Chapter 70: The First Property Acquired
Li Hongxing nodded and said, "Yes, the land is mine. You know how it was — land like this isn't worth much. Especially this factory — it was built just after the Japanese surrendered. Back then, setting up a factory often came with free land."
"True." Yang Wendong nodded.
In underdeveloped areas, land really wasn't worth much. Just look at mainland China after the economic reforms — if a factory wanted to invest, as long as it wasn't in a city center, the land was basically handed out for free.
Now in Hong Kong, land prices were beginning to rise due to the growing population, but mostly on Hong Kong Island. The Kowloon Peninsula still had lots of inexpensive land, with only port-adjacent plots or large warehouse areas holding any real residential value.
Li Hongxing sighed, "I've worked hard for over ten years and still made little progress. I'm getting old now, so it's time to let it go.
Your glue boards are already exporting — your future is bright, no doubt about it. Taking over my injection molding factory should help you cut some costs, too."
"I've had the same thought," Yang said with a smile. "Even if you hadn't brought it up, I would've eventually started producing injection-molded parts myself."
Long-term, it made sense to manufacture key components in-house — not only to reduce cost but also to have leverage when negotiating prices with other suppliers.
Li nodded. "Exactly. I've worked with many clients like you. They all started by buying plastic parts from others, and once they had money, they set up their own facilities."
They walked into the factory. Several injection molding machines were still running. In the oppressive Hong Kong heat, with machines adding their own thermal output, the place felt like a giant steamer.
A few shirtless workers were tending the machines, dripping with sweat. When it got unbearable, they'd stand in front of a fan for relief — but not for long, since the fans were actually for cooling the machines.
As for workers? In this era, many Hong Kong factory owners thought: As long as they don't die of heat, it's fine.
…
The factory wasn't big. After touring the floor, Yang asked, "Mr. Li, is this all contract manufacturing?"
"Yes," Li sighed. "Creating your own brand and product line is tough. I can't compare to someone like you."
Yang picked up a fist-sized toy that resembled a dinosaur and asked, "Who's this one for?"
Although he'd been working with Hongxing Plastics for nearly two months, Yang had only visited for matters related to plastic sheets — he hadn't paid attention to the other products.
"That's for a Japanese toy company. Small-scale orders — just over a thousand dollars a month," Li said.
Yang nodded. "What about plastic flowers? Li Ka-shing made a fortune off them. Couldn't you try the same route?"
Li chuckled. "Two reasons we couldn't. First, those plastic flowers require the latest tech and specialized machines. Second, it takes real skill and experience to get the quality right.
After Li Ka-shing's plastic flowers became a hit last year, many plastic factories in Hong Kong tried to copy him — even with the right machines, most couldn't make it work.
Small factories like mine can't afford to gamble on trendy products. We'd be bankrupt if it failed."
"Well, every big factory starts small. Didn't Li Ka-shing begin from scratch too?" Yang said with a smile.
"You're right," Li replied. "But I'm just not in the same league. In the plastics industry, he's now the undisputed number one."
He paused, then asked, "Are you interested in plastic flowers too, Mr. Yang? Planning to make your own?"
"Not really — just curious," Yang replied casually. "Li Ka-shing already has the scale. It's hard for others to compete now. Besides, I don't have the technical background."
Right now, simply doing a good job with glue boards was enough for Yang. But now that he was acquiring Hongxing Plastics, it made sense to learn more about the broader plastics industry. Maybe this would lead to a new direction for his business.
He didn't want to stay in pest control forever. But for now, he hadn't found a better opportunity.
Of course, the main reason was money — with limited capital, he couldn't explore too many ventures. Many products that were common in later decades simply didn't exist yet. If he had the funds, he could pick just about anything and build a business bigger than glue boards.
For now, he had to take it one step at a time. Focus on running his current operation well and stay alert for the next opportunity.
…
They returned to a small office in the corner. Li made tea and said, "So, Mr. Yang, what do you think? If you're really interested, I'll knock 5% off the price — just 5,700 dollars. But I'll need immediate payment."
Yang sipped his tea and joked, "You in a hurry because you're buying property?"
Li nodded. "Exactly. My son got that job at Jardine Matheson. We're moving to Hong Kong Island and found a great apartment in Admiralty — over a thousand square feet.
It's a prime location, but it's pricey. The down payment alone is over twenty thousand dollars."
"Congratulations. This is a good time to buy property," Yang said with a knowing smile. He knew full well that Hong Kong real estate was entering the next mini bull market.
If he had more cash and wasn't so focused on real industry, he'd be investing too.
"Alright," Yang continued. "How about 5,500? I'll give you a certified cashier's check right after we finalize the transfer."
"Haha, you're a tough negotiator, Mr. Yang," Li laughed. After a pause, he said, "Alright. We're old acquaintances. Let's settle at 5,600."
"Deal," Yang said after a moment. Pushing any further would've only saved a few bucks — not worth the trouble.
Three days later, they went to the Lands Department to finalize the title transfer, and then to Liu Chong Hing Bank to process the payment.
And just like that, half a year after arriving in this era, Yang Wendong officially became a property owner.
Not a home. Not a commercial building. But 6,383 square feet of industrial land — along with the old buildings that stood on it.
When they returned to what used to be Hongxing Plastics, Zhao Liming was already having the old sign changed — replacing the character "Hong" (宏) with "Chang" (长).
"Dong-ge!" Zhao jogged over with a grin as he saw Yang approach.
"There's a lot of open space here," Yang said. "Find a few workers to put up some metal sheds and set up assembly lines. That'll solve our space problem for now."
In future Hong Kong, the industrial sector would be so tight for space that factories would start going vertical — but for now, it was still manageable.
This piece of land had only a small section developed — the rest was overgrown. Li had bought it back in 1945, and hadn't expanded much.
With a small investment, Yang could build some steel sheds for assembly work — and the space would be bigger and more convenient than his previous factory, especially for moving plastic sheets around.
Zhao Liming immediately promised, "Leave it to me, Dong-ge. I'll handle it ASAP."
"Good. From now on, this will be our main production site," Yang said. "The old factory will just be support. We've got a lot more orders coming."
"Understood!" Zhao said with a big smile.
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