Rebirth in Hong Kong: From Dessert Shop to Industrial Empire

Chapter 75 The Silver Bullet Unleashed (Third update of 10,000 words per day! Please vote with your monthly tickets and recommendations!)

For the next hour or so, Gao Zhenhai and Zhong Qiang led their technical team in conducting extremely meticulous testing of the entire production line.

Efficiency of circuitry, transmission systems, vacuum pumps, and heating systems.
Huang Yongfu stood nervously to the side, his forehead covered in a fine layer of sweat, occasionally explaining something to Zhong Qiang.

Chen Bingwen remained calm throughout, standing aside and observing.

"Boss," Zhong Qiang said, walking up to Chen Bingwen after the inspection, his voice low so that only the two of them could hear, "the preliminary assessment is that it is indeed a Sacmi HGF-3000. The core filling head, capping machine, and vacuum degassing tank are all in good condition and functional. No major damage has been found."

The main problems are: the control system is outdated, relying primarily on manual adjustments for precision, which reduces speed; some piping is aging, and many seals need replacement; additionally, it lacks a matching bottle cap sterilization channel and cooling tunnel, which we need to install ourselves – these are significant drawbacks.

Chen Bingwen asked calmly, "What is your estimate for the renovation period and the expected production capacity?"

Zhong Qiang quickly calculated in his mind and said, "As long as the funds are in place, the procurement of spare parts will follow!"

"We can start trial production in a week, then optimize and refine it for another week. Reaching a stable daily production capacity of 45,000 to 50,000 bottles within a month is absolutely no problem!"

Daily production of 45,000 to 50,000 bottles!
Upon hearing this number, Chen Bingwen finally felt relieved.

The machine is fine; all that's left is to negotiate the price.

"Mr. Huang, I have a good understanding of the equipment's condition."

Now, let's talk about something practical.

Let's be frank about the factory's debts, employees, landlord, and all its assets.

I'm on a tight schedule. If your quote and questions are within my acceptable range, we can sign a letter of intent today, and begin due diligence, payment, and handover tomorrow.

If that doesn't work, I'll go to Kwai Chung instead.

Huang Yongfu hurriedly pulled a large stack of documents from his briefcase and explained, "Boss Chen! You...you're such a straightforward person! I...I would never dare to hide anything!"

He frantically flipped through the documents. "This is the bank mortgage contract, with a loan of 300,000 yuan remaining. This is the main supplier's outstanding payment slip, about 100,000 yuan. The factory is rented, the contract has five years remaining, the workers are owed three months' wages, about 80,000 yuan, and the equipment..."

Chen Bingwen didn't even glance at those debt documents for a second longer; the authenticity of these documents was naturally handled by accountants and lawyers.

His purpose in asking these questions was simply to put psychological pressure on Huang Yongfu: "Boss Huang, give me a price! Including all the burdens you want to get rid of!"
Remember, I bought a production line that can be started immediately.

Those scrap metal, paper debts, and worker resettlement issues are the troubles you need to sort out.

My cash is only enough to pay the value of the production capacity and the cost of your liquidation troubles!

In his previous life, Chen Bingwen, as an investment banking manager, mastered the essence of asset acquisitions and mergers and acquisitions, which was:

Divest non-core assets and acquire only core value!
As for those "troubles," just pay professionals to clean them up and crush them with the power of capital!
Huang Yongfu glanced at the excessively young yet imposing boss before him, then at Gao Zhenhai, Zhong Qiang, and the others standing beside him, gritted his teeth, and announced his bottom line:

"Mr. Chen, all of this...all of it adds up to five or five hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars? Five or five hundred thousand!"
Take it! Debts, workers... I'll take care of it all! You can use it right away.

Upon hearing Huang Yongfu quote "HK$500,000," Gao Zhenhai frowned and subconsciously looked at Chen Bingwen.

The equipment is so old, yet it's still being sold for 500,000 yuan. Mr. Huang must be obsessed with money!
Chen Bingwen showed no anger on his face, but instead revealed a smile of understanding.

He knew all too well Huang Yongfu's mindset at that moment: a small business owner crushed by debt, eager to get rid of his business but afraid of selling at a loss.

When desperately grasping at the last straw, one instinctively quotes a price higher than expected, leaving room for negotiation, or perhaps hoping for a miracle.

“Boss Huang,” Chen Bingwen walked slowly to the old Sacmi production line, his fingers gently brushing over the worn control panel, but his eyes were on Huang Yongfu: “The core value of this line is not that it was worth 600,000 two years ago, nor is it how much residual value it has after depreciation on the books now.”

Its value lies in its ability to consistently produce 50,000 bottles of sugar water for me every day for a month.

He paused for a moment, then continued, "To realize this value, we will need to invest at least HK$150,000 to HK$200,000 in renovations and upgrades, replacing seals, transmission chains, and control systems, and adding bottle cap sterilization and cooling systems."

These are all real costs.

“Alright then, Mr. Huang,” Chen Bingwen changed the subject, “the total price for the package is HK$450,000.”

This includes your existing equipment, inventory, factory leases, and intangible assets such as business names.

After saying that, he raised his hand to stop Huang Yongfu from speaking, and continued, "Boss Huang, 450,000 yuan in cash will allow you to get away cleanly."

What we value is that production line that can be put into operation.

My offer only covers the core value.

He paused, then added, "As for the others, they are not within my consideration."

The moment Chen Bingwen finished speaking, the entire workshop fell into a subtle silence.

Huang Yongfu's face paled slightly, his lips trembled, and his gaze shifted back and forth between Chen Bingwen's calm face and the production line.

