Rebirth Tokyo 1986

Chapter 353 There Must Absolutely No Salary Issues

In 1994, Wanglaoji was not a well-known brand, and only had a certain status in the Lingnan region.

Until 2000, its sales barely exceeded 1 million yuan, making it a small local brand.

The cost for Xinghai Foods to acquire it would be very small.

However, at this time, the Wanglaoji brand was divided into two branches: overseas, it was owned by Wang Jianyi, a descendant of Wanglaoji, and in mainland China, it was owned by Yangcheng Pharmaceutical, which later became Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group.

If Xinghai Foods wants to successfully operate its herbal tea brand, it must acquire all of them.

Overseas brands are very inexpensive, costing only a few million Hong Kong dollars per year.

However, Xinghai Foods cannot act directly and needs to find a middleman to help them avoid being overcharged.

The cost is slightly higher domestically, but the problem is still not significant. At this point, Wanglaoji was a relatively unprofitable business for Yangcheng Pharmaceutical.

He plans to acquire the Wanglaoji brand in mainland China with an annual profit of 500 million yuan plus a 10% profit share.

In addition to Wanglaoji, the youth group also plans to develop its own herbal tea brand.

With this two-horse race, the brand can be better controlled.

This is also a major development direction for Xinghai Foods: for each flavored beverage, there should be at least two brands.

For example, in addition to energy drinks like Gatorade, they could launch a brand like Monster Energy.

For example, tea beverages such as iced black tea can be developed together with subsidiaries such as Zheng Guanghe, Beibingyang, and Wanglaoji.

Of course, carbonated drinks are an exception.

The carbonated beverage market already has two giants, Pepsi and Coca-Cola. If Xinghai Foods further diversifies its operations, it will only become weaker.

Having made his judgment, Masato Takeshita summoned Yoshihiko Yoshimura, the head of Seikai Foods' China operations, to the capital.

“Go to Lingnan and Hong Kong Island and take over the Wanglaoji brand, which has been split in two.”

"Yes, President!"

The difference in their levels was too great, and Yoshihiko Yoshimura dared not question it at all, even though he was still completely confused.

The young man understood perfectly well, but he didn't explain the deeper meaning. He simply talked about the development of Wanglaoji so that the young man could be mentally prepared when buying the brand.

Anyway, there are other brands of herbal tea besides Wanglaoji, so we can just switch to another established brand.

Wanglaoji's success is mainly attributed to its advertising and promotion.

With the classic advertisement "Afraid of getting a sore throat? Just drink xxx", sales of any herbal tea could reach tens of billions.

After finishing his conversation with Yoshihiko Yoshimura, he called over Nobutaka Kurashige, the head of Xinghai Group's China operations.

"I have already sent President Yoshimura to Lingnan to acquire the local brand Wanglaoji herbal tea."

"If the acquisition is successful, you should follow the plan I set for Beibingyang and launch Wanglaoji herbal tea directly in Lingnan in glass bottles, cans, and plastic bottles."

"If it doesn't work, we'll switch to a different brand and develop a similar industry."

Masato Takeshita has high hopes for herbal tea beverages because similar concepts exist not only in China, but also in places influenced by China such as Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, Japan, and South Korea.

If Xinghai Foods operates well, it will also gain a foothold in these markets.

As for Europe and America, they need to wait for the right time to come.

"Yes, President."

"Also, the recipe needs to be modified to some extent. It can't be too sweet, nor can it have too strong a Chinese medicine flavor."

Faced with his chairman's supplementary explanation, Nobutaka Kurashige still respectfully replied "Yes," and then quickly wrote it down in his notebook.

At the same time, he thought to himself that he should pay more attention to herbal tea.

"Of course, the most important thing now is the sales channels in the Lingnan region. Wanglaoji has been rooted in Lingnan for many years, and their sales channels can allow our products to enter more stores."

Herbal tea is important, but distribution channels are even more important.

Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) products can achieve very high sales even if the product itself is mediocre, as long as there are enough distribution channels.

The arrival of the mobile internet era will bring about a slight change in this phenomenon.

"Yes, please rest assured, Chairman."

After the issues were explained, the young man began to inspect the business of Xinghai Group's Beijing branch.

Because the $5 million investment was only recently implemented, the planned Xinghai Group Beijing base is still a large construction site.

"That's right, we must pay attention to the housing problem of workers."

