Hong Kong Island: From a small stall to a global supplier

Wang Yaotang is doing well now. He doesn't need to do the poaching himself anymore. With his current fame, he can just entrust a lawyer to handle it, and then meet with him one last time to express his attitude, and that's it.

However, things like increasing the research team and collaborating with universities and research institutes back home don't actually cost much. After thinking it over and searching through old documents for a long time, I finally found a project that costs a lot of money: the redevelopment of the Khlong Tei district in Bangkok!
Bangkok's largest and most chaotic district in the city center, at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River, and home to Bangkok Port, the largest inner harbor.

However, even if he wanted to completely transform the place, all the money he had wouldn't be enough...

The only problem is that the previous plan to renovate the Klong Tei area involved borrowing Thai baht from major banks in Bangkok for investment. After the financial crisis, the Thai baht to US dollar exchange rate changed from 25:1 to 56:1. By borrowing and lending, the return would be halved, which would be equivalent to double the profit!

Of course, developing the airfield is not that simple. Apart from those humanoid creatures involved in organized crime and drugs, there are also nearly 100,000 people involved, all of whom are struggling on the poverty line. It's a matter of affecting the whole area.

This matter needs to be discussed thoroughly with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and even Prime Minister Chatchai. I made a phone call and told them I would be going there next month to give them some time to prepare.

Wang Yaotang still needs to go to Shenzhen to inspect the pager factory. He had previously forced Li Xiangjiao's Hexun to establish its own brand, and Hong Kong Telecom cooperated. However, the product qualification rate must be high enough, otherwise it would ruin his own reputation.

……

Shenzhen, pager factory.

Tao Qiang was somewhat disappointed. He didn't get the general manager position he wanted; Wang Yaotang only gave him the position of deputy general manager in charge of production, which was equivalent to his previous position.

Of course, different production capacities mean different wages, and different bosses. When you go out for social events, if you say that your boss is Wang Yaotang, the God of Wealth, and that you see him often, you will immediately become the focus of everyone's attention.

Driving a beautiful woman and driving a tank are two completely different experiences.

face!

"Boss, this is our cleanroom, though it's a relatively low-level one," Tao Qiang introduced eagerly.

"We built two semi-automatic production lines this time, with a domestic production rate of 20%, which is second to none in China!"

Wang Yaotang gave the guy a half-smile, "You've been back in your hometown for a few months, and you've learned quite quickly."

Tao Qiang chuckled.

The so-called 20% is all non-core auxiliary equipment. If calculated based on procurement costs, it's less than 5%, but it sounds nice to say it that way.

This is something I learned when the higher-ups came to inspect the area. Wang Yaotang specially assigned him an administrative secretary who was poached from another factory in his hometown, just so that he could learn the tricks of the trade.

Wang Yaotang's will is absolute. Regardless of whether these Hong Kong people look down on mainlanders, they must show sufficient respect on the surface. Otherwise, if Wang Yaotang finds out, at best they will have no room for advancement, and at worst they will be fired. This is worse than killing them.

"As you instructed, the main production lines were all purchased from the Japanese. Boss, you're so wise to have hired professionals from the Japanese to re-inspect them. Those Japanese bastards actually cheated on the non-critical parts! Damn it!" Tao Qiang couldn't help but curse as he spoke.

"How did you solve it? Tell me, I'd love to hear it," Wang Yaotang asked curiously. He was too busy, with family life and leisure to keep up with these little things.

He's not a workaholic. He's so young, yet he has nine wives, all of them beautiful, and 24 children. He has to devote a lot of energy to them.

"I kowtowed and apologized, replaced and repaired the parts, covered the testing costs, and promised free maintenance for the next three years," Tao Qiang said with a smile. This was the first time he had done this, and he felt very relieved.

"Damn it, are you an idiot?! Or did you take the money, you bastard?!" Wang Yaotang was immediately displeased.

"I gave you a chance, but you still couldn't do it!" Wang Yaotang said with exasperation, "With such a huge handle on them, if I don't squeeze them dry, without a few hundred million, I'll make the whole world know he's a fraudster!"

"Boss, I didn't, I didn't... If we really took the money, then we'd be extorting money, which is illegal." Tao Qiang's expression changed.

It was just that a few pretty girls were too enthusiastic, and they were Japanese celebrities, so he gave in.

“What I did was illegal! Otherwise, what would I be doing spending hundreds of millions every year to maintain a protective umbrella and an aircraft carrier fleet!” Wang Yaotang sneered. “If you’re not satisfied, come to Hong Kong and sue me. Let’s see which judge in Hong Kong dares to rule that I’ve broken the law!”

Seeing Wang Yaotang get angry, Wei Tao glanced back, and the secretarial team immediately sprang into action. A moment later, Wei Tao walked over and whispered a few words to him.

"You spineless coward! A few women are nothing compared to what you can have!" Wang Yaotang glared at Tao Qiang. "Tell those Japanese devils I know what's going on. If they don't satisfy me, I'll make them regret it!"

