Chapter 86: Planning the Rubik's Cube
"Southeast Asia?" Zhao Liming thought for a moment and said, "Brother Dong, speaking of Southeast Asia, I actually chatted with a trader named Mr. Zhao over there not long ago. After our glue traps were shipped out, people over there started copying them almost immediately.
But in those countries, some don't even have patent laws, and in others, even if such laws exist, they're hard to enforce. If we really tried to sue them, it wouldn't be worth it."
Yang Wendong smiled casually. "In developed countries like those in Europe and America, we have to rely on patents to protect our interests.
But in Southeast Asia, South America, and Africa, patents are meaningless. What we need there is low cost and high efficiency. As long as we can mass-produce and standardize, we can crush all the little workshops with our pricing."
This was a basic rule of business competition. Patents often failed in practice—especially in regions without proper laws or where enforcement was practically nonexistent.
But one core business principle always stood: cost-performance ratio. If your price is low enough, you can defeat all your competitors.
As for tariffs, this kind of low-end product wasn't going to get the same protection or attention as cars or home appliances. In most cases, it wasn't even worthy of targeted policy—simply not "important enough."
Lin Haoyu laughed. "Looks like Brother Dong already thought this through. See, Liming, I told you—he's always got a plan for everything."
"Mm," Zhao Liming smiled.
Yang Wendong turned to Lin Haoyu and said, "Haoyu, your Chinese has improved a lot lately. You even know the phrase 'always has a plan'? Impressive!"
Lin Haoyu laughed too. "I've been learning some idioms on purpose. Makes me look more cultured when I talk to warehouse or office clients. Otherwise, I feel kind of out of place."
"That's a good mindset," Yang Wendong nodded. "Even if it's not immediately useful, it'll be helpful later.
The year is almost over. Next year, I'm giving you both a hard requirement—you must learn Chinese well enough to read most newspapers on your own and write at least the basics. As for idioms, aim to learn a few hundred."
"Understood, Brother Dong. Don't worry," Zhao Liming replied seriously.
As the factory's business grew, the two of them had started interacting with more and more people. Naturally, they realized how important reading, writing, and general literacy were.
The company had only been around for six months, yet it had already grown to a decent size. If things continued at this pace, they'd definitely fall behind if they didn't keep improving.
Yang Wendong nodded. "Good. Focus on mastering Chinese next year. Then the year after, start learning English."
He had to be strict with his close brothers. Otherwise, they'd fall behind for real one day.
Besides, even if they struck out on their own someday, they'd still need education. In Hong Kong or anywhere else, you could succeed without formal schooling—but you could never stop learning.
Otherwise, even if someone became a rich man overnight, they'd struggle to keep their wealth. There was a saying in the future: "A person does not deserve to own wealth that exceeds their understanding."
…
In the following week, all Yang Wendong could do was wait for the equipment from Japan and monitor the progress at Dongsheng Equipment Factory.
He knew that the global demand for Post-it notes would become enormous in the future. They might not quite match pens and paper in quantity, but they'd definitely become a staple of everyday office supplies.
One day, Su Yiyi walked over with a stack of Post-it notes and asked, "Brother Dong, recently the demand for Post-it notes in the Hong Kong market has started picking up again."
Hearing that, Yang Wendong looked up and smiled. "Oh? So the companies that bought them two months ago are almost out?"
"That's part of it, but not the main reason," Su Yiyi said, sitting down and sipping some water. "Zhao Chengguang recently made some headway with government offices and hospitals—he got them to start using Post-it notes.
Also, some department stores have started stocking them, and lots of small companies like ours are using them now too."
Yang Wendong nodded thoughtfully. "Chengguang really has some strong connections, managing to get into government departments and department stores."
Su Yiyi smiled. "Connections are part of it, but the product itself is what wins people over. Once someone tries using our Post-it notes, they love them. It improves efficiency, so both the bosses and the employees are happy.
That wasn't the case with the glue traps—we could never get those into department stores, no matter who we knew."
"True," Yang Wendong said. "The nature of the product affects how easy it is to get into sales channels."
A good product sells itself. Even a weak connection could get it placed in a major retailer. But if a product was hard to sell, no amount of connections would help—no one would waste their influence on something that wouldn't move.
