Soul Returns to Hong Kong: From Tailor Shop to Richest Woman

After returning to Kadoorie Hill after the Lunar New Year, life returned to its normal rhythm. Lin Ying completely forgot about her grandfather urging her to get married, and her daily schedule was packed. She had no time to think about blind dates.

In mid-February, Chen Guodong arranged to come to Kadoorie Hill to report on his work.

After entering his study, he placed two documents on the table: one was a supplementary survey on the television industry, and the other was a record of his talent contacts compiled over two weeks.

"Miss Lin, let me be honest with you about talent."

Chen Guodong flipped the contact record to the first page, which was filled with more than a dozen names, each followed by a note.

Lin Ying picked up the report and looked at it. The three words that appeared most often in the remarks column were: No response.

"I called each of the six key candidates, some through intermediaries, and some in person; but... not one of them was willing to come."

"What's the reason?"

"The reasons are varied, but they all boil down to one sentence: Who are you? People are doing well in big factories, with permanent positions, benefits, and dormitories. Technical backbone staff earn at least 80,000 to 100,000 yuan a year with bonuses; I went to them and said a Hong Kong boss wanted to make TVs, and his first question was: Where is the factory?"

Lin Ying gestured for him to continue.

"I couldn't answer that; then they asked the second question, 'How much is your registered capital?' I couldn't answer that either. The third question was even more direct: 'Do you have a production line? Do you have a research and development center? Do you have prototypes?'"

Chen Guodong closed the file. "Ms. Lin, my biggest takeaway from this trip is that trying to poach talent now is practically like trying to get something for nothing. It's not that they don't want to come, it's that they think we're unreliable. If I were them, I wouldn't come either."

Lin Ying: "You mean, let's build the shell first?"

"Yes." Chen Guodong pulled out a third document from his briefcase. "This is what I compiled after I went to Bao'an District in Shenzhen last week to take a site visit."

Lin Ying took it and opened it. It was a summary of land information, with several photos attached. It showed wasteland, weeds, and a provincial highway next to it.

"There are a batch of industrial land plots in Bao'an that are currently open for investment, and the policies are very good." Chen Guodong pointed to a line of text highlighted in red on the document, "Hong Kong-funded enterprises can enjoy preferential treatment when investing there. The land use rights are for fifty years, and a plot of 100 mu (approximately 6.7 hectares) will cost about three million RMB."

"One hundred acres?" Lin Ying looked up at him.

"I've measured it out. If we're only making TVs, fifty acres is enough. But I remember you mentioned before that we might not only make TVs in the future. If we add other home appliance categories later, fifty acres definitely won't be enough to expand. If we buy land next door then, the price won't be the same as it is now."

Lin Ying looked down at the hand-drawn map in the document. The location was indeed good, right next to the provincial highway and not far from the port.

"What are the plans after buying 100 acres?"

Chen Guodong had obviously thought about this problem before, and took out another hand-drawn sketch from his bag;

"Build an office building on the east side, six stories will be enough, to house administration, finance, and human resources. Build employee dormitories behind the office building, with a capacity of at least 500 people; leave the large open space on the west side for production plants, build two buildings first, and add more later according to production capacity needs."

He pointed to a blank area in the middle of the sketch, saying, "I suggest you leave this area as a research and development center."

"Research and development center?"

"Yes, aren't you a graduate of Cambridge and USTC? Your technical foundation is there for all to see. Having your own R&D center will make you more convincing when recruiting people. When the technical backbone sees the lab, they'll know that this company is serious about technology. Secondly, whether we make TVs or other home appliances in the future, we need to keep the core technologies in our own hands."

Lin Ying took the sketch and looked at it carefully, quite satisfied: "You've thought ahead."

"This isn't me being far-sighted; it's a lesson I learned from Yung-Feng. Yung-Feng exported electronic products for ten years, always doing OEM manufacturing for others, with all the profits going to the brand owners. Later, when those brands stopped working with us and moved to a cheaper factory, Yung-Feng couldn't even produce its own products and simply went out of business."

Lin Ying placed the sketch on the table and asked him, "Have you looked into the company registration process?"

"I've looked into it." Chen Guodong turned to the last page of the document. "For Hong Kong companies to invest in and build factories in the mainland, they first need to register a parent company in Hong Kong, and then set up a subsidiary in the mainland under the name of the parent company. The mainland requires paid-in registered capital."

"How many?"

"According to Bao'an's current investment promotion policies, Hong Kong-funded enterprises must have a paid-in registered capital of at least 100 million RMB..."

When Chen Guodong said the number, he specifically glanced at Lin Ying, afraid that she might think it was too much.

Lin Ying's expression remained unchanged: "One hundred million, to be transferred to the company account?"

"Yes, and it has to be in place before the land is acquired; the business registration authority will verify the cash flow, it's not just a formality."

Last year, the mobile phone dividend reached 12 million, and this year, with production capacity doubling, the dividend will only be higher; not to mention the accounts managed by Claire in the US stock market.

"Mr. Chen, I agree with everything you've said; one hundred acres, I'll buy it."

Chen Guodong nodded and noted it down. He had gotten used to working with Lin Ying for the past few months. This boss made decisions quickly and without being impulsive.

"After the land is purchased, whose name will be listed as the legal representative of the company?" Chen Guodong asked a crucial question.

"you."

Chen Guodong was stunned for a moment.

"As I told you before, my position is rather special, and it's inconvenient for me to act as the legal representative in mainland China. You are a professional manager, so you can be the nominal legal representative, and you will be responsible for the daily operations and management."

Chen Guodong thought for a moment and said, "Ms. Lin, the responsibilities of a legal representative are considerable. Since I'm in this position, the boundaries of my rights and responsibilities need to be clearly defined beforehand."

"Don't worry, Attorney Shen will draft all the contract terms. You'll be the legal representative, and all the shares will be in my name. It will all be clearly stated in the articles of association, and I won't shortchange you on your salary."

"Where's the official seal?"

"You keep the seal initially, but once the company is officially on track, I will keep it and it won't be with you anymore."

Chen Guodong nodded: "I understand, that's the right thing to do."

Lin Ying felt it was better to be clear about some things: "It's not that I don't trust you, but having the company seal in the hands of a professional manager is a burden for you; if any disputes arise in the future, it's better for everyone if you can clearly state your responsibilities."

Chen Guodong stood up and said solemnly, "Thank you for your trust, Miss Lin."

"No need to thank me, just get the job done."

Lin Ying put down her teacup, indicating that the discussion was over. "We'll start working on the land deal this week. Attorney Shen and the accounting firm will fully cooperate with you."

Chen Guodong and Lin Ying chatted for another half hour. Feeling that it was about time, they put the documents into their bags, got up, and said goodbye.

The footsteps in the corridor gradually faded away. Lin Ying leaned back in her chair and looked down as she flipped through the land estimate sheet several times.

Three million, one hundred acres, fifty years.

Buying the land is our foundation, building the buildings is our prestige, and the research center is our future confidence; once this framework is in place, we can add whatever we need later—TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, one by one.

She folded the estimate sheet neatly and pressed it into the bottom layer of the folder.

Lin Qian then knocked on the study door: "Sis, what do you want to eat tonight?"

"You decide for yourself, don't ask me."

Lin Qian turned and shouted down the corridor, "Old Dou! Aren't you taking care of your daughter?!"

He Dazhu's voice came from the kitchen: "Then come and help me chop the vegetables! I brought you back to live here so you could be my assistant, saving your sister from wanting to hire a Filipino maid all the time. You're much better than me."