The workers on the construction site in Beijing live in model apartments. They're actually quite well-built, with running water and electricity, and adequate heating.

It may not be as good as Japan, but it is comparable to or even surpasses ordinary construction sites in China 20 years from now.

It was worth it for Takeshita Masato to specifically emphasize this, and he even allocated more funds.

"Add more meat to the vegetables; it won't cost much."

Because he launched a surprise attack at noon, the construction site was basically the same as usual.

The vegetables here are much better than those at other construction sites; there's not only cabbage but also tofu to eat.

However, there is very little meat in the cabbage; each person will probably only get one or two pieces.

That won't do. Construction work is mostly physical labor, so you need to eat more meat.

"Yes, tomorrow, no, this afternoon we will adjust the meals to meet the workers' demand for meat."

Nobutaka Kurashige felt a little wronged because Xinghai Group's construction sites were already among the best.

Other construction sites don't even have meat, let alone tofu or cabbage.

The workers could only eat the cheapest meals every day, such as radishes and cabbages that cost only one or two cents.

Summer might bring more variety, but that also means more eggplants, tomatoes...

Forget about meat; every day it's just the cheapest vegetables.

However, the president had already instructed him that even if he felt wronged, he dared not speak out. Furthermore, he was required to do even better according to the youth's demands.

He values ​​his current position and doesn't want to be transferred to a remote area.

"Yes, that's how it should be. We're a responsible big company."

"Besides, even if the workers consume half a pound of meat every day, the annual expenses would hardly exceed 100 million."

"This amount of money is hardly a large investment."

Masato Takeshita could never have imagined that his subordinates had so many inner monologues, and even if he did, he wouldn't have said anything.

What you think in your heart is not important; what matters is doing things well.

Only when things are done well will Xinghai Group's reputation be improved.

At least in the future, when others talk about Xinghai Group, those workers who used to carry bricks here will genuinely give it a thumbs up and praise it.

"Are you talking about Xinghai Company? Absolutely, it's top-notch."

"Putting everything else aside, you can tell this company is really good just by looking at the food. That guy, every meal has either fish or meat."

"Unlike those unscrupulous construction sites later on, which only fed us cabbage and radishes."

It might not be useful if one worker said it, and it might not be effective even if ten workers said it.

But with hundreds of thousands, even millions, of workers saying this, Xinghai Group's image was established.

Many people develop a favorable impression of Xinghai Group because of this relatively simple treatment, and thus choose more products under Xinghai Group.

"Yes, please rest assured, Chairman, I will keep a close eye on this matter from now on."

"Yes, remember, a company shouldn't be afraid to spend money on meals. As long as there's no waste, eating a little more is fine; it's all a small expense."

"Hi!" After talking about the food, Masato Takeshita began to inquire about the safety issues at the construction site.

Zangzhong Xinlong did a relatively good job in this regard, which may also be related to the fact that the construction team mainly consisted of demobilized engineering soldiers.

In modern construction sites, even a simple issue like hard hats would require countless repetitions.

Food and safety are important, but for workers, the most important thing is their wages.

"We have oversight regarding the payment of workers' wages, right?"

"Yes, we supervise the distribution of wages."

Nobutaka Kurashige was somewhat puzzled, not understanding why young people had to supervise the workers' wages.

However, this cannot be blamed on him, because none of Xinghai Group's projects used small contractors.

Xinghai Group currently only works with state-owned construction companies, and its workers are also employees of these state-owned enterprises.

But sooner or later, Xinghai Group will have to deal with contractors of all sizes.

At that time, the issue of migrant workers' wages would be a very serious problem on construction sites.

He doesn't want to lose his reputation in this regard, especially since he hasn't made any mistakes.

For example, Xinghai Group had clearly issued project payments, but the workers did not receive them because the contractor had absconded with the money.

If these kinds of things happen too often, they will seriously damage the image of Xinghai Group.

So even if things are complicated, in the future, the wages of workers at Xinghai Group's construction sites will be collected and supervised by Xinghai Group.

Contractors and the like shouldn't be thinking of running away with the money or withholding everyone's wages.

The advantage of doing this is that Xinghai Group will become a goldmine in the eyes of all civil engineers.

Even if Xinghai Group earns less on the same project, everyone will still vie to take it on.

Because Xinghai Group will not delay payment for engineering projects or workers' wages.

