong Kong.
This was his chance, although the opportunity had already been taken.
"Mr. John, we can produce shirts, t-shirts, and trousers. Our Lai Yan Garment Factory has nearly 200 workers. We are the largest and most powerful garment factory in Hong Kong." Lin Baixin introduced earnestly, and Yu Baozhu beside her also Looking at John friendly.
John looked at all the sewing machines that were not advanced, and suddenly became a little suspicious, because he learned from a source that the quality of the garments produced in Hong Kong was very good, and the equipment was very advanced.
But now, he felt a little disappointed.
"We need man-made fiber cloth, and we need to keep it on time. Can you do it?" John asked calmly.
How could Lin Baixin be left behind? She quickly said: "No problem, we can go to Japan to purchase and then bring it back to Hong Kong for production. I wonder how many dozen you need?"
Johnson understood that this was not the garment factory he was looking for because it had never made any orders from South Africa.
"Not much! But I need to investigate again. I will contact you later!"
Lin Baixin was immediately disappointed, but she also knew that this was the normal behavior of merchants and she was shopping around.
So, he quickly introduced Lixin Garment Factory again and offered the lowest price.
John just nodded without making any commitments. This family looked good, but it didn't seem to be his goal.
Soon, John said goodbye to Lin Baixin and his wife, and went to the next house to inspect.
Seeing that Lin Baixin was anxious, Yu Baozhu immediately reassured: "It doesn't matter, even if the Yangtze River Garment Factory also receives John, we may not lose. Everyone is the same, and we have such sincerity, it may not be us who won the order. .”
Lin Baixin could only nod, and then he said: "Let's go to the hotel to visit him again in the evening, and invite John to dinner and entertainment. We must impress this merchant with sincerity."
In the eyes of the two couples, they are about the same size and have similar equipment. The next step is to rely on price and sincerity. As for sincerity, eating is sincerity, and waiting for businessmen to experience Hong Kong’s nightlife is even more sincerity.
After John left the Lixin Garment Factory, he found another garment factory.
Unexpectedly, this garment factory was disdainful of orders from Africa, especially since it needed to go to Japan to order man-made fibers, and it was even less willing to take risks.
"There is a company called Yangtze Garment Factory over there. They specialize in your African orders. Our factory is small and we can't afford the risk!"
John immediately said happily: "Thank you, I'm just looking for them!"
After saying that, he walked towards the Yangtze River Garment Factory.
The owner of the garment factory laughed and scolded: "This Yangtze River Garment Factory is really not picky about food, and it is not afraid of African orders cheating them once, which will cost a lot of money!" He is just a garment factory with less than a hundred people, so he doesn't want to Risk going to Japan to buy man-made fibers, then make them and send them to Africa.
The other side.
John came to Hong Kong to seek cooperation this time because he was influenced by his colleague Scott, but Scott naturally would not give him details, so he could only come to Hong Kong to try his luck.
So, as he walked, he muttered: "I remember the Yangtze River Garment Factory. It seems that this one can't be wrong!"
When he found the shop at the Changjiang Garment Factory, he found that it was just a display hall. Zhou Zhaohui happened to be in the store, and he immediately enthusiastically invited John to inspect the factory.
For these merchants, the Yangtze River Garment Factory provides a set of "hospitality standards", including factory inspections and one-stop meals and entertainment in the evening. Even the hotel will consider whether to switch to a more luxurious Peninsula Hotel.
In short, in this line of business, customers are very important, so warm hospitality is a must. Usually Zhou Zhaohui is the company representative, and if the order is larger, General Manager Tang Zhongyuan will accompany him.
As for Lin Zhichao, he is just a major shareholder and does not hold a specific position.
As soon as John entered the store and looked at the clothes on display, he knew in his heart that this was what he was looking for.
In order to be more sure, of course he had to go to the factory to inspect.
The next day.
Lin Baixin and Yu Baozhu finally caught John in the hotel with dark circles under their eyes. Last night, they originally wanted to treat a guest, but they didn't expect to see John anywhere until early in the morning.
