Hong Kong Island: From a small stall to a global supplier

Chapter 180: Difficulty Going North

On the way back, Ajie suddenly asked, "Brother Yao, didn't you say that it's cheaper to build a factory in the north? Why don't you do it there?"

Speaking of this, Wang Yaotang sighed heavily, "Four Eyes, you say."

"Hmm? Is there any hidden story?" Ajie suddenly became interested.

"The conditions given by the northern authorities are indeed very good, and they are very cooperative, but when we really started operating, we found that there were quite a lot of troubles. No wonder there are so few people opening factories there even though the cost of workers is dozens of times lower, just across the water." Four Eyes also sighed, "Do you know about the trade union?"

"Yes, I know. The Bankers' Association, the Bar Association, and the Accountants' Association."

"You mean 'guild', the public one. I mean 'labor union', the workers' one." The bespectacled boy shook his head. "Let's put it this way. All factories in the north must have labor unions. They represent all workers and are a group that stands up for the workers."

"Club?" Ajie asked.

"Uh... the first society in Hong Kong." Wang Yaotang gave an answer.

"When we were in the New Territories, the qualification rate of the garment factory's products was around 98%. After we moved to Shekou, it dropped to 88%." Bespectacled Man sighed again.

"Is there such a big difference? Are the workers over there not working properly?" Ajie frowned.

"Not really..." Four Eyes explained, "The workers produce quite a lot every day, but there are always problems with the quality. There are many problems with the details, such as crooked lines, large dimensional tolerances, uneven cutting, etc."

"Salary deduction."

"When wages are deducted, the workers will complain to the union." The bespectacled boy spread his hands. "According to them, the tolerance is just a little over one centimeter, and the stitching is a little crooked, but it doesn't affect the wearer. Why should they deduct wages? They say we are capitalists who deliberately deduct wages from workers and should be overthrown. The key is that the union members also think there is no problem and wages should not be deducted."

"Ah?" Ajie looked incredulous. "No, it's obviously the workers' fault. They wasted so much stuff, and you're accusing us of skimping on it!"

"The workers in the north are very capable. Do you think the workers in Hong Kong are so weak and just do whatever the boss says? The workers are the ones who make the decisions." The bespectacled man shook his head. "The workers pointed at the people we sent over and cursed them. The factory manager and the quality inspection manager were almost beaten up several times."

"This, this, this... No, why?" Ajie didn't understand and was shocked.

"Let me give you an example," Wang Yaotang said with a smile, "A car door produced by a Shanghai car factory was slightly deformed. After installation, it did not close tightly and there was a gap of about one centimeter. What should we do at this time?"

"Redo it." Ajie said as a matter of course.

"Rebuild it?" Wang Yaotang curled his lips. "Hedonism, capitalism, there are still many people in the country who don't have enough to eat. Rebuilding it just because it's just a little bit short is a waste of national resources. Whoever dares to make such a decision will be reported by the workers in a letter and will be investigated. In this case, as long as it can still be used, just install it and sell it."

"No...what is hedonism?" Ajie looked incredulous, "Can this still be sold?"

“The problem is, it really works, and people who buy it don’t think there’s a problem with it.” Wang Yaotang spread his hands.

"Ha." Ajie didn't know what to say for a moment.

"Companies in the north are all state-owned and collective, not individual. Their thinking is completely opposite to ours. A salary of 100 yuan means you still owe the company money after working for a month. It is simply unrealistic to strictly control quality issues now." Wang Yaotang sighed, "Let's wait a little longer. At present, only industries with relatively low quality requirements are suitable for transfer."

"Sure enough, doing business is difficult." Ajie sighed.

"Nonsense, it's simple and anyone can make money." The bespectacled guy laughed.

"Forget it, let's not talk about this. Has the equipment arrived?" Wang Yaotang looked at Siyanzai.

"It's here. I'll arrange for someone to pick it up and send it to Changrong tomorrow, but the Panasonic engineer won't arrive until the day after tomorrow." said Four Eyes.

"Okay, remind me the day after tomorrow and I'll go take a look."

"The film hasn't been shot yet, right?" Ajie turned his head and asked.

"The film is shot quickly and can be completed in one day."

"A day? It takes that long?" Ajie blinked. "Shouldn't it be 60 minutes? Can the male lead hold on?"

"We have to shoot for a whole day because we can't hold on any longer!" After Wang Yaotang said this, several people burst into laughter.

"Isn't one day too fast? A 60-minute film must be shot for at least 90 minutes. Will it break down if it's hard for so long?" Sha Ze turned his head and asked.

"Hey, Aze, are you impotent at such a young age? An hour and a half is easy enough." Ajie said loudly.

"Wow, Brother Jie, what medicine did you use? Please introduce it to me."

"What kind of medicine is this? It's very powerful."

Shaze turned his head away, a look of disbelief on his face.

"Why, you want to see it?"

"Okay!" Sha Ze responded.

"Forget it. You know too much. Be careful or Ajie will kill you to silence you." The bespectacled boy laughed and tried to sabotage.

"I poked your mouth first!" Ajie reached out to hit him.

"And you still say you're not gay, damn it!"

"Brother Yao, which one, which one..." Shaze turned around with a silly smile on his face.

"Watch the road!" Wang Yaotang patted his hand, "If you have anything to say, just say it."

"Isn't the heroine in that film very beautiful?"

"Hey, what do you mean? You want to be the male lead?" Wang Yaotang smiled.

"Haha, I just want to try it."

