Chapter 161: Cooperative Investment for Mutual Growth
Early the next morning, just as dawn broke, Bai Yushan woke to find Yang Wendong already half-sitting up, reading a newspaper.
"You're awake?" Yang asked with a smile.
"Mm," Bai Yushan nodded softly.
Yang's hand wandered playfully again. "Heh, it's still early."
"No! I'm sore," she quickly stopped him. "You were like a bull last night."
Yang laughed. "A bull? Not as good as the field it plows."
Suddenly, Bai Yushan teased, "Then why don't you go find Yiyi instead?"
"Are you jealous?" Yang grinned.
Both Bai Yushan and Su Yiyi were aware of each other's existence, though they hadn't met yet.
After a moment of silence, Bai Yushan asked, "Have you... with her...?"
"No," Yang said, shaking his head.
Even though he was closer with Su Yiyi, her upbringing was very traditional—almost like an ancient-era maiden. She would never cross that line before marriage, especially while still living under the same roof as her elders.
"Hmph~" Bai Yushan pouted. "But you treat her so well."
Yang laughed. "Relax. I'm a good guy—I treat everyone well."
"My dad would be furious if he found out about this," Bai Yushan murmured.
Curious, Yang asked, "He doesn't believe a man can have more than one wife? I thought you told me he has two himself?"
He had recently learned that Bai Qiweng, her father, had indeed taken a second wife. The original wife had given birth to twin daughters but never conceived again, so he wanted a son to carry on the family name.
Bai Yushan hesitated. "It's not that... But he might not accept me being a 'second.'"
Yang smiled. "That's fine. In my world, there's no 'first' or 'second.' Everyone's equal."
"You say that," she sighed. "But society doesn't think the same. Still... if you become one of Hong Kong's top tycoons, I don't think he'd have anything to say."
"That's easy." Yang responded confidently. "Give me one or two years."
He had already completed his first bucket of gold. With a clear understanding of upcoming global economic trends, wealth accumulation would snowball from here.
Bai Yushan nodded. "Alright. Then I'll wait two years."
"Heh, no problem~" Yang smiled.
...
9:00 AM.
Yang dropped Bai Yushan off at the entrance of HSBC.
She smiled and asked, "Want to come inside for a bit?"
"HSBC? No thanks," Yang chuckled. "Last time I came here for a loan, I nearly got thrown out."
"Really?" she was surprised. "Must've been when you were just starting out?"
"Pretty much," he nodded.
"Makes sense," she explained. "HSBC isn't Hong Kong's biggest conglomerate, but it is the top bank. They typically only issue loans with collateral.
Only Chinese banks are willing to actually assess factories and take risks. That's just how things are here."
Yang smiled. "That's why banks prefer real estate. Property is collateral."
"Exactly," she said. "It's the same worldwide. But with your current status as the Post-it King, working with HSBC shouldn't be an issue now."
"We'll see when I need them," Yang said. "Next year, I might expand my business. We'll revisit it then."
"Alright, I'm off to work," she said.
"Learn as much finance as you can," Yang reminded her. "It might come in handy later."
"Got it." She nodded.
Surrounded by HSBC employees in suits and ties, Yang's casual outfit made him stand out. He didn't linger and soon returned to the Changxing Industrial factory.
The entire place was bustling. Post-it note orders were still pouring in nonstop.
Seeing him arrive, Wei Zetao quickly came over. "Mr. Yang."
Yang nodded. "Has the second-phase factory plan been finalized?"
Wei responded, "Yes. The site is already being leveled. After the New Year, we can start construction."
"Good. Since we've done phase one already, just follow that experience. Same goes for staff training—get on that early."
Wei agreed. "Don't worry, Mr. Yang. We now have plenty of skilled staff in both technical and quality roles. Even if phase two is larger than phase one, reallocating people won't be a problem.
We're also hiring more educated workers to serve as team leaders. Even regular workers will be required to know at least a few hundred characters."
"Right. All our staff must be literate," Yang nodded.
Wei continued, "Yes. HR has hired some elementary school teachers to teach reading during downtime. Within a year, even older staff should be able to read and write."
"Good. We need to raise the overall level of our workforce if we want to maintain product quality."
Literacy didn't guarantee capability, but it certainly made learning easier—and better learning led to better products.
"Exactly." Wei paused, then added, "Mr. Yang, we've hit a snag in the rolling suitcase project."
"What kind of snag?" Yang asked.
Wei replied, "Mr. Hong hasn't finalized the internal structure yet, though that doesn't affect my preparations. Except for the mold, I need to start securing the right production equipment early.
The issue is that most plastic factories in Hong Kong don't have large blow molding machines. This process wasn't needed for previous products."
"Blow molding?" Yang thought for a moment. Suitcases did seem to be made using that process.
It was more complex than standard injection molding. Most common in his past life for making drink bottles—though today's tech wasn't yet advanced enough to produce super-thin plastic bottles.
Still, suitcases had thickness, so blow molding would work. The problem was the equipment—rare in Hong Kong.
"What's Hong's current design? Are the handle and the case integrated?" he asked.
Wei shook his head. "No, they're separate. But the case needs to fit the handle structure, so we have to produce it ourselves. We can't import empty cases from overseas just to install handles."
"Right," Yang nodded. "So you're saying we need our own factory?"
"Not necessarily," Wei said. "There's a supplier called Dehe. They used to make small blow-molded plastic toys—products requiring even more precision than suitcases. Their boss says they can handle the job.
But they'd need to build a whole new factory. All the equipment would have to be purchased from scratch, and they're hoping we'll go in on it with them."
"I see." Yang nodded. "How much investment are we talking about?"
"We estimate 25 machines to start. Each costs around 15,000 HKD. Add land and construction, and we're looking at about 500,000 HKD total.
If we go 50-50, that's 250,000 HKD from us. Or we could co-invest and jointly apply for a bank loan.
That kind of money is huge for most factories, which is why they're hesitant to go it alone."
Yang smiled. "They're not just looking for capital—they want guaranteed orders too."
"Exactly," Wei agreed. "They're smart. Without order security, they'd lose everything if we pulled out. This isn't like making small items—they can't just swap molds and keep going."
Yang thought for a moment. "Alright. Let's co-invest. We won't lose on this. Supporting our suppliers helps us grow together."
In the early days, Changxing's lack of in-house production severely limited their pace.
But now, thanks to the success of Post-it notes, funding was no longer a problem. And with the help of banks and external suppliers, they could rapidly scale up.
New products would come faster—but could the suppliers keep up?
When a hit product exploded, orders increased exponentially. Even with multiple factories working together, production could fall short. Just look at how Apple, in Yang's past life, took years to resolve supply shortages after the iPhone launched.
That's why cooperation and shared growth with suppliers was key to safeguarding future profits. And many of these suppliers had real capabilities—backing them could even generate side profits, especially with factory land ownership involved.
Wei grinned. "Alright, I'll proceed with Dehe. Should we build the plant here in Tsim Sha Tsui?"
"Yes," Yang nodded. "Tsim Sha Tsui will be our industrial hub."
"Understood. I'll start preparations for the first plant."
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