"Yes, boss," Tao Qiang said in a trembling voice.

"Wei Tao, make a note of this: we're organizing a group trip to Phuket for all the company executives to have a 'silver party' and demystify them. We don't want them to be corrupted by a few women so easily!"

"Good boss."

"Ah Qiang, go back and have your men find a few people to release pigeons, arrange it for all the senior executives in each company, but don't let them know, just teach them a lesson." Wang Yaotang said again, "People can't learn by teaching, but they can learn by doing. Damn it, I pay you guys' salaries, and I still have to worry about your mental health."

"Okay, Brother Yao." Sha Qiang nodded.

Outsiders are unfamiliar with this industry and generally refer to it as "gold diggers," but within the industry, it's completely different. There are five distinct types, each with entirely different methods and objectives.

They are: old con woman, silver matchmaker, pigeon flyer, gold digger, and hard-earned rice eater.

"Eating hard rice" means being kept by a sugar daddy/sugar baby.

"Gold digger" refers to a woman who uses romantic relationships or ambiguous connections to extract money from men.

"Release the pigeon": This specifically refers to someone who, under the guise of marriage, defrauds others of large sums of money such as betrothal gifts, wedding preparation funds, jewelry, and luxury goods, and then quickly disappears or creates conflict to escape.

Bank media: organizing, instigating, coercing...

"Old swindler": refers to a woman who cheats or defrauds others by using methods such as fake marriages or fake relationships to swindle large sums of money.

This was very common in Hong Kong throughout the 1980s and 1990s. When Lung Ge was interviewed, he mentioned that his friends had encountered "scammers" and "pigeons." People working in the entertainment industry encountered this the most, because they were uneducated.

The industry even made several movies specifically about this, including "My Cousin, You're Here! 3" in 1992, "Criminal Genius" in 1994, and "Police Cadet '84" in 1995.

These gangs then began to spread to the Pearl River Delta and inland areas, often colluding with matchmakers and dividing tasks among themselves to target men eager to get married, exploiting the bride price aspect of traditional marriage customs to commit crimes.

What we're encountering now is something Hong Kong did 40 years ago. Their systems, methods, and ways of circumventing the law are very sophisticated, and there's currently little that mainland law can do against them.

There are experts in the industry who have encountered this...

Seeing that Wang Yaotang was in a bad mood, Tao Qiang dared not show off anymore and only hoped not to make any more mistakes.

"This production line is semi-automatic. Considering future capacity expansion, we purchased two production lines and 400 people, working on an eight-hour shift..."

"Semi-automatic? Are there fully automatic ones too?" Wang Yaotang suddenly asked.

"Yes, the best fully automated production line is Motorola's, with 25 employees and an annual output of 70 units."

"Holy crap!" Wang Yaotang cursed under his breath, "Are there also those non-automated production lines?"

"Yes, most companies in Hong Kong are manual labor-intensive. They need twice as many workers to produce the same output, and the quality stability is relatively low."

"What's the advantage? The production line isn't expensive."

“It’s cheap. I’ve calculated it. If we also adopt labor-intensive methods, with wages in the mainland, the company’s gross profit margin can increase by 20%.” As he spoke, Tao Qiang secretly glanced at the screen.

Machines are expensive, maintenance is expensive, and water and electricity are expensive. They can't compare to manual labor. Two steamed buns can be used for 8 hours of work.

Wang Yaotang glanced at him sideways, "Spit it out." Tao Qiang quickly said, "The leaders here have hinted privately that they hope to increase the number of jobs to ensure the company's profits."

"Ignore it." Wang Yaotang snorted. Different positions lead to different perspectives.

No one is right or wrong.

The current semi-automated production lines will become labor-intensive in just a few years.

Labor costs and equipment costs are rising at a much faster rate than electricity prices.

After touring the factory, we went to the product department.

Eighteen pagers were lined up in a row. Wang Yaotang glanced at them and the first one he noticed was Motorola, noting the significant difference in industrial design.

Tao Qiang introduced them one by one, including those from Hutchison Telecom, Hong Kong Telecom, and a few that were designed by the factory itself, imitating Motorola. He even picked one up and demonstrated its functions.

It's still the same old thing.

Wang Yaotang picked it up, squeezed it, and looked at it. "What were you thinking? It's soft, thin, and has a small screen. It looks like a toy!"

"Uh... Boss, this is the low-priced model, it only has the most basic digital display function, and it only has 8 digits," Tao Qiang explained.

"Are you all out of your minds? Would you write 'cheap' on a suit before buying it?" Wang Yaotang said, speechless, as he threw the item on the table.

Sure enough, when the production department was put in charge of the design, the result was truly speechless.

This thing still needs to be handled by the sales department.

"This pager is obviously a cheap product. Why would consumers buy it just to be laughed at?"

"Use your brains!"

"Functionality doesn't matter, the exterior must look good first, so that people feel it's valuable at first glance!"