Su Yiyi added, "I've also been following up with some of the companies that made the first orders. A lot of them say they've already gone through about half their supply.
And it's not like they actually used it all up. Most of the Post-its just mysteriously disappeared. People go through them fast. So I think in a month or two, the big companies will start reordering."
Yang Wendong chuckled. "Yeah, that's normal. Most office supplies aren't really consumed—they're lost.
There's a saying in office life: 'No one has ever actually used up the ink in a ballpoint pen.' Most disappear long before they're finished."
The smaller the item, the more likely it was to vanish. In an office, you could leave money on the table and it might stay there—but pens and snacks? Gone in a flash.
Even in workshops, large items like wrenches or screwdrivers often went missing. They were big, yet somehow you'd lose dozens with no trace.
This was one of the biggest reasons office supplies sold so well worldwide—about 70% of the demand came from "mysterious disappearance."
Su Yiyi then asked, "Now that we've got 3M in the U.S., should we try that same strategy—sending free samples to big companies—in other markets? Especially Japan?"
"No need," Yang Wendong shook his head. "For a long while, our production capacity won't even be able to meet U.S. demand, let alone elsewhere. So for now, we're not touching other markets.
If it weren't for the pressure of funding and quality control, I'd already have ordered fifty machines."
The U.S. market alone was several hundred times bigger than Hong Kong's. Even if the population wasn't a hundred times greater, the U.S. was the economic center of the world. Factories and offices were everywhere.
Office worker density was far higher than in Hong Kong, and American clients—being wealthier—would use something like Post-it notes much more liberally.
So for the foreseeable future, Yang Wendong's focus was on fully satisfying the U.S. market.
Even though Post-it notes were simple in structure, that didn't mean quality issues couldn't occur. Too much glue or too little could both lead to customer dissatisfaction.
"Yeah, that makes sense," Su Yiyi nodded.
Yang Wendong added, "There's another benefit to holding off on other markets. We can use the U.S. market feedback to renegotiate deals with other regions in the future."
After thinking for a moment, Su Yiyi asked, "So what you're saying is, if sales go well in the U.S., then other regional distributors will have to offer us better terms?"
Yang Wendong nodded and said, "That's right. Back when we were negotiating with 3M, we were actually at a disadvantage. They're a big company, with an established distribution network.
If it hadn't been for the two other distributors who contacted me at the same time, giving me some leverage, we might not have regained any ground at all. But overall, we still didn't have the upper hand.
'Distribution is king'—that's a core rule of modern commerce. Unless your product is something as wildly popular and universally recognized as Coca-Cola, you won't be able to control your distributors—they'll control you instead.
So by leveraging 3M's powerful distribution channels to make Post-it notes explode in popularity, we'll be in a much stronger position later when we sit down to negotiate with Japan, Europe, and other markets."
"So that's the reasoning," Su Yiyi said with a smile.
"You'll understand more as you gain more experience," Yang Wendong said, chuckling. "Take the glue trap, for example. I didn't give anyone exclusive distribution rights because I knew the distributors we had didn't have strong networks.
If either of them had been capable of covering a large market, I would've considered giving one of them exclusivity."
"Then what about now?" Su Yiyi asked. "Should we look for an exclusive distributor for the glue traps?"
Yang Wendong shook his head. "For developed countries, yes. We must rely on powerful distributors and offer them profits in exchange for protecting our patents. Otherwise, we'll have the patent but won't be able to enforce it.
As for other countries, it depends. We can't say for sure right now.
In future business, whether it's small deals within Hong Kong or large ones on the international stage, we must always partner with people who have resources, connections, and capabilities. That's the only way to grow big and earn sustainably."
Su Yiyi thought for a moment and said, "It's true. Ever since you started with the rat-catching can, Brother Dong, you've been operating like this."
"Exactly. If you don't share the pie, your business can't grow," Yang Wendong said with a smile. "Even when I have resources, I still need to share the market.
Even Coca-Cola doesn't monopolize everything. Look at the Swire Group—they're Coke's biggest partner in Hong Kong. They handle the sugar, the drink production, the distribution—all of it. Even Coca-Cola needs to rely on Swire's influence in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia."
