Chapter 267: Negotiations with China Resources
"Alright." Wang Zhiqun thought for a moment and said, "Right now, Glory Electronics already has nine employees who previously worked in product development at overseas companies. They can get started on the initial designs."
"Good. These two simple products can be developed right here in Hong Kong." Yang Wendong added, "If you encounter any procurement issues, just contact the people from Changxing Industrial. Whether it's plastic, metal components, or anything else, they'll help you sort it out."
To build the electric mosquito swatter, many plastic parts would require mold-making. And since revisions might be necessary during development, the expenses could pile up — not a small matter for a startup. Whether or not suppliers could keep up with demand would also be a major concern.
But if Changxing Industrial handled it, their sheer size and influence would guarantee results. Even if it meant the suppliers had to work around the clock, they'd get the job done fast — and with quality.
That was the benefit of a growing industrial chain: big clients came with big leverage, and suppliers couldn't afford to say no.
Wang Zhiqun asked, "Where should we set up the factory? Also in Kwun Tong?"
"Start the R&D there for now. As for the factory itself, that'll depend on how things go later," Yang Wendong replied after a moment's thought. "It might end up on Hong Kong Island. Judging by the current trends in electronics, it looks like Hong Kong Island could become a hub for the industry."
In the past two years, real estate prices in Hong Kong had surged. Compared to the rock-bottom prices of 1958, they had more than doubled.
And as property prices soared, so did rents. Very few factories were like Changxing Industrial — owning their own property. For most, rising operating costs were inevitable.
As a result, many low-end industries like toy manufacturing and textiles were relocating to the Kowloon Peninsula. However, higher-margin industries remained on Hong Kong Island, since their profits could still cover the expensive rents.
While Hong Kong's electronics industry was low-end compared to global standards, it was still significantly more advanced than most other local sectors. It also required more educated personnel — most of whom lived on Hong Kong Island — making it the more suitable location.
"Got it," Wang Zhiqun agreed. He didn't mind — R&D and production could be separate.
Soon, mid-March arrived.
Everything was running smoothly across the four major arms of the Changxing Group. The three new core businesses — supermarkets, hotels, and electronics — were all developing steadily according to plan.
On the 17th, Changxing Tower welcomed two visitors. One of them was a familiar face: Huo Yingdong. The other was dressed in a Zhongshan suit, unmistakably from the mainland.
"Mr. Yang, let me make introductions," Huo Yingdong said. "This is Mr. Ding Kejian, the person in charge of China Resources' operations in Hong Kong. Mr. Ding, this is Mr. Yang, the King of Post-it Notes."
"Mr. Yang, a pleasure. I've heard of your name even back on the mainland," Ding Kejian said with a warm smile.
"You're too kind. Please, have a seat," Yang Wendong replied with a smile of his own.
Once the three men were seated, Huo Yingdong continued, "Mr. Yang, Mr. Ding wasn't just being polite — your name is already known to quite a few people on the mainland."
"Well, I'm honored to hear that," Yang Wendong said, still smiling.
Even in this era of limited contact between the mainland and the outside world, there were always outward-facing departments — foreign affairs officials, trade personnel, and so on. After all, many things still had to be imported from overseas.
At this time, Hong Kong was a vital window for the mainland to interact with the outside world — one of the key reasons behind Hong Kong's prosperity.
In this context, whatever happened in Hong Kong naturally received the attention of those across the border.
Huo Yingdong added, "Mr. Yang, Mr. Ding here is part of China Resources' management. He's a businessman, not a political figure. China Resources cooperates with many companies in Hong Kong, including British firms and even the colonial government. So this kind of meeting is completely normal."
"I understand." Yang Wendong nodded.
This was Huo's way of putting him at ease. During this era, political affiliations — leaning left or right — could cause serious headaches. One careless move, and you might end up offending the wrong side.
Generally speaking, as long as one didn't lean too far in either direction, things would be fine. Huo himself had continued to do business in Hong Kong even after the major political shifts. The colonial government didn't interfere until 1967, when he publicly clashed with them.
"That's good," Huo said with a smile. "We're here today mainly to discuss the antiquities deal we talked about before."
"Of course." Yang Wendong was more than happy to proceed. The museum he planned wasn't about making money or hoarding real estate. It was about leaving a legacy.
If the museum was completed, then someday in the future, when students visited, the first thing they'd see would be an introduction to him, the founder.
History was only preserved through things like this. No matter how successful a businessman might be, his legacy would fade. Take the Ho Tung family — rulers of Chinese commerce in the 1930s and 40s, still well-known in the 60s and 70s — but by the 21st century, how many people remembered them?
