"Everyone, I'm sure you've all heard the rumors lately—that I, old Qin, am planning to sell the factory and move into another business. That's right, just now I've sold the factory."
"Here, I want to thank you all for your hard work over the past few years. You've created profits for the factory and helped me, old Qin, earn quite a bit of money. Now that I'm leaving, there's not much else I can do for you. What I can do is give everyone an extra month's salary as a token of appreciation for following me all this time."
Most of the workers were already mentally prepared for the factory changing hands, so hearing Qin Xiangyang confirm the sale wasn't surprising. But when he said he'd be giving them an extra month's wages, everyone brightened immediately—free money was always welcome.
Qin Xiangyang went on:
"Let me introduce you all—this is Mr. Lin Baicheng. From now on, he will be the new owner of the factory."
Since Lin Baicheng was still very young, not yet twenty, the workers whispered among themselves upon learning he was the boss. Before Qin's introduction, many had assumed that Chen Gao, who accompanied Lin and looked older, was the actual new owner—he looked more like a wealthy businessman.
"Everyone, please quiet down for a moment."
Lin Baicheng raised his hand, and the workers gave him face, settling into silence.
"I know I'm young, and it may be hard for some of you to trust me. Some of you might worry about the factory's future. But let me be clear—since I bought the factory, it's obviously because I want to make money. I wouldn't just throw my money around carelessly, so there's no need to worry."
"As for what you all care about most—your jobs—I won't be dismissing anyone for the time being. Of course, if anyone wants to resign, please give advance notice so I can arrange a proper handover."
"In the short term, the factory will continue running as usual. That way you'll have time to get used to me as your new boss, and I'll have time to get to know you as my employees."
"And since I'm the new boss, naturally I have to give you some benefits. Starting this month, all wages will increase by 5%. In the future, pay raises will be linked to the factory's income. I promise not to lower anyone's salary."
"Fantastic!" "Thank you, boss!"
The workers cheered in joy. For them, as long as their jobs were secure and salaries weren't cut, it didn't matter if the boss changed. With a pay raise, they had no complaints at all.
Lin Baicheng was pleased too. A 5% raise wasn't much, yet it instantly stabilized the workers' morale. That was a bargain. As long as there wasn't a wave of resignations in the short term, once the factory was running smoothly, whether employees stayed or left wouldn't matter—he wouldn't have trouble hiring replacements.
"Managers, stay behind. Everyone else, return to work."
At his words, most workers dispersed, leaving only seven management staff—six men and one woman.
Qin Xiangyang began introducing them:
"This is the factory director, Liu Yihui. He's been with me since I opened this factory in 1974. He's the one who's managed things day-to-day, and he's very capable."
"Director Liu, I hope we'll work well together," Lin Baicheng said, shaking his hand. He knew he'd need professional managers—he lacked both the time and the experience. Whether Liu would stay on and prove satisfactory remained to be seen.
"Don't worry, boss," Liu said quickly. "I'll give my full cooperation and manage the factory well for you." At his age, a stable job was far preferable to starting over elsewhere—unless the new boss wanted someone else.
"This is Zhang Cheng," Qin introduced, pointing to a young man in his twenties, thin, wearing glasses. "He handles game data copying and testing the machines after assembly."
"Boss!" Zhang greeted, and Lin nodded.
Next was a burly man in his early thirties, with bulging muscles.
"This is Pan Aiguo, leader of the transport and delivery team."
"This here is Old Li, Li Wenkang," Qin continued, indicating the oldest man in the group, well into his fifties.
"Old Li leads the arcade assembly team. Don't be fooled by his age—he's meticulous, and the factory's strong record of error-free assembly is all thanks to him."
"And this is Wu Jianjun, the head of security."
Wu looked ordinary, in his thirties. Qin added a warning to Lin:
"Mr. Lin, many arcade shops are tied to the triads. To sell machines to them, you'll inevitably deal with such people. Also, this is Kwun Tong, not Central Hong Kong—law and order isn't so good here. Without strong security, all sorts of shady types will come to cause trouble."
"So remember—factory security must never be neglected. When you need to be firm, be firm. In the end, we're running a legitimate business, and even those people won't dare go too far."
"Thank you, Mr. Qin. I understand," Lin said sincerely. He knew Hong Kong in this era wasn't nearly as safe as mainland China in the 21st century. Qin's reminder was well-intentioned, and he appreciated it.
As for the last man and woman present, Qin didn't introduce them further.
"These two are my relatives—one handled accounting, the other procurement. I'll be taking them with me, so Mr. Lin, you'll need to find new people for those roles."
"Of course," Lin said. He wouldn't have trusted them anyway, especially the accountant who controlled the money—he would only entrust that to someone reliable.
"The accounts are all settled—no outstanding debts, and no money owed to us. For other matters, you can ask Director Liu. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave. You can contact me anytime if questions come up."
Having said what needed to be said, Qin excused himself.
"I'll see you out," Lin said, escorting Qin and his people. Director Liu and the senior staff also went along.
After Qin left, Lin asked his lawyer Chen Gao to return, while he himself stayed at the factory. He called Director Liu into the office for a private talk.