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

After leaving Taichang, Lin Ying was in a pretty good mood as she drove back to Kadoorie Hill.

The car smoothly pulled into the garage, and just as Lin Ying pulled the handbrake, her cell phone, which was on the passenger seat, rang.

It was a call from Chen Guodong.

"Ms. Lin, the preliminary year-end financial settlement data is ready." There was some background noise on Chen Guodong's end. "When would be a convenient time for you to see the detailed reports?"

Lin Ying glanced at the time on her watch: 2:30 PM. "Fax the report directly to my home in Hong Kong. I need to see it today."

"Received. There's one more thing at the factory; Claire is pressing me very hard."

"What did she say?"

"Claire said that three hotel groups in Europe wanted to purchase in bulk and asked if we could deliver two hundred machines before March."

Lin Ying got out of the car: "Delivery before three months? When will the third batch of production be fully operational?"

"At the current pace, the third batch of 1,000 units should be delivered by mid-February; domestic distributors are also urging us to deliver. Manager Xu has already scheduled 700 units for shipment."

Lin Ying quickly calculated the shipment figures: "Three hundred units left, Claire needs two hundred, how many does Lucas need?"

"Lucas faxed me last week, specifically requesting 150 units."

"The total demand is 350 units, and we currently have a shortage of 50 units," Lin Ying pointed out the current predicament.

"So I'd like to discuss with you whether we should start production of the fourth batch ahead of schedule?" Chen Guodong waited for Lin Ying's instructions on the other end of the line.

Lin Ying stood at the garage door for a while and thought for a moment: "I've decided to start ahead of schedule. The fourth batch of production will be 2,000 units. I'll have Li Jia and the finance department place the order for materials this week to secure the quantity. Don't wait any longer."

"A production schedule of two thousand units?" Chen Guodong asked with some concern. "The financial pressure will be quite high at the end of the year."

"Send me the year-end settlement data first, and I'll explain it to you in detail after I've reviewed it." Lin Ying hung up the phone and went upstairs to her study.

Less than an hour later, the fax machine started printing paper; Lin Ying took out the paper and sat down at her desk to look through it page by page.

The first generation of large-screen color TVs had a total production of 2,000 units in the first three batches.

1,200 units have been delivered, with payments received amounting to 40 million RMB; overseas orders signed but not yet delivered amount to the equivalent of 10 million RMB....

Three million yuan has been prepaid through domestic channels.

The toy factory's profits remained stable throughout the year, and the mobile phone business continued to grow as expected.

Lin Ying turned to the last page, looked at the numbers in the total assets column, and wrote a few lines of calculations next to them.

The fourth batch of 2,000 units includes material costs, labor costs, equipment depreciation, and logistics expenses.

After finishing the addition and subtraction, she put down her pen.

With ample funds in her account, she picked up the phone and called Chen Guodong back.

"Mr. Chen, I've reviewed the data you just sent; the fourth batch will proceed as scheduled, with funds coming from Yingchuang's main account and not affecting funds from other business lines."

Chen Guodong: "Now I understand."

"There's one more thing. It's almost the end of the year. Have you and He Fangqin finalized the year-end bonus plan for the workers?" Lin Ying changed the subject.

"It's all settled," Chen Guodong reported in detail. "It's based on seniority and performance; the minimum is half a month's salary, and the maximum is two months' salary."

"Add another clause to the original one." Lin Ying flipped through the notebook beside her.

"Employees who have been with the company for more than six months this year will receive an extra 100 yuan holiday bonus at the end of the year."

"It doesn't matter what position you hold, or what management level you are in," Lin Ying added, completing the plan.

Chen Guodong paused for a moment before speaking: "Everyone gets 100 yuan?"

"Yes, everyone will receive it." Lin Ying's tone was very calm.

"Ms. Lin, we now have nearly three thousand people in our factory area," Chen Guodong kindly reminded her.

"If there are 3,000 people, that's 300,000 yuan, which our company can afford."

Chen Guodong joked, "Then Manager He will definitely have to talk to you again after he gets the proposal."

After hearing this, Lin Ying laughed and said, "Then let her come and talk to me. I'm not afraid of her."

"Okay, I'll go and spread the word about the supplementary plan right away."

As expected, He Fangqin called urgently that very evening: "Boss! General Manager Chen just told me about the extra 100 yuan holiday bonus for everyone."

"I'd like to call and confirm if this is truly your intention."

