Lin Zhichao came to the Yangtze River Industrial Park. Although industry only ranked third among his core assets, Lin Zhichao would still participate in the work of the Yangtze River Industrial Group from time to time, formulating strategies, making suggestions, supervising production, opening channels, and other tasks.
It would be completely impossible for any other entrepreneur in the world to be as comprehensive and extremely professional as Lin Zhichao; this is due to Lin Zhichao's super brain and past life memory.
In fact, in Lin Zhichao's view, doing industry requires the most energy. Shipping and real estate are more or less "speculators". To do industry, you need to be down-to-earth and analyze the situation carefully.
In the wig production workshop, Lin Zhichao praised the management: "Yangtze Wig Factory performed well last year. You must continue your efforts this year!"
In 1957, the Yangtze Wig Factory's profits were still stable at more than HK$5 million, which made Lin Zhichao very happy; at the same time, he also rethought the prospects of wigs.
Chen Linyuan, Chen Xia and other management staff immediately felt very useful and happy. Being praised by the boss not only made them feel proud, but also related to the size of the year-end bonus.
Chen Linyuan responded: "Although the competition for wigs in Hong Kong is fierce, we have maintained our competitiveness by virtue of our large sales network and sophisticated technology. This is the key to our survival."
The huge sales network means that Yangtze Wig Factory can not only sell its own products to Europe and the United States, but also act as an agent for other people's products.
With sophisticated technology, some special wigs can cost a thousand yuan each, with huge profit margins.
Lin Zhichao nodded. From the beginning, they have been the 'boss' in the industry. Therefore, although there are many wig factories in Hong Kong, it is difficult to challenge the status of the Yangtze River Wig Factory.
"General Manager Chen, you often go abroad for inspections. Let's talk about the demand for wigs in Europe and the United States. Is there any possibility of expansion?"
Lin Zhichao actually understood in his heart that he was just testing Chen Linyuan on purpose. Lin Zhichao trains the general managers of these subsidiaries as 'bosses' and travels overseas multiple times a year, with all expenses reimbursed by the company.
As for whether the general managers of these subsidiaries will resign and start a business, Lin Zhichao is not worried at all. He can just train another one after leaving. The real commander is Lin Zhichao. Of course, Chen Linyuan's salary is increasing every year. For example, last year it was close to 100,000, and this year it will exceed 100,000.
Chen Linyuan said: "The global demand for wigs has been growing steadily, which is due to the increasing popularity of European and American hippies. There is also a phenomenon that there is an increasing demand for special wigs, which are all customized by a single customer, such as For bald wigs, the hair cover must be organically combined with the real hair on the edge, and the color must be the same to achieve the miraculous effect of looking real. In addition to Hong Kong artists, bald people, and people with thinning hair, such customers also come from overseas. People. The price can reach thousands or even nearly ten thousand Hong Kong dollars."
Lin Zhichao heard this and combined it with his own memory - the 1960s was the era when hippies were truly popular, and they gradually faded away at the end of the 1960s. Just like 'fashion', once it becomes popular, it can no longer be called 'fashion'.
As a result, the wig industry still has a golden period of nearly ten years.
"Well, I think wigs still have a golden period, probably because the Beatles style really became popular in Europe and the United States in the 1960s. In this way, you can sign long-term supply contracts with some high-quality OEM factories according to the situation to stabilize our supply. chain. When the situation is not right in the future, we will sign back the single-month supply contract."
In this way, they easily mastered the production channels.
"OK"
Later, Lin Zhichao paid attention to Chen Xia and said: "Mr. Chen, the way Hong Kong people do business is - don't let go of big money and don't lose small money. For the single customer demand that General Manager Chen just mentioned, you have to make your technology the best factory in Hong Kong." One, only in this way can we do high-end customization.”
There are two reasons for Chen Xia's development from a female worker to today's production manager: first, Yangtze River Industrial Group is good at cultivating people and likes to cultivate potential managers; second, although Chen Xia's education is close to the elementary school level, she has Be sharp, strong and willing to study.
