Soul Returns to Hong Kong: From Tailor Shop to Richest Woman

On January 8, 1998, Zhang Henian flew from North America for more than ten hours and landed in Hong Kong. After getting off the plane, he did not even go to the hotel first, but directly asked the driver to drive to Kadoorie Hill.

Lin Ying only found out that he was already on his way when she received Claire's call: "Lynn, Zhang Henian is arriving in Hong Kong today. He said he wants to meet with you alone."

"Is he in such a hurry?"

Claire: "I don't know if he's in a hurry or not, but the order window over there really won't wait for anyone. I've already faxed you the parameter sheet and market data you asked for before, have you seen them?"

"I've seen it, it's already been sent to the factory."

"That's good to know. You can negotiate the price with him yourself; I won't interfere."

Not long after hanging up the phone, the doorbell rang; Lin Ying asked Pusen to take Zaozao to play in the children's room; Puchuan opened the door downstairs, and Zhang Henian walked in wearing a dark blue coat, carrying a bag.

Lin Ying came downstairs to greet him: "Mr. Zhang, thank you for coming all this way."

Zhang Henian handed the bag in his hand to Pu Chuan: "I brought some baby toys from North America for the little one. They're pretty good quality."

Lin Ying, who had previously dealt in toys for export... Afterwards, Lin Ying invited him into her study and had Pu Chuan and Mela tea prepared and placed on the table.

After Zhang Henian sat down, he didn't beat around the bush: "Ms. Lin, you should have already seen the specifications for Aston Martin."

"I've seen it." Lin Ying took the fax out of the drawer and placed it on the table. "24-inch, 1024x768 resolution, refresh rate starting at 75Hz, VGA interface, color deviation requirement within Delta E5."

"Yes, that's their standard. The initial order is small, 500 units as a trial. If the quality is up to standard, their annual purchase volume is estimated to be between 3,000 and 5,000 units."

Lin Ying turned to the last page of the data sheet: "I've also looked at the European and American market research that Claire sent over. Currently, the mainstream retail price of a 24-inch professional monitor is between four and six thousand US dollars, and it's still the traditional large-back monitor. Japanese and Korean brands account for the majority of the market."

Zhang Henian nodded: "So if you can make it, you can definitely break into this market."

Lin Ying got straight to the point: "Mr. Zhang, let me tell you a number; the agency fee is 15,000 RMB per unit."

Zhang Henian asked, "What does the number 15,000 include?"

Lin Ying had already checked the current market price of monitors beforehand, so she said, "I sell them for 17,000 yuan, after all, that's my product cost; once you get the goods, you'll handle all the channel pricing, shipping costs, tariffs, and after-sales service in Europe and America."

Zhang Henian thought for a while and then said with certainty, "Converted to US dollars, it's about two thousand dollars; currently, the ex-factory price of Japanese and Korean brands to distributors is between two thousand five and three thousand US dollars, so there is indeed room for your ultra-thin monitor to reach that price."

Knowing he would agree, Lin Ying continued, "I have one condition."

Zhang Henian: "You go ahead."

"The brand must use Yingchuang's logo. The machine will be printed with my trademark, the instruction manual will contain my company name, and the after-sales contact information will include my fax number and phone number."

"What you need is distribution channels, not OEM manufacturing," Zhang Henian responded quickly.

Lin Ying nodded: "It's not profitable for me to do OEM manufacturing; it's just helping others gain fame. I want my own brand to enter the European and American markets."

Zhang Henian pondered for a moment: "Using your brand is fine, but you have to give me exclusive distribution rights. At least in North America and Western Europe, I'll be the only channel."

"Okay." Lin Ying had already thought about this issue. "The exclusive agency contract is for three years. Whether it is renewed after three years depends on the cooperation between the two parties. But there is one condition: you have to promise a minimum annual purchase volume of no less than one thousand units in the first year and no less than three thousand units in the second year."

Zhang Henian laughed: "Miss Lin, you really don't waste any words when it comes to business."

"Unnecessary words don't make money."

