Chapter 82: Visit from the Strongest Distributor
In order to wait for a potential phone call from the United States, Yang Wendong had been sleeping at his factory every night this past week. After all, his home and the factory weren't all that different in terms of comfort.
Fortunately, the factory operated a night shift and there were quite a few workers present during the nights, which meant he didn't have to worry too much about safety.
Ironically though, the call he'd been anticipating at night came instead during the daytime. It seemed the American side had called at night according to their own local time.
Yang Wendong's mind moved quickly, and he responded fluently in English, "Hello, this is Eric speaking. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Robert."
During this period, Su Yiyi, Zhao Liming, and others had been diligently studying Traditional Chinese, while Yang Wendong focused intensely on learning English. He even hired a part-time tutor. After nearly half a year of study—combined with his prior knowledge of English from his previous life—he was now able to carry on basic spoken conversations with foreigners.
The voice on the other end of the phone, Robert, replied, "It's a pleasure to speak with you as well, Mr. Yang. I'm calling today on behalf of our company to purchase a batch of your Post-it notes. May I ask how much they cost?"
Joy welled up in Yang Wendong's heart. This was his first overseas order, after all.
He responded, "If calculated in U.S. dollars, it's one dollar for fifty Post-it notes."
Robert didn't try to negotiate. Instead, he paused briefly and then said, "Mr. Yang, there's one more thing. Your current sales model is quite inefficient on a business level. Our company, 3M, already has a fully developed sales network across the United States. How about we collaborate instead?"
"I'm open to that," Yang Wendong said after a short pause. "However, something this important should be discussed face-to-face. Otherwise, it's difficult to fully understand each other in many key aspects."
"OK, no problem. I'll make a trip to Hong Kong and we'll talk in person then," Robert said, a trace of delight creeping into his tone. "Before I head to Hong Kong, I'll inform you in advance."
"Alright. I'll be waiting for your good news," Yang Wendong said.
After a few pleasantries, the two ended the call with mutual politeness.
Although Su Yiyi couldn't understand English, she could see the happy expression on Yang Wendong's face. She guessed and asked, "Brother Dong, was it the foreign client you've been waiting for?"
"Yeah, he placed an order for ten thousand units," Yang Wendong said with a smile. "But that's not the most important thing. What's important is that the company is 3M, and they're not just looking to buy Post-it notes from us. They're thinking about partnering with us to market Post-it notes in the United States."
Su Yiyi lit up with joy. "Really? Does this company called 3M have that kind of capability?"
"Absolutely. It's a massive corporation," Yang Wendong said with a smile. "You know tape, right? They invented it. They're the world's largest tape manufacturer, producing all kinds of adhesive products—tape, glue, and more.
"Beyond that, 3M makes a lot of small products—things like toys, medical equipment, video tapes, masks, protective clothing, and all sorts of miscellaneous items. They cover a huge range."
"So many products?" Su Yiyi was surprised. She knew tape was used just about everywhere.
Yang Wendong nodded. "Yeah, they're a top-tier American company, and honestly one I really admire. Their capacity for innovation is incredible.
"A lot of the products I mentioned are mainly supplied to American factories and offices, which is exactly the same demographic our Post-it notes target."
"True," Su Yiyi nodded, understanding immediately.
Factories, warehouses, and offices all needed tape, which meant if a company had the network to sell tape to all those places, they could easily do the same for Post-it notes. The distribution channels overlapped perfectly—this was the biggest advantage. The distributor wouldn't need to invest additional resources or open up new routes to sell another product.
Over the past six months, following Yang Wendong, Su Yiyi had picked up many of the basics of doing business—such as the dynamics between factories, traders, and distributors. These were also core issues in Hong Kong's export-driven economy.
Yang Wendong continued, "Yiyi, go let Liming know that in the next few days, we need to clean up the entire factory. There are a lot of workers who aren't that busy right now, anyway."
Even though it might seem superficial, these gestures were essential. If a business wasn't even willing to make a good impression on the surface, how could a potential partner trust them to handle things properly behind the scenes?
Su Yiyi nodded. "Okay, I'll take care of it right away."
Watching Su Yiyi walk off, Yang Wendong felt a burst of happiness inside. The large batch of Post-it notes he'd sent to 3M had finally paid off.
