Chapter 122: All Is Ready, Only the East Wind Is Missing
"That would certainly lower the risk," Yip Zhirong replied calmly, "but wouldn't that also increase the operational burden on Changxing Industrial?"
While her tone remained professional, the subtle changes in her expression gave her away—she clearly didn't want to share this business with other banks. After all, for a bank representative, commissions were tied to the size of the deal, whether it came from deposits or loans.
Yang Wendong smiled and said, "Miss Yip, I've long admired the reputation of Hang Seng Bank, and I'm very willing to work with you. But if your side isn't willing to take on a bit of risk, isn't it reasonable for me to proactively help you reduce that risk?
In this world, business is always a game of risk and profit. If there were a way to make profit without risk, wouldn't everyone just jump on it?
I'm building a new factory at an extremely fast pace, and that means I need a large amount of capital in a very short time. Unless that capital reaches my account quickly, I won't be able to move forward. So either you can confirm you'll lend it promptly, or I'll have to look for a faster route."
Yip Zhirong was momentarily speechless. She could see that her reasoning was being firmly countered. Finally, she said, "In that case, I'll escalate the request again. If it still can't be approved, then perhaps we can negotiate a different loan amount. It doesn't have to be a 50/50 split—we can discuss."
"Good." Yang Wendong nodded, then added, "It doesn't necessarily have to be a 50/50 split either. We might not only be speaking to two banks."
"You're right, Mr. Yang." Yip Zhirong smiled, letting the subject drop for now.
The three chatted a bit longer before Yang and Wei excused themselves and left.
…
Back in the car, driven by A Long, they left the bank headquarters behind.
As they cruised through the bustling streets of Central, Yang Wendong gazed out the window and said, "That Yip Zhirong doesn't seem to have final decision-making authority. We'll probably need to wait a while for a concrete answer. In the meantime, you should start contacting some other banks."
Applying for a bank loan was never easy—especially when you lacked sufficient collateral. The approval process was inevitably complicated.
Even in his previous life, in the internet age, it still took one or two weeks to process a fully collateralized home loan. For commercial loans, the timeframe was even longer—unless you were a long-time, creditworthy client.
Wei Zetao furrowed his brows and said, "Mr. Yang, even if we approach other banks, a loan like this will still take time.
At the moment, Liao Chong Hing Bank and Hang Seng Bank remain our best prospects."
Yang Wendong nodded. "Then we'll have to pursue loans from multiple banks at once, even if that makes things more complicated on our end.
To be honest, I mostly said that just to put some pressure on Yip Zhirong."
Getting a bank to part with their money wasn't easy. And once you introduced multiple lenders, it brought up all kinds of coordination challenges.
"Actually," Wei Zetao said after some thought, "a joint loan between Liao Chong Hing and Hang Seng might be a pretty good option.
It would lower each bank's risk while still giving us the capital we need quickly. That way we can proceed with expansion confidently.
Of course, joint loans are always a bit more expensive than borrowing from a single institution."
"Then so be it," Yang Wendong said seriously. "What matters most now is that we get the funds, build the new factory and the glue factory.
As long as our production capacity hits the target, we'll recover the capital in no time.
Unless we suddenly launch another massive investment, we won't face much financial pressure going forward. These loans won't be a big deal to repay."
Demand for Post-it notes was skyrocketing thanks to 3M's aggressive global expansion. Right now, even with 86 machines running at full capacity, they couldn't keep up. They were constantly adding new machines and hiring new workers.
But space was limited. There was a physical cap to how many machines they could add to the current plant.
Wei Zetao added, "In terms of personnel, we've already hired nearly twice the number of workers we need at our current plant. Most of them are now well trained.
Once the new factory is ready, these workers can take the lead and train new hires. That way, we'll reach full production much faster."
"Haha!" Yang Wendong laughed. "That's one of our advantages—whether it's glue traps or Post-it notes, both are relatively simple to manufacture."
Wei Zetao nodded. "Exactly. Thankfully our products are relatively straightforward. If we were expanding quickly in something like plastic flowers, there'd be a much higher risk of quality issues."
"True," Yang Wendong agreed. "But we still need to start preparing a larger workforce. Once the new factory opens, we need to get things rolling immediately. Especially for batch management—we'll need a good number of literate workers with decent education levels."
Even mouse traps now had controlled manufacturing processes—especially when it came to glue, the most expensive component. With Dongsheng's machines regulating the amount used, they could cut costs significantly and reduce human error.
Post-it notes were even more machine-made. Workers were mostly needed to monitor equipment and spot problems early.
But even then, skilled workers were essential. If a problem occurred and the batch couldn't be traced properly, trying to rework it and match it back to the original batch would be a nightmare.
Good batch management required a team that could read and follow detailed procedures—people who could track things properly.
…
Back at the factory, Yang Wendong and Wei Zetao took another walk through the production floor.
"At this rate," Wei said, "we're going to run out of space for new machines very soon. If the bank loan doesn't come through in time, we'll need to rent another warehouse and convert it into a temporary workshop.
The U.S. side won't wait forever. Even if it costs more, we can recover that money from the Post-it profits."
