Chapter 133: Riding the Wave of Others' Growth
By the end of May, time had flown by. Now, the original four founders of Changxing Industrial had all moved into their new homes—luxury villas that 90% of Hong Kong's population could only dream of.
The morning sunlight filtered through curtains that weren't quite thick enough, shining directly into Yang Wendong's eyes and waking him with discomfort. It was the weekend, and he had hoped to sleep in a bit. Since his rebirth, his body had become much younger—and with that came a strong desire to sleep.
A while later, birdsong outside became too noisy to ignore.
"Looks like I'll need to get thicker blackout curtains," Yang muttered as he sat up. He listened to the noise outside again. "And I still need to wait for the imported soundproof glass…"
High-quality glass in Hong Kong was, of course, imported. It was a pain to transport, and anything with excellent insulation or soundproofing needed to be custom-ordered in advance.
—
After waking up properly, Yang headed downstairs and ran into Auntie Guo and Su Yiyi sorting through items.
Seeing what was in the boxes, Yang chuckled, "I'm just going to the U.S.—not some godforsaken wilderness. No need to pack so much food."
Auntie Guo insisted, "This is for you to eat on the plane! I heard the flight takes more than a full day, and airplane food isn't tasty. You need to bring enough!"
"There's no need to overdo it," Yang replied. "Some snacks are fine. You can buy better food on the plane—just pay for it, and it's way better than the free stuff."
Though he was tight on money when it came to production expansion, in his personal life, Yang lacked for nothing. A trip to America was rare, and he certainly wasn't going to pinch pennies.
Unfortunately, at this time in history, there was no such thing as first or business class. All plane seats were treated equally. As for private jets—forget it. Only top government officials might have that kind of privilege, and even the richest tycoons hadn't started playing in that arena yet.
"Well, alright then," Su Yiyi said, gently pulling Auntie Guo back. She was well aware of Yang's preferences. After helping pack, she asked, "Brother Dong, what do you think of the luggage weight?"
"Weight?" Yang hadn't paid much attention until now. He noticed that although his belongings were packed into a plastic suitcase, there was no telescoping handle—only a side grip for carrying.
Thinking back to spy dramas from his past life, whenever someone got on a train or ship, they'd always be carrying their suitcase—never pulling it along.
Which meant… wheeled suitcases hadn't been invented yet.
"What's wrong, Brother Dong? Is something missing?" Su Yiyi asked when she noticed him staring at the suitcase.
Yang shook his head. "No, it's fine. Just clothes. Even if I forget something, I can buy it in the U.S."
His quality of life had already improved significantly. He was now starting to truly engage with the broader world—meaning he could more easily spot products common in his past life that didn't yet exist in this era.
And clearly, he had just discovered another huge business opportunity—perhaps even bigger than the spin mop.
But in his current situation, he wasn't ready for another explosive product. He couldn't handle the production volume, and even outsourcing would have to be done one item at a time.
Besides, there was no way Hong Kong could handle so much contract manufacturing for him. Managing that many suppliers would require a strong internal team—and that would take time to build.
Su Yiyi didn't notice his train of thought. She closed the suitcase and locked it with a code. "The password is your birthday—0112."
"Okay, thanks," Yang said, taking the case.
It weighed about 15–16 pounds—not too heavy, but carrying it around for long periods would get tiring fast.
Then he headed out. His driver was already waiting, and before long they arrived at the company.
Once in his office, Wei Zetao knocked and entered. "Mr. Yang, here are some photos from yesterday's progress at the new factory."
"Alright…" Yang accepted the photos. The once-flat ground now showed signs of a building taking shape. Some areas had already been paved with concrete.
Wei explained, "Our new factory is working day and night, and we've added about twice the manpower.
The work pace is at least three to four times faster than a typical new site.
The foundation is basically done. Next, we begin construction. The building won't be too tall, so if everything goes well, we'll finish in a month."