Zhang Henian put down his teacup and extended his right hand: "Fifteen thousand, exclusive for three years, minimum purchase quantity as you stated. The lawyer will handle the contract details."

Lin Ying grasped his hand: "It's a pleasure working with you."

After the two shook hands, Zhang Henian breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back on the sofa: "To be honest, Miss Lin, before I came here this time, I was worried that you would ask for 20,000."

Lin Ying smiled and said, "I've also considered 20,000."

Zhang Henian: "...Should I be glad you showed mercy?"

"You should be glad that the data report Claire sent me was detailed enough." Lin Ying pointed to the stack of faxes on the table. "The ex-factory price and channel profit structure of Japanese and Korean brands are all in there. If I offered 20,000, your profit margin wouldn't be much, and you would have turned around and left. No one could have made this deal."

Zhang Henian chuckled upon hearing this: "It seems Claire has done me a great favor."

After seeing Zhang Henian off, Lin Ying called Shen Yanwen and asked the law firm to prepare a draft of the exclusive agency agreement. She went over several clauses with Shen Yanwen over the phone, and Shen Yanwen wrote them down one by one, saying that the first draft would be ready within three days.

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Lin Ying returned to Shenzhen on January 13th. When her car entered the factory gate, the gatekeeper, Lao Liang, saw it from afar and quickly picked up his walkie-talkie to notify the administration building. After Lin Ying parked her car and entered the building, Chen Guodong and He Fangqin were already waiting on the third floor.

Lin Ying went to the office, put her bag on the table, and began to say: "The monitor issue has been settled. We have signed an exclusive agency agreement with European and American channels. The first batch is 500 units, and the annual purchase volume will start from 1,000 units."

Chen Guodong's first reaction was to do the math: "Five hundred units isn't a large quantity; we can start with trial production on the existing production line."

Lin Ying shook her head: "No, monitors and TVs are made with different technologies. The driver board, interface module, and signal processing are all different things. I need to open a separate line specifically for monitors."

He Fangqin, standing nearby, asked, "Should we continue recruiting?"

Lin Ying nodded: "Fortunately, the factory area is big enough. There is still an entire floor of empty space in the west building of the second phase factory. The equipment procurement and installation should start after the New Year and cannot be delayed."

Chen Guodong opened his notebook: "I asked Chen Jian for the equipment list; he should already have a preliminary plan."

Lin Ying sat back down in her chair: "Try to finalize the equipment purchase before the end of February, and start installation and debugging in March. Mr. He, please keep an eye on the personnel. The production line for monitors is a bit different from that for televisions, so we need literate people. Be careful to screen them when recruiting."

He Fangqin flipped through her notebook: "I'll contact a few technical schools to see if they have any students with relevant majors. If all else fails, I'll bring over a group of experienced workers from the TV station to train them first."

"Training plans also need to be made in advance," Lin Ying added. "At least two weeks of training will be conducted before going live, especially for the soldering and testing of the VGA interface, which requires higher precision than televisions."

He Fangqin closed her notebook: "I'll come up with a plan today."

Lin Ying looked at Chen Guodong: "There's one more thing. We need to renegotiate the purchase volume with the supplier. The glass substrate used for monitors is not the same specification as that used for TVs. Li Jia has already asked, and the supplier has the part number ready-made, so we don't need to make a mold."

"Let me check with Engineer Li; the procurement contract should be finalized this week." Chen Guodong finished noting down the last item.

The three of them discussed until noon. Chen Guodong went out to arrange work, and He Fangqin stood at the door for a moment before leaving: "Boss, there's something I want to tell you in advance."

"What is it?"

"During the Spring Festival holiday, Chen Jian brought his girlfriend to visit the factory and asked me if there were any cheap houses near the factory," He Fangqin said meaningfully. "He told me that he planned to settle down in Shenzhen and not leave."

Lin Ying laughed upon hearing this: "Didn't he say Guangzhou was great before?"

He Fangqin: "Boss, he knows exactly how much money he earns in a year and how much bonus you give him."