Chapter 246: Investment in Technological Development
"He's the only Chinese architect among all the bidders, so I paid special attention to his profile. His résumé is at the back of the proposal," Zheng Zhijie said.
Yang Wendong flipped to the last few pages while listening to Zheng's introduction.
After a moment, Yang remarked, "His credentials are quite impressive. He's already been involved in several well-known design projects in the U.S."
Born in 1917, I.M. Pei (Bei Yuming) studied architecture at MIT before pursuing his master's and doctoral studies at Harvard. After graduating in 1948, he joined a prestigious American architecture firm and worked on several major projects. In 1960, he founded his own firm—Pei Architect Associates—and had already independently designed Manhattan's Kips Bay Plaza and the Luce Chapel at Tunghai University in Taiwan.
"Yes," Zheng said. "He's also Chinese and has project experience in Taiwan, which makes him quite compatible with our needs."
"Alright then. Let's allow all the shortlisted firms to prepare their proposals," Yang said. "Pei will be our top choice, but we'll still consider the others."
"Understood," Zheng nodded.
Yang continued, "Now that we've secured the hotel land, the next phase is infrastructure development. But we still don't have the management team in place. Start working with headhunting agencies to find someone suitable. We're all outsiders to the hotel industry—it's not something we can wing."
Hotels and supermarkets seemed simple on the surface, which was exactly why so many people thought they could do it—leading to numerous failures. Truly building a brand, especially a chain, was enormously difficult and relied heavily on the vision and professionalism of the management team.
Yang could set strategic direction and provide funding, but operations needed seasoned professionals. A flawless strategy meant nothing if customer service fell short.
"I've already contacted several headhunters in Hong Kong and overseas," Zheng replied. "They're reaching out to Chinese executives working in international hotel groups."
"Good. Follow up with them," Yang instructed.
With the Four Seasons Hotel project moving forward, things were in motion. Now it was just a matter of waiting for the right general manager to take charge. Thankfully, there wasn't much urgency—the government's requirement was that construction must begin within two years, which gave them ample time.
December 13
Yang Wendong brought Su Yiyi and their child to the Kwun Tong Wanren Industrial Park. This time, they had brought the baby along.
The Changxing factories had little to no pollution, and since they would only be in the administrative building, it posed no issues.
"Baby, look—this is Daddy's factory," Su Yiyi said as she held the child by the window, pointing to the rows of industrial buildings outside. "When you grow up, you'll have to study hard and help manage this big place with your dad."
"By the time he grows up, this factory will probably have to relocate," Yang said with a laugh.
Su Yiyi looked puzzled. "Why?"
Yang didn't elaborate too much. "I'm guessing that in twenty years, Hong Kong's economy will have advanced so much that labor costs will become too high. Manufacturing won't be sustainable here."
Indeed, in the post-1980s era, Hong Kong's labor costs skyrocketed. Low-end manufacturing had no choice but to move out. Even for Yang's patented products, once the patents expired, they would rely solely on scale to remain profitable—much like Coca-Cola's business model.
At that point, the Chinese mainland, newly opening up, would be the perfect place for relocation. It had cheaper labor, negotiable tax terms, and would serve as the ideal base for cost-sensitive industries.
Su Yiyi, who had picked up a fair amount of economic knowledge, asked, "Like how Western countries are moving textile production abroad?"
"Exactly," Yang nodded. "If you don't relocate, you'll die. Low-end manufacturing flows like water—from high ground to low ground. No one can stop it. Even the tallest dam won't hold it back."
Since World War II, global manufacturing had moved from the West to Japan, then to Hong Kong, then to the mainland, and later to Southeast Asia. If Southeast Asia developed enough, it would move to Africa eventually.
"So what happens to Hong Kong then? No industry left?" Su asked.
Yang shrugged. "Then it'll have to transition to high-end sectors—like electronics and appliances. Even though appliances may seem old-fashioned now, they're considered high-tech today. Look at all the new electronics factories that have sprung up this year alone. It's the direction we're heading."
In Yang's past life, appliances were a sunset industry. But in the 1960s, they were cutting-edge.
Air conditioners, refrigerators, televisions—even radios and flashlights—were considered tech products. Even something as basic as a light bulb was not easy to manufacture; few countries could do it well.
"That makes sense," Su Yiyi said. "Didn't you mention before that we should also get into electronics?"
"We will," Yang nodded. "Once Hong Kong's electronics sector matures a bit more, we'll jump in too."
No time traveler or reincarnator would skip electronics. Even if reborn into the 21st century, they'd chase spin-off industries like the internet.
The only question would be whether to run the business personally or act as an angel investor.
"Okay," Su nodded.
She knew that Yang wasn't just chasing endless profits. His ambition was to build something greater—while also improving life for Hong Kong's underprivileged, giving them jobs and economic stability.
People like them had once suffered too. While they hadn't starved, their quality of life had been unbearably low.
…
Later, Wei Zetao arrived. Su Yiyi took the baby to a quiet room to nap—at six months, he still needed regular sleep throughout the day.
"Sit," Yang gestured as Wei joined him by the window.
"So, are all the factories in the park running smoothly?" Yang asked.
"Generally yes," Wei replied. "We're still verifying product quality from each facility. If nothing major turns up, we can ramp up full-scale production later this month."
The products may have been simple, but because they were for export and produced in large quantities, quality control was paramount. Many workers were new, and this was their first time producing at this site. Everything had to be revalidated.
Capacity would ramp up gradually. That was the safest way to ensure consistent quality.
"Good," Yang nodded. "Even though we have a lot of international orders and they're time-sensitive, a week or two won't matter. What's most important is that we don't ship defective products.