"I'm aware," Yang Wendong replied. "The problem is, spreading production across too many locations makes future management and quality control much harder."
Wei Zetao thought for a moment and said, "Actually, maybe not. If we end up renting another plant, we can later turn it over to the glue trap production. Old Zhou mentioned to me earlier that the glue trap department also needs a new facility."
"Mm, alright," Yang Wendong nodded. "Then let's prepare for that possibility and make sure nothing goes wrong."
Running a factory and doing real industrial work always came with countless complicated issues—there was simply too much to manage. This was exactly why many wealthy people preferred to invest in real estate and infrastructure instead: less hassle, more profit.
If Yang Wendong didn't already know what industries would thrive in the future, he probably would've done the same—made his first bucket of gold, then jumped straight into property speculation.
Over the next few days, Wei Zetao and Yang Wendong visited several other banks, pitching similar proposals. As expected, no bank was willing to agree to an unsecured multimillion-dollar loan on the spot.
But they weren't expecting instant success. The point was to meet face-to-face, build relationships. Even if they didn't strike a deal this time, there might be opportunities for collaboration in the future. After all, demanding a major partnership from a first meeting rarely worked.
On the fifth day, outside the HSBC building in Central, the two men stepped out of the bank and walked over to the massive stone lions by the entrance.
"So these are the HSBC lions?" Yang Wendong said, looking up at the two imposing stone beasts, each more than two meters tall. He chuckled.
Wei Zetao nodded. "That's right. These two lions have been with HSBC since it was founded over a century ago. They're considered the bank's symbolic guardians."
"They're certainly majestic," Yang Wendong said with a smile. "Just like the people inside. As soon as they heard we wanted an unsecured loan, they basically showed us the door."
It wasn't that HSBC's staff lacked vision. If Yang and Wei had been given the opportunity to present their documentation and contracts with 3M, HSBC might not have agreed outright, but they would've at least discussed the potential for other types of cooperation.
But pride was embedded in HSBC's bones. Even Chinese employees there carried that air of superiority. In fact, "banana employees"—locals working for British firms—often looked down on their fellow countrymen even more harshly. Unless the person approaching them was already a well-known figure in the Chinese business world, they wouldn't get a fair hearing.
Clearly, neither Yang Wendong nor Changxing Industrial met that threshold yet. Industrial manufacturing wasn't exactly glamorous in the eyes of the banks, and HSBC staff hadn't even bothered to give them a chance. If not for the relatively high amount in their deposit account, they might've been shown out the door completely.
Wei Zetao laughed. "We never expected HSBC to take us seriously. We just came to open an account. Standard Chartered will be the same. Later, depending on how things go, we'll decide which of them is worth working with."
"Mm," Yang Wendong nodded. "What about Liao Chong Hing and Hang Seng? Any updates?"
"I've been talking to both," Wei replied. "Both banks want to handle the full loan amount, but neither can guarantee fast disbursement, so they've agreed to split it fifty-fifty.
Now we're just finalizing the interest rates. Once that's settled, everything will be ready."
"Good. Let's head back then," Yang Wendong said. "Once the loans are approved, we can immediately start building the new factory."
"Understood." As they walked, Wei added, "By the way, I've already found 16 employees with basic spoken English skills who are willing to go to the U.S. and study at 3M."
"Only basic conversation?" Yang asked.
"Yes," Wei replied. "People with strong English skills usually have high academic qualifications. With their ability, they can easily land jobs at major foreign firms or British trading houses.
Even if they do come work for us, it's usually in management. They wouldn't agree to work in the factory or learn machinery operations."
"True," Yang Wendong said, nodding. That made sense.
In this era, even someone who could recognize all Chinese characters was already considered highly educated. Finding a clerical job with decent pay was easy.
Only in countries or regions with widespread basic education could you find large numbers of highly educated professionals working in manufacturing—this was the very foundation of an industrial powerhouse. Otherwise, given the choice, who would willingly work in a factory?
Wei continued, "I also hired a translator with solid English skills to go with them. That should cover all our bases."
"How's things going on Qian's side?" Yang asked.
"He's still finalizing the patents we want to acquire," Wei replied. "As for the production line, after observing it for a while, we've confirmed there are no major issues.
But we'll have to wait a bit. Our people need to go learn the system first. Once they've mastered it, 3M will disassemble the machines and ship them over. That gives us enough time to finish building the new factory.
After that, everyone will return from the U.S. together and focus on setting up production here in Hong Kong."
"Sounds like a real ordeal," Yang Wendong sighed. "Alright. Once your team has trained up, I'll also take a trip to the States—inspect the equipment, and visit 3M while we're at it."
"Got it," Wei Zetao said. "Everything's pretty much ready now. We're just waiting for the banks to release the funds."
"Mm." Yang Wendong smiled. "Hopefully in the future, when we expand, we won't have to beg banks like this again."
All was ready—only the east wind was missing.
If the Post-it note production ran smoothly over the next few months, then expanding capacity in the future would no longer be such a challenge.
Even if they still needed loans, it wouldn't be as urgent or stressful as it was this time.
Of course, this was just how it was in the early days of any venture—getting off the ground was never easy.
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