After Lin Zhichao received the loan from HSBC, he did not go to London to select ships immediately. Instead, he arranged for his men to go to the European shipping market to inquire about news and market conditions. At the same time, he also notified Willis to make some preparations.
Of the last seven ships of Global Shipping, only five were actually purchased from Willis. Even so, they are still Willis's super customers.
He was already familiar with buying ships, not to mention he already had connections and a group of subordinates available to him. Of course, the final choice and decision-making power are firmly in Lin Zhichao's hands.
"Dong dong"
"Come in"
Tao Derong, general manager of the Yangtze Plastic Factory, walked in with a happy face and couldn't wait to report: "Boss, we have successfully tested a machine that can produce plastic bottles. Do you want to go and visit?"
Lin Zhichao showed a smile and said, "Let's go and have a look."
On the way, Tao Derong introduced: "The cost of the machine we developed is only a little over 2,000 Hong Kong dollars, but the products we produce are exactly the same as those in the United States. Based on this alone, we have the priority in technology among our peers, and I believe we can definitely bring in high profits." profit."
Yangtze Plastic Factory's current annual profit is 300,000 to 400,000 Hong Kong dollars. This profit is the net profit after paying 3 Hong Kong dollars per pound of plastic raw materials to 'Yangtze River Trading'.
In fact, Yangtze Trading only earns more than one million Hong Kong dollars from speculating on plastic raw materials. Sometimes, there is no way to make money by 'speculating' in business!
After arriving at the Yangtze Plastic Factory, hundreds of workers were busy. Since the products of the Yangtze Plastic Factory are all primary plastic products, the profits are actually not high. To do business, if you master advanced craftsmanship and advanced technology, it will really be like robbing money.
For example, if you develop a 'hot product' first, you may invest 100,000 yuan in a factory and earn 200,000 yuan a year. But next year, you may not earn 50,000 yuan, because other factories learn the technology and then flock to it, and the competition immediately becomes fierce.
When they arrived at the factory, the technicians were surrounding a machine. When they saw Lin Zhichao arriving, they immediately made way for a passage.
"boss"
"Well, how's it going?"
Upon hearing Lin Zhichao's concern, a technician involved in research and development immediately took out the produced sample and a reference product.
"The machine has been in production for seven or eight hours, and everything is running normally. One of these two products is produced in the United States, and the other is produced by us. What do you think, boss?"
Lin Zhichao immediately started comparing!
The United States already has second-generation plastic machines, while Hong Kong only has first-generation second-hand plastic machines.
Even so, Hong Kong plastics factories are developing rapidly.
In terms of machinery, before the U.S. embargo, there were many foreign companies that were agents for American plastic machines in Hong Kong. After the embargo, these machines were already in warehouses in Hong Kong, so there is no shortage of plastic machines in Hong Kong for the time being, but also new plastic machines.
In terms of raw materials, they are always available through various channels, but the price has doubled from before.
Hong Kong's plastic industry is already laying a solid foundation and will explode in two or three years. Plastic flowers will be the pinnacle of Hong Kong's plastic factories.
"The quality of the two products is indeed similar, but I can still tell that this one is an American product and this one is our product. But that's enough, let's start making money!" Lin Zhichao smiled and gestured to the plastic bottle in his hand.
Everyone was happy, and it was safe to get the boss's approval.
Tao Derong said: "I plan to make 4 more machines to mass-produce this kind of plastic bottles and quickly occupy the market."
Lin Zhichao said with satisfaction: "I think it's good. The action needs to be faster. If someone imitates us, it will only take two or three months."
The cost of a machine is only 2,500 yuan (not including the injection molding machine). It is so cheap and a great saving. The Americans are really greedy when they sell it for 20,000 Hong Kong dollars.
According to Lin Zhichao's estimation, the demand for this kind of plastic bottles in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia is very strong, but after all, it is just a small product. If it is done well, it can increase the profit by HK$50,000 a year, mainly because of the consideration of competitors. of joining.
Why did Lin Zhichao come to personally take care of such a trivial matter?
First, he works efficiently and can take care of his career.
Second, he wants to train the management and technical staff of the Yangtze Plastic Factory and cultivate their ambition.
