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

Xu Jianlan returned to the factory at 7 p.m. and immediately rushed into Lin Ying's office: "Boss, I've visited four companies in Guangzhou. Xinxing Vision's prototype is displayed right at the entrance of their showroom, next to ours. It's infuriating!"

Lin Ying poured her a cup of hot tea: "What did the client say?"

"Let's talk about the price first." Xu Jianlan sat down and began to mimic other people's tone, "Miss Lin, you are more than seven thousand dollars more expensive. For the same 39-inch size, they also offer a year of home maintenance."

"What did you reply?"

"I'll say I won't comment on this one; you can turn it on and watch it yourselves for half an hour," Xu Jianlan said, taking a sip of tea. "Then I'll take out our aging report and talk about the quality and after-sales service."

Chen Guodong, listening nearby, nodded in agreement: "That's a proper way of putting it."

"What's the use of being reasonable? They'll still try to lower the price." Xu Jianlan shrugged. "In the end, I gave them a suggestion: Don't trust me, and don't trust him. Just buy one yourself, put it in the shop, and drive it for a month."

Lin Ying: "You're letting the customer try out the product themselves?"

Xu Jianlan: "They were going to try it anyway; if our goods can hold up, we're not afraid to try; if their goods can't hold up, I won't have to pay a single penny in commission fees."

What followed was this: there aren't many fools in the home appliance distribution channel. A 20% discount might tempt people for the first couple of days, but once that's over, they'll start calculating the costs. A 39-inch large-screen TV is meant to be installed in living rooms or hotel rooms. If a batch of TVs breaks down every year, who will pay for the labor costs of on-site repairs?

The purchasing manager of a high-end department store in Shanghai sent someone to Guangzhou to get three sample machines. They were placed in the warehouse and powered on for more than 20 days. In the third week, the edges of the screen on one of the machines started to turn yellow, and the screen on another machine went black on its own at night. The machine was only brought back after being plugged in and unplugged.

The manager called Xu Jianlan the next day: "Ms. Xu, I'll sign off on your order of forty units."

Xu Jianlan repeated these words to Lin Ying verbatim: "Boss, the better our reputation is, the better."

On December 14th, the guardhouse called the administration building.

Lao Liang: "Manager He, three people have arrived at the door in a black Honda. The one in the lead said his surname is Wan and he is the owner of Guangzhou Xinxing Vision. He wants to see Miss Lin."

Upon hearing this, He Fangqin immediately sensed something amiss, like a weasel offering New Year's greetings to a chicken: "Did he have an appointment?"

"No. But he said he was in the same line of work, drove all the way from Guangzhou, and that he could wait."

After thinking for a moment, He Fangqin still ran to Lin Ying's office and knocked on the door: "Boss, the main character has arrived."

Lin Ying was looking at the temperature rise curve that Liu Ya had supplemented: "Wan Guohua?"

"He came in person, with two people with him."

Lin Ying capped the pen: "Have the security guard register you and ask you to go to the conference room on the third floor; go and call General Manager Chen, and also call Wang Chao from the security center."

He Fangqin was surprised: "Why are you calling Wang Chao? He's the head of security."

"He's the director of the security center. When a fellow business owner comes in, I need someone to manage the order on site."

Ten minutes later, seven people were sitting in the conference room.

Wan Guohua was in his early fifties, not very tall, and wore a gold watch. After sitting down, he handed over his business card with both hands. One of his companions was carrying a folder, while the other had a friendly smile.

"Miss Lin, it's an honor to meet you." Wan Guohua was very warm as soon as he arrived. "I made video recorders for sixteen years before switching to televisions this year. I've seen your factory area all the way here; it's very impressive, with one building after another."

Lin Ying put the business card away: "Mr. Wan, you're too kind. You've come all this way, please have some tea."

Wan Guohua took a sip and put the drink down, saying, "Miss Lin, what I'm saying today carries some weight. Could we talk just the two of us?"

Lin Ying shook her head: "No need. This is General Manager Chen, who is in charge of the company's operations and finances; Manager He is in charge of human resources and administration; Director Wang is in charge of factory safety. These three are my confidants. There's nothing in this factory that they can't know."

"Boss Wan, just say what you have to say. You don't need to hide it from them."

Wan Guohua sighed: "Miss Lin is very straightforward. To be honest, I've come here to discuss cooperation with you."

"How do we cooperate?"