The importance of project payments and wages cannot be overstated, which is why the young man repeatedly brought it up several times.

Subsequently, the heads of companies such as Xinghai Life and Xinghai Food were summoned to repeat the story.

You must make the management see your attitude and understand that this is an insurmountable gap.

Japanese workers should be treated with kindness, and so should Chinese workers.

Only by treating everyone equally can Xinghai Group fully integrate into China.

After inspecting the large construction site, the young man visited Xinghai Software (Beijing), the most important subsidiary of Xinghai Group in Beijing.

This is the office software R&D center of Xinghai Software, where products such as WPS Docs, Spreadsheets, and Photoshop are developed.

In addition, Xinghai Software Northern Laboratory was established here, similar in nature to the future Microsoft Asia Center.

"President, why did you suddenly decide to resign?"

After carefully learning about the company's products, Masato Takeshita pretended to be very puzzled as he looked at the genius programmer.

“I’m still better suited to coding, so I suggested that Lei Jun take over my position as president. He’s more meticulous and conscientious in his work, which makes him more suitable than me.”

"Well, alright."

Masato Takeshita looked at Lei Jun, who was still somewhat immature, and gave him earnest advice.

"Since President Qiu thinks so highly of you, then you should take over the position."

The young man thought highly of Lei Jun, but he still had to put on a show.

"I happen to be here too, so I'll announce your inauguration to everyone tomorrow."

"I hope you can use your talents to take Xinghai Software (Beijing) to the next level."

"Yes, thank you for your kind offer, Chairman. I will do my best."

Lei Jun had already made up his mind that he would do his best to make the company successful, even if it meant staying up all night.

Upon hearing this, the young man waved his hands repeatedly in refusal.

"No need for that. You need to take breaks while working. If you work hard all night now, you'll lose your health in the future."

"I still hope that everyone can stay healthy and grow and prosper together with the company."

At this point, Masato Takeshita felt that the content was a bit pretentious and empty, so he simply used himself as an example.

"Look at me, I work 8 hours a day almost every day. If I work more, it's because of social engagements."

"Hard work can only earn you small money; a long-term vision is what earns you big money. You can't work too long each day; you need to have enough time to think."

"Yes, please rest assured, Chairman."

Lei Jun said this, but in his heart he decided to do things his own way. He would work overtime more often to develop more products.

That's just how it often is.

What others say is not effective; what you understand yourself is what you remember best.

Lei Jun realized in his previous life that thinking was more important, but he still had to wait until he was surpassed by rising stars Jack Ma and Ma Huateng.

"By the way, besides office software, everyone can also develop 3D games."

"Sony will launch the PS game console this year to compete with Sega and Nintendo."

"Although Sony is a newcomer to the industry, I am very optimistic that it has the potential to become the new leader in the console market."

"The chances of losing money when we make games for Sony, especially emerging 3D games, are very low."

In the beginning, there were very few games available for Sony's game consoles. As long as the games produced here were of good quality, they could achieve good sales.

Xinghai Software (Beijing) might have the opportunity to develop into a major standalone software manufacturer.

Of course, the chances are slim.

Therefore, the main purpose of training young people is to cultivate game talent and build a talent pool for the future of PC online games.

In developing countries and regions, online games definitely have a brighter future. For example, China, South Korea, and Southeast Asia.

"Set up a game studio?"

When the game was mentioned, both Lei Jun and Qiu Bojun showed interest.

Both of them enjoyed playing games, which is one of the main reasons why Kingsoft was able to successfully transform into a game company in later years.

"Yes, you can go to the group headquarters tomorrow, and someone will help you get the research and development equipment for Sony game consoles."

"no problem."

For the two of them, developing games was much more interesting than developing office software.

The main thing is that the office software already has a basic framework; the next step is to optimize the details.

This type of work doesn't require two people to keep an eye on it every day.

With Xinghai Software (Beijing) having added a game development project, its other subsidiary in Shanghai, China, will naturally also have the same project.

Although one software company develops operating systems and the other develops office software, they are still competitors.

If one company surpasses another by a large margin one day, then consolidation will be necessary.

Xinghai Software (Shanghai) can't afford to lose face like this.

Because Xinghai Software (Shencheng) is part of the group that developed the Xinghai operating system.

During the relocation of the main branch of the Starsea Operating System to Tokyo, those who were reluctant to leave their homeland were all assigned here.

(End of this chapter)