Hong Kong in the 1950s wasn't quite the same as it would be in the '70s or '80s. The era of the "Big Four" — Jardine, Swire, Hutchison, and Wheelock — hadn't fully matured yet. But Swire and Jardine had already been long-established giants. Hutchison and Wheelock were still playing catch-up.
"Swire is one of those big foreign trading firms," Su Yiyi said with a grin.
Yang Wendong nodded. "One day, we'll be a company at that level too."
"Can a Chinese-owned business really get that big?" Su Yiyi asked curiously.
"It's hard—but not impossible," Yang Wendong said with a smile. "The colonial government has to at least keep up the appearance of fairness.
But any smart Chinese businessman knows not to go head-to-head with British conglomerates before they've built enough strength.
The overseas market is where Chinese capital has room to shine—especially in exports and shipping."
In the '50s, '60s, and even into the '70s, the most prominent Chinese business tycoons in Hong Kong weren't in real estate. One reason was that the property market hadn't taken off yet, and the other was that British capital still monopolized most of the prime land.
So Chinese capital focused on real industry and maritime trade.
A decade later, there would be a slew of Chinese tycoons known for their achievements in industry and shipping—but not in real estate.
Ironically, it was probably because Chinese capital flooded into real estate in the '70s and '80s that the Hong Kong property market went wild two decades later.
The cause-and-effect relationship is hard to untangle—but it's all interconnected.
"Then you'll definitely become number one in Hong Kong someday, Brother Dong!" Su Yiyi said playfully.
Yang Wendong smiled faintly. "We can get rich off Post-it notes, sure. But becoming number one? That's a long way off. We'll need help from others."
Post-it notes were a great product, but the market had its limits. To become a true tycoon, he'd have to enter much larger markets.
"What kind of help?" Su Yiyi asked.
"I'll be interviewing a few structural engineers over the next few days," Yang Wendong said. "I need people who can help me with design.
Not everything is as simple as glue traps or Post-it notes. I only have so much mental bandwidth."
"Oh, I see…" Su Yiyi nodded.
…
Over the next few days, Yang Wendong personally interviewed several structural engineers—some referred by Engineer Wu from Dongsheng, others found through different channels.
During the interviews, he specifically tested their drawing abilities. At this time, there were no computers. All design work had to be done by hand, using pen and paper. Especially with three-dimensional drawings, it required a strong sense of spatial visualization.
As for what they'd be designing once hired, Yang Wendong didn't say a word.
By the end of December, three of the interviewees had gradually joined the company.
In 1950s Hong Kong, labor laws were practically nonexistent. Unless someone was in upper management, they could switch jobs with little more than a handshake.
After a morning of orientation, Yang Wendong summoned the most senior of the three: Hong Xuefei. He was a man in his forties who had worked in a machinery factory for over two decades. During the war with the U.S., he had even worked in a military factory.
"Mr. Hong, please have a seat," Yang Wendong said with a smile.
Hong Xuefei immediately responded humbly, "Boss, no need to call me that. Everyone just calls me Old Hong."
"Alright, that's fine too," Yang Wendong said with a chuckle. It was more casual anyway. Then he asked, "Old Hong, what do you think of our factory?"
"The food's great—better than any factory I've worked at before," Old Hong said with a laugh.
"Good to hear," Yang Wendong nodded. "What about our products?"
"The glue trap and Post-it note—both very creative," Old Hong replied. "They look simple, but the market potential is huge.
I actually bought a few glue traps myself a few months ago and managed to catch a rat at home. Tossed the whole board afterward—way more convenient than rat cages or poison.
As for the Post-it notes, I'd never heard of them until today. But I used a couple this morning—very handy!"
"Yes, both products are pretty solid," Yang Wendong said with a smile. "But personally, I hope Changxing Industrial can develop more than just these two. That's why I brought in structural engineers like you.
I have some ideas, but they involve structural complexity that I can't design myself. That's where you come in."
Upon hearing this, Old Hong immediately straightened up and asked, "Boss, what kind of structure are we talking about?"
"Take a look at this," Yang Wendong said, pulling a sheet of paper from his drawer. "This is a large cube made of twenty-seven smaller cubes. I need you to design a structure that allows it to rotate freely in three different directions."
The object, of course, was a Rubik's Cube.
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