Chapter 149 - Merging Two Cement Plants, and the Plan for Diversification
"Boss, everything here looks exactly the same as a year ago — nothing's changed at all!" Li Weiguo couldn't help but remark as he gazed at the familiar surroundings of the cement factory.
A year ago, he and Li Weidong had swum across the waters from Shekou in Shenzhen. If Lin Haoran hadn't sent someone to rescue them, they would probably have perished.
Thus, looking at the familiar environment and the murky sea outside, both Li Weiguo and Li Weidong were filled with emotion.
"Yeah, this was the first place we stepped foot on when we arrived in Hong Kong," Li Weidong added excitedly, surveying the area.
Although they had only stayed at Huafeng Cement Factory for two or three days, every detail remained vivid in their memories.
It was here that their fate had changed forever.
And it wasn't just the two brothers who felt sentimental. Lin Haoran himself was deeply moved.
After all, when he first woke up in this world, he had opened his eyes in Huafeng Cement Factory.
Burton and Huo Jianning also took in the factory with curious eyes.
Compared to Qingzhou Cement Factory, this place was clearly much smaller in scale. However, the land area was no less impressive — much of it was open and unused.
"Boss," said Director Xiao, the factory manager, hurrying out from the production zone to greet Lin Haoran.
"You've worked hard this past year, Director Xiao," Lin Haoran said with a smile.
"This is my duty, boss," Xiao replied respectfully.
"Let me introduce you: this is Mr. Burton, the General Manager of Qingzhou Cement, and this is Mr. Huo Jianning, our new Chief Financial Officer. Please give them a tour of Huafeng Cement and explain our current situation," Lin Haoran instructed.
"Of course, boss. Mr. Burton, Mr. Huo, please follow me," Director Xiao said with a courteous gesture.
Lin Haoran himself didn't join the tour. Before leaving Huafeng last year, he had already explored the entire factory countless times — he knew it inside out.
He wandered the grounds alone, soon arriving at the factory's main office building.
Upstairs was the small, undecorated room where he had lived when he first arrived.
Entering the old office, he found that everything was still in its original place, though the floors were now dusty and spiderwebs had accumulated in the corners.
Standing on the walkway outside the room, Lin Haoran gazed down at the relatively quiet factory grounds and out toward the murky sea beyond.
This was the eastern side of the Pearl River Estuary. Although the water here was clearer than on the western side, it still looked murky compared to the crystal-clear waters he had become accustomed to in Deep Water Bay.
"Boss, we swam across from over there," Li Weiguo said, pointing toward the faint outline of land in the distance.
"I wonder how things are back home," he added, his voice tinged with melancholy.
"If you want, I'll arrange for you both to visit someday," Lin Haoran promised with a chuckle.
"Really? We're considered illegal immigrants here — we were probably recorded by the authorities," Li Weiguo said, shaking his head.
"Believe me," Lin Haoran smiled, "one day soon, I'll be investing across the border. When the time comes, I'll take you both back with me."
Looking across the water, Lin Haoran could vaguely see construction activity on the far shore — workers moving busily.
In 1979, Shenzhen (still known as Bao'an County) was just beginning to transform.
It was the dawn of a new era for the region.
In the future, Lin Haoran knew he would definitely invest across the border. Hong Kong's labor and land costs were skyrocketing. Investing in the mainland would not only cut costs but also help the development of China — a win-win situation.
Besides, the future development of Shenzhen would be astonishing. Any time traveler would know this.
Only a fool would miss such an opportunity.
But that was for later. For now, his priority was to solidify his foundation in Hong Kong.
After a while, Lin Haoran saw from the office walkway that Director Xiao had returned with Burton and Huo Jianning.
He and the Li brothers made their way down to meet them.
"How was the tour of the production facilities?" Lin Haoran asked with a smile.
"Boss, the production equipment is very complete, and the land area is more than sufficient," Burton said enthusiastically. "Most importantly, there's even a transportation dock! The only downside is that some of the technology is a bit outdated.
But with some upgrades, this site could completely replace Qingzhou Cement's current plant. Although it's farther from the city center, it won't matter much — the new expressway from Yuen Long to downtown Hong Kong is under construction, which will cut travel time by an hour."
"Exactly my point," Lin Haoran replied, smiling. "Mr. Burton, I plan to merge Huafeng Cement into Qingzhou Cement. Using Qingzhou's headquarters land for a cement plant is a terrible waste. It would be far better suited for real estate development.
Meanwhile, Huafeng Cement can fully take over the production role. And we can even consider building another plant in the suburbs — like in Sai Kung or Sha Tin — to ensure full supply for Hong Kong and Macau."
As for the Southeast Asian markets, Lin Haoran knew they no longer needed supply from Hong Kong. Local production was more cost-effective.
Director Xiao, listening to their conversation, was somewhat confused.
