Lin Zhichao came to Japan again non-stop and found Yamashita for help.

"President Yamashita, I need your partner bank to open an LC for me to prove that the contract between us can be guaranteed. This LC contract is very important to me and is related to the amount that HSBC is willing to lend. ”

Yamashoro showed a hint of embarrassment, and then said: "Mr. Lin, the guarantee of this contract is not only the matter of our Yamaguchi steamship, but also the matter of your global shipping. The risk of cargo ships at sea is even much greater than that of our Yamaguchi steamboats. ”

The implication is that the most important thing to protect is global shipping.

Lin Zhichao said confidently: "I promise you that I will do my best to fulfill my responsibilities and be responsible to the end."

It stands to reason that if a ship is chartered to someone else, it will be used by someone else, so what responsibility should it bear?

The responsibility of global shipping is to properly manage the ship. Doing shipping is different from doing business on land, in that the ship walks on the sea, not on the ground.

For example, if you are a factory, you can see it yourself, lock the factory door, and everything is inside.

You can't lock the boat, how do you lock it?

It's moving, and if it doesn't move (breaks), you're going to lose money.

The ship is moving, and if it is not properly managed, mistakes will occur, so the responsibility is really great.

Yamashitoro seemed to be moved, but he still didn't say anything, and he didn't open his mouth, as if he was thinking and embarrassed.

Lin Zhichao is so sharp-eyed that he has already discovered Yamadaro's intentions, but he does not express his position;

He immediately guessed that with the shrewdness of the Japanese, they would inevitably want certain benefits.

"Mr. Yamashita, you can rest assured that we at Global Shipping are very well managed our ships. In addition, if my ship is wrecked while transporting your goods, the insurance compensation will all belong to you, and I will directly ask the insurance company to transfer the money to your bank account, and I will not take a penny. ”

Anyone who works in shipping knows that the sea is merciless, the wind and clouds are changeable, and the journey is full of dangers, and in case of an accident, you will receive a considerable amount of compensation.

Generally speaking, the insurance money is not enough to cover the total loss of the cargo and the ship, but if the shipowner waives the insurance money, it will all be given to the cargo owner, then the cargo owner has no risk.

Of course, Yamashita knew what Lin Zhichao's waiver of this insurance compensation meant to Lin Zhichao. He thought in his heart that since Lin Zhichao could make this promise, it showed that this person was indeed sincere, then he would fulfill him, and he would be able to cooperate more happily in the future.

"Okay, I promise you, I'll take you with me to our bank manager."

Lin Zhichao was overjoyed, this matter has been successful for most of the time, and the bank needs to 'break through', but fortunately, there are two lobbyists.

"Thank you, President Yamashita, for your trust!"

Subsequently, Yamashitoro took Lin Zhichao and rushed to the Bank of Kobe, Japan.

Two days later.

When Lin Zhichao issued a 'letter of credit' from a very heavy Kobe Bank and put it in front of Sandas, the Englishman touched the paper incredibly.

He couldn't understand that Lin Zhichao had no background and was not a young man with rich shipping experience. In just a few days, I got a letter of credit from a bank back from Japan.

At the same time, Sandas already admired Lin Zhichao even more, and he was thinking that if such a young man did not support him, it would definitely be a loss for HSBC.

In view of the 'gentleman's agreement' between the two, the most important thing for the banker is a 'letter', and Sandas said: "Well, I will do my best to facilitate this loan." ”

Lin Zhichao nodded and said, "Thank you!" ”

Subsequently, Sandas took Lin Zhichao to run the formalities at HSBC and left in a good mood. It was only a matter of time before the loan was disbursed, and HSBC's project department had already agreed to the loan.

The huge sum of 3 million US dollars is enough for Lin Zhichao to buy 5 second-hand cargo ships of 10,000 tons, and his fleet will reach more than 100,000 tons.

Back at Global Shipping, Lin Zhichao immediately convened a management meeting.

"Manager Feng, let the Global Maritime Academy recruit another 60 trainees, and this time we must insist on giving priority to those who have worked on ships."

The management was overjoyed, and the boss said so, it is obvious that global shipping is going to develop on a large scale. You know, there are already a wave of seafarers already being trained, and there are 120 people. A total of 180 seafarers means that the global shipping will be doubled this time.

Rather, HSBC lends a lot to companies.

"Okay, I'll do it right away." Feng Yongfa hurriedly said.

There is no shortage of seafarers in Hong Kong, and there are many important positions such as captains, first officers, second officers, and chief engineers.