"Hmm…" Yang nodded. "Once the main structure is up, we'll still need to do basic interior work, right? Wiring, plumbing, and so on."
"Yes," Wei replied. "But they've scheduled that to run in parallel. While the second floor is going up, they'll install wiring and paint on the first floor.
Aside from tasks that require the whole building to be complete, everything else will move forward simultaneously.
We're pushing full speed."
"Very good." Yang was clearly satisfied. "So according to plan, everything will be done by early July?"
"Yes, maybe even earlier. Though moving this fast has increased our construction costs by about 10%."
"That's fine." Yang didn't mind at all.
Finishing earlier meant Post-it production would start earlier—and the profits would easily outweigh that 10% in extra costs.
Besides, this plot wasn't just any land—it was in Tsim Sha Tsui, a future commercial gold mine. While it was zoned as industrial land and wouldn't be in the heart of the future retail district, the value would still skyrocket.
Compared to that, the extra money spent now wasn't even worth mentioning.
Wei continued, "Of the 300 machines we ordered from Dongsheng, about half will arrive in July. The schedule aligns well.
That also gives us time to train new hires. If everything came at once, I'd be worried about quality issues."
Yang nodded in agreement. "Right. I'm anxious too, but we can't rush things. Even when moving fast, it has to be one step at a time."
They had already begun recruiting extra staff for training, but even doubling the team wasn't enough to meet demand.
Once the new factory was done, production capacity could expand tenfold—but they still needed people.
Fortunately, the product was simple, and training was fast. But even so, someone with three days of training wasn't as capable as someone with three months of experience.
The more seasoned workers could troubleshoot, maintain consistency, and handle errors better—all critical to ensuring product quality.
Wei Zetao said, "Understood. We're now at the final step before going full-scale with expansion. As long as the new No. 6 factory begins full production successfully, it won't be long before we'll have trained a large number of skilled workers. When we build additional factories later, we won't be in such a passive situation—short on both funds and manpower."
"Yes, this is the most crucial step for us," Yang Wendong agreed with a smile.
Running a factory is definitely more complex than real estate. In real estate, as long as you have money and confidence, you can keep leveraging to expand, and as long as the market holds steady, there generally won't be a problem. But with factories, it's a different story. One quality control issue can cause heavy losses—or even lead to closure for the unlucky ones.
That's also why, even though Yang Wendong had already thought of producing rolling suitcases, he wasn't planning to pursue it just yet. First, he wanted to stabilize and perfect his current ventures. Once those were secure, his resources, capital, experience, and talent pool would all be much stronger. Only then would he pursue major expansion.
Another day passed, and Wei Zetao came again, bringing good news. "Mr. Yang, the Hong Kong government has approved our glue factory project. However, the site must be far from the urban area."
"Did they specify a location?" Yang Wendong asked excitedly.
After negotiating with 3M, he had taken two steps. First, he hired Qian Shangde, an experienced Chinese-American engineer, to handle matters related to the glue production line in the U.S. Second, he had sent people to apply to the relevant government departments in Hong Kong for permission to build the factory.
After all, this was a chemical plant—even if it was light industry with relatively less pollution, the Hong Kong government could still obstruct it. If things didn't work out in Hong Kong, they would have had no choice but to consider building it in Taiwan.
"They didn't give a fixed location," Wei Zetao replied, "but they suggested we set up in Tuen Mun."
"Tuen Mun? Why?" Yang Wendong asked.
Wei nodded and explained, "The Hong Kong government's idea is that our wastewater can be treated locally and discharged into the sea, which is more convenient."
"Those foreigners… well, that's understandable," Yang Wendong said, not commenting further.
Environmental protection wasn't a mainstream concern in this era. After all, even developed nations still had extensive industrial operations. So unless it involved heavy pollution or affected food or daily use products, governments weren't particularly concerned.
