nashuaworldcup Chapter 78 Factory Expansion
Chapter 78 Factory Expansion
The afternoon sun slanted across the factory area of Yuen Long, casting a warm, golden glow on the exterior walls of the Chung Wah factory. In a spacious office on the top floor of the office building, Lin Zhou stood behind a large glass window, his fingertips gently tracing the sales report in his hand, still smelling of ink. The numbers on the report were densely packed, yet like dancing musical notes, each one radiating an invigorating vitality.
The Zhonghua handheld game console has only been on the market for a little over a month, but it has already stirred up a small storm in the Hong Kong market. In the electronics stores in Causeway Bay, the counters for the handheld game console are always crowded with people, including teenagers in school uniforms who are standing on tiptoe, clutching their long-saved pocket money.
Some office workers in suits rush over during their lunch break, just to grab one to give to their children at home.
Even established businesses that usually scorn new gadgets are now flocking to Zhonghua, eager to become its distributors.
The shipment volume increased day by day, from the initial thousands of units per day to tens of thousands of units today. As soon as the finished products in the warehouse came off the production line, they were picked up by waiting trucks. Often, the inventory was counted in the morning and was already running low in the afternoon.
Lin Zhou shifted his gaze from the reports to the factory area outside the window. The faint roar of machines in the hardware workshop mingled with the songs playing from the factory's public address system, creating a vibrant symphony.
He took a deep breath, his chest filled with determination. The booming sales of air fryers had made Zhonghua a fortune. Should he let those heavy sums of money lie in a bank account earning interest, or invest them to gamble on a bigger future? He already had the answer to that question.
"Knock knock knock." The knocking sound interrupted Lin Zhou's thoughts.
"Come in."
The person who pushed open the door was Su Wanqing, the general manager of Zhonghua Factory. She had followed Lin Zhou from the early days of the factory's establishment to the present. She was holding a stack of documents in her hands, and her beautiful face showed a bit of excitement: "President Lin, I just finished verifying the shipment data of the handheld console. At this rate, I'm afraid that in another half month, our existing production lines will not be able to keep up."
Lin Zhou turned around, took the document, glanced at it, and a smile appeared on his lips: "Wanqing, I was just about to talk to you about this. I don't plan to save the money made from the air fryer; I'll invest it all in expanding the factory."
"Expansion?" Su Wanqing's eyes lit up, and her voice rose several decibels. "Lin Zhou, are you serious?"
"Of course it's true." Lin Zhou pointed out the window, his tone resolute. "Not only do we want to expand, but we also want to turn Zhonghua into a real industrial park. Aren't there a few vacant lots next to the existing factories? Go contact the Hong Kong authorities and buy the land, the bigger the better."
"Then have Manager Zhou from the construction company find a few reliable construction companies and have them start construction as soon as possible. The faster the better. I want to see the new factory building rise from the ground within three months."
Su Wanqing nodded repeatedly, clutching the documents tightly in her hands, her excitement barely concealed: "Great! Great! I'll get on it right away! I've always felt our factory isn't big enough. The handheld game console production line is different from the air fryer line; after the modification, it felt crammed together, with barely any room for the workers to turn around. Expanding it will be so much better, so much better!"
Watching Su Wanqing's hurried departure, Lin Zhou's gaze followed her figure to the door. The expansion of the factory area was not a simple matter; it involved countless details.
Buying land requires dealing with the government and going through layers of approval processes; building a factory requires finding a design team, considering the layout of the production line, and taking into account fire safety and environmental protection; most importantly, the existing production lines are far from meeting the demand, so more advanced equipment must be introduced.
Lin Zhou picked up the phone on the table and dialed a number in Europe. On the other end of the line was a long-established machinery manufacturer he had contacted before, which possessed state-of-the-art electronic equipment production line technology.
When discussing cooperation before, the other party was somewhat hesitant, feeling that the small factory in Hong Kong might not be able to handle such a large order, so Lin Zhou ordered the production line from another manufacturer.
But Zhonghua is already quite large now. Lin Zhou spoke calmly, and the number of orders he announced silenced the other party for a moment before a surprised response came.
"Mr. Lin, are you sure you want to order ten production lines?"
"Confirmed." Lin Zhou's voice left no room for doubt. "I will have the company's finance department transfer the prepayment immediately. I only have one request: ship the goods as soon as possible, the sooner the better."
After hanging up the phone, Lin Zhou let out a long sigh of relief. The moment he put down the phone, he knew that he had no way out, nor did he need one.
In the days that followed, Zhonghua Factory was completely engulfed in activity. Construction teams from the construction company marched into the factory area in a grand procession. The roar of pile drivers was deafening, and the mixers ran day and night. Truckloads of steel bars and cement were brought in, and the once empty land quickly became a steel skeleton. The workers worked in two shifts, day and night, rushing to finish the work. Their dark faces were covered in sweat, but they exuded a strong sense of drive.
Lin Zhou watched the steel structure of the new factory building rise little by little every day, watched the production line equipment being carefully unloaded from Europe onto the factory grounds, and watched the technicians working tirelessly around the brand-new machines, debugging and installing them.
As the days passed, August arrived. The morning breeze in Yuen Long gradually turned cool, but the heat in the Chung Wah factory area remained undiminished.
New factory buildings sprang up like mushrooms after rain, rows of neat, spacious, and bright factory buildings connecting with the first batch of factory buildings, stretching as far as the eye could see. The moment the new production lines were installed and the machines started running, the entire factory area erupted in cheers.
Standing by the window of the office building, Lin Zhou looked at the magnificent scene before him, his heart filled with mixed emotions. He still remembered that in the early days of the factory's construction, the entire factory area consisted of only one workshop and a few hundred workers. Now, Zhonghua's workforce had exceeded ten thousand.
More than 10,000 workers, dressed in uniform blue overalls, bustled about the factory area, their faces bearing reassuring smiles and their eyes filled with anticipation for life.
Lin Zhou knew that behind these 10,000 workers were 10,000 families. Their jobs at Zhonghua were the means they supported their families, paid for their children's education, and provided medical care for their elderly parents. This heavy responsibility weighed on his shoulders, but it also made his steps increasingly steady.
The expanded Chung Wah has become the most prominent presence in Yuen Long. What was once a desolate countryside has become bustling with activity because of Chung Wah. As Chung Wah has grown, land prices in Yuen Long have also skyrocketed; land that was once ignored is now highly sought after.
Some small factories with a keen sense of opportunity began to build factories around Zhonghua. Some produced electronic components, some did packaging and printing, and some were involved in logistics and transportation. They were all upstream and downstream industries of Zhonghua.
They are like the branches extending from Zhonghua, closely connected with Zhonghua, forming a nascent industrial chain. Walking on the streets of Yuen Long, you can hear people talking about Zhonghua everywhere, and when Lin Zhou's name is mentioned, everyone's face shows a bit of respect.
Today, Zhonghua Group has established a firm foothold in Hong Kong. In time, when the number of workers in the factory exceeds tens of thousands, and when Zhonghua's products go beyond Hong Kong to Southeast Asia and the world, Zhonghua will surely become a true giant in Hong Kong and even the world.