Four hundred and fifty thousand, fifty thousand less than the fifty thousand he had reluctantly agreed to, but that fifty thousand might be the key to whether he could completely escape the quagmire of debt.

"Boss Chen," Huang Yongfu said in a trembling voice, trying to make a last-ditch effort, "This equipment cost more than 600,000 yuan back then. Even if it depreciates a lot, the core is still there!"

"And this factory has a five-year lease, and the location..."

“Mr. Huang,” Chen Bingwen interrupted him, “the market only recognizes the value at the moment.”

Your equipment requires an investment of 150,000 to 200,000 yuan to be usable by me; this is a fixed cost.

Four hundred and fifty thousand is the fair value it can create for me right now.

As for the lease and location, they are icing on the cake for me, not a necessity. I'm buying capacity that can be operational immediately, not future possibilities.

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the somewhat dilapidated workshop before finally settling on Huang Yongfu's face: "This deal is a way out for you; for me, it's a race against time. I respect your assets and understand your difficulties."

But this is my bottom line. Okay, let's sign a letter of intent today, my team will immediately begin due diligence, and we'll complete the transaction within a week, with cash payment.

No, I need to go to Kwai Chung right away to check out the next place. Time is precious for both of us.

The last sentence, "Time is precious," struck Huang Yongfu's heart like a heavy hammer.

He glanced at Chen Bingwen, then at his own dusty, bleak factory, and a wave of exhaustion and helplessness washed over him.

He understood that he had neither the leverage nor the time to bargain.

“…Fine!” Huang Yongfu gritted his teeth, as if using all his strength. “Four hundred and fifty thousand!”
"Do as Boss Chen says! I...I'll take responsibility for settling the debts and laying off the workers!"

“A wise choice.” Chen Bingwen extended his hand and shook hands firmly with Huang Yongfu.

The acquisition of the Sha Tin Wing Fook factory has been finalized, but the real test has only just begun.

The acquisition only gave them a head start; the key to victory lies in whether they can transform and upgrade Yongfu Factory, this old machine, into real combat power in the shortest possible time.

Under Zhong Qiang's leadership, the renovation plan was developed with astonishing efficiency.

The core filling and capping modules of the Sacmi hot filling host are retained; the outdated control system is completely replaced; and an independent bottle cap UV sterilization channel and a high-efficiency water-cooling tunnel are added to ensure aseptic filling and rapid cooling.

The entire renovation budget was kept under HK$180,000, and the construction period was reduced to seven days.

"Boss, we've already contacted suppliers for the PLC control system and the new transmission components, and they're being shipped urgently. They'll arrive at the port within three days."

We have some spare parts for seals and piping that we can use in our factory.

Zhong Qiang pointed to the blueprints and explained quickly, "The difficulty lies in the sterilization of the bottle caps and the customized installation of the cooling tunnel. We need to find a professional factory, and it will take at least five days."

"Give them more money! Make them work in three shifts, so the machines never stop running."

Without hesitation, Chen Bingwen instructed, "Ahai, you will personally oversee the installation progress and resolve any issues on-site."

Brother Qiang, you are in charge of debugging the core filling module and training the workers.

I want to see this production line consistently producing at least 3,000 qualified bottles per hour in ten days!

"Understood!" Gao Zhenhai and Zhong Qiang replied in unison.

For the next seven days, the Wing Fook Factory in Sha Tin became a place where no one slept.

Gao Zhenhai practically lived and worked at the factory, coordinating various suppliers and installation teams.

Zhong Qiang, along with elite technicians transferred from Kwun Tong, carried out in-depth maintenance and debugging of the remaining Sacmi bottling machines, while also urgently training newly recruited local workers.

On the evening of the seventh day, the renovation entered its final sprint.

Chen Bingwen personally came to the Shatin factory to oversee operations.

The workshop was brightly lit, and the air was filled with the metallic smell of new equipment and a faint scent of disinfectant.

"Initiate full-line coordinated testing!" Zhong Qiang ordered, his voice tinged with tension.

Seven days and seven nights of hard work, success or failure hinges on this moment!
The motor hummed softly, and the conveyor belt slowly started moving.

After being cleaned and disinfected, the glass bottles lined up neatly and entered the filling area. The piping hot mango pomelo sago was precisely poured in, the capping machine neatly sealed the bottles, the caps were sterilized through the ultraviolet channel, and finally entered the water-cooling tunnel for rapid cooling.

Bottles of crystal-clear finished products, covered with condensation droplets, are filed out.

"Filling accuracy meets standards!"

"Vacuum level is stable!"

"Cap torque is within acceptable limits!"

"Cooling temperature meets the standard!"

"The label fits perfectly!"

Reports rang out one after another, like victory announcements on a battlefield.

Zhong Qiang stared intently at the various parameters jumping on the instrument, while Gao Zhenhai carefully inspected the bottle cap seals and label fits of the freshly produced products.

"Report! The first batch of 1000 bottles tested has a pass rate of 99.8%!"

The quality inspector reported loudly, his voice filled with excitement.

Zhong Qiang let out a long sigh of relief and patted the technician next to him on the shoulder forcefully.

Chen Bingwen stepped forward, picked up a bottle of mango pomelo sago, unscrewed the cap, and a rich mango aroma wafted out.

He took a bite; it was cool, sweet, and had a smooth texture, just like the products from the Kwun Tong factory.

"Great!" Chen Bingwen announced happily, "We'll start preparing materials tomorrow! The Shatin plant will officially start production the day after tomorrow morning!"
The goal is to produce 50,000 bottles per day!

(End of this chapter)