Third, the Yangtze Plastic Factory will branch off into a Yangtze Toy Factory, so the team must be well-equipped and it is necessary to give them more tasks.
"Manager Tao, next we need to develop and use plastic to make 'soft plastic dolls' and 'hard plastic dolls', which are at least as good as American products. I don't ask for mass production, but we must master this technology. The time is right. We will then go to Europe and the United States to import advanced plastic machines, and then mass production will be possible."
Plastic technology similar to Barbie dolls has become a reality, but the inspiration has not yet reached that stage; the dolls at this time are just babies, with hair painted directly on the plastic, without wigs or clothing decorations.
"Hard glue doll? Boss, the dolls on the market are all soft glue. If they are made of hard glue, it would be difficult to pour them into shape." Tao Derong immediately questioned.
Some technicians also nodded.
In fact, most of the plastic toys in Hong Kong at this time were ducks, pandas, sheep and other animals, except for divination guns. Dolls on the market are generally European and American products with fine texture. It is generally difficult for local plastic factories to achieve that kind of craftsmanship.
But the boss made it very clear that you can master the technology first and then buy machines for production when the time comes.
Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "If it is made of hard glue and the toy is made, it is natural to use parts to assemble it. This is the tip I can give you."
Tao Derong's eyes lit up and he immediately said clearly: "Okay, we understand!"
Lin Zhichao nodded and said: "Take your time. I know that we cannot achieve many processes due to equipment problems. That's why we have given you a long period of research and development, not only to cultivate a technical team, but also to Make plans for the future.”
Tao Derong immediately said seriously: "Okay."
Creativity is the most valuable, so Lin Zhichao stayed at the end. Before that, let’s get the technology right and produce some non-creative products.
As usual, Li Jiacheng stayed in the company to work in the morning, noon and evening, and did sales in the morning and afternoon.
In fact, he feels that his plastic industry is going quite smoothly. After all, he invested 50,000 Hong Kong dollars and earned 16,000 Hong Kong dollars in one year. This return rate is as high as 32%; moreover, it was completed under many difficulties.
Now, he is full of confidence, because if he takes the lead in developing a machine that can produce plastic bottles, CK Hutchison Plastics' profits can at least double.
At that time, not only can the debt be paid off, but the career can even be temporarily stabilized, or moved to the next level.
When he came to a grocery store, Li Jiacheng pretended to be a customer and planned to inquire about the products on the market before selling them.
"Huh"
Li Jiacheng was a little shocked because he saw that this grocery store already had "glue bottles" for sale; he secretly thought that someone had imported the machine from the United States, or was it a smuggled machine.
Don't panic. If so, the cost price is high and you still have a chance of winning.
At this time, Changhe Plastic Factory has made some progress on this kind of machine. According to preliminary sales, the cost of the machine is only one-tenth of that in the United States. In this way, if the plastic bottles are produced in the United States or produced with American machines, the cost will undoubtedly be much higher.
“Boss, what’s the price of your plastic bottles?”
The boss glanced at Li Jiacheng and immediately said: "You are a salesman, right? Can you also produce this thing?"
People who have been in the market all year round can tell at a glance that Li Jiacheng is a salesman, not a customer.
Li Jiacheng was not surprised when he saw this, so he handed over his business card.
"I can't produce such plastic bottles yet, but if you tell me the import price, I believe it will be cheaper than them and come back."
Seeing this, the boss looked Li Jiacheng up and down, his attitude was very sincere, and he immediately quoted the price.
He added: "Then you have to work quickly to bring down the cost price. Others, Yangtze Plastic Factory, have already mass-produced them, and there are already many such plastic bottles on the market."
It’s this Yangtze Plastic again!
Li Jiacheng's first thought was that he was too impressed by Yangtze Plastic Industry. Because everyone in the plastics industry knows that Yangtze Plastics not only makes plastic products, but also wholesales plastic raw materials. Therefore, before the US embargo, it had a large amount of plastic raw materials, which resulted in their low costs. The important thing is that the products of Changjiang Plastic Industry are not only of good quality, but also have very competitive wholesale prices in the market, occupying a large share of the market.