Take Japan, for example. In its pursuit of industrialization, it had even caused the infamous Minamata disease. Western countries were slightly better in comparison, but they were essentially operating at the same level. It wasn't until later—when urban pollution became unbearable, and issues like photochemical smog emerged, and rivers passing through city centers became muddy—that change was finally forced.
As for discharging into the sea, that was likely a standard practice among many large enterprises in Europe and the U.S.
"Still," Yang Wendong asked again, "there are plenty of coastal areas in Hong Kong. Why specifically Tuen Mun?"
"Well, there's already a chemical factory there—Tian's Chemical Plant," Wei Zetao said with a smile. "It's owned by an Indonesian-Chinese businessman, Tin Ka Ping. Last year, he invested heavily in waterworks in Tuen Mun and bought 300,000 square feet of land by the sea to build a plant for producing plastic films and synthetic leather. Though it's not the same type of product as our glue, it's still considered a chemical factory. I think the government wants to turn Tuen Mun into a chemical industry base."
"That's actually good news," Yang Wendong said with delight, then asked, "But are we really going to discharge into the sea directly? What about 3M's wastewater—how toxic is it? Has Old Qian confirmed?"
Although environmental regulations weren't strict during this time, he still wasn't keen on polluting recklessly—especially since there were many fishermen near Hong Kong. Their catch would be sold directly in local markets.
Such a boomerang effect could come back to hit him.
This might even become a stain on his legacy in the future.
Wei Zetao replied, "I've talked with Old Qian. The 3M equipment includes a filtration system for heavy metals and chemical toxins. But honestly, 3M itself often doesn't use it because the operating costs are high."
"That filtration system is coming over too, right?" Yang Wendong asked.
Wei nodded. "Yes. That setup can also recover some freshwater during filtration. In the U.S., freshwater isn't very valuable, but Old Qian believes Hong Kong definitely needs it."
Yang Wendong smiled. "That's good. We must put it to use. Water scarcity is something I've been worried about. I was originally planning to build another factory in Taiwan after we get familiar with the production technology. If this setup can ease our problems, that's great."
Wei nodded and added, "Old Qian really thinks of everything as a chemical engineer."
"Speaking of water," Yang Wendong continued, "if we build in Tuen Mun, what about electricity and water supply? Will CLP Power and the Water Supplies Department support us?"
"There's no major issue with that," Wei said. "That area already has water and power infrastructure. And we owe thanks to Mr. Tin. His company invested a fortune in reclaiming land and strengthening infrastructure, even coordinating with CLP and the Water Department to lay high-voltage lines and increase the water supply there. Compared to Tian's Chemical, our factory is much smaller. The current infrastructure can handle both our power and water needs."
"Haha, looks like we're getting a free ride!" Yang Wendong laughed joyfully.
Originally, he had been very worried about the glue factory project. After all, it's a chemical plant, and setting up the infrastructure would be incredibly complex.
He never imagined someone else would already have built a large chemical plant in Hong Kong—and done all the hard work with the infrastructure.
He asked again, "Have we confirmed everything with CLP and the Water Department?"
"Yes," Wei replied with a nod. "Given our consumption, it's no problem. While the water and power access were made possible through Tin's efforts, the infrastructure still belongs to the respective utility companies. We can deal directly with them. And since the groundwork is done, it's just a matter of hooking up pipes and cables."
"Sounds way too simple!" Yang Wendong said in disbelief. He had thought this would be one of his biggest headaches. "Tian's Chemical really helped us out indirectly."
"Indeed," Wei agreed. "It's just a pity their products have no overlap with ours. If they manufactured raw materials for glue, we might have been able to partner with them."
"You're dreaming too big," Yang Wendong said with a chuckle. "Things don't fall into place that easily. Solving the power and water issues is already more than enough."
"True, I was just saying," Wei replied with a smile.
Yang Wendong added, "Let's proceed with selecting a site near there and buying the land. This takes a big weight off my shoulders. After that, I'll just head to the U.S. to finalize the equipment."
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