Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it is 1955.

On the morning of early January, Lin Zhichao woke up from his sleep on time, and the time was about six o'clock in the morning; It's already winter in Hong Kong, and most people can't wait to linger for a warm quilt, but Lin Zhichao never remembers.

He will sleep long in the morning and evening, why sleep too much when he is alive, so Lin Zhichao's sleep time is 6~7 hours a day, of which the nap is only fifteen minutes, which is almost the time to squint for a while.

Of course, it can't be said that Lin Zhi has exceeded the days of 'very clear law', it's just that he prefers to open his eyes. He was not a very disciplined person, and liked to live a luxurious, obscene life.

For example, last month (1954.12), he lived in Switzerland for fifteen days, accompanying Audrey Hepburn to give birth. Everything went very well, and Audrey Hepburn gave birth to a son for him, whose Chinese name is 'Lin Ruidong'. Then, in the nearly 20 days when he was not directly involved in the work, he just learned about the company's dynamics through transatlantic phone calls, and he naturally took the time to read some books while Audrey Hepburn, after all, there are not too many entertainment activities in this era.

Lin Zhichao got up from the bed, Tang Caiyun and Xu Caiying automatically approached, and the two girls continued to sleep, they couldn't get up so early.

Move your muscles, read the newspaper and read a book, and then have breakfast with your family.

During the dinner, Lin Zhichao asked about the studies of his eldest son Lin Ruihuan, he had been in the first grade of primary school for half a semester, and the school was taught in English, so Lin Zhichao and Tang Caiyun invited a Chinese teacher for him to make up the class.

Happy education does not exist, and the children of the Lin family must implement elite education.

At the end, Lin Zhichao also showed a fatherly expression and said with concern: "Do you feel that your studies are very hard?" ”

Who knows, Lin Ruihuan said with the appearance of a little adult: "It's not very hard, but I think Dad, you must be very hard in business!" ”

Lin Zhichao was stunned for a moment, and then asked, "How do you know that I have a hard time doing business?" ”

Lin Ruihuan looked at Tang Caiyun and said seriously: "Mom said that you work very hard in business, you get up earlier than me every day and sleep later than me, so it must be harder than me." ”

Lin Zhichao laughed and said, "That's not necessarily all about business, I'm just like you, I'm also learning." But what I study can be used to make money. ”

Lin Ruihuan immediately said: "That means that making money must be very hard!" ”

Well, Lin Zhichao could only admit: "Yes." In a few years, you can come to the company meeting to observe, and you will know that it is not hard to make money! ”

Lin Ruihuan seemed to understand whether he understood or not, but he said in his mouth: "Okay"

Although in Lin Zhichao's view, Lin Ruihuan is a one-eyed personality and a 'housekeeper', but what he wants is this kind of son. With the wealth and industry he can create, it is already good for future generations to be able to keep it.

Wealth can be said to be a family trust fund that can be passed down forever; But the matter of career depends on whether future generations can keep it.

In the morning, Lin Zhichao came to Qiuyi Building, which is the headquarters of Global Shipping and Cheung Kong Holdings, as well as some departments of Cheung Kong Industrial Group.

"Boss, early"

"Early"

The staff of Global Shipping greeted the boss one after another, and their expressions were full of 'spirit', after all, it was time to receive the 'year-end bonus', and everyone was full of enthusiasm.

At present, Global Shipping has about 3,000 employees, and the overall salary is definitely the highest in Hong Kong, because the salary of seafarers itself is among the top three in all industries. The salary level of ordinary seafarers in Global Shipping is already 200 Hong Kong dollars per month, and the ship still includes food and accommodation.

"Let the finance department take last year's report to my office!" Lin Zhichao said to his assistant Chen Tianan.

"Okay"

After a while, Li Zhonghe, the manager of the finance department of Global Shipping, handed him a file bag.

Li Zhonghe knew that when the boss returned to Hong Kong, he would definitely have an annual financial report, and even if he didn't have time to make a detailed annual financial report, he would at least have to come up with an accurate financial report.

In 1954, Global Shipping made an annual profit of 25.55 million US dollars, and the working capital on the account was 4.38 million US dollars; The largest expenditure for the year was, of course, the purchase of eight 56,000-ton oil vessels, with a total deposit of about $16.5 million.

"How much more do you have to spend than usual this month?"

"HK$1,820,000"

Not much!

The part of this extra expenditure is the year-end bonus and year-end benefits, which are just sprinkling water for the profitability of global shipping, and shipping is more profitable.

