Chapter 224: Progress of the Ten-Thousand-Employee Industrial Park
After returning to Hong Kong, Yang Wendong naturally went straight home to play with little Zhiwen.
"Bo-bo-bo-bo~~~" Yang Wendong shook a rattle, trying to draw his son's attention. But soon enough, the baby was captivated by his mother instead.
Su Yiyi chuckled and said, "You're not with him very often, so he's not that familiar with you."
"As long as he's not afraid of me, that's good enough." Yang Wendong lay down on the sofa so his head was level with his son's and watched the baby's side profile, quietly enjoying the moment.
Su Yiyi asked, "You just got off the plane—do you want to take a nap?"
Yang Wendong shook his head. "It's only 4 o'clock. If I nap now, I'll wake up too early tonight. I'd rather power through for a while longer and spend more time with the baby."
"Alright, I'll go make some chilled snow fungus soup for you." Su Yiyi stood up.
"Make it cold," Yang Wendong called after her.
"Okay." Su Yiyi responded as she walked toward the kitchen. Yang Wendong kept playing with his son.
Three-month-old Zhiwen now had expressive reactions. After a while, he started giggling happily.
When Su Yiyi returned with the soup, she smiled and said, "You're really good at entertaining him."
"Of course. I love playing with kids," Yang Wendong said as he took the bowl of soup. "But some things are too important—I have to be personally involved. Otherwise, I'd spend more time with him."
Although Changxing Group had already implemented a professional managerial system, no founder could truly be hands-off—especially not during the startup phase. As the founder and strategic decision-maker, Yang Wendong still had to oversee major issues. He also retained authority over finance and personnel—rights that came with responsibilities.
"Career comes first. Otherwise, your life would be too dull," Su Yiyi said with a smile.
With the Yang family's current wealth, as long as future generations didn't mess around—no reckless ventures or gambling—they could easily live lavishly for ten lifetimes. But that wasn't the life Yang Wendong wanted. If he did, just the invention of the sticky notes in 1959 would've been enough to keep his whole family comfortable for life.
Yang Wendong replied, "Yiyi, you really understand me. Once I get a few things settled, I'll spend more time at home."
He was still spending half his time at home, unless he had to travel to the U.S., like he had recently. Investing in Walmart and hiring talent for the Hong Kong supermarket venture were crucial long-term moves—perhaps the most valuable business decisions for the future of his group.
Su Yiyi asked, "So the U.S. trip went well?"
"Very well," Yang Wendong nodded, then told her everything that had happened.
After hearing it all, Su Yiyi said, "So next, you're going to buy up a lot of property in Hong Kong and convert it into supermarkets?"
"Yes. And they have to be in Central or nearby," Yang Wendong said. "Supermarkets need to be clustered during their early stages of growth."
"That's not bad. If you can acquire the properties, they'll be valuable anyway," Su Yiyi said.
"Of course," Yang Wendong smiled. "How's your clothing store project going?"
Though Su Yiyi could have stayed home full-time, Yang Wendong didn't want her to be idle. In addition to overseeing general administration for the group, she pursued her passion—opening a clothing store as a side venture. She had a professional manager to run it day-to-day.
Su Yiyi answered, "It's almost ready. Mr. Zheng helped me acquire a few street-front shops in Kwun Tong and North Point, each about a thousand square feet. They're being renovated now and should open in October."
"Not in Central? So you're aiming for the mass market?" Yang Wendong asked.
Su Yiyi nodded. "That's right. Didn't you say the most profitable part of the garment industry isn't luxury fashion but mass-market volume sales? So I'm following your advice—focusing on affordable clothing for everyday Hong Kongers."
"Good. What about your supply chain?"
"I'm sourcing from local factories in Hong Kong. I hired a very professional manager, Ms. Shen. She's in charge of everything."
"That works," Yang Wendong said. "Hong Kong's garment industry is doing well. The U.S. is already launching anti-dumping investigations—if the quality weren't decent, their government wouldn't care."
Textiles and garments were the first industries most economies ventured into during early industrialization. Hong Kong was no exception, with many garment factories established in the 1920s and '30s. Though development was interrupted by wartime events, it resumed after 1945.
