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

In the afternoon after the meeting, Lin Ying called Chen Guodong and He Fangqin to her office and said something: "I need to hold a general meeting for all team leaders and above in the factory."

Chen Guodong said, "With three shifts, it's impossible for everyone to be there at once."

"We'll do it in three batches," Lin Ying set the schedule. "The first batch will start after the morning shift on the 17th, the second batch after the afternoon shift on the 18th, and the third batch after the night shift on the 19th. The meeting room isn't big enough, so we'll use the open space next to the workshop and build a shed."

He Fangqin asked, "What kind of content will you be covering? Tell me in advance so I can prepare the materials."

"No need for materials, I'll explain myself."

He Fangqin then asked, "Do we need to take meeting minutes?"

"Just have someone record it."

Chen Guodong looked at the factory's organizational structure chart: "Management personnel above the group leader level, plus department heads, shift leaders, team leaders, and technical backbones, make up about 620 people."

He Fangqin added from the side, "If there are three batches, each batch will cost a little over two hundred. I'll have the administration prepare bottled water and chairs."

"No need for a chair," Lin Ying said. "You'll listen standing up. I'll finish in fifteen minutes."

He Fangqin was taken aback: "Boss, more than two hundred people are standing?"

Chen Guodong had no objections, and He Fangqin didn't say anything more. The two of them went off to make the arrangements separately.

The next morning at eight o'clock, the night shift workers gradually emerged from the workshop. All 213 managers, from team leaders upwards, quickly arrived. Seeing that almost everyone was there, Lin Ying said, "I called everyone here today to skip the small talk and get straight to the point: from the first batch of production to now, one thousand units, three thousand units, we've moved up batch by batch; there have been problems along the way, equipment malfunctions, and supplier delays, but in the end, we've all made it through."

"It's not because I'm amazing, it's because every one of you is holding things up online."

No one spoke, and the overall atmosphere was fairly relaxed.

"I have nothing else to say today, just one sentence: Be serious and do your work with your heart; this isn't about me, or the performance evaluation form, but about the work you are doing."

"A television may represent months' worth of savings for someone who has been saving up to buy it; the quality of your work directly determines whether the consumer is comfortable using it. I value this more than anyone else."

Lin Ying continued, "Finally, I hope everyone earns more money; if the company makes money, you should earn money too. If you do well, your salary will increase, your job level will be promoted, and your bonuses will not be less; in January, the whole factory will receive a year-end bonus of one thousand yuan per person."

As soon as he said that, the people below started to discuss it.

Lin Ying felt she had said enough and simply called out, "Meeting adjourned. Go back and do what you were doing."

The second and third batches of meetings had the same content, each lasting ten minutes, and then everyone dispersed.

After taking minutes of three meetings, He Fangqin rushed to Lin Ying's office: "Boss, 3,700 people, 1,000 yuan per person, that's 3.7 million!! Is that 1,000 yuan before or after tax?"

"I'll get a thousand."

That evening, the canteen was packed with workers huddled together, whispering among themselves while holding their rice bowls.

A female assembly worker whispered to the person next to her, "Have you heard? They're giving out bonuses in January, a thousand yuan!"

The male worker next to him nodded: "Our team leader just came back from the meeting and said it's true, everyone has it."

An older worker across from me sighed, "A thousand yuan! That's enough for me to go back to my hometown and buy some new clothes for my whole family so we can have a proper New Year."

At the next table, a few young workers were chatting: "Hey, where do you think our factory's benefits rank in Shenzhen?"

"Top three! Absolutely top three!" A worker counted on his fingers. "Monthly salary is paid on time, never late; overtime pay is exactly what it's due, no deductions; the dormitory is a clean four-person room; the canteen offers two kinds of food, light and strong flavors, you can choose."

"And there are security guards! They patrol to and from get off work, and female workers are escorted during night shifts. What other factory offers this kind of treatment?"

"I used to work in an electronics factory in the east. Eight people were crammed into one dormitory room, and the toilet was outside the building. I had to bring a flashlight to go to the toilet in the middle of the night."

Several people laughed.

Another person chimed in, "It would be great if someone quit and switched jobs. If my team leader left, wouldn't that position be mine?"

The person next to him immediately retorted, "Are you dreaming? Your team leader is doing just fine here, making 800 yuan a month plus bonuses and subsidies. What factory outside can afford to pay that? Only a fool would leave!"

"Exactly, if you want others to leave, you should finish your own work first. What was the rework rate for that batch of welds last week? Team Leader Liu was being kind by not scolding you."

The man picked up his bowl somewhat sheepishly and continued eating: "I was just saying it casually."

Another person joked, "If you really want to get promoted, you should perform well; our factory will be hiring team leaders after it expands production. Instead of hoping others will leave, you should take the exam yourself."

"Yes, yes, didn't Manager He say last time that there would be an assessment for team leader selection in the future? It would be a combination of technical assessment and management evaluation. Whoever is the best will be promoted."

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Lin Ying spent nearly twenty days in the Shenzhen factory, attending all the necessary meetings and signing all the required documents. On the morning of her departure, she packed her document bag in the office, preparing to cross the border back to Hong Kong that afternoon.