In fact, he knew from history that Post-it notes were originally invented by 3M. The kinds of products the company dealt in made it clear—they were his ideal partner.
The only thing he couldn't control was whether such a massive corporation would actually take the bait. All he could do was do his part and leave the rest to fate. That said, Post-it notes were a high-quality product with great commercial potential. Theoretically, once enough people used them, someone was bound to take notice.
Two days later, Yang Wendong once again received a call from Robert in the morning, and they arranged a time to meet.
On November 10th, at Hong Kong's Kai Tak Airport, Yang Wendong personally came to pick up the visitor, bringing Su Yiyi along. Holding a large sign that read [Robert; 3M], they waited nearly half an hour before finally spotting the man.
"Mr. Robert, hello," Yang Wendong said warmly, shaking hands with him.
Robert shook his hand as well. "Mr. Yang, please, just call me Robert."
"Alright, then feel free to call me Eric," Yang Wendong replied.
In Western culture, honorifics like "Mr." or "Ms." were typically used only in very formal settings, or when speaking to someone of significantly higher rank. Most of the time, people preferred to call each other by first names—it made things feel more relaxed and was better for building rapport in business dealings. This was something Yang Wendong had come to understand in his previous life while doing business with foreign clients.
Of course, this also varied depending on the individual and the country—"Western culture" wasn't monolithic, so one had to adapt accordingly.
"Alright, Eric," Robert said, taking a closer look at Yang Wendong. "I know that many Chinese people tend to look younger than they are, but you really do seem very young."
Yang Wendong chuckled. "I'm twenty years old."
He had intentionally added two years to his real age.
"Oh my God, you really are young," Robert said, surprised. "When I was your age, I was still in college."
Yang Wendong laughed. "If I could've gone to college, who wouldn't want to? But the economic conditions here in Hong Kong are nowhere near as good as in the U.S. I didn't even attend primary school."
"You never went to primary school? Then how do you know English?" Robert asked, walking alongside him with curiosity, accompanied by his colleague Sean.
Yang Wendong replied, "Society is also a larger kind of school. Here, you can learn anything you need—it's just that there's no teacher to supervise you, so you have to rely entirely on yourself."
"Society is a larger kind of school?" Robert repeated thoughtfully, then nodded. "That's a very good line. Quite profound."
"That's a conclusion society taught me," Yang Wendong said with a chuckle.
It really was a summary drawn from his experiences doing business in the 21st century in his past life. Society truly was a much bigger school, filled with countless lessons to learn.
Robert glanced at Yang Wendong and casually commented, "No wonder you were able to invent Post-it notes. I'm impressed. This kind of thing, once you see it, seems simple—but it's like Newton discovering gravity. The first person to discover it is remarkable."
"Robert, that's too much praise. I wouldn't dare compare myself to Newton," Yang Wendong said, a bit startled. This American guy really knew how to exaggerate.
Although he didn't have much love for Western countries, he still deeply respected the top Western scientists—people like Newton, Einstein, and others.
"Haha, I was just making an analogy," Robert said with a laugh.
Su Yiyi followed silently beside the two. She couldn't understand English, and only occasionally got a brief explanation from Yang Wendong about what they were discussing. Still, that alone was enough to firm up her resolve—she needed to study English seriously in the future.
The three of them exited the airport, and Yang Wendong hailed a private taxi, sending Robert to a luxury hotel in Central—one of the finest hotels in all of Hong Kong at the time.
"Robert, have a good rest today. I'll pick you up tomorrow and take you to see my factory," Yang Wendong said at the hotel entrance.
Robert, exhausted from the time difference, nodded in agreement. "Alright, let's talk again tomorrow."
Yang Wendong gave a polite nod. "See you tomorrow, then."
At this time in history, the Boeing 747 hadn't yet been born. Flights from the U.S. to Hong Kong usually had to stop to refuel in places like Tokyo and Alaska. Refueling alone could take several hours, adding to the fatigue of travel.
The next day, Yang Wendong went to the hotel and picked up a now well-rested Robert, bringing him to his company.
"What's this?" Robert asked upon seeing a glue trap for the first time. He didn't understand what it was used for.