In this way, Chen Xia has not fallen behind in these years!
"Don't worry, boss, we will make wigs with the best quality and technology in the world, and we will not lose to the French." Chen Xia said unwillingly.
At this point, Chen Xia already has the shadow of a 'strong woman'. Since joining the Changjiang Wig Factory, her destiny has undergone earth-shaking changes. From a female worker with a salary of only a few dozen Hong Kong dollars, she has now become a member of the middle class in Hong Kong with an annual salary of 30,000 to 40,000 Hong Kong dollars.
Later, Lin Zhichao spent some time visiting the production workshop and chatting with everyone.
He said that he had completely handed over the two industries of wigs and plastic flowers to the management of the group and branches; but in fact, Lin Zhichao's business style is very abiding - don't let big money go, don't lose small money.
What's more, nowadays, whether it's wigs or plastic flowers, all of them are made on the head, and the profits are very huge.
Take wigs as an example. If we can guarantee a profit of HK$5 million every year for ten years, that would be a full HK$50 million.
What an incredible idea. With so much money, a company with zero real estate could buy the bottom in 1967 and go public in 1972, becoming one of the "Five Real Estate Tigers".
then.
Lin Zhichao came to Yangtze Plastic Factory.
At present, the number of workers in the Yangtze Plastic Factory has exceeded 3,000, 500 more than Lin Zhichao expected. In Tao Derong's words, the number of workers must be expanded, otherwise too much profit will be lost.
At the same time, there are more than 20 satellite companies that manufacture "plastic flowers" for the Yangtze Plastic Factory, with a total of more than 1,000 workers. There are also family factories that make stringing for the Yangtze Plastic Factory. There were more than two hundred people, about five hundred people.
With a scale of nearly 5,000 people, it can be called an industrial miracle.
There are already about 30,000 plastic flower workers in Hong Kong, excluding family workshops.
"Boss, in the past year or so, Zunino Altman (Qi Ai Company) has grown very fast. It is said that there are 3,000 workers, and it has taken away many of our orders in the United States." Tao Derong reported a 'bad' news.
Lin Zhichao was a little surprised when he heard this.
Qi Ai Company was the largest plastic flower factory in Hong Kong in the previous life, with Li Jiacheng only ranking second.
The owners of this company are a pair of Jewish brothers. After Hong Kong plastic flowers became popular all over the world, the brothers came to Hong Kong to open a factory at the end of 1954. The Jewish brothers were very smart and knew that there would be no money to be made by opening a factory elsewhere, so they came to Hong Kong to open a factory as soon as possible. With its abundant capital and sales network in the United States, Qiai Company has grown rapidly.
The Jews are a tough competitor!
In their previous life, the brothers also invested in a factory building in Kwun Tong, Hong Kong, as their headquarters. As a result, the building was later acquired by Li Jiacheng; because Qi Ai Company went bankrupt in 1967, one of the Jewish brothers died early.
"What can you do?" Lin Zhichao asked.
He had no choice anyway. After all, the main point of plastic flowers is 'high quality and low price'. The Changjiang Plastic Factory employs so many people, and its annual profit is only 20 million Hong Kong dollars (in 1957).
Moreover, according to Lin Zhichao's estimation, plastic flowers in this life will take a turn for the worse before 1967. It is expected that it will be very popular if it can be popular until 1965.
Tao Derong said: "The reason why Qi'ai Company has grown so fast is because they have so many sales outlets in the United States, and the United States accounts for 25% to 30% of the world's consumption power. But if there is a way, in addition to developing more styles, ensuring For better quality, the only other option is to go to the U.S. market and try to win over agents, lest the price be lowered."
Lin Zhichao immediately said: "The price cannot be lowered! Plastic flowers will still be popular for more than five years, which is a very good expectation. If the price is lowered in advance, no one will benefit."
Tao Derong nodded and said, "Indeed! Plastic flowers bloomed all over the world almost overnight. This popularity amazed everyone. But this kind of popularity often fades quickly."