"The screen is so small that you have to use a magnifying glass to see it. Make it bigger, even if the bezels are fake. Why make the casing so thin? It's just to save a few dollars. It needs to be sturdy and bright. And why is it so small? Even if you waste all the internal space, it should be bigger. Consumers spend so much money, so the product should at least feel substantial in their hands!"

"If all else fails, add some fancy features, like more speakers, so that when the pager goes off, everyone within 10 meters can hear it, letting all the neighbors around the estate know that I bought a pager, and that I'm doing really well."

"The vibration is very loud and powerful. If you don't turn it on, you're supposed to be discreet, but the vibration is still audible to people around you."

"Do you really think everyone who buys a pager is busy with work? Damn it, they might have something to do at least once a month. Add an alarm clock function and a timer function for them."

“Even low-end goods need to look fancy on the outside. With designs like this, it would be a fucking miracle if they sold.” Wang Yaotang launched into a tirade.

While feeling nervous, Tao Qiang also had a sudden realization. His family was middle class, so he was already doing well in the job market. He had no idea what people from the lower class were thinking.

"And another thing, what's with all the products being black? Is it a funeral procession? Eighteen farewell ceremonies, all in black?" Wang Yaotang sighed, truly speechless at the sheer absurdity of these people's thinking.

"A stunningly beautiful young woman, dressed in youthful attire, with such a bulky, black pager hanging from her slender waist—it looks like a charging robot!"

"Design some products for women, pink, red, and as small as possible. If you don't know how to choose colors, just follow the lipstick colors of major luxury brands. Can't you just copy their homework?"

"Also, a pager for business people should look dignified, but for young people, it should be flashy, individualistic, and trendy. The design shouldn't be too rigid, and it doesn't have to be a solid color; it can have patterns!"

"His brain is so rigid!" Wang Yaotang shook his head and turned to leave.

As for the features, he couldn't be bothered to look at them, since he couldn't play Snake anyway.

These words made Tao Qiang and the other executives break out in a cold sweat. Seeing the boss's disappointed expression, they hurriedly followed behind him, but dared not go up to stop him.

As they got into the car, Wei Tao pointed at Tao Qiang and said, "You are not allowed to leak a single word of what the boss said, otherwise..."

Having said that, without waiting for Tao Qiang's reply, she turned and got into the car, leaving Tao Qiang covered in sweat.

On the bus, Wang Yaotang's expression gradually calmed down; in fact, he wasn't that angry.

He's someone who came from an era of abundant electronic products, so it's understandable that people from that time have a narrow perspective. His anger was just a way of applying pressure; he couldn't possibly yell that if they couldn't produce good products, everyone in the product department would be turned into animal feed.

Design requires ideas; intimidation is useless.

Watching the boss's convoy leave, Tao Qiang sighed heavily. He really couldn't handle being a general manager; the pressure was too much.

Wang Yaotang did not leave Shenzhen. According to Tao Qiang's design, if the two production lines operated in three shifts, the annual output could reach 100 million units, which would be impossible to handle in the Hong Kong and Macao markets, not to mention the presence of the giant Motorola.

In China, only contract phones can break down this barrier, and the people he poached from Motorola are of no help in this regard; he has to do it himself.

First is Guangdong Post.

A few years ago, he asked me to buy a 10,000-line Siemens switch. He also partnered with the postal service to start a company, but the contract was modeled after Mr. Huo's. He did not participate in management, and after the company's dividends were used to repay the principal, Guangdong Post took back the shares without compensation.

Telecommunications, a national security industry, is absolutely not something that can be interfered with by private individuals, not even patriotic businessmen.

Of course, we'll have to wait and see what the future holds.

It was purely for assistance; I personally invested $1000 million.

Guangdong Post Office recognized this favor, so when Wang Yaotang arrived, the boss personally came downstairs to greet him.

We meet, shake hands, exchange pleasantries, take photos, go upstairs to the meeting room, reflect on the past, affirm the present, and envision the future.

After all the formalities were completed, Wang Yaotang finally revealed the purpose of his visit.

"A contract phone?" The boss's face was full of surprise and interest.

Currently, those who can be transferred to work in Guangdong are all pioneers of reform and opening up, with a strong ability to accept new things, a great spirit of exploration, and a love for pioneering new things.

If this happened in mainland China, don't even think about it; who would be responsible if something went wrong?

"Yes, it will increase the coverage of information technology in our country, stimulate the efficiency of social communication and operation, promote industrial layout and progress, and expand service coverage..."

It must be meaningful first, then it can generate business!
Wang Yaotang has a very mature design for contract phones. Of course, he won't release them all at once. Everything is still developing. Nothing is born fully mature!
Cockroaches... even black people won't do.

I talked about the various benefits of contract phones, the first of which is to stimulate sales.

Of course, he didn't hide the downsides either, but the post office itself sells pagers and mobile phones, and also provides after-sales service.

Government agencies are never afraid of trouble; the more positions they have, the better. Their only fear is not having enough business.

As for Wang Yaotang, he only has a mouth, no products, and doesn't talk about functions or quality, so nobody cares.

That's called a unique feature... (End of Chapter)