Chapter 268: Long-Term, Mutually Beneficial Cooperation
Once the key matters were settled, Ding Kejian and Huo Yingdong bid their farewells.
Downstairs in his car, Huo Yingdong smiled and asked, "So, what do you think?"
Ding Kejian replied, "Just as you said, Mr. Huo, Mr. Yang is indeed very easy to talk to. He's so young and successful, yet completely lacking in arrogance — truly rare."
"Yes, but that's not what I meant," Huo Yingdong pressed. "What do you think in terms of political inclination?"
"That's hard to say," Ding Kejian replied after a pause. "I didn't get the sense that he leans toward us politically, but I do feel that he genuinely wants to cooperate. Whether that's purely for business or for helping struggling Chinese people, like what he's been doing in Hong Kong, I'm not sure."
"That's possible," Huo nodded. "His proposals are all based on mutual benefit. Even what he's done in Hong Kong has never been one-sided charity."
"I know. He's provided nearly 20,000 jobs in Hong Kong, and the benefits he offers are better than those at most factories," Ding said with a smile.
"Exactly. That in itself is a kind of great charity," Huo added. "Even if it wasn't his intention, he's helped tens of thousands — maybe over a hundred thousand — ordinary people."
Ding nodded. "Right. The stability of Hong Kong still depends on industrial capitalists like him. If we had a few more people like that, the economy here would flourish, and China Resources could earn even more foreign exchange."
"That's unlikely," Huo said, shaking his head. "The miracle of the 'Post-it Note King' can't be duplicated. But honestly, if his current trajectory continues, his enterprise might grow several times larger one day. That's the more realistic path. And for China Resources, that's what matters."
"Really? Several times bigger?" Ding's face was filled with surprise. "Then his scale might rival Jardine Matheson."
After spending several years in Hong Kong, Ding had become familiar with the major foreign conglomerates and the top Chinese business figures. He also had a rough idea of the scale of each major business group.
Sure, companies like Jardine and Swire had been around for over a century, operating globally with massive assets.
But this young Chinese entrepreneur was no lightweight either — his products sold worldwide, and he had successfully built his own brand. This was unheard of in the entire history of Chinese commerce.
"It's possible," Huo mused. "But let's not think too far ahead. Right now, the priority is raising some foreign exchange to buy grain for the mainland. Changxing Shipping's freight rates aren't as predatory as the other companies, which saves us a lot already. So, get in touch with the cultural authorities and speed up this process. Antiquities are important, yes, but Yang Wendong made a good point: as long as the antiques are in Hong Kong, aren't they still effectively within the country?"
"But if they're in Hong Kong," Ding said with concern, "there might be worries about them being lost overseas. After all, we don't control Hong Kong."
Huo shook his head. "No way. With Yang Wendong's wealth and his current businesses, do you think he'd care about the money he could get from selling antiques?
From his perspective, he just wants to build this museum. It's not about money — it's about reputation."
"That makes sense," Ding nodded. "A man with integrity may still succumb to temptation. But someone who isn't lacking in temptation won't be tempted at all."
"Haha, well said," Huo laughed. "Yang Wendong's net worth is probably over a hundred million by now, higher than mine. He definitely doesn't care about that kind of money.
In fact, I think China Resources should look for more ways to collaborate with him. The more you cooperate, the more foreign exchange you can earn."
"Agreed." Ding nodded again. "You've heard of Carrefour, right? A lot of their products are already supplied by China Resources. Not in large quantities yet, which is why I didn't mention it earlier."
"I know," Huo replied. "But from what I understand, Yang Wendong places a lot of importance on that supermarket. He's probably planning to open them all across Hong Kong. If he pulls it off, the volume of goods he'll need from China Resources will definitely increase."
"True. In any case, a lot of products in Hong Kong already come from us. There's no real alternative," Ding said with a chuckle.
"Not necessarily," Huo countered. "Right now, most department stores in Hong Kong prefer to import foreign products, and consumers don't really have a choice.
