Chapter 71: 20th Century's Blockbuster Product — The Sticky Note
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, two months had passed.
The new pair of assembly workshops at the Changxing Plastic Factory had been completed, and all workers had already moved in. By combining injection molding and assembly in one location, production efficiency had gone up significantly.
The old factory site was still in use — no point wasting it since rent had already been paid. They'd let the lease run out before letting it go.
Orders from the two major trading companies in Japan and the UK continued to flood in. How exactly they marketed the glue traps and flypapers in their own countries, Yang Wendong didn't know — but the results spoke for themselves. The Changxing Factory was so busy it was practically bursting, and the number of employees had surpassed one hundred.
In the office—
Yang Wendong had a bunch of small plastic squares spread out in front of him, along with several sheets of paper filled with sketches and doodles.
Knock knock knock.
At the door — left ajar — came the sound of knocking. Lin Haoyu and Zhao Liming entered.
Yang swept the plastic squares and the paper sketches to the side and said, "Come in, have a seat. What's up?"
Once they sat down, Zhao Liming said, "Dong-ge, there's been a noticeable drop in orders from both Japan and the UK — especially Japan. This week's orders are down more than half from the last."
"It's September now," Yang said, glancing at the calendar. "Plus, distributors and retailers probably still have some stock. A drop in orders this time of year is normal."
In Hong Kong, winter wasn't particularly cold, which was why many people — like the old Yang Wendong — had survived in wooden shacks and squatter huts through the season.
But Japan and the UK, even Europe as a whole, were different. Once winter arrived, rats disappeared into underground pipes, and flies vanished entirely.
Zhao nodded. "Yeah, I figured winter would impact us — just didn't expect it to start this quickly."
"This is just the beginning," Yang said. "The next few months will be even slower. There's nothing we can do about it."
Zhao asked, "Dong-ge, is there a way to expand into Southeast Asia a little more? Even if it's not much, at least it would ease the pressure."
"I've already tried," Yang chuckled. "But the results weren't great. Most people in those regions live like we did back in the squatter huts — too poor to care about rats."
"The real shame is that we didn't manage to crack the U.S. market before winter hit."
Over the past two months, Yang had contacted a number of merchants who traded with Southeast Asia. While some cooperation on glue board distribution had been established, for reasons unknown — be it distributor capability or market limitations — sales never took off like they did in Japan or the UK.
As for the massive American market, Yang had tried reaching out through trade channels, but unfortunately, by the time there was any progress, winter had arrived — and America's winters were even colder than Europe's.
Zhao nodded. "So for now, we can only produce and stockpile for next year. But that'll put a big strain on our cash flow."
"True. We definitely need to stock up, but how much to produce, I'll have to discuss with the distributors," Yang said.
Even though he was confident that glue board sales would be strong next year, mass-producing inventory now would be risky. Funds were still tight.
Thanks to strong sales in Japan and the UK, he had made over 30,000 HKD in net profit in the last two months.
However, expenses weren't small either. He had purchased a factory and land, built new workshops, and spent money on operations. Including the 10,000+ HKD he already had, Yang now had about 40,000 HKD in working capital.
But if orders dropped and the factory kept producing at full throttle, this money might not last. From a risk management perspective, it wasn't worth gambling everything.
"Alright. Then I'll start reducing worker shifts and adjusting wages," Zhao said.
Changxing's salaries were already quite generous — at or above market average. But entering the slow season meant costs had to be controlled. With less work, some workers might even get extra days off. They'd been expecting this.
Yang nodded. "Okay. Just don't cut too much from welfare. At the very least, make sure the meals are still decent."
At this time in Hong Kong, there was no such thing as social security or insurance for workers. Even if Yang wanted to be a "good boss" and pay for benefits, there was nowhere to pay into.
What he meant by "welfare" was really just meals — feeding workers well. Full bellies were already better than what most factories offered. Add some soup to the rice, throw in some meat once a week, and it beat 90% of other shops.
Only the heavy-labor dockworkers had better meals than his factory workers.
"Got it, Dong-ge," Zhao nodded.
Lin Haoyu added, "Same on my side — even Hong Kong's rats are fewer now that it's colder. The good news is, not many clients have canceled their pest control contracts."
"At our prices, they probably can't be bothered to renegotiate," Yang laughed.
He had modeled this side of the business after Bao Yugang's long-term charter strategy — avoiding short-term windfall profits in favor of sustainable, monthly income.
Especially with pest control — once the major extermination was done, the rest was just maintenance. That reduced costs while keeping revenue consistent.
Still, the pest control business had a lower ceiling than manufacturing and was more of a side project — a way to stabilize income.
"It's just that with fewer rats now, expanding service is hard," Lin admitted.
"Yeah, it's all part of the seasonal cycle," Yang nodded. "Just keep things running at a low level. I'll be doing forecasts with the distributors soon to figure out how much to pre-produce."
"Understood," Zhao replied.
That afternoon
Su Yiyi came in to report the accounts. She glanced at the pile of plastic squares on the desk and asked, "Dong-ge, you're still working on those?"
"Yeah," Yang sighed, rubbing one of the little blocks. "Been at it for a while, but I still haven't figured it out."
Two months ago, after acquiring the plastic factory, he thought long and hard — and decided that creating a Rubik's Cube could bring quick profits. After all, many web novels in his past life described just that — a time traveler getting rich off the cube.
And while he could solve one, he wasn't a mechanical expert. He couldn't figure out how to build a rotating, multi-axis structure from scratch.
His factory was still relatively simple and low-tech, and he hadn't hired any high-level technical talent, so the project had been stuck in limbo.
Su Yiyi handed him the account books and said, "There's one thing I should mention — I misrecorded two transactions. The total error was over 100 HKD, but I've already corrected it."
"No problem," Yang said, not making a fuss. "But be more careful going forward. Mistakes in the books are okay once in a while — but not all the time."
Su Yiyi nodded. "Mm... It's just, I was really tired that day. I even reminded myself to double-check, but I still forgot."
"That's why you should write things down," Yang said, laughing. "Better a bad memory and good notes than the other way around."
"I did write it down — on a little slip of paper. But I lost the paper... and then forgot," Su Yiyi admitted.
"Then use something sticky…"
Yang suddenly froze mid-sentence, his eyes widening slightly.
Wait a minute.
Sticky? Little pieces of paper?
Could it be… Post-it Notes?
This era didn't have Post-its, right?!
This seemingly simple product was one of 3M's most successful inventions of the 20th century — so popular, it was listed among the "Top 100 Inventions of the 20th Century."
And most importantly — it used adhesive.
Glue! Something his factory already produced!
A flood of thoughts surged through Yang Wendong's mind.
A simple structure. A massive market. A product directly related to his current industry.
Was this… the breakthrough he had been waiting for?
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