"I know I priced this product too low and it's disrupting the market," Wan Guohua said, waving his hand with an air of frankness. "But I'm not here to fight you. I'm here to make peace."

He held up one finger: "I can sacrifice my own brand to make Yingchuang what it is."

He Fangqin thought to herself that this person was really good at bragging, attributing his failure to helping others.

Wan Guohua continued, "I don't want the Xinxing Vision brand anymore; I'll do all the manufacturing for you—my production line, my factory, my workers; I'll put your trademark on the machines, and I'll get all the distribution channels sorted out for you; you don't need to buy my factory, you just need to give me a price, and I'll manufacture the complete machines for you! Ms. Lin, is that enough sincerity?"

Lin Ying looked at him and said, "Boss Wan, to be frank, I will not accept your suggestion."

Wan Guohua was clearly surprised by Lin Ying's swift refusal. He had learned that Yingchuang was a rapidly expanding company, urgently needing personnel and production facilities. He was confident that once production began, there would be no shortage of buyers. Yet, Lin Ying had directly refused: "Ms. Lin, please let me calculate the costs first..."

Lin Ying cut him off immediately: "I've calculated the costs. Your TVs aren't mature enough, and the quality control is poor. Also, I didn't ruin your brand; you were just too hasty."

Wan Guohua's face darkened: "Miss Lin, there's no need to be so harsh."

"I'm not being harsh, but I'm being clear." Lin Ying looked at him. "You're here today talking to me about sacrificing the brand, but your brand hasn't even been established yet; the press conference has been going on for a month, and it's been featured in the newspapers twice. Now the distributors are bringing their own machines back to test the products. You know better than I do what they've found out."

"You have factories, workers, and experience in OEM manufacturing, all of which are valuable. But if you've made such a mess of your first attempt, you'll have to carry all that with you every step of the way."

Wan Guohua paused for a few seconds, then continued, "I know you're still expanding here. Instead of buying equipment and hiring employees from outside, why not just absorb my production line? My factory can make up for it for you."

"My production capacity is somewhat lagging behind sales," Lin Ying nodded. "But I'd rather build my own factory and gradually acquire workers and equipment."

Why?

"Because what I want is a long-term reputation, I won't do anything to betray my consumers; when someone spends 20,000 or 30,000 yuan to buy a TV from me, that's probably money they've saved for a long time. I want them to understand exactly what they're spending! Even if it's expensive, they should understand why it's so expensive!"

"Your equipment is outdated, and your employees can't use my technology at all. I still have to hire and train people, so there's no benefit for me in cooperating with you."

At this point, Wan Guohua's expression became somewhat embarrassed.

Lin Ying kindly advised, "Boss Wan, it's not that you're incompetent. You've been doing OEM manufacturing for sixteen years, which is quite impressive. You just shouldn't have used your last bit of cash to gamble on a product category you weren't familiar with, and on the price! Now you're getting anxious, but it's too late."

Wan Guohua gave a wry smile and said, "I didn't expect to be taught a lesson by a young man in his twenties. But Boss Lin, you don't have to be so sure. Life is unpredictable. Goodbye." After saying that, the group got up to leave.

Lin Ying also stood up. "Take care, Mr. Wan. Director Wang will see you three to the door." Wang Chao responded and led his men out.

The door closed, but the people in the conference room remained. Lin Ying sat back down in her chair: "See?"

"I saw it," He Fangqin said first. "To be honest, boss, this person's name is too grandiose."

Lin Ying looked up: "What?"

"He doesn't even bother to investigate business opportunities in person. Look at him, his surname is Wan, and his given name is Wan Guohua," He Fangqin analyzed. "Who can bear the weight of those words, 'the splendor of ten thousand nations'?"

Chen Guodong nodded after listening: "Indeed, it's a case of fate not being able to suppress one's name."

Lin Ying looked at the two people, her heart full of things to say but unsure how to express them. She had originally planned to talk about the decision-making chain, cash flow, the learning curve of new product categories, and the three most common mistakes that OEM factory owners make when switching to branding.

She finally sighed, "...That makes sense, the name really wasn't chosen well."

He Fangqin immediately perked up: "Boss, you think so too?"

"I don't think so. I'm just too lazy to argue with you." With that, Lin Ying got up and walked out. "President He, inform Manager Xu that there will be a meeting at eight o'clock tomorrow morning."