But if Carrefour opens across the city, then Yang Wendong controls the retail end. Whether those products are imports or from China Resources — isn't it ultimately up to him?"
"You make a good point." Ding nodded thoughtfully.
China Resources did control a large portion of the mainland's goods, but lacked sales channels. For essentials like grain, fruits, and vegetables, the Hong Kong market had no choice but to rely on them.
However, to maintain market stability, the authorities imposed strict price controls on these items. Otherwise, if a regular capitalist held a monopoly on daily necessities, prices would've skyrocketed long ago.
Therefore, if China Resources wanted to scale up and earn more foreign exchange, they had to focus on non-essential goods — things like textiles, clothes, socks, and other light industrial products. Those could be sold at high prices, which pleased both the state and the company.
But competition in that space was intense — high-end products came from overseas, and low-end ones were produced locally.
When it came to non-survival goods, China Resources had no inherent advantage. Even if they sold at a loss to earn foreign exchange, the underlying issue was still quality — if the products were good, they wouldn't need to sell at a loss in the first place.
If they could form a solid partnership with Carrefour, it would be hugely beneficial — not only for China Resources but also for the light industries in southern China.
Huo Yingdong added, "Mr. Ding, for now, just focus on getting this deal done. This will help ease the domestic foreign exchange shortage, solve the grain problem, and build a strong relationship with Yang Wendong.
As for the future — there's no point thinking too far ahead. Let's take it step by step."
"Alright," Ding agreed.
He had indeed been thinking too far ahead. Who could say whether Carrefour would even succeed in expanding across Hong Kong?
After Huo and Ding left, Yang Wendong remained in his office, lost in thought for a while. Then he turned to Su Yiyi and said, "Yiyi, give Liu Huayu a call and ask him to come over."
"Okay," Su Yiyi replied and picked up the phone to make the call.
About five minutes later, Liu Huayu arrived.
"Mr. Yang, Madam Yang," he greeted them respectfully.
"Take a seat," Yang Wendong said with a smile.
At the moment, Carrefour's headquarters was located right inside Changxing Tower, so it only took Liu a few minutes to arrive.
Only teams that had not yet formed fully independent subsidiaries worked from the main building. The Four Seasons Hotel team operated the same way. The only exception was Glory Electronics, which was stationed in Kwun Tong to be closer to the Changxing Industrial supply chain.
"Thank you," Liu said as he sat down. Su Yiyi, ever attentive, brought over two bottles of soda.
Yang Wendong asked, "How are the preparations going for the three new supermarkets we're opening?"
When there's strong capital backing a venture, things can move very fast. Take this supermarket business, for example — once Changxing Real Estate finds a suitable property, purchases it or secures a lease, some renovations are all it takes before operations can begin.
Just before and after the New Year, Changxing had already acquired a property in Happy Valley and leased buildings in both Chai Wan and Wan Chai. These were then immediately handed over to Carrefour for development.
Liu Huayu replied, "They're all still under renovation. The renovation companies are working around the clock — people take breaks, but the work doesn't stop. All three stores are scheduled to open between the end of April and early May."
"Good. Let's keep up that pace." Yang Wendong nodded, then asked, "Is our staff training keeping up with expansion?"
At the end of the day, the core of any enterprise is people. A supermarket may look simple on the surface — it might seem like you can train anyone in a few days and get them working.
But there's a world of difference between barely-qualified employees and experienced, efficient staff. In fact, whether a company can grow large and strong often comes down to the quality of its people.
Liu Huayu responded, "Right now, the three operational supermarkets have been recruiting extra staff — we've been using them to train people in advance for the upcoming stores.
Also, I've been focusing heavily on hiring for key departments like cashiering, inventory management, finance, and marketing, so we can pick out the most suitable personnel.
Based on our current training progress, staffing the next three stores won't be an issue."
"Good." Yang Wendong nodded. "Keep investing in talent. Changxing Real Estate will continue scouting for suitable properties."
"Understood," Liu Huayu agreed.
Yang then asked, "In your opinion, how many stores like ours does Hong Kong Island need to meet market demand?"
