Rebirth in Hong Kong: From Dessert Shop to Industrial Empire

Chapter 65 Gao Meiling (First update of 10,000 words per day!)

After understanding Chen Bingwen's idea, Gao Zhenhai went straight to a single-story iron-sheet factory building located on the west side of the Kwun Tong factory area.

The factory building on the west side was a few feet shorter than Chen Ji's factory building. The outer wall was covered with a layer of grayish-yellow dust, and the dark green iron gate was tightly closed, covered with mottled rust.

In front of the door, a small open space was overgrown with weeds, with several rusted iron barrels that were almost collapsed, and a few abandoned axles with twisted threads showing.

There were no signs displayed.

It rained lightly last night, leaving several puddles of murky water in the low-lying areas.

Through the industrial park management office, Gao Zhenhai found the factory manager.

Mr. Chen, dressed in faded old work clothes, claimed to be a former employee of the hardware factory.

“This is it, Mr. Gao.” Uncle Chen took out a rusty key and struggled to open the equally old and worn-out iron lock.

The heavy iron gate made a jarring creaking sound when it was pushed open.

A slightly pungent smell, a mixture of musty and dusty odors, immediately wafted out.

Gao Zhenhai stepped inside.

The interior was much more spacious than it appeared from the outside, covering an area of ​​about five or six hundred square meters. The cement floor was dusty and covered with a thick layer of grime.

In the corner were piles of wooden pallets covered in thick dust, several bundles of rusted wire, and several heavy, dark lumps of iron whose original shape was no longer discernible.

Only a few narrow, elongated windows high up let in a few beams of light.

"The location is good, it's just a wall away from your factory, you're very close by," Uncle Chen said, rubbing his hands together. "It's just that it's been vacant for almost a year, and the landlord is eager to rent it out, so the price is negotiable."

Gao Zhenhai nodded without saying anything.

He slowly walked around the inner edge of the factory building, and the location was indeed impeccable.

Moreover, the factory building is a frame structure supported by several pillars in the middle, which is very suitable for arranging assembly line operations.

"The rent... can we discuss it?" Gao Zhenhai looked at Uncle Chen and smiled.

"It's negotiable. If Gao Sheng is willing to use it, it'll definitely be the lowest price, no problem!" Uncle Chen said with a smile, rambling on: "The sooner I rent it out, the sooner I can go back to my hometown. If it can't be rented out, I'll just have to stay here!"

“Okay,” Gao Zhenhai quickly drew a simple layout of the factory on his notebook and readily agreed, “Can we sign the agreement today? I need the keys right away, and we’ll start cleaning this afternoon.”

Uncle Chen nodded repeatedly: "Yes! Right away! The key... Ah Rong, who's in charge of the keys, was at the management office this morning. I'll take you there to get it right away."

"Let's go." Gao Zhenhai closed his notebook, turned around, and walked out first.

That afternoon, Gao Zhenhai led all the male workers he could spare from the factory, along with temporary bricklayers and electricians, and plunged into the small factory.

The preparations were carried out methodically: cleaning up the trash, repairing the floor, painting the walls, laying electrical wires, installing water pipes, and installing high-powered exhaust fans.

At this moment, Chen Bingwen was in the mango processing area.

He gathered all the female workers in the mango group together, including group leader Ah Zhen, the fastest-handed Ah Ying, Ah Ping, and others.

"Sister Zhen, sisters," Chen Bingwen said, looking at the group of female workers around him, "As you all know, the factory has imported production lines that can produce up to 100,000 bottles of sugar water per day according to the design capacity."

"One hundred thousand bottles!" A low gasp rippled through the crowd.

This number is simply astronomical to them!

They are working themselves to the bone, and they can only supply about 30,000 bottles of mango pulp a day. They are already exhausted.

"But we can only produce more than 30,000 bottles of syrup every day. Why is that?" Chen Bingwen changed the subject, pointing to the mountain of mango baskets behind him. "Where is the bottleneck?"

Right here! Right here, right at the stage of peeling and scooping out the mango flesh!

With our current manpower and methods, even if everyone works themselves to exhaustion, we still can't keep up with that line's demands!

The female workers looked at each other, feeling somewhat helpless and a little wronged.

They really did their best.

"So, I have a new idea!" Chen Bingwen's voice rose a little, "A new way to help everyone make more money and for the factory to break through its bottlenecks!"

His words drew everyone's attention.

"Piece-rate contract!" Chen Bingwen announced loudly.

"contract?"

Piece-rate?

"What do you mean?"

The female workers whispered amongst themselves, their faces filled with confusion.

Chen Bingwen didn't keep them in suspense and revealed the answer directly: "Simply put, the factory is setting up a raw material processing contracting center in the newly rented factory building next door!"
It's specially designed for processing ingredients like mangoes and grapefruits!

He pointed to the single-story corrugated iron factory building right next to the west side of the Kwun Tong factory.

"We provide the venue, tools, water and electricity, and fresh mangoes!"

You can voluntarily form groups of three to five people, and choose your own group leader! Go and work in this new place!

"How will the money be calculated?" Ah Zhen couldn't help but ask the question that everyone was most concerned about.

As the group leader, she was even more aware of the women's desire for income.

"We'll charge you based on the quality of the mango flesh you produce!" Chen Bingwen said firmly. "We've set the standards!"
Peel and pit the fruit thoroughly, leaving the flesh intact! Once inspected and approved, the amount of fruit flesh needed for one bottle of mango pomelo sago will be calculated by weight, and payment will be settled on the spot!
Preliminary pricing: HKD 0.1 for processing the mango flesh needed for one bottle of syrup!