Seeing this, Lin Haoran explained directly to him:
"Director Xiao, our sales volume at Huafeng Cement is too low — just small-scale business. So I'm merging Huafeng into Qingzhou Cement. This site will soon become a branch factory. You should start preparing for that transition."
The Qingzhou Cement Factory branch over in Hung Hom obviously couldn't relocate immediately — that would take at least another year or two.
Thus, for now, Huafeng Cement Factory would function as a subsidiary branch, and it would also have time to undergo necessary upgrades.
"Understood, boss. I will fully cooperate with Qingzhou Cement," Director Xiao nodded affirmatively.
He believed that even without Huafeng Cement Factory operating independently, he would still be reassigned within the group. He wasn't worried about losing his job.
Currently, although Huafeng Cement Factory occupied a decent land area, the size of the production facilities was modest, and the plant could at best be considered a small operation.
Since Lin Haoning's side had ceased suppressing them, Huafeng Cement's monthly profit had improved, but even so, it only amounted to about a hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars — a figure Lin Haoran now considered trivial.
Rather than allowing such meager profits to continue, it was better to fully shift Qingzhou Cement's production here.
After all, operating a heavy-polluting cement plant right on the prime Victoria Harbour coastline in the city center was clearly no longer appropriate.
"Starting today, Huafeng Cement will officially merge into Qingzhou Cement. Mr. Burton, I'm leaving the merger process to you. Director Xiao will assist you fully," Lin Haoran instructed.
Burton was naturally delighted — this meant Qingzhou Cement's strength would be further enhanced.
At 1 p.m., they had a simple lunch of stir-fried dishes cooked by the factory cafeteria's chef.
Afterward, Burton and Huo Jianning continued to familiarize themselves with the full details of Huafeng Cement's operations to ensure the merger proceeded smoothly.
By around 3 p.m., Lin Haoran called them back to his side.
"It's getting late. Let's head back. The merger is now your responsibility — there's plenty of time to handle the details," Lin Haoran said.
Burton nodded in agreement, and they all got into the car and returned toward central Hong Kong.
"Boss," Burton said from the backseat on the way back, "I plan to start renovating the Huafeng production workshop this month. Once that's done, we'll shift some of our orders over there.
That way, the Hung Hom plant won't be overloaded with production anymore."
"Currently, Qingzhou Cement is operating on a two-shift system. After Huafeng's upgrades are complete, we can transfer half our workers there, and both plants can return to a single day-shift schedule.
That would also reduce complaints about our Hung Hom site."
"Once Huafeng fully adapts to large-scale production, we can gradually transfer all cement manufacturing out there.
As for the headquarters in Hung Hom, I propose a diversified development strategy — we can venture into real estate, finance, property management, and hotel operations.
We have land, we have capital, and we're located in a prime district. I hope I can have your support for this vision," Burton explained passionately.
Hung Hom Cement Factory had long been the subject of public complaints — due to its downtown location, its pollution issues had drawn scrutiny since the 1960s.
Over time, as the city expanded, the Hung Hom factory found itself surrounded by densely populated residential and commercial areas.
Back in the 1960s, in response to government pressure, Qingzhou Cement had demolished part of its facilities and built the Green Island, Qingdao, and Green Fort commercial buildings to act as buffers against the nearby community.
Still, complaints never fully ceased.
Clearly, the best long-term solution was relocation.
"Good. I fully support your idea," Lin Haoran replied. "But we cannot expand recklessly.
Right now, our profits are increasing month by month, which is excellent — but I do not want to see us squandering our capital through blind expansion!"
Operating a cement plant on such valuable downtown land was absurd.
A year ago, the Hung Hom site had already been worth four or five hundred million Hong Kong dollars.
Now, after just one year, its value had easily doubled to over a billion Hong Kong dollars — and next year it might double again.
Hong Kong's real estate market was growing at an insane pace during this era.
That was precisely why Hong Kong's stock market was so hot: land and property prices were pushing asset values higher and higher.
Major companies like Hongkong Electric, Wharf, and Hutchison Whampoa — all owners of massive land banks — were seeing their stock valuations skyrocket.
Thus, Lin Haoran's decision to seize Qingzhou Cement at the very start had been immensely wise.
It wasn't the cement business he truly cared about — it was the land underneath it.
After investing just two hundred million Hong Kong dollars, he had secured a company now sitting atop land worth over a billion.
That was a magnificent return.
Basically, anything that caught Li Jiacheng's eye in Hong Kong was bound to be a treasure.
Lin Haoran had simply gotten there first — taking Qingzhou Cement before others realized its full value, and now preparing to take Hongkong Electric as well.
Of course, just Qingzhou Cement and Hongkong Electric would never satisfy Lin Haoran.
There were still plenty of other aging British-controlled enterprises in Hong Kong — companies that owned vast tracts of prime land acquired decades earlier.
Taking them over would be like planting trees whose fruits would multiply exponentially over time.
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Albino1