Despite the rise of plastics in recent years, textiles and garments remained Hong Kong's largest export industry through the 1980s—until industrial decline pushed most factories to relocate to the mainland.
Su Yiyi asked, "What's an anti-dumping investigation?"
"It's a tactic some countries use to protect their industries…" Yang Wendong explained the term in detail. Though Su Yiyi wasn't illiterate anymore, she still didn't know some specialized terminology.
"Oh, I see," Su Yiyi nodded. "The U.S. is Hong Kong's biggest export market. If they raise tariffs, many garment factories here will really suffer."
"Exactly. But there's nothing we can do," Yang Wendong shrugged. "It's really a contest between Britain and the U.S. Britain's trying to protect its Commonwealth markets while still exporting freely to America. Of course the Americans are going to get mad."
"No kidding," Su Yiyi said, now understanding the geopolitical context.
Yang Wendong said, "Anyway, if you want to turn your clothing venture into something more serious, it needs to be like our early Changxing Industrial—focused on training talent. I'll have Changxing Properties acquire lots of street-front shops for your future expansion. Once you've built a solid team, you can scale up quickly."
Street-front retail properties were among the most limited real estate resources in any major city. Unlike commercial plazas, which could be developed nearly anywhere, old street-front buildings in bustling areas were irreplaceable. Even in the age of shopping malls, high-traffic commercial streets retained high value.
"Alright," Su Yiyi said. "I've noticed a lot of people in Hong Kong don't even have proper short-sleeve shirts. They're still wearing old fabric clothes. If I can bring down the price of short sleeves and make sure every local can wear them in summer, that'll feel like an accomplishment."
"That's a great goal," Yang Wendong praised.
Just a few years ago, even he had worn worn-out hemp clothes in summer—like something out of the Republican era. T-shirts were mostly seen in cities.
If affordable T-shirts could replace old clothes, the market demand would be enormous—especially as the economy improved and people started changing clothes more often.
"I'll write up a proposal for you to review," Su Yiyi said.
"Sure. Once you decide where you want to open next, I'll have Changxing Properties acquire the shopfronts," Yang Wendong nodded.
When you have capital to buy property, plans didn't need to be airtight—as long as they weren't outrageously flawed, they'd be approved.
…
After a day of rest at home, Yang Wendong visited a six-story building in Kwun Tong.
"Mr. Yang," Wei Zetao and Zheng Zhijie came out to greet the boss.
"Is this your office now?" Yang Wendong asked.
Zheng Zhijie replied, "Yes, it's only 300 meters from the Changxing Industrial Park, so all the preliminary staff from Changxing Industrial have been working here. On our property side, we also set up a team here since we're continuing to acquire properties in Kwun Tong."
Wei Zetao added, "That's right. Dehe and other suppliers also have personnel here. Everyone's gathered in one place to ensure the industrial park's construction proceeds smoothly and meets future demands."
"Good," Yang Wendong nodded, then turned to Zheng Zhijie. "Lao Zheng, you already know about the supermarket project. Acquire suitable properties in Central as soon as possible. Our American colleagues will be coming to Hong Kong next month."
"Understood, Mr. Yang," Zheng Zhijie replied, and added, "But properties in Central of the right size—while not as rare as skyscrapers—are still hard to come by. Securing several of them in a short time may be difficult."
"Hmm." Yang Wendong thought for a moment. "If the landlords won't sell, leasing is fine too."
Although the ideal scenario was to buy and then build stores, he wasn't going to insist on owning 100% of them up front.
After all, locations like Central or Admiralty already had limited stock, and much of it was held by major financial groups—not something you could just buy because you had money.
The key was getting the first few supermarket locations operating so the team could learn from experience—successes and failures alike. More acquisitions could wait for the next economic downturn.
"Got it. No problem," Zheng Zhijie replied.
Yang Wendong continued, "Also, Yiyi wants to purchase shopfronts, though the size will be much smaller. And they don't need to be in prime areas, just places with high foot traffic from everyday people."
Zheng Zhijie nodded. "Mrs. Yang already spoke to me about it. I understand the type of retail space she needs. These are easier to find. I'll collect listings that match the criteria and present them for her to choose from."
