The birth of the Hong Kong Island family

Lin Zhichao came to Fuhehang to visit. This is a 300-square-foot central office building, which is separated by the second-hand landlord; as for the staff, there are only five people 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 Fuhehang's new business is on the right track, and everyone is very busy!" Lin Zhichao declined the seat. The place is too small, and it is not easy to drink a glass of water.

Huang Tinggui said with a smile: "It can only be said that it is difficult to operate. There are too many people involved in the trade between the Mainland and Hong Kong, and the competition is fierce. But because too many people engage in it, there is no risk, it is very stable, and it is a very good business. "

The trade between the mainland and Hong Kong not only did not become less because of the establishment of New China, but became more busy; because of the new establishment of the country, many things (light industry) need to be imported from Hong Kong; at the same time, a large number 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 opinions in everything he does.

"Well, it's good to be stable. By the way, I'm here to inform you that you need to establish a new shipping company, and then buy the ship from Wanhe Shipping next month. Is there any problem with your funds?"

According to regulations, Fuhexing should give Lin Zhichao 100,000 US dollars (or 565,000 Hong Kong dollars) to buy 50% of his shares.

For the intermediary fee of the last "selling zipper rice arranging machine", Li Gaofu put the commission under the name of the "Fuhehang" company, which made Huang Tinggui admire him. In principle, this money could be used as a personal commission, but Li Gaofu planned to use it as funds for the purchase of ships by Fuhehang.

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 on time!"

Lin Zhichao nodded, and stopped talking about other things. The funds of Fuhehang must be tight, after all, they still have to do business in trade. However, Li Gaofu and Huang Tinggui have their own assets, and banks can also lend to traders, so there is no problem with a little difference.

He doesn't need to worry about others, he just needs to get his $100,000 back. In this way, the ship also earned him 250,000 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 in assets left. If the trade exhibition cannot be launched, we will need at least another 100,000 Hong Kong dollars in capital injection. In this way, we will inject another 100,000 Hong Kong dollars based on shares." Hong Kong dollars come in, I know Brother Gao Fu is not rich, so I will borrow 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 intermediary Fei Dagong is selfless and counts the company, so I don't care."

Afterwards, the two laughed one after another. This kind of concerted efforts can make the company last longer.

At this time, Fuhe Bank is on the right track in all aspects. If it takes all the shares of "Oriental Trader", it will be equivalent to Fuhe Bank having two businesses. Among them, the trading part can earn 120,000 to 150,000 a year, and Eastern traders can earn 400,000 to 500,000 a year.

Both of them are very much looking forward to the next career, which is equivalent to finally stabilizing.

Lin Zhichao, who returned to Global Shipping, sat in the office and looked through the financial books to calculate the funds of Global Shipping.

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 a good thing not to earn that money:

First, avoid being called a profiteer. If you make more money, you will be a profiteer. If you are accused of selling fake goods, you won't be able to clean yourself up even if you jump into the Yellow River. After all, Lin Zhichao doesn't 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 protecting yourself is very important.

Therefore, it is better for him to make money safely and 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 the trade between Hong Kong and Macao 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 a 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.

The raw materials purchased for HK$3 million this time have all been moved into warehouses. In addition to the Tsuen Wan warehouse, there are also three warehouses filled with 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, the factory in Sing Tao 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 latter stages of the Anti-Japanese War; above him, Lin Zhichao also had two aunts, whom he did not talk 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 feels 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 finishing speaking, he walked towards the Changjiang 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 shop 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, he will of course go to the factory for inspection.

The next day.

With dark circles under their eyes, Lin Baixin and Yu Baozhu finally caught John in the hotel. Last night, they originally wanted to treat guests, but they didn't expect to wait until early in the morning, and there was no sign of John.

They then understood that the Changjiang Garment Factory was not stupid, and it made them understand that orders from Africa are more profitable and the orders are large.

"Mr. John, can you talk about the cooperation in detail, we are very sincere!" Lin Baixin said in broken English.

John was taken aback, seeing that the two had been waiting for him, he was a little moved.

But in business, how can you act on your own will, and he is also very satisfied with the hospitality of Changjiang Garment Factory.

"Mr. Lin, Ms. Yu, I'm sorry to tell you that I have decided to cooperate with Changjiang Garment Factory."

"Why? Mr. John, please tell us where Lixin Garment Factory is losing. If it is 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, if there is an opportunity, we can cooperate or introduce other people to you!"

Lin Baixin was dumbfounded by what he said, so Yu Baozhu hurriedly handed over a name card to John.

"Welcome to visit again next time, we will definitely make progress!"

When John left, Lin Baixin wondered, "The machines are also behind, and the management is also behind. What's going on?"

Yu Baozhu said: "You can find out after investigating. Could it be that they use 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 have inspected several garment factories in Hong Kong, and found that only your sewing machines generally use the most advanced sewing machines from Singer. I admire this very much. You know, for our South African merchants, there are two The chosen target is Japan, and your Hong Kong is the other. I originally wanted to go to Japan for inspection, but in your factory, I saw advanced equipment and excellent management. I don’t think I need to go. Working with you."

Tang Zhongyuan immediately became proud, and quickly said: "Thank you for your trust. We will guarantee the quality and delivery time, so that your trust will not turn into disappointment, and we will make you 100% satisfied."

Regardless of whether it is a garment factory in Hong Kong or a previous garment factory in Shanghai, the equipment generally uses sewing machines produced in Shanghai or backward imports; these garment factories believe that there is no advanced sewing machine, and even if there is, 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; but in the late 1950s, Europe and the United States saw that the situation was not right, and immediately began to sanction 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 in this way, if other garment factories find out our superiority, I am afraid they will 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 to you!