Also, make sure the staff training is rigorous. People are the foundation of all industry."
This was also why Yang Wendong hadn't expanded production capacity too rapidly at the start—limited resources made problems more likely. But things were much better now; they only needed to adapt to the new factory environment.
Currently, Changxing Industrial's flagship products were already mature. Whether in terms of process or quality control, everything was stable. There was no longer any need for the boss to personally oversee every detail.
"I understand," Wei Zetao replied with a smile. "Most of the people we've recruited for factory management and quality control have at least some educational background. They're easier to train. Plus, our salaries and benefits are attractive, so most of them are eager to learn and work hard."
"Mm. The higher the salary, the higher the quality of your workforce," Yang said, nodding. "That's a good thing. Let everyone know—we'll be opening up even higher-paying positions in the future. The top performers will get priority consideration. Let that serve as extra motivation."
Better pay and better benefits meant better candidate pools during recruitment. Given the same qualifications, you could always select those with higher education or more experience, which in turn raised the overall quality of the workforce.
Of course, this also depended on the complexity of the work. The more technical the job, the more this strategy mattered. For unskilled roles—like loading and hauling—it wasn't necessary. Even within Changxing Industrial, most manual labor jobs offered better-than-average compensation but couldn't compare to roles requiring high-level expertise.
"New positions?" Wei asked curiously. "Do you mean for the plastic bag project?"
"No," Yang chuckled. "That's coming later. I'm talking about the electronics industry. But we don't need to rush that just yet.
Now, about the plastic bags—last I heard, we were close to reaching a deal with that Swedish company, right?"
Yang had been preoccupied with the Queen's Road Central land auction, so he hadn't been fully up-to-date. But he knew that Changxing had sent representatives to Sweden to negotiate the purchase of a materials patent suitable for plastic bag production—something he'd been keeping a close eye on.
"Yes," Wei confirmed. "They're asking for $60,000 USD for a patent covering one of the materials that can be used to manufacture plastic bags."
"Is that considered expensive?" Yang asked.
Wei replied, "It's hard to say. The Swedish company is likely selling because the material isn't perfect—they probably want to recoup some R&D costs. For us, though, the material can be immediately applied to plastic bag production. While the texture isn't ideal, it's still far better than the cloth bags and bamboo baskets currently used in Hong Kong and much of Asia."
"Right, different markets, different value perceptions." Yang nodded. "Try to negotiate the price down a bit, but if the discount isn't much, go ahead with the purchase. Also, keep a good relationship with them. If they eventually develop a better material, we might want first rights to purchase or license it."
"You're thinking of investing in them?" Wei asked.
"If possible, yes. If not, at least maintain strong ties," Yang said nonchalantly.
He wasn't expecting this company to become a global titan. His real goal was to enable local plastic bag manufacturing in Hong Kong.
On one hand, this would bring tangible benefits to ordinary people. On the other, it could create thousands of jobs—making it a win-win proposition.
"Understood," Wei replied. "I'll instruct our team in Europe to finalize the deal and get the patent. Then we'll hand it over to Formosa Plastics to begin R&D and production."
"Good." Yang thought for a moment and added, "Old Wei, our company has grown to a point where we really ought to start investing in R&D."
"You mean like the Swedish company—researching plastic bag materials?" Wei asked.
"Yes," Yang nodded. "The first step is to research this specific material. Later, we can expand into other fields. Judging by current trends, plastics will become one of our group's core raw materials in the future."
Plastic was indispensable in modern life. Virtually every industry used it.
Among Changxing Industrial's main products, everything except Post-it notes was plastic-based. Toys would be too. Even electronics and appliances required tons of plastic components.
If a Swedish company could develop materials, why couldn't they?
Wei understood Yang's long-term vision. "Absolutely. Plastic is incredibly useful—not just for us. Almost every industry in Hong Kong depends on it. Even clothes and socks today contain synthetic fibers made from plastic."
"That's true," Yang laughed. "I almost forgot."
Cotton clothing had too many shortcomings. Modern textile production required synthetic fibers—derived from petrochemicals and technically a form of plastic.
Even food packaging would one day be plastic. But right now, takeout culture wasn't mainstream yet.
Wei added, "We can pursue materials research, but Hong Kong doesn't really have the talent for that."
"Not in Hong Kong, but Taiwan does," Yang said. "They have a more developed chemical industry, and their government is actively promoting petrochemicals. Their universities also offer specialized programs.
Plus, labor is cheaper than Hong Kong, and the people are Chinese. It's the ideal place to invest in an R&D center."
Hong Kong was, after all, just a city. Even with a visionary governor, it couldn't do everything.
Chemical and petroleum industries were beyond the scope of a small territory. In Yang's past life, even Singapore only succeeded thanks to aggressive government support and its unique geographic position that attracted Western oil giants.
Hong Kong lacked the space and infrastructure to compete. But Taiwan was much larger, had more talent, and its government actively promoted heavy industry.
"That makes sense. Should we form a joint venture with Formosa Plastics?" Wei asked.
"No," Yang shook his head. "We'll do our own R&D. Let them do theirs. If we combine forces, we'll lose efficiency. However, we can commission them to do some of the research. That way, we still benefit from their resources."
Yang wasn't entirely confident about whether these future R&D efforts would succeed—but he had to try.
As for Formosa Plastics, they were bound to become Asia's number one eventually. They clearly had R&D capabilities. If commissioned properly, Yang might even secure exclusive patents for himself.
"Got it. I'll send people to Taiwan to assess the local environment and talent pool," Wei said.
"Good," Yang added. "Choose a location in Taipei. Get a large space, and keep it near the city center—many skilled professionals prefer living in urban areas."
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