"Sure." Wang Yaotang agreed immediately.

"Really?" Shaze looked surprised.

"of course."

Ajie looked at Shaze, then at Wang Yaotang. He agreed so quickly, there must be something wrong! Just now he was thinking of saying that he would be the male lead, but now he is ready to wait and see.

……

At the same time, on a big bed in a hotel, Wang Jing leaned against the headboard, took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep puff.

Bei Ruhua rested her head on Wang Jing's chest and said, "The movie is finished. When will the next part be released?"

"The next part..." Wang Jing gently touched Bei Ruhua's smooth back, "I won't hide it from you, there is indeed a film to be filmed, and we are still short of a leading actress."

"Really." Bei Ruhua sat up suddenly, the quilt slipped off her body, and looked at Wang Jing with surprise, "Can I... well, the second or third female role is also fine."

"You are qualified to compete for the leading actress, and the boss of this film said that he would pay the leading actress 20 yuan." Wang Jing said with a smile, squinting his eyes.

"Why is it so much? Even Cherie Chung can't get such a high pay." Bei Ruhua was very surprised.

“This film is a little bit special.”

"how?"

"This is what this film is about." Wang Jing said with a smile.

Bei Ruhua blinked and suddenly realized, "What did you say? Shoot, shoot, shoot this?"

"Yes, the whole time."

Bei Ruhua's first reaction was, "Can this be shown?"

"It won't be shown in theaters. The whole film is 60 minutes long and will be played on videotape."

Although Bei Ruhua has only played supporting roles a few times, she is also a film and television practitioner and has seen a VCR recording site.

"20, will you act?" Wang Jing said softly, "It's very hard for you to become famous with your conditions, you know that yourself. Acting is an alternative path, and you can make a movie in a day or two. Have you ever thought about how many you can make in a year?"

"The first time this kind of film was available, the boss offered a whopping price of 20 yuan. The next time it was 5 yuan."

Bei Ruhua's expression kept changing. She was a minor supporting actress, and she had to rely on doing odd jobs on the set to make ends meet. She lived in a pigeon cage, and she wanted to work as a prostitute in a nightclub so many times. After all, even if she acted, she had to sleep with people...

"Can you not show your face?"

"Put on makeup and go on camera. Do you really think you are as beautiful as you look on camera?" Wang Jing said unhappily.

"I... will think about it." Bei Ruhua lowered her head.

"Do you know how many prostitutes there are in Hong Kong? They can't even make that much in a year. There are many prettier ones. Do you know how many people want to take photos of them?"

"Work for a year and you can earn millions. Life is good when you have money. Without money, well, you know."

"Several million, do you understand what that means?"

"This...that, that." Bei Ruhua lowered her head, tears dripping down her face.

"Oh, whatever you want." Wang Jing waved his hands irritably. "Brother Yao has hundreds of girls in his stable. You can pick any one and take a photo. I'm telling you this for your own good."

As he said that, he threw back the quilt, got out of bed, went to the sofa, picked up his pants and put them on.

"Wait a minute..." Bei Ruhua pounced on him.

……

The car stopped downstairs of the TVB building. Wang Yaotang pushed the door and got out of the car, "Brother Liang."

"Ayao." Liang Naipeng extended his hand, and the two shook hands. After a few pleasantries, "Mr. Shao is here. Let's go upstairs."

"Okay." Wang Yaotang took a step forward and followed.

After coming out of the elevator, he walked to Fang Yihua's office and greeted the secretary. The secretary immediately stood up and knocked on the door, "Mr. Fang, Manager Liang is here with a guest."

He opened the door and gestured for someone to come in.

Wang Yaotang straightened his clothes and walked in. He glanced around and saw a thin old man with a bald head and glasses in the room. Next to him sat a woman with short hair, red lips and high cheekbones.

A thought flashed through my mind: Fang Yihua is not pretty either.

"Chairman, Mr. Fang, this is Mr. Wang Yaotang," Liang Naipeng introduced.

"Mr. Shao, Ms. Fang, good afternoon." Wang Yaotang said with a smile.

Uncle Shao stood up. He was 74 years old, but his steps looked quite brisk. He extended his hand and said with a smile, "Wang Yaotang, I've heard of you. You have built such a great business at such a young age. Your future is limitless."

"Those things involving fighting and killing have polluted Mr. Shao's ears." Wang Yaotang said self-deprecatingly.

"You can't say that. When I was working in Southeast Asia, I encountered a lot of things like this. Everyone has gone through this step by step." Uncle Shao smiled and patted Wang Yaotang's hand.

"Mr. Shao's half life is the history of Chinese cinema. How dare I, a humble person, compare myself with him?"

"Hahaha, you are too self-deprecating." Uncle Shao looked Wang Yaotang up and down. He was very young, came from a society, but made a name for himself in the clothing industry. He was a very interesting young man.

They talked about the club for a while. Uncle Shao Liu had dealt with Ti Gudong several times.

"I have set up a Yaoguang Audio and Video Company, whose main business is videotape production. The purpose of my visit this time is to purchase the copyrights of film and television videotapes from Shaw Brothers and TVB. I wonder what Uncle Six thinks?" Wang Yaotang said with a smile.

"A Yao, TVB and Shaw Brothers are going to operate and distribute the copyright of the videotapes ourselves. We have no plans to sell it for the time being." Fang Yihua finally spoke.

Uncle Shao lowered his head, picked up the teacup and sipped the tea slowly.

(End of this chapter)