Liu thought for a moment and replied, "I've studied the population and economic profiles of various districts. I'd estimate about 60 stores would be enough to saturate the market at a fairly high density.
Of course, that's assuming the economy doesn't change significantly. If it grows or contracts, that number could shift accordingly."
"Forget about the economic changes for now. If we aim for 60 stores, how long do you think it'll take to open them all?" Yang Wendong asked. "Don't worry about the property — we'll handle that."
In his past life, the two major retail giants in Hong Kong — Wellcome and ParknShop — operated nearly 500 locations combined.
Given that today's economy still lagged far behind what it would become, 60 stores on Hong Kong Island seemed like a reasonable goal.
Liu replied, "I'd say about five years. In the early stages, supermarket business is excellent due to limited competition. But in the mid-to-late stages, within a city like this, you start becoming your own competition.
Plus, we have to consider if others will enter the market. If competition emerges, everything — from logistics to expansion — will face delays. The pace of expansion will definitely slow down later."
"Alright, just focus on doing the early phase well," Yang said with a nod.
He wasn't an expert in the supermarket industry, but he knew that while the business relied heavily on capital, it wasn't something you could just pour money into blindly.
That said, he could still acquire properties in advance. Even if some weren't immediately used, they'd never be a loss.
"Understood," Liu said again. "Actually, if we do hit a bottleneck on Hong Kong Island after a few years, we could also expand into the Kowloon Peninsula. The economy over there is developing nicely too."
"Sure, you can decide that," Yang said with a smile. "But I called you here today not just to check on Carrefour — I also need you to prioritize domestic goods when sourcing inventory."
"No problem. We already source most of our products from China Resources," Liu replied. "Their goods are quite affordable, but the packaging… well, let's say it's a bit…"
"Rustic?" Yang offered.
"Exactly," Liu nodded.
"That's something we can work on gradually. Let them know what kinds of improvements will help their products sell better," Yang said. "If they understand that, and we can move more volume, it benefits both sides."
"Okay, I'll have another meeting with their team," Liu promised.
"Great. Keep pushing forward and focus on delivering good service," Yang said. "The sooner we open Carrefour stores all across Hong Kong Island, the less we'll have to worry about big capital moving in."
Once they established stores in all key locations, no one would be able to open a similar supermarket nearby without taking a loss — unless their prices were dramatically lower. Even major capital players would struggle.
Of course, the downside was that even if his business wasn't public, such a profitable model would inevitably attract attention. That was just how Hong Kong's business world worked — if someone made money, others would swarm in like sharks.
"Alright, I'll get back to work now," Liu said, getting up and taking his leave after a polite nod.
After he left, Su Yiyi asked, "Are you doing this to support the mainland?"
"Kind of. If I can help through normal trade, even a little, it's worth doing," Yang Wendong replied with a nod.
It didn't matter whether someone leaned left or right — the end goal should always be to improve the lives of Chinese people living in poverty. He wasn't a political figure, but that belief had always been in his heart.
The reality was that in this era, this was the only viable way to help. Even if you wanted to donate money, they might not accept it.
So why not achieve lasting mutual benefit through legitimate commercial trade? That way, no one could object — because it was simply business.
Su Yiyi then asked, "Should I carry some domestic clothing in my boutique, too?"
Yang shook his head and smiled. "Forget clothing. The quality gap between domestic and Hong Kong apparel is just too big. But you could try importing smaller items like socks and handkerchiefs from China Resources."
"Alright, sounds good," Su Yiyi nodded.
March 19
Wang Zhiqun had just returned from the United States, and he arrived at Yang Wendong's office together with Xia Wenjie from the headquarters office to deliver a report on their U.S. business inspection tour.
"Since everything checks out," Yang said after reviewing the report and going through the photos, technical documentation, and videos, "coordinate with international legal counsel and sign the purchase contract. We're buying Fairchild's transistor production line."
"Understood. I'll make the arrangements immediately," Wang Zhiqun replied.
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