Subsequently, Lin Zhichao also frankly informed everyone that HSBC was ready to lend a huge sum of $3 million to Global Shipping.

For a while, everyone was very shocked.

You know, the five ships of the world shipping are not worth three million dollars. But the boss can borrow $3 million, which is the boss that HSBC wants to support.

With honor!

"Therefore, you must be in good spirits and be sure to be foolproof in the management of cargo ships. I will supervise and inspect the work of the whole company, and I hope that everyone will not let me be caught at fault. ”

"Yes, boss!"

Everyone replied with high morale as if they had been beaten with chicken blood.

They know that the boss's understanding and learning ability of shipping is very strong.

Such a boss can't rub sand in his eyes.

Lin Zhichao came to Cheung Kong Industrial, and he received positive information from Sing Tao that Sing Tao Changjiang Zipper Factory was not affected by either purchase or export.

This made him breathe a sigh of relief, after all, his household registration was in Hong Kong, so Lin Zhichao was worried that the relevant departments in the United States would seize this; Now it seems that in order to avoid trade barriers, the strategy of building factories around the world is indeed working.

In this way, Cheung Kong can survive the past three years in peace and stability, and even make breakthroughs.

As for the Japanese zipper market, Cheung Kong is stronger than imagined, so that YKK zipper cannot surpass Cheung Kong in market share for a while, let alone drive out of the Japanese market.

The market price is about the same, but the agents of Cheung Kong have chosen to insist on continuing to cooperate, and they have made a lot of money in recent years, so although it is only a small profit, they still choose Cheung Kong. What's more, the conditions given by YKK zippers are not generous.

In this way, YKK zipper can only rely on factory direct sales and a small number of agents to compete for large and medium-sized customers in Japan. And Yangtze River zipper with agents, can supply small and medium-sized customers in Japan.

The performance of YKK zippers made Lin Zhichao feel relieved that the Japanese market is still like this, and the overseas market will only be completely defeated.

After a while, Sun Tao of the R&D department came to Lin Zhichao's office.

The R&D department of Cheung Kong is a group of engineers with university culture, most of whom have emigrated to Hong Kong from the mainland. Their salaries are at the lowest level of middle management, and they are high-income earners who can afford to hire a 60 yuan nanny.

These engineers are able to ensure that the engineering machines are ready to run at all times, and can continue to improve the machines, as well as develop some small machines, which can be handed over to Bourne Machinery to produce on their behalf. At the same time, the R&D department should ensure the optimization of the entire production system.

"Boss," Sun Tao greeted respectfully.

Being able to achieve the level of the boss of the industry is already the pride and leader of the Chinese, and Sun Tao admires his boss very much.

Lin Zhichao motioned for him to sit down, and then said: "I want to use nylon to produce zippers and become a pioneer of non-metallic zippers." Therefore, I plan to cooperate with Bourne Machinery to conduct research in this area. ”

If he remembers correctly, the first country in the world to develop a non-metallic zipper was the Federal Republic of Germany.

Now, he plans to take the lead in this research with Bourne Machinery.

If Cheung Kong can take the lead in producing nylon zippers, it will be very beneficial to increase its popularity alone.

After thinking about it, Sun Tao said: "If we can develop a nylon zipper, the cost alone will be greatly reduced." ”

Their R&D department is dealing with zippers and zipper machines every day, and the level is naturally different from what it used to be.

Lin Zhichao nodded and said: "Non-metallic zippers are a trend in the future, not to mention the elimination of metal zippers, at least it is more popular." My idea is that you take someone to Bourne Machinery to discuss joint research and development. If you have any specific plan, whether you need to set up a R&D department in Germany, I will support you; In terms of funding, even if 10% of the profit is used as R&D expenses, I can agree. ”

10% of the R&D cost is about 500,000 Hong Kong dollars, which is already a high proportion for enterprises in this era.

Sun Tao suddenly felt that the task was very heavy, and the boss was very determined about R&D, so he also said seriously: "Okay, I'll organize and come up with a plan as soon as possible." ”

He knows that his boss also understands machinery, and he has the credit of the boss when he improved the zipper rice machine. As it should be, everyone in the R&D department knows that it is not easy to satisfy the boss.

"Well, you go get busy!"

After laying out this initial task, Lin Zhichao also decided that he should pay attention to the R&D strength of Yangtze River Industry, and needed some high-tech products in the later stage. For example, the Rubik's Cube, its internal structure requires architecture and physics, and the interior of the high-level Rubik's Cube is even more complicated, but fortunately, although this thing is a bit of technology, it is not so much that Hong Kong cannot be built.