After reading the financial report, Lin Zhichao went to participate in the 'Global Ship Technology Conference' of Global Shipping and communicated with the captains of various ships. However, there are too many ships now, so only the ships with problems will report, and then the headquarters will convey some precautions, and each ship will learn.

The things conveyed by the headquarters are based on the feedback from the captains, as well as the summary of the management and technical personnel.

Global Shipping currently has 68 vessels, of which 64 are cargo ships (including one new ship) and 4 are oil tankers, with a total deadweight of 710,000 tons. It also has 8 large oil tankers under construction, with a total deadweight of 450,000 tons.

Therefore, the fleet of global shipping is already 1.16 million tons of deadweight.

In the afternoon, Lin Zhichao came to the Yangtze River Industrial Park.

"Boss, the two companies you mentioned have been formed, and the initial personnel have been transferred from within the company." Deputy General Manager Wang Liang came to his office as soon as possible and reported on the work.

At this time, Wang Liang was already full of admiration in his heart, he knew that the boss would not set up 2 subsidiaries for no reason, there must be a 'shock' product to be developed, just like plastic flowers, plastic dolls, wigs, zippers, etc., which are not available in Hong Kong, or even products that are not available in the world, can fill the gap in the market as soon as they are listed.

Lin Zhichao nodded and said, "Then let's go to a meeting together and announce the direction of everyone's work." Now that there are more subsidiaries, the group should do a good job in strengthening management and playing a greater role. ”

Wang Liang nodded and said, "Okay."

This is a good thing, the greater the role of the group, the greater its rights. Of course, the management and technical personnel of each subsidiary are most trained by the original Yangtze River Zipper Factory.

After that, Lin Zhichao took the management of the headquarters of Changjiang Industrial Group to the new five-story factory that had just been built. This factory is the fourth factory in the Yangtze River Industrial Park, in fact, the current factory buildings in the Yangtze River Industrial Park are very abundant, but Lin Zhichao knows that it will expand very quickly, so he laid out the factory early.

The group came to the first newly established company, the Changjiang Food and Beverage Company, which was temporarily housed under the Cheung Kong Industrial Group but would later be allocated to the Cheung Kong Industrial Group.

The three initial personnel in "Boss, Manager Wang" stepped forward to greet each other.

Lin Zhichao naturally knows these people, Wang Liang doesn't need to be introduced, he also knows that the boss knows. Cheung Kong Industrial Group has a lot of reserve management and technical personnel, these people are deliberately cultivated by Lin Zhichao.

"Chen Ping is the general manager?" Lin Zhichao looked at a man with glasses who was about thirty years old and asked.

Wang Liang immediately said: "It has not been appointed yet!" ”

Lin Zhichao immediately said: "Then Chen Ping, the two of you will be his assistants." ”

"Okay, boss!"

Next, everyone sat down around a table.

Lin Zhichao said: "Since it is a beverage and food company, everyone also understands the direction of research. However, I like to do things that the market does not have, which is more conducive to occupying the market. This time, the product we are going to develop is 'instant noodles', or 'instant noodles'. ”

For a while, everyone was confused.

Chen Ping immediately said: "There is a kind of noodle stall in Hong Kong, which is very popular in the market. Many single workers who work overtime, after work, go to this kind of stall to cook noodles and eat, which is cheap and time-saving. The instant noodles that the boss said, can they be more aspected than this? ”

For such a product, everyone's thinking can't think of it at all, which is extremely normal.

Lin Zhichao motioned for Chen Ping to record it, and then said:

"The instant noodles I want are noodles that can be eaten by brewing with boiling water, or even eaten raw. At the same time, it should have a taste, not a white water. ”

In this way, R&D is scored in two directions: first, bread; Second, the seasoning package. ”

"The research and development of dough cakes needs to consider the shelf life, so you can steam them first, then fry them, and of course add a small amount of preservatives. Like ramen, the dough is made by mechanization, then fried in a pan and then scooped up. ”

"It's not enough to just have pastries, you have to adjust the taste well, and there are seasoning packets in the world, so you can fully learn. One packet of seasonings such as salt, MSG, etc., and one packet of seasoning packets can concentrate the chicken broth and pack it into a sealed seasoning packet. ”

What he told seemed to be just a superficial theory, but it was these superficial theories that could make the inventor of instant noodles in his previous life, Anteng Momofuku, rack his brains and spend several months, or even most of the effort.

While recording, Chen Ping was shocked that the boss actually had such a good idea.