They understood that Yangtze Garment Factory was not stupid, and they also understood that orders from Africa were more profitable and the order volume was large.
"Mr. John, can you discuss cooperation in more detail? We are very sincere!" Lin Baixin said in broken English.
John was stunned and felt a little touched when he saw that the two of them had been waiting for him.
But when doing business, you can't act on your will, and he was also very satisfied with the reception provided by the Yangtze River Garment Factory.
"Mr. Lin and Miss Yu, I'm sorry to tell you that I have decided to cooperate with the Yangtze River Garment Factory."
"Why is this? Mr. John, please tell us where Lixin Garment Factory loses. If it's the price, we can continue to talk!"
John shook his head and said: "It's not the price, but your machines are a little backward, and your management is also a little backward. In short, the strength in all aspects is not as good as that of the Yangtze River Garment Factory. Of course, because of your sincerity, I will continue to pay attention You guys, if there is a chance, we can cooperate again or introduce others to you!"
Lin Baixin was dumbfounded, but Yu Baozhu quickly handed John the name card.
“Welcome to come again for inspection next time, we will definitely make progress!”
When John left, Lin Baixin said in confusion: "The machines are also backward, and the management is also backward. What's going on?"
Yu Baozhu said: "We will know after some investigation. Could it be that they used sewing machines imported from the United States?"
Seeing two big South African customers being acquired by the Yangtze River Garment Factory, Lin Baixin could only feel regretful. Fortunately, Gangna's concubine had been encouraging him not to give up the South African order easily.
Such a huge market cannot be captured by the Yangtze Garment Factory. The top priority is to find the differences between the two companies. Why is John so determined after visiting the Yangtze Garment Factory? Is there really a big difference?
That morning, Tang Zhongyuan and John signed an order - 500 dozen shirts and 300 dozen trousers. After the contract was signed, everyone was very happy.
Especially Tang Zhongyuan, he did not expect that the Changjiang Garment Factory, which was originally a small shareholder, would develop so rapidly. Today, the Yangtze Garment Factory has more than 350 workers.
If it continues to develop at this rate, I am afraid that the scale of the Yangtze River Garment Factory will not be inferior to that of Oriental Textile.
"Mr. Tang, I inspected several Hong Kong garment factories and found that your sewing machines are the only ones that generally use Singer's most advanced sewing machines. I admire you very much about this. You know, for our South African merchants, there are two The chosen targets are Japan and Hong Kong. I originally wanted to go to Japan for an inspection, but in your factory, I saw the advanced equipment and excellent management. I don’t think there is a need to go. We will have a long-term relationship with you in the future. Working with you."
Tang Zhongyuan immediately became proud and said quickly: "Thank you for your company's trust. We will ensure the quality and delivery time, and will not let your trust turn into disappointment. We will make you 100 satisfied."
Regardless of whether it is a garment factory in Hong Kong or a garment factory in Shanghai in the past, the equipment generally uses sewing machines produced in Shanghai or backward imported sewing machines. These garment factories believe that sewing machines are not advanced, and even if they are, the gap is not very big.
It is with this mentality in mind that the equipment of all garment factories in Hong Kong is inferior to that of the Yangtze River Garment Factory.
In the previous life, during the three years of the Peninsular War, the import of equipment was prohibited, so the Hong Kong garment factory only developed in 1953.
Even though everyone is focusing on the markets of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, Japan is already developing and will naturally focus on Southeast Asia. In fact, throughout the mid-1950s and early 1950s, Japan's textile and garment industries were the world's major exporters; however, in the late 1950s, Europe and the United States saw that the situation was not right and immediately began to impose sanctions on these two Japanese industries. , this gave Hong Kong an opportunity.
This is probably an industrial transfer! Later, as these two industries in Hong Kong grew larger and larger, they were sanctioned by European and American countries and imposed export quotas.
After John left, Tang Zhongyuan sighed: "In terms of vision, my son-in-law is really a genius! But if other garment factories discover our superiority, I am afraid they will also go overseas to buy machines."
If Lin Zhichao were here, he would definitely smile in his heart and say, after everyone reacts, no one will sell it to you!
(End of chapter)
