Chapter 69: Expansion and Acquiring a Plastic Factory
"In theory, yes — but let's not worry about next year just yet," Yang Wendong said. "Now that we've had success in Japan, I'm planning to find a way into the U.S. market. That... would be the real goldmine."
Yang was well aware that the American market was significantly larger. But for now, two problems held him back: first, he had no connections to U.S. distributors; second, there was the issue of production capacity.
Even though glue boards were simple in structure, it was impossible to suddenly double or triple production in just a few months.
So, for now, he was still focusing on the Japanese and UK markets. Japan could serve as a reference for Southeast Asia, and the UK as a gateway to Europe and the Commonwealth. If he could make solid progress this year, it would make expansion far easier next year.
"As long as there are no major issues in the UK and Japan, the factory should have more than enough work to stay busy for the next few months," Yang said.
Su Yiyi nodded. "Then I'll start looking for a new, larger warehouse nearby — just something like what we have now."
"Exactly. A warehouse won't cost much to rent. Let's just focus on fulfilling the Japan and UK orders properly.
If we can earn enough now, we'll be able to ride out the winter, and with some extra stock prepared, we could reap massive rewards next year."
In the past few months, between rat control services at the docks, warehouses, and now office buildings, combined with glue board sales from the factory, the business had brought in around 20,000 to 30,000 HKD.
But while the income was high, expenses were just as heavy. Patent applications for glue boards and flypapers across multiple countries alone cost several thousand HKD. Factory operations, "government relationship maintenance" (those in the know, know), and other hidden costs had all piled up.
At present, there was just over 10,000 HKD left in the account.
To the old Yang Wendong — the one who'd started from scratch — that was a fortune. He could have bought a decent apartment on Hong Kong Island with it.
But now, with his entrepreneurial ambitions, it wasn't nearly enough. He remembered clearly that even Li Ka-shing needed 50,000 HKD to get his start back in the day.
Su Yiyi smiled. "I get it — let's focus on staying full now. That way, even if we go hungry later, we won't starve to death."
"Smart," Yang chuckled. "That said, I've also been working some back channels — trying to connect with Southeast Asian distributors.
If we go into winter and the factory has zero orders, things won't be good. I don't want to lay anyone off."
"Mm." Su Yiyi nodded obediently. She understood what Yang meant. Everyone knew the factory's hundred-plus workers were relying on this job to support their families.
Knock knock knock.
Yang turned and saw Zhao Liming at the door. He grinned. "You don't need to knock, just come in."
"I've got to keep it respectful, Dong-ge. You're the boss," Zhao Liming said with a laugh as he stepped inside.
"What's up? Production issues?" Yang asked.
"Not at the moment," Zhao replied. "We've got so much going on now that I added a night shift. Production capacity's up about 70% — should be enough for the time being.
Also, Su-jie already knows — I'm scouting nearby locations to possibly expand. Since our production setup is simple, we can decide on the spot whether to rent."
"Good. I'm counting on you to handle production," Yang said with a nod. "With more and more staff, managing them must be a pain, huh?"
"Oh yeah," Zhao sighed. "Over a hundred workers now — my head's spinning. Luckily, you had me delegate early on. I've appointed ten team leaders. Makes things a lot easier."
"Delegation was always going to be necessary. We'd die from exhaustion otherwise," Yang said.
He wasn't planning on hiring high-level professional managers anytime soon. First, factories like his were too small to attract such talent. Second, most factory owners in this era were barely literate themselves.
Instead, Yang shared some of his past-life experience with management, checked in now and then, and left the rest to simple structure and trust. The product was simple, the workflow straightforward — nothing that couldn't be handled.
"You were right, Dong-ge," Zhao said. "Oh — almost forgot the real reason I came. The boss of Hongxing Plastics, Li Hongxing, told me he's thinking of shutting down. Asked if we're interested in buying his factory."
"He's shutting down?" Yang was surprised. "He's getting out of the business?"
"Yeah. Seems like his son just graduated from university and landed a job at Jardine Matheson. They also bought a home on Hong Kong Island.
So Li's ready to retire. He said if we want the factory, he'll give us a good price. If we're not interested, he'll sell it to someone else — and if that doesn't work, he'll just close it. But if that happens, our raw materials supply might be affected."
"Wow... Old Li's kid actually got into Jardine Matheson? And he's a college grad?" Yang was impressed.
In 1950s Hong Kong, college graduates were still rare, and getting into Jardine was the dream of many — the equivalent of a Korean landing a job at Samsung decades later.
"Yeah," Zhao said. "He worked hard to get his son there. I heard the kid's already earning over a thousand dollars a month, with great benefits."
Yang thought for a moment, then said, "We can't afford problems on the raw materials side — especially not now. Let's go talk to him. Bring a small gift — something to congratulate him."
"Got it," Zhao grinned. "I'll find something appropriate."
That afternoon, the two of them visited Hongxing Plastics. Li Hongxing himself came out to greet them.
After some casual chatting, Yang got to the point. "Mr. Li, since you're planning to retire and enjoy the good life, I'd be open to taking over your factory. Why don't we talk numbers?"
Li laughed. "Mr. Yang, you're direct — I like that. I'll name my price straight up: six thousand dollars, and the entire factory is yours."
"Six thousand? Isn't that a bit steep?" Yang was stunned. The equipment was old — and not worth much. How could it be six thousand?
Li laughed again. "Of course the equipment isn't worth that much. But the land…"
"The land's yours?" Yang immediately understood. No wonder he dared to ask for so much.
This area in Tsim Sha Tsui wasn't exactly prime real estate right now. In fact, it was rather remote. The buildings were old, and the roofs leaked in the rain — worse than the warehouse Yang rented now.
But the land itself was around six to seven thousand square feet. Even such a humble factory could fetch three to four hundred dollars a year in rent. Selling it for six thousand wasn't unreasonable.
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