After Lin Zhichao finished speaking, Chen Ping immediately said: "This instant noodle is worthy of being instant noodles, it only takes a short time to soften when boiling water, and then put it in the seasoning bag, the taste is definitely better than those noodle stalls." The important thing is that the staff of the office building work overtime and no longer need to worry about the problem of late supper. ”

Lin Zhichao said: "So I hope you will go all out and concentrate on research and development." In terms of machines, it can be developed in conjunction with Berne Machinery. ”

There are no professional-level R&D personnel, but everyone is a high-level talent, and it is not very difficult to develop a small instant noodle, the important thing is to devote yourself wholeheartedly to it.

Chen Ping immediately stated that he would go all out to develop it.

Lin Zhichao threw the task to his subordinates, instant noodles have patented technology, which seems to be called "instant hot oil drying method". If Changjiang Food and Beverage Company takes the lead in developing it, in addition to making a name for itself, it can also collect some patent fees in Japan.

After leaving the R&D room of instant noodles, Lin Zhichao led Wang Liang and others to another company.

"Boss, sign a confidentiality contract with them, as well as a three-year employment contract, so that this technology will not be leaked." Wang Liang suggested.

"Okay, you can arrange it, and you usually pay more attention to the progress."

"Okay"

came to another subsidiary, there were only two people in it, led by a technical talent, named Hong Yunhao, who used to develop zippers, and his brain was very bright, which is Lin Zhichao's memory.

"Sit down, I'll arrange the mission!"

Everyone gathered around, and Lin Zhichao said again: "This time we are going to develop a trolley case, in fact, I have already drawn a sketch." After speaking, Lin Zhichao took out the briefcase he was carrying with him and took out the drawings that had already been made.

Lin Zhichao knows how to draw, and he draws very well, because he has learned a lot over the years, whether it is mechanical drawings or architectural drawings, he is an expert. This is not absolutely related to his brain, because he also works hard to learn.

After Wang Liang, Hong Yunhao and others circulated it, they were suddenly a little surprised.

Hong Yunhao immediately said: "Is this a suitcase?" For example, if I go on a trip, I can save a lot of effort on the road by packing my luggage in this kind of suitcase, which is really good. ”

Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "It can also be called a suitcase, but a trolley case is more appropriate, after all, isn't a suitcase now?" It's just that there are no wheels and tie rods. ”

Wang Liang also expressed his opinion and said: "The current suitcase is either a rattan box, and many are wooden boxes. This is a direction that can be studied, such as plastics or resins. ”

Lin Zhichao said: "The material is not the key research direction first, the important thing is to study the use of this aluminum alloy tie rod and wheels, and then apply for a patent." Keep in mind that this patent must be filed in the United States, the United Kingdom, etc., as a global patent. ”

"Good"

Leaving the sketch to Hong Yunhao and the two, Lin Zhichao took Wang Liang and others to the Yangtze River Toy Factory again.

In addition to the establishment of two new companies, Changjiang Toy Factory has also established a new R&D studio, which is the R&D Rubik's Cube. There is no shortage of architecture talents in Hong Kong, so it is not difficult to find R&D personnel in this studio.

"Boss, Manager Wang" Ke Yanping saw the group's senior management dispatching, and hurriedly greeted.

"Well, what's going on at the toy factory?" Lin Zhichao said casually.

Ke Yanping immediately reported: "The development is very smooth, last year we produced 150,000 Bier Lily, OEM 2.1 million toys At present, we are already producing 'Barbie dolls', and the first batch of 100,000 has been ready to be delivered immediately and sent to the United States." ”

"Yes, it's going well, but it's just getting started."

"Yes!"

Subsequently, everyone came to a R&D room, where there were only three employees, including senior students from the Department of Architecture and senior students from the Department of Mechanical Engineering. As long as it is not developing sophisticated high-tech products, there is no shortage of talents in Hong Kong.

For example, Hong Kong can produce 'transistor' radios, but transistors must be imported from Japan; in the past, Hong Kong's electronics industry developed in this way, importing transistors from Japan, and then producing radios, which exported millions of units every year.

Later, when Japan discovered that Hong Kong radio had affected Japanese radio, it banned the sale of transistors to Hong Kong. Hong Kong manufacturers have turned to import to European countries such as Britain and the United States, which still poses a great threat to the Japanese radio industry because it is cheap.

Therefore, the products proposed by Lin Zhichao are developed by Hong Kong with full technical strength. Including the 'instant noodle machinery', he can be handed over to Bourne Machinery Factory for production, but the research and development is the Yangtze River Industrial Group and Bourne Machinery, which can be completely done.