"This money was indeed my idea." Lin Ying moved the microphone a little further away.

"Do you know how much money three thousand people would cost?" He Fangqin's voice grew louder and louder.

"It's just 300,000; I've already calculated it myself."

"Boss, I'm trying to reason with you sincerely," He Fangqin said, trying to calm herself down. "Your extravagant spending makes it very difficult for me, the HR manager, to do the budgeting."

"Why is it so difficult to give employees some money?" Lin Ying asked her in return.

"Because you paid us this year, if you don't pay us next year, the workers will feel that we are lowering their treatment," He Fangqin began to state the facts and reason.

"If you plan to pay, you'll have to pay every year; that will become a huge fixed cost on the financial statements."

Lin Ying turned to a new page in the notebook and made a couple of marks on it with her pen.

"Then let's give them the money every year," Lin Ying simply concluded.

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone; He Fangqin was probably speechless.

"Manager He, do you have any other questions about benefits and compensation?" Lin Ying asked knowingly.

He Fangqin resigned herself to her fate: "There aren't any for now. I'll work on a specific distribution plan right away."

"Thank you for working so hard so late at night," Lin Ying said reassuringly.

"I'm not suffering at all; the real problem is our company's bank account."

--------

The next morning, Lin Ying was sitting at the dining table drinking milk when the phone rang again.

This time, the call came from Lucas, who was far away in Europe and America.

"Lynn! Merry Christmas!" Lucas's voice sounded very cheerful.

"Merry Christmas," Lin Ying said, picking up the receiver. "Did you call today to urge me to finish a shipment or just to wish me a happy Christmas?"

Lucas laughed loudly on the other end of the phone.

"Both things are fine; first, I'll send you Christmas greetings as usual, and then I'll continue to urge you to finish your order."

"150 units will be delivered in March. Current production capacity is not a problem," Lin Ying gave him a definite answer.

"That's wonderful! And I have some good news to share in advance! A purchasing director from a large hotel group in New York is very interested in our prototype. He wants to sign a long-term supply contract." Lucas said excitedly.

Lin Ying: "What is the duration of the long-term contract you mentioned?"

"A one-year contract, with a stable delivery of 100 units per quarter, for a total of 400 units," Lucas stated the specific figures.

"What about the unit price they offered?" Lin Ying continued to ask.

"The price he asked for was not low," Lucas said, stating a figure.

Lin Ying converted the exchange rate and found that the profit margin for this unit price was much higher than that of domestic channels.

"Send me the draft contract as soon as possible."

"I'll send all the documents to you today," Lucas readily agreed.

"Lucas, there's one more important thing for you to remember," Lin Ying instructed.

"Go on."

"I will launch the second-generation product next October; the production of the first-generation product will be reduced in the second half of the year, and the price will be adjusted accordingly," Lin Ying explained the plan.

"Your customer contracts must clearly state the product model and corresponding price; there must be no ambiguity."

Lucas immediately pressed on the phone, "What's different about the second-generation machine?"

"The display screen is larger, the picture color is better, and the overall power consumption is lower," Lin Ying answered readily.

"What about the subsequent pricing?"

"The unit price won't be much more expensive than the first generation."

Lucas thought about it seriously for a moment on the other end: "Just how much more expensive will it be?"

"They haven't come out yet."

"Alright," Lucas sighed.

"Lynn, every time you say 'wait a bit,' I know the price that comes out won't make me happy."

Lin Ying laughed when she heard this: "It's okay if you're not happy, as long as your clients are happy."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Lanying came out of the kitchen: "Aying, you've taken several phone calls while you were eating breakfast. Your bowl of milk is almost cold."

Lin Ying picked up the bowl and took two sips in a row: "It's not cold at all, it's still warm when I drink it."

"How many days will you be able to stay at home this time?" Lin Lanying asked her daughter with some anticipation.

"Su Cheng is getting married and holding his wedding on January 18th," Lin Ying told her the specific date.

"I'll go to the factory one last time after attending that wedding."

Lin Lanying carefully calculated the time in her mind: "There are still more than twenty days left? Can you stay in Hong Kong for all of these twenty days?"

"I'll be staying at home most of the time." Lin Ying put the empty bowl back, "but I might have to make a trip to Shenzhen in between."

"I need to check on the fourth batch of production schedule and material progress."

Lin Lanying didn't say anything more, but she was very happy that her daughter had stayed at home for so long.