But museums, universities, and libraries — these were passed down generation after generation. Even if the buildings became too old and needed to be rebuilt, the historical record would always begin with the original founder.
Ding Kejian said, "Mr. Yang, the people above are very interested in your museum project. They're willing to explore cooperation regarding certain antiques."
"What kind of cooperation?" Yang Wendong asked.
Instead of answering directly, Ding asked a question of his own. "Mr. Yang, you previously mentioned to Mr. Huo that you're open to either purchasing or renting antiques from the mainland?"
"That's right," Yang Wendong nodded.
A museum naturally needed a collection of its own. But to attract repeat visitors long-term, it also needed to rotate exhibits regularly.
So, a mix of ownership and leasing was necessary — just like any service business. If he hadn't known the future of Hong Kong, he might never have insisted on fully owning supermarket properties either.
Ding Kejian continued, "In that case, since leasing is involved, your museum's environment must be certified by our cultural relic experts."
"I have a better idea." Yang Wendong smiled. "There's hardly any local talent in Hong Kong specializing in artifact preservation. Since the antiques can be leased, why not lease the caretakers too?"
"You want to rent people?" Ding was taken aback. He hadn't considered that.
"Yes. We don't have anyone on our side," Yang Wendong explained. "Wouldn't it be better to have your own experts maintain your own artifacts?
Otherwise, I'd have to hire overseas specialists — and first, they may not understand Chinese relics, especially calligraphy and paintings.
Second, their fees are extremely high. Wouldn't it be better if part of that money went to experts from the mainland instead?"
"You'd be paying our people in foreign currency?" Ding was now clearly interested.
The mainland was facing a severe shortage of foreign exchange. With it, they could buy grain — one of the top three priorities nationwide at the time.
"Yes," Yang Wendong nodded. "They'd be working in Hong Kong, so of course, they'd be paid in Hong Kong dollars — or U.S. dollars if they prefer. They could always convert it at the bank."
Realistically, it would be difficult to recruit the right talent from Europe or America and bring them to Hong Kong. These were high-end professionals.
And the rarer the talent, the harder it was to convince them to leave their countries — especially since, in this era, Hong Kong still lagged far behind the West.
The most critical issue was that those overseas experts might not even be competent enough, because Chinese antiquities were entirely different from foreign ones. If they spent a large sum only for someone to mishandle and damage the artifact, the loss would be enormous.
Ding Kejian snapped back to attention and said, "I'll need to report this matter upwards. I can't make this decision on my own."
He then took out a small notebook he carried with him and made a note of it.
"Alright," Yang Wendong nodded.
There was no reason for the mainland to object to this idea. From Yang Wendong's perspective, it was a way to reduce risk — effectively outsourcing transportation and preservation to the mainland. If any leased artifact were to be damaged, responsibility would naturally fall on their side.
With benefits came responsibilities. If they took foreign currency, they had to assume full responsibility as well.
Ding Kejian continued, "Now let's move to the second matter — regarding the specific selection of antiques for leasing. That can be discussed later. As for the antiques Mr. Yang wishes to purchase, we will prepare a list, and you can select from there."
"But…" he hesitated.
"But what? Don't hold back, just say it," Yang Wendong offered him a way out upon seeing his troubled expression.
At that moment, Huo Yingdong chimed in from the side, "Mr. Yang, here's the situation — you're aware of the current circumstances on the mainland. There's an urgent need for foreign exchange. So, we're hoping you can purchase more antiques from the mainland during this early phase of cooperation."
"And how will the prices for these antiques be determined?" Yang Wendong didn't respond directly to the request.
Ding Kejian said, "You needn't worry, Mr. Yang. While some of the antiques are one-of-a-kind, there are similar items from the same era in markets across Hong Kong and overseas. We can use those as reference points for pricing."
Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Gentlemen, I'm fine with making some purchases. But my funds are limited, and I'll only buy the amount necessary for the museum's operations."
While he was sympathetic to the mainland's needs, he wasn't an antique fanatic like Zhao Congyan. Buying too many would be pointless. Moderation was key.
In reality, most museums around the world operated primarily through leases. Only a small portion of their collections were self-owned.
If the museum were run as a standard business, then it could even take loans to fund the project. But outright purchases of antiques had to be paid for in full — with his own money.
Granted, these antiques were bound to appreciate in value over time, but their returns couldn't compare to his regular business operations. Moreover, only a small number of antiques were truly liquid. Like Bitcoin in his previous life — the more you hoarded, the harder it became to cash out.
"I understand." Ding Kejian recognized that his earlier request had been a bit unreasonable.