This price was calculated by Chen Bingwen based on the daily mango processing volume he had previously handled.

This ensures that female workers receive their normal wages as long as they work, while also providing opportunities for those with outstanding abilities and quick hands to increase their income.

"0.1 Hong Kong dollars a bottle?"

As soon as Chen Bingwen finished speaking, the mango processing area fell silent instantly, followed by an even bigger uproar.

"One cent per bottle?" "If you cut 400 bottles a day, that's 40 yuan? 1200 yuan a month?"

"1,200 yuan? That's a lot more than our current base salary of 1,000 yuan."

"Wait a minute. The boss said there's no base salary anymore! Only piecework!"

"That's a lot! 1200! That's 200 more than now!"

"Oh my god! Really?"

The female workers were all talking at once, calculating the accounts.

HK$1,200, which is more than their current total income!
Ah Zhen's heart was pounding. She quickly calculated in her mind: their group of five people were fast and coordinated, and could process at least 2,200 bottles a day at the factory.

If we calculate it at HK$0.1 per bottle, that's two hundred and twenty yuan!

The money is split among five people, and each person receives forty-four yuan!
That's 1,300 yuan a month!

This is already higher than their current income!
"Brother Wen, are you... are you telling the truth?" Ah Zhen asked excitedly.

"Absolutely true!" Chen Bingwen laughed. "The contract is in black and white! Daily settlement, cash payment!"
and"

He offered an even more enticing deal: "For the first three days! The price will increase by 10%! That's HK$0.11 per bottle!"
This is a great start for everyone!

"Thank you, boss!" the female workers cheered in unison.

The news spread like wildfire, quickly reaching both inside and outside the Kwun Tong factory area.

"Have you heard? Chen's has gone into contracting! Peel a mango, and you get paid on the spot!"

"Earn at least forty a day? Really?"

"Ah Ying and the others have all signed up! They'll even charge extra for the first three days!"

"Let's go and have a look!"

In less than half a day, not only did the original team from the Mango Group sign up for the contract, but even the neighborhood aunties and young girls who heard the news from outside the factory crowded into the temporary registration point set up at the factory gate.

Gao Zhenhai and his team were extremely busy, registering people, dividing them into groups, issuing temporary work badges, and explaining the rules.

Contracting groups sprang up like mushrooms after rain, forming teams of three or five people at a time, quickly taking shape.

At 11 p.m., Chen Bingwen finished his work and walked to the factory site plan spread out on the long conference table. His eyes fell on the area of ​​the western factory building that he had just marked with a red pencil.

“We’ve rented the place; it’s just a low wall away from here,” Gao Zhenhai said, standing a step behind him. “It just smells bad and has a lot of dust, but we’ve already had it cleaned.”

"Okay. Keep a close eye on the progress." Chen Bingwen's gaze didn't leave the blueprints, and he pointed to the location of the west factory building. "The water pipe and gas pipe connections need to be completed quickly."

"Don't worry," Gao Zhenhai said in a deep voice.

He glanced at Chen Bingwen's slightly tired profile, then at the two cots placed close to the wall, covered with coarse cloth and thin mattresses.

"Still making do here tonight?"

Chen Bingwen hummed in agreement, finally turning his gaze away and rubbing his temples: "Saves time."

Two cots lay quietly on the cement floor.

The office space is very high; when you lie on the bed, you feel like you're far from the ceiling.

"Brother Wen," Gao Zhenhai's voice rang out in the darkness, "Are you asleep?"

"No."

After a brief silence, Gao Zhenhai's voice rang out again: "Time flies. The last time I slept on the floor like this was during the Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair."

He paused, then changed the subject, "I saw that place this afternoon, and the location is really convenient. Clearing it out to make a buffer zone would be perfect."

Being close by means of faster raw material turnover, saving a lot of effort.

Chen Bingwen listened quietly. He could sense that Gao Zhenhai's words had a hidden meaning; after all that buildup, the main point was still nowhere to be found.

He didn't urge him, but waited quietly.

“Um, Brother Wen,” Gao Zhenhai turned over, lying on his side facing Chen Bingwen, though he couldn’t actually see anything clearly, “there’s something I’ve been thinking about for a few days now.”

“Go ahead, I’m listening,” Chen Bingwen replied softly.

“To be honest,” Gao Zhenhai took a deep breath, his voice lower, “every time I work with you and Sister Peiyi, I feel like I… am not learning fast enough and can’t keep up.”

You always seem to see things one step ahead of others, you understand things clearly and make accurate judgments.

Sister Pei-Yi's meticulousness and thoroughness in doing things are something I can't even begin to match.

He sighed softly, "Sometimes when I look at you guys, I feel like I'm clumsy and can only do menial tasks like running errands and supervising the site."

He paused and said, "I was thinking that it would be great if Amei could be like Sister Peiyi."

It's not that I want her to be exceptionally capable, it's just that I hope she can learn more, broaden her horizons, and not be like me, who only knows how to work silently.

"If Amei could learn even a little bit of Pei-yi's skills and demeanor, her future would be much brighter."

In the darkness, Chen Bingwen remained silent for a moment.

He could feel the weight in Gao Zhenhai's words.

That was a brother's deep love and care for his sister.

“Ah Hai,” Chen Bingwen said sincerely, “you’re not stupid at all.”

Without you leading the brothers to work day and night, supporting the Changsha Bay and Kwun Tong factories, and running the distribution points smoothly, all my ideas would have been just empty talk.

You are my most trusted ally, the foundation of Chen's business.

(End of this chapter)