The Birth of the Hong Kong Island Family.

Chapter 101 [Youth Dream]

Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu came to a ship brokerage company in Hong Kong together, and a foreign manager named Davis received them.

Davis is a burly foreigner with beards. When he saw that Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu were relatively young, his expression changed suddenly. He said arrogantly: "You two want to buy a ship? Note, the shipping industry It's a dangerous business, and if you don't get it right, you'll lose your last shirt."

Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu were both taken aback, thinking that there is still such a business?

These foreigners are really fucking arrogant, how much they look down on the Chinese!

In fact, Davis also commented on Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu in his heart-young people, did they come to play?
Especially Lin Zhichao, who looks like he is in his early 20s, and Davis is already preconceived, and the two may not be able to afford a boat.

"Shipping is a very risky business, but doing business is not a gamble. We will not do anything we are not sure about. Mr. Davis, do you have a ship here?" Lin Zhichao said calmly.

Furious and slamming the door, it was obviously useless, but was humiliated in vain.

Davis looked Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu up and down for a while, and when he found that the two were expensively dressed and had a calm personality, he immediately improved his impression a little.

But what happened next left Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu speechless.

"The investment in the shipping industry is quite large. How much capital do you have?"

Lin Zhichao could only say frankly: "Mr. Davis, do you have a thousand-ton cargo ship here? Do we need such second-hand ship information?"

Speak clearly, so as not to continue talking nonsense, Lin Zhichao will not promise his lofty ambitions in front of an unknown junior, because Davis is not worthy of him!

Davis's performance also made Lin Zhichao feel in his heart that foreigners in this era are really arrogant, and a small ship brokerage firm actually does business like this.

So, did the Chinese customers in front succumb to Davis?

Davis was taken aback. He didn't expect Lin Zhichao to be so ambitious, and he seemed different from those Chinese clients before; however, he didn't think Lin Zhichao was a talent. On the contrary, he now thought Lin Zhichao was a stunned young man. Didn't Chinese people say that "harmony makes money" Well?

Based on his impatient attitude just now, Davis is sure that Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu are rookies who have just entered the shipping industry.

After thinking for a while, Davis said: "Looking at you, you are really buying ships sincerely and have confidence in shipping. I happen to have information on a second-hand cargo ship here. This ship is 1200 tons and was built in World War II. It is a very new second-hand ship. The boat has many advantages, and it only costs 110 million Hong Kong dollars, which is very cheap.”

As he spoke, he found a stack of materials from the cabinet and handed them to Lin Zhichao and the others.

Lin Zhichao took the stack of printed materials and found that the three advantages of this ship were listed above:

[-]. The hull is made of high-quality steel plates and advanced welding technology. Compared with the boat with rivets, it is stronger and lighter.

Two, the use of turbines is more energy-efficient and the speed of the ship is faster.

[-]. The cabin is spacious and the capacity is larger than other ships of the same type made in Britain.

Soon, Lin Zhichao discovered that Davis was hopeless, and bullied Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu as newbies in shipping, treating them as idiots.

"Manager Davies, if it is a high-quality ship built in World War II, it will never only cost 110 million Hong Kong dollars. At the same time, there are almost no high-quality ships built in World War II. Most of them are for rush work, and the welding skills are poor; The baptism of the war, the hull has been damaged. It seems that you are not doing our business sincerely! If our brothers bought this ship, they would be giving you money directly!"

Davis was stunned. He did not expect Lin Zhichao to be so sophisticated. The owner of this ship was indeed entrusted to him, and he specifically told him that if it could be sold, he would be given 25 Hong Kong dollars for the brokerage fee alone.

Why is the ship owner so generous? It turns out that although the ships built in the United Kingdom during World War II were welded with steel plates, the welding skills were extremely poor, and water often leaked. , I can't say where I can drive.

Seeing that Davis was at a loss for words, Lin Zhichao knew that he had guessed right. Fortunately, he had done a lot of homework in the past six months.

"Since Manager Davis has no sincerity in doing our business, then we will leave!" Lin Zhichao got up and was about to leave.

At this time, Davis paid more attention to Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu as customers, and immediately blurted out: "Singdao Neptune Shipping has a 1300-ton ship to sell, and I will give you the information!"