Then Huo Yingdong added, "Actually, there might be another solution."
"What solution?" Yang Wendong looked at him with interest. Huo was a sharp man — clearly, he'd already thought ahead.
Huo replied, "Zhao Congyan approached me recently. He had an interesting idea."
"What's his proposal?" Yang Wendong asked.
Huo explained, "Zhao Congyan is willing to buy more antiques from the mainland, but he wants them displayed in your future museum. The only condition is that these items must be labeled as his."
"He just wants to show off?" Yang Wendong laughed.
It wasn't surprising. Some people, after acquiring a valuable treasure, couldn't wait to flaunt it to the world, hoping to stir up admiration and envy.
Huo continued, "Zhao Congyan is obsessed with antiques. He used to hold private exhibitions just to show off his collection, but none of us were really interested. And he couldn't invite the general public. With a museum now in the works, he finally has the perfect platform."
"Alright." Yang Wendong thought it over and agreed. "But as for the specifics of the collaboration, I'll have to discuss them with him directly."
This was actually a good opportunity. Museums often leased paintings and calligraphy. Now someone was actively offering his own collection for display — even if not for free, it gave Yang the upper hand in negotiations.
After all, it was his museum. He decided which antiques to exhibit. If Zhao wanted visibility, he'd have to play by Yang's rules — and at a fair price.
"Excellent," Huo Yingdong smiled.
"Thank you, Mr. Yang," said Ding Kejian.
"No need to thank me. This way, everyone benefits," Yang Wendong chuckled.
The mainland would receive foreign exchange through Zhao Congyan, Zhao would gain the glory of showcasing his collection, and Yang would save on rental costs. Everyone won.
Ding then said, "As for the museum and the antiques, we can consider today's discussion a rough framework. But regarding China Resources' cooperation with Changxing Shipping — that's something I hope we can finalize soon.
Right now, the domestic demand for grain is extremely high. Several Western countries are willing to sell, but there's still a bottleneck when it comes to transportation."
"No problem." Yang Wendong nodded and then signaled his assistant.
Not long after, Zheng Yuhua arrived.
"Mr. Ding, nice to see you," she said.
"Ms. Zhao, a pleasure," Ding Kejian stood to shake her hand.
Clearly, the two of them already knew each other.
Yang Wendong asked, "When will the second-hand ships we purchased arrive in Hong Kong?"
Zheng Yuhua responded, "The three cargo ships we bought from Australia will arrive in a few days. The thirteen from Europe are expected in early April. As for the three from the Americas, they should arrive around the same time."
"Good, that's pretty fast." Yang Wendong nodded. "On our return voyages from Europe and America, we'll be transporting grain. If there are no issues with the freight pricing, we can go ahead and finalize the deal."
"The pricing has already been worked out," Zheng Yuhua paused, then added, "But the mainland has requested that the transaction be done in gold bullion. The issue lies in the purity — there's too much inconsistency in the domestic supply, making rapid transactions difficult."
"Gold purity?" Yang Wendong frowned. "Mr. Ding, gold is a universal hard currency. Why not sell it on the Hong Kong market and convert it to foreign currency? You must understand, for ordinary businesses like ours, it's difficult to verify gold purity."
Gold was a natural currency, but it wasn't convenient for everyday transactions. After the Industrial Revolution, global trade volumes increased dramatically, prompting the widespread adoption of fiat currencies backed by national credit.
"This isn't my decision to make," Ding said with a helpless look.
Huo Yingdong added, "I've heard about this. The mainland doesn't want to sell too much gold on the open market at once, since it might cause a drop in price. That's why they're hoping some partners can accept gold directly, to avoid that risk."
Yang Wendong said, "If this were a government-to-government transaction, gold would be fine. Most countries have the facilities to authenticate it. But for us private companies, it's not viable.
Mr. Ding, for our deals, we need to stick to monetary currencies — Hong Kong dollars or U.S. dollars, either works. If needed, your side can convert the gold into currency through other nations."
Even though he was cooperating with the mainland, certain principles had to be firmly upheld.
Gold remained relatively stable through the mid-1970s. But having large quantities of it in his possession wouldn't do him any good — and even if he wanted to speculate on it, he didn't need to physically own it.
Too much gold on hand could even become a personal safety hazard. That was non-negotiable.
"Alright. We won't proceed with a gold-based transaction then," Ding Kejian conceded, seeing that Yang Wendong was firm on the matter.
In truth, this hadn't been a mandatory condition — the mainland simply hoped that some partners might accept gold, as a way to reduce the cost and complexity of foreign exchange conversion.
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