In late December, Lin Zhichao came to London again to buy a second-hand ship.

This time, he brought with him Feng Yongfa, deputy general manager, and several middle-level managers.

Of course, it is not that he will hand over the matter of buying a ship to someone else in the future. This is unrealistic after all, a second-hand ship costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, and Lin Zhichao will not be relieved if he does not personally participate. And it may be several ships to buy at one time, and Lin Zhichao is even less likely to rest assured of others.

When he arrived in London, Lin Zhichao let his men go to the hotel to live, and he took Audrey Hepburn to the apartment.

As soon as he arrived at the apartment, Lin Zhichao just hugged her thin waist. Audrey Hepburn immediately changed her face and changed her closeness on the road.

"You don't miss me at all! Every time, you just bought a boat and stopped by to go on a date with me, but this time, you only came for three months, so it shows that you don't love me at all. After saying that, Audrey Hepburn hugged her hands and turned around, looking angry.

When Lin Zhichao saw this, he knew that it was time to coax a woman.

First, he hugged Audrey Hepburn from behind;

Subsequently, Audrey Hepburn was about to get rid of it, but Lin Zhichao's head was already on her shoulder, and he immediately clamped her.

In the end, Lin Zhichao whispered in her ear: "It's my fault, I neglected my beautiful princess, so this time I am willing to stay for you for a week and accompany you every day." ”

As soon as the words fell, Audrey Hepburn immediately changed her face again and turned her body.

"Hmph, why don't you argue for yourself that you came to London to see me in September, and not always to buy a boat."

Audrey Hepburn's tone was also a lot softer.

"How could I quibble in front of you!"

Lin Zhichao felt a little guilty about Audrey Hepburn and concealed the fact that he was married, probably in this life, he would only deceive this one woman.

Subsequently.

"Audrey, your body is much better than before, and you are no longer weak!"

"Ahh My body is indeed much better, I haven't felt dizzy in a long time. It's amazing! ”

It's magical!

Audrey interacted with him, not only did her body recover a lot, but even her skin texture was more delicate. If it is said that because Lin Zhichao gave her money to spend, the improvement of living conditions is obviously only a small part of the reason.

After all, congenital deficiencies are not so easy to make up, and the biggest possibility is Lin Zhichao's reason.

Of course, this kind of thing can only be understood and not spoken.

"Honey, I want a baby!"

Cold, Lin Zhichao almost threw Audrey Hepburn to the ground.

What a surprise!

"Did you lie to me about anything?"

"I was just surprised!"

Audrey probably misunderstood, and said with a smile: "Don't worry! You are the future king of the world's ships, and you will soon own 10 mega-rich ships of 10,000 tons. My mom will love you! ”

She is just a small actor and has starred in dramas, so she thinks that the skin color of the two will not be a problem, because Lin Zhichao is very rich; At the same time, there is not much generation gap between the two in terms of communication and thoughts.

Therefore, after losing her father since she was a child, she suddenly wanted to get married and have children.

Lin Zhichao immediately said: "Audrey, we are still young, I hope to see you become a real actor one day, this is your dream, and it will become my dream in the future." ”

In this way, Audrey was finally fooled and did not mention the stubble.

The next day, Lin Zhichao still chose to work, buying a ship is a big deal, and it is not allowed to be sloppy.

Fortunately, Audrey is very supportive in this regard.

At Willis's shipbrokerage, Lin Zhichao and his colleagues are checking the ship's information.

Willis said in a flattering tone: "Lin, since you called, I have been looking not only for suitable objects in the London market, but also in other European countries, so that you can buy a satisfactory ship. The ship information here is a total of 7 10,000-ton ships, 3 8,000-ton cargo ships, 2 7,000-ton cargo ships, a total of 12 ocean-going vessels. ”

When Lin Zhichao was in a hurry to sign a contract with Yamaguchi Steamship, he asked Willis to find suitable ship information first, although the loan may not be successful, but even so, Willis will not complain, because he has already made a lot of money in Lin Zhichao's hands.

And he can continue to use this information.

For shipbrokers, they are not only looking for the source of goods, but also to inquire about the authenticity and risk of the source. For example, if there is a problem with the ship, what is the reputation of the port or the crew, these brokers have a way to find out the news.

Therefore, shipping companies generally do not deceive shipbrokers, only some shipbrokers deliberately deceive some customers. Of course, the premise is that the client has no background and is financially weak.

For a large shipping company like Global Shipping, if the shipbroker deceives people, he will definitely suffer a lawsuit.

