The Birth of the Hong Kong Island Family.

Chapter 30 [Travel to Germany]

In mid-September, Lin Zhichao bid farewell to his family, and after arranging the company's affairs, he officially started his European tour.

On this trip, he went to Germany to buy automatic zipper machines, because he learned from some sources that there are two or three machinery factories in Germany that can produce automatic zipper machines.

This kind of news should be very accurate, because zippers are a necessity for the army. Since zippered clothes and shoes are easier to take off and put on, European and American armies purchase a lot.As the initiator of World War II, it is unreasonable for Germany to not even have an automatic zipper machine. Otherwise, where would it purchase so many zippers?

However, there are certain unknowns, because after the defeat of Germany, it is unknown whether these machinery factories have resumed production.

But Lin Zhichao decided to go to Germany instead of the United States for inspection. The reason is very simple. If the German machinery factory can produce, he intends to cooperate for a long time. Not only is the price cheaper, but the German machinery factory may be more willing to participate in the improvement.

If you go to the United States to find a cooperative machinery factory, others may not look up to a Hong Kong businessman, and the price will definitely be more expensive.Only when there is no harvest in Germany, Lin Zhichao will switch to the United States for inspection.

Boarding the Douglas plane of British Imperial Airways, Lin Zhichao felt uneasy. Going out in this era really puts his life in the hands of others.

After the war, there were only three airlines flying to and from Hong Kong: British Imperial Airways, Pan American Airlines, and China Civil Aviation Company (with American capital).

As for Cathay Pacific Airways at this time, there is only one aircraft, providing passenger and cargo charter services, and routes to and from Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and the Mainland.And now the boss of Cathay Pacific is not Swire, but two Americans and one Austrian.

According to Lin Zhichao's understanding, the reason why Cathay Pacific Airways became a subsidiary of Swire is because of the crash of the Pan Am flight from Macau to Hong Kong next year, and the crash of the flight from China Airlines Shanghai to Hong Kong next year. The two accidents in 1948 caused no Passengers, therefore, were taken advantage of by Taikoo and took control of Cathay Pacific.

Sitting on the seat of the plane, surrounded by foreigners, there are only a few Chinese, and the foreigners around are Christians, and they gesture 'God bless' as soon as they come up.

And Lin Zhichao's mood has calmed down, because, as a determined to become a world businessman, he must often fly overseas, so he doesn't have the courage to do so, so he should just develop a local hat in Hong Kong.

Surrounded by foreign passengers, everyone looked down on each other and did not chat, so Lin Zhichao directly took out his books and started to study, which were English books about machinery.Lin Zhichao is like a learning machine, as long as he is free, he will not waste time.What's more, there is no woman by my side, so what else can I do besides these!

I changed planes twice before arriving in London, and changed planes again before finally arriving in Germany.

Lin Zhichao came outside the Bern Machinery Factory and started negotiating with the bad German he had just learned.

"I am a businessman from Hong Kong. I hope to buy the automatic zipper machine produced by your company. Please let me meet your person in charge, SIR!"

Listening to Lin Zhichao's unproficient German, the old man guarding the gate said, "Our factory doesn't produce those things now, but we now produce textile machinery."

Lin Zhichao was taken aback, and looked at the dilapidated factory, which had not been repaired from the war, and couldn't help feeling a little anxious.Due to the congestion of information, it is so difficult to buy a machine.

Suddenly, Lin Zhichao blurted out, "Did Bourne Machinery Factory produce automatic zipper machines before?"

Only then did he remember that what the old man said was not producing that thing now, which meant that it had been produced before.

Sure enough, the old man nodded and said, "Congratulations, you got the answer right, but after the war, it stopped producing and changed to producing the best-selling textile machines."

Lin Zhichao immediately said: "I also need to buy textile machines, please take me to talk to your person in charge."

The old doorman looked left and right at Lin Zhichao, seeing that although Lin Zhichao was Chinese, he could speak broken German, and he was dressed in such a style, so he stopped hesitating.

Take Lin Zhichao to an office.