Although Lin Zhichao didn't have a good way to deal with it, he was a leader. He immediately said: "As for competition, let the senior management of the group and the senior management of the plastic factory sit down and talk together later."
"OK"
Finally, Tao Derong said hesitantly: "Boss, our labor wages are high. If we continue like this, competition and costs will be high in the future. I'm afraid it will be difficult to increase profits."
He knows that the boss treats the workers well, but as a manager, it is necessary to remind the boss.
Lin Zhichao smiled and said: "If there is no profit, close the factory immediately. What else will you do? I will consider increasing the workers' wages. The plastic flower factory will be closed sooner or later. Do you think I am not prepared? Besides, if the product is no longer good, we will develop new products." That’s fine, the growth of Yangtze Toy Factory is the best proof!”
Tao Derong admired the boss but was also a little confused. In his opinion, it would be enough to be a little nicer to the workers.
"I see!"
"Well, in short, your management will not lose their jobs. There are still many factories to be opened in the future. Maybe we can enter high-tech industries in the future."
Tao Derong was immediately impressed. The boss had everything under control and had plans for every industry.
After visiting the two factories, it was already evening. Lin Zhichao was not going to work overtime and decided to go home.
Today, the Yangtze River Industrial Group has more than 10,000 workers and has become a giant factory.
There are only 170,000 registered workers in Hong Kong, and over 200,000 unregistered workers.
Such a large factory also requires a lot of energy to manage.
At seven o'clock in the evening, 'Zhou Daqi', a worker at the Cheung Kong Plastics Factory, returned to his wooden house in Tsuen Wan.
"Master, are you getting double food today?" the wife asked happily while taking out the dinner.
Her husband, Zhou Daqi, is a plastic flower worker at the Yangtze River Plastic Factory. According to the practice of the Yangtze River Industrial Group, workers who have worked for six months must receive "double pay" in the last month of each year.
Zhou Daqi took out two hundred Hong Kong dollar bills and two ten Hong Kong dollars and placed them in front of his wife. He picked up the bowl and started cooking while saying inarticulately: "Save it!"
The wife said with a smile: "It's better to save it. Such a family needs to eat, how can there be money to save!"
Zhou Daqi said nonchalantly: "I told you to save and spend slowly. Don't run out of food before your salary is paid."
There are four people in the family and they have two children, one is 5 years old and the other is 2 years old. Because of this, his wife cannot go to work and can only take care of the children at home, so he does not expect to save much in a year.
The wife immediately said: "Don't worry, you can still save more than 100 yuan this time. Fortunately you work in the Yangtze River Factory, otherwise how can this family have enough to eat? The third sister-in-law came again today and asked if the Yangtze River Factory still has enough food. Regardless of whether they are recruiting people or not, they both want to change jobs and work at the Yangtze River Factory!"
Zhou Daqi immediately said: "If this is a good thing, I will definitely introduce you in. Let my mother take care of the child, and you can handle it."
The wife nodded quickly and said, "That's true. I really want to go to your factory to make money! I get thirteen salary a year, and I still have a monthly salary of 80 to 100 Hong Kong dollars. How great!"
Zhou Daqi said proudly: "This is not the only benefit! Overtime is calculated as 1.5 times the hourly wage. Rice and oil are supplied during the Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and spring of the year. You can also have one day off every month and work normally for ten and a half hours a day. (Lunch is included for half an hour), free lunch is provided at noon, and you can’t find such a good factory with a lantern in Hong Kong.”
A monthly salary of RMB 80 to RMB 100 is at the level of top students in Hong Kong;
As for other benefits, more than 90% of factories in Hong Kong do not have them, or they are not sincere.
For example, according to the benefits provided by the Yangtze River Industrial Group during the three festivals, a worker receives about 20 kilograms of rice and 2 kilograms of oil per festival, which is enough for an adult's staple food for one month.
Moreover, Yangtze River Industrial Group works a lot of overtime, and workers are paid 5 to 20 yuan in overtime pay every month.