Yang Wendong smiled and explained, "That's a mouse trap. Its mechanism is simple…"
Robert listened seriously, then asked in surprise, "Eric, did you invent this too?"
Yang Wendong nodded. "Yes, this was actually what started it all. Thanks to this, I was able to build the factory you see today."
If it hadn't been for the mouse glue trap, and the windfall he got from the rat extermination contract at Kowloon Wharf, he would still be scraping by—he wouldn't be starving, but he certainly wouldn't be in a strong position either.
Before he had enough capital to register an international patent for the Post-it note, he wouldn't bring out such inventions lightly. Otherwise, someone else might just profit from them.
"Incredible. Eric, how did you even think of something like this? Why couldn't I have come up with it?" Robert said in awe.
Yang Wendong laughed. "It was just a sudden burst of inspiration. Nothing compared to your company, 3M. You've created so many innovations that changed the world."
In terms of innovation, 3M might not have the global impact of Steve Jobs with personal computers, Bill Gates with Windows, or Larry Page with Google—but if you removed electronic tech companies from the equation, 3M would absolutely be one of the top five innovators globally.
Especially when it came to simple but impactful inventions—things that seemed obvious once you saw them, but impossible to imagine beforehand—3M excelled in this area. The Post-it note was a prime example of that.
"Indeed," Robert said proudly, then added, "Eric, you clearly have a real talent in this area as well."
Yang Wendong smiled and shifted the topic. "Robert, shall we take a look at the Post-it note production equipment?"
"Sure," Robert nodded.
The two of them moved to another corner of the factory, where A-Long and the others were monitoring the Post-it note production machinery.
Robert took only about two minutes to observe the machines before saying, "The mechanism is very simple—similar to a book printing press."
"Yes," Yang Wendong nodded. To the staff of a major U.S. company, this kind of equipment really wasn't much to look at.
The excellence of Post-it notes didn't lie in their complexity—it was their simplicity and convenience that made them exceptional.
Then he added, "Let's go to the office, shall we?"
"OK," Robert agreed readily. He clearly didn't have much interest in a small factory like this—it was simply too basic in his eyes.
They entered a small office space, one that had been cleaned and organized for the visit but was still modest in size. Yang Wendong personally brewed two cups of coffee and smiled. "The environment's a bit rough—hope you don't mind."
Taking the coffee, Robert chuckled. "No problem. I often visit Mexico too—it's pretty chaotic over there. There's violence, drugs… Hong Kong is far better in comparison."
Yang Wendong smiled. "If 3M is looking to invest outside the U.S., you should really consider Hong Kong. It's definitely a better choice than Mexico."
The Hong Kong of the 1950s was messy and dark, no doubt—but that was only relative to what it would later become. Even then, it was still a cut above a place like Mexico.
And to be honest, Mexico had a natural geographic advantage being close to the U.S., and even by the 1950s and '60s had started taking on low-end industrial capacity from both the U.S. and Europe. But even by the 2020s, it still hadn't succeeded. People even talked about it replacing mainland China—but that was just talk.
Mainland China, after all, hadn't begun formally integrating into the global economy until after the 1990s.
The reason Mexico couldn't develop properly didn't need explanation. Reality from his past life made that abundantly clear.
"I know. But Mexico does have geographical and tax advantages," Robert said with a smile. Then he added, "Anyway, that's not something I can decide. Let's get back to our business discussion, shall we?"
"Sure," Yang Wendong nodded. "How would you like to cooperate?"
Robert went straight to the point. "I'd like to purchase the patent for the Post-it note."
"No," Yang Wendong immediately shook his head.
Not only was he unwilling to sell the patent—more importantly, at this point in time, no one, not even someone from 3M, could truly grasp the enormous commercial potential of Post-it notes. That meant they wouldn't offer a high enough price anyway.
The value of a new product or technology needed to be proven by the market. It wasn't enough that he alone knew how valuable it was.
Even if he were to sell the patent one day, it would have to be after the product had already launched and achieved widespread market recognition. Only then would the time be right.
And to be honest, even that possibility was slim. Once he had enough money, he'd have even less reason to sell—because owning an actual business empire was far more valuable than simply having money in the bank.
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