Chen Guodong knocked on the door and came in, his face showing an expression that said, "I have some gossip to share."

Seeing this, Lin Ying asked, "What's wrong?"

Chen Guodong sat down on the sofa and said, "The news has been confirmed; Wan Guohua sold the Xinxing Vision production line, and transferred the factory and workers to Donghao TV."

"Donghao TV?" Lin Ying stopped organizing her documents. "Which one in Guangzhou makes small-sized TVs?"

"Yes, they've been expanding recently and they just happen to be missing a complete machine production line; Wan Guohua essentially handed over the factory at a discount and became the branch factory manager of Donghao himself."

Chen Guodong took a sip of tea: "Going from boss to factory manager, that's pretty much being pragmatic."

Lin Ying stuffed the documents into her bag and zipped it up: "As expected, the workers and equipment he has are valuable, but they are not suitable for him to go it alone and build a brand."

"So what should we be careful about? Is there anything Miss Lin needs to tell us?" Chen Guodong asked again.

Lin Ying said, "Donghao has been making small-screen products for several years, and if they want to move to large screens, they'll have to pay their dues; Wan Guohua gave them the factory, but the technical problems are still there, they won't disappear just because they changed their name."

Chen Guodong nodded.

Lin Ying handed the shipping order on the table to Chen Guodong and said, "If we pay too much attention to them, we won't be able to do our own work well; it's impossible for one company to dominate an industry. Keep a close eye on the last batch of production this year, and it must be completed before the Spring Festival."

"Okay, Miss Lin."

After Chen Guodong left, Lin Ying made another round of inspections of the office to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything; He Fangqin called a car for her downstairs.

Liu Yang ran over from the R&D building to see her off, holding a technical document in his hand: "Boss, sign this before you leave."

"What is it?"

"The equipment acceptance report for the second line was prepared by Chen Jian, and I have checked it; there are no problems."

Lin Ying took it, flipped through two pages, signed her name, and handed it back.

Liu Yang pulled out another one: "And this one too."

Lin Ying instantly understood this person's little scheme: "Did you deliberately wait until I left before taking it out?"

Liu Yang chuckled: "Let's get this over with while you're in a good mood, so we can get the signature done quickly."

Lin Ying signed the second document, got into the car, waved, and the car drove out of the factory gate.

It was already evening when they crossed the border back to Hong Kong. He Dazhu drove to the station to pick her up. Lin Ying leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes for a while in the car. By the time they got home, Lin Lanying had already finished feeding her and put her in her crib.

Lin Ying leaned over to take a look at her daughter; the little one was sleeping soundly with drool drool dripping from her mouth.

"Little chubby girl." Lin Ying reached out and wiped her drool.

Lin Lanying suddenly appeared from behind: "What nonsense are you spouting now!"

Lin Ying quickly corrected herself: "I meant little cutie."

Lin Lanying rolled her eyes and left.

The next morning around nine o'clock, Lin Ying was in her study looking through the fax sent by Tanaka Masaki. Two versions of the prototype design for the Dou Dizhu game had been completed. Just as she was looking at it, the living room phone rang.

Pusson called to her, "Madam, it's Miss Claire on the phone."

Lin Ying put down the fax and answered, "Lynn!" Claire's voice sounded like something good was coming.

"Claire, what is it?"

"Great news, really great news!!! Do you remember Zhang Henian, the one from the North American and European channels, whom we met at the last annual meeting?"

Lin Ying thought for a moment: "I remember, what's wrong?"

"He came to London a few days ago to have dinner with me, and we started talking about you; he told me that a computer company in the UK contacted him and wanted to order a batch of computer monitors."

Claire continued, "They want a 24-inch monitor. The mainstream monitors on the market are too small, 15 or 17 inches, which are not enough for professionals in the design and architecture industries."

"Do they have this need?"

"Not only do they have them, they need them urgently." Claire emphasized. "The company is called Aston Electronics, a British manufacturer that assembles computers. They recently received a batch of purchase orders from government departments and design firms."

"What about their own suppliers?"

"The prices from Japan and South Korea are too high, and the delivery time is too long, so they want to try sourcing from other channels in Asia. Zhang Henian recommended you."

Claire's tone carried a hint of smugness: "Lynn, they asked me to inquire about your plasma screen technology—could it be used to make computer monitors?"

Lin Ying's mind was racing.

Technically speaking, with their current plasma panel technology, they can already make 45-inch TVs, so shrinking to 24 inches would only be easier; however, the requirements for computer monitors are different from those for TVs, with different interfaces, signal standards, refresh rates, and resolution requirements.

"It can be done." Lin Ying was certain of this, but it would just take some time.

Claire laughed on the other end of the phone: "I knew you'd say that."

"Claire, first find out their specific requirements for me: resolution, interface type, brightness standard, delivery quantity, and timeline."

"I'll arrange to meet Zhang Henian today and have him send over the parameter table from Aston."

"Also, ask them what their price expectations are."

"Understood, I'll get back to you as soon as possible."