At the same time, Li Jiacheng felt that the price of plastic bottles produced by Yangtze Plastics Wholesale was cheaper than those produced by American machines, but slightly higher than his price.
"It should be a machine imported from the United States. This Yangtze Plastic Factory prefers high quality and low price. In this case, once I produce plastic bottles and set a lower price, I will definitely make a lot of money."
Finally, Li Jiacheng comforted himself.
In fact, I feel quite panicked because the market has already been occupied by others. This is the key point.
When Li Jiacheng returned to the factory, he immediately worked hard and asked everyone to successfully develop the machine as soon as possible, and he himself devoted himself wholeheartedly to it.
In the waters of Sai Wan Pier, the "Venus" traveling on the Yokohama-Hong Kong fixed route returns to Hong Kong, preparing to load goods from the Sai Wan warehouse, and then rushes to Yokohama.
After Lin Zhichao got the news, he boarded the Venus freighter in a small boat. Although he had never been with the ship, many of his freighters would arrive at the port. He might land on it as soon as possible to check the maintenance status of the freighter and discuss the condition of the freighter with the engineers. Equipment conditions, and talking to seafarers.
Although this is not the case for every flight, Lin Zhichao will board the cargo ship to inspect the work whenever he has time. To do a job, you must be proficient in it. This is his current working status.
The other side.
The ship's accountant, He Wennian, has already gone ashore to arrange the time for the Venus to dock for loading. Due to the booming shipping industry, almost all cargo ships have to wait for a certain period of time before they can dock for loading and unloading, so they can arrange a berth for you.
He Wennian successfully received the news from the port. It will dock at ten o'clock tomorrow morning. The waiting time is not long. Some ships may wait three or four days.
Then, he went to Tung Fook Wo, which was responsible for unloading cargo from Sai Wan to Chai Wan Pier, and asked someone to arrange for loading to be done tomorrow morning.
Originally, this kind of thing has always been easy. Da Fei, the person in charge of the Western Ring Road in Dongfuhe, always gets what he wants, as if the God of Wealth has arrived.
But this time, Da Fei actually arrogantly asked for more money!
When He Wennian heard this, he immediately said: "More money? Have you made a mistake? With the current market conditions, we can still add more money. Hundreds of thousands of people in Hong Kong have no jobs. Tell me why we should add more money."
Da Fei said like a dead pig who is not afraid of boiling water: "I don't care, anyway, if you want to load the goods, you have to pay an extra 600 yuan per ton. Your Venus is so profitable, so give the brothers more money for their hard work!" "
How could He Wennian agree? In the words of the boss, he must save every penny. Now the dock workers were not his own employees, not to mention that he suspected that the dock gang was deliberately raising prices.
So, He Wennian said: "You are not moving, are you? Well, from now on you, Dongfuhe, will not do our business. We will ask others to move it."
I have never heard of a small dock gang that dares to embarrass Global Shipping. I don’t know how many dock workers in Hong Kong rely on Global Shipping to make a living. They actually took the wrong medicine today and dared to raise prices.
Da Fei can become the person in charge of Xihuan, so naturally he can fight and kill, and he has a fierce look. He came to He Wennian, took off He Wennian's eyes, threw them to the ground, and said arrogantly: "Who do you think you are, daring to threaten me? I don't think anyone would dare to do it without Dong Fuhe's nod. You load the goods. Tell your boss that the money will have to be increased in the future. If all your ships are on our territory, you will have to add a handling fee of 60,000 yuan per ton, otherwise you will not be able to load and unload the goods."
He Wennian was originally a thin scholar, but now he felt a little weak in front of a group of gangsters. He could only pick up his glasses and plan to go back and think of a solution.
After He Wennian leaves.
"Boss, you are offending the shipping company by doing this. Others are big bosses. I am afraid that if you fail to increase the price, you will be in trouble." A subordinate named A Jin advised.
Da Fei looked at A Jin, slapped A Jin on the back of the head, and said: "M, when will it be your turn to teach me a lesson! I just want to be in trouble. Anyway, now Dong Fuhe has become someone else's, we I still have to bow down to a young man in his early twenties, which I can’t do. Since he wants to be the boss, let’s see if he can handle such trouble!”
Da Fei's words immediately aroused the agreement of other subordinates.