"Mm," Yang Wendong nodded. "Now, let's get an update on the Changxing Industrial Park over the past two months."
Since construction began on the industrial park, Yang Wendong had been focused on acquiring China Motor Bus (CMB), navigating the bank run at Liu Chong Hing Bank, and his trip to the U.S. to invest in Walmart.
Now it was already August. With buildings going up, it was time to get personally involved again.
Zheng Zhijie said, "Mr. Yang, there's a model in the conference room. It'll be easier to explain using that."
"A model?" Yang Wendong smiled. "Alright."
They quickly entered a designated room. At the center of the room stood a square-shaped scale model. On the left half, a dozen buildings stood; the right half was empty.
Zheng Zhijie began his presentation. "Mr. Yang, this is what Phase 1 of the park will look like: twelve industrial buildings, two office buildings, four dormitories—each eight stories tall—and a large warehouse for plastic pellets.
Each industrial building's first floor will be reserved for housing large-scale equipment like those used to manufacture luggage shells. The second and third floors have reinforced structures suitable for light machinery or storage.
Floors four to six will host assembly lines, QC departments, or administrative offices. The top two floors are currently unassigned but can be repurposed later."
"All twelve buildings are configured this way?" Yang Wendong asked.
Wei Zetao responded, "Yes, initially. But the design is flexible. The upper floors don't have heavy equipment, so they can be used for anything."
Yang Wendong nodded. "This phase takes up about half the park's total land, right? Are these buildings enough for now?"
"They are," Wei Zetao said with a smile. "At eight floors each, the total industrial space reaches 8 million square feet—already beyond our current needs. If we didn't plan for future growth, we could easily lease space to other factories."
Yang Wendong said, "There's still a lot of room for production growth. Just luggage alone will keep us busy for years, and later there will be new sizes and product lines.
But Phase 2 can be rented to third-party tenants, preferably ones related to plastics, to form a cluster economy."
Given the large land parcel and high-rise layout, the usable space far exceeded their needs. Leasing the extra space made sense. And years down the road, when they needed more space, they could buy more land.
Wei Zetao added, "Understood. But there's another issue. Our major production facilities are still in Tsim Sha Tsui, and we've built a number of warehouses there. It's becoming inefficient to produce items in one district and transport them to another."
Yang Wendong nodded. "Then let's build new warehouses here in Kwun Tong. As for the ones in Tsim Sha Tsui, give them to Liming—he can use them for the glue board production line. That one doesn't need to move."
According to his plan, everything related to plastics would move to Kwun Tong. The sticky notes and glue boards would remain in Tsim Sha Tsui, preserving a foothold in the old industrial base.
"Understood," Wei Zetao replied. "Let me also walk you through how we're assigning space within the industrial buildings. Most of it will go to our key suppliers. Dehe, for example, is here…"
Wei Zetao continued outlining the space distribution, and Yang Wendong listened carefully.
The plastic component suppliers were located on the lower floors. Assembly, warehousing, and QC were on the middle floors. This setup maximized efficiency: parts came up directly from production to assembly and testing.
After about ten minutes, Yang Wendong said, "It looks good. But I have two requirements."
"We're listening, Mr. Yang," both Zheng Zhijie and Wei Zetao said.
"First, safety. With over ten thousand people working here, even a small incident can be catastrophic. Every floor must have extensive fire prevention systems. We need external steel fire escapes on each building to allow multiple escape routes."
Safety was always the biggest concern in industrial complexes. With so many people in one place, any accident would be a disaster. Yang Wendong couldn't take any chances.
Zheng Zhijie replied, "Understood. I'll arrange for it."
"Second," Yang Wendong continued, "get finished products out of the buildings as soon as possible. They take up space and are also flammable. We need dedicated warehouses away from the main facilities. That way, if anything happens, the damage is financial, not human."
"Understood," Wei Zetao nodded.
"Then let's speed up construction. Everyone's eager to start operations," Yang Wendong said, taking another look at the model. When it came to factory operation, he wasn't a technical expert, but he knew the most important thing was having space.
Once the space was available, everything else could be adjusted later.
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