Lin Zhichao nodded and said, "I hope I can return with a full load this time!" ”

Friends are friends, business is business, this time Lin Zhichao will not just read information here in Willis; He brought several managers with him, and he was planning to cast a wide net in London.

Consider not only the value for money of the boat, but also a special case – which shipping company can offer installment payments.

In other words, Lin Zhichao hopes to buy more than $3 million of boats, maybe $4 million, maybe $5 million.

Of course, the finances of the three ships leased to Yamaguchi Steamship have been frozen by HSBC, which is equivalent to a year and a half in the future, and the profits of these three ships can only be repaid to HSBC (net profit after expenses).

Willis also understands that Lin Zhichao has brought a lot of colleagues from the company this time, and he may not only inspect in his hands, but he still has a lot of confidence; At least, this one had greeted him in advance before buying the boat, which made him have more and better resources in his hands.

This is his proper God of Wealth.

'The victory wheel made in 1944 cost 820,000 US dollars.' Soon, Lin Zhichao was pleasantly surprised to find that the victory wheel appeared.

For the free wheel and the victory wheel, Lin Zhichao is very enthusiastic. Moreover, Lin Zhichao once carefully observed the victory ship and found that it could be transformed into a container cargo ship. Although the center of gravity may be a little unstable, if you put a heavy load in the bilge, you can find balance.

In this way, it can become Lin Zhichao's test ship in the future!

At the same time, he found that the price of the Victory ship had risen by less than 20 percent, which was obviously very good.

"Which shipping company is this Victory ship and why are they selling this newer ship?" Lin Zhichao asked directly.

Willis didn't hide it either, and said: "It's still the last time the Chunard company, their business needs to be adjusted, not to mention that they can sell at a high price now, so it's naturally not surprising." Importantly, they can offer installments with a down payment of only half of the boat fare and a year to pay off. ”

Large companies are different, they don't worry about who defaults on their debts, and there is interest to be paid in installments.

"Well, this ship is really good, let's book it for now! For the rest of the ships, we will consider it carefully and give you an answer as soon as possible. ”

"Okay!"

In the next few days, Lin Zhichao sent Feng Yongfa and others to major shipbrokers in London to inquire about the news, and he went on a date with Audrey Hepburn while getting the victory wheel.

He stayed in London for more than ten days, and finally completed the purchase of the ship, and completely packed up Audrey Hepburn.

In terms of cargo ships: a 15,000-ton Victory ship ($820,000), four 10,000-ton 18~25-year-old 10,000-ton cargo ships ($620,000, $630,000, $660,000, $680,000), and two 8,000-ton 16-year-old cargo ships ($540,000, $550,000).

A total of 4.5 million US dollars of ship money, you need to pay a small amount of taxes, which should add up to about 465~4.7 million US dollars. Of course, there are 1.8 million installments of it, and less than 200,000 yuan of interest has to be added.

It is equivalent to that Lin Zhichao will spend 480~4.9 million US dollars this time. He only has $3 million and $1.9 million in debt (including interest).

But Lin Zhichao is not in a hurry at all, this batch of cargo ships has a full deadweight of 75,000 tons, and he has increased the carrying capacity of global shipping by as much as 1.5 times at one time.

Once fully put into use, the total deadweight of global shipping will reach about 127,000 tons, which is a step to the sky.

Although compared to the legend of Bao Yugang's previous life - one ship will be seven in a year, it is a little worse.

However, after all, global shipping is a large-scale growth and a large base.

After this expansion, it will take at least half a year for Global Shipping to develop a new purchase plan.

Moreover, it is unlikely that HSBC will be able to refinance this year, or it should be possible by the end of the year.

Fortunately, he has a total of 90,000 tons of vessels, which can be a steady stream of profitable vessels that do not have to repay HSBC loans.

In mid-January 1951, Lin Zhichao returned to Hong Kong, leaving Feng Yongfa in London to continue to lead people to keep an eye on the purchased ship.

Lin Zhichao likes to buy a second-hand freighter and carry out a maintenance and painting, which gives people the feeling that this is a newer ship; After these are completed, they are generally returned to the port empty, go through the formalities, and do not come back in Europe.

The reason is simple, it also takes time to collect cargo, it also takes time to load/unload cargo at the port, and the speed of a fully loaded cargo ship is also slow; If the ship is empty, it can travel from Europe to Hong Kong in 18 days. The time before and after is a waste of 30 days.

Japanese charter customers, they allow the charter to come into force when your ship is in Hong Kong, because that is also convenient. Whether it is to Australia, Southeast Asia, Europe, America, Africa, it is a must-go.

(End of chapter)