"Mr. Gauss, this guest wants to buy a textile machine, and I brought it to you!"

Gao Si is a young man in his 30s. At this time, his business is struggling. Lao Tzu is in prison. Seeing that Lin Zhichao is a Chinese, he also stands up to greet Lin Zhichao in a friendly manner.

"Sir, where are you a businessman?"

Lin Zhichao said confidently: "Businessman from Hong Kong! I heard that Bonn Machinery Factory used to produce automatic zipper machines. I don't know if the factory still has them in stock. I'm more interested."

Gauss was taken aback for a moment, then he was overjoyed, and quickly said: "Yes, yes!"

Lin Zhichao deliberately said: "Just now the uncle said that you have switched to producing textile machines. Could it be that those automatic zipper machines are products of World War II?"

Gauss secretly scolded the old man for being troublesome, but he said honestly: "It is true! But I can guarantee that these machines can operate normally. I remember that there are three machines in total. Although they have a history of more than three years, they are almost brand new. "

Lin Zhichao was not in a hurry to check the machine, but continued to ask: "Then, does your company still have an engineer for the automatic rice arranging machine?"

This is very important. If there is any problem, Lin Zhichao will definitely ask the people from Bourne Machinery to come to Hong Kong for repairs.

Goss said: "Of course! In fact, we still have the ability to produce automatic zipper machines, but, to be honest, automatic zipper machines are not easy to sell now, so we change to produce textile machines."

Thinking of this, Lin Zhichao was already full of joy. He thought it was a bad start, but it was actually a godsend opportunity.

Next, Lin Zhichao asked Gauss to take him to see the machine, and Gauss arranged for the engineer to go there.

When seeing the running status of the machine, Lin Zhichao was very happy, but he still looked like this.

"Manager Gauss, how much is this machine?"

Gauss was a sincere young man. His father was sentenced to three years in prison for producing war weapons, but the government needed to resume production. After efforts, the machinery factory was returned to Gauss, and of course the weapons production business was cut off.

This kind of situation abounds in Germany. For example, the boss of Krupp, the largest weapons manufacturer in Germany during World War II, was also sentenced to four years in prison, but later returned part of the machinery company's business to the family; Within ten years, it has become one of the top ten machinery factories in Europe, and its shipbuilding, truck and other businesses are among the top in Europe.

"Mr. Lin, I can sell these three automatic zipper machines to you at a price of 3 US dollars each. The total is 9 US dollars. This price is almost the price of second-hand machines. I know you have come from afar, Must want to take them away."

Lin Zhichao immediately gave an exaggerated 'O', and said in shock: "My God, are you here in the United States? At this price, you can go to the United States to buy a brand new one. Mr. Goss, you need to think again!"

Gauss was taken aback. In fact, he was very worried about the three machines, so he posted their information in the magazine, but no one came to discuss the purchase.

"It's 2.8 US dollars. This price is really very reasonable. We Germans don't deliberately call out a sky-high price when doing business. Mr. Lin, you need to know this."

Lin Zhichao said at this time: "Mr. Gao Si, I will inspect your factory for a few days first. First, I need your engineer to teach me how to use it and how to maintain it. Second, I will need a lot of textile machines in the future. So I will investigate here. You may not know that because of the war in Huaxia, many textile and garment factories have gone to Hong Kong, and there is a great demand there."

Goston was overjoyed and said, "Of course there is no problem. Mr. Lin and I hit it off right away. If your time permits, you can visit my factory for a long time."

Lin Zhichao stretched out his right hand and said, "It's a happy cooperation."

In fact, Lin Zhichao's idea is to understand the operation and working principle of the automatic zipper machine, because there are the best teachers here.At the same time, if you inspect other people's factories and learn from the factory's experience, you will definitely be able to return with a rewarding experience.

As for the inspection of textile machines, Lin Zhichao is not just talking about it. He is engaged in the zipper industry, and he will be involved in the textile industry.Although he will not dabble at the beginning, he will definitely develop in an all-round way in the future.

(End of this chapter)