One day off per month is impossible to achieve in 90% of factories in Hong Kong, because everyone has no holidays throughout the year. If you have something to do, you can ask for leave, but your salary will be deducted.
Workers at the Yangtze River Industrial Group can use this day to deal with family matters or take their families to visit Hong Kong.
The wife said: "Well, Boss Lin is a good boss. By the way, husband, your overtime pay is 20 Hong Kong dollars this month. How about we spend 10 Hong Kong dollars to buy a chicken to eat, and the children will also have to make up for it!"
A pound of rice in Hong Kong costs around 0.5 yuan (the price may come and go depending on the grade), and a chicken costs 10 Hong Kong dollars. Hong Kong workers can only buy 10 chickens with one month's salary, so it is difficult to eat chickens.
After all, many factories still only have 50 to 80 Hong Kong dollars, no lunch (and no meal allowance), no overtime pay, and a monthly salary for 12 hours. If you can't even eat three meals, how can you eat chicken?
This is also true - the Yangtze Plastic Factory has nearly 5,000 workers and related workers, and its annual profit is only HK$20 million. If we were stricter with our company's workers, our profits could reach 23 million yuan a year.
The labor cost of Yangtze River Industries is 1.5 times that of other factories, and even more than twice that of some sweatshops.
It’s not that factories in Hong Kong don’t make money, but the bosses like to exploit workers. In their view, there are plenty of cheap workers available—temporary workers from Tiu Keng Ling who escaped from the mainland; therefore, everyone can earn more. Just make more.
Of course, there are also some factories that have low profits due to weak competitiveness. In addition, they can earn more by squeezing workers, so they are looking for cheap workers.
But Lin Zhichao couldn't do it. In his opinion, if a factory needs to squeeze workers' basic living expenses, it means that the added value of this industry is too low, and he would be better off closing it down.
As for harvesting leeks in the stock market, he had no trouble in his heart. If he didn't cut the leeks, there were other people who cut them. Moreover, these leeks were very vigorous and would grow again after being cut.
The important thing is that his method is not actively harvesting leeks, and he does not use dirty tricks. Compared with the harvesting methods of some groups in the stock market, I don’t know how much kindness is there.
Zhou Daqi suddenly drooled and said, "Okay, it's just a chicken. I'll get enough overtime pay for a month."
When the wife saw this, she said: "De Xing! Just work hard and don't lose your job. There are still many people who don't have enough to eat. We can still save two to three hundred a year."
Zhou Daqi said: "It's a pity that we didn't arrange to buy a building. Otherwise, we can afford the monthly rent of 13 yuan and still live in the building!" After speaking, he showed a longing expression.
Yes, who in Hong Kong doesn’t want to live in a high-rise building now?
But the wooden houses in Hong Kong still existed in the 1970s and 1980s. Of course, the wooden houses later were mainly lived in by people from the mainland.
"Stop dreaming, wash up and go to bed quickly. Please catch up on work tomorrow morning."
"How can this be a dream? I heard that the government has already resettled hundreds of thousands of people. Sooner or later it will be our turn. By then the children will be a little older and you can also go to work. Maybe we can save 1,000 yuan a year!"
"It's true! I heard that Tuzhi Building has a 'rooftop school' where children can study while adults can go to work."
"Yes, and the buildings are all in the neighborhood, so the children can go home by themselves after school."
For a time, the couple fell into yearning for a better life.
At least they still have hope, but many factory workers in Hong Kong have no hope at all because their salary is barely enough to survive hunger and they work fourteen to five hours a day, all year round.
Of course, that kind of factory usually hires underage workers, female workers, and workers who have just arrived in Hong Kong. As long as ordinary workers are not stupid and work for a period of time, they will choose to change jobs in factories with better pay. There is still no problem with food and clothing, and they can Save a little money without spending it arbitrarily.
For example, a single worker at Cheung Kong Industries, or a couple working in the factory, will have no problem saving HKD 500 in a year, and a couple can save more than HKD 1,000.
(End of chapter)