Lin Zhichao was overjoyed and gave Li Gaofu a look.

Li Gaofu seemed to understand, and the two returned to their seats again.

When Davis took out the information, Lin Zhichao deliberately refused to accept it, but Li Gaofu took it on his own initiative.

Davis didn't notice any abnormalities. This time, he handed over the information seriously, with a sincere expression!
Li Gaofu glanced at the information, and then said: "Mr. Davis, this ship is too old. It is 31 years old and is not suitable for us. After all, it can't even pass the inspection at the port. So sorry, we will Go look elsewhere."

Immediately Li Gaofu got up, Lin Zhichao pretended to be still angry, and naturally got up too, and the two left at the same time.

"Damn it! Wasting my time!" Davis cursed as soon as the two left the door.

Walking on the road, Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu said at the same time: "Singdao Neptune Shipping"

Immediately, the two laughed!
Lin Zhichao asked: "What does the information say?"

Li Gaofu immediately said seriously: "A 1300-ton cargo ship, an old ship that was undocked in 1918, is considered a very good second-hand ship. The quoted price is only 88, but this price is quoted by a brokerage company. I believe that the shipping company only needs 80 Hong Kong dollars. .”

Lin Zhichao nodded, 30 years old is not too bad, even a 40-year-old boat can be used for running.Hong Kong shipping and Chinese shipping are still in their infancy, as long as they can run, it doesn't matter how old they are.

"In this way, let's leave Flying Star Island, then meet up, and then come to talk to us." Lin Zhichao said decisively.

"Okay" Li Gaofu said immediately.

Why fly separately, the answer is self-evident!

Although it was a little immoral to bypass the brokerage company this time, it was also Davis who made a mistake first.What's more, shopping malls are like battlefields, and when it's time to save, it's natural to save.

Three days later, Li Gaofu and Lin Zhichao met at Xingdao and came to the headquarters of Neptune Shipping.

This shipping company is very good in later generations. It was nationalized by Singapore in the late 60s, became a large container shipping company in the 70s, and was later sold to CMA CGM (the third container company in the world).

The two were carrying a suitcase with $20 in it.

Because Lin Zhichao, Li Gaofu and others agreed that the purchase of ships will be paid in US dollars, and they will also buy back ships in US dollars in the future, the reason is that US dollars preserve their value.In itself, foreign currency will be used for overseas ship purchases, so Lin Zhichao's request is not too much.

As for their redemption next year, Lin Zhichao believes that Li Gaofu's partners will not have any objections at that time in the era of "there is a boat and a money printing machine".

After much difficulty, the two finally found the supervisor in charge of this matter, who was still a foreigner, which made them feel depressed.

Lin Zhichao still bit the bullet and explained why he came.

Sure enough, the foreign executive Fei Luo said directly: "I already understand the purpose of the two of you, but our company only deals with ship brokerage companies, and all ships are handled by ship brokerage companies."

Although it was a refusal, the tone was very formal and not arrogant.

At this time, Lin Zhichao placed the suitcase on Ferro's desk, and said, "Mr. Ferro, please allow me to explain the reason for the incident. Are you relieved to hand over the ship to such a ship broker?"

Then, he directly opened the suitcase and said: "Here is 20 US dollars. It is the dream of two young people to start a business. We are longing for the sea. I know that Britain relies on ships to become the hegemony of the world. Therefore, we are very eager to get this excellent ship." Boat."

First explain why you skipped the intermediary, then talk about the dreams of young people, and finally praise Britain as the world hegemony;

After some manipulations, Ferro's expression softened immediately, relaxed again, and finally stretched out.

"No wonder, I said that the ship has been handed over to the ship broker for a while, why hasn't it been sold, that's why." Ferro said.

Then he said: "20 US dollars is exactly our price. Since you young people have dreams, I will not trample on your dreams. I will make a deal at this price."

In fact, Ferro also wanted to sell the old boat earlier, and what Lin Zhichao just said was just one reason.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Ferro!"

"Thank you, Mr. Ferro!"

Next, Lin Zhichao took the opportunity to put forward a new request: "Mr. Ferro, we are still new to shipping, so I would like to ask your company to overhaul and refresh the hull before delivering it to us."