"That's right, my hair hasn't even grown yet, yet I want to be the boss of our Pier Gang. Why!"
"Just because he has an uncle who is Inspector General Hua, he has no ability."
It turns out that Dong Fuhe's boss was originally a "fat pig man" who was in charge. After Liu Fu became Inspector Zonghua, he was taken care of by Liu Fu by virtue of his fellow Dongguan background. But this 'fat pig guy' is not good enough. Originally, the society was running illegal businesses such as gambling stalls, brothels, opium dens, etc. The "fat pig guy" was not satisfied and relied on Liu Fu's intimidation to compete with other societies. The territory was so disturbed that Liu Fu could only temporarily imprison him and appoint a new person to take over.
Although Liu Fu's nephew Daju comes from a wealthy family, he has been fond of fighting in the community since he was a child, and he also worshiped the master of Zhigong Hall. Just in time, Liu Fu arranged for Daju to be the Dongfu and sit in the hall.
Although Daju was able to secure his position in a short period of time, there were still some "fat pig man" cronies who were not convinced, and Dafei was one of them. Da Fei's attempt to raise his price this time was actually causing some trouble for Da Ju.
Of course, with Da Fei's IQ, I'm afraid he can only think of this method.
Lin Zhichao was about to get off the ship and go home when he saw Du Ming, the manager, and He Wenian, the ship's accountant, coming to him.
Du Ming said: "Boss, I have something to report to you."
Lin Zhichao looked at the two of them and said, "Well, tell me!"
Du Ming signaled He Wennian to speak, and then He Wennian talked about his experiences with the Pier Gang.
After listening, Lin Zhichao said calmly: "Only our ships will increase in price, or will the prices of all people and ships increase?"
Du Ming immediately said: "I went to investigate and found that only our ship has increased in price."
Lin Zhichao became curious and said: "This makes no sense. We are a big ship, how can we raise the price first?"
The more goods there are, the cheaper they will be. How can we be the first to raise prices? What's more, why should the prices of Hong Kong dock workers increase? The most indispensable thing now is coolies.
Du Ming explained: "I went to ask people again and found out that it might be an internal problem of the Pier Gang. So, I suspected that the person in charge of the Pier Gang, Da Fei, wanted to cause trouble and was dissatisfied with the new boss."
Lin Zhichao snorted coldly, and then said: "I don't care about the Pier Gang and the Dog Head Gang. Since they threaten us, we can't just forget about it."
Du Ming said: "How about we let the police maintain order tomorrow and then ask other workers to load the goods?"
Lin Zhichao said: "What's the use of treating the symptoms but not the root cause! Let me deal with it like this."
I didn't expect to encounter such a novel thing, Liu Fu, Da Ju, and the Pier Gang jumped out one after another.
Lin Zhichao doesn't plan to go to the dock to help him sit in Daju because of the price drop!
I won’t go to Trust Chief Inspector Liu Fu, because the price will also drop!
Since it was Liu Fu's lax management, then the fat man Liu Fu should be allowed to load the goods for him. This would make up for the mistake.
If you want Liu Fu to load the goods, you naturally have to find his boss. There should be two of Liu Fu's bosses. One is the superintendent or chief superintendent of the JC system. Lin Zhichao also knows some of these people, but Lin Zhichao also I don’t want to become a fake foreign devil; the other family is naturally the Dongguan Chamber of Commerce.
The Dongguan Chamber of Commerce is currently the most powerful chamber of commerce in Hong Kong because it is backed by the Zhou family. Zhou Junnian is the chief Chinese member of the Legislative Council. His younger brother Zhou Xinian is also a member of the Legislative Council and is expected to succeed his cousin's chief position.
The three generations of the Zhou family are deeply trusted by the British court, so they have always been classified as "high-class Chinese".
Of course, Lin Zhichao didn't want to go to the Zhou family yet. He planned to talk to Fang Shuquan, the president of the Dongguan Chamber of Commerce. Fong Shuquan is the founder of Hip Shing Hong and is the largest cinnamon trader in Hong Kong. He trades cinnamon from China to the United States and owns many industries.
Talk to Fang Shuquan and see if Liu Fulai can load the goods for him.
(End of chapter)