"We need to develop a toy that develops children's intelligence, I call it the 'Rubik's Cube', which is a sketch of a second-order imitation, you can look at it. The task of this game is to complete the game by twisting the colors of the four squares on each of the six sides in unison. To start over, you just need to shuffle the colors. ”

This product seems simple, but it is a bit difficult, because the cube of the Rubik's cube should be able to be twisted 'at will', which involves mechanics and so on. Lin Zhichao had disassembled the Rubik's Cube before, but his memory was incomplete, and he only knew that it was composed of pedestals and screws, but as long as there was a research direction, the Rubik's Cube was not difficult.

What's more, if this thing is not developed by the Yangtze River Toy Factory, it will only appear in 20 years!

Just take your time to develop it!

A R&D engineer said: "The idea of this Rubik's cube has been perfected, and the key now is the internal structure, and if you want to switch it at will, it will undoubtedly require a lot of research related to mechanics and structure." ”

Many people expressed their opinions, some thought it was simple, and some thought that it seemed simple but it was actually complicated.

In the end, it was Lin Zhichao who said: "It's not difficult or not, it's not an important thing, important R&D personnel should settle down to do R&D work, the company will give you enough logistics support, and you can also learn relevant knowledge while R&D." ”

"Yes, boss!"

Lin Zhichao nodded, this thing is very R&D, and R&D personnel will gradually increase in the later stage. Moreover, the second-order Rubik's Cube is followed by the third-order Rubik's Cube, and the technology between the two cannot be universal, after all, the mechanics are different.

gave three products in one go, and Lin Zhichao was also relieved.

This is the second wave of three products, and the first wave of products are wigs, plastic flowers, Belle Lily, and Barbie. The first wave of products is almost all successful, and there is only one Barbie doll that needs to be tested by the market.

After walking out of the laboratory, Lin Zhichao separated from everyone and came to the Yangtze River Plastic Factory, where he happened to meet Tao Derong.

"Boss"

"Well, let me hear how the plastic flower is going?"

Tao Derong brought Lin Zhichao to the production area and reported to the work: "At present, the number of workers has increased to more than 300, and it is still continuing to expand. After all, Europe and the United States have a large territory and the flow of people is relatively scattered, so the epidemic is slightly slower. ”

It only took more than three weeks for Hong Kong to see that plastic flowers had entered thousands of households, which can be described as 'becoming popular overnight'.

"At the same time, we found out that there were female workers who were spies planted by others, and I just fired them and did not bother with anything else. After all, the plastic flower technology is in the hands of our technicians, and they have signed a three-year contract, so the technology will not leak out. Businessmen who want to enter this industry from outside can only buy samples for research, and there will be no results in a short time. ”

After listening to the report, Lin Zhichao said: "Well, in another month, I will let some Shunde businessmen come to the factory to inspect, but the technology will not tell them the specifics, you just need to grasp the degree." At the same time, you can consider separating the process of plastic flowers for outsiders to take home for production, and then deliver them to us later. At this step, I also plan to take care of my fellow villagers in Shunde, and you will grasp the work. ”

Tao Derong then said: "The process that the boss said is to wear plastic flowers!" ”

Lin Zhichao said: "Well, you can evaluate for yourself, whether the cost of external processing will be saved, and whether it will affect the quality." ”

Tao Derong said: "At present, it should be very good, it can save costs, and the quality will not be affected, and I will discuss it with my colleagues later." ”

Lin Zhichao nodded, and said: "There is another advantage to this, when overseas manufacturers inspect our factories in the future, we can explain this article." In this way, it is equivalent to us feeding many families, then those businessmen will give priority to us. ”

Tao Derong's eyes lit up and said, "Wonderful! This is also an industry advantage! ”

Indeed, overseas businessmen will take this factor into account, because Hong Kong has been the target of 'humanitarian assistance' for several years, and Western countries believe that competing for the hearts and minds of the people in Hong Kong is a heavy blow to different camps. In particular, the person on the other side ran to Hong Kong, which is a very good public opinion propaganda.

And Lin Zhichao originally planned to make wigs and plastic flowers into the base camp of 'Shunde' businessmen.

In the previous life, 55% of the plastic flower industry was done by Chaoshan people, which also had a credit to Li Jiacheng, who also established the 'Chaoqiao Plastic Flower Chamber of Commerce' with two people, which established the hegemony of Chaoshan nationality in plastic flowers.

Today, Lin Zhichao is a Shunde businessman, so he naturally gives priority to taking care of his fellow Shunde villagers. He enjoys a high reputation in the three major Shunde chambers of commerce - chamber of commerce, friendship association, and Mianyuantang, and some people even proposed that Lin Zhichao should unify the three chambers of commerce. It's just that Lin Zhichao still vetoes this suggestion, and he won't spend energy on the Chamber of Commerce.

(End of chapter)