The port of the Hong Kong government has regulations that ships must enter the dock for inspection once a year. If the maintenance personnel have checked and repaired the ship before entering the dock, the original 14 days of staying in the dock can be shortened to 7 days.

At the same time, Lin Zhichao's request can be regarded as "giving a maintenance", so he can feel at ease.

Ferro has been convinced by Lin Zhichao's dream, so he readily agreed: "No problem!"

Next, things became logical, and the transaction was formally completed soon.

The ship will return to Hong Kong (Sing Tao) in about seven days, plus seven days of overhaul and refresh, and it will be able to sail towards Hong Kong in half a month.

As for the captain and crew, the Hong Kong side can organize it quickly because they have already prepared.

Therefore, when the ship arrives in Hong Kong, it can pick up the goods immediately.

at the same time.

The ship broker Davis received a call from Neptune Shipping and was told that all the second-hand ships that needed to be sold had been sold out.

"SHIT, which ship broker is so powerful!"

Davis muttered angrily to himself.

On the phone, Ferro's tone was very calm, so Davis didn't notice anything unusual.

But when Davis asked if there were any old ships, Ferro refused.

"Blame those two bastards, why didn't you buy it earlier! It's a daydream to want to enter the shipping industry."

"I also said that I don't like 30-year-old boats. Haha, even 40-year-old boats are considered treasures by these Chinese."

"Poor ghost!"

After cursing for a while, Davis finally calmed down. Having lost an important client, it was time for him to find a way to make a living.

"I need to seize the time to sell the ship built in World War II. In this way, I can make a profit of 25 Hong Kong dollars, which is more cost-effective than selling several ships."

Davis now has almost all the information on this ship in his hand. If he can't sell it, he may lose his job.

Saturday, October 6.

Tsuen Wan, Castle Peak Road.

Cheung Kong Industrial's second factory was officially completed.This factory is three stories high, each floor covers an area of ​​3 square meters, quite spacious.

"All departments first moved to the third floor for office, and divided 10000 square feet into an office and a research and development room." Lin Zhichao said to several managers behind him.

As for the production workshop, it cannot be relocated now because it will affect production.

Only after the factory in Sing Tao is put into use (expected at the end of the year) will the relocation be the most appropriate.

"Okay, we will prepare right away." Wang Liang took the lead and said.

At this time, he has already strongly felt the great development prospects of Changjiang Industrial. To become the deputy general manager of such an excellent company is simply a skyrocket.

"Manager Sun, your R&D department is very important. The company will do its best to provide you with R&D funds and various conditions. I hope you can come up with better technologies and conduct in-depth R&D on the entire zipper industry."

"Well, we will work hard!"

Sun Tao from the R&D department is a talented student from the mainland who came to Hong Kong. He was originally an engineer at the Shanghai Machinery Factory, but now he is making the best use of everything he has.Even Sun Tao himself was very surprised that there is such a modern and mechanized factory in Hong Kong, and the boss is even more admirable.

There are many zipper technologies, and various applicable zipper varieties are also different, such as tents, large bags, bedding, diving and other multi-functional purposes.

As far as the R&D department of Cheung Kong currently does not have the strength to conduct 'non-metallic' tests on the material of the zipper.However, Lin Zhichao will gradually expand this department, and in the later stage, he can actually develop zipper-related machinery, zipper materials, special zippers, etc.

Lin Zhichao couldn't help being proud when he visited his industrial empire.

At present, the entire Changjiang Industrial covers an area of ​​more than 24 square feet, and temporarily owns two factories with a total floor area of ​​12 square feet. room for management and their families.

In this way, the management team can work for the company wholeheartedly without affecting the factory environment.

"Manager Hu, how is the situation at RB?" Lin Zhichao asked Hu Chengdong from the marketing department.

At this time, the marketing team of the Yangtze River business has also been greatly strengthened, and the global zipper market is divided into four large markets: Europe, America, RB, and Southeast Asia, each with an office.

This office not only manages local sales, but also understands local after-sales, competitors, etc.Dare to set up offices abroad in this era is undoubtedly the patent of large enterprises.

With an annual output value of more than 500 million yuan, an annual gross profit of more than 300 million yuan, and 500 employees (higher value-added and mechanization), Cheung Kong can naturally be regarded as a large-scale enterprise.

Hu Chengdong immediately said: "The market price of YR (Yangtze River English abbreviation) zippers in Japan is generally about 0.8~0.9 Hong Kong dollars. The quality is high-quality, so it is very popular in the Japanese market. Our local rival YKK zippers can only sell at the same price. At the same time, the zippers produced by our machines are of better quality. Therefore, we account for [-]% of the Japanese market, while YKK zippers only account for more than [-]%.”

He often travels to foreign markets, so he understands it very well and speaks it easily.

Lin Zhichao said with satisfaction: "Not bad! I regard the RB zipper industry as the biggest competitor, because their industrial level is very high, it is easy to imitate better zipper machines, and the labor is much cheaper than Europe and the United States. However, we adopt a low The price strategy will delay the development of their zipper industry, which is the pressure we should maintain. Therefore, you have to urge the major agents to make small profits but sell more."

一米铝合金拉链，成本是2港币不到，长江实业给日本各大代理商每米2.5~2.6港币批发价（每条0.5~0.52港币）；而日本代理商只需付出关税、运费等，零售价0.8~0.9港币依旧利润不错。

The cost of YKK zipper is 50% higher, mainly due to machine efficiency, material procurement and other reasons;

Therefore, Cheung Kong's low-price strategy gave YKK zipper a lot of trouble.

To put it simply, let Cheung Kong make a lot of money for two or three years before talking, and then everyone will compete!Of course, with the advancement of the times, the zipper market is growing substantially every year.

at the same time.

Tadao Yoshida finally invited Matsushima from Hitachi Machinery again. This time, his strength has stabilized and he has more understanding of zipper machines.

Although in the past six months, the development of YKK zippers has not been by leaps and bounds, but at least it has made a lot of money with the automatic rice arranging machine, and its business has stabilized.

"President Matsushima, these are my opinions on the improvement of the zipper rice arranging machine and the automatic punching machine for the slider. As long as Hitachi Machinery Factory is willing to cooperate, we will order at least 80 rice arranging machines and 30 sliders in your factory in the future. Automatic stamping machinery."

Matsushima took the information, glanced at it casually, and said: "Cooperation is not a problem at all, but I have learned that there is a company in Hong Kong, Cheung Kong Industrial, and they have taken the lead in adopting an improved rice row machine with a speed of 4000 revolutions per hour. The cooperation from the German machinery factory. I am confident to develop the same or even better machines; however, I am still not optimistic about the strength of YKK zippers.”

Tadao Yoshida was shocked, and quickly said: "President Matsushima, our YKK is the largest zipper factory in Japan, and I have been involved in this business since the 30s."

Matsushima smiled inwardly, and then said: "What I'm talking about is that Changjiang Industrial has various advantages. I am worried that they will defeat YKK in the future, and you will not be able to bring us a large number of machinery orders. At the same time, we also have to face Germany. Competition from machinery factories. So the stakes are high, unless"

"Unless what?" Yoshida Tadao asked immediately.

Matsushima immediately said: "Unless YKK zipper accepts our shareholding, only [-]% of the shares are required, we will fully support your plan and invest in research and development immediately."

At one time and another, when Tadao Yoshida approached Hitachi Machinery Factory in his previous life, he already owned several automatic zipper machines and monopolized the Japanese market, with no competitors in Asia at all.

But now, Matsushima thinks it is a risk. If Hong Kong Cheung Kong Industrial Co., Ltd. has a huge impact on YKK zippers by virtue of its strength one step ahead, then Hitachi Machinery may not be able to get as many orders as it wants.

The risk made Matsushima decide to seek greater benefits.

Tadao Yoshida was ready at this time, and he agreed to Matsushima's request without much hesitation.

In his heart, the possibility of realizing his ambition is a higher priority than losing [-]% of the shares.

"Okay, let's arrange to strengthen cooperation immediately. I guarantee that within one year, we will produce the latest machinery, which is better than German ones."

"Yes, we want to be the most